Book review
Written by William Leisner, Christopher L. Bennett, James Swallow
Pocket Books paperback
Release date 4 August 2008

A world where Terra Prime triumphed; a new destiny for the Voyager crew and a galactic tyranny ruled by the great Khan's descendants...

Three tales of a very different Star Trek universe are contained in this first volume of Myriad Universes, a long-awaited collection of "What If?" stories. Each is the length of a short novel, and stands alone – much as you might wish to learn a lot more about the new status quo than is revealed.

William Leisner's opener sees a very different Earth in the 23rd Century, after events at the end of Star Trek: Enterprise took a more perilous course. Earth is isolationist and Christopher Pike is hoping to engage an aged T'Pol's assistance. It's a great start, with some well-observed characterisation of "regular" characters.

Christopher L. Bennett rewrites the Starship Voyager's history in the second story, with Janeway making a different decision during the epic Borg two-parter Scorpion, which served as the debut of Seven of Nine on screen. Bennett addresses some of the dichotomies of Janeway's command style, and interweaves some of the "real" events from the timeline neatly into his narrative.

James Swallow's concluding epic creates a complete society with some broad brushstrokes, although perhaps we've seen enough alternate-DS9 characters in the Mirror Universe stories. More than the other authors, Swallow flips established events on their head with the survivors of the Botany Bay (in our reality Khan and his followers) being just as potentially troublesome in a society where Khan and his eugenically augmented followers triumphed. Patrick Holm

VERDICT: 8/10
Highly recommended.

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