Review by Karl Verhoven

Rather than standalone stories of the first Starship Enterprise crew, The Illyrian Enigma is tied to the continuity of the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds TV show, slotting between the first and second seasons. It’s an extra hurdle for collaborating writers Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson as not only must the status quo be restored by the end as might be expected, but it prevents the use of First Officer Una Chin-Riley, awaiting trial as the story begins.

The trial is for breaking Starfleet regulations regarding genetic augmentation, a standard practice on Illyria that enabled Chin-Riley to pass as human. Her arrest is not a popular decision on Enterprise. “How can Starfleet accuse Una of deception when we don’t know anything about her species?” asks Nurse Chapel. It’s a view eliciting much sympathy, and when the Enterprise finds itself near an Illryrian colony, an opportunity is taken.

Beyer and Johnson have a good understanding of the cast, who present as they would on the TV screen, and they plot in plenty of twists as Spock comes to predominate. The TV show has Spock early in his Starfleet career not yet entirely suppressing his human side, and that comes through in a scene where he only just manages to control his fear. It’s revealed that while Starfleet may not have had any official contact with the Illyrians, the Vulcans have.

Artist Megan Levens ensures the cast resemble the actors playing the roles, and a fine line and talent for designing both aliens and alien objects flesh out the worlds created. She’s also good with scenes of the Enterprise, both internally and in action, but ensuring those cast likenesses comes at the price of the people looking very stiff throughout.

The problem of everything having to remain the same by the end to ensure consistency with the TV show is adroitly handled by the writers, who conceive a clever solution to the story set in motion and a good reason why it can’t be revealed. However, despite being true to the cast, introducing new situations and a problem difficult to resolve, this never greatly thrills. It’s competent and doesn’t disappoint, but without going the extra mile.

The Illyrian Enigma is combined with the next Strange New Worlds graphic novel The Scorpius Run as the first Strange New Worlds Omnibus.