Star Trek novels: New Picard post-season one novel announced, plus Coda and Living Memory previews

A few Star Trek novel news items have turned up lately, including a little something from the Coda trilogy, and previews of the newest TOS novel, Living Memory. But most excitingly, there is news of the first Star Trek novel scheduled for 2022, and the first non-prequel Picard novel!

Coming in April 2022 from Una McCormack is Second Self(ad), a new Picard novel which centers on Raffi, and unlike the three Picard novels so far(ad), which have filled in the backstory for characters in the series in prequel settings, this new book is set after the events of the first season. 

The blurb therefore might be mildly spoilery for where we are come the start of the second season, as it suggests where some characters are beyond simply flying off away on La Sirena:

A thrilling untold adventure based on the acclaimed Star Trek: Picard TV series!

Following the explosive events seen in season one of Star Trek: Picard, Raffi Musiker finds herself torn between returning to her old life as a Starfleet Intelligence officer or something a little more tame—teaching at the Academy, perhaps. The decision is made for her though when a message from an old contact—a Romulan spy—is received, asking for immediate aid. With the help of Cristobal Rios and Dr. Agnes Jurati, and assistance from Jean-Luc Picard, Raffi decides to take on this critical mission—and quickly learns that past sins never stay buried. Finding the truth will be complicated, and deadly….

Eaglemoss starships: STO Tholians, latest Picard ship, prints, and Borg Cube advent calendar updates

Eaglemoss: Hero Collector's shipyards are busy as ever, with newly announced ship models and new preview images aplenty, plus a new line of prints they're working on, and additional previews of their Borg Cube advent calendar. Continue below for all the latest:

First up, the latest issue previewed from Star Trek Online: The Official Starships Collection(ad) is a very atypical one, the Tholian Recluse class carrier(ad). There are very few Tholian ships in canon, so alongside the 22nd century ship(ad) from Enterprise, and the 23rd century ship(ad) from TOS (remastered version, as Eaglemoss have yet to be tempted to do a classic-look release), this is just the third Tholian ship Eaglemoss have made. And a cool design I think it is too, taking the Tholian aesthetic into an interesting variation. This will be issue eighteen in the series, set for release in September. Check out the preview images of the model:

Nanoforce Star Trek army-men figurines preview

Coming in November is a new range of Star Trek army-men type figurines(ad) from the brand Nanoforce, with two sets on offer featuring characters from The Original Series(ad) and The Next Generation(ad). New preview images of the sets have now been released, giving us a close-up look at each of the two-inch tall characters included. Continue below to check them out.

Both sets feature characters rendered in red, yellow, or blue, with appropriate Starfleet department colours used for each of the main characters featured in the set, and some bold colour versions of select aliens included as a result of the palette. Each set also includes a small model of the series hero ship, and a fold out display-map.

Beautiful alien worlds of Prodigy revealed

Paramount+ have released some more new images to preview the forthcoming animated Star Trek series Prodigy. This latest set looks at some of the locations of the series, revealing a beautiful and exotic selection of alien worlds and environments. This is going to be a stunning series!

Huge Playmobil USS Enterprise playset revealed

Classic toy brand Playmobil are set to explore strange new worlds with their first ever Star Trek toy coming later this year. And they're going big, with an enormous model of the TOS USS Enterprise(ad), complete with all the main TOS characters, two interior rooms, lights, and sounds, and more! The model is 42 inches long (about a meter). Continue below to check it out:

Here is Playmobil's description of the model:

Where's Captain Kirk? Why he's on the bridge of the Playmobil 70548 Star Trek U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 Playset! Quite possibly the biggest and most deluxe Playmobil playset created up to this point, this 42-inch long, 18-inch wide starship includes electronic lights and sounds that can be controlled by your smart device! It includes a display cradle, plus wire for ceiling suspension if that's your preferred means of display. The set includes a marvelous ship modeled after its appearance on the original series, plus figures and accessories. You'll get Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Ensign Chekov, Lt. Uhura, Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Lt. Sulu, and of course Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scott" Scotty. That's a lot of fun in one big box!

The saucer section of the Enterprise opens up to show a full 1966-style bridge play environment. What's more, the body of the ship opens up on the side to show you an engineering room. Other accessories and electronic surprises are coming as well, so don't miss the iconic ship!

Star Trek Picard season two trailer brings us Q and broken time

Paramount+ have released a new trailer for Picard season two. Check it out below, and then continue down for a look at the new poster for the season, and a look at some of the key moments from the trailer.

Embedded here is the square-cropped Instagram version of the trailer. You can see the full widescreen version on StarTrek.com or YouTube (the latter geolocked for US viewers only).

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Star Trek Prodigy cast and character names and species revealed

The cast of Star Trek Prodigy, the forthcoming animated series for kids, has been revealed, as have character names and species. The young alien stars of the show include two classic TOS species, and amazingly a species from the Star Trek novels! Continue below for a closer look, including the first still from the series.

Heritage Auctions offer up stunning worlds of Star Trek matte paintings

Next month Heritage Auctions are running the "Entertainment & Music Memorabilia Signature Auction", and among the items on offer are numerous Star Trek production assets, most notably and excitingly, including loads and loads of original matte paintings and matte painting concept art.

It's a real treasure trove of artwork, allowing us a rare expanded look at some of the most icon planetscapes in Trek, and plenty of planets-of-the-week too, from TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, and movies! Continue below to check out the incredible artwork on offer.


DS9 is well represented in the auction, with some of the most familiar pieces being the major planets of the series. This includes two matte paintings depicting Bajor.

This first painting, by Robert Stromberg, established the look the planet surface from the very start, in Emissary, and was used frequently throughout the series thereafter right up the final episode What You Leave Behind. It was typically shown in a panning shot, with a foreground element adding an extra tower and giving a greater sense of depth.

DS9: Revenant novel cover revealed

Out at the end of this year is the first DS9 novel in a few years, and the first set within the time frame of the TV series in well over a decade! Revenant(ad), from new-to-Trek author Alex White(ad) is due out in December. Now StarTrek.com have revealed the striking cover, with art by Cliff Nielsen, which features Jadzia Dax and Kira Nerys:

Here's a reminder of the blurb, which focuses on the Dax part of the story:

Borg Cube advent calendar previewed

Eaglemoss' new Star Trek Borg Cube Advent calendar(ad) is now up for order in the US(ad) and UK, and Eaglemoss have released a selection of new images revealing some of the twenty-four bits and bobs that will be found within while counting down to Christmas. 

If you want to be surprised, spoilers after the following image which shows how the fun packaging works:

Bradford Exchange launch metal starships collection

Bradford Exchange have launched a new series of starship models, the Cast Metal Star Trek Starship Sculpture Collection(ad), which kicks off with the original USS Enterprise, of course.

Here's Bradford's very enthusiastic description:

Each sculpture shines in a bright golden finish that gloriously brings it to life. As the perfect finishing touch, the gleaming sculptures are permanently attached to the base shaped like the Starfleet Command insignia. This collection is a stunning celebration of groundbreaking spaceship design and it makes a wonderful addition to any STAR TREK decor. 

The USS Enterprise-A bag, with frisbee and drinks storage!

 Behold, the amazing USS Enterprise-A bag(ad)!

Alas this is not a new product on the way, but something from 1992, that I recently came across on Ebay(ad). Produced by Premiere House, the advert included in the single copy of this currently on offer, explains the functionality, which is clever in a weirdly specific way: The main body of the bag, the engineering section, is a regular duffle bag, while the saucer and nacelles are detachable units. The saucer is specifically intended to hold plates or a frisbee, while the insulated nacelles can each hold three cans of your favourite drink. So great for boldly going on a picnic, as illustrated!

Latest Star Trek jigsaws and games

Staying at home with nothing to do? Fear not, Star Trek jigsaw puzzles and games await to fill your time! Continue below to check out the latest releases.

You'll have to wait a little while for this first one, which isn't due to arrive until September, but that will give you time to make room for Aquarius' enormous 3000-piece TNG jigsaw puzzle(ad). Featuring the character and ship packed artwork of Dusty Abell, when complete this will be an impressive 32 x 45 inches!

Book bits: Coda teases, audiobook covers, and Discovery: Wonderlands excerpts

There a diverse offering of Star Trek novels on the way this year, from old and current series, and even a (presumably) last hurrah from the novel continuity Picard has now pushed into an alternate timeline. Publisher Simon and Schuster have now released some updated covered for several of those, plus various excerpts from the latest release, Discovery: Wonderlands. Continue below for all the latest Star Trek novel updates:

German cover art for the Destiny crossover trilogy

First up, looking towards the end of the year (September to November), we have the Coda(ad) trilogy. Initial short blurbs were released for this a couple of months ago, revealing it will chronicle a "Temporal Apocalypse", and feature the crews under Jean-Luc Picard, Benjamin Sisko, Ezri Dax, and William Riker.

These are the lead commanders of the post-Nemesis novel continuity featuring the ongoing adventures of the USS Enterprise-E, USS Titan, USS Aventine, USS Robinson, and the rebuilt Deep Space 9. A continuity that alas is no longer compatible with the on-screen Trekverse established in Picard, due to numerous divergent elements, including most significantly the lack of a massive Borg invasion in the Destiny(ad) trilogy, the resurrection of Data in the Cold Equations(ad) trilogy, and a very different life of Captain Picard.

While not explicitly marketed as such, the Coda trilogy seems to be offering us one last chapter in this world of Trek, which will hopefully tie up a few dangling plots, let us enjoy one last adventure with many novel-only characters or versions-of-characters we know, and give us some sense of resolution to what for many has been the main reality of Star Trek for years. 

The authors of the trilogy, Dayton Ward, James Swallow, and David Mack have been talking about work on the trilogy on the TrekBBS message boards, and revealed some little titbits. Responding to a question about the involvement of DS9 in the series, Mack reassured it will be a major element:

Not just some role — a pivotal role. I'll tell you now we were not able to address all of the open story threads from that series, but we are doing some deep-cut callbacks and making sure the DS9 heroes are front-and-center for the climax of book three.