Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Asylum by Una McCormack
Author: Una McCormack
Publication Date: November 5, 2024 by Pocket Books/Star Trek
Genres: Sci-fi
Protagonist Gender: Various
My only previous experience with Una McCormack was the Deep Space Nine relaunch novel The Missing, which was merely an okay science fiction novel of first contact and a poor Star Trek novel, so I wasn’t sure what to expect of Asylum, her Strange New Worlds novel . . . but I’m delighted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Where I felt as if character voices were almost entirely unrecognizable in her DS9 entry, here they were so strong that I could ‘hear’ the episode in my head.
For those wondering when the story takes place, it’s sometime during or after the most recent season, with Una Chin-Riley’s trial looming large over both the current and flashback narratives. This is a story of refugees, oppression, racism, and isolationism that brings to mind memories of Let That Be Your Last Battlefield from the original series, only here it’s the presence or absence of a dew claw on the cat-like species that separates them.
In many ways, it’s a quiet, personal, low-stakes story focusing on the consequences of cultural oppression for one small Euxhanian family and one lone Illyrian woman. Their struggles parallel one another, with the fears and anxieties of the past having a surprising influence on the reality of the present. It takes a while to understand why the narrative is split the way it is, and to appreciate how it all comes together, but I loved how McCormack brought them together.
As is often the case in the series, Captain Pike is largely a secondary character here, although the story does establish how he and Una met, why they became friends, and how she helped him through a dark period in his career. We don’t see a great deal of the rest of the crew, but La’an Noonien-Singh and Nyota Uhura get their moments, and we get some fabulous exposure to the wonderfully eccentric Pelia.
If, like me, you’re itching for season 4, Asylum will definitely satisfy your Strange New Worlds cravings and help tide you over until the new year.
Rating: 
My sincere thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
