I’m too young to have seen the original Star Trek when it first aired, and though I suspect I’ve seen every episode at least partially over the years, it remains the one series I’ve never watched through from start to finish. That remains true when it comes to novels. Seeking to tackle that absence, I’ve dived into audiobooks focused on Kirk and company, all of which are narrated by the excellent Robert Petkoff.

The Higher Frontier
Christopher L. Bennett

I know less about the movie era than I do about TOS itself, so some of the nostalgia in this one was lost on me. Nevertheless, a focus on Andorians in the early stages drew me right in. Bennett’s novels have a tendency to tie together a lot of other books and episodes, which only really worked for me in the Department of Temporal Investigations novels. Admittedly, I found his explanation of telepathy in the Trek universe to be less than compelling, but I over the oral ambiguity of the ending. That final sting makes up for the few missteps along the way.

–

The Antares Maelstrom
Greg Cox

I’ve not read a whole lot of Cox, but on the strength of this book, I’ll be quickly correcting that. The Antares Maelstrom has toppled The Latter Fire from the top spot in my TOS novel rankings. It’s a slightly odd novel, with no overall villain or threat, and no central plot. Instead it’s a realistic(ish) depiction of a stellar gold rush, with multiple threads and character arcs all intersecting to create a multi-layered mosaic of a novel that serves every character well, while also providing plenty of excitement and unlikely science.

–

Harms Way
David Mack

Another odd one, this book crosses over with the Vanguard series, with a group of Shedai-researchers going missing on a primitive world. This feels a lot like an episode of the series, and on that grounds is a roaring success. It does feel a little by-the-book at times, but Mack is the king of action scenes and is on top form here. The nods to Vanguard are well executed, as is Kirk’s grappling with the burdens of command. Like a lot of TOS, it does turn into the Kirk and Spock, but both characters get enough material to satisfy any reader, whether they’re familiar with Vanguard or not.

–

Agents of Influence
Dayton Ward

Taking a step away from moral missions and scientific directives, Ward takes us into the Cold War aspects of the series with a tense encounter between Klingons and Federation. It makes good use of undercover agents, and deftly includes nods to to the war seen in Discovery. It’s by far the lightest novel in terms of making you think, but as a spy thriller it is very strong, with twists and reveals that will have you guessing until the very end.

The one strength all these books have in common is Robert Petkoff as a narrator. He appears to be the go-to for Trek audiobooks, which is a good thing for listeners, as the man has a firm grasp of the entire original cast. His McCoy is particularly impressive. I know I’ll be back for more in the near future, and would encourage all Star trek fans to check out these audiobooks.