I really had to sit with this book after I finished it before I knew what I wanted to say—or even what I thought about it. As many readers know, Cormac McCarthy doesn’t use quotation marks (and sometimes even neglects apostrophes), which can make following dialogue a challenge. At times, I found myself expending more energy just reading the text than fully understanding what was happening on the page.
Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret feels less like a full third installment in Benjamin Stevenson’s Ernest Cunningham series and more like a holiday special — something Stevenson and Ernest both lean into openly. It’s noticeably shorter than the first two books, and Ernest even frames it as a kind of “Book 2.5.” That framing works surprisingly well, especially since this entry feels more original than Everyone on This Train is a Suspect, which leaned a little too hard into Murder on the Orient Express territory for my taste.
Identity Theft is an excellent premise for a Star Trek: The Original Series novel, and Greg Cox executes it with confidence, strong pacing, and a deep understanding of the characters. Set almost entirely in the narrow window between Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the story moves quickly — and it has to — thanks to a metaphorical ticking clock that keeps the tension high throughout.
John Jackson Miller has done it again. Batman: Revolution drops readers right back into the shadow-soaked, gothic grit of Tim Burton’s Gotham — set between Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) — and immediately feels like home for anyone who loves that era of the Dark Knight. This is a direct continuation of Miller’s earlier tie-in novel, Batman: Resurrection, and once again, he absolutely nails the tone, atmosphere, and character voices of Burton’s world.
As a sequel to Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, this book works surprisingly well. Ernest’s narration is exactly what I hoped it would be — witty, self-aware, and just as charmingly meta as before. If anything, Stevenson doubles down on the meta elements this time, making it very clear that Ernest is not just our narrator but actively writing the book we’re reading. I actually enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek commentary about sequels and audience expectations; it’s a clever way of signaling that while this has the same flavor as the first novel, it isn’t trying to duplicate it beat for beat.
Ring of Fire is one of my new favorite Star Trek novels. Set within an arguably uneven season of Strange New Worlds, this is the story the show’s fans deserve. David Mack delivers a gripping, character-driven, and emotionally charged adventure that perfectly captures the heart of this crew and the spirt of Star Trek.
Star Trek: S.C.E. #10: Here There Be Monsters by Keith R.A. DeCandido is billed as the epilogue to the Gateways saga, and while it works fine in that context, it shines even more as a standalone S.C.E. story. The crew of the da Vinci is dispatched to a planet overrun by bizarre, monstrous creatures that have crossed over from another universe through one of the Gateways. As the team scrambles to contain the chaos, the story balances action, teamwork, and a bit of the series’ trademark weirdness.
As the conclusion to the Gateways saga, What Lay Beyond should have brought everything together with a satisfying, cohesive finale. Instead, it felt like six disconnected short stories — some more engaging than others — cobbled together without a solid narrative through-line. The overarching problem with the Gateways series is even more apparent here: a strong concept poorly executed.
Star Trek: S.C.E. #9: The Riddled Post by Aaron Rosenberg had a solid premise — a mysterious space station, a problem in need of solving — but the execution fell a bit flat for me. The story unfolds in a very straightforward, almost clinical fashion, lacking the tension or stakes that have helped elevate previous entries in the series. While there’s a mystery at the heart of the plot, it’s solved rather quickly, and what follows feels more like a checklist of tasks than a compelling narrative arc.
Star Trek: S.C.E. #7-8: Invincible by David Mack and Keith R.A. DeCandido is an ambitious two-parter that stands out thanks to its unique storytelling format. Told largely through a series of log entries, personal reflections, and internal communications from Lieutenant Commander Sonia Gomez, the story offers a real-time, first-person immediacy that’s rare in Trek fiction. It’s a refreshing shift in perspective that deepens Gomez’s character and gives the narrative a strong sense of urgency.
