Best Star Trek author?
- Thread starter aussie_rules
- Start date
Remember to include my name, and a 20-dollar bill. Don't see why I should get left out...
I do still exist, I just had to prune my time here in order to spend time doing things that actually pay the bills.
Thanks to everyone for the kind words!
Great, glad to hear it.
For my money, the two brightest stars of the TrekLit world are David Mack and Keith R.A. DeCandido. I can't really pick between them; they're like two sides of the same coin. Mack tends towards the darker and grittier, and DeCandido tends towards the more hopeful and brighter, but both manage to capture the essence of Star Trek while also crafting novels that I think are genuine literary accomplishments in their own right. This may seem like a weird comparison, but Mack and DeCandido's writing styles always remind me of my two favorite musicals -- Duncan Sheik's Spring Awakening and Jonathan Larson's Rent, respectively. I suppose a more Trekkian comparison would be to say that David Mack is like DS9 at its best, and DeCandido is like TNG at its best. 
Rounding out the other top Trek authors in my mind, in no particular order:
* James Swallow
* Una McCormack
* Diane Duane
* Margaret Wander Bonano
* David R. George III
* Vonda MacIntyre
* Peter David
* Christopher L. Bennett
* Dayton Ward/Kevin Dilmore
* William Leisner
* Andy Mangels/Michael A. Martin
* S.D. Perry
* Heather Jarman
* Kirsten Beyer
Rounding out the other top Trek authors in my mind, in no particular order:
* James Swallow
* Una McCormack
* Diane Duane
* Margaret Wander Bonano
* David R. George III
* Vonda MacIntyre
* Peter David
* Christopher L. Bennett
* Dayton Ward/Kevin Dilmore
* William Leisner
* Andy Mangels/Michael A. Martin
* S.D. Perry
* Heather Jarman
* Kirsten Beyer
I am always humbled and delighted to be included on such lists. Many thanks.
Easily Diane Duane.
Honorable mentions to James Swallow and Una McCormack.
Honorable mentions to James Swallow and Una McCormack.
I feel like a tool because I forgot to include S.D. Perry to my list. Avatar the reason I picked up TrekLit again. I hadn't really read much of it with regularity since Rogue Saucer (one of my all time favorites along with Kahless). DS9 was my favorite series overall and she brought it back to life, like watching a new episode.
Peter David- I havent read a single book by him which I havent liked in one way or another.
Greg cox is also quite good and Michael Jan Freedman
Greg cox is also quite good and Michael Jan Freedman
^ You want to rectify that, my friend.
I've thought about it, and I think my favorite treklit author has to be Keith DeCandido. I love the Gorkon/Klingon Empire books more than I ever thought I would, and I consider both Articles of the Federation and A Singular Destiny both amazing reads. His A Time To... book was fantastic, and his Lost Era book, Art of the Impossible, is what got me into that series in the first place. I can't think of any treklit books of his that I've read that I didn't dig.
I'm also a big fan of Christopher L. Bennett (the best trek centered sci-fi author out there), David Mack (second only to KRAD), Kirsten Beyer (her Voyager books are two of my favorite trek books of all time), DRG3 (DS9 is in good hands ) and as I'm an original New Frontier lover, Peter David also makes the list.
Honorable mention goes to William Leisner. I've read Losing the Peace (a fantastic debut novel), and I've just picked up Infinity's Prism so I can read his alternate universe trek-tale
.
I'm also a big fan of Christopher L. Bennett (the best trek centered sci-fi author out there), David Mack (second only to KRAD), Kirsten Beyer (her Voyager books are two of my favorite trek books of all time), DRG3 (DS9 is in good hands
) and as I'm an original New Frontier lover, Peter David also makes the list. Honorable mention goes to William Leisner. I've read Losing the Peace (a fantastic debut novel), and I've just picked up Infinity's Prism so I can read his alternate universe trek-tale
.For me its Diane Duane, although I haven't had a chance to read much in the way Star Trek novels lately (or anywhere near as much of anything as I would like - and I work at a library) so that probably isn't fair to any of the other authors since I haven't read them, so I don't know how much I would or wouldn't like their work. Although I did get to read Ex Machina and I thoroughly enjoyed it - excellent work Christopher.
In contrast, I haven't read any Diane Duane yet, but I've read most of the others.
I think her and DRG3 are the only ones that appear frequently on these lists that I haven't really given a chance to. All I've read of his is The 34th Rule, which I actually hated, but I'm willing to believe I'll like the other stuff more.
I think her and DRG3 are the only ones that appear frequently on these lists that I haven't really given a chance to. All I've read of his is The 34th Rule, which I actually hated, but I'm willing to believe I'll like the other stuff more.
I'm embarrassed to say that while I was reading Crucible: McCoy I had to put it down just after 200+ pages as it felt like I wasn't really getting into it. I enjoy DRG3, but all the story that takes place in the 1930's South was just boring me. McCoy arguing with a local doctor. McCoy checking out the church. McCoy checking out the old mill. McCoy noticing the street names. I needed a break. I started reading the Maximum Warp duology because it looked short and I had heard good things. I'm reading Echoes & Refractions right now as it also has some shorter stories.
I read DRG3's Serpents Among the Ruins as well as his Demora Sulu short story, Iron & Sacrifice from the Tales of the Captain's Table anthology and loved them both. I want to go back to Crucible soon. Hopefully I can get back into it. 600+ pages of dense writing can be kind of daunting
.
^ I, otoh, found the alternative timeline story so much more interesting. It gave us a chance to explore the early 20th century history from a totally different perspective, I couldn't put the book down. Another reason I found the alternative timeline interesting is we don't know what happened to McCoy in that timeline, how would a 23rd doctor who have seen so much of the universe survive in a small, bigoted town from the early 20th century? It was truly fascinating.
Can you tell DRG3 is my favourite writer?
Although KRAD comes very close because he made Klignons and Feregies interesting for me.
Can you tell DRG3 is my favourite writer?
Although KRAD comes very close because he made Klignons and Feregies interesting for me.Similar threads
