Science of Star Trek: The Scientific Facts Behind the Voyages in Space and Time

by Mark Brake

Boldly go where no man has gone before and discover the real science behind the cyborgs, starships, aliens, and antimatter of the Star Trek galaxy.

Star Trek is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. It has changed our cultural landscape in so many ways since it first aired in 1966. The franchise has generated billions of dollars in revenue, leading to a wide range of spin-off games, novels, toys, and comics. Star Trek is noted for its social science, too, with its progressive civil rights stances and its celebration of future diversity that began with The Original Series, one of television's first multiracial casts.
 
The Science of Star Trek explores one of the greatest science-fiction universes ever created and showcases the visionary tech that inspired and influenced the real-world science of today. The perfect Star Trek gift for fans of the franchise, this book addresses many unanswered, burning questions,   Learn more about one of our favorite modern epics with The Science of Star Trek !

Genres: Science, Star Trek, Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

Published April 5, 2022

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nonfiction book, The Science of Star Trek by Mark Brake examines the scientific application of the space franchise to our actual scientific knowledge. This is not an analysis of the science underpinning the technology in Star Trek, but a big picture contextualisation. There are four major sections in the book, titled space, time, machine and monster with each particular aspect examined over several chapters. One example is the contrast between the Star Trek galaxy and the actual size of spatial reality. So potential readers be warned, this is a study of understanding knowledge through the lens of Star Trek. It uses various scientific concepts, theorems, history and numerous Star Trek episodes to reference an analysis of knowledge. It also uses other cultural references, for example Pumbaa, to highlight political, philosophical, and educational cognizance. Ultimately, it is an ode to the importance of science and the values of Star Trek, with a four-and-a-half-star rating. With thanks to Skyhorse Publishing and the author, for an uncorrected advanced copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

[Lydia · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be good, The Science of Star Trek would need to get its Star Trek facts right and its science facts right. As a life-long, die-hard Trekkie that’s seen everything Star Trek (except Discovery, that one doesn’t really count) numerous times, I can attest that it got multiple Trek facts wrong. I’m pretty picky about getting all the Trek facts right, so this is a dealbreaker for me. As a scientist, I also noticed some science facts that weren’t really described quite right (mostly in a fairly minor way).

Otherwise, it was very well written. The writing style is good. It has a good voice. It’s interesting, with good flow cover to cover. It wasn’t boring at any point. It has a lot of really good, interesting, thought-provoking discussions of things from Trek and how they relate to real-world science theories, history, and philosophy. It would be very accessible and informative to a layman without a scientific background.

If you’re a really serious Trekkie and a few minor inaccuracies in the Trek facts (which honestly never really interfere with the point being made about each Trek to science comparison) are going to drive you absolutely crazy, then this isn’t the book for you. If not, you’ll probably enjoy this book quite a bit.

I received a free eARC of this book via NetGalley. I am writing this review completely voluntarily and honestly.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that likes the Venn diagram between scientist and keen science reader, and the fan of Star Trek and its science fiction. What it most certainly doesn't do is just go through the tech of the franchise – the condiment sets that became medical scanners, the warp drive, the alien biology – and discuss its potential, rather it uses all of the series and films – right up to the "Picard" one – to examine what the programme makers tell us about science, and what science can tell us about the world we're seeing on screen.

And it's not all physics, either, as that daft hap'orth of a "Voyage Home" film lets the author spin around cruxes in evolution, and how we might never have existed as a species. But generally of course it is space science we're looking at, with issues such as the alien populations of the galaxy that we've never knowingly met in real life, and how many exoplanets we might know of compared to those mentioned in passing in the scripts.

Some awkwardness is to be seen here – an outdatedness that leaves it ignorant of any space flights Shatner may have had, a whole chapter devoted to the science behind calling spaceships ships – what else are they going to be called, fer cryin' out loud? And I am sure a quip about misspelling could have appeared when Cisco, the modern company, are said to be making gear relevant when looking at Sisco's predecessors.

But on the whole this felt successful, and as someone who has never read around the series (any of them) it was interesting to see the author crunch the Vietnam War into four key original episodes, and compare The Borg with Trumpisms. I think I would have preferred for some more coherent arguments, perhaps – just don't ask what about – and fewer spoilers for the episodes I never saw (I'm sure I've never seen any iteration beginning to end). All in all I might well be the least qualified person to give an opinion on this, but it seemed reasonable, cogent and intelligent enough, and ultimately bore much of Roddenberry's original lesson, that society needed to be as one before we ever got true lift-off as a species.

I think love for the franchise is needed – although it did inspire me to want to binge them all more successfully – in order to get a higher mark than the three and a half stars I donate it. But it did prove there is more to contend with in the Star Trek world than the incontrovertible fact that it's the ODD numbered films that are superior, and that the series' worth is in perfect correlation to the quality of their theme tune (a fact that Doctor Who has backed up for over a decade now, as well).

[Bel ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5)

The Science of Star Trek is a book I recommend for fans of Star Trek or those interested in learning more about the nuances of space under the guise of the popular culture phenomenon that is the Star Trek franchise. Brake manages to articulate the saught after questions lovers of science fiction still have about space by sourcing his answers and hypotheses from Star Trek media references, both new and old, to help readers visualise the science being explained.
I thought this was very well done. As a lover of science and a Star Trek fan I found this to be an easy, yet intellectual book to read. Although at times I did find the book became overtly scientific and hard to follow, I felt that the Star Trek examples used helped the reader visualise the science and were well explained so that a non Star Trek fan could also understand the topics that were being analysed. Overall, an enjoyable non-fiction read that I definitely recommend to non-fiction readers with a love for learning more about science, or those who simply might want to learn more about the goings on of the Star Trek universe and how they relate to ‘real-world’ science.

Thankyou Edelweiss and the publisher for a review copy!

[Bee Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not what I was expecting from the title. I thought this would be a look at Star Trek from our current level of understanding; instead it's a look at our current levels of knowledge, paired with vaguely related Star Trek anecdotes. Mark's knowledge, or at least his recounting, of Star Trek is largely confined to The Original Series (plus movies) and The Next Generation, with one or two mentions of Picard: DS9, Voyager, Discovery and the newer slate of shows don't feature at all. Maybe they weren't relevant, but it's an odd omission; surely, while talking about meeting new aliens, DS9 or Voyager would have been relevant? Voyager could have featured in sections about traveling?

Once I'd got over my misconceptions about the book, I found this relatively entertaining. Parts of it are very technical for a mass market book, in my opinion, but everyone's definition will differ there. Mark clearly knows his subject well, and I can see from his bibliography that he writes a lot of this kind of book.
Enjoyable overall, and I learned some interesting things, but make sure you're aware of what the book is when you're going into it.

[WorldconReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Science of Star Trek" is an entertaining collection of short standalone discussions of the intersection of Star Trek and many different fields of science. This book is likely to appear to Star Trek fans that enjoy reading and thinking about science. Offhand, I would assume that the set of Star Trek fans that are not interested in science to be vanishingly small.

Some of the the science themes include predictable topics like astronomy, physics, cosmology, & SETI, and quickly branch out into areas like biology, linguistics, history, and morality in government and politics. Each section is very approachable and written in terms of the Star Trek universe. After reading this book, there are a number of episodes that I look forward to rewatching with a new appreciation and understanding.

I recommend this book to anyone that likes Star Trek. I also thank Mark Brake and Skyhorse Publishing for kindly providing a temporary electronic review copy of this book.

[Annette Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Science of Star Trek by Mark Brake does exactly as it claims on the cover and looks at how the real life science stacks up to the aliens , ships and other technology of one of the most successful science fiction series of all time. Fans of the series in all its iterations, from the original episodes of the 1960s to the latest episodes of Picard will enjoy call backs to famous episodes such as " City on the Edge of Tomorrow " "Measure of a Man" and "Darmok" and will particularly get a kick from seeing how the series not only ran with the science of the day, but also influenced the science of the future.
The writing style is good, often almost conversational in tone, and the author does an excellent job of distilling down some quite complex scientific ideas into an easy to understand format , helped by the references to specific Star Trek episodes which the reader is likely to be familiar with.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

[Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't quite what I was expecting it to be. Rather than trying to connect or draw a path from our current level of science and technology to that depicted in Star Trek, this book features a series of unrelated sections which relate current scientific or social aspects to different episodes, species, or other situations within the Star Trek Universe. While it was interesting to read, I would have liked more science and technology and less sociology and history from a book title The Science of Star Trek.

* I received a review copy from the publisher through NetGalley

[Jonathan Weeks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be deeply thought-provoking. I enjoyed revisiting some of the old Star Trek episodes while learning a thing or two about astronomy and physics. The author ends the book with a chilling warning about the direction our world is headed in. (Spoiler Alert) "The age of reason seems to be ending," Brake asserts. "Resistance seems futile as hope is at a premium. Wisdom and knowledge are called into question as science is downgraded or dissed. Democracy, based on open truths, is drowning, while autocracy, based on lies and disinformation, is on the march."

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars.

The author seems fairly well versed in Trek lore-- at least for TOS and TNG-- but the narrator is not a science fiction buff. I became suspicious after a few odd pronunciations of proper nouns, but I knew it for sure when he pronounced “grok” with a long o sound. Definite indications of a severe Heinlein deficiency, Jim, we need to get this man to sickbay.

An entertaining read, which kept the science at a good level for a layperson.

[Mary Lou Swigert · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Science of Star Trek

I loved reading this book. I found this book to be fascinating and engaging to me. It was great to see the comparisons between Star Trek and science and along with other science fiction writings. I would highly recommend this book along with the audiobook too.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book serves as a bridge (ahem!) between the speculative world of science fiction and the factual world of science (though it's not entirely about science and technology). It encourages readers to think about the possibilities presented in Star Trek in the context of our current understanding of the universe.

[Sharon Leff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bravely, Go on this Reading Voyage!

If you are or have been a Trekkie at any time, this book is a delightful excursion in which episodes and series are reviewed with great relevance to the present. The issues and themes have never been more relevant, applicable, and needed.

[Michael Heneghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this book from my wife for some kind of upcoming book group. A quick, pretty decent read, as it references the original series and The Next Generation by far the most, and they happen to be the two Star Treks I'm most familiar with.

[Timothy Boutelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good to read

I liked the book and wish more people would read it. It has a good message that we need to think about in this time.

[Bridget McKelvie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

[Gary Mcfarlane · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting end - the current premier of Alberta and other politicians would not like the political reference to "The Borg".