Spoilers DSC: Wonderlands by Una McCormack Review Thread

STAR TREK - DISCOVERY

Wonderlands
Una McCormack
18th May 2021

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Blurb
In a desperate attempt to prevent the artificial intelligence known as Control from seizing crucial information that could destroy all sentient life, Commander Michael Burnham donned the "Red Angel" time-travel suit and guided the USS Discovery into the future and out of harm’s way. But something has gone terribly wrong, and Burnham has somehow arrived in a place far different from anything she could have imagined—more than nine hundred years out of her time, with Discovery nowhere to be found, and where the mysterious and cataclysmic event known as “the Burn” has utterly decimated Starfleet and, with it, the United Federation of Planets. How then can she possibly exist day-to-day in this strange place? What worlds are out there waiting to be discovered? Do any remnants of Starfleet and the Federation possibly endure? With more questions than answers, Burnham must nevertheless forge new friendships and new alliances if she hopes to survive this future long enough for the Discovery crew to find her…

 

A new Discovery novel is out!
In anticipation I've re-read the 3051 portions of the ST: DTI novella "The Collectors".
Which takes place before the end of the Temporal Wars, and well before the Burn occurs in 3064.

I find it astounding how the distant, mysterious futures of the 26th century (ENT: "Azati Prime", STO: "Ragnarok"), 2769 (STO: "Time and Tide"), 29th century (VOY: "Relativity") and Timot Danlen's time (a.k.a. Daniels, 3050s, ENT: "Cold War", STO 31st century ship classes) are now somewhere between antiquity (600 years between Enterprise-J and Voyager-J) and history (Temporal Wars).

(I mean, we're past the latest eras of BattleTech and The Mézga Family!)

As a ship fan, I'm particularly looking forward to learning about Starfleet ships and facilities, although we know from Season 3 that Burnham doesn't meet Starfleet Actual until she's reunited with Discovery.

Ships and facilities so far:

Spoiler: Relics of the 31st century

Former Federation Spaceport Devaloka (a.k.a. Sahil's relay station)
Starbase 906 (renamed Starbase Vanguard)
Nirvana-class flyer (Burnham's courier ship)
--Burnham's courier ship Alice
USS Yelchin NCC-4774-E --> "[Burnham] wondered what the ship had been like; who had crewed her; the story behind its name. She touched her heart, saluting what had been lost."
Eden-class vessel

 

Indeed. It's more about the "flavor".

Similarly, BattleTech novels I've been reading are also set in a 31st century environment where the large super-government fell and left the sprawling Human-controlled space to decay socially and technologically.

 

Finished!
Voted Outstanding (I always vote outstanding - take that, school teachers who said "A is perfection and perfection is unattainable"!)

Spoiler-free tidbits.
Marshak and Culbreath receive shoutouts. Weren't they Diane Carey-level controversial?
Cardassians! A Una McCormack staple.
Not that I expected anything, but there's no references to previous "The Future" elements, like Vorgons, 29th century Starfleet, or Daniels. While the worldbuilding for the 32nd century is still in its infancy, I hope that in the long run we revisit "classic" future elements and weave them into the new context. Did Starfleet decommission Wells- and Ouroboros-class starships at the end of the Temporal Wars, or just strip them of their temporal features?

Spoiler stuff:

Spoiler: The unexpected death of

Just kidding!

The future was presented in a credible manner - marrying the technological marvels with a post-post-scarcity society. While not stated outright, it really felt like the Federation had expanded beyond 24th century Local Space - there are and could be worlds all across the Milky Way. As a result, it also makes sense that the Federation's "empire" wasn't replaced by simply another empire - the post-Federated galaxy has become largely stateless.

This is familiar for me. In a ongoing German science-fiction novel series (Maddrax), the Human civilization inhabiting Earth's surface in 2012 was crushed by a comet impact, and only pockets of technological societies remained. The world is too disconnected for new empires too rise.

In contrast, BattleTech exists in a world controlled by mighty empires after the Star League fell but mirrors the 31st century setting and the rapid technological decline due to lack of interstellar infrastructure to maintain e.g. shipbuilding.

Bottom line, this new era feels believable and lived-in. Its inhabitants have credible motivations instead of "let's take my helmet off on this unknown planet because the plot gotta plot"-induced single-mindedness.

From a socio-political perspective, the replacement of a moneyless society by a more cutthroat economy is a great way of bringing philosophy into Star Trek - a staple for the franchise. In that, I felt very much reminded of the medical system on the Confederacy of the Worlds of the First Quadrant (CoWoFiQua?) from VOY.

FInal point: if you remember the name-dropped adventures of Book and Burnham from the episode "People of Earth", you'll be pleased that they are expanded upon in this book. I was secretly nervous that the book may have been written before the season was complete and not tie in as nicely as it did.

 

Do we know the fate of Burnham's ship?
In Season 3, it kinda appeared, then vanished. Maybe it fell down a particle fountain or something?

 

@Damian, excellent question!

Wonderlands is set between episode 1 and episode 2 of Season 3, so it essentially spoils the season premiere but not the plots of the remaining season.

Ideally, I'd recommend watching the first ep, then reading this book.
However, if you were fine with The Enterprise War before seeing S2, and already having a basic idea about the Burn, you are fine to read this one.

 

Spoiler question!

Spoiler: Season's macguffin

In Wonderlands, Burnham receives the Yelchin black box early on from Book. In "People of Earth", we see a flashback of Burnham receiving the blackbox from an alien courier. Is this reconcilable, e.g. she receives a second black box from the same ship?