Read any GOOD Star Trek books? - Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums

Dave · 23rd January 2001, 10:10 AM

Has anyone read any Star Trek fiction that they would recomend as a MUST read. I have read quite a few - even some of the popular ones - but, in my opinion, they were not that good.

They don't develop characters. The characters do and say things, I don't think they ever would. New characters they introduce are just cardboard cut-outs.

As for the plots - I can see it coming from the first page. If the story was any good wouldn't they have sold it to Paramount anyway?

With a few exceptions, the authors are usually new unknowns, or people who convert screenplays to books, and write little else.

On the other hand, some of these books are VERY popular and recently people like Armin Shimerman, Andrew Robinson, James Doohan, John DeLancie and William Shatner have all Co-written books, plus I haven't read anything by Peter David (and he does write other things).

I just don't want to spend my money on something I won't finish.

the_Brainz · 27th February 2001, 06:39 PM

There are several excellent Star Trek books out there. In my opinion, don't buy a William Shatner book, because he uses way too many commas and it gets irritating. Don't buy a Peter David book, especially not his New Frontier dumb-arse crap. I can't speak for other actors' writing, but I can speak for several writers:

Jeri Taylor, the co-producer of Star Trek: Voyager has written some excellent STV books. The best one in my opinion is Mosaic -- and hey, she gets the characters just right (why? Coz she made them!)
Dafyd Ab Hu, whose name is not fake, has written several Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine books, and they are probably my favourites because I really like his writing style. His Furies book for STV was awesome, and his DS9 book Fallen Heroes is probably my all-time favourite.
Michael Jan Friedman has also written some very good Star Trek books.
If you're looking for greater drama and character development rather than action or lots of storyline, try Diane Carey.

Hope that helps. As for "I just don't want to spend my money on something I won't finish" -- one word: library.

imported_DeeMarie · 3rd March 2001, 03:31 PM

I've got nearly an entire collection of Star Trek books, but my favourite authors have to be LA Graf, their writing style is just so good.

Dave · 4th March 2001, 05:55 PM

Well I've read 'Spock's World' by Diane Carey and I'm afraid I didn't like it.

The Jeri Taylor book 'Mosaic' I had forgotten about, I was going to read it once, so I'll have to pick it up.

DeeMarie- books by LA Graf- I haven't heard of, thanks, I'll look into them.

the_Brainz- you must have a good library- the best books are never in at mine- yes I could reserve them, but I usually pick things up on the spur of the moment in a library. Any that I buy, I usually think about for a while first.

MacavityCat · 12th April 2001, 07:27 PM

:blpaw: Hi there, MacavityCat here...

Hmmm... some good novels, eh? Let's see. I know that I really LOVED a few of TOS novels, but then again, I'm more of a classic trek fan myself.

I love the follwoing writers because I just love their style. J.M. Dillard, Janet Kagan, A.C. Crispin, and Diane Carey They've written some great stories, IMHO. But you've got to remember, different strokes for different folks. *L*

Would have to say that J.M. Dillard and Diane Carey are my favorites.

The novels written by J.M. Dillard, that I would recommend are:
Bloodthirst, Demons, and Mindshadow

Novels by Diane Carey that I would recommend are:
Battlestations, and Dreadnaught (sort of a continuation of Battlestations),

Now, Melinda Snodgrass wrote an excellent tear jerker called Tears of the Singer

And I have to admit, I've read the following novel by Janet Kagan at least 3 times! *L* It's called, Uhura's Song

Hope that out of all of those, you find one that you like.

Qwxy · 28th April 2001, 09:44 AM

there is one i can recomend to you not as a must read but as a good read and that is a tng one i cant remember the name of it but it has a couple of the X-men in it
i was sceptical about it at first but quickly found it to be quite a good read

Maria8475 · 8th May 2001, 07:53 AM

Jeri Taylor is my fave ST Author too. I LOVE Mosaic!! It lives on my bed.....all the time!!

And she's also written "Pathways" which is like Mosaic but for the rest of the Voyager crew. Definetly worth reading!

Maria :star:

ray gower · 5th June 2001, 06:32 PM

Having read a dozen or so Pocket Books, I have come to the general conclusion they range between bad and abysmal.

Then I read the Submission Guidelines on their website.

No new characters.
The crew must solve all problems themselves.
The crew did not exist before the series unless copper lined in the series.
No major interaction between the characters, unless highlighted in the series.
Things must comply to Paramount rules.

Talk of restrictive!

If you want characters, or original stories, then the fan fiction writers stand a better chance. Even if you have to perm your prefered character from the infinite range.

MacavityCat · 5th June 2001, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Then I read the Submission Guidelines on their website.

No new characters.

The crew must solve all problems themselves.

The crew did not exist before the series unless copper lined in the series.

No major interaction between the characters, unless highlighted in the series.

Things must comply to Paramount rules.

Talk of restrictive!

Well geeze... that IS restrictive. They are not only restricting the characters, they're restricting the plot line, the interaction, the over-all 'feel' not to mention the authors imagination.

Fan fiction writers then have more 'realism' and 'feel' to their story lines.

mc

EmilyH · 5th June 2001, 08:25 PM

I liked all the Q books, but I'm a Q fan (if you haven't figured that out yet by reading my fic.)

Also, I've read a book written by John De Lancie called Soldiers of Light, which wasn't Star Trek but sci-fi. I liked it. He gets a bit philosophical in his alternate future view, but it was still good reading.

One note: I thought it interesting that one of the main characters was named Keegan (first or last, I can't remember), which is also the name of John's real life son, who played Q Jr in the Voyager ep.

MacavityCat · 5th June 2001, 10:13 PM

The kid who played Q jr. on the Voyager episode was John D's real life son? Wow, I would never have know that. I normally pick up on family resemblances... and I didn't see any! *L*

mc

EmilyH · 5th June 2001, 10:36 PM

John De Lancie has said that he didn't really want to play Q anymore, and was kind of handing the role over. So we'll see what happens, I guess.

MacavityCat · 5th June 2001, 10:55 PM

Has anyone ever noticed the 'similarities' between Trelane (The Squire of Gothos) and the character Q???

I've often wondered it Trelane was a member of the Q Continuum...

just some food for thought. *EG*

mc

EmilyH · 5th June 2001, 11:53 PM

That's been written about in fanfic before. There have been different answers, depending on the author. I think he was a member of another energy-based species, perhaps not as powerful as the Q but almost. Nothing in canon says the Q are the only near-omnipotent race in existence.

MacavityCat · 6th June 2001, 06:17 AM

That's true. There are so many possibilities and so many species discovered and still undiscovered in the trek universe. But then I think... Trelane was a child... a spoiled little rotten brat! *L* and hadn't really delved into all of his powers. I do think that his powers were just 'immature'... imagine what they would be like once he'd grown up... very possible that they would be the equivalent of the Continuum's. No?

mc

27th February 2001, 06:39 PM	#2 (permalink)
the_Brainz behind the operation Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: plp://nz.p3.sol/hamilton.reg Posts: 95	Well... There are several excellent Star Trek books out there. In my opinion, don't buy a William Shatner book, because he uses way too many commas and it gets irritating. Don't buy a Peter David book, especially not his New Frontier dumb-arse crap. I can't speak for other actors' writing, but I can speak for several writers: Jeri Taylor, the co-producer of Star Trek: Voyager has written some excellent STV books. The best one in my opinion is Mosaic -- and hey, she gets the characters just right (why? Coz she made them!) Dafyd Ab Hu, whose name is not fake, has written several Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine books, and they are probably my favourites because I really like his writing style. His Furies book for STV was awesome, and his DS9 book Fallen Heroes is probably my all-time favourite. Michael Jan Friedman has also written some very good Star Trek books. If you're looking for greater drama and character development rather than action or lots of storyline, try Diane Carey. Hope that helps. As for "I just don't want to spend my money on something I won't finish" -- one word: library.

5th June 2001, 10:36 PM	#12 (permalink)
EmilyH MN Sci-fi Fan Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Eagan, MN, USA Posts: 550	Yep. John De Lancie has said that he didn't really want to play Q anymore, and was kind of handing the role over. So we'll see what happens, I guess.

5th June 2001, 11:53 PM	#14 (permalink)
EmilyH MN Sci-fi Fan Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Eagan, MN, USA Posts: 550	Actually, That's been written about in fanfic before. There have been different answers, depending on the author. I think he was a member of another energy-based species, perhaps not as powerful as the Q but almost. Nothing in canon says the Q are the only near-omnipotent race in existence.

23rd January 2001, 10:10 AM	#1 (permalink)
Dave Wherever I Am, I'm There Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Greater London Posts: 11,531	Has anyone read any Star Trek fiction that they would recomend as a MUST read. I have read quite a few - even some of the popular ones - but, in my opinion, they were not that good. They don't develop characters. The characters do and say things, I don't think they ever would. New characters they introduce are just cardboard cut-outs. As for the plots - I can see it coming from the first page. If the story was any good wouldn't they have sold it to Paramount anyway? With a few exceptions, the authors are usually new unknowns, or people who convert screenplays to books, and write little else. On the other hand, some of these books are VERY popular and recently people like Armin Shimerman, Andrew Robinson, James Doohan, John DeLancie and William Shatner have all Co-written books, plus I haven't read anything by Peter David (and he does write other things). I just don't want to spend my money on something I won't finish.

3rd March 2001, 03:31 PM	#3 (permalink)
imported_DeeMarie Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12	I've got nearly an entire collection of Star Trek books, but my favourite authors have to be LA Graf, their writing style is just so good.

4th March 2001, 05:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
Dave Wherever I Am, I'm There Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Greater London Posts: 11,531	Well I've read 'Spock's World' by Diane Carey and I'm afraid I didn't like it. The Jeri Taylor book 'Mosaic' I had forgotten about, I was going to read it once, so I'll have to pick it up. DeeMarie- books by LA Graf- I haven't heard of, thanks, I'll look into them. the_Brainz- you must have a good library- the best books are never in at mine- yes I could reserve them, but I usually pick things up on the spur of the moment in a library. Any that I buy, I usually think about for a while first.

12th April 2001, 07:27 PM	#5 (permalink)
MacavityCat Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: NY Posts: 26	:blpaw: Hi there, MacavityCat here... Hmmm... some good novels, eh? Let's see. I know that I really LOVED a few of TOS novels, but then again, I'm more of a classic trek fan myself. I love the follwoing writers because I just love their style. J.M. Dillard, Janet Kagan, A.C. Crispin, and Diane Carey They've written some great stories, IMHO. But you've got to remember, different strokes for different folks. L Would have to say that J.M. Dillard and Diane Carey are my favorites. The novels written by J.M. Dillard, that I would recommend are: Bloodthirst, Demons, and Mindshadow Novels by Diane Carey that I would recommend are: Battlestations, and Dreadnaught (sort of a continuation of Battlestations), Now, Melinda Snodgrass wrote an excellent tear jerker called Tears of the Singer And I have to admit, I've read the following novel by Janet Kagan at least 3 times! L It's called, Uhura's Song Hope that out of all of those, you find one that you like.

28th April 2001, 09:44 AM	#6 (permalink)
Qwxy The Star Trek Oracle Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: U.K in Basingstoke Posts: 280	there is one i can recomend to you not as a must read but as a good read and that is a tng one i cant remember the name of it but it has a couple of the X-men in it i was sceptical about it at first but quickly found it to be quite a good read

8th May 2001, 07:53 AM	#7 (permalink)
Maria8475 It goes on..... Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 4,690	Jeri Taylor is my fave ST Author too. I LOVE Mosaic!! It lives on my bed.....all the time!! And she's also written "Pathways" which is like Mosaic but for the rest of the Voyager crew. Definetly worth reading! Maria :star:

5th June 2001, 06:32 PM	#8 (permalink)
ray gower Registered User Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Gwynedd Posts: 3,579	Having read a dozen or so Pocket Books, I have come to the general conclusion they range between bad and abysmal. Then I read the Submission Guidelines on their website. No new characters. The crew must solve all problems themselves. The crew did not exist before the series unless copper lined in the series. No major interaction between the characters, unless highlighted in the series. Things must comply to Paramount rules. Talk of restrictive! If you want characters, or original stories, then the fan fiction writers stand a better chance. Even if you have to perm your prefered character from the infinite range.

5th June 2001, 08:25 PM	#10 (permalink)
EmilyH MN Sci-fi Fan Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Eagan, MN, USA Posts: 550	I liked all the Q books, but I'm a Q fan (if you haven't figured that out yet by reading my fic.) Also, I've read a book written by John De Lancie called Soldiers of Light, which wasn't Star Trek but sci-fi. I liked it. He gets a bit philosophical in his alternate future view, but it was still good reading. One note: I thought it interesting that one of the main characters was named Keegan (first or last, I can't remember), which is also the name of John's real life son, who played Q Jr in the Voyager ep.

5th June 2001, 10:13 PM	#11 (permalink)
MacavityCat Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: NY Posts: 26	The kid who played Q jr. on the Voyager episode was John D's real life son? Wow, I would never have know that. I normally pick up on family resemblances... and I didn't see any! L mc

5th June 2001, 10:55 PM	#13 (permalink)
MacavityCat Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: NY Posts: 26	Has anyone ever noticed the 'similarities' between Trelane (The Squire of Gothos) and the character Q??? I've often wondered it Trelane was a member of the Q Continuum... just some food for thought. EG mc

6th June 2001, 06:17 AM	#15 (permalink)
MacavityCat Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: NY Posts: 26	That's true. There are so many possibilities and so many species discovered and still undiscovered in the trek universe. But then I think... Trelane was a child... a spoiled little rotten brat! L and hadn't really delved into all of his powers. I do think that his powers were just 'immature'... imagine what they would be like once he'd grown up... very possible that they would be the equivalent of the Continuum's. No? mc