All Chris Pike wanted to do was take a gander at a strange planet from Enterprise’s new shuttle, Eratosthenes. But then the laws of physics went AWOL, and he’s woken up to find himself living in…eh, the Old West? Well, beats waking up partially melded into a tree or half-covered in lava that’s quickly cooling into rock like the rest of his team. The High Country is Strange New World’s debut novel, authored by the very capable John Jackson Miller, who delivered the excellent Enterprise-focused Enterprise War. It features a shuttle crew encountering a planet around which the laws of physics take a holiday crashing onto said planet, escaping via transporter but wildly seperated from one another. They find a world which is both familiar and alien — very much like the Old West, but going off script in certain….important ways. As in, there are aliens…..and no one finds that remarkable.

The High Country is an unusual Trek novel, separating our main characters from the tech that dominates so much of Trek. Captain Pike, Commander Una, Lieutenant Spock, and Cadet Uhura find themselves on a world where electronic technology doesn’t function at all, and even steam engines are regarded as suspect by the authorities. The Enterprise was compromised in its initial attempt to recover the crew, meaning Pike & co are on their own…though Starfleet ingenuity being what it is, the E is not merely a background player. Pike, Uhura, and Una — stranded from one another — discover different parts of the planet’s story as they try to get their bearings. There’s a strong tie-in to the Enterprise episode “North Star”, but the planet’s unique history creates an altogether different story, but I’ll not drift into spoiler territory. Suffice it to say that the stasis that prevails on this planet is not entirely natural. High Country has fine characterization: Miller captures the voices of Pike, Uhura and co quite well, to the strength of these characters we get a story of exploration — scientific, natural, cultural, political, in a world that constantly defies expectations. It’s a western! ….with aliens. But wait, there are also artifacts arranged in a geometric array that allow for crosscontinential communication, and…airships operated by….wizards?

It’s been over a year since I read any Trek lit, and was this a great way to return. Strange New Worlds has me absolutely obsessed, and John Jackson Miller is starting to become one of my favorite Trek authors despite the fact that he cheats on Trek with Star Wars. (See Kenobi, his…Star Wars western.) This proved a solid story, with interesting worldbuilding and a personal connection for Pike after one of the residents proves to be someone he knew in his youth, when she taught him to ride horses at a Luddite colony. I wish Spock had a steadier presence in the novel: he disappears for most of the novel after his intro chapter, and while he comes back strong in the last third, it’s definitely the Pike & Una show to begin with, with Uhura playing an increasingly important role until the climax. Spock, however, has no shortage of novels, so it’s a minor flaw. More importantly, Miller gives this a solid finish in the Star Trek spirit, as he did in The Enterprise War.

And to close, in keeping with the theme of Star Trek Western, here’s Sir Patrick Stewart singing cowboy classics.

Highlights:

“So they didn’t rematerialize.”
“Which I might conclude, if the transporter logs could be relied upon. As there is a chance that our own receiver failed before it could receive confirmation, from a mathematical perspective I would describe them as potential people.” That set off a buzz in the room.
“Schrödinger’s crew,” Erica Ortegas muttered.

“Is that all you have? The system failed, and you can’t explain why, so it’s out of your hands?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds like passing the buck.”
“If that expression means that I’m running away screaming from responsibility for this mess, then I plead guilty.” Hemmer shuddered. “When physics goes on strike, you might as well send me to my quarters with the day off.”

“People weren’t meant to mill in the winter. That’s why the brook freezes.” Garr looked to the ruins and spat in disgust. “There’s a hundred eighty days in a year, and you can’t expect them all to be the same. I wouldn’t want to live in a world where you had to do everything all the time.”

“Some lessons gotta be taught over and over.”

Spock’s arrival on Epheska, days earlier, had left something to be desired. Nearly drowning had little to recommend it.

“Is the tailgate another kind of gait?” Spock asked.
“I’ll ask you not to confuse my lieutenant,” Pike said. “He’s still working on ‘riding shotgun.’ ”