New Worlds, New Civilizations

For any trekker, you know what it feels like the first few times you watch trek, it feels like nothing else in the world, like magic. The feeling fades away, but this book revices those great mystical feelings. This book has great artwork, great stories, and this is the kind of book you take off the shelf every so often and read it again. BUY IT!

I can't figure out what's better, the art by various artists, or the excellent stories by Michael Jan Friedman. There's a story on practically every established alien race on Star Trek, ever! If you haven't got this book yet, get it!

Books like these are rare finds. I must admit, I don't like to buy books like this (especially this expense), but it was well worth dishing out the money. Friedman does it again with some very interesting insights into some of our favorite planets from the Trek universe. Kudos!

What if "National Geographic" ("Interstellar Geographic?") were still published in Star Trek's time? You might get something like this gorgeous oversized coffee-table book--a National Geographic-style study of Star Trek's brave new worlds and new civilizations. From a first-person account of trekking across Vulcan's Forge, to a visit to the devastated but under-construction Starfleet Academy, to the mysterious Q Continuum, this series of gorgeously illustrated essays treats the Trek universe through the eyes of (and in the style of) science writers and travel essayists, showing the ordinary Joe (and Jane and Q'yxk) of the 24th century about the worlds of their vast Federation. An eclectic and attractive mix of illustrators (I especially enjoyed the work of Dave McKean, better known for his "Sandman" covers) makes this a true illustrated treat in the vein of all those oversized National Geographic books. While there might be some quibbling among Trek fans about the pieces included (would the Federation really let information out to the general public on Q, or the Guardian of Forever?), every section is a delight and a great gift for the Trek fan.

I was pleasantly surprised by this new Star Trek coffee table book which features a wide variety of art. The book is a celebration of the Federation after the Dominion War. It takes us in painting and in Friedmans excellent text to 18 stops from Starbase 11 to the Q-Continuum. There are short biographical sketches of each of the artists at the end of the book. I recommend this book to all fans of Star Trek. It left me wanting more.