Asylum
Buy ebook #ad: ISBN: 9781668051368
Description
When Una Chin-Riley and Christopher Pike meet at Starfleet Academy after one of his lectures, they immediately become friends. A stellar student, Una is the “poster girl” of her class, and Pike is determined to become a Starfleet captain with his own ship, rhetorically assembling his dream crew. As their friendship evolves, Pike also suspects Una is involved with the Euxhana, a Chionian cultural minority, who are seeking asylum in Federation space, leading to more questions than answers.
Reviewed on 10th November 2024
Una McCormack arrives as a Strange New Worlds author in this poignant and entertaining novel set in both season two of the show and as a prequel, giving us backstory about the first meeting of Pike and Chin-Riley.
The story has everything - alien of the week, shining a light on a current issue through a sci-fi lens, showing truth to power, personal growth, use of character backstory, comedy, drama, light, shade, and a ton of references to British things and Star Trek lore.
McCormack has long been my favourite of the Star Trek novelists, and continues this with what might well be another best yet. I was so drawn into the plight of the guest characters, and their society, and how much it says about how we have treated people on our own planet and in our own time. And still manages to make it entertaining and readable at the same time.
Really great, and I can only hope for many more to come.
