Pawns and Symbols is sweet. I loved its Klingons, and I loved Czerny.
Continuity
- Thread starter PrimeDirective
- Start date
Yep. That was a cool thing about the early books. I could say the same about some of the early TNG books too.
I can appreciate a novel that doesn't connect with others, like Federation, but I prefer the novels to connect with each other, creating an overarching story(another reality). In order for a reality to exist, there needs to be connectivity among novels.
^^ It's not realistic, though, because your asking disparate authors to have read everything that's come before to make certain they don't contradict what someone else did. And it adds another meaningless, pointless thing for editors to watch for.
The books allowed for things that we likely wouldn't be able to see on television.
The books allowed for things that we likely wouldn't be able to see on television.
So these last few years have been unrealistic and fantasy because the Trek authors have been pretty good at been consistent. Even when they go a different direction, like in the Crucible Trilogy, they still keep it consistent.
I'm assuming the trilogy is written by the same author or authors working together? That wouldn't be hard to keep things consistent from one book to the next.
I'm sensing a echo starting to build...
An echo? Nahh.
In other news I came across a timeline by a guy called James Dixon...
In other news I came across a timeline by a guy called James Dixon...
The Psychology of James Dixon's Timeline. Also, the last few years of Trek novels have been consistent across the various series. I repeat. The last few years of Trek novels have been consistent across the various series.
Meh. And I gave up several years ago on Trek novels. Tried a few supposedly noteworthy ones during that time, was unimpressed, and now I don't care.
It's sad because I'd like to be reading Star Trek in print. I just am unimpressed with what I peruse on the bookshelf.
I really did like the old Trek novels from the 80s and early 90s. They were all too familiar with the same set of stories. Like go to new planet, and the planet has a secret. Go to a planet, and a crewmember is captured. Go to a planet, and have the author world build for like 150 pages and bore the crap out of you especially with hard to pronounce alien words. The Enterprise found a long lost Earth colony ship, and naturally they are all Khan clones or they reject technology.
Of course, Kang, Kor, or Koloth show up get defeated and leave. The Romulan Commander show up and leave. Don't forget that the Galileo needs to be used and crashed and used and lost and used and used. It got quite dull, especially after 70 or so novels. At least the more recent Trek novels have become more original, granted they are pretty much unforgettable. In all honesty, there hasn't been a Trek novel that really warranted a second and third reading in my opinion.
Of course, Kang, Kor, or Koloth show up get defeated and leave. The Romulan Commander show up and leave. Don't forget that the Galileo needs to be used and crashed and used and lost and used and used. It got quite dull, especially after 70 or so novels. At least the more recent Trek novels have become more original, granted they are pretty much unforgettable. In all honesty, there hasn't been a Trek novel that really warranted a second and third reading in my opinion.
Then you obviously haven't read the Star Trek: Destiny novels, or Star Trek Enterprise: The Good That Men Do, or Star Trek Enterprise: Kobayashi Maru, or the various novels I've read since last year.
So you did like them, or you didn't like them? 'Cos it sounds like you hated them, and yet you read over 70 of them?
Yeah, I also wondered about that. And I read novels then that didn't sound like what's being described.
So you did like them, or you didn't like them? 'Cos it sounds like you hated them, and yet you read over 70 of them?
I liked them for the basic reason, I am a completist Trek. I try to read everything Trek. Yet, during that time period, it seemed like those authors were going by a set plot generator that got boring real fast and so I stopped reading Trek novels for a while, until I picked up The Sundered, and I got hooked again. I especially liked The Art of Impossible and Full Circle.
Besides, name one old Trek novel that didn't describe to the plot themes that I named. Yes, I read Destiny and I am caught up to Treason. I thought Destiny was good until Picard's officers start to whine about not exploring during the middle of the second book. The Good that Men Do was good and so was Kobayashi Maru, but not second and third readings good (in my opinion). Granted not many books have pulled back into a second or third reading, except for the Song of Fire and Ice books and It.
Besides, name one old Trek novel that didn't describe to the plot themes that I named. Yes, I read Destiny and I am caught up to Treason. I thought Destiny was good until Picard's officers start to whine about not exploring during the middle of the second book. The Good that Men Do was good and so was Kobayashi Maru, but not second and third readings good (in my opinion). Granted not many books have pulled back into a second or third reading, except for the Song of Fire and Ice books and It.
Well, that's partly because, due to a memo (1989, during hiatus between Seasons One and Two of TNG) and mandate from Richard Arnold, on behalf of the then-Star Trek Office at Paramount, the tie-ins were specifically asked to ensure that they focused on the main seven (of TOS) or eight (of TNG) cast members. Planet-of-the-month novels, that were neither sequels or prequels to existing stories (episodes or novels) were more likely, at this point, to sail through the manuscript vetting process. That dark period officially ended with GR's death in 1991, but of course many novels were in train for months/years after Richard left that position and Paula Block (and her Licensing Division) become the sole arbiter of manuscripts.
Most of the "giant" MMPBs and the hardcovers, for a start.
Have you tried Troublesome Minds? When I read the blurb, it looked like it was just gonna be another planet-of-the-week type thing, much like the stuff ProwlAlpha has described. So I got it from the library instead of buying it, and it actually ended up being pretty good, IMHO. Fairly interesting premise, fairly "classical." (That is to say, it did for the most part feel like TOS to me, and not a modernized version of it.)
They don't pay me to say this. Maybe it's just because my expectations were so low, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Federation. I could read that two or three hundred times. I had to restrain myself from turning around and reading it again the moment I finished it.
In all serious, that was the first Star Trek book to very nearly drive me to tears.
Enterprise: The First Adventure was a part of the plot generator era.
I liked Federation, it was the second Trek novel that I ever read.
I liked Federation, it was the second Trek novel that I ever read.
Since the author was given the brief to write Kirk's crew's first ever "First Contact" mission, E:TFA could hardly escape introducing a new (very) alien culture. And Vonda McIntyre did lots of things to break the mold with that book. It's more like other novelists followed her lead.
Hey, if its the first of the era, then thats understandable.
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