Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (1998)

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 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (1998)

by Dean Wesley Smith (editor)


Fiction based on TV series can explore topics that would never pass the artistic, political, and financial gauntlets of a production studio.


Fans can have a distance from the creative orthodoxy that probably arises among the professional writers and producers who must come up with stories that both uphold the conventions of the series and also meet with approval from the higher-ups at the studio. 


"Strange New Worlds" is an anthology that takes advantage of this to present some innovative stories.  

Dean Wesley Smith

Many of the straightforward problem/solution stories are fun, but the most interesting work takes place in odd little corners of the Trek universe. 


We learn what goes through the mind of the paralyzed Christopher Pike. 


Kirk has one final adventure in the moments following his death. 


With its crew unconscious, the emergency protocols in a starship's computer take over to save the day. 


There is no great prose here, but plenty of fresh takes on familiar material.



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