Star Trek: TNG Starfleet Academy series... worth reading?

[K-Star]

I know these books are geared towards children between the ages of 9 and 12, and I'm 19 years old and have had an incredibly high reading comprehension level from a young age (In 4th grade, I had the reading level of a high school senior), but I'm kinda interested in reading a few of these (Namely, "Mystery of the Missing Crew," "Secret of the Lizard People," "Loyalties," and "Deceptions.") Are these books entertaining, at least?

 

[HIj'Qa]

I picked them up cheap at local used bookstores and half.com. I thought they were actually pretty good - character portrayals were very strong. The stories all have a lesson or moral point to make, but I expected that. They were adventurous in their depiction of non-human life, more imaginative of the future than some main-line novels. I especially liked the Deanna and Worf ones, for giving a bit of explaination to the characters.

Definitely entertaining, at least. :thumbsup:

 

[K-Star]

Yeah, I figured there'd be some lesson, but they certainly sound interesting. I've found copies real cheap on Amazon.com, and maybe if I can get them shipped fast enough I'll have something to read on my flight home. I'd like a bit more input from others before I buy these, though...

How's the humor (if any)?

 

[J47]

Re: Star Trek: TNG Starfleet Academy series... worth reading

I really enjoyed this series. The Worf ones were fantastic, and I love the Geordi 'capture the flag' one for some reason. The first two Voyager (ie, Kathryn Janeway) ones were pretty good too.

 

[Stevil2001]

Re: Star Trek: TNG Starfleet Academy series... worth reading

I read most of them when I was in high school, when they were well below my reading level (though Mystery of the Missing Crew was the first original Trek novel I ever read), but I enjoyed them. Capture the Flag and Starfall are probably my favorites, as the only books in the series that don't contrive a reason to stick cadets in life-threatening danger. The former is an excellent Geordi story about belonging, and the latter details Picard's first, failed attempt to get into the Academy.

 

[William Leisner]

K-Star said:
Are these books entertaining, at least?

Yes, they are that. As long as you keep in mind that they were primarily aimed for a younger audience, you should enjoy them.

 

[K-Star]

Hmm. But what about the ones I've picked out? No one's really said anything about them....

 

[Stevil2001]

Re: Star Trek: TNG Starfleet Academy series... worth reading

Mystery of the Missing Crew is good. It was the first original Trek book I owned, and I read it many times. Friedman captures Data pretty well, and it's a good, solid story.

I only read Secret of the Lizard People once, and I don't remember much about it, but I'd assume it's on par with MotMC.

 

[K-Star]

Re: Star Trek: TNG Starfleet Academy series... worth reading

Well, I went ahead and ordered all of the books I mentioned, except "Loyalties." I'm gonna hold off on buying that one till later (Hopefully the three I ordered are worth reading, and if I like them I'll get that one too.)

They should arrive by the end of the week, which means I'll have them in plenty of time before break and thus have something to read on my flight home.

 

[ClayinCA]

Re: Star Trek: TNG Starfleet Academy series... worth reading

Just as a matter of possible interest, the Academy: Worf novels fature chcracters whom author Peter David picked up and re-used in the New Frontier series. So if you're a fan of those books, you may find something else to enjoy in these.

 

[K-Star]

Re: Star Trek: TNG Starfleet Academy series... worth reading

^Never read that series. The only Trek book I've ever read was "Immortal Coil" (and it was FRICKIN AWESOME!)

 

[cmdr_forst]

Re: Star Trek: TNG Starfleet Academy series... worth reading

J47 said:
and I love the Geordi 'capture the flag' one for some reason.

The Geordi "Capture the Flag" book was always my favorite. I actually re-re-read all of the TNG Starfleet Academy books (plus the young adult novelizations of GEN and FC) a few months ago. They held up well. Fun reads, surprisingly compelling stories, with some rather awful illustrations every now and then.

"Mystery of the Missing Crew" - A fun romp, with robots!

"Secret of the Lizard People" - Sadly, much less interesting the second (or third) time around, due to a certain mystery that the story really hinges on. Once you know it, you know it.

"Loyalties" - A little weak at times, some of the characters seem a little off (especially Beverly), and Data was more of an afterthought than a main character.

"Deceptions" - Probably the best of the bunch in terms of pacing. A real page-turner.

As an aside, there were only three Star Trek and Star Trek: Voyager Starfleet Academy books, correct? I think I have all of the young adult books except for the last one or two Deep Space Nine ones and the third Star Trek: Voyager installment. Was there ever a young adult novelization for Insurrection and/or Nemesis?

 

[K-Star]

Re: Star Trek: TNG Starfleet Academy series... worth reading

^Illustrations? Those oughta be interesting to see, despite how bad they are!

 

[Steve Roby]

Re: Star Trek: TNG Starfleet Academy series... worth reading

cmdr_forst said:
As an aside, there were only three Star Trek and Star Trek: Voyager Starfleet Academy books, correct? I think I have all of the young adult books except for the last one or two Deep Space Nine ones and the third Star Trek: Voyager installment.

There's a list of all the YA books on the Children's and Young Adults' Books index page at my Trek books site. In the mid-90s, Pocket published 3 TOS Starfleet Academy novels, 14 TNG Academy novels, 12 DS9 novels (11 about Jake and Nog, one about Worf and Alexander), and 3 Voyager Academy novels. In the same format they published YA novelizations of all four TNG movies.

In a different format, Pocket reprinted the very first Star Trek novel, Mission to Horatius, a YA book first published in 1968. Instead of the oversized paperback format used by the other YA books, this was essentially a facsimile of the 1968 hardcover edition.

Pocket also published a few YA books in the 1980s, but this post is getting long enough already. You can go to the link above if you're interested.

Was there ever a young adult novelization for Insurrection and/or Nemesis?

Answered above.

 

[K-Star]

Re: Star Trek: TNG Starfleet Academy series... worth reading

Mystery of the Missing Crew came in today, and I finished it rather quickly! It was a cute little story! I liked how they showed what happened when Data was first discovered by the Tripoli. And whoever said the illustrations were bad: I thought they were adorable!

I kinda wish they had expanded some scenes and gone into a bit more detail in some places, but alas, this IS a children's book after all!

Now I just gotta wait for the others!