Literary Treks: A Star Trek Books and Comics Podcast

Rough Beasts of Empire. The Typhon Pact hammers out their agreement to formalize relations between six interstellar nations, yet one of the member is still divided into two empires, leaving the Romulans feeling inadequate in comparison to their fellow members. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing and Bruce Gibson talk about Rough Beasts of Empire. We discuss creating the Typhon...

The Lost Years. The end of the five year mission for the crew of the Enterprise would bring many changes by the time fans saw them again in The Motion Picture and filling in those gaps between the two was a question for years. In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Matthew Rushing and Bruce Gibson talk about The Lost Years. We discuss our first readings, filling in the gaps, Kirk, Spock, McCoy,...

Debt of Honor. James T. Kirk has lost a lot following the events of The Voyage Home and the one that weighs on him is the debt of honor he feels he owes the Enterprise herself, to reclaim her name in the eyes of the Starfleet. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing and Chris Jones talk about the comic Debt of Honor. We discuss the art, the framing device, the flashbacks, the prese...

Zero Sum Game. In the wake of the Dominion War and the Borg invasion he Romulans, Breen, Tholians, Gorn, Tzenkethi, and the Kinshaya have joined forces in a twisted version of the Federation to combat the latest Khitomer Accords Alliance between United Federation of Planets, Klingon Empire, Cardassian Union, and Ferengi Alliance. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing and Bruce Gi...

Synthesis. The Titan crew find themselves confronting one of their deepest fears which have only been accentuated by their recent experience with the Borg invasion, will they be able to over come and save the universe from extinction? In this episode of Literary Treks host Matthew Rushing is joined by Bruce Gibson, who returns to the show to continue the 24th century novels with Synthesis. We disc...

Too Long a Sacrifice. In the middle of the Dominion War, DS9 suffers a bombing on the Promenade at one of the restaurants, as well as a rash of murders that puts a big trade deal in jeopardy which could have dire consequences on the war effort for Starfleet. In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Matthew Rushing and C Bryan Jones discuss the comic series Too Long a Sacrifice. We discuss the art...

James Swallow: The Dark Veil. With the end of the first season of Star Trek Picard, there were still a lot of questions about what happened in those years between Star Trek Nemesis and the first episode of the series, especially with regards to Riker and his command of the Titan. In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Matthew Rushing and C Bryan Jones welcome James Swallow to talk about his new...

Una McCormack: The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway Kathryn Janeway is known for her strength, drive, dedication, and nurturing nature. But how did her childhood and early career shape the woman who led her crew back from the Delta Quadrant, against all odds? In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Matthew Rushing and C Bryan Jones are joined by Kathryn's ghostwriter—also know as Una McCormack—to...

Greg Cox: A Contest of Principles. The crew of the Enterprise face a challenge unlike any other when when they are called to a system with three different inhabited planets and are asked to observe a contentious election on the only planet in the system the Federation has a relationship with. In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Matthew Rushing and C Bryan Jones welcome Greg Cox back to the sh...

Kirsten Beyer: To Lose the Earth. In March of 2009, author Kirsten Beyer became the captain of the Voyager books and since that time has captivated readers but bring depth and life to a crew in the most astounding ways. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing and Christopher Jones  are joined by Kirsten to discuss what could be her final Voyager novel, To Lose the Earth. We discuss...

The Fearful Summons. There have been a few books that have brought the crew of the Enterprise back together after the events of The Undiscovered Country, but there is only one that was written by the co-writer of Star Trek VI itself! In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing and Chris Jones talk about The Fearful Summons by Denny Martin Flinn. We discuss a captain captured, the Beta...

David Mack: More Beautiful Than Death. J.J. Abrams' Star Trek came out of the gate like a race horse, giving us a new take on the Original Series characters, in a new universe that allowed the creative team at Bad Robot the freedom to take them where they wanted. It was also meant to be a time to forge new boundaries for the literary treks, yet sadly it would take ten years for the books to see pu...

Over a Torrent Sea. In the aftermath of the devastating events of the Destiny trilogy, the Starship Titan is once again assigned to deep space exploration beyond the farthest borders of the Federation. Investigating an oceanic world of abundant and mysterious life, the crew unwittingly causes distress to the ecosystem and to the lives of the inhabitants of the world, nicknamed Droplet. Now, Captai...

John Jackson Miller: Die Standing. Philippa Georgiou, former Emperor of the Terran Empire in the Mirror Universe, has found herself in our universe and under the watchful eye of Section 31. Believing that she has knowledge and skills useful to the organization, she is recruited to take on a mission into a mysterious region of space known as the Troika. However, she has her own agenda. Will Georgio...

Dayton Ward: Agents of Influence. When the extraction of undercover agents from the Klingon Empire goes disastrously wrong, it's up to Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise to come to the rescue. The U.S.S. Endeavour, crashed on the surface of an asteroid, must hold out against Klingon reprisal and Orion attacks long enough to ensure they deliver their valuable passengers safely back to Fede...

String Theory, Book 3: Evolution. After incalculable losses, the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager continue to battle against the forces of "Phoebe Janeway" and her army of exiles, determined to re-enter Exosia. The effects of the conflict among the Nacene threaten to spill beyond the boundaries of the Monorhan system. The very underpinning of the universe threatens to unravel thanks to the actions of th...

String Theory: Fusion. As Voyager continues her exploration of the Monorhan star system, they encounter a vast array orbiting a black home. Tuvok, having been compelled to board the array, has come under the influence of a mysterious alien lifeform. Meanwhile, a powerful being in the guise of Captain Janeway's sister, Phoebe, carries out her sinister agenda aboard Voyager. In this episode of Liter...

String Theory: Cohesion. During its seven-year journey through the Delta Quadrant, the U.S.S. Voyager has encountered many strange phenomena and spatial anomalies. Among the strangest turns out to be an impossible binary star system, home to a people who should not be able to survive there. When the crew comes to the aid of the Monorhans, they discover that their desire to help may be outweighed b...

Alan Dean Foster: The Unsettling Stars. The J.J. Abrams film Star Trek was released over a decade ago now, and as expected, novels featuring the new "Kelvin Timeline" crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise were solicited. Four novels were originally scheduled, but none of them were released... until now! Newly-minted Captain James T. Kirk leads the Enterprise on a rescue mission to save a ship of refugees....

Seven of Nine. In Star Trek: Voyager's fourth season, a new character was introduced: Seven of Nine, a former Borg drone liberated from the Collective by Captain Janeway and her crew. Played by Jeri Ryan, the character was an immediate hit, so it only makes sense that the character would eventually be introduced into the Voyager tie-in novels being published at the time. In this episode of Literar...

The Higher Frontier. Mysterious armored warriors have reduced the Aenar population to nearly zero. Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise must investigate this brutal and seemingly unprovoked attack with the help of Miranda Jones and the Medusan ambassador, Kollos. However, the situation escalates when the targets of the mysterious attackers expands to include other telepaths, includ...

Losing the Peace. The Federation has won the war. The Borg, once humanity's most lethal enemy, are gone forever. However, new challenges arise as the people of the Federation deal with the aftermath of the greatest, most unimaginable loss of life, leading to the displacement of countless Federation citizens. Will Starfleet have won the war only to lose the peace they've struggled so valiantly for?...

Una McCormack: The Last Best Hope. Since the debut of Star Trek: Picard earlier this year, fans have been enjoying the continued adventures of Jean-Luc Picard as he delves into the mystery of Dahj and Soji, the android daughters of his former shipmate, Lt. Commander Data. However, many things have changed since Star Trek Nemesis and the year in which Picard is set. How did we get from there to her...

Dayton Ward: Kirk Fu Manual. Starfleet has always been an organization dedicated to the peaceful exploration of space. However, Starfleet officers have to be able to defend themselves against the threats that the final frontier throws at them. To that end, Starfleet trains its officers in a variety of hand-to-hand combat skills. An expert wielder of these martial arts is Captain James T. Kirk, who...

The Battle of Betazed. At the height of the Dominion War, the peaceful world of Betazed was invaded by the Jem'Hadar and the Cardassians in pursuit of their goal of control over the Alpha Quadrant. With Starfleet stretched thin, the Betazoid Resistance comes up with a desperate plan to turn their power of telepathy against the occupying forces. However, the use of their talents in the goal of kill...