Star Trek: Strange New Worlds IV (Bk.4) [Paperback]

Dean Wesley Smith (Editor), John J. Ordover (Contributor), Paula M. Block (Contributor)

Book Description

Series: Star Trek Strange New Worlds | Publication Date: May 1, 2001

In the fourth year of its ongoing mission, the Strange New Worlds writing competition has once again sought out exciting new voices and imaginations among Star Trek's vast galaxy of fans. After scanning countless submissions for signs of style and originality, the judges are proud to report that the universe of amazing Star Trek writers just keeps expanding.

Strange New Worlds IV features more than a dozen never-before-published stories spanning the twenty-third and twenty-fourth centuries, from the early days of James T. Kirk and his crew to the later generations of Captains Picard, Sisko, and Janeway. These memorable new tales explore and examine the past and future of Star Trek from many different perspectives.

Join Strange New Worlds in its thrilling quest to uncover the most compelling Star Trek Þction this side of the Galactic Barrier!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This anthology of original fan fiction is good news for anyone who's memorized videos of the original Star Trek and its increasingly attenuated descendants; it gives more chances to watch favorite characters cope with time travel, tribbles and all the other usual gimmicks. For everyone else, the book is less cause for celebration, since understanding, let alone enjoying, the stories depends on not just knowing the characters in general but also remembering specific episodes or scenes. The writers' ingenuity is challenged as they speculate on the consequences of some detail while staying within the established history of the several series and movies. In fact, it is good to see more of the Star Trek crew. They're good people to be with especially, sometimes, the non-humans. In the original series, Gene Roddenberry created an extremely attractive vision of a future in which ingenuity, empathy and adolescent enthusiasm could solve almost any problem. We remember those stories because we want to believe the message. The sequels are somewhat more mature and less enthralling. But fans like those new characters, too, and don't want to see them hurt, just challenged a bit to let them show what they can do. That's what the stories here mainly offer. It's not a contemptible purpose in writing, but the results are rather odd: fiction that's attractive not in spite of but because of readers' knowing how it will come out. (May 8)contest determined the contributions.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"* "A great collection" -- TV Zone * "Excellent quality... would it be too much to ask that some of these writers get to write Trek novels of their own?" -- Dreamwatch

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books/Star Trek; Original edition (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743411315
• ISBN-13: 978-0743411318
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #506,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars ST: Strange New Worlds IV, April 16, 2002

By 

Joe Zika "Khemprof" (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds IV (Bk.4) (Paperback)

This is the fourth installment of the Strange New Worlds series highlighting new talent writing the the genre of TREK. Talented fans submit short stories written for a contest for publication.

In the past, we saw some exceptional talent and originality, storylines that took you to areas of TREK that only short stories could. This anthology was engaging but fell a tad short of the prevoius three. I'm sure the fans have not lost interest, but I'm wondering if the editor has or maybe his direction and view of the TREK universe has been skewed.

There are 22 short stories contained in the anthology that continue in the different genre of the TREK series. I found that these stories to be good and thoughtfully written. Entertaining to a degree but a spark missing.

I wouldn't pass this volume up though as it will show the maturing process of some very promissing writers... future of TREK is in these pages a little recondite, but emerging nonetheless.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fourth installment, while not as strong-- still a must buy, September 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds IV (Bk.4) (Paperback)

If you ever wanted to grow up to write Star Trek books or movies-- get this book. I must disagree with most of the other reviews-- this book IS worth having for any Trek fan. (For non-fans you probably won't be interested.)

I will agree on the point that this book is not as strong as the first three, but that it is only off by a little. However, to say that the stories were not as strong, or somehow less than the other three is not true.

You will enjoy at least one story from each section, The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager for sure. For die hard fans you get to read stories by other fans! For would-be writers, actors or producers, the series shows you how 20+ people with no publishing experience can write a story and get it published.

Bottom Line: Its worth the paperback price and more.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice mix of stories, June 8, 2001

By 

Jacqueline Bundy (Calabasas, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds IV (Bk.4) (Paperback)

I have thorougly enjoyed the 3 previous offerings of fan written Star Trek Short Stories and Volume IV while overall enjoyable was not filled with as many stories that truly stood out for me.

As usual a variety of writing styles just as you would find with any anthology of short stories. What truly makes these "Strange New Worlds" volumes so enjoyable is that the stories are all written by fans. Not professional writers but just people who enjoy the show and have expressed their appreciation for it by letting their imaginations soar. They pay tribute to a cultural epic they enjoy through the written word.

Two stories that I know I will be revisiting were the light and funny TOS piece "A Little More Action" and "Tears for Eternity", also a TOS story. But the one story moved me enough to be glad I bought this book. "Isolation Ward 4". If you enjoy trek and short stories you should appreciate the stories in "Strange New Worlds IV".