Star Trek: Strange New Worlds II

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (anthologies) #2

by Dean Wesley Smith (editor), Ilsa J. Bick, Kim Sheard

Award-quality short stories set in Star Trek universes, written by fans of the series. Culled from a second nationwide contest/author search, they represent some of the finest Star Trek writing available today.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Ebooks, Unfinished

448 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1999

About the author

Pen Names
Edward Taft
Dee W. Schofield
Sandy Schofield
Kathryn Wesley

Dean Wesley Smith is the bestselling author of over ninety novels under many names and well over 100 published short stories. He has over eight million copies of his books in print and has books published in nine different countries. He has written many original novels in science fiction, fantasy, mystery, thriller, and romance as well as books for television, movies, games, and comics. He is also known for writing quality work very quickly and has written a large number of novels as a ghost writer or under house names.

With Kristine Kathryn Rusch, he is the coauthor of The Tenth Planet trilogy and The 10th Kingdom. The following is a list of novels under the Dean Wesley Smith name, plus a number of pen names that are open knowledge. Many ghost and pen name books are not on this list because he is under contractual obligations not to disclose that he wrote them. Many of Dean’s original novels are also under hidden pen names for marketing reasons.

Dean has also written books and comics for all three major comic book companies, Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, and has done scripts for Hollywood. One movie was actually made.

Over his career he has also been an editor and publisher, first at Pulphouse Publishing, then for VB Tech Journal, then for Pocket Books.

Currently, he is writing thrillers and mystery novels under another name.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories here were well-written and exciting. I particularly enjoyed most of the Original Series and Next Generation ones.

However, others fell flat. One was merely a retelling of part of a television episode, albeit an iconic one; another one was a pointless rant that didn't make much sense; and, the Deep Space Nine and Voyager stories I had trouble following, because I'm not all that familiar with those series yet.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was on my way to awarding this 4 stars, especially after reading the TOS and TNG sections, but the marginalization of DS9 in this collection is unacceptable. Only two stories, one of which was a very Asimov-like tale that felt only tangentially linked to the series, and the other a short and not-anwyhere-as-funny-as-it-thinks-it-is joke tale. But let's load up on bland-as-wallpaper Voyager stories...ugh.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy thrift store find complete with inserts from the previous owner (hand drawn Star Trek insignias, and a class photo from 1999). This collection includes a few excellent 5 star tales that truly moved me, a handful of 4 star goodies and a few 3 star mehs.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Voyager is typically not my #1 series in terms of the TV show, but I gotta say... both of the Seven of Nine stories in this collection of fan fiction were incredible. <3

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I would rate this one slightly higher than the first one if I could - probably more 3.25 stars. Some of these stories are quite good but some are pretty forgettable. I enjoyed the Department of Temporal Investigations foray into the Voyager episode where they travel back into the 90s, McCoy's visit to Jupiter Station to discuss the EMH with Zimmerman and a few others. Again a significant lack of Deep Space Nine stories whether there wasn't much submitted or what was sucked but was pretty lacking for what was there - the other Department of Temporal Investigations with the disappearance of the Maquis from history was interesting until the end but it was all just... okay. This one had a strong Voyager influence on it so if you like that then you would probably like this one as well.

[Andy Stjohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange New Worlds II (anthology) by various

This was a fine set of short stories that included some really great ones and some ones that were middle of the road. In terms of my personal favourite was Reciprocity. It’s not the best but it gave me a warm and gushy feeling and it felt like it truly embodied the sprit of Star Trek. It was just such a nice pleasant read. The two stories featuring our favourite DTI agents Dulmur and Luscly were the follow up ones for me, particularly the one where Wesley gets rid of the Maquis by creating a timeline where they never exist.

The humour was great and the characterization was spot on and it’s a shame we didn’t get more stories featuring these characters. After that, I would have to say Doctors Three was fun because I always love a good crossover and Tripyth was interesting.

Overall I would have to rate this 7.5/10

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by Star Trek fans, but these authors have nothing ro learn from the professional ST writers.
Great initiative. While i had my reservations on the choices made by Dean Wesley Smith in the first volume, i can say that for volume Ii is fully agree. Not one story in this book is not to my liking.
And the best: there are another 8 volumes to come!
The cover reminds a bit of the sets of the original series.
The division in blocks is logical and the same as in the first volume:
- original series
- next generation
- deep space nine
- voyager
A ribbon for Rosie won the Grand Prize and deserves it. This story not only fills a gap in the ST knowledge but at the same time moves to tears while it makes you extremely angry.
Stubborness and stupidity go hand in hand, also for scientists.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok so if I'm being honest I've never watched the original series. The only thing I'm interested in as far as the original series goes is the relationship between Amanda and Sarek. And I can't stand Picard so the only thing of interest to me in the next generation is the magnificent Lwaxana Troi. So I blew through the original series and the next generation stories without really giving a crap what any of them were about.

Now the DS9 stories were eh. Though I will admit the "Yours in celibacy," got a good chuckle out of me. And the Voyager stories were a bit more entertaining than the DS9 stories but not by much. "Touched" was cute and left me with a few thoughts about first contact and the recording of history.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too bad. Mostly average short stories. =)

[James M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

I love these imaginative short stories, love to read what fans have to say about Star Trek stories. Good Read!

[Deborah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again - I had trouble getting into the book.

I filed it as unfinished.

[LEGO Yoda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has good and great stories but not as consistent in quality as the previous one.

[Rachel Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's just so cool to see a professionally edited fan anthology like this out in the wild, which is how I found it. The writing and the plots vary wildly and I'm unfamiliar with the details of most of the Star Trek series covered within, but some of the stories - particularly "Change of Heart" and "I am Klingon" - shone. The musical cues and themes of "Hero of My Own Life" are a highlight.

[L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange New Worlds II impressed me very much with the quality of the short stories written by Star Trek fans. Some stories continue plots from prior series; a Voyager story is a follow-up to an original series show, while another follows one from The Next Generation. Dr. McCoy makes an appearance in a Next Gen story and a Voyager story, while Chakotay and the EMH both appear in Next Gen stories. Fans of Deep Space Nine will be disappointed, as neither of the stories ostensibly from that series really deals with any of the characters. Only Sisko & Odo are even mentioned. Reg Barclay makes two appearances; so do the Time Cops Dulmer & Lucsly. Lt. Saavik, Dr. Pulaski, & Carol Marcus also appear. To me the best story was Triptych, the second prize winner. A Ribbon for Rosie & I Am Klingon (first & third respectively) are also outstanding.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories based on 4 Star Trek series. My favourites both included Doctors. McCoy goes to investigate the research facility where the new medical hologram doctor is being built, as he is not convinced that its a good idea. The other one involves the Doctor on Voyager who has to ask a McCoy hologram for help solving a medical mystery. A good read.