"Star Trek: Countdown" by Roberto Orci

Book cover, courtesy of Borg.com

                According to Alex, a sophmore I interviewed, the best thing about Star Trek is that there's always new stories to be told. When J.J. Abrams launched a new Star Trek movie series back in 2009, reimagining the events of James T. Kirk's tenure aboard the Enterprise, there were many stories to be told about two of the movie's major players: a Romular miner named Nero and an elderly Vulcan named Spock, whom fans old and young are certain to recognize. How did these two come to find themselves in the past? Why does Nero hold such a powerful grudge against Spock? "Star Trek: Countdown" by Roberto Orci is that story.

                For years, Spock sought to reunify his people, the Vulcans, with their long-separated Romulan brethren. After finally convincing the two races to agree to an exchange of ambassadors that is the first step towards peace between them, a terrible catastrophe threatens to destroy them and the entire universe. Hobus, a giant star, has mysteriously exploded, sending a dangerous shockwave through space and the first planet in its path is Romulus! Spock seeks to warn the Romulans and Vulcans of the danger, but the only people who listen to his plea are Nero, then captain of a simple mining vessel expecting his first child, and Jean-Luc Picard, former captain of the starship Enterprise. With time against them, Spock, Nero, and Jean-Luc rush to put into motion a plan that will stop the Hobus supernova from destroying the galaxy, but events conspire to pit Romulan against Vulcan in a feud that will cross time and space.

                Although "Star Trek: Countdown" is an exciting story with excellent art and memorable characters, only Spock and Nero are given proper introductions. Returning "Star Trek" characters like Jean-Luc Picard, Data, and Worf typically appear with little fanfare and rely on the reader being a previous fan of the series to know who they are. However, anyone who has seen the 2009 "Star Trek" film is sure to enjoy this prequel.

Enjoy these trailers for the 2009 movie "Star Trek": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IptbC3p2lCk

Want to know what happened to the original Star Trek universe after Spock and Nero disappeared? Want to meet other Star Trek fans and go on exciting adventures of your own? Check out Cryptic Studios' "Star Trek Online," an exciting Massive Multiplayer Online game that is free-to-play: http://sto.perfectworld.com/

Orci, Roberto, Alex Kurtzman, Mike Johnson, Tim Jones, and Messina. Star Trek: Countdown. San Diego, CA: IDW Pub., 2009. Print.