The Face of the Unknown

Star Trek: The Original Series
The Face of the Unknown by Christopher L. Bennett
Release date: December 27^th 2016
Read January 4^th 2017

Previous book (The Original Series): Legacies, Book 3: Purgatory's Key
Next book (The Original Series): The Captain's Oath

Mass-market paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
E-book (Kindle): Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Spoilers ahead for The Face of the Unknown!

Publisher's description:

Continuing the milestone 50th anniversary celebration of Star Trek—a brand-new novel of The Original Series featuring James T. Kirk, Spock, and the crew of the USS Enterprise!

Investigating a series of violent raids by a mysterious predatory species, Captain James T. Kirk discovers that these events share a startling connection with the First Federation, a friendly but secretive civilization contacted early in the USS Enterprise’s five-year mission. Traveling to the First Federation in search of answers, the Enterprise suddenly comes under attack from these strange marauders. Seeking refuge, the starship finds its way to the true home of the First Federation, an astonishing collection of worlds hidden from the galaxy beyond. The inhabitants of this isolated realm are wary of outsiders, and some accuse Kirk and his crew for bringing the wrath of their ancient enemy down upon them. When an attempt to stave off disaster goes tragically wrong, Kirk is held fully accountable, and Commander Spock learns there are even deeper forces that threaten this civilization. If Kirk and Spock cannot convince the First Federation's leaders to overcome their fears, the resulting catastrophe could doom them all!

My thoughts:

This year, with new releases, I'm trying something a little different. Click here to watch my video review of The Face of the Unknown on YouTube, or watch the embedded video below!

Final thoughts:

As usual from Christopher Bennett, we get top-notch storytelling with a compelling link to current-day events. Revisiting the First Federation was fun, and Bennett has succeeded in his mission to create the definitive story about that civilization. The tranya-loving Balok is a fun character, and it was terrific to get a follow-up to Bailey's mission from "The Corbomite Maneuver."
4/5.

More about The Face of the Unknown:

• TrekBBS Discussion Thread
• Annotations by the author, Christopher L. Bennett
• Podcast: Literary Treks 175: The Boogyman

Also by Christopher L. Bennett:

• Star Trek: Ex Machina (2005)
• Star Trek: Titan: Orion's Hounds (2006)
• Star Trek: Mere Anarchy: The Darkness Drops Again (2007)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Buried Age (2007)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: Greater Than the Sum (2008)
• Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations: Watching the Clock (2011)
• Star Trek: Typhon Pact: The Struggle Within (2011)
• Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations: Forgotten History (2012)
• Star Trek: Enterprise: Rise of the Federation: A Choice of Futures (2013)
• Star Trek: Enterprise: Rise of the Federation: Tower of Babel (2014)
• Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations: The Collectors (2014)
• Star Trek: Enterprise: Rise of the Federation: Uncertain Logic (2015)
• Star Trek: Enterprise: Rise of the Federation: Live By the Code (2016)
• Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations: Time Lock (2016)
• Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations: Shield of the Gods (2017)
• Star Trek: Enterprise: Rise of the Federation: Patterns of Interference (2017)
• Star Trek: The Original Series: The Captain's Oath (2019)
• Star Trek: The Original Series: The Higher Frontier (2020)

Next time on Trek Lit Reviews:

I have a lot of books that were read in 2016 that I have to catch up on. First up is a tale from The Lost Era, all about Captain Picard shortly before the beginning of The Next Generation: The Buried Age by Christopher L. Bennett.