Coincidences abound in both the third volumes of IDW’s Star Trek and Star Trek: Defiant series.

In some respects Star Trek lives on coincidences — the Enterprise is flying through space when it encounters an anomaly, and off we go. But while Star Trek: Defiant Vol. 3: Hell Is Only a Word is a satisfactory attempt at space horror, gritty and grimy in the way that differentiates Defiant from its sister series, the larger story gets lost in this coincidental diversion in a way that feels inartful.