There has never been a Star Trek book like this one. Imagined scenarios, new worlds and historic battles are all brought to life between its pages, as settings for the spectacular starships which have graced the Star Trek universe throughout all five television series. This is what happens when you...

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Product Description

There has never been a Star Trek book like this one. Imagined scenarios, new worlds and historic battles are all brought to life between its pages, as settings for the spectacular starships which have graced the Star Trek universe throughout all five television series. This is what happens when you turn loose some of the most talented computer generated artists in Hollywood - who also just happen to be Star Trek fans - and ask them to create images they would like to have seen on Star Trek. Over the past seven years, wall calendars called Star Trek: Ships of the Line have displayed breathtaking art, specially commissioned for the Ships of the Line series, only to be discarded at the end of the year. To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Star Trek, the best calendar images of Star Trek battleships have been collected together, with new additional descriptions and history to give them their proper setting in the Star Trek universe. The result is a sumptuous visual record and a magnificent reference book which any Star Trek fan would be proud to own.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42912 in Books
• Published on: 2006-12-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 184 pages

About the Author
DOUG DREXLER is currently an effects supervisor on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. A long time Star Trek fan, this native New Yorker left the movie make-up field where he had won an Oscar for his work on DICK TRACY to pursue his life-long passion to work on Star Trek. Drexler taught himself computers and became one of the most valued members of the design staff for STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE and the effects designer for STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE. He currently lives in Hollywood.

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Customer Reviews

Slightly Disappointing
Presented well with some fabulous pictures of ships from the entire Star Trek genre. It is separated into seven chapters. Human Warp Flight, The Creation of a Legend, The Finest in the Fleet, Of Gods and Men, There will Always be an Enterprise, Delta Voyager, and Semper Exploro.

'Human Flight' incorporates detail 'photographs' of the early warp flight and the NX series of vessels including some fabulous pictures of Vulcan, Romulan, Tholian and Andorian vessels. It even displays the Bonaventure Class vessel depicting the transition from the Enterprise NX design to early Constitution type designs - which we are all familiar with.

The Second Chapter, 'The Creation of A Legend' is based entirely on the Original Series and Movies with excellent pictures of the Enterprise NCC 1701 from its drydock pre-launch (both 1701 and its re-fit) to battles scenes against the Klingons, Romulans, the Planet Killer and the 'Daystrom massacre' with a fantastic saucer and battle section battle scene against some Klingon Cruisers.

'The Finest in the Fleet' is orientated around the Next Generation with a great picture of the Calypso (Captain's Yacht) being launched from the Saucer module - something a true Star Trek fan always wanted to see! It has pictures of Nebula Class vessels (USS Ranger), The Intrepid Captain's Yacht in mid-flight, Constellation Class (USS Stargazer), Enterprise-C and D battling against the Klingons, Utopia Planetia, Starbase 29, Excelsior class vessels and the USS Altair (Altair class).

'Of Gods Men' depicts the voyages and adventures of the Defiant and Deep Space Nine. It also answers the question of what happened to the Columbia NX. It displays imaginative battle scenes - Federation and Allies fighting against the Dominion and the Breen.

'There will always be an Enterprise' depicts the voyages of the Enterprise - E from First Contact to Nemesis - nothing special here though - a couple of pictures, all of which, have been seen before.

'Delta Voyager' is what is being described - the Voyages of Voyager in the Delta Quadrant. Some excellent pictures of battles with the Borg, Species 8472 and the crash landing of Voyager on the Ice Planet. It also has pictures of the Prometheus and Voyager's final battle with the Borg in full armour.

The Final Chapter, 'Semper Exploro' has probably the best picture of all, all seven Enterprise vessels and shuttle craft orbiting a base/platform above Earth. A surprise picture of a future Enterprise (possibly F if not G) is also included.

So why is it slightly disappointing? Well, though the pictures are good, there is simply little commentary. Some of the commentary that accompanies the pictures are quotes from famous philosophers or politicians and others are just purely based from that time line within the series. Commentaries are no longer than 8 small sentences and they seemed to be just slotted in with little elaboration. Furthermore, there is little in Chapters 5 and 7 - seven pictures in all - so very disappointing.

I would recommend this book to all true Star Trek fans however, beware, it is indeed light reading ;)

Only A Picture Book
I think the pictures are excellent and show many details of the ships you wouldn't be able to see in the faster moving films.

The text for each of the pictures is shorter than I would have expected, and doesn't give any statistics about the ship in question. The book deals with all the series' (TNG, DS9 etc...). Although, if you want pictures of ALL the ships, you'll find that most are of the main ships (Enterprise, DS9 etc...)and only a few aren't of the main ships ('others' including Bird of prey, Cardassian and lesser featured federation ships etc...).

If you're after the pictures, the high quality images make this a good book for you.

It's worse than that it's dead Jim...
"ships of the line" sounds like it should be a definitive reference book, on the cover are lots of ships I wanted to know about and look at but inside it really is just a series of well painted pictures of starships we are already more than familiar with, this is just a romantic look at what we are used to rather than a glimpse at what might be. I for one was somewhat dissatisfied with it.