Prime Directive. There are a few books in the history of Star Trek literature that could be considered "essential reading." Books that capture the essence of Star Trek, and showcase the very best of what makes Star Trek great. The subject of this weeks episode is one such book, and it highlights one of the longest-running philosophical debates in the Star Trek universe. In this last episode of Literary Treks for host Matthew Rushing, he's joined by Dan Gunter and Bruce Gibson to talk about Prime Directive. We discuss the book's impact, the Enterprise disgrace, the many storylines, McCoy in the middle, catastrophe, the prime directive and our ratings. In a packed news segment we talk about the latest issues of New Visions and Boldly Go, the covers of The Long Mirage and Mirror Broken as well as some of 2016's best books. News One Last Time (00:02:39) New Visions #13 (00:05:27) Boldly Go #3 (00:10:26) The Long Mirage Cover (00:16:07) Mirror Broken Comic Cover (00:21:34) Best of 2016 (00:24:06) Feature: Prime Directive The Book's Impact (00:31:55) The Enterprise Disgrace (00:35:28) The Tropes of Star Trek (00:41:30) Many Storylines (00:43:16) McCoy in the Middle (00:49:31) Catastrophe (00:56:06) The Prime Directive (01:03:34) Ratings (01:10:49) Final Thoughts (01:13:25) Hosts Matthew Rushing, Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Associate Producer) Bruce Gibson (Associate Producer)