By David R. George III

Pocket Books, out now

Enterprise Captain Demora Sulu and her crew are investigating a planet – that seems to have a portal to another dimension…

It’s nearly six years since this was published, during which time a lot has happened in the worlds of Star Trek – but the Lost Era (the period between the original cast movies and the start of The Next Generation) remains pretty uncharted. For those who like the gaps in Star Trek history filled in, this charts the stories of both Demora Sulu and her father (still captaining the Excelsior as the 24th century dawns), with David R. George III giving us plenty of insights into the pair as well as the crews with which they serve.

The story starts at quite a sedate pace, helped by George’s deliberately expansive style but as things start to get worse for Demora Sulu – and by the way, don’t read the back cover blurb too closely since it describes events that occur in the very last section of the book! – the pace increases, and things tighten up considerably. In fact, I’d’ve preferred longer spent on the final section than we get – it feels like we get summaries of events that earlier in the book would have been spelled out.

George understands these characters well, and it’s good to learn more about John Harriman, the Enterprise-B captain from Generations, and continue his ‘rehabilitation’. Hopefully, we may yet learn more about this period.

Verdict: A well told dip into Star Trek’s “past”. 8/10

Paul Simpson