Valuable Trek books

[ChallengerHK]

I'm going to be getting rid of most of my Trek books. I'm wondering if there's a list of any which are particularly valuable, i.e., which deserve more than the bargain bin. I'm thinking more like the Bantams, less like the Pocket books, but also reference material as well.

 

[Markonian]

Probably, older books +condition +rareness determine value.
Any FASA RPGs are high-value, I'd presume.

 

[Extrocomp]

The recalled first edition of Killing Time is selling for at least $50 on eBay. Here's a webpage to help you find out which edition you have.

 

[F. King Daniel]

The recalled first edition of Killing Time is selling for at least $50 on eBay. Here's a webpage to help you find out which edition you have.

I had a mint first edition of it, until a freak accident tore off the front cover. Still mad 5 years later.

 

[Extrocomp]

How did that happen?

 

[ChallengerHK]

I know I've read that Killing Time was pulled from print early because of supposed K/S content, and that Ishmael was pulled for copyright issues. I've never been able verify either of those stories.

 

[elric428]

The Deep Space 9 book "A Stitch in Time" is worth quite a bit as well.

 

[Christopher]

I know I've read that Killing Time was pulled from print early because of supposed K/S content, and that Ishmael was pulled for copyright issues. I've never been able verify either of those stories.

As mentioned three posts above yours, KT's original edition was indeed pulled and replaced with a slightly re-edited version. I don't think Ishmael was ever pulled.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I don't think Ishmael was ever pulled.

Neither do I, although I'm sure that its being an unauthorized HCTB crossover, with references to a bunch of other authors' milieus (rather notably Anderson & Dickson's Hoka stories) and television franchises (e.g., Bonanza, Maverick, Have Gun, Will Travel) probably did put a damper on reprints. Of course all that is why it's such a fun book.

I have the original version of KT. Talk of its K/S content is somewhat exaggerated; M&C's "Phoenix" novels are, if memory serves, just as slashy, and not as good.

 

[Christopher]

Neither do I, although I'm sure that its being an unauthorized HCTB crossover, with references to a bunch of other authors' milieus (rather notably Anderson & Dickson's Hoka stories) and television franchises (e.g., Bonanza, Maverick, Have Gun, Will Travel) probably did put a damper on reprints.

The HCtB parts, maybe, since the characters were prominently featured and identified by name. The Hokas were also namedropped, but most of the other references were only implicit. Characters like Paladin, the Cartwrights, and the Doctor weren't identified by name; there were just brief descriptions of characters that happened to resemble them, and it was left to the readers to recognize who was being referenced (which meant I completely missed the references to the Western characters). References like that wouldn't provoke legal action, since they're not explicit; it can easily be argued that the people simply resemble certain other fictional characters rather than actually being them. They're the kind of pastiche that countless works of fiction have employed as Easter eggs and in-jokes.

I have the original version of KT. Talk of its K/S content is somewhat exaggerated; M&C's "Phoenix" novels are, if memory serves, just as slashy, and not as good.

Yeah, but KT happened to be the one that prompted a homophobic reader to write a letter of complaint to Roddenberry at a time when he and Richard Arnold were cracking down on novel content. GR might've done the same if he'd been notified about the Phoenix novels, but presumably he wasn't. The thing about slipping under the radar is that the radar is still there and sometimes gets told where to look.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

They're the kind of pastiche that countless works of fiction have employed as Easter eggs and in-jokes.

Yes, and my own work-in-progress, when it needed some cops and a lawyer, got detective sergeants Joe Webb and Bill Morgan, and uniformed officers Milner and McCord, as well as Raymond Griffith, a junior partner at Anderson, Post, and Larroquette. (For that matter, a number of prominent musicians from real life are referred to, and lots of characters are named after well-known composers.)

The thing about slipping under the radar is that the radar is still there and sometimes gets told where to look.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I know I've read that Killing Time was pulled from print early because of supposed K/S content, and that Ishmael was pulled for copyright issues. I've never been able verify either of those stories.

If your "Killing Time" has raised/embossed lettering for its title, you have the rare first edition. More info than you'll ever need:
https://fanlore.org/wiki/Killing_Time_(Star_Trek_tie-in_novel)

"Ishmael" was never pulled. A quiet arrangement with the owner of "Here Come the Brides" was settled.

From Barbara's blog:
https://barbara-hambly.livejournal.com/82721.html

And a fan reviewer:
"Barbara said she wrote the story while she was in high school, and kept it in her desk for years. Then she was contacted by Pocket Books to write a Trek story -- and shazzam! she sold them 'Ishmael'. Barbara was under the impression Paramount produced 'Brides', when in actuality it was Columbia Television."
https://fanlore.org/wiki/Ishmael

 

[F. King Daniel]

How did that happen?

At the time I was keeping my Trek books in a box under my bed. It was on top, and I pulled the box out to rummage for a novel. The bed frame tore it clean off

 

[Extrocomp]

A quiet arrangement with the owner of "Here Come the Brides" was settled.

I haven't heard this before. Where did you hear this?

 

[ChallengerHK]

At the time I was keeping my Trek books in a box under my bed. It was on top, and I pulled the box out to rummage for a novel. The bed frame tore it clean off

That sucks. Sorry to hear that.

If your "Killing Time" has raised/embossed lettering for its title, you have the rare first edition. More info than you'll ever need:
https://fanlore.org/wiki/Killing_Time_(Star_Trek_tie-in_novel)

Thanks for the info.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I will note that (if memory serves correctly) Roddenberry himself addressed K/S in the TMP novelization. Which was of course well before KT, albeit well after both of the "Phoenix" novels.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I will note that (if memory serves correctly) Roddenberry himself addressed K/S in the TMP novelization. Which was of course well before KT, albeit well after both of the "Phoenix" novels.

Yes, but he did it in a humorous way that both delighted and angered people in K/S fandom. At least they got a new Vulcan term out of it.