Dave's Blog

{5/5} “Within the confines of the library, the cadets were polished, serious, stiff. Outside, in the fresh air, amid the profusion of color, with the soft green grass beneath them, they were seedlings reaching for the sun. With their guards down and their minds open, they were flowers ready to blossom.” (from “Efflorescence”)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds V edited by Dean Wesley Smith, published in 2002

In “Bluff” Data has a dream in which he is Pinocchio — and realizes he must tell Captain Picard about a lie he told 10 years ago. In “Dementia in D Minor” as Sarek wrestles with his illness he remembers an early mission as ambassador that failed, Spock playing Mozart on the piano as a child, and Picard’s news that Spock has gone to Romulus. In “Final Entry” Irene Hansen writes journal entries to her brother, who’s gone off on a top secret mission — unbeknownst to her, to study the Borg. In “A Girl for Every Star” 11-year-old Jonathan Archer meets a Vulcan girl at a museum — he wants to show her a garden since she’s never seen one.

This is the 1st volume that contains stories from Enterprise. But the premiere of Enterprise was just days before the deadline for this volume. Nevertheless some intrepid authors sent in stories and 3 were included.

With authors who know these characters well, these stories are just what you’re looking for.

You’ll read about a new yeoman’s first landing party, Captain Kirk being sued by someone called the Kid on Sigma Iotia II, a brief adventure for Captain Rachel Garrett, another ship named Enterprise you haven’t seen before, and a Boothby the gardener story. You’ll see what happened to the woman who woke up in sick bay in a swimsuit during the TNG episode “Conundrum.” There’s even a sequel to the craziest Voyager episode, “Threshold” — the story manages to improve on the episode’s conclusion.

I’ve read 7 novels by Smith plus 6 anthologies he edited. I previously reviewed Star Trek: Strange New Worlds IV.