We covered this book on the podcast, Literary Treks. It’s part of the “Lost Era” series (mini-series?) and takes place between the apparent death of James T. Kirk (Star Trek Generations) and the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Who is that on the cover, you ask? Could that be Worf? Could it? I mean, it sure as heck look like him, but can it really be him? Read on and find out.
Actually, it would be even better if you just listen to the episode!
Star Trek: The Lost Era: 2328-2346: The Art of the Impossible
Author: Keith R.A. DeCandido
Pages: 320
Format: eBook
Published: October 1, 2003
Publisher: Pocket Books
Listen to the “Literary Treks” podcast episode on TFM
View on Goodreads
Date Completed: January 28, 2024
My rating: 
Synopsis
The Cardassians have found a planet rich in an ore they need. But when they find an ancient wrecked Klingon ship, the planet becomes disputed territory. Enter Curzon Dax, who convinces each group to settle a part of the planet. Of course, they each have to settle the side the other party wants.
In the meantime, we meet all sorts of Star Trek characters we’ve either heard about or have seen before! General Worf; Mogh, son of Worf; Worf, son of Mogh; Rachel Garrett; Elias Vaughn; and many more. One such impactful individual is Ian Troi. Husband to Lwaxana. Father to Deanna. And hero at Khitomer.
The story spans almost 20 years. An era some would say is ripe for storytelling in the Star Trek universe.
Thoughts
There is a lot to chew on in this book. And I’ll leave most of my thoughts to the podcast. But I’ll speak to a couple points here.
Ian Troi couldn’t have gotten a better arc than in this book. When we were first introduced to him, I thought it was an interesting idea. I’d never read an Ian Troi story before. And we’d only gotten a couple mentions of him on Star Trek: The Next Generation. But as the story went on, I found myself more and more invested in this character. I really liked him as a person. He seemed real and I wanted more.
Alas, this book told his final story (not that we couldn’t get stories from other parts of his life). And it was a doozy. Even as I was reading it, I had no idea I was finding out how Ian Troi died. It was so tragic and I felt so bad for him, his friends, and his family. It was an honor to have known him.
On another note, although somewhat related to the last, I wanted more about Khitomer. It all seemed to happen so quick. Once I knew that Mogh and his family were going to Khitomer, I was excited to see what happened there. How did Mogh die? Did he die (see the TNG episode, “Birthright, Part II”)? How was Duras involved? Etc. We got a little bit of that. Enough to settle the story that was being told here. But I felt like Khitomer could have been its own book. Especially if it was also written by Keith R.A. DeCandido.
Conclusion
After discussing this book on “Literary Treks,” I’m inclined to give this 3 1/2 stars. But not quite enough to bump it to a 4 on Goodreads. It’s a great book by a great author. My only wish now is that it was split into two or three so that we could have expanded some of the parts more.
