What do you think?
Rate this book
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds #1
The High Country
An all-new Star Trek adventure—the first novel based on the thrilling Paramount+ TV series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds!
When an experimental shuttlecraft fails, Captain Christopher Pike suspects a mechanical malfunction—only to discover the very principles on which Starfleet bases its technology have simply stopped functioning. He and his crewmates are forced to abandon ship in a dangerous maneuver that scatters their party across the strangest new world they’ve ever encountered.
First Officer Una finds herself fighting to survive an untamed wilderness where dangers lurk at every turn. Young cadet Nyota Uhura struggles in a volcanic wasteland where things are not as they seem. Science Officer Spock is missing altogether. And Pike gets the chance to fulfill a childhood dream: to live the life of a cowboy in a world where the tools of the 23rd century are of no use.
Yet even in the saddle, Pike is still very much a starship captain, with all the responsibilities that entails. Setting out to find his crewmates, he encounters a surprising face from his past—and discovers that one people’s utopia might be someone else’s purgatory. He must lead an exodus—or risk a calamity of galactic proportions that even the Starship Enterprise is powerless to stop....
When an experimental shuttlecraft fails, Captain Christopher Pike suspects a mechanical malfunction—only to discover the very principles on which Starfleet bases its technology have simply stopped functioning. He and his crewmates are forced to abandon ship in a dangerous maneuver that scatters their party across the strangest new world they’ve ever encountered.
First Officer Una finds herself fighting to survive an untamed wilderness where dangers lurk at every turn. Young cadet Nyota Uhura struggles in a volcanic wasteland where things are not as they seem. Science Officer Spock is missing altogether. And Pike gets the chance to fulfill a childhood dream: to live the life of a cowboy in a world where the tools of the 23rd century are of no use.
Yet even in the saddle, Pike is still very much a starship captain, with all the responsibilities that entails. Setting out to find his crewmates, he encounters a surprising face from his past—and discovers that one people’s utopia might be someone else’s purgatory. He must lead an exodus—or risk a calamity of galactic proportions that even the Starship Enterprise is powerless to stop....
1 pages, Audio CD
First published February 21, 2023
298 people are currently reading
735 people want to read
About the author
John Jackson Miller
345 books992 followersNew York Times bestselling author John Jackson Miller has spent a lifetime immersed in science fiction. His Star Trek novels include the Discovery – Die Standing, the acclaimed novel Discovery — The Enterprise War, the Prey trilogy, and Takedown. His Star Wars novels include A New Dawn, Kenobi, Knight Errant, Lost Tribe of the Sith, and the Knights of the Old Republic comics, available from Marvel as Legends: The Old Republic.
He’s written comics and prose for Halo, Iron Man, Simpsons, Conan, Planet of the Apes, and Mass Effect, with recent graphic novels for Battlestar Galactica, Dumbo, and The Lion King. Production notes on all his works can be found at his fiction site.
He is also a comics industry historian, specializing in studying comic-book circulation as presented on his website, Comichron.. He also coauthored the Standard Catalog of Comic Books series.
He’s written comics and prose for Halo, Iron Man, Simpsons, Conan, Planet of the Apes, and Mass Effect, with recent graphic novels for Battlestar Galactica, Dumbo, and The Lion King. Production notes on all his works can be found at his fiction site.
He is also a comics industry historian, specializing in studying comic-book circulation as presented on his website, Comichron.. He also coauthored the Standard Catalog of Comic Books series.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 215 reviews
December 4, 2025
The High Country is an epic Trek tale brimming with good old style adventure and some genuinely intriguing scientific mysteries. Far too many Trek novels feel a mile wide and an inch deep, but this one breaks that pattern.
At its core, the story thrusts Pike into a thorny Prime Directive gray area. Stranded on a world that is seemingly not only immune to advanced technology (the ancient and mysterious "Baffle") but actively hostile toward it, he and his crew find themselves at odds with the ruling class of alien Luddites who are determined to preserve their society like a fly trapped in amber. The planet's population, made up of separate enclaves of descendants forcibly relocated from dozens of alien worlds (Earth among them), adds another complicating layer. As Pike embarks on an epic quest, crossing half the planet without the aid of technology, he wrestles with whether the Prime Directive even applies - and if, or how - he should intervene. Any action that might introduce technology, including enabling his own rescue from the planet, could completely upend this seemingly idyllic culture.
Miller uses this tension to explore how messy and ambiguous the Prime Directive becomes when applied to real, lived situations, rather than the clean moral hypotheticals we often imagine. The result is a compelling, thoughtful adventure that feels both classic and refreshingly deep.
At its core, the story thrusts Pike into a thorny Prime Directive gray area. Stranded on a world that is seemingly not only immune to advanced technology (the ancient and mysterious "Baffle") but actively hostile toward it, he and his crew find themselves at odds with the ruling class of alien Luddites who are determined to preserve their society like a fly trapped in amber. The planet's population, made up of separate enclaves of descendants forcibly relocated from dozens of alien worlds (Earth among them), adds another complicating layer. As Pike embarks on an epic quest, crossing half the planet without the aid of technology, he wrestles with whether the Prime Directive even applies - and if, or how - he should intervene. Any action that might introduce technology, including enabling his own rescue from the planet, could completely upend this seemingly idyllic culture.
Miller uses this tension to explore how messy and ambiguous the Prime Directive becomes when applied to real, lived situations, rather than the clean moral hypotheticals we often imagine. The result is a compelling, thoughtful adventure that feels both classic and refreshingly deep.
March 9, 2023
Now THAT is how you lead off a tie-in series!
John Jackson Miller is no stranger to Star Trek literature, having written 7 Novels and 1 novella before this. He is also no stranger to the Pike-era crew, as he wrote for them in his novel "The Enterprise War". As such, he was the perfect person to lead off the Strange New Worlds line of books at Gallery Books.
The first thing about this book is the scope and scale. Some books try to tell huge stories on multiple planets that feel like they never have enough time to tell a complete story. Some books just try to tell a small story, and while that works, you often feel like it wasn't worth a whole novel worth of content. Then you get that goldilocks of a book where there is a lot of story packed in to a single novel set on a single planet, and you feel like everything is set up and payed off perfectly, and I'd say this book is as close as you'd get to that sweet spot!
This book primarily follows Pike, Una, Spock, and Uhura. Pike gets the lionshare of the pagetime, probably about two-thirds of the page time. Almost the entire remaining 1/3 is from Una's perspective, although Spock and Uhura get a few scenes.
All four of them are trapped on a planet where technology doesn't work. It seems like a tried and true Sci-Fi trope. As such, this book feels like a Western novel and is right up John Jackson Miller's alley. He's already written the best Western-tie-in-fiction novel out there, "Kenobi". John plays the tropes really well, and includes several storytelling elements that keep you on the edge of your seat but never quite shocked.
One of the biggest criticisms of Science Fiction novels, and Star Trek novels in particular, is that they portray a "monoculture" or a "monobiome". Thankfully, this book breaks out of that. This might in fact be the most worldbuilding I've read in a Star Trek novel for a single world, The only close comparison I have is the Caeliar in the Destiny Trilogy, but that was three books rather than a single novel.
This book also has some thought provoking questions about technology and about how we use it. No, it isn't chessy, and actually its quite refreshing the way it is portrayed. And there are also themes about what you do for the greater good, and at what point is it ok to eliminate "free will".
This book also has one of the best quotes of any book I've read in a while. I will "edit" the quote to avoid giving spoilers it might contain.
"The fate you are describing is a fate many have suffered. But in your case, at least, it will have been earned".
I do have one criticism. There is one minor character who basically disappears in the middle of act 3 and doesn't really appear much until the end of act 5, and even then they barely make an appearance. This character should have been front and center for the whole book.
Overall, I loved this book. I will need time to see where it falls in my John Jackson Miller book rankings. However, I will say that I loved it from cover to cover. There are even a few funny lines and references. 9.5 out of 10!
*Note to Gallery Books: Thank you so much for not requiring the bad language/sexual elements that was in the Picard books. I appreciate the move to a cleaner version of Star Trek*
John Jackson Miller is no stranger to Star Trek literature, having written 7 Novels and 1 novella before this. He is also no stranger to the Pike-era crew, as he wrote for them in his novel "The Enterprise War". As such, he was the perfect person to lead off the Strange New Worlds line of books at Gallery Books.
The first thing about this book is the scope and scale. Some books try to tell huge stories on multiple planets that feel like they never have enough time to tell a complete story. Some books just try to tell a small story, and while that works, you often feel like it wasn't worth a whole novel worth of content. Then you get that goldilocks of a book where there is a lot of story packed in to a single novel set on a single planet, and you feel like everything is set up and payed off perfectly, and I'd say this book is as close as you'd get to that sweet spot!
This book primarily follows Pike, Una, Spock, and Uhura. Pike gets the lionshare of the pagetime, probably about two-thirds of the page time. Almost the entire remaining 1/3 is from Una's perspective, although Spock and Uhura get a few scenes.
All four of them are trapped on a planet where technology doesn't work. It seems like a tried and true Sci-Fi trope. As such, this book feels like a Western novel and is right up John Jackson Miller's alley. He's already written the best Western-tie-in-fiction novel out there, "Kenobi". John plays the tropes really well, and includes several storytelling elements that keep you on the edge of your seat but never quite shocked.
One of the biggest criticisms of Science Fiction novels, and Star Trek novels in particular, is that they portray a "monoculture" or a "monobiome". Thankfully, this book breaks out of that. This might in fact be the most worldbuilding I've read in a Star Trek novel for a single world, The only close comparison I have is the Caeliar in the Destiny Trilogy, but that was three books rather than a single novel.
This book also has some thought provoking questions about technology and about how we use it. No, it isn't chessy, and actually its quite refreshing the way it is portrayed. And there are also themes about what you do for the greater good, and at what point is it ok to eliminate "free will".
This book also has one of the best quotes of any book I've read in a while. I will "edit" the quote to avoid giving spoilers it might contain.
"The fate you are describing is a fate many have suffered. But in your case, at least, it will have been earned".
I do have one criticism. There is one minor character who basically disappears in the middle of act 3 and doesn't really appear much until the end of act 5, and even then they barely make an appearance. This character should have been front and center for the whole book.
Overall, I loved this book. I will need time to see where it falls in my John Jackson Miller book rankings. However, I will say that I loved it from cover to cover. There are even a few funny lines and references. 9.5 out of 10!
*Note to Gallery Books: Thank you so much for not requiring the bad language/sexual elements that was in the Picard books. I appreciate the move to a cleaner version of Star Trek*
November 1, 2023
“You think you’ll ever be satisfied to stay in one place?” He stopped and looked back, a peculiar look on his face. “I don’t mean here,” she said, quickly recovering. “I mean—”
“I understood you. No, I know it all ends someday, one way or another. I just want to do what I can, while I can.”
The promo image for Season 1 of Strange New Worlds showed Christopher Pike on a horse against a stunning backdrop of the USS Enterprise looming overhead in the sky. Den of Geek wrote at the time the image was released that it looked like Pike was planning on “fixing to put a bumper sticker on it that says ‘my other starship is a horse’.”
If you resonated with that image, you will love the first SNW tie-in novel by the inimitable franchise-hopping John Jackson Miller. Even if you do not like Westerns, or think that starship captains should not leave their bridges under any circumstances whatsoever, give this one a try. I guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised.
The Western has always been central to Star Trek (and Star Wars), with Ryan Britt dedicating an entire chapter called ‘Space Cowboys’ in his ‘Phasers on Stun!’. It is a joy to see Miller not only embrace this particular mythology, but put his own unique spin on it. What if I told you there are British frigates in this as well? And a reluctant prince chafing at the legacy his over-zealous father plans to impose on him?
I do not want to give too much away about the clever plot, which is a wonderfully nuanced take on the Prime Directive (both its absurdity and complexity). The main SNW characters – Pike, Uhura, Chin-Riley – are separated by circumstances and have their own mini-adventures on Epheska.
But the entire posse eventually gets together for a rousing showdown finale in true Western style. What I enjoyed most about this is that there are no obvious villains, just ordinary people (and aliens) making bad choices and being constrained by their own prejudices.
It is a very human outlook, at the end of the day, but it is also something Star Trek has always excelled at: showing us humanity at its worst and at its best, and attempting to steer a clear path between the two. That is the true final frontier.
“I understood you. No, I know it all ends someday, one way or another. I just want to do what I can, while I can.”
The promo image for Season 1 of Strange New Worlds showed Christopher Pike on a horse against a stunning backdrop of the USS Enterprise looming overhead in the sky. Den of Geek wrote at the time the image was released that it looked like Pike was planning on “fixing to put a bumper sticker on it that says ‘my other starship is a horse’.”
If you resonated with that image, you will love the first SNW tie-in novel by the inimitable franchise-hopping John Jackson Miller. Even if you do not like Westerns, or think that starship captains should not leave their bridges under any circumstances whatsoever, give this one a try. I guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised.
The Western has always been central to Star Trek (and Star Wars), with Ryan Britt dedicating an entire chapter called ‘Space Cowboys’ in his ‘Phasers on Stun!’. It is a joy to see Miller not only embrace this particular mythology, but put his own unique spin on it. What if I told you there are British frigates in this as well? And a reluctant prince chafing at the legacy his over-zealous father plans to impose on him?
I do not want to give too much away about the clever plot, which is a wonderfully nuanced take on the Prime Directive (both its absurdity and complexity). The main SNW characters – Pike, Uhura, Chin-Riley – are separated by circumstances and have their own mini-adventures on Epheska.
But the entire posse eventually gets together for a rousing showdown finale in true Western style. What I enjoyed most about this is that there are no obvious villains, just ordinary people (and aliens) making bad choices and being constrained by their own prejudices.
It is a very human outlook, at the end of the day, but it is also something Star Trek has always excelled at: showing us humanity at its worst and at its best, and attempting to steer a clear path between the two. That is the true final frontier.
March 21, 2023
This had a very busy plot and was unnecessarily complicated. It took until almost halfway through the book before the story really got going. Whilst I admire the author’s knowledge of Trek and his ability to weave in many references, I would have preferred a more exciting story instead. North Star was not a great episode of Enterprise and it didn’t deserve to be the bedrock of this book. I was not at all captivated by the cowboy stuff, Uhura’s pet fire-tribble or the spinning telepathy jewels. The politics on this world seemed very implausible also, as well as the underground prison/asylum that went unchecked and unnoticed by the planet’s population, along with so many of the insane leader’s other practices. I was left longing for some more action from/on the Enterprise to break the monotony of the dull events on the planet. These were few and far between, unfortunately. The ending was overly laboured, with every loose thread painstakingly tied up to the point where I no longer cared and was just counting down the pages to the end. Ultimately, another silly outing from JJ Miller, in my opinion. It got great reviews elsewhere, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
April 9, 2024
Das Erste, was einem an diesem Buch auffällt, ist die Aufmachung und der Umfang, hier hat CrossCult wirklich innovatives erschaffen, die Bedruckung der Schmalseiten des Buches ist wirklich neu und sehr gelungen. An einem Umfang von über 700 Seiten bei einem Star Trek-Roman, kann ich mich auch nicht erinnern.
Ich habe es wirklich genossen, diesen Roman zu lesen. Die Handlung beginnt direkt nach den ersten 10 Seiten, in der eine Crew mit Pike, Una, Spock und Uhura (das dürfte eigentlich nicht passieren, dass der Captain und der 1. Offizier mit dem Wissenschaftsoffizier gleichzeitig an einem Risikoeinsatz teilnehmen; oder?) auf einem unbekannten Planeten abstürzt, als sie auf der Suche nach einem verschwundenen Sternenflotten Schiff sind. Die Besatzung wird durch eine Nottransition durch den Transporter auf den ganzen Planeten zerstreut, während das Shuttle am Boden zerschellt.
Auf diesem Planeten existiert offenbar ein Feld, das jegliche technisch Funktion verhindert, die Geräte funktionieren nicht mehr, sie können das Schiff nicht mehr kontaktieren etc. Und das Schiff kann sie nicht mehr retten. Also alles Standard-Star-Trek-Zeug!
Aber dann baut der Autor eine wirklich raffinierte Story und Welt auf. Normalerweise wird in Star Trek jedes Mal, wenn die Charaktere einen Planeten besuchen, der gesamte Ort so dargestellt, als ob er nur eine Art von Umgebung hätte. Hoth ist überall ein Eisplanet. Endor ist überall ein Waldplanet. Fereginar ist überall ein verschlammter Planet usw. Aber hier hat dieser Planet verschiedene Biome, verschiedene Bereiche mit unterschiedlichen Funktionen. Es gibt einen Teil, der dem Wilden Westen ähnelt. Es gibt einen Teil im Eis. Es gibt einen Teil im Wald. Es gibt einen Teil in den Bergen, in dem die Elite-Herrscher leben. Es gibt Inseln. Es gibt Meere. Es gibt Ebenen voller Vulkane. Und in all diesen Teilen des Planeten findet eine angemessene Aktivität statt, die die Geschichte vorantreibt. Es ist wirklich sehr interessant und spannend, all diese Orte besuchen zu dürfen.
Und die Charaktere, die unsere Crew trifft, sind sehr detailliert. Sie fühlen sich nicht wie Nebencharaktere an. Sie sind für die Handlung von entscheidender Bedeutung. Und sie sind auch alle sympathisch. Es gibt nirgendwo in der Geschichte einen reinen Bösewicht (obwohl zwei der Charaktere kurzzeitig das Niveau kaltblütiger Schurken erreichen, bevor sie sich beruhigen). Jeder dieser Charaktere hat sorgfältig durchdachte Beweggründe für das, was er tut, sodass man sich wirklich auf seiner Seite fühlen kann. Auch wenn Sie wissen, dass Pike und Co. irgendwann die Probleme des Planeten überwinden und davonkommen werden, gibt es Konsequenzen, mit denen jeder zu kämpfen hat und die nicht leicht zu beantworten sind. Damit Pike und Co. wieder in ihr Leben zurückkehren können, MÜSSEN sie das Leben einer Reihe anderer stören. Einige wollen wieder zurück in die Zivilisation, denn auf diesem Planeten ist durch die Techno-Sperre, das „Zurück zur Natur“ gewaltsam vorgegeben, andere sind mit diesem Zustand einverstanden und verteidigen es auch mit Gewalt gegen die vermeintlichen Zerstörer einer „gottgewollten Ordnung“.
Das Tempo ist großartig. Die Handlung ist großartig. Alle Charaktere haben etwas Wichtiges zu tun. Ich habe es besonders geschätzt, Hemmer etwas Zeit zu geben, um zu glänzen, bevor er in der Serie getötet wurde (dieser Roman spielt vor Hemmers Tod in Staffel 1, Folge 9.
Alle vier sind auf einem Planeten gefangen, auf dem die Technologie nicht funktioniert. Daher fühlt sich dieses Buch wie ein Westernroman an und ist genau das Richtige für John Jackson Miller, der offenbar bereits einige Western geschrieben hat.
Dieses Buch enthält auch einige zum Nachdenken anregende Fragen zur Technologie und dazu, wie wir sie nutzen. Nein, es ist nicht kitschig, und die Art und Weise, wie es dargestellt wird, ist tatsächlich recht erfrischend. Und es gibt auch Themen darüber, was man für das Wohl der Allgemeinheit tut und ab wann es in Ordnung ist, den „freien Willen“ zu eliminieren.
Das Ende ist ein wenig unbefriedigend, nur weil alles etwas zu schnell zu Ende geht, als Pike und Co. ihr endgültiges Ziel auf dem Planeten erreichen.
Aber ansonsten war dieses Buch wirklich gut. Ich hatte viel Spaß damit. Es war eine überraschend ausführliche Erklärung der verschiedenen Teile dieser seltsamen neuen Welt, mit einer großartigen Geschichte für Pike, Una, Spock und Uhura. Pike erhält den Löwenanteil der Buchseiten wahrscheinlich etwa zwei Drittel. Fast das gesamte verbleibende Drittel ist aus Unas Perspektive, obwohl Spock und Uhura ein paar Szenen bekommen.
Zusammen mit neuen Charakteren, die einem am Herzen liegen, differenzierten Motivationen und einer Lösung mit Konsequenzen führt der Roman zu einem rundum gelungenen Auftakt der „Strange New Worlds“-Buchreihe!
Ich habe es wirklich genossen, diesen Roman zu lesen. Die Handlung beginnt direkt nach den ersten 10 Seiten, in der eine Crew mit Pike, Una, Spock und Uhura (das dürfte eigentlich nicht passieren, dass der Captain und der 1. Offizier mit dem Wissenschaftsoffizier gleichzeitig an einem Risikoeinsatz teilnehmen; oder?) auf einem unbekannten Planeten abstürzt, als sie auf der Suche nach einem verschwundenen Sternenflotten Schiff sind. Die Besatzung wird durch eine Nottransition durch den Transporter auf den ganzen Planeten zerstreut, während das Shuttle am Boden zerschellt.
Auf diesem Planeten existiert offenbar ein Feld, das jegliche technisch Funktion verhindert, die Geräte funktionieren nicht mehr, sie können das Schiff nicht mehr kontaktieren etc. Und das Schiff kann sie nicht mehr retten. Also alles Standard-Star-Trek-Zeug!
Aber dann baut der Autor eine wirklich raffinierte Story und Welt auf. Normalerweise wird in Star Trek jedes Mal, wenn die Charaktere einen Planeten besuchen, der gesamte Ort so dargestellt, als ob er nur eine Art von Umgebung hätte. Hoth ist überall ein Eisplanet. Endor ist überall ein Waldplanet. Fereginar ist überall ein verschlammter Planet usw. Aber hier hat dieser Planet verschiedene Biome, verschiedene Bereiche mit unterschiedlichen Funktionen. Es gibt einen Teil, der dem Wilden Westen ähnelt. Es gibt einen Teil im Eis. Es gibt einen Teil im Wald. Es gibt einen Teil in den Bergen, in dem die Elite-Herrscher leben. Es gibt Inseln. Es gibt Meere. Es gibt Ebenen voller Vulkane. Und in all diesen Teilen des Planeten findet eine angemessene Aktivität statt, die die Geschichte vorantreibt. Es ist wirklich sehr interessant und spannend, all diese Orte besuchen zu dürfen.
Und die Charaktere, die unsere Crew trifft, sind sehr detailliert. Sie fühlen sich nicht wie Nebencharaktere an. Sie sind für die Handlung von entscheidender Bedeutung. Und sie sind auch alle sympathisch. Es gibt nirgendwo in der Geschichte einen reinen Bösewicht (obwohl zwei der Charaktere kurzzeitig das Niveau kaltblütiger Schurken erreichen, bevor sie sich beruhigen). Jeder dieser Charaktere hat sorgfältig durchdachte Beweggründe für das, was er tut, sodass man sich wirklich auf seiner Seite fühlen kann. Auch wenn Sie wissen, dass Pike und Co. irgendwann die Probleme des Planeten überwinden und davonkommen werden, gibt es Konsequenzen, mit denen jeder zu kämpfen hat und die nicht leicht zu beantworten sind. Damit Pike und Co. wieder in ihr Leben zurückkehren können, MÜSSEN sie das Leben einer Reihe anderer stören. Einige wollen wieder zurück in die Zivilisation, denn auf diesem Planeten ist durch die Techno-Sperre, das „Zurück zur Natur“ gewaltsam vorgegeben, andere sind mit diesem Zustand einverstanden und verteidigen es auch mit Gewalt gegen die vermeintlichen Zerstörer einer „gottgewollten Ordnung“.
Das Tempo ist großartig. Die Handlung ist großartig. Alle Charaktere haben etwas Wichtiges zu tun. Ich habe es besonders geschätzt, Hemmer etwas Zeit zu geben, um zu glänzen, bevor er in der Serie getötet wurde (dieser Roman spielt vor Hemmers Tod in Staffel 1, Folge 9.
Alle vier sind auf einem Planeten gefangen, auf dem die Technologie nicht funktioniert. Daher fühlt sich dieses Buch wie ein Westernroman an und ist genau das Richtige für John Jackson Miller, der offenbar bereits einige Western geschrieben hat.
Dieses Buch enthält auch einige zum Nachdenken anregende Fragen zur Technologie und dazu, wie wir sie nutzen. Nein, es ist nicht kitschig, und die Art und Weise, wie es dargestellt wird, ist tatsächlich recht erfrischend. Und es gibt auch Themen darüber, was man für das Wohl der Allgemeinheit tut und ab wann es in Ordnung ist, den „freien Willen“ zu eliminieren.
Das Ende ist ein wenig unbefriedigend, nur weil alles etwas zu schnell zu Ende geht, als Pike und Co. ihr endgültiges Ziel auf dem Planeten erreichen.
Aber ansonsten war dieses Buch wirklich gut. Ich hatte viel Spaß damit. Es war eine überraschend ausführliche Erklärung der verschiedenen Teile dieser seltsamen neuen Welt, mit einer großartigen Geschichte für Pike, Una, Spock und Uhura. Pike erhält den Löwenanteil der Buchseiten wahrscheinlich etwa zwei Drittel. Fast das gesamte verbleibende Drittel ist aus Unas Perspektive, obwohl Spock und Uhura ein paar Szenen bekommen.
Zusammen mit neuen Charakteren, die einem am Herzen liegen, differenzierten Motivationen und einer Lösung mit Konsequenzen führt der Roman zu einem rundum gelungenen Auftakt der „Strange New Worlds“-Buchreihe!
June 1, 2023
The book has a publication date of February 21, 2023, the first episode of season 1 aired May 2022 & last episode of season 1 having appeared on July 2023. Star Trek books have a tendency to include something like "this story appears before/after x occurred". This book did not appear to have anything like that (at least not my copy). All of which to say: Regardless of what knowledge the author had or didn't have about that first season, the book appears to be set pre-Season 1 -- unlike the only other media-tie-in I've read, which was a comic series set immediately after season 1 ended.
The above is important to know if someone desires to read the first original media-tie-in novel in this universe because it has an impact on characters and story. Like, for example, the first officer is in this here book. Which would otherwise be problematic because . . . x. Oh, and I'm not going just by that inclusion of that character, the docotor also has a "special medical issue" hiding in the transporter in this book.
Right, so: four of the main characters are on a shuttle flying near a planet, the Enterprise is in the area because a civilian science mission has gone silent. Spock, Pike, Uhura, and First Officer Una are all on board the shuttle, and all but for Spock take their turn as point of view characters (along with three or more characters on Enterprise, including the chief engineer (Lieutenant Hemmer), the doctor (Dr. M'Benga), and La'an Noonien-Singh (left behind on Enterprise in command on Enterprise during the shuttle mission). Nurse Christine makes no appearance. Erica Ortegas is mentioned.
Right: Spock, Pike, Uhura, and Una Chin-Riley are on a shuttle heading towards a planet near the beginning of the book. Something from the planet interferes with their electronic systems, and the transporter can't get a good lock. Sooo . . the four end up getting transported to the planet surface, instead of back to Enterprise.
Spock's part of the story is learned, but he's basically out of the book for the first half or so. Pike wakes up in a bed in an old west type town (albiet one that has a mix of humans and aliens), and he has some adventures with the towns people. Una is stuck very high up in a tree when the story turns to her, and she ends up meeting up with a "native" of the planet. Meanwhile Uhura had been transported basically into lava. Instead of dying, she, luckily enough, is wearing an environmental suit, though she's only protected just long enough to escape the lava.
The book involves the three point of view characters learning about their circumstances, and trying to find the other members of their ship. Meanwhile most of them are very aware of and trying to obey the relatively new Prime Directive.
Bah. I can't seem to get the angle I need to write this. Mostly because I'm not sure what'd be too spoilery to mention, and what wouldn't be. Bah.
Book seemed interesting and had a good storyline/plot. Nice good book. Probably too much there for one episode. Maybe a three episode arc.
Rating: 4.25
May 31 2023
The above is important to know if someone desires to read the first original media-tie-in novel in this universe because it has an impact on characters and story. Like, for example, the first officer is in this here book. Which would otherwise be problematic because . . . x. Oh, and I'm not going just by that inclusion of that character, the docotor also has a "special medical issue" hiding in the transporter in this book.
Right, so: four of the main characters are on a shuttle flying near a planet, the Enterprise is in the area because a civilian science mission has gone silent. Spock, Pike, Uhura, and First Officer Una are all on board the shuttle, and all but for Spock take their turn as point of view characters (along with three or more characters on Enterprise, including the chief engineer (Lieutenant Hemmer), the doctor (Dr. M'Benga), and La'an Noonien-Singh (left behind on Enterprise in command on Enterprise during the shuttle mission). Nurse Christine makes no appearance. Erica Ortegas is mentioned.
Right: Spock, Pike, Uhura, and Una Chin-Riley are on a shuttle heading towards a planet near the beginning of the book. Something from the planet interferes with their electronic systems, and the transporter can't get a good lock. Sooo . . the four end up getting transported to the planet surface, instead of back to Enterprise.
Spock's part of the story is learned, but he's basically out of the book for the first half or so. Pike wakes up in a bed in an old west type town (albiet one that has a mix of humans and aliens), and he has some adventures with the towns people. Una is stuck very high up in a tree when the story turns to her, and she ends up meeting up with a "native" of the planet. Meanwhile Uhura had been transported basically into lava. Instead of dying, she, luckily enough, is wearing an environmental suit, though she's only protected just long enough to escape the lava.
The book involves the three point of view characters learning about their circumstances, and trying to find the other members of their ship. Meanwhile most of them are very aware of and trying to obey the relatively new Prime Directive.
Bah. I can't seem to get the angle I need to write this. Mostly because I'm not sure what'd be too spoilery to mention, and what wouldn't be. Bah.
Book seemed interesting and had a good storyline/plot. Nice good book. Probably too much there for one episode. Maybe a three episode arc.
Rating: 4.25
May 31 2023
March 18, 2023
I so wanted this to be better. It’s well written. And characters are on point. But the story set on a planet after a shuttle accident really just didn’t grab me at all
August 20, 2023
I’m not a huge Trek fan—I love the original series, and I’m somewhat familiar with The Next Generation and a few of the movies—but I really enjoyed the first season of Strange New Worlds. To me, it felt like exactly what Star Trek should be, and out of eight episodes in the season, only one was not good.
When I saw a Strange New Worlds novel, I didn’t have much hope that I’d love it, but I was curious to see how a novel would expand the characters I’d grown to love in the series. Predictably, the novel was not at all the “expand the characters” that I was looking for. There is something to be said for the taut, streamlined episodes of less than an hour. That’s the kind of adventure in which the characters can shine. This novel, by contrast, takes more time to read (I listened to the audiobook) and takes more days for the characters than the entire first season of the series. It’s just so, so long. And tedious. And convoluted. The story actually seems closer to a classic Doctor Who story, but even then, it’s like one of the six-episode stories where I feel that five—or even four!—episodes would have been adequate.
I found the story in The High Country very hard to follow and impossible to invest in. The new characters introduced in this book are corny, and the situation on the planet where the Enterprise crew are stranded seems completely implausible. The TV series rarely demands that I know every detail about other Star Trek series, but this book has what I assume are important connections to someone named Jonathan Archer and something he did in the past, presumably in an episode of a series I’ve never seen. Not much fun to hear people talking about Jonathan Archer and have no idea what they’re referring to, and the novel was not nearly intriguing enough to make me spend time looking around for explanations online.
At best, a Trek novel should enjoy more space and a broader canvas to consider questions of colonization and the Prime Directive that have to be sidelined or simplified in a TV episode. And The High Country has moments like that. But those good moments are overwhelmed by what I would call “frantic tediousness.” This is not a contemplative novel, but it’s also not a particularly exciting one.
The audiobook narrator puts his all into the reading, but even though he very accurately captured each character’s accent—eerily like the TV actors in some cases—I wasn’t drawn into the reading. All the female characters sounded whiny, which is exactly wrong for Una and annoying for all the others. The reading makes the book sound like an endless stream of wry quips, and that became annoying well before the end of disc 1 (of 13!).
What I learned: Strange New Worlds is great TV, but not great literature. Not a surprise. Really glad to be done with this book.
When I saw a Strange New Worlds novel, I didn’t have much hope that I’d love it, but I was curious to see how a novel would expand the characters I’d grown to love in the series. Predictably, the novel was not at all the “expand the characters” that I was looking for. There is something to be said for the taut, streamlined episodes of less than an hour. That’s the kind of adventure in which the characters can shine. This novel, by contrast, takes more time to read (I listened to the audiobook) and takes more days for the characters than the entire first season of the series. It’s just so, so long. And tedious. And convoluted. The story actually seems closer to a classic Doctor Who story, but even then, it’s like one of the six-episode stories where I feel that five—or even four!—episodes would have been adequate.
I found the story in The High Country very hard to follow and impossible to invest in. The new characters introduced in this book are corny, and the situation on the planet where the Enterprise crew are stranded seems completely implausible. The TV series rarely demands that I know every detail about other Star Trek series, but this book has what I assume are important connections to someone named Jonathan Archer and something he did in the past, presumably in an episode of a series I’ve never seen. Not much fun to hear people talking about Jonathan Archer and have no idea what they’re referring to, and the novel was not nearly intriguing enough to make me spend time looking around for explanations online.
At best, a Trek novel should enjoy more space and a broader canvas to consider questions of colonization and the Prime Directive that have to be sidelined or simplified in a TV episode. And The High Country has moments like that. But those good moments are overwhelmed by what I would call “frantic tediousness.” This is not a contemplative novel, but it’s also not a particularly exciting one.
The audiobook narrator puts his all into the reading, but even though he very accurately captured each character’s accent—eerily like the TV actors in some cases—I wasn’t drawn into the reading. All the female characters sounded whiny, which is exactly wrong for Una and annoying for all the others. The reading makes the book sound like an endless stream of wry quips, and that became annoying well before the end of disc 1 (of 13!).
What I learned: Strange New Worlds is great TV, but not great literature. Not a surprise. Really glad to be done with this book.
June 15, 2023
3.5 stars, rounded up
The plot was a bit cliché and some of the dialogue was corny, but I have to admit this was a lot of fun!
The plot was a bit cliché and some of the dialogue was corny, but I have to admit this was a lot of fun!
February 11, 2023
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The High Country by John Jackson Miller.
First, I would like to thank Gallery Books for providing me with a review copy of this book.
Lastly, there are spoilers in this review.
By the end of the first page, I saw that Jackson Miller had an absolute grasp on these characters. In a few words, he nailed them in tone and context.
The book starts out on a familiar trope, Captain Pike, First Officer Una Chin-Riley, Lieutenant Spock and cadet Uhura are aboard a shuttlecraft on an exploratory mission to the Planet Epheska when their shuttle goes dead, has no power and is about to crash.
Chief engineer Hemmer is able to beam them off of the shuttle, but with the interference from the planet below, he can only get a lock on the crew one member at a time. They get into environmental suits and wait to be beamed off.
Pike materialized on a homestead on the planet where he is taken in by a man named Joe and his daughter Jennie.
Number One materializes in a forest with the backpack on her environmental suit merged into a tree high off of the ground. She cuts herself free, is confronted by animals, and is met by a mountain man, who hasn’t seen a bath in months, named Celarius. She later finds out that he’s a prince, son to the ruling General, Drayko, whom we find out even later he’s the number one jerk on the planet.
Spock materialized underwater, while Uhura materialized in a lava flow. (We don’t hear from Uhura again until page 133, and Spock on page 155.
The early chapters are 2/3rd Pike meeting and interacting with the people of the planet who are among many races from various planets. The other 3rd is Number One being rescued by Celarius.
Pike soon discovers that the planet’s culture is based on the Wild West. Only primitive machines are allowed and NO technology is permitted.
Upon discovery, he finds that the race known as the Skagaren is behind what’s going on. They abducted alien races from all across the universe, literally carving entire settlements and towns out of their planet and transporting them to Epheska to begin a new life under their benevolent dictatorship.
They have a baffle around the planet that won’t allow technology or even large machinery to operate. It’s also responsible for the shuttlecraft crash, as well as many others.
Pike runs into an old school friend, Lila Talley whom he grew up with and she’s one of the most recent abductions. Pike discovers, all too late that his former bestie has changed and is totally on board with the Skagarens and their lifestyle, even serving as a warden for them.
Number One makes it to Celarius’s city where he’s spit-polished and she finds out that he’s the heir to the throne.
Celarius has massive airships (that his dad allows) and he takes Number One on a voyage to find Uhura. They do and she’s protectively guarding a lantern with a red and sometimes blue, or even an orange flame burning inside, depending on Uhura’s feelings.
I should probably let it known that the fireball is a sentient creature that Uhura decides to call an empatherm, and she names hers Empy and has become very protective over it after it sensed her need and protected her on her travels until Number One found her.
The Empatherm’s as Uhura calls them, are sentient creatures known as the sah’ree and are being controlled by the Skagarens and their boot-licking yes-man, Drayko.
Celarius is smitten with Number One (because that’s also part of the trope) and when his dad Drayko finds out she’s a Human, she winds up in his crosshairs, and it’s up to her new BF to step up and be imprisoned with her as a protest to his naughty papa’s actions.
Eventually, Uhura finds out where they are being held and convinces Empy to melt the grate in the ceiling, allowing all to leave.
Along the way, they discover a group of Vulcans that had been there for 100 years and are sailing the seas in large ships. By doing so, they’ve kept off of Drayko’s radar.
Soon, Hemmer is landed on the planet through an ejection pod and parachuted to the surface, along with several support structures and other parts that have been stripped from the Enterprise and dropped to the planet.
Hemmer then takes the pieces stripped from Enterprise and uses them to rebuild the Vulcan sailing ship to be able to cut through an ice shelf, for…reasons…
There are over a thousand orbs that allow one to communicate with others, control the empatherms, and perform other nefarious deeds. The one orb that controls them all is discovered. Now it’s a race against time as Pike assembles his new crew of various aliens ripped from their planet to get to this orb before Drayko does.
In the end, good guys win, bad guys lose… because… tropes.
Also, when the Vulcans are returned home to Vulcan, the planet’s inhabitants (The OG Vulcans that never left) were for whatever reason, speaking in Old English, (Shakesperean) language, throwing thee and thy all over the place.
At first, as I read it, I noticed that I wasn’t reading this book as fast as I usually do, upon closer examination, I discovered that you’ll definitely need your readers for this one. A book font is usually 11 points with a Calibri or similar font, which is easy on the eyes and there are traditionally 32 lines of text per page.
This book is in an 8-point font of Times New Roman or similar, which does not lend itself to free-flowing reading, as well as there are 40 lines of text per page. I’m not sure why this decision was made, but I can only assume that there was a page limit to publish this book and so a smaller font, more lines per page was used.
This means that for every 4 pages read, in a traditional book, it would be 5 pages. So, this book is 371 pages, but if it was traditionally formatted, it would run 463 pages. So keep that in mind.
Also, the writer jumps around on the character names. Number One (Which she’ll always be to be as I’m only three years younger than TOS) Sometimes he refers to her as Una, others as Chin-Riley, and yet other times as Una Chin-Riley.
Pike is referred to as Pike, Chris, Christopher, or Christopher Pike.
Uhua is Uhura, Nyota Uhura or Nyota.
I find it frustrating as a reader to have so many different identifiers for a character. Just stick with Pike, Uhura, and Spock, and for the love of all that is Trek, Number One!
The Vulcans speaking in ancient Earth English made no sense whatsoever and broke the mold for Vulcans.
These are just little niggles that infuriate my righteous writer and editor’s soul. It’s probably just me and a handful of others that this will irk.
The story followed a format that many Trek books have ‘gone’ before in doing. Some of the chapters involving Pike and Number One could have been deleted as they didn’t add much to the book except for the final page count.
The story was well written, if predictable. The characters were depicted accurately.
I give it four out of five stars, only because of the irritating item I described above, which kept pulling me out of the book as I groaned over and over.
Still, this book is highly enjoyable and will sit proudly on your shelf.
First, I would like to thank Gallery Books for providing me with a review copy of this book.
Lastly, there are spoilers in this review.
By the end of the first page, I saw that Jackson Miller had an absolute grasp on these characters. In a few words, he nailed them in tone and context.
The book starts out on a familiar trope, Captain Pike, First Officer Una Chin-Riley, Lieutenant Spock and cadet Uhura are aboard a shuttlecraft on an exploratory mission to the Planet Epheska when their shuttle goes dead, has no power and is about to crash.
Chief engineer Hemmer is able to beam them off of the shuttle, but with the interference from the planet below, he can only get a lock on the crew one member at a time. They get into environmental suits and wait to be beamed off.
Pike materialized on a homestead on the planet where he is taken in by a man named Joe and his daughter Jennie.
Number One materializes in a forest with the backpack on her environmental suit merged into a tree high off of the ground. She cuts herself free, is confronted by animals, and is met by a mountain man, who hasn’t seen a bath in months, named Celarius. She later finds out that he’s a prince, son to the ruling General, Drayko, whom we find out even later he’s the number one jerk on the planet.
Spock materialized underwater, while Uhura materialized in a lava flow. (We don’t hear from Uhura again until page 133, and Spock on page 155.
The early chapters are 2/3rd Pike meeting and interacting with the people of the planet who are among many races from various planets. The other 3rd is Number One being rescued by Celarius.
Pike soon discovers that the planet’s culture is based on the Wild West. Only primitive machines are allowed and NO technology is permitted.
Upon discovery, he finds that the race known as the Skagaren is behind what’s going on. They abducted alien races from all across the universe, literally carving entire settlements and towns out of their planet and transporting them to Epheska to begin a new life under their benevolent dictatorship.
They have a baffle around the planet that won’t allow technology or even large machinery to operate. It’s also responsible for the shuttlecraft crash, as well as many others.
Pike runs into an old school friend, Lila Talley whom he grew up with and she’s one of the most recent abductions. Pike discovers, all too late that his former bestie has changed and is totally on board with the Skagarens and their lifestyle, even serving as a warden for them.
Number One makes it to Celarius’s city where he’s spit-polished and she finds out that he’s the heir to the throne.
Celarius has massive airships (that his dad allows) and he takes Number One on a voyage to find Uhura. They do and she’s protectively guarding a lantern with a red and sometimes blue, or even an orange flame burning inside, depending on Uhura’s feelings.
I should probably let it known that the fireball is a sentient creature that Uhura decides to call an empatherm, and she names hers Empy and has become very protective over it after it sensed her need and protected her on her travels until Number One found her.
The Empatherm’s as Uhura calls them, are sentient creatures known as the sah’ree and are being controlled by the Skagarens and their boot-licking yes-man, Drayko.
Celarius is smitten with Number One (because that’s also part of the trope) and when his dad Drayko finds out she’s a Human, she winds up in his crosshairs, and it’s up to her new BF to step up and be imprisoned with her as a protest to his naughty papa’s actions.
Eventually, Uhura finds out where they are being held and convinces Empy to melt the grate in the ceiling, allowing all to leave.
Along the way, they discover a group of Vulcans that had been there for 100 years and are sailing the seas in large ships. By doing so, they’ve kept off of Drayko’s radar.
Soon, Hemmer is landed on the planet through an ejection pod and parachuted to the surface, along with several support structures and other parts that have been stripped from the Enterprise and dropped to the planet.
Hemmer then takes the pieces stripped from Enterprise and uses them to rebuild the Vulcan sailing ship to be able to cut through an ice shelf, for…reasons…
There are over a thousand orbs that allow one to communicate with others, control the empatherms, and perform other nefarious deeds. The one orb that controls them all is discovered. Now it’s a race against time as Pike assembles his new crew of various aliens ripped from their planet to get to this orb before Drayko does.
In the end, good guys win, bad guys lose… because… tropes.
Also, when the Vulcans are returned home to Vulcan, the planet’s inhabitants (The OG Vulcans that never left) were for whatever reason, speaking in Old English, (Shakesperean) language, throwing thee and thy all over the place.
At first, as I read it, I noticed that I wasn’t reading this book as fast as I usually do, upon closer examination, I discovered that you’ll definitely need your readers for this one. A book font is usually 11 points with a Calibri or similar font, which is easy on the eyes and there are traditionally 32 lines of text per page.
This book is in an 8-point font of Times New Roman or similar, which does not lend itself to free-flowing reading, as well as there are 40 lines of text per page. I’m not sure why this decision was made, but I can only assume that there was a page limit to publish this book and so a smaller font, more lines per page was used.
This means that for every 4 pages read, in a traditional book, it would be 5 pages. So, this book is 371 pages, but if it was traditionally formatted, it would run 463 pages. So keep that in mind.
Also, the writer jumps around on the character names. Number One (Which she’ll always be to be as I’m only three years younger than TOS) Sometimes he refers to her as Una, others as Chin-Riley, and yet other times as Una Chin-Riley.
Pike is referred to as Pike, Chris, Christopher, or Christopher Pike.
Uhua is Uhura, Nyota Uhura or Nyota.
I find it frustrating as a reader to have so many different identifiers for a character. Just stick with Pike, Uhura, and Spock, and for the love of all that is Trek, Number One!
The Vulcans speaking in ancient Earth English made no sense whatsoever and broke the mold for Vulcans.
These are just little niggles that infuriate my righteous writer and editor’s soul. It’s probably just me and a handful of others that this will irk.
The story followed a format that many Trek books have ‘gone’ before in doing. Some of the chapters involving Pike and Number One could have been deleted as they didn’t add much to the book except for the final page count.
The story was well written, if predictable. The characters were depicted accurately.
I give it four out of five stars, only because of the irritating item I described above, which kept pulling me out of the book as I groaned over and over.
Still, this book is highly enjoyable and will sit proudly on your shelf.
April 14, 2023
Before the famous five-year mission, but still exploring strange new worlds the USS Enterprise finds a world where the laws of physics don’t work and strands four of the crew including Captain Christopher Pike on the surface in this first tie-in novel for the newest live action Star Trek series. The High Country by John Jackson Miller takes place late in the first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as Captain Pike, Number One, Spock, and Cadet Uhara are trapped on the planet Epheska on which no electricity works.
During a search for a missing vessel and testing a new type of shuttlecraft, Pike and crew encounter a planet in which the laws of physics appear to not apply and need to be transported to the surface of the planet as the shuttle crashes. Separated on the planet, the four crew members each encounter elements of the mysterious culture of numerous species including humans that were abducted from their home planets and deposited there to live on a planet that can’t have electronics to create the perfect society. Inevitably the crew of the Enterprise find out not everything is as it seems as Pike finds those who want to create machines, Spock eventually finds Vulcans who are the perfect society’s scourge in their independence from “the system”, Number One finds herself amongst the society’s leadership, and Uhara ultimately finds the reason what’s happening with the planet’s physics. The overall narrative and the Enterprise character depictions from Strange New Worlds are top notch, however the book does go into cliché with the society’s leader depiction slowly sliding towards authoritarian after apparently benign introduction and a childhood friend of Pike’s from current Earth who is on the planet and turns out to be a villain with a tragic past. Yet it was a fun, engaging read that made me satisfied with picking it up.
The High Country is the first of hopefully many tie-in novels connected with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as John Jackson Miller not only gets the vibe of the show and the characters but puts together a good story.
During a search for a missing vessel and testing a new type of shuttlecraft, Pike and crew encounter a planet in which the laws of physics appear to not apply and need to be transported to the surface of the planet as the shuttle crashes. Separated on the planet, the four crew members each encounter elements of the mysterious culture of numerous species including humans that were abducted from their home planets and deposited there to live on a planet that can’t have electronics to create the perfect society. Inevitably the crew of the Enterprise find out not everything is as it seems as Pike finds those who want to create machines, Spock eventually finds Vulcans who are the perfect society’s scourge in their independence from “the system”, Number One finds herself amongst the society’s leadership, and Uhara ultimately finds the reason what’s happening with the planet’s physics. The overall narrative and the Enterprise character depictions from Strange New Worlds are top notch, however the book does go into cliché with the society’s leader depiction slowly sliding towards authoritarian after apparently benign introduction and a childhood friend of Pike’s from current Earth who is on the planet and turns out to be a villain with a tragic past. Yet it was a fun, engaging read that made me satisfied with picking it up.
The High Country is the first of hopefully many tie-in novels connected with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as John Jackson Miller not only gets the vibe of the show and the characters but puts together a good story.
March 2, 2023
Strange New Worlds: The High Country is a pretty darn good Star Trek novel. I’m a huge fan of Star Trek TV series and movies, but I don’t read a lot of the books. I’d say I’ve found more of them to be disappointing than satisfactory.
This is the first book in the Strange New World series and I enjoyed it. Author John Jackson Miller does a good job of presenting the new crew of the old Enterprise. The characters we see most are Captain Pike, Lieutenant Spock, Lieutenant Commander Chin-Riley, and Ensign Uhura. The best parts of the novel are when two or more of them are interacting. My one complaint about the book is that there is an overly long stretch when they are separated, and we spend way too much time watching Captain Pike build towers and ride horses and cowboy it up while trying to get along with the local people (who we don’t know and will probably never see again). Yawn.
The book opens with the four mentioned above in an experimental shuttle. It’s quite a stretch to have Pike AND Number One AND Spock all leave the Enterprise at the same time, but the author does the best job he can explaining that away. I love Uhura on the new show; the actor is terrific, and the author of this book does a good job capturing how Uhura is portrayed. She has a wonderful storyline with a new species that involves some creative communicating. It really spotlights what Uhura brings to the table.
The plot is complicated and has a lot of throwbacks to previous Star Trek incidents. Many of the plot devices are familiar ones; I would have liked a bit more originality in terms of how the species running the planet behaves behind the scenes. But overall, I felt the novel did a good job portraying the characters we know from the series. There’s a good chance I will read a second Strange New Worlds novel.
This is the first book in the Strange New World series and I enjoyed it. Author John Jackson Miller does a good job of presenting the new crew of the old Enterprise. The characters we see most are Captain Pike, Lieutenant Spock, Lieutenant Commander Chin-Riley, and Ensign Uhura. The best parts of the novel are when two or more of them are interacting. My one complaint about the book is that there is an overly long stretch when they are separated, and we spend way too much time watching Captain Pike build towers and ride horses and cowboy it up while trying to get along with the local people (who we don’t know and will probably never see again). Yawn.
The book opens with the four mentioned above in an experimental shuttle. It’s quite a stretch to have Pike AND Number One AND Spock all leave the Enterprise at the same time, but the author does the best job he can explaining that away. I love Uhura on the new show; the actor is terrific, and the author of this book does a good job capturing how Uhura is portrayed. She has a wonderful storyline with a new species that involves some creative communicating. It really spotlights what Uhura brings to the table.
The plot is complicated and has a lot of throwbacks to previous Star Trek incidents. Many of the plot devices are familiar ones; I would have liked a bit more originality in terms of how the species running the planet behaves behind the scenes. But overall, I felt the novel did a good job portraying the characters we know from the series. There’s a good chance I will read a second Strange New Worlds novel.
March 1, 2023
Finished reading this epic adventure today and then spoke with the author, John Jackson Miller, for the next episode of Literary Treks!
What a perfect start to the SNW novels! Couldn’t recommend this highly enough!
What a perfect start to the SNW novels! Couldn’t recommend this highly enough!
September 27, 2023
An excellent story for the first tie in novel for Strange New Worlds.
February 25, 2023
A routine test run of a new shuttle craft goes awry, causing Pike, Chin-Riley, Spock and Uhura to become stranded on a planet where technological advances meet with swift repercussions from the Skagarans: a race who Captain Archer discovered had previously transplanted humans to the North Star colony in the Delphic Expanse.
The 'Enterprise' cannot approach the planet without suffering electronic interference and the crew must use all their skill to effect a rescue while Pike must organise a rebellion to help a group of free thinkers escape this harsh regime.
Miller's novel works well on many levels. He focuses on Pike and doesn't try to spread the plot across all of the main characters from the series, but almost everyone has a part to play in the resolution.* The five act structure follows closely the template for episodic writing, but this is a story that belongs in a book. There is an epic feel that could not be conveyed on screen properly. The real achievement is that the motivations of the antagonists are clearly set out, following an internal logic that is consistent and with clear reasons for their behaviours. The antagonists are the heroes of their own version of the story, where Pike and crew threaten their well being.
* Sadly, Nuse Chapel is completely absent from this novel.
The 'Enterprise' cannot approach the planet without suffering electronic interference and the crew must use all their skill to effect a rescue while Pike must organise a rebellion to help a group of free thinkers escape this harsh regime.
Miller's novel works well on many levels. He focuses on Pike and doesn't try to spread the plot across all of the main characters from the series, but almost everyone has a part to play in the resolution.* The five act structure follows closely the template for episodic writing, but this is a story that belongs in a book. There is an epic feel that could not be conveyed on screen properly. The real achievement is that the motivations of the antagonists are clearly set out, following an internal logic that is consistent and with clear reasons for their behaviours. The antagonists are the heroes of their own version of the story, where Pike and crew threaten their well being.
* Sadly, Nuse Chapel is completely absent from this novel.
April 18, 2023
Humour from the start, fast paced,l full adventure and action!
August 12, 2023
I was sceptical about returning to Skag country, but as often the story here is much better than the one we had on screen.
October 15, 2023
I've been enjoying reading John Jackson Miller's Star Trek novels. This one, like the others, displays not only a knowledge and love of the property and characters, but also the ability to craft stories that both expand on existing concepts and flow from the characters rather than forcing the characters into actions to service the plot.
This story connects to an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, but is not reliant on having seen that show (as I can attest, only recently having watched the episode). There's an irony in a story from a Star Trek prequel series relying on and referencing an earlier Star Trek prequel, but it also seems appropriate and feels like it cements the place of both in the greater Star Trek canon.
As for the story itself, it's an enjoyable romp, starting out as a traditional Trek stranger in a strange land tale, then ironically taking the Trek concept full circle back to Wagon Train. It strips the visual and technological trappings of Trek away to more fully focus on the characters and philosophies, ultimately delivering in the best Trek manner.
This story connects to an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, but is not reliant on having seen that show (as I can attest, only recently having watched the episode). There's an irony in a story from a Star Trek prequel series relying on and referencing an earlier Star Trek prequel, but it also seems appropriate and feels like it cements the place of both in the greater Star Trek canon.
As for the story itself, it's an enjoyable romp, starting out as a traditional Trek stranger in a strange land tale, then ironically taking the Trek concept full circle back to Wagon Train. It strips the visual and technological trappings of Trek away to more fully focus on the characters and philosophies, ultimately delivering in the best Trek manner.
March 12, 2023
I read a lot less media tie-in books these days. Mostly, it's just because there's so much I want to read. So reading stories about characters I can watch in another media feels like an indulgence, it that makes any sense. Plus, a lot of tie-in books can be well done but ultimately feel a little light on substance.
All that being said, I love Strange New Worlds, and the characters we've gotten to know over the first series. So, I snapped this right up, eager for another story with this crew. If you're looking forward to seeing the great chemistry of the cast on display sparking off one another you're... uh, not going to get much of that. Not because Miller doesn't write the characters well. Just the opposite, when they do get to interact, or just the time we spend in their heads here, they all feel on-point. I'm excited for Miller to write another SNW book with the full crew for that reason. In this book, however, the crew is splintered early on. It's mostly a Pike book, with Number One and Uhura getting secondary spotlights. This is not a bad thing.
Getting Pike back up on a horse and leaning into the "Wagon Train to the Stairs" roots of Star Trek makes sense for the first book (of what I hope are many!) and Miller plonks the crew in a situation with no easy answers. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and world of Epheska. It's an intriguing premise, building off Trek history in a fun way, and allows Miller to give the adventure a large globe-trotting scope.
The scope maybe gets a little too big toward the end, as character-work (and characters we've gotten to know well) get a little pushed into the background so that the mechanics of the story can clatter toward resolution. There's a sense this almost could have been a two-book story, as we're told about very exciting things after they happened a couple times. All that being said, I'd rather a book be too ambitious versus playing it safe, and I thought it was an incredibly fun ride. I remember, as a kid, reading the first TNG original novel (Ghost Ship) and being so excited to read more adventures of the characters that had come to mean so much to me so quickly. The High Country did that for me again.
All that being said, I love Strange New Worlds, and the characters we've gotten to know over the first series. So, I snapped this right up, eager for another story with this crew. If you're looking forward to seeing the great chemistry of the cast on display sparking off one another you're... uh, not going to get much of that. Not because Miller doesn't write the characters well. Just the opposite, when they do get to interact, or just the time we spend in their heads here, they all feel on-point. I'm excited for Miller to write another SNW book with the full crew for that reason. In this book, however, the crew is splintered early on. It's mostly a Pike book, with Number One and Uhura getting secondary spotlights. This is not a bad thing.
Getting Pike back up on a horse and leaning into the "Wagon Train to the Stairs" roots of Star Trek makes sense for the first book (of what I hope are many!) and Miller plonks the crew in a situation with no easy answers. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and world of Epheska. It's an intriguing premise, building off Trek history in a fun way, and allows Miller to give the adventure a large globe-trotting scope.
The scope maybe gets a little too big toward the end, as character-work (and characters we've gotten to know well) get a little pushed into the background so that the mechanics of the story can clatter toward resolution. There's a sense this almost could have been a two-book story, as we're told about very exciting things after they happened a couple times. All that being said, I'd rather a book be too ambitious versus playing it safe, and I thought it was an incredibly fun ride. I remember, as a kid, reading the first TNG original novel (Ghost Ship) and being so excited to read more adventures of the characters that had come to mean so much to me so quickly. The High Country did that for me again.
May 22, 2024
[3.5/5] Overlong and overcomplicated, but the core story in here is fun. We are introduced to a planet with various cultures and environments and it's difficult to keep track of them. The book takes it's launching point from an episode of Enterprise, 'North Star', which I coincidentally ended up watching only a couple of weeks before I started reading.
It's good that the characters feel true to their TV counterparts, because they keep things grounded amidst the messy storytelling. I wish that the book had been more evenly split between them. This is largely a Pike and Una story, with Spock and Uhura getting some look in along the way. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew of the Enterprise are kept off-screen for 90% of the tale, a choice which didn't work for me. I wanted to be on the ship and away from this increasingly uninteresting planet.
If you asked me to recap the story, I'm not sure I could. There are a lot of moving parts to it, a lot of things which just washed over me, a lot of characters who come and go and don't leave enough of an impression. We get to read a lot about a very bland and repetitive antagonist and far less about the more rounded characters (Lila, Jennie, Joe, the horses).
Yet I enjoyed the concept. Strange New Worlds and Captain Pike feel ready made for a Western adventure and this dives into it with enthusiasm. I think I just prefer things to have more focus.
Also, every time the phrase "the nodal rondure" appeared, all I could think of was "the rural juror".
It's good that the characters feel true to their TV counterparts, because they keep things grounded amidst the messy storytelling. I wish that the book had been more evenly split between them. This is largely a Pike and Una story, with Spock and Uhura getting some look in along the way. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew of the Enterprise are kept off-screen for 90% of the tale, a choice which didn't work for me. I wanted to be on the ship and away from this increasingly uninteresting planet.
If you asked me to recap the story, I'm not sure I could. There are a lot of moving parts to it, a lot of things which just washed over me, a lot of characters who come and go and don't leave enough of an impression. We get to read a lot about a very bland and repetitive antagonist and far less about the more rounded characters (Lila, Jennie, Joe, the horses).
Yet I enjoyed the concept. Strange New Worlds and Captain Pike feel ready made for a Western adventure and this dives into it with enthusiasm. I think I just prefer things to have more focus.
Also, every time the phrase "the nodal rondure" appeared, all I could think of was "the rural juror".
June 5, 2023
Over the decades I've read many, many Star Trek tie-in novels. I grew up on Diane Duane and Vonda McIntyre, so I guess my bar for a successful one is pretty high. This wasn't one of them, unfortunately. The plot is a well known one, in fact there are several ST episodes dealing with a mix of Earth's past and forces keeping the population in ignorance about their true origin and situation, "for their own good." This was in my opinion overly long and drab. We've long been aware of what is going on, and yet the ending drags and drags, and the characters go through multiple hoops and loops for no seeming reason, and the wrapping up of lose ends I never even knew were there seemed to never end. I can't remember what any of the characters chose to do, or why, and it's a little sad when you leave a book feeling no interest in any of the characters at all. Were the Strange New Worlds cast in character here? I suppose so, but I greatly missed the humor from the tv series. Overall a very mediocre experience.
April 2, 2023
So many people give Star Trek books 4/5 stars that I feel like I must be missing the point. I am a life long Star Trek fan and I do read all the books, though at this point I’m not sure why. All the various series seem to do at least one episode set on a planet stuck in earth’s past. These are among my least favorite episodes for whatever reason. Therefore I did not particularly care for this book. Also I do not mind long books but for this story, it did not need to be this long. Honestly the various explanations and resolutions confused me a bit as well. There definitely was too much reliance on an Enterprise episode that I barely remember. ( Ironically I just rewatched that series last year and still barely remember that episode).
On the positive side, I think the characters were very true to the TV series.
Unless you are a completist like me, I think you can safely skip this one.
On the positive side, I think the characters were very true to the TV series.
Unless you are a completist like me, I think you can safely skip this one.
June 19, 2023
Why oh why did you do this, John Jackson Miller? Why did you not only write a space western -- my least favourite thing ever -- but one that is a semi-sequel to an "Enterprise" episode that is just terrible? You did it because you seem to like this genre...unfortunately I loathe this genre, so aside from your command of the regular characters, this is a book that doesn't work for me in any way. As the first Strange New Worlds novel...that makes me sad.
April 8, 2023
Characterization is on point for this new crew (although, I really wish we could have spent more time with more of this new crew) but the story was teeeeeedious as hell.
December 12, 2024
Pike, Uhura, Una, and Spock are stuck on a planet set up to be old fashioned by an alien race, where thousands of other kidnapped people from different species have been living for hundreds of years. All is not as it seems. Dropped unceremoniously in separate places they must survive and find each other, and each discovers something new or old, new relationships and old, and discover the nasty secrets of this idealised place. The Enterprise loiters near, but a localised laws of physics abnormality prevents normal kinds of help. It turns out the secrets are multi level, the galaxy is at risk, and the crew must save life as we know it.
Some nice background of Pike, Una gets a flirtation, and Hammer drops in to do engineering awesomeness. Uhura shows her survival skills and has a first contact. There is action, good character development and a fair bit of horse riding. A solid bit of storytelling, with interesting alien tech and some nice twists. Everything gets wrapped up nicely at the end, which is maybe a bit too much like an episode but actually now I think on it, there’s a couple of questions about the aliens…
Enjoyable, with a lot packed in, but it works well. Nothing particular to fault, except perhaps we don’t hear much about Spock for much of the book, but this comes to make sense. If Pike has another hobby than horse riding maybe we can hear about that sometime.
Some nice background of Pike, Una gets a flirtation, and Hammer drops in to do engineering awesomeness. Uhura shows her survival skills and has a first contact. There is action, good character development and a fair bit of horse riding. A solid bit of storytelling, with interesting alien tech and some nice twists. Everything gets wrapped up nicely at the end, which is maybe a bit too much like an episode but actually now I think on it, there’s a couple of questions about the aliens…
Enjoyable, with a lot packed in, but it works well. Nothing particular to fault, except perhaps we don’t hear much about Spock for much of the book, but this comes to make sense. If Pike has another hobby than horse riding maybe we can hear about that sometime.
August 10, 2024
Didn’t Enjoy
I want to preface this review by saying firstly I really like JJM as an author and he’s done some terrific work. This book references an episode of Enterprise which was easily one of my least favorites and is a trope of Trek that I’m beyond tired of (dumping a humanity of the future into our past) so it was a fair bet I wasn’t going to like this book and sure enough I didn’t. I thought it was really boring and dragged on WAY too long. It didn’t get going till about 3/4 of the way through and I’m almost DNF’d it. I didn’t feel like the characters were fleshed out well and it seemed like characters moved around this world with no explanation and unfortunately it was a very frustrating experience.
I want to preface this review by saying firstly I really like JJM as an author and he’s done some terrific work. This book references an episode of Enterprise which was easily one of my least favorites and is a trope of Trek that I’m beyond tired of (dumping a humanity of the future into our past) so it was a fair bet I wasn’t going to like this book and sure enough I didn’t. I thought it was really boring and dragged on WAY too long. It didn’t get going till about 3/4 of the way through and I’m almost DNF’d it. I didn’t feel like the characters were fleshed out well and it seemed like characters moved around this world with no explanation and unfortunately it was a very frustrating experience.
July 10, 2023
I think Star Trek is better watched than read…
March 11, 2023
The first Star Trek book set in the universe of Strange New Worlds gets off to a fast start with The High Country by John Jackson Miller. Captain Pike, along with Spock, cadet Uhura and Number One, Una Chin-Riley, is testing an experimental shuttlecraft while searching the last known location of a civilian Federation ship that went missing a year earlier near a planet with a pre-warp society.
As they attempt to take a closer look, the systems on the shuttle begin to fail, sending them hurtling toward the planet on a crash course. An assist from the Enterprise gets them off the shuttle but leaves the four crewmembers scattered in different parts of the planet. The Enterprise is frustrated in its attempts to return as the same energy field that crashed the shuttle threatens to do the same to them.
Una finds herself stranded in the wilderness, Uhura in a volcanic wasteland, Spock lands in the water and Pike winds up near a settlement filled with mostly humans. Sophisticated technology won't operate on the planet and technology of any sort is not allowed, either by the ruling Skagarans or the mysterious fire creatures who are apt to descend from the sky and destroy it.
The first half of the novel is primarily focused on Pike and Una, as she makes her way to civilization and Pike learns the ways of the settlement that shares some similarities with the old west. In typical Star Trek fashion, idyllic settings are seldom truly idyllic, the motivations which brought people from other worlds to this planet may or may not be benign, and dangerous secrets threaten not only the planet but the federation and worlds beyond.
Once Pike gets a feel for the situation, he leads a group of people who resent the technological restrictions placed on them on a quest to find a way off the planet and prevent disaster from striking. "It's a wagon train to outer space!", as he describes it, in a nice nod to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's original description of the show. At this point, the pace and the action really start to pick up. Pike leads his ragtag group toward the sea, while Una is learning more secrets about how the world came to be as it is. Uhura and Spock reappear with crucial roles to fill and information that further informs some of the darker aspects of life on the planet. The Enterprise, meanwhile, continues to search for ways to rescue their stranded crewmembers and provide what scant assistance they can while doing their best to follow the prime directive.
The action remains tense as the opposing factions rush together. A thrilling chase over land, sea, and ice leads to a final confrontation that could lead to either triumph or unimaginable disaster. John Jackson Miller has demonstrated in the past that he has a firm grasp on Star Trek characters and he does so again here with the characters from Strange New Worlds. He creates new characters which are likewise fascinating. He also throws inventive scientific concepts into the mix and devises an intriguing and perplexing mystery.
I have enjoyed Star Trek novels since first reading James Blish's novelizations of the original series episodes. Miller has a grasp on these characters that takes me back to the thrill I felt when first reading those Blish books. Miller's take on this universe is sure to entertain fans of Star Trek in any of its iterations.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.
As they attempt to take a closer look, the systems on the shuttle begin to fail, sending them hurtling toward the planet on a crash course. An assist from the Enterprise gets them off the shuttle but leaves the four crewmembers scattered in different parts of the planet. The Enterprise is frustrated in its attempts to return as the same energy field that crashed the shuttle threatens to do the same to them.
Una finds herself stranded in the wilderness, Uhura in a volcanic wasteland, Spock lands in the water and Pike winds up near a settlement filled with mostly humans. Sophisticated technology won't operate on the planet and technology of any sort is not allowed, either by the ruling Skagarans or the mysterious fire creatures who are apt to descend from the sky and destroy it.
The first half of the novel is primarily focused on Pike and Una, as she makes her way to civilization and Pike learns the ways of the settlement that shares some similarities with the old west. In typical Star Trek fashion, idyllic settings are seldom truly idyllic, the motivations which brought people from other worlds to this planet may or may not be benign, and dangerous secrets threaten not only the planet but the federation and worlds beyond.
Once Pike gets a feel for the situation, he leads a group of people who resent the technological restrictions placed on them on a quest to find a way off the planet and prevent disaster from striking. "It's a wagon train to outer space!", as he describes it, in a nice nod to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's original description of the show. At this point, the pace and the action really start to pick up. Pike leads his ragtag group toward the sea, while Una is learning more secrets about how the world came to be as it is. Uhura and Spock reappear with crucial roles to fill and information that further informs some of the darker aspects of life on the planet. The Enterprise, meanwhile, continues to search for ways to rescue their stranded crewmembers and provide what scant assistance they can while doing their best to follow the prime directive.
The action remains tense as the opposing factions rush together. A thrilling chase over land, sea, and ice leads to a final confrontation that could lead to either triumph or unimaginable disaster. John Jackson Miller has demonstrated in the past that he has a firm grasp on Star Trek characters and he does so again here with the characters from Strange New Worlds. He creates new characters which are likewise fascinating. He also throws inventive scientific concepts into the mix and devises an intriguing and perplexing mystery.
I have enjoyed Star Trek novels since first reading James Blish's novelizations of the original series episodes. Miller has a grasp on these characters that takes me back to the thrill I felt when first reading those Blish books. Miller's take on this universe is sure to entertain fans of Star Trek in any of its iterations.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.
March 3, 2023
Nested between episodes of the first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, this novel, "The High Country" by John Jackson Miller has the crew of the Enterprise following the travels of an exploration vessel that disappeared near a nebula, only to find themselves almost trapped near an inhabited planet.
Based as a follow up of "North Star", an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, they attempt to follow the missing vessel only to find the landing party shuttle crashing down after they lost all electrical equipment. And so it is that Captain Christopher Pike, Spock, Uhura and Una Chin-Riley are scattered through the planet.
What they find is an enormous planet housing a pre-industrial civilization, resembling Earth's old West. Technological progress has stalled, but not out of the population's volition, but through the enactment of anti-invention policies, and the apparition of a strange fire that only burns any clever artifact that tries to circumvent those edicts.
The crew, each one encountering a different faction, or portion of the civilization, will collide in a grand revelation that could destroy not only the Enterprise above the planet, but also all civilizations nearby.
Miller weaves a great tale, with enough action, suspense and a grasp of politics that made this a page turner. It's probably one of my favorite Star Trek novels in recent years, and of course, now I want the new season available as soon as possible. One of my highest recommendations!
Based as a follow up of "North Star", an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, they attempt to follow the missing vessel only to find the landing party shuttle crashing down after they lost all electrical equipment. And so it is that Captain Christopher Pike, Spock, Uhura and Una Chin-Riley are scattered through the planet.
What they find is an enormous planet housing a pre-industrial civilization, resembling Earth's old West. Technological progress has stalled, but not out of the population's volition, but through the enactment of anti-invention policies, and the apparition of a strange fire that only burns any clever artifact that tries to circumvent those edicts.
The crew, each one encountering a different faction, or portion of the civilization, will collide in a grand revelation that could destroy not only the Enterprise above the planet, but also all civilizations nearby.
Miller weaves a great tale, with enough action, suspense and a grasp of politics that made this a page turner. It's probably one of my favorite Star Trek novels in recent years, and of course, now I want the new season available as soon as possible. One of my highest recommendations!
March 14, 2023
The first book based on "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds", "The High Country" by John Jackson Miller is a book that is at times more complicated than it needs to be & while sticking true to that series does require we the reader to pay a bit more attention than we should at times. The premise is relatively simple with 4 members of the Enterprise crew aboard an experimental shuttlecraft which is at a planet where the crew of a missing ship was last reported. Upon entrance to the atmosphere due to electrical issues on the planet they are transported to 4 different locations on the surface of the planet which causes we the reader to end up with 5 different storylines albeit the Spock storyline is kind of ignored.
The chapters in the book are very short & quick but that is both a gift and a curse to this novel which is also partly a sequel to Enterprise's "North Star". As each part slowly unravels the information gained by Pike, Una, Uhura & Spock lead to various climactic moments throughout the book itself. Miller does do something a bit unique in taking the book a little beyond where he could with the ending to see the aftermath of the events of this book which isn't a bad way to finish things off. This is not the worst novel debut for a series nor is it the best, but the fans will enjoy it as long as they can continue to follow along as this reader hopes for many more novel adventures out of Strange New Worlds over time.
The chapters in the book are very short & quick but that is both a gift and a curse to this novel which is also partly a sequel to Enterprise's "North Star". As each part slowly unravels the information gained by Pike, Una, Uhura & Spock lead to various climactic moments throughout the book itself. Miller does do something a bit unique in taking the book a little beyond where he could with the ending to see the aftermath of the events of this book which isn't a bad way to finish things off. This is not the worst novel debut for a series nor is it the best, but the fans will enjoy it as long as they can continue to follow along as this reader hopes for many more novel adventures out of Strange New Worlds over time.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 215 reviews