Wednesday 22 April 2020

Book bits: New Picard novel, The Unsettling Stars excerpts, and other updates

A few Star Trek book updates today, including previews of the latest release, a new audiobook cover, and story-time with Spock! Continue below for all that, but first, new book news!

Simon and Schuster have added new listings for "Untitled STP", a new Picard novel due out in December. Like the first Picard novel, The Last Best Hope (see review), this will initially be a hardcover release, of course also available as an ebook, and audiobook (The Last Best Hope is getting a paperback release later this year too, so presumably that will come along later for this new book as well). There are no details on authorship or what the book will be about just yet (I'm crossing my fingers for a Seven/Hugh XB/Fenris Rangers backstory book).

Coming back to the present, the latest Star Trek novel just released is the first adult Kelvin timeline book (following the young adult series of some years ago), Alan Dean Foster's The Unsettling Stars. Set shortly after the first Kelvin timeline movie, this book was originally due out before Into Darkness was released, but was put on hold for years, until now! Along with David Mack's More Beautiful Than Death, due later in the year, this book has been rescued from limbo. Here's a reminder of the blurb:
Taking place in an alternate timeline created when the Starship Kelvin was destroyed by a Romulan invader from the future, this bold new novel follows Captain James T. Kirk and an inexperienced crew commandeering a repaired U.S.S. Enterprise out of spacedock for a simple shakedown cruise. When a distress call comes in, the Enterprise must aid a large colony ship of alien refugees known as the Perenorean, who are under siege by an unknown enemy. But Kirk and his crew will find that the situation with the peaceful Perenorean is far more complicated than they bargained for, and the answers as to why they were attacked in the first place unfold in the most insidious of ways…
If you'd like to sample the book, you can read through the start thanks to the Kindle preview below:



You can also sample the audiobook, read by Robert Petkoff, here:



And there's more; on StarTrek.com you'll find a further excerpt, and an introduction to the book by Robert Petkoff.

In other audiobook news, Simon and Schuster Audio have now revealed the cover for the audio edition of Dayton Ward's forthcoming TOS novel, Agents of Influence. As is often the case, that means we get an expanded version of the prose cover artwork:


Here's a reminder of the blurb for this one too:
For years, Starfleet Intelligence agents have carried out undercover assignments deep within the Klingon Empire. Surgically altered and rigorously trained in Klingon culture, they operate in plain sight and without any direct support, while collecting information and infiltrating the highest levels of imperial power. Their actions have given Starfleet valuable insight into the inner workings of Klingon government and its relentless military apparatus.

After three of Starfleet’s longest serving agents fear exposure, they initiate emergency extraction procedures. Their planned rendezvous with the USS Endeavour goes awry, threatening to reveal their activities and the damaging intelligence they’ve collected during their mission. Tasked by Starfleet to salvage the botched rescue attempt, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise must discover the truth behind a secret weapons experiment while avoiding an interstellar incident with the potential to ignite a new war between the Federation and one of its oldest adversaries.

Finally, here's a delightful video of Ethan Peck (aka Disco-Spock), reading the Star Trek Little Golden Book Too Many Tribbles (an adaptation of The Trouble with Tribbles). He takes particular joy in highlighting the appearances of Spock. You can also find this on StarTrek.com if you're not a fan of Instagram video, where you will also be able to find Ethan Peck's delightful Star Trek Helmet unboxing video.



Order links for mentioned books:
Untitled Picard novel, author not yet announced.
The Last Best HopePicard novel, by Una McCormack.
The Unsettling Stars, Kelvin timeline novel, by Alan Dean Foster.
More Beautiful Than Death, Kelvin timeline novel, by David Mack
Agents of Influence, TOS five-year-mission era novel by Dayton Ward.
Too Many Tribbles, TOS children's book by Frank Berrios, illustrated by Ethen Beavers.

To keep track of all the latest releases, hit the books button on my 2020 schedule page. You can also find series reading lists and author bibliographies on my dedicated Star Trek lists site.



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