Electricity crackles in the sci-fi ether as anticipation builds for the premiere of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” coming to Paramount Plus on May 5.
This “Star Trek: Discovery” spin-off harkens back to the classic “planet of the week” format seen in the original 1960s “Star Trek” series and chronicles the intrepid adventures of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount ), Number One (Rebecca Romijn) and Spock (Ethan Peck) as they scour galaxies in search of exotic new destinations and alien civilizations.
Building on the geeky revelry surrounding the release of “Strange New Worlds,” this bold new space opera series is getting its first official novel this fall from New York Times bestselling author John Jackson Miller and Gallery Press.
“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The High Country” finds Captain Pike and the brave crew of the Enterprise marooned on a planet where their advanced 23rd century technology is rendered useless.
You can check out our Star Trek streaming guide to see where to watch “Star Trek: Discovery” online to catch up on the characters you’ll meet in “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.”
A seasoned “Trek” novelist, Miller wrote “Star Trek: Picard: Rogue Elements,” “Star Trek: Discovery: Die Standing,” and the 2019 “Star Trek: Discovery” tie-in novel “The Enterprise War,” which explained where the Enterprise was located when the Klingon Federation War broke out in the debut season of “Discovery”. “The High Country” will show the entire current Enterprise team as depicted in “Strange New Worlds”, including cadet Nyota Uhura.
“When I was asked to write the first ‘Strange New Worlds’ novel, I knew I wanted to tell a story that offered Captain Pike and his companions a real challenge,” Miller tells Space.com. “You are called to understand a place that is both strange and deadly, and you have to do so without its technology, drawing instead on your own talents and knowledge. You are completely immersed in the mystery of this place, and it is my goal that you readers of ‘The High Country’ will also.”
Here’s the official synopsis from Gallery Press:
“When an experimental shuttle fails, Captain Christopher Pike suspects a mechanical malfunction, only to discover that the very principles on which Starfleet bases its technology have simply stopped working. He and his crewmates are forced to abandon the ship in a dangerous maneuver that scatters their group across the strangest new world they’ve ever known.
“First Officer Una finds herself struggling to survive in an untamed wilderness where danger lurks at every turn. Young cadet Nyota Uhura struggles in a volcanic wasteland where things are not what they seem. Science Officer Spock is missing entirely. And Pike gets the chance to fulfill a childhood dream: to live the life of a cowboy in a world where 23rd century tools are useless.
Even in the saddle, though, Pike is still very much a starship captain, with all the responsibilities that comes with it. Setting out to find his fellow crew members, he finds a surprising face from his past. and discovers that one people’s utopia could be another people’s purgatory. He must lead an exodus, or risk a calamity of galactic proportions that even Starship Enterprise is powerless to stop…”
“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” premieres exclusively on Paramount Plus beginning May 5, with the tie-in novel “The High Country” by John Jackson Miller arriving on November 8, 2022.
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