JC's Trek Talk

Throwback Thursday Star Trek Technical Manuals Star Trek technical manuals.  The favorite reads of the geekier fans and generally hard core trekkies who want to learn more about their favorite ships and technologies from an in universe perspective.  From schematics and cutaways, to diagrams of shuttlecrafts, bridge layouts, and even the inner workings of warp drives, phasers and transporters, Star Treks various technical manuals, both official and unofficial, licensed and unlicensed are a gold mine of starship design and treknology information.  Here, in chronological order, are four classic fan favorite Star Trek technical manuals. Star Trek Starfleet Technical Manual by Franz Joseph The original, the classic.  Despite its status as unlicensed and non canon Franz Josephs 1975 Technical Manual covers the original series Starfleet, the ships, the equipment, the uniforms and much more.  In additional to giving blueprints and specs for the classic TOS Constitution ...

Trek Throwback Thursday: The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh by Greg Cox The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh is an engrossing and action filled tale that reveals the origins and backstory of Khan Noonien Singh and the oft referenced but never seen Eugenics Wars.  Presented in two volumes, The Eugenics Wars uses a combination of wit, humor, and clever Star Trek and real life historical references to tell the story of Khan Noonien Singh and the titular Eugenics Wars, all while not rewriting the 20th century history we all know.   Volume one covers the 1970s and 80s, from the super-secret eugenics/genetic engineering project that created Khan and his super-ilk, the fate of the project, Khan's formative years and the real life historical events that motivated his later actions during the Eugenics wars proper.  I especially love the way Greg Cox worked in all the references to real life historical events (the end of the Cold W...

Trek Throwback Thursday: The Kobayashi Maru by Julia Ecklar Julia Ecklar's The Kobayashi Maru (TOS #47) is a fun little self contained TOS novel which explores the backstories of some of our favorite TOS characters. Full disclosure: this review will be more than a bit biased. This is one of the first Star Trek novels I ever read, and one of my favorites. Set shortly after Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the story opens with Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu and Chekov onboard a USS Enterprise shuttlecraft disabled after hitting a gravitic mine. After Sulu likes their situation to the famous (infamous?) Starfleet Academy Kobayashi Maru no-win scenario, Kirk, Chekov, Sulu and Scotty each share the story of their respective attempts to beat the no-win scenario. From Kirk's trying three times and then cheating by reprogramming the simulation, Chekov's destroying his ship to prevent capture (his story mostly focuses on another similar training scenario), Sulu taking the test amid the...