Star Trek: Strange New Worlds novel Into the Night in Review
The new Strange New Worlds book by James Swallow is an epic joyride full of adventure!
Log Entry
The war with the Klingons (portrayed in Star Trek: Discovery’s first season) is over, but its scars are still fresh. While patrolling the border with the Klingons, the crew of the Enterprise – under Pike’s command – picks up strange readings from a dead world orbiting a volatile star. Upon investigation, they uncover remnants of a long-dead, technologically advanced civilization – one with little apparent interest in space travel. Stranger still, they discover a lost Starfleet starship that vanished nearly a century ago.
A temporal anomaly reveals something even more shocking: the ship’s crew is still alive on the planet’s surface. As if that weren’t enough, a trigger-happy female Klingon captain – commanding a brand-new D7 battle cruiser – detects the Enterprise and is itching for a fight. She’s an overcompensating commander, looking to make a name for herself. If she fails, she will be chastised as a rogue agent. If she succeeds, she will be a hero of the Empire.
Now, two Starfleet crews separated by time must work together to survive a hostile system and escape the looming threat of Klingon aggression. The combined crews must face both external threats and their own internal conflicts, as they fight for survival and understanding. It will be up to the crew of Pike’s Enterprise to figure out a way to outsmart and outmaneuver their Klingon adversary.
Status Report
When it comes to expanding the Star Trek mythos, James Swallow delivers in full. This book would make an excellent two-part episode of Strange New Worlds – or even a feature film, if the powers that be dared to go there. Give this book a try if you like Articles of the Federation, Star Trek: The Next Generation – Ships of the Line, and/or the Alien franchise.
What stood out to me most about this novel was the tense, layered dynamic between the two Starfleet crews: the Enterprise team and the war-weary officers from Archer’s era.
Now, you might be thinking of “Trials and Tribble-ations” from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine when it comes to this particular scenario. However, “Trials and Tribble-ations” was very much a philosophy-of-time-travel episode, where the theme centers around protecting the timeline and avoiding detection. Into the Night is less about that sort of philosophy and more about the camaraderie of survivorship.
While reading the book, I couldn’t help but remember the episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise”, from Star Trek: The Next Generation. In a similar instance, two very different Starfleet crews separated by a generation’s worth of time come together to survive their dire situations. This better represents the quality of the time-travel subplot, as the two crews find ways to complement each other against a star system that seems to offer little respite from native and foreign hostilities.
James Swallow paints a vivid portrait of a crew hardened by the Earth-Romulan War and scarred by years surviving on a dead world teeming with lethal predators – creatures that inject a horror element which is reminiscent of the Gorn. He vividly portrays the struggle that the away mission faces when trying to respect the flow of time and the spirit of the Prime Directive.
This book also offers an engaging take on Khan and the legacy of augmented Humans, as seen through the eyes of the 22nd century crew. La’an Noonien Singh’s perspective adds emotional depth, as she grapples with her infamous ancestry. Her interactions with the officers from the bygone era create a fascinating cultural and philosophical clash, fueling both tension and growth.
Collaboration is a common theme throughout the story, as a certain spunky pilot from the Enterprise shares a family name with a member of the older crew. It’s safe to say that the emotional depth of this book is paramount.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a 23rd century Star Trek story without some fun banter and clashes with an overzealous Klingon warlord. Swallow seamlessly injects this beloved villain into the mix without detracting from the main plot. The overcompensating commander who is eager to make a name for herself is evocative of Kruge from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
In classic Star Trek fashion, Into the Night is a story about reconciling the past, surviving the present, and hoping for a brighter future even as basically all the crew members travel toward the night.
Jeremy Zentner is a librarian and a Star Trek addict. He has published short fiction and his novel was a finalist for the STBF Illinois Author Project. He has also written articles for the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writer’s Association. He lives in rural Illinois, USA.