Star Trek: Trek the Halls, set phasers to illustrated, seasonal silly fun

I’m a casual Star Trek fan. The most current spate of movies was OK, and I haven’t seen any of the three recent television shows. If that downgrades my level of Star Trek fandom then I’ll reset my phasers to busy. Star Trek: Trek the Halls is a holiday book that is laden with tribbles, puns, and references to classic characters. It’s an illustrated book that will send those Star Trek fans to their happy place.

Trek the Halls is a seasonal book that is 100% for the fans. If you haven’t seen the whale scene from Star Trek IV then you won’t get a couple of the visual gags. If you’re not up to speed on the new shows then you won’t know the characters or the gags. There is no middle ground in Trek the Halls. It’s an illustrated, seasonal Trekkie tour in the deeper end of the referential pool. And for those fans who love all things Star Trek it will be just their jam.

It starts out with the original, classic Star Trek crew and references from the aforementioned fourth film in their series. The television characters are shown in one or two iconic scenes from the show that are sure to bring a smile to those who enjoyed the show in the 60s. Next up is the 80s incarnation of The Next Generation.

Picard is at the helm while they’re approaching a cube ship from the Borg. Geordi is working on the ship’s electronics, everyone is in Ten Forward, and people (and aliens) everywhere are looking happy. Deep Space Nine is up with Quark, Enterprise is there with their folks and the Discovery crew is present too. Actually, there are so many Star Trek references and characters it’ll be challenging for most people to be able to know them all, and that’s the bright spot of the book.

Trek the Halls is obviously meant to be a silly, fun seasonal book for fans of the series. There is absolutely no way that someone who is not a fan of Star Trek could pick up this book and begrudge it for what it is. If you don’t like Star Trek, there’s a high likelihood that you won’t enjoy Trek the Halls. In a way, though it’s like the person at work who is always happy all of the time. At times you might find them annoying, but isn’t it really just your absence of happiness that you’re angry about?

This book is relentlessly happy. It’s loaded with colors, movement and dozens of characters whose names I can’t pronounce and don’t recognize when I see them illustrated. Younger fans of the current stable of Star Trek series will most likely know them and be able to break it down for their parents who have set their phasers to busy. Those older fans who have kept up with all things Star Trek will dive into the book with their kids and be able to tell tales, and memories or re-watch certain episodes. The fun that the book has could also motivate those who are unfamiliar with certain characters to go out and discover them.

Star Trek: Trek the Halls is by Robb Pearlman with illustrations by Luke Flowers and available on Little, Brown and Company, an imprint of Hachette Book Group.

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