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Star Trek Chronology
Rating: 
Series: All
Published: November, 1996
Author: Denise & Michael Okuda
Review by: Cmdr. Amanda Sielu Paris |
In an ever-changing franchise with new movies and TV shows to add, this is a bit outdated with some dates, but it's become my best friend outside of the TNG Companion. This is the official timeline up to 1996 with "Star Trek: First Contact" being the last update of Star Trek by two people who have worked on Star Trek since the beginning of TNG. They have insight and knowledge that even the most dedicated Trekker wouldn't know. This powerful, Star Trek couple knows their stuff inside and out, then enough to re-write it for another twist in the franchise. Beyond Gene Roddenberry or Rick Berman writing this book, these two were the perfect couple to take on this project.
This book is mostly dedicated to the TV episodes and movies, but Mike Okuda understood that an official timeline for Star Trek was needed. His plan was to make it simple at first, but there was too much to share. The timeline started by The Great Bird was pretty consistent with a few missing dates like birth dates and Starfleet Academy dates, but it was up to the Okudas with only Gene's belief in them to put it all together. You start before the first episode of "Star Trek: The Original Series" that will eventually make sense once the shows start and then ends with "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" in its' fourth season and "Star Trek: Voyager" in its' second season. That's most of the book right there, but, of course, there are alternate timelines and things that just don't fit in the regular chronology.
Mike and Denise also include alternate timelines ("All Good Things..."), notes on all the regular characters up to "Voyager", notes on some of the technology that Star Trek includes, planets that they encounter, a special page explaining that Gene never really knew what Stardate really were but some numbers to show the episode took place in the future, and then an index. If you question any of that is written, they tell you what episode this information is presented in, tell you if the date is just a guess with the information provided, and a bibliography for you to look yourself. Basically, the book covers its' own tracks.
This an awesome book for any trivia lovers or fan fiction writers. If you need to know when the Treaty of Algeron was signed (2311) or when Counselor Deanna Troi was born (2336), then this book is your immediate source. You not only get the date, the information that supports it, but also where this information is provided. This book is written in our years and not Stardates and everything is explained to the best of its' ability. I've never seen the 1994 version of this book, but I can tell you that this a great version. Of course, some of it is outdated since two more TNG movies have come out, DS9 ended, Voyager has landed, and "Enterprise" took flight since this version was released, but the basic dates are there.
Perhaps this is just hope that we'll get another version pretty soon and I personally look forward to that date in Star Trek Chronology!
Title: Star Trek Chronology
Author: Denise & Michael Okuda
Review by: Cmdr. Amanda Sielu Paris
