Star Trek: S.C.E. #5: Interphase, Part Two by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore delivers a strong, action-packed conclusion to the series’ first two-parter. The pacing ramps up nicely, balancing high-stakes sci-fi tension with some great nostalgic callbacks. It’s a satisfying payoff to the setup in Part One, and it solidifies the creative team’s skill at juggling character and spectacle.
This novella raises the stakes and successfully expands the series’ reach into deeper Star Trek lore. The inclusion of the Tholian perspective was a bold and fascinating choice — we so rarely get their point of view, and it added and eerie, alien texture to the story. I also appreciated the use of the Defiant here more than I did in Enterprise’s mirror-universe episodes. It felt more grounded and purposeful.
Going into The Humans, I thought I was in for a quirky, alien-point-of-view look at humanity. And while that’s technically what I got, it ended up being so much deeper than I expected. This book is humorous, yes — but also contemplative and quietly profound. What starts off as a clever concept slowly transforms into a moving meditation on love, identity, and what it means to be human.
This book is a fine entry in the series, but unfortunately, it suffers from placement more than content. Coming immediately after Fatal Error, the story feels a bit too familiar — another planetary emergency involving malfunctioning technology and a race against time to save the day. While that’s classic Star Trek, the similarity in structure and stakes made this novella feel repetitive rather than fresh.
This book continues to develop the da Vinci crew as the series finds its footing. Like a traditional Trek episode, we start to see certain characters steep into the spotlight, though at times it feels like too many are vying for attention. The story is classic Star Trek, full of problem-solving and moral dilemmas, but I found myself not especially invested in the planet’s inhabitants.
This book is a fantastic kickoff to the Starfleet Corps of Engineers series. I loved how it introduced the da Vinci crew while weaving in familiar faces like Geordi La Forge and Scotty to anchor the story in the broader Trek universe. The balance between new and established characters felt seamless, making me care about the da Vinci crew right from the start.
As the fifth installment in the Gateways series, you would expect the Gateways to play a bigger part of the story. While they are present, they really serve as the MacGuffin to a classic Voyager tale.
This book continues the Gateways saga as a part of the Deep Space Nine relaunch (i.e., post-series) storyline. It does one better than the other, but it is still a fantastic book.
This book follows five loosely-connected stories. The connection – a simple DNA test can tell you who your perfect match is.
This book picks up threads left from the main series and puts into motion changes in the Vulcan people toward what we would come to know of them in later series.
