I was dreading having to read this book. That simple. I've read a number of Star Trek novels over the last couple of years and can honestly say the standard of them has been higher, and consistently higher at that, than I would have believed before starting in on them. I've also read a couple of short story collections in addition to the novels and found them to be of good quality. Those previous anthologies though included stories by established writers, including many of the authors of the novels.

This time however would be my first venture into the Strange New Worlds series of Star Trek anthologies. These books feature stories by newer authors, some of whom would be featured in print for the first time. Also add the fact that this book contains stories from all Star Trek incarnations including Voyager – a series I really did not enjoy all that much on TV, as well as some tales that move beyond the settings of the various series to tell tales against a general Star Trek Universe.

So when I opened the book, was it as bad as I thought it could be?

Well thankfully my worries about the stories in the book were unfounded, for this book had a much higher standard than I would have believed possible given its stated aims. And with the exception of the Voyager stories (for which I apologise to the authors but my sense of disappointment in the TV series meant had little chance of making me enjoy) this book was rewarding to read.

Given that the authors are fans, first and foremost, the characters are real, and very honest to their respective series. And there are some real touches of brilliance in the stories also. A particular favourite has to be the Original Series tale "Book of Fulfilment" which takes the form of a fragment of a holy book whose tale is a reverential telling of a Kirk-Klingon encounter. It's one also where the author shows he knows the perfect length, as it is quite a short piece, and a longer tale in this format could have become irritating.

Add in tales of first contact missions, Enterprise-D tales set amongst the Dominion War, and a very personal encounter with a former colleague for Dr. 'Bones' McCoy amongst many other fine tales and this is a set that will surprise you.

Synopsis
The tales featured in Strange New Worlds rocket readers across the length and breadth of Federation time and space, from Captain Jonathan Archer's first exploration of the galaxy on board the very first Starship Enterprise through to Captain Picard's tenure on the USS Enterprise 1701-D - and beyond. Here you can read a fresh and original take on Captain Benjamin Sisko's role on Deep Space Nine, Captain Kathryn Janeway's homeward journey with the crew of the Starship Voyager, Captain Archer's encounters with the Xindi - and many more ports of call along the way. Strange New Worlds 9 includes stories from all five Star Trek incarnations: Star Trek: The Original Series Star Trek: The Next Generation Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise.