There are two separate plotlines in this story that go back and forth. One is from Fans of the Star 2258 when Uhura, Kirk, and McCoy were all at the academy. Uhura discovers a distress call, but has difficulty trying to access information about the system where the call originated. When she investigates, she finds herself in trouble as she starts to uncover something the academy doesn't want publicized. The other is 2261 when they are on the Enterprise and a new group of cadets are making their way through Starfleet. Another group of cadets is competing in a series of competitions in honor of Starfleet Academy's Centennial Celebration. During one of the competitions they encounter the same distress call. Will they have any better luck finding its source and solving the mystery of the crew who sent it?

There are new characters introduced for this series who are a sampling of personalities and races from the member planets of the Federation. T'Laan is a Vulcan who wants to leave Starfleet Academy. Her advisor says he will reassign her if she participates in the competition. The other new characters are also members of this team. Lucia Gonzales and Grace Chen are human. Shev is Andorian and Vel K'Bentayr is Monchezkin. Each of them were chosen for the Academy's team due to their various skills in engineering, marksmanship, history, etc. Unlike the well-known characters, this team is still learning how to work together and appreciate each other's strengths.

For those who have been Trekkies for awhile, there are enough of the classic characters to make them comfortable and not feel that they have abandoned the well-loved characters. Spock and Uhura and the difficulties of their relationship, Chekov's prodigious skills, Kirk's reputation as a womanizer and rule breaker are all included. We also see Admiral Marcus and even hear a little of the reasons why the Academy was founded. And the two groups of characters eventually have a way to connect, wrapping up the story line of this first book and clearing the way for new adventures.

I found that the story was not overly involved. It was actually a bit boring at the beginning, but it got better. I must say I really liked the illustrations. The colors are glorious and they were not overly done. It was easy to follow the story and see what was happening in the illustrations. Overall a good read that should appeal to seasoned Star Trek readers and new readers.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I don't usually read graphic novels--the lack of "scene breaks" as the story changed from one group to another was a bit disconcerting to me.

One storyline involves Kirk, Spock, Uhura, and Chekov--though it mainly focuses on Uhura pursuing information on a message she isolated. Another involves Starfleet cadets 2-3 years behind that group who are competing in a tournament that reminds me of the one in the Harry Potter series--though in this case there are teams with different members being tested in different specialties. The third storyline involves a ship whose disappearance many years before prompted the founding of Starfleet academy as a place to train those who would go out into space. The storyline does eventually connect these three stories into one.

The art was well done, for the most part. In addition to the graphic novel story, there are some full page pieces of art done by various artists. All in full color. ( )

4.5 Stars
For Star Trek fans, especially those who follow the more recent movies. The colorful and lively illustrations and tone of the text closely resemble the characters and species of ST. The storyline is as cheesy and loveable as the earliest TV episodes. Although Dr. McCoy is illustrated, it's too bad he doesn't have any lines. And Scotty doesn't make an appearance at all. However, some of the cadet characters make up for it. Great for ST fans and those who enjoy graphic novels, Sci-fi, and movie cross-overs.

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