We're celebrating Star Trek Day with some books worth reading #startrekday #bookrecs #scifi

Happy Star Trek Day! Today is Star Trek Day in many parts of the world so I thought it might be fun to put a bookish spin on this popular day. I’ve been a huge fan of Star Trek for decades. It all started with the original Star Trek but things really got good with the launch of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Picard is my all-time favorite captain. Along with the television shows and movies, there have been tons of books to feed the fandom. I love the creativity of the books. So, here are my top four books to read on Star Trek Day:

Star Trek: Picard: Second Self by Una McCormack

The thrilling adventure based on the acclaimed TV series Star Trek: Picard! Following the explosive events seen in season one of Star Trek: Picard, Raffi Musiker finds herself torn between returning to her old life as a Starfleet Intelligence officer or something a little more tame—teaching at the Academy, perhaps. The decision is made for her though when a message from an old contact—a Romulan spy—is received, asking for immediate aid. With the help of Elnor and assistance from Jean-Luc Picard, Raffi decides to take on this critical mission—and quickly learns that past sins never stay buried. Finding the truth will be complicated, and deadly…

No Time Like the Past (Star Trek: The Original Series) by Greg Cox

An original novel set in the universe of Star Trek: The Original Series that reveals long-held secrets about Captain Kirk's past for the first time! STARDATE 6122.5. A diplomatic mission to the planet Yusub erupts in violence when ruthless Orion raiders attempt to disrupt the crucial negotiations by force. Caught in the midst of a tense and dangerous situation, Captain James T. Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise finds an unexpected ally in the form of an enigmatic stranger who calls herself “Annika Seven.” STARDATE 53786.1. Seven of Nine is taking part in an archae­ological expedition on an obscure planetoid in the Delta Quadrant when a disastrous turn of events puts Voyager’s away team in jeopardy—and transports Seven across time and space to Yusub, where she comes face-to-face with one of Starfleet’s greatest legends. STARDATE 6122.5. Kirk knows better than most the danger that even a single castaway from the future can pose to the time line, so he and Seven embark on a hazardous quest to return her to her own era. But there are others who crave the knowledge Seven possesses, and they will stop at noth­ing to obtain it—even if this means seizing control of the Enterprise!

Hearts and Minds: Star Trek: The Next Generation by Dayton Ward

An electrifying thriller from the New York Times best-selling author in the Star Trek: The Next Generation universe.

It's 2031. US Air Force fighter jets shoot down an unidentified spacecraft and take its crew into custody. Soon it's learned that the ship is one of several dispatched across space by an alien species, the Eizand, to search for a new home before their own world becomes uninhabitable. Fearing extraterrestrial invasion, government and military agencies that for more than 80 years have operated in secret swing into action, charged with protecting humanity no matter the cost....

It's 2386. Continuing their exploration of the Odyssean Pass, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the starship Enterprise discover what they at first believe is a previously uncharted world, with a civilization still recovering from the effects of global nuclear war. An astonishing priority message from Starfleet Command warns that there's more to this planet than meets the eye, and Picard soon realizes that the mysteries of this world may well weave through centuries of undisclosed human history....

A Stitch in Time (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Book 27) by Andrew J. Robinson

An unique and intense tale following Elim Garak as he attempts to stitch the ravaged society of Cardassia back together. For nearly a decade Garak has longed for just one thing—to go home. Exiled on a space station, surrounded by aliens who loathe and distrust him, going back to Cardassia has been Garak's one dream. Now, finally, he is home. But home is a world whose landscape is filled with death and destruction. Desperation and dust are constant companions and luxury is a glass of clean water and a warm place to sleep. Ironically, it is a letter from one of the aliens on that space station, Dr. Julian Bashir, that inspires Garak to look at the fabric of his life. Elim Garak has been a student, a gardener, a spy, an exile, a tailor, even a liberator. It is a life that was charted by the forces of Cardassian society with very little understanding of the person, and even less compassion. But it is the tailor that understands who Elim Garak was, and what he could be. It is the tailor who sees the ruined fabric of Cardassia, and who knows how to bring this ravaged society back together. This is strange, because a tailor is the one thing Garak never wanted to be. But it is the tailor whom both Cardassia and Elim Garak need. It is the tailor who can put the pieces together, who can take a stitch in time.

Do you have a favorite Star Trek book?

Nancy