Star Trek Strange New Worlds: The High Country by John Jackson Miller

 

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.