Written by Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space NineTM staffers Michael and Denise Okuda, the Chronology is an
illustrated history of the Trek Universe from the beginning of time through the beginning
of Deep Space Nine. This book will fascinate fans and inspire the avid model
builder.
The heart of the book is the detailed, insightful, and generally logical text that
makes clear the time and place relationships that have perplexed Trek fans; yet, it is the
enormous assortment of photographs that will draw you in and excite your imagination.
Most of the nearly 500 illustrations are either studio stills or frame enlargements,
many never before available. But most interesting to modelers are the photographs of
things never shown in Trek television and cinema.
In a move of
inspired audacity, the Okudas enlisted the help of Greg Jein in creating photographs of
spaceships and scenes mentioned, but never actually presented, in Trek. Jein, one of
Hollywood’s top model makers, is well-known to fans for his work on Next Generation,
the Star Trek feature films, and triumphs like the Mothership from Close
Encounters of the Third Kind. For this book he created several extraordinary
miniatures. His early Romulan spaceship is delightfully reminiscent of warships from the
1930’s Astounding Tales; his Daedalus class U.S.S. Essex is based on an early
Matt Jeffries Enterprise design and features a globular, instead of saucer-shaped,
primary hull. Also note the spire-tipped nacelles similar to those on the first Enterprise
model used in 1964’s "The Cage."Sharp-eyed fans may have
already spotted this Daedalus class model as an office decoration on Deep Space Nine.
This design is sure to turn up soon at convention art shows. Other gems include the
seldom-seen DY-100 Botany Bay of "Space Seed," the never-seen DY-750
(Zephram Cochran’s first warp-drive spacecraft), and the pre-Federation S.S.
Valiant of "Where No Man Has Gone Before."
In addition, there are dozens of shots of ship miniatures from the original series, the
films, and the Next Generation, including all the Enterprises (even the ill-fated
"C"), the Stargazer, the Tsiolkovsky, various shuttle-craft and
pods, freighters, space stations, and, of course, many alien spacecraft. While a few of
these may be found in kit form, most are too obscure. You would need good scratch-building
skills to recreate them. Though some, like the Stargazer, are obviously cobbled
together from existing kits.
As a reference work for the average Trek fan, this book is hard to beat; for the
model-building fan, it is indispensable. I only wish the photos were larger and in color.
But still this Star Trek Chronology fills a huge void in the physical (and
available) printed representation of Gene Roddenberry’s enduring Universe.
And check these Star Trek Technical references at Amazon.com:
