Was interested in dippping my toes into the extended universe Star Trek novels. Was wanting to get a consensus on where a good place to start was. Ive read some of the Star Wars novels, and while it has its clunkers, there were some jewels in there. Im looking for good stories, looking at the original series cast. Thanks for the help, guys.
It's actually the only Star Trek book that I've read, but it's very entertaining. It contains the stories of how Kirk, Chekov, Sulu, and Scotty reacted to the Kobayashi Maru scenario. It's OOP, so you'll have to find a used copy or buy the kindle version if you have one.
dogmatica
05-13-09, 12:03 AM
Here's the only Star Trek book I've ever read. It was a fun kid when I was a kid, and it's like a Choose Your Own Adventure book in which you play an ensign:
http://www.gamebooks.org/gallery/ww15.jpg
fiver
05-13-09, 03:59 AM
I used to read the novels as a kid/teen - I'm actually revisiting some of them on my kindle right now for some fairly mindless entertainment while I study for a certification exam.
Some of the better authors are people like Diane Duane, John M Ford, J.M. Dillard, Vonda McIntyre, Diane Carey.
Right now I'm just starting at the beginning of the Pocket Books TOS series. I was surprised while reading the novelization of the motion picture at just how many very unsexy sexual references there are in that book. I learned that the word 'genitals' does NOT have a very high turn-on probability, especially when talking about a starfleet admiral *shudder*
Also, read The Entropy Effect which was better, but still reminds me why I eventually jumped off the ST novels for better hard SF ;)
Michael
burnside986
05-13-09, 06:15 PM
Thanks for the suggestions! Going to Half Price books with a list and a fistfull of cash tomorrow.
MinLShaw
05-13-09, 06:25 PM
I'll say this about most of the Trek lit: you have to really go back a ways to find some that doesn't sound like fan fiction or require you to have the Star Trek Encyclopedia handy just to follow the back cover synopsis. My biggest complaint about the franchise altogether was, and is, that somewhere along the line, the writers took the Treknobabble seriously and paid far more attention to name-checking that stuff than telling an interesting story.
That said, there are four that I actually would recommend.
Bloodthirst by J.M. Dillard - It's something of a campy horror story set during the original series. It wouldn't have worked for any of the spin-offs, but it totally works as part of that series. Bonus points for having Chekov utter the line, "Starfleet security can do nothing about...wampires!"
Prime Directive by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens - Captain Kirk is on trial for genocide as a result of an engineering experiment gone wrong. They nailed all the main characters, and the story--while devoid of the social commentary stuff I normally prefer--is actually a fairly engaging mystery.
The Ashes of Eden by William Shatner, with Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens - Captain Kirk deals with retirement. Set betwixt Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Star Trek Generations. There's a fairly nice "Indiana Jones" type
third act, too.
Imzadi by Peter David - The nature of Riker & Troi's relationship. The underlying premise of the book is that something went wrong and Troi died in the present and bitter old man Riker uses the Guardian of Forever to go back and fix it. That part of the story never really worked for me, but the stuff set in the past about Riker's courtship of Troi was charming and frequently funny. Any guy who ever pursued a hard-to-get case should be able to relate to this part of the book.
Straker
05-13-09, 10:42 PM
The very first Star Trek novel is still one of the best: Spock Must Die! by James Blish. A very quick read but heavier on the hard science than many later Trek books.
xmiyux
05-14-09, 12:20 PM
I have probably 100 or so of the old ST novels on my shelf at home. You can normally go into a used book shop and buy the things for dirt cheap.
I personally loved going through as many of TOS novels as i could find.
milo bloom
05-14-09, 05:31 PM
For some good Robert April and George Kirk stories (not like that)
I recommend the following novels
Final Frontier (not the movie tie-in)
Best Destiny
Also, like The Entropy Effect, Vendetta, Q-Squared, Spock's World
Groucho
05-14-09, 05:35 PM
One good idea as you read the books is find places where they contradict the new movie. Then, go into the movie thread and complain how J.J. Abrams got it wrong.
xmiyux
05-14-09, 06:12 PM
One good idea as you read the books is find places where they contradict the new movie. Then, go into the movie thread and complain how J.J. Abrams got it wrong.
rotfl
I laughed at this far more than i probably should have.
kvrdave
05-14-09, 06:38 PM
I have also read around 100 ST books. My absolute favorite, and the best place to give you a good history, etc. is Federation by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens. Then go with what you enjoy, in terms of learning more about Klingon crap, etc. Shatners books that take place directly after the Generations movie are really good as well, and are co-authored by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens. you can almost figure than anything written by them or Peter David is going to be very good. But I haven't honestly read too many that i didn't enjoy.
xmiyux
05-14-09, 08:29 PM
I have also read around 100 ST books. My absolute favorite, and the best place to give you a good history, etc. is Federation by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens. Then go with what you enjoy, in terms of learning more about Klingon crap, etc. Shatners books that take place directly after the Generations movie are really good as well, and are co-authored by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens. you can almost figure than anything written by them or Peter David is going to be very good. But I haven't honestly read too many that i didn't enjoy.
Sweet! Glad to see it isn't just me. Also, of those 100 ST books probably 95 of them are TOS. I only have read a handful of TNG books and don't think i have kept many of those.
burnside986
05-14-09, 11:06 PM
Wow. Thanks for the response guys. Picked up Kobayashi Maru on my Kindle (thanks for the heads up, dirt cheap) and The Return. Ive heard good things about the Reeves-Stevens books, so I thought it would be a good one to go with.
Xander
05-15-09, 09:45 AM
Peter David writes the best Trek, IMO. I recommend Imzadi and Q-Squared. Very entertaining.
kvrdave
05-15-09, 12:26 PM
Wow. Thanks for the response guys. Picked up Kobayashi Maru on my Kindle (thanks for the heads up, dirt cheap) and The Return. Ive heard good things about the Reeves-Stevens books, so I thought it would be a good one to go with.
Before you read The Return, you owe it to yourself to rewatch the ST:TNG Generations movie. The book starts where the movie ends. It is excellent.
kvrdave
05-15-09, 12:29 PM
Peter David writes the best Trek, IMO. I recommend Imzadi and Q-Squared. Very entertaining.
Q-squared was really good. Peter David's series Star Trek New Frontier is also surprisingly good. New crew, new missions, etc. I liked Imzadi, but I probably like them all.
It is nice to be able to get more of Q or other characters that you just don't get enough of. :lol:
kvrdave
05-15-09, 12:31 PM
Sweet! Glad to see it isn't just me. Also, of those 100 ST books probably 95 of them are TOS. I only have read a handful of TNG books and don't think i have kept many of those.
What nerds we are. :D I would guess that I am 75-25 for TOS. Once I picked up a few TNG books at a library sale for a dime each, I got pulled into them as well. Even a few DS9 ones. I have only read one Voyager book, however. I never watched that entire series, so I figured I should wait until I do to read more (if that makes me want to).
The one bad thing about Trek books is that if you also enjoy audio books, almost every one of them is abridged. I can't do abridged things.
MBoyd
05-15-09, 01:14 PM
I read a few in the 80s and remember enjoying Strangers From the Sky and Enterprise pretty well.
Always wanted to read the Khan books. How are they?
kvrdave
05-15-09, 01:28 PM
Honestly, the answer to that question always depends on how much you like Trek. Some are obviously better than others, but from my perspective, I've enjoyed them all. But knowing that, I thought they were above average. I remember enjoying them while I read them. I'm trying to remember if it was one of those that switched back every chapter. I've read a lot like that, and am not a huge fan of it, but you'd still get a :up: from me.
fiver
05-16-09, 10:15 PM
The very first Star Trek novel is still one of the best: Spock Must Die! by James Blish. A very quick read but heavier on the hard science than many later Trek books.
Just a quick note. While I always enjoyed James Blish's writing and had a complete collection of his Star Trek TOS adaptations, the very first Star Trek novel was published in 1968 titled Mission to Horatius. I used to have a copy when I was a kid - I don't recall the plot but do remember not being at all impressed. Not really worth looking up unless you're a completist.
Has anyone ever read any of the old comics published by Gold Key in the 70s. I inherited a few of those from my older brother and they were pretty silly and campy; however, I always thought that worked pretty well for them.
If anyone wants some really strange novels, look up some of the old ballantine publications: The Price of the Phoenix and The Fate of the Phoenix by Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath. I seem to recall they wrote a couple of really strange stories in a couple Star Trek: The New Voyages collections as well.
I used to have a huge collection of star trek books as a kid, but was out of it by the time I was 15. Unfortunately for me, this thread has revived memories best forgotten;)
Michael
Shannon Nutt
05-17-09, 11:04 AM
Prime Directive by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens - Captain Kirk is on trial for genocide as a result of an engineering experiment gone wrong. They nailed all the main characters, and the story--while devoid of the social commentary stuff I normally prefer--is actually a fairly engaging mystery.
:thumbsup: I've only read a small percentage of the TREK books out there, but this was by far my favorite of the lot.
Dmacsg1
05-17-09, 02:08 PM
Wow! This thread is bringing back some memories!! I was hardcore into the books back in the late eighties and nineties. I would highly recommend the already mentioned Imzadi and Q-Squared. There was also a sequel to Imzadi that I can't remember the title right off that was pretty good. There was also one about the Doomsday machine in the TNG time frame that was good. Sorry my memory is fuzzy on these book titles! I also recommend Federation. If you like comics, There is a collected trade called The Mirror Universe Saga from the DC comics run that still stands out as one of my favorite Trek stories.
Hope this helps! Good luck and happy hunting!!
MinLShaw
05-17-09, 09:51 PM
Wow! This thread is bringing back some memories!! I was hardcore into the books back in the late eighties and nineties. I would highly recommend the already mentioned Imzadi and Q-Squared. There was also a sequel to Imzadi that I can't remember the title right off that was pretty good. There was also one about the Doomsday machine in the TNG time frame that was good. Sorry my memory is fuzzy on these book titles! I also recommend Federation. If you like comics, There is a collected trade called The Mirror Universe Saga from the DC comics run that still stands out as one of my favorite Trek stories.
Hope this helps! Good luck and happy hunting!!
The sequel to Imzadi was Triangle: Imzadi II. It focused on the relationship between Worf and Troi, and helps fill in the gap of what he was doing between Generations and "The Way of the Warrior" (DS9 episode). It was amusing, but I felt it not only name-dropped too many secondary characters (Sela, Thomas Riker, Lwaxana Troi) but that it lacked the heart of the original Imzadi.
I can't speak to the TNG Doomsday Machine novel, thought it does sound familiar. There was also a 3-issue Wildstorm comic book mini-series of Voyager featuring the Doomsday Machine. I'm not big on the whole crossover thing (i.e., telling a story with one crew featuring a secondary or tertiary character from another series), but this one worked fairly well. Maybe that's because it was a comic book series and not a novel.
I have The Mirror Universe Saga, and while it's been contradicted by the DS9 depictions of the Mirror Universe, I suppose there's no reason not to think of this as another Mirror Universe. It's set during the movie era of the original crew storyline. Let's be honest: Bearded Spock rocks, and this is an excuse to go hang with him. I believe a reprint of the TPB is forthcoming (or possibly already out).
Ash Ketchum
05-18-09, 12:30 PM
Just out of curiosity...do authors turn out Star Trek books as a labor of love or can one actually make a living writing these books?
Sean O'Hara
05-18-09, 04:34 PM
Just out of curiosity...do authors turn out Star Trek books as a labor of love or can one actually make a living writing these books?
Walter Jon Williams has said that his one Star Wars novel made him more money than all his other books combined. Now, there are a lot more Star Trek novels published each year than Star Wars, so there's probably less money per author, but it's certainly a good career move for authors. Especially when you consider that most novelists can't earn a living by writing -- the average advance for a first novel is under $10,000, and few novels ever earn-out.
Sean O'Hara
05-18-09, 04:48 PM
There was also one about the Doomsday machine in the TNG time frame that was good.
Vendetta, in which we learn that the original Doomsday Machine was a prototype for an anti-Borg weapon, and now the full-scale version is coming. It's a damn shame that the movie producers never read the novels, because the book is a hundred times more bad-ass than First Contact, and keeps the Borg frightening while sticking to the original concept -- a hive-mind where each individual is a processor and there is no leader at all.
My favorite Trek novel is John M. Ford's How Much for Just the Planet, where the Klingons and Federation vie for control of a planet whose inhabitants are much too savvy to fall for any of their enticements. There are musical numbers.
Since the new movie came out, I've been reading Memory Beta to see what's happening in the world of the novels, and it turns out the authors are dealing with the aftermath of the Dominion War and the destruction of the Romulan government, and even examining the inner workings of the Federation government. "Articles of the Federation," which appears to be Star Trek: The West Wing, sounds very interesting.
Straker
05-18-09, 06:07 PM
Just a quick note. While I always enjoyed James Blish's writing and had a complete collection of his Star Trek TOS adaptations, the very first Star Trek novel was published in 1968 titled Mission to Horatius. I used to have a copy when I was a kid - I don't recall the plot but do remember not being at all impressed. Not really worth looking up unless you're a completist.
Has anyone ever read any of the old comics published by Gold Key in the 70s. I inherited a few of those from my older brother and they were pretty silly and campy; however, I always thought that worked pretty well for them.
I read Mission To Horatius way back in the '70s (still have it lying around somewhere) but I was unaware that it pre-dated Spock Must Die! Mission was a Whitman hardback aimed at young kids which probably accounts for your reaction.
I too have all of Blish's TOS adaptations, many of which have a certain charm, but I always found it very odd that Blish often worked from early screenplay drafts that differed markedly from the final episode. For instance, the Blish version of The Doomsday Machine omits the shuttlecraft-down-the-throat sequence and leaves Matt Decker still alive at the end.
The Gold Key comics series was notoriously awful, partly because the artist lived in Europe (Spain or Italy I think) and had never actually seen the show; he worked strictly from photographs. The funniest thing was how he interpreted Janice Rand's basketweave hairdo as a hat!
fiver
05-19-09, 12:42 AM
Spock Must Die came out in '71 or '72 while Mission came out while the show was still on the air ('68 I believe). Of the Pocket Books series, I always was partial to J.M. Dillard's novels at the time.
I got rid of all my Star Trek fan stuff a long time ago when I was going through a phase where I was embarrassed by being a fan. Seems like that was probably a bad move since a LOT of it is unavailable now except on the used market. I remember going from used store to used book store, calling them all across town for years trying to locate all those Blish books - now I don't have them anymore so it's kind of a shame. I used to have the series of 12 illustrated star trek books that were something like graphic novel versions of some of the TOS episodes in book (not thin comic book) form. Also had the series of Alan Dean Foster adaptations of the animated series - which I found significantly more interesting than the cartoons themselves.
I always thought I had a pretty good collection of ST books way back in the day. I stopped shortly into the Next Gen series so I never read any of the DS9, Voyager, Enterprise or non-related novels. I'm glad a bunch of the Pocket Books novels are available for the Kindle, fairly cheaply - I'm having a blast rereading some of the novels right now.
I had maybe 5 or 6 of those Gold Key comics so I don't think I ever saw the Janice Rand 'hat' you mention - sounds hilarious though. My favorite was the one where Spock had to have his brain capacity enlarged in order to do an information transfer for a planet - went mad for a time as you might expect;)
Michael
kvrdave
05-20-09, 11:42 PM
Vendetta, in which we learn that the original Doomsday Machine was a prototype for an anti-Borg weapon, and now the full-scale version is coming. It's a damn shame that the movie producers never read the novels, because the book is a hundred times more bad-ass than First Contact, and keeps the Borg frightening while sticking to the original concept -- a hive-mind where each individual is a processor and there is no leader at all.
My favorite Trek novel is John M. Ford's How Much for Just the Planet, where the Klingons and Federation vie for control of a planet whose inhabitants are much too savvy to fall for any of their enticements. There are musical numbers.
Since the new movie came out, I've been reading Memory Beta to see what's happening in the world of the novels, and it turns out the authors are dealing with the aftermath of the Dominion War and the destruction of the Romulan government, and even examining the inner workings of the Federation government. "Articles of the Federation," which appears to be Star Trek: The West Wing, sounds very interesting.
:lol: DAMN YOU!!! Because of recent eye problems, I haven't read a trek book (or any other book) for about 2 years. I jumped back into reading by starting with Atlas Shrugged (figured 1200 pages would be a good test of my eyes :lol: ), but now I can see that I will need to get back to trek and see what has happened.
MBoyd
05-21-09, 12:23 AM
I had maybe 5 or 6 of those Gold Key comics so I don't think I ever saw the Janice Rand 'hat' you mention - sounds hilarious though. My favorite was the one where Spock had to have his brain capacity enlarged in order to do an information transfer for a planet - went mad for a time as you might expect;)
I just got the DVD of all the Trek comics from multiple publishers from 1967-2002. Pretty neat. $28 on Amazon. Can't wait to explore it more. I read the Ashes Of Eden adaptation and a couple of the 1980's Marvel series.
MinLShaw
05-21-09, 10:22 AM
I just got the DVD of all the Trek comics from multiple publishers from 1967-2002. Pretty neat. $28 on Amazon. Can't wait to explore it more. I read the Ashes Of Eden adaptation and a couple of the 1980's Marvel series.
I still have my Ashes of Eden softcover graphic novel. I haven't read it in quite a while, but it remains a favorite of Trek lit.
How is that DVD, by the way? I've been tempted, but I'm unsure about reading comics on my computer. Seems like I read that the DVD includes all the old ads, too; is that right? Also, can you print issues?
I've read some online where the settings automatically zoomed and it seemed that I only had a choice between either the full page (in which case it was too hard to really read a lot of text) or it zoomed to part of the page and the panels didn't always fit properly. In those instances, I had to keep switching which part of the page was zoomed and construct the idea in my head of what was going on in that panel. Not very enjoyable.
RichardW
05-21-09, 12:08 PM
I was looking through the Kindle list earlier this week and noticed the Star Trek novels. I was hoping they would get around to them eventually. The fact that many are $3 or less is even better! I read some of these back in the 80s and can't wait to dig into them again.
MBoyd
05-21-09, 02:22 PM
I still have my Ashes of Eden softcover graphic novel. I haven't read it in quite a while, but it remains a favorite of Trek lit.
How is that DVD, by the way? I've been tempted, but I'm unsure about reading comics on my computer. Seems like I read that the DVD includes all the old ads, too; is that right? Also, can you print issues?
I've read some online where the settings automatically zoomed and it seemed that I only had a choice between either the full page (in which case it was too hard to really read a lot of text) or it zoomed to part of the page and the panels didn't always fit properly. In those instances, I had to keep switching which part of the page was zoomed and construct the idea in my head of what was going on in that panel. Not very enjoyable.
Yes all the ads are included. It's just scans of the comics, so whatever was originally printed is in there. You can print yourself too. You can zoom anything yourself. it doesn't do it automatically. I am reading on a 24" iMac. I actually wish there was a little more real estate to play with. I do find myself scrolling down to read everything before looking to the next page. Takes some getting used to, but I don't mind it!
MinLShaw
05-21-09, 06:36 PM
Yes all the ads are included. It's just scans of the comics, so whatever was originally printed is in there. You can print yourself too. You can zoom anything yourself. it doesn't do it automatically. I am reading on a 24" iMac. I actually wish there was a little more real estate to play with. I do find myself scrolling down to read everything before looking to the next page. Takes some getting used to, but I don't mind it!
Sweet. Old school ads are almost as interesting as old school comics! And while I don't see me printing a whole lot, it's nice to have the option. Even though I'm on message boards pretty frequently throughout the day, I'm still clinging to physical reading.
kvrdave
05-21-09, 07:28 PM
I just got the DVD of all the Trek comics from multiple publishers from 1967-2002. Pretty neat. $28 on Amazon. Can't wait to explore it more. I read the Ashes Of Eden adaptation and a couple of the 1980's Marvel series.
They have the same for X-men and others. Ihave the x-men one. If they could do that on the kindle, I'd be buying one.
spejic
06-14-09, 06:33 AM
Was interested in dippping my toes into the extended universe Star Trek novels. Was wanting to get a consensus on where a good place to start was. Ive read some of the Star Wars novels, and while it has its clunkers, there were some jewels in there. Im looking for good stories, looking at the original series cast. Thanks for the help, guys.If you want to get into the novels as a whole, you should start with the novels that came out after the Nemesis movie, such as the Titan series and the Destiny mini-series. Next Generation, DS9, and Voyager are now mixed up and part of an interconnected story. There were a few novels that set up the Destiny series, among them "Before Dishonor" by Peter David (whom I don't like as a Trek author) which was awful, though lots of important stuff happens in it. I'd skip it - you learn what happened soon enough in later books. Get ready for Borg overload in any case.
If you want to stick with the original crew, there isn't a place to start because all the novels are pretty much self contained - just get what people recommend is good. Also look for the excellent Vanguard series, which is set in the time of the first season, but has a different setting.
My favorite remains "A Stitch in Time", written by Andrew Robinson, the actor that played Garak on DS9.
Trevor
06-14-09, 03:44 PM
I went thru a ST novel phase about 15-20 years ago. Remember enjoying the Peter David novels best, but a lot of other fun reads as well. Still have a box of them sitting in my living room, trying to decide if they need to go to storage or be sold off.
I also found that ST Comic on DVD collection. Looking forward to getting to it someday.
xmiyux
06-15-09, 08:50 PM
I went thru a ST novel phase about 15-20 years ago. Remember enjoying the Peter David novels best, but a lot of other fun reads as well. Still have a box of them sitting in my living room, trying to decide if they need to go to storage or be sold off.
I also found that ST Comic on DVD collection. Looking forward to getting to it someday.
Clearly they need to be donated to us kind folks in the Book Forum. :D
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