4. The Eugenics Wars - Greg Cox (2001-02)
When it comes to tie-in fiction, whether it be novel, comic, or audio adventure, fitting in with established canon is par for the course. For a futuristic science fiction franchise like Star Trek however, fitting in with contemporary history is a whole new ball game. When Khan was first introduced in 1967, even Star Trek's Eugenics Wars past of the 1990's was the future. As a vision of what creator Gene Roddenberry had always intended to be specifically our future however, by 2001 Star Trek had an some obvious discrepancies. Add to this the Voyager two-parter Future's End, set in 1996 but which refuses to touch the Wars with a barge pole, and you've also got a few continuity issues on your hands as well. Thanks to some clever thinking and a two part novel however, The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh not only fills in the necessary gaps, but does so in an entertainingly page-turning original(ish) story. The main narrative itself can best be described as the Cold War meets the X-Files conspiracy, in which the 'truth' of actual historical events is hidden from the general public. And when I say actual, I do mean actual, as the level of detail is astounding. From the Berlin Wall to Indian elections, riots, and nuclear 'test programs', a modern historian could pick through with a fine tooth comb and find no inconsistencies (and I am sure there are many who would have tried). Likewise from Roswell to Rain Robinson, any Trek fan would find none in terms on-screen canon. Obviously taking it's lead from Space Seed and The Wrath of Khan, there are also cameos and mentions aplenty to virtually all of Star Trek's 20th century adventures; all of which are convincingly tied in to the story, and none of which are superfluous. Although there will come a day when the Star Trek universe cannot be intertwined with our own (WWIII will not be as easy to cover up), Greg Cox's combination of extreme research and imagination will always stand out.