With Star Trek: Voyager now a quarter of a century old and the legend of the Borg only enhanced by their appearance in the debut season of Star Trek: Picard, there couldn’t be a better time for the Borg fleet and their Delta Quadrant neighbours to be investigated, and this lavish release from Eaglemoss does just that. The fifth of the Star Trek Shipyard books, this goes way out into the weeds, giving detail and depth to an adversary that has plagued – and no doubt will continue to plague – the Federation for many years. They may seem down and out by the end of Voyager but never underestimate the Borg.
Written by Marcus Riley, Ian Chaddock, and Mark Wright, the book kicks off with the most iconic of starships, the fearsome Borg cube, and works its way through the Borg fleet. The Sphere, the Queen’s ship, the Tactical cube, Hugh’s Borg renegade ship… the detail is dazzling, the quality of the book perfectly in keeping with the previous releases and a tome any Trek fleet fan will drool over. Giving views of the vessels never before seen, we can truly appreciate the design and craft that went into these ships.
With the Borg covered, we head out into the wild expanses of the Delta Quadrant and the numerous races we encountered as we followed Voyager steadily make alliances and trades to make her way home. Using assets from the TV series and films, there are hidden treats and treasures galore in the pages, and incredibly this is just the first of two volumes covering the Delta Quadrant. This release takes us from Akritirian to Krenim, with the next release later in the summer continuing the voyage from Ledosian to Zahl, a book that will include the deadly Species 8472.
The detail, care, and craft in the book are inspiring, and the wilful deep-dive into minutia is reminiscent of ’80s and ’90s releases (many of them fan-driven) that proudly waved their geek flags and revelled in the details. If you love Trek and the journey its fleet has taken, be they ally or enemy, then you’ll want to be laying down your latinum for this one.
