by Dayton Ward from a story by Dayton Ward, James Swallow and David Mack

Gallery Books, out now

Wesley Crusher returns to the lives of his mother and stepfather…

Icons die.

Whether they are real-live heroes who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, or they’re fictional, part of growing up is recognising that death is an important part of life. No one is safe from the passing of time, or immune to things larger than them.

In recent time, we’ve seen that on the big screen, with, among others Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame and Han Solo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In Star Trek, we saw it with Spock (in Star Trek Beyond, I mean, rather than The Wrath of Khan), and Jim Kirk in Star Trek Generations. Sometimes deaths are walked back, but mostly they stand – or the concept becomes meaningless.

Which brings us to Star Trek: Coda. For twenty or so years, the Star Trek writers have had the freedom to expand the worlds of the 22nd-24th centuries in the various lines – and during my tenure as Star Trek Magazine editor, I was delighted, because it meant new stories were being told and could be covered. But with the arrival of Discovery, then Picard, then Lower Decks (yes, there is a sneaky reference) and Prodigy and Strange New Worlds etc., the timelines were being reset. Creators looking for audiences in their millions worldwide won’t be beholden to the novels, whose readership is considerably less. They told the story that needed to be told – and that rendered the novels moot.

As Dayton Ward recounts in his afterword, they could have gone the Star Wars Legends route (hiving it off into its own thing, effectively), but instead they have swung for the fences. And if books 2 and 3 are anything like the scale and quality of this opener, we’re in for one final fantastic hurrah.

You really don’t want to be spoiled for the surprises in this – and there are plenty. There are some shocks too: absolutely no one, whatsoever, is safe. (I did wonder at one point if the three authors’ Wormhole Death Canon band are preparing a version of Tom Lehrer’s Who’s Next? as an opening number.) You’re in no doubt that the stakes are real – but that doesn’t mean that it’s a relentlessly downbeat book. The crews of the 24th century Starfleet know their jobs, and Ward and his colleagues know the characters, so at all times they remain credible.

For those who aren’t up to speed on the novels, don’t despair – firstly there’s a timeline of important events at the start of the book, and secondly, Ward provides quick and pithy summaries where required… so jump right in.

Verdict: Gripping, tragic – and this is only the start. The key Star Trek event of 2021 has arrived. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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