A shattered ship, a divided crew—trapped in the infernal nightmare of conflict!
Hearing of the outbreak of hostilities between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire, Captain Christopher Pike attempts to bring the U.S.S. Enterprise home to join in the fight.
But in the hellish nebula known as the Pergamum, the stalwart commander instead finds an epic battle of his own, pitting ancient enemies against one another—with not just the Enterprise, but her crew as the spoils of war.
Lost and out of contact with Earth for an entire year, Pike and his trusted first officer, Number One, struggle to find and reunite the ship’s crew….
…all while Science Officer Spock confronts a mystery that puts even his exceptional skills to the test — with more than their own survival possibly riding on the outcome!
John Jackson Miller returns to Star Trek with his first novel since the 2016 Prey trilogy, to pen the fifth Star Trek: Discovery tie-in novel: The Enterprise War.
The Enterprise War tells the story about what happened to the USS Enterprise during the Klingon War — while the USS Discovery had its Season 1 adventures — and what Captain Pike and crew were up to as Starfleet ordered the ship to stay away from the war… and why, when the Enterprise finally arrives on the scene in “Will You Take My Hand?,” it is in such bad shape.
Miller’s novels have a distinctive style: a lot of fun. That style continues in spades with The Enterprise War. While it deals with serious topics and has a strong message about the futility of war and the importance of dialogue and communication, even with those you might consider monsters, it is always a fun read.
The Enterprise War is the most successful tie-in effort to date that has attempted to mesh together the colorful joie de vivre of the Original Series with the aesthetic of modern Star Trek, and Discovery in particular. And while the book has Star Trek: Discovery branding on the cover and the appearance of several characters unique to Discovery, it would not have felt out of place if it had been branded under the original Star Trek either.
The Enterprise’s crew work as both the Jeffrey Hunter led depiction in “The Cage” and the Anson Mount version of Star Trek: Discovery season two, and the book does a really nice job of bridging the gap, particularly for the Pike character, between the two actors’ portrayals.
And honestly, there were times where I felt like the Bruce Greenwood depiction of Pike was also peeking through, particularly in the character’s relationship with Spock in the latter part of the novel.
The same goes for Spock; I found my mental depiction of the character easily shifting from Ethan Peck to Leonard Nimoy, which is the best sign that Miller nailed the character irrespective of any one actor’s performance.
We also get some additional depth for characters that appeared in Star Trek: Discovery Season 2, including Lieutenant Connolly (who died in the season premiere “Brother”), Lt. Commander Nhan (a fan favorite after she transferred over to Discovery), and Number One (who gets considerably more to do here than she did in Discovery.)
Nhan is particularly delightful, and if you loved Rachael Ancheril’s performance in Discovery you will enjoy the character here also. But the character who benefits the most from the novel treatment is Connolly.
In “Brother” he was a one note character, whose arrogance ultimately got him killed. The Enterprise War spends a lot of time with the character, and his experiences in the novel contribute strongly to turning him into the man we meet — and say goodbye to — in “Brother.”
Miller’s Star Trek novels to date have been marked by their innovative approach to traditional Star Trek concepts, and the same holds true with The Enterprise War. The novel has new takes on starship combat, emergency procedures, and one sequence in which Pike and crew find themselves in a very difficult situation aboard the Enterprise that they must think their way out of — and while many of these are difficult challenges for our characters to overcome, they still remain fun in Miller’s hands.
The primary antagonists of the novel, the Boundless and the Rengru, share a number of similarities with the Xindi from Star Trek: Enterprise in concept and execution, but there are sufficient dissimilarities to make exploring the culture of both a fascinating experience. The Boundless, particularly, and their way of fighting a war, explores a number of ideas that have not been seen much on televised Star Trek.
Miller splits up the crew of the Enterprise and puts them through their paces, which provides more characters than just Pike the opportunity to shine. The narrative decision to do so lets a number of characters set up their arcs for Star Trek: Discovery Season 2, including Spock who ends the novel where Discovery finds him in early Season 2.
The Enterprise War has all the hallmarks of a great episode from the classic Star Trek series. The crew of the Enterprise go up against an implacable alien species who are convinced of their ways, and using the values of Starfleet and the Federation’s commitment to science make a positive impact on their future – but not without plenty of action and adventure along the way.
Coming out of Star Trek: Discovery Season 2, there has been a lot of interest in a Captain Pike show, and The Enterprise War helps satisfy some of that interest – for now. Miller does a great job of bridging the Enterprise characters between “The Cage” and “Brother” while staying true to both sets of actors’ work. We’re five for five on high quality Discovery novels.
Here’s hoping the streak continues with the next entry in the Star Trek: Discovery novel line, December’s Dead Endless!
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