Welcome to Star Trek Simulation Forum

Register now to gain access to all of our features. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to contribute to this site by submitting your own content or replying to existing content. You'll be able to customize your profile, receive reputation points as a reward for submitting content, while also communicating with other members via your own private inbox, plus much more! This message will be removed once you have signed in.

Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0
Shane

Star Trek books!

40 posts in this topic

I wanted to start a topic for Star Trek books. We can name a book and everyone can say how they feel about it. Also, which ones do you like? Dislike? Would you recomend some over others?

 

Here's one to start off with: J. M. Dillards "ST:TNG Resistance" and its sequel "Before Dishonor". What do yal think about these?

Edited by Shane

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I haven't read those yet, though I need to pick up a copy of Before Dishonor soon.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Trek books in my opinion have been a real mixed bag...I have a huge box full and some of them are really good and others are REALLY bad. Some have really stood out as good, though --

 

-- Treaty's Law (the fourth book in the "Day of Honor" series)

-- The Three-Minute Universe

-- Dreams of the Raven

-- Ice Trap

-- The Final Nexus

-- Imzadi

-- Sarek

-- The Devil's Heart

-- Dark Mirror (a TNG mirror-universe story)

-- I, Q (a really trippy but really good book by John de Lancie)

-- The Q Continuum series by Greg Cox

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

(Overall, I tend to read the novels based on TOS. But I've checked out books based on all the series, including the independents such as Peter Davids New Frontier. Generally though, I am TOS based.)

 

- My all time top favs in Trek novels:

 

BloodThirst (JM Dillard)

Dreams of the Raven (Carmen Carter)

Ice Trap (LA Graf)

Death Count (LA Graf)

Shadows on the Sun (Michael Jan Friedman)

Time for Yesterday (AC Crispin)

Uhuru's Song (Janet Kagan) (word of warning: this book is not about Uhuru. The plot content involves a Caitian-like tribe of people.)

Demons (JM Dillard)

Mindshadow (JM Dillard)

Doctors Orders (Diane Duane)

Lost Years (JM Dillard)

Covenant of the Crown (Howard Wienstein)

The Better Man (Howard Wienstein)

 

- Authors that I enjoy include JM Dillard, Diane Duane, Diane Carey, LA Graf, and Keith R.A. DeCandido.

 

- We all know I'm a Mirror Universe Nut. Oh wait - is this not politically correct? Okay, then I am *really* biased regarding the Mirror Universe and enjoy it, so I'll just dive in there with these recommendations:

 

Dark Mirror (Diane Duane): actually, just started this and it rocks out.

Mirror Universe: Glass Empires and Obsidian Alliance (various authors): you must go. store. or online. buy. now.

Killing Time (Della Van Hise): this would definitely be a used book search as it is out of print. Killing is not mainstream Mirror, but a nice alternate universe book.

 

- The Corp of Engineers books are nice as well (recommend: the print copy of Wildfire), although I tend to grab the actual print books rather then the E Books.

 

- And honestly, I can't NOT recommend the Diane Duane collection Rihannsu books. She really gives a rich background (Romulan Way in particular really reminds me (as a personal concept) of the Irish country side and estates and farms and all that. Perhaps because she herself has been based in Ireland for many years and that comes out in the book? And My Enemy My Ally just totally rocks out in general. These are my top two.) and mindset for the Rihans.

 

- The IKS Gorkon and Klingon Empire books by DeCandido. Get your Klingon on and rock out with an entire crew of 'em! w00t!

 

- One more: the new "Titan" series of novels featuring Riker and Troi. Good stuff, and practically screams "Agincourt".

 

Happy reading all. No better way to jet off, let your imagination take over, and take part in a trek adventure. Except maybe here on STSF. ;-)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I love Star Trek but I couldn't get past the books. My favorite series is TNG and when I tried reading one of the books I ended giving up at the third or fourth chapter because what made the characters come alive were the actors and that Data isn't Data if its only words on a page. Data is only Data if its Brent Spiner playing Data.

 

The only book I actually enjoyed was I, Q because it was just a narration, but when I needed to return it to the library and I was only half a way through I couldn't bother to renew it. That's not a good sign.

 

Also, a problem I'm having with the books is contradictions.

 

I might try some again soon, I'll monitor this topic to find any recommendations.

Edited by Cuda

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The novelization of The Wrath of Khan was good. All other ST books I've read have just made me mad. I can't remember many of the titles but one TNG book involving Picard traveling back in time to Cestus III and being involved with the attack by the Gorn...HORRID!!! The Rihannsu books I'm working my way through but so far I've not been overly impressed. Much of anything else I don't get very far before wanting to rewrite the thing myself. But, I have that problem with alot of what I read.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The novelization of The Wrath of Khan was good. All other ST books I've read have just made me mad. I can't remember many of the titles but one TNG book involving Picard traveling back in time to Cestus III and being involved with the attack by the Gorn...HORRID!!!

 

The book's called "Requiem" I just read it and thought it was pretty good. What did you see in it that you didn't like?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The book's called "Requiem" I just read it and thought it was pretty good. What did you see in it that you didn't like?

 

The action on the alien space station was totally predictable. While I know it would otherwise kinda kill the drama (as well as the primary character) but I can't stand it when some malfunctioning alien device just happens to throw someone across the universe or time and neatly plant them safely on a planets surface. It was a weak excuse to get Picard onto Cestus III (when he just HAPPENED to already be enroute to meet up with some Gorn). I could not see the characters saying much of their dialog. The Gorn were plain reptile aliens with what little snippets of their culture being based solely on what you'd expect from a Saturday morning cartoon about big talking lizards (ThunderLizards Ho!!!). And the ending just made me want to burn the book...which might explain why I can't find it right now. What did Picard learn about the Gorn? Punching one in the throat is a good way to say hello. BAH!!!!!

 

All that said, I admit it has been many years since I've read it and I've probably blown some of this out of proportion. I still think it was not a good story.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The action on the alien space station was totally predictable. While I know it would otherwise kinda kill the drama (as well as the primary character) but I can't stand it when some malfunctioning alien device just happens to throw someone across the universe or time and neatly plant them safely on a planets surface. It was a weak excuse to get Picard onto Cestus III (when he just HAPPENED to already be enroute to meet up with some Gorn). I could not see the characters saying much of their dialog. The Gorn were plain reptile aliens with what little snippets of their culture being based solely on what you'd expect from a Saturday morning cartoon about big talking lizards (ThunderLizards Ho!!!). And the ending just made me want to burn the book...which might explain why I can't find it right now. What did Picard learn about the Gorn? Punching one in the throat is a good way to say hello. BAH!!!!!

 

All that said, I admit it has been many years since I've read it and I've probably blown some of this out of proportion. I still think it was not a good story.

 

The problem with Star Trek is that every character should have died ten times had it not been for those amazing yet predictable circumstances in which someone is magically thrown to a random but safe area or a disease which is cured at the last moment or a space-time blip occurring right when the Enterprise blows... and those flaws are the ones I catch in the books but miss in the series just because I'm so captivated by the characters. This is really the miracle of the Star Trek franchise, though it is one of the most flawed of TV series, it is great at producing characters that will catch the public interest. One of the best examples of this is Data, who I personally felt the most for, (by the way, that moment after Data is dumped and he just picks up Spot and begins to pet him always kills me, I hear this is known as an ah-ha moment in therapy :) ), and because of the characters and the technobable we forgive them for the horrid continuity and cop outs.

 

An other reason why the TV version of TNG doesn't bother me as much was because of Tasha, and because they killed her they kept me scared for the crews life for the rest of the show. :)

Edited by Cuda

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The problem with Star Trek is that every character should have died ten times had it not been for those amazing yet predictable circumstances in which someone is magically thrown to a random but safe area or a disease which is cured at the last moment or a space-time blip occurring right when the Enterprise blows... and those flaws are the ones I catch in the books but miss in the series just because I'm so captivated by the characters. This is really the miracle of the Star Trek franchise, though it is one of the most flawed of TV series, it is great at producing characters that will catch the public interest. One of the best examples of this is Data, who I personally felt the most for, (by the way, that moment after Data is dumped and he just picks up Spot and begins to pet him always kills me, I hear this is known as an ah-ha moment in therapy :) ), and because of the characters and the technobable we forgive them for the horrid continuity and cop outs.

 

An other reason why the TV version of TNG doesn't bother me as much was because of Tasha, and because they killed her they kept me scared for the crews life for the rest of the show. :)

 

I can forgive such things if the rest of the story is worth it. Great example, the fan series New Voyages had an episode where about the same thing that ticked me off in that book happened. A Romulan weapon goes wild and throws Sulu through time and space and safely drops him on some random planet's surface. But, the rest of the story was good, the action good, dialog good, and I was willing to forgive this one oversight. The exact same thing in the book Requiem was just insulting to my intelligence because there wasn't anything else that made it worth the leap in believability.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Look, not to ruffle any feathers here but I'm really not getting the "book rage" contained in several of the posts. Shane originally started the topic for us to post books that we thought were good, and also books that were just bad (plot, characters were blah, etc). But, I think that point has been missed and the topic is heading into the Actual Canon TV Series and Actor Portrayal vs. Non-Canon Written Books, and how the books "screw up" canon.

 

The books do not screw up the canon series', because the books technically do not exist because they are not canon. Just enjoy them for what they are - an opportunity for your mind and imagination to check out and go on an adventure with your favorite characters.

 

Maybe if the fiction novels were actually read for fun and not to be looking for character or plot flaws or how they differ from the TV shows, the book might be enjoyed?

 

On Topic: Spock Must Die by James Blish (1970). Wow. I tried getting through this, and got about halfway through, and had to stop. It wasnt necessarily one thing, just several. The plot is hazy now (its been about ten years since I tried reading it) but I remember I really had an issue keeping up with Blish's writing style, and to be really honest, from what I do remember I thought the plot/sotry/book/characters were all too taciturn.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Surprisingly enough, I found a "Starfleet Academy" book installment to be rather good - "Aftershock" penned by John Vornholt. Young teen book aside, the characterizations of McCoy/Spock were well done and the plot was enjoyable.

 

And, I'd recommend the "Janus Gate" series of novels by LA Graf. These books are the typical crewmembers get displaced and then are thrust into an Alternate reality type of plotline, but these books are definitely not Mirror. In some ways, I'd say these novels are more gritty then the Mirror Universe. A bonus is that Chekov, Sulu and Uhuru are concentrated on, but then again Graf usually does concentrate on the secondary TOS characters rather then the Big Three

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Surprisingly enough, I found a "Starfleet Academy" book installment to be rather good - "Aftershock" penned by John Vornholt. Young teen book aside, the characterizations of McCoy/Spock were well done and the plot was enjoyable.

 

Oh, man...I remember those books! They had a bunch of them at the library I used to go to in like 5th grade...right after I got into Trek for the first time. I remember "Aftershock"...that was a good one. There were also a few from the TNG series that I enjoyed, particularly "Crossfire" (about Data) and "Capture the Flag" (about Geordi), although again, this was right when I first found out about Trek at all, and also I was ten, so I can't really speak for either their quality or their closeness to canon from an adult perspective.

 

I should go back and find those...that would be a blast from the past...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Has anyone read the Section 31 books? They're sitting on a shelf, and I've been debating whether I should go ahead and read them when I'm done with my current go-through of New Frontier.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I personally enjoyed the DS9: Millennium trilogy by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. And I must throw my endorsement behind "My Enemy, My Ally" as well, since it introduced me to Star Trek novels years ago.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I personally enjoyed the DS9: Millennium trilogy by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. And I must throw my endorsement behind "My Enemy, My Ally" as well, since it introduced me to Star Trek novels years ago.

I went through the extensive list of Trek books I've read and tend to agree that, for many, I've been disappointed. Every six months, I'd convince myself that surely the next one would be good. Sometimes there's a great plot idea, but the characterization is terrible. Sometimes the characters are spot on, but the story is unbelievable or dull. Sometimes you wonder if the author ever watched the show. But the points about books not being canon is well taken. But the comment that they should just be enjoyed for themselves - is exactly why so many of them are remembered as dismal. Some would never have been published if they hadn't co-opted the name Star Trek. Why are the episodes so much better? Well, not all of them are - but so many of them are because there's a writing team and a series Bible and such.

 

However... it was a lent copy of The Romulan Way from someone in my college dorm that, in fact, turned me into a Trekkie. I have fond memories of reading so many, even if I can't always recommend them. I admit I'm less inclined to enjoy the "save the universe" ones - leave that for the shows. Some books have been so ground-breaking that they wound up inspiring TNG, DS9, and VOY, even if they got ret-conned into canon conflict. The Final Reflection is a good example. It invented the concept of honorable, non-evil Klingons, even though the culture it introduced (the komerex zha, the middle name title honorifics) is largely ignored. And Strangers from the Sky tells the story of an "almost" First Contact, but has invalidated by Star Trek: First Contact and Enterprise. Both good reads. The Titan series has real potential, but I'm still reserving judgement.

 

My personal favorites among the hundreds:

Time for Yesterday by A.C. Crispin, a much-better sequel to Yesterday's Son, which was pretty okay itself

A Stitch in Time by Andrew Robinson (the actor who played Garak) <---OUTSTANDING

The Millennium trilogy by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

The Art of the Impossible by Keith R.A. DeCandido was a nice, low-key political thriller that filled in some nice gaps.

Edited by Sorehl

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I only started reading Star Trek last year. So I'm buying the books I read from a used book store and most of them are older books. One book I recently read was " A Rock and a Hard Place " by Peter David. I really enjoyed it, especially the Commander Stone character. I think it would be cool if someone wrote a book with him as the Captain. What do yal think?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Has anyone read the Section 31 books? They're sitting on a shelf, and I've been debating whether I should go ahead and read them when I'm done with my current go-through of New Frontier.

 

I recommend all four of S31 books. Nice "shadowy organization" reads without getting all Bourne Conspiracy-ish. I can't really choose a "better" one, but my nod would go to the VOY installment.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I went through the extensive list of Trek books I've read and tend to agree that, for many, I've been disappointed. Every six months, I'd convince myself that surely the next one would be good. Sometimes there's a great plot idea, but the characterization is terrible. Sometimes the characters are spot on, but the story is unbelievable or dull. Sometimes you wonder if the author ever watched the show. But the points about books not being canon is well taken. But the comment that they should just be enjoyed for themselves - is exactly why so many of them are remembered as dismal. Some would never have been published if they hadn't co-opted the name Star Trek. Why are the episodes so much better? Well, not all of them are - but so many of them are because there's a writing team and a series Bible and such.

 

I have a book example comment to go along with the co-opted Trek novel comment: TNG's Nightshade by Laurell K. Hamilton.

 

This novel centered on Worf and Troi, who did not seem like themselves if you get my drift. The plot was just kind of floating along as well, with Worf and Troi stuck for the whole book in some sort of foreign embassy compound. I did wonder if Hamilton watched the series at all, because you could have taken out Troi and Worf, stuck in two new characters, taken away all the Trek elements and then the book would have been a generic written adventure. I didn't hate the book, but didn't feel at all remorseful when I chucked that bad boy and donated it to my local library. :-P

 

I think Night Shade was written in the early 1990's. From the mid 90s on, I really have not read any novels where I personally had this reaction again, so it is possible that the novel standards went a little higher and such. I know the mid to late 80's Trek books had a slew of Mary Sue (Kagan's Uhuru's Song, and Carey's Dreadnought and Battlestations - but these three are all GOOD books and worth a TOS read) characters popping up, and this seems to have died out by the early to mid 90's as well.

 

Now, how about this - do you all save your Trek Books? I am a Trek book maven, and read them regularly. However, I'm unable to save every single book that I read (I just do not have the room). So, I generally save the ones I really enjoy or have re-read more then twice (Doc McCoy novels, specific authors, a good solid adventure), as well as any special interest novels that I love the concept of (Section 31, Mirror, etc). As it stands, I have about 4 to 5 plastic totes (medium sized) boxes that I save the books in, and since I've been reading Trek novels for twenty years next year, I think only having five totes is a pretty good space saver. :-P

 

The non-saved Trek books are always donated to the local library so someone else who enjoys reading science fiction can get their Trek on. I refuse to just throw a book into the trash. It's like a mortal sin or something.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The non-saved Trek books are always donated to the local library so someone else who enjoys reading science fiction can get their Trek on. I refuse to just throw a book into the trash. It's like a mortal sin or something.

 

I get that, I could never throw a book away.

 

I wish that more Star Trek related people would write the books, though even when I was reading a Shatner book with Data I still felt that he didn't know the character enough. On the other hand, in I, Q by Lancie, I think he captured Picard perfectly.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh lord. I don't keep every book I've ever owned -- but then I buy quite a few "books by the boxload" at the library's twice-annual sale. As far as Trek books... uhm... Well... I hadn't for awhile, so I went and counted the Trek stacks...

 

484 books and 43 magazines.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Good Gods Laarell. Well, it's at least an accomplishment :)

 

I wish I still knew where my old Star Trek: The Magizine are. They covered DS9 and VOY when they were still running, and had sections for different aliens and ships in each issue. They were my Memory Alpha before Memory Alpha.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have to second (fourth? fifth?) the recommendations for the Rihannsu books. They are just a fantastic read, and so well-meshed with canon. I'd also say Uhura's Song, despite the Mary Sue character (but it's a fun and fallible Mary Sue!). And for accurate characterization, I'd recommend any of Christie Golden's books. She's got the Voyager characters spot-on, and does interesting things with exploring them.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I've only read Romulan Way, but god, even that one's fantastic.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was given a gold mine of science fiction books, about 100 old paperbacks "Astounding Science Fiction" published by Street & Smith. We're talking 25 cents a book, circa 1944 and older. What a reflection on the attitudes of people back then. What was really nice was some of the actual science papers they included. Stuff we take for granted now, like mesons and other sub-atomic particals, were only theory back then. Those short stories, and even some of the two and three part series, were a very entertaining format. Which is why I really liked "The Lives of Dax" because you could pick it up anywhere along in the story and be done with reading it in a short period of time.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!


Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.


Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0