Star Trek

The critical anthology ‘Star Trek: Essays Exploring the Final Frontier,’ edited by Amy H. Sturgis and Emily Strand, will surprise and inform readers from beginning to end. In the foreword, science fiction scholar and novelist Una McCormack asks, “Why ‘Star Trek’?” These essays answer that question over and over again with original perspectives, scholarly research, and thorough analysis of the ‘Star Trek’ media universe. Divided into three sections, “Exploring the Series and Films,” “Exploring the Ideas,” and “Exploring the Multimedia Storytelling,” this collection features deep dives into characters like Jonathan Archer and Seven of Nine, as well as broader investigations of the political, imperial, ecological, and linguistic systems at work on the futuristic Final Frontier. The essays range widely in content, from discussions of ancient Greece and Rome in the ‘Original Series’ and conspiracy theories in ‘Voyager,’ to series-wide studies of the creation of fictional languages and the consequences of imagining a future with infinite energy resources. Despite its range and variety, the anthology provides a rich, coherent understanding of how the series’ creators, writers, actors and fans have worked together to develop the most popular and challenging speculative fiction series of our era. Ultimately, and in the best tradition of science fiction, these critical essays on ‘Star Trek’ provide insight not only into this franchise but into our present, very human selves—our struggles, our prejudices, and our dreams.

Dr. Kathryn N. McDaniel

Andrew U. Thomas Professor of History Chair, Department of History, Philosophy, Religion, and Gender Studies Marietta College