Literary Treks: A Star Trek Books and Comics Podcast

The Gold Key Archives, Vol. 5: Part 2. Weird volcano-dwelling shapeshifters! Sentient stars! The return of Lt. Uhuru! A room that makes you crazy! And Starfleet Admiral... Kahn?!? All this and more in the latest installment of our look at the wackiest corner of the Star Trek universe! In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson finish their look back at Star Trek: The Gol...

The Gold Key Archives, Vol. 5: Part 1. It's been awhile, but it's once again time to dive into the hilarity and ridiculousness that is the Star Trek Gold Key comics! Incredible shrinking people, Japanese Samurais, and chilly red turtle people await you as we take on another round with the strangest corner of the *Star Trek* literary universe! In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Bruce Gibson a...

Michael A. Martin: The Red King. Searching for a lost Romulan fleet, Captain Riker and the Titan are swept out of the galaxy along with Commander Donatra and the Valdore. They find themselves in the Small Magellanic Cloud, an area of space visited nearly a century earlier by another Federation starship. An long-sundered offshoot of humanity has claimed this area of space, and when reality itself i...

Burning Dreams. Captain Christopher Pike: until recently, there has not been much canonically revealed about the predecessor of James T. Kirk. That has all changed with season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery. However, years before Anson Mount brought the character back to life, the definitive Christopher Pike novel was written, chronicling the life of the brave Starfleet captain from his earliest years...

Dayton Ward: Available Light. For the past couple of years, the post-Nemesis novels have been in a sort of limbo. Contract negotiations dragged on, and at times it felt like the next chapter of the story would never come. Thankfully, that is all behind us with the release of the newest TNG novel, picking up on plot points from Section 31: Control, the previous TNG novel Hearts and Minds, and even...

Keith DeCandido: Articles of the Federation. In Star Trek, we are used to seeing mighty Federation starships exploring space and boldly going where no one has gone before. However, there is more to Federation society in the 24th century than the men and women of Starfleet: newly-elected Federation President Nan Bacco finds herself embroiled in one crisis after another as she and her administration...

Taking Wing. A new ship, a new crew, and a new mission! Captain William Riker takes command of the brand new U.S.S. Titan, and along with the most diverse crew in Starfleet history, undertakes a mission to Romulus for negotiations that will shape the future of the quadrant. A number of dangerous factions are vying for control of the Romulan Empire, and Riker and his crew are caught in the middle!...

Enemy of My Enemy. A rogue Changeling on the loose, having replaced Captain Chakotay, threatens the crew of Voyager, while the Cardassian war criminal Crell Moset performs dangerous experiments on Chakotay and his sister, Sekaya. It's up to Dr. Kaz, Harry Kim, and some help from Admiral Janeway and Tom Paris to free Voyager from the grip of forces determined to tear the crew apart. In this episode...

Old Wounds. Voyager is back in the alpha quadrant and ready to take on new missions for the Federation! Under the command of newly-promoted Captain Chakotay, Voyager sets off with a group of former colonists to make contact with Loran II, their home and a former Maquis colony that has gone silent. Accompanying them on the journey is Chakotay's sister, Sekaya, who's spiritual guidance is sorely nee...

Vulcan's Glory. With the exception of the glimpses we see in "The Cage" and "The Menagerie," not much is known about Spock's early days aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, or the crew that he served: Captain Christopher Pike and his stalwart first officer Number One. Now that Star Trek: Discovery is exploring this time period and these characters, we feel the time has come to look at some of the books t...

Death in Winter. Following the film Star Trek Nemesis, novels in the Star Trek literary universe were given more of a free reign to play with the familiar characters and situations, creating what has been termed the "novelverse." Without any more televised or filmed adventures for the crew of the Enterprise-E on the horizon, authors could take the story in new and exciting directions. One of these...

Triangle: Imzadi II. As Star Trek: The Next Generation drew to a close, an unlikely romance emerged: that of Worf and Deanna Troi. A Klingon warrior with a strict code of honor and a peaceful empath in touch with her feelings do not make the most obvious couple, but Worf and Troi made a go of it before the relationship ultimately disappeared. What happened between the two of them, and how did Will...

A Burning House. The voyages of the I.K.S. Gorkon have come to an end, far sooner than they should have! As the Gorkon puts into port at Qo'noS, the officers and crew return home. For some, that means a harvest festival with friends and family, and for others, it means intrigue, revelations, and deception. It's just another day in the life of a citizen of the Klingon Empire! In this episode of Lit...

Una McCormack: The Way to the Stars. Sylvia Tilly has turned into a breakout character on the newest Star Trek series, Discovery. Sometimes awkward, sometimes silly, but always brilliant, Tilly brought a lot of humanity to Discovery's first season. But what was she like before becoming a Starfleet cadet, and what choices led her to joining Starfleet? In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Bruce...

Imzadi. Will Riker and Deanna Troi: throughout the run of Star Trek: The Next Generation, it was clear there was a deep connection between these two characters. However, they never truly "got together" until 2002's Star Trek Nemesis. What is the history between Will and Deanna? What drew them together and made them "Imzadi"? At last we look at the story that tells the tale of TNG's greatest romanc...

Enemy Territory. The voyages of the I.K.S. Gorkon continue! Following the events at San-Tarah, the Gorkon must now investigate the disappearance of her brother ship, the I.K.S. Kravokh. The Kravokh had encountered a ship from a newly-discovered warp-capable species, a strange alien race that believes themselves to be the only sentient life in the universe. Now, Klag must take the Gorkon to their h...

Michael Jan Friedman. Michael Jan Friedman is one of Star Trek's most prolific authors. Over the course of his association with Star Trek, Mr. Friedman has written or co-written 35 novels, a list that includes original adventures, novelizations, young adult novels, and more. Additionally, he has written 5 Star Trek short stories, 4 reference books, and close to 100 comic adventures for the various...

Christian Humberg: In the Heart of Chaos. In 2016, a new experiment in the world of Trek lit was attempted: for the first time, Star Trek novels would be published outside the United States in a language other than English. German publisher Cross Cult, the company that provides German-translated editions of Pocket Books' Trek novels, published its own Star Trek series: Star Trek: Prometheus, a tri...

Keith R.A. DeCandido: A Time for War, A Time for Peace. Following the multiple crises of the past year, the Enterprise crew has nearly been vindicated; all that stands in their way is an inspection by Starfleet. Meanwhile, however, the Klingon Emperor has gone missing, Klingon terrorists have attacked the Federation Embassy on Qo'noS, and a surprise Federation presidential election has threatened...

Honor Bound. The Children of San-Tarah have emerged victorious over Klag and the crew of the I.K.S. Gorkon, and Klag has promised that the Klingon Empire will leave their planet in peace. However, General Talak, Klag's superior, has different ideas and orders the conquest of San-Tarah. Now, Klag must put out the call to The Order of the Bat'leth and defend both the Children of San-Tarah and Klingo...

David Mack: A Time to Heal. Federation forces, led by Picard and the Enterprise, have captured Tezwa, a world that threatened to become a flashpoint in a devastating war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. However, as difficult as the attack itself was, the occupation of Tezwa will prove even more difficult, costly, and bloody. And the price that Picard's crew pays in lives may be in th...

David Tilotta and Curt McAloney: Lost Scenes. Since its debut in September of 1966, Star Trek has held a cherished place in the hearts of fans the world over. This beloved show has been covered so extensively in books, documentaries, and retrospectives that we must have learned everything there is to know about it by now, right? Wrong! If you think you've seen everything there is to see about the...

Inferno. The unthinkable has happened: the red and blue wormholes have come together to signal the annihilation of the universe as we know it. However, in a pocket reality, the crew of Deep Space Nine must work to return to their station at one of two points in history. The first: The Day of Withdrawal, when the Cardassians left DS9 at the end of the occupation, and the second: the moment when the...

A Time to Kill. An explosive situation is brewing on the planet Tezwa. An unhinged leader in control of devastating weapons which were covertly provided by the Federation wants to seize a nearby Klingon planet, throwing the sector into chaos. The origin of the weapons on Tezwa, if revealed, may spark war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. It falls to Picard and the crew of the Enterpri...

A Good Day to Die. For honor... for glory... for the Empire! The brave officers and crew of the I.K.S. Gorkon embark on a new mission to seek out new life and new civilizations... and to boldly conquer them for the greater glory of the Klingon Empire! But what lines must be crossed when Klingon lust for expansion comes face-to-face with Klingon honor? In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Dan G...