The apparent end of the Kurtzman era of Star Trek has soft-launched, with the cancellation of Starfleet Academy (after its forthcoming second season), and the end of Strange New Worlds (which will end after next year’s shortened fifth season) and for now, Star Trek‘s TV future has fallen into silence. It seems improbable at best that 2026 will pass without an announcement or two, given the franchise’s official 60th anniversary lands in September, but the narrative recently feels like it’s been dominated by talk of cancellations, uncertainty, and lost and rejected pitches. One of the most exciting was Star Trek: Legacy, the Picard continuation that looks increasingly unlikely, but frustrated fans do have one thing to be happy about.
New Star Trek novel: Picard: To Defy Fate, by Dayton Ward, has just been released, and it offers fans who are unhappy at the loss of Legacy with a continuation of the ended Picard timeline, and a glimpse at what could have been. In the final moments of Picard Season 3, the late Captain Shaw (Todd Stashwick) handed over command of the USS Titan-A to Seven of Nine, marking his own redemption but also giving Jeri Ryan’s beloved hero a greater chance to shine. A year later, with the Titan-A renamed The Enterprise-G, Seven stepped into the most famous bracket of Starfleet Captains. Legacy would have shown us what Seven’s command would have looked like, and while it’s set before the Enterprise-G change, To Defy Fate‘s opening chapter does offer a Star Trek story under Seven’s command. And in that respect, and as a continuation of Picard, it’s like the realization of a prize we all could have won.
Beyond being just the continuation of Picard that we wanted from Legacy, To Defy Fate is like a hardcore tribute to Star Trek‘s most engaged fans. It’s actually a Wesley Crusher story, finally giving us more of his post-The Next Generation story when he left to accompany the Traveller. Thrust back towards his former life thanks to a time-travelling villain deadset on changing the past to save their own family (without concern for the possible deaths of billions), Wesley teams up with Jean Luc Picard, Beverly Crusher, Raffi Mussiker, and Seven of Nine (and honestly, lots more) to save the timeline. There’s also an interesting reflection on who polices the timeline, not unlike the MCU’s idea of the TVA, in fact. Seven’s role is complex, and the glimpses of her in full captain mode are, admittedly limited (but, without getting into spoilers, her presence remains throughout), but we at least get a look at the lost era of Star Trek set after Picard Season 3.
To Defy Fate reads like a greatest hits of Star Trek‘s many series, as the heroes jump around the timeline and revisit key events. That may feel alienating for more casual fans, but I’d argue that those picking up this book are somewhat inevitably going to be locked into wider lore. The reward is a dense, entertaining read that rejoices in celebrating key episodes from The Original Series, Enterprise, The Next Generation, and Deep Space Nine, as well as movie timelines. And there is a frankly ridiculous number of Easter eggs to get your teeth into. Crucially though, it’s also a great story, and, as he has before, Ward delivers a wonderfully-observed story that feels both authentic and affectionate in its expertise.
Dayton Ward’s Star Trek: Picard: To Defy Fate is out now from Gallery Books. Will you be checking it out? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
