New Frontier?

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by Dsven43, Nov 25, 2012.

  1. Gate11au

    Gate11au Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    Um wow no more NF i have only read the first few but they were really good but then again i like everything Peter David writes in the trek-verse so if he not doing any more NF and not under contract dose that mean we will not get any more Peter David Star trek novels at all.
    as for The IFM i have not gotten to it yet just started Typhon Pact i am starting to think that may be i should not read it at all so not to get stuck with the continuity problems would this make the the next lot of Typhon pact books harder to follow or easier?
     
  2. USS Firefly

    USS Firefly Commodore Commodore

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    You can read them both, the continuity problems aren't that big
     
  3. Therin of Andor

    Therin of Andor Admiral Moderator

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    It seems that PAD has had a falling out, of sorts, with the current editor, but PAD is also in recovery following a stroke, so getting well again is #1 on his agenda at present.

    PAD doesn't write ST books without a contract, so until the editor hears a pitch he likes...
     
  4. Relayer1

    Relayer1 Admiral Admiral

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    It's referenced in at least one other book so it is still in continuity, even if you have to fill in the gaps yourself about how some developments were resolved to get back to where the other books pick up.

    It's pretty dumb how things were handled by the editor...
     
  5. Allyn Gibson

    Allyn Gibson Vice Admiral Admiral

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    What are you basing that on? PAD has worked with Ed Schlesinger on all his post-Ordover New Frontier books.
     
  6. Defcon

    Defcon Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Yeah, to me it seems more that Schlesinger has decided to cut down both the roster of regular authors and of the series, and PAD and NF (and some other people) ended up on "wrong side" of the cut.

    No falling out, just an ediorial decision (and bad business manners by Schlesinger by simply ignoring authors he doesn't want to work with anymore).
     
  7. tomswift2002

    tomswift2002 Commodore Commodore

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    Not necessarily. There could've been a contract involved that specified that Peter David had to write "X" number of novels, and Schlesinger had to go along with, at least til the contract ran out.
     
  8. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    ^That was the impression I got from second hand comments people have posted on here. It sounds like he finished all of the book on the last contract, and they never set up a new one.
     
  9. Therin of Andor

    Therin of Andor Admiral Moderator

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    I'm aware of that.

    PAD's blogs (and KRAD's) have mentioned frustrations with not being able to make pitches, not hearing back from Pocket and no contracts being offered to them. Of course, they are also being professional in not stating in print exactly what's going on.

    Or maybe I just dreamed it. :cardie:

    If that's not a falling out "of some kind", then it's at least a stalemate, or a failure to communicate, from somewhere. It seems weird when you know that Ed once worked so closely with PAD, on lots of NF and his original fiction - and that KRAD did some editorial work on "No Limits", IIRC.

    On PAD's blog, he has explained how he had a few three-book contracts with Pocket but the last NF was a two-book contract. He was told there wouldn't be a new NF contract till figures were in for the most recent book - and no one at Pocket has supposedly said anything to him since. But he and Ed have had a long author/editor collaboration going at Pocket.
     
  10. donners22

    donners22 Commodore Commodore

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    I would love to see one last New Frontier book. That series has been pretty much the only Trek books I've bought in the last decade. I'd read that he was working on the belated second part of his original fantasy trilogy though, and no doubt recovering from his stroke would be his primary focus at the moment.
     
  11. Deano2099

    Deano2099 Commander Red Shirt

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    I'd speculate that PAD probably commands a higher fee than most of the other Trek writers, due to his relatively high-profile in the comic book world, so if they're cutting costs, it stands to reason they'd be using him less.

    The KRAD thing is weird - it doesn't exactly shed much light on the issue, but he had the whole thing with Starcraft: Spectres, which he finished and turned in the manuscript for, and then Pocket nixed it and handed it to another author for reasons we don't have a clue about... and I'm fairly sure the editor of the Starcraft line at the time is the same guy editing Trek now.
     
  12. NightJim

    NightJim Captain Captain

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    Just out of interest, has there been some sort of statement made or is it just the continued absence of New Frontier releases that has sparked this conversation again?
     
  13. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I hadn't heard about the Starcraft incident before. That does seem odd. The new editor's behavior at Pocket is weird. I would think the you would at least want to say something to these writers when the do stuff like that.
     
  14. Allyn Gibson

    Allyn Gibson Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It may have had nothing to do with Pocket. It could just as easily have been an issue on Blizzard's end. They could have said, "Yeah, this isn't what we had in mind," and back to the drawing board Pocket went.
     
  15. Therin of Andor

    Therin of Andor Admiral Moderator

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    Yes, that became obvious when NF made the leap to its run of first-release-in-hardcover instalments (and then a NF duology in trade, when Pocket cut back on hardcovers). I recall Marco explaining that the royalty rate on hardcovers was higher (trades a little less but better than MMPB), and then the author gets a second bite of the cherry when the hardcover goes to MMPB.
     
  16. Markonian

    Markonian Fleet Admiral Moderator

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    Continued absence.

    But for what it's worth, last month saw the release of New Frontier: Finstere Verbündete (Dark Allies) by the German publisher. Mean cliffhanger. :rommie: April will see Excalibur: Requiem.
     
  17. Deano2099

    Deano2099 Commander Red Shirt

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    While I can well imagine that's the case, it's still the sort of incident that could easily sour a relationship between writer and editor if one thought they weren't getting the support/help they needed from the other.

    Probably also worth noting the book was being written during the second round of editorial upheavals at Pocket and I believe it switched editor part-way through. So many spinning plates, someone gets the wrong end of the stick somewhere, someone gets annoyed with someone else, then they easily become someone you don't really want to work with in the future. Messes happen.
     
  18. iarann

    iarann Lieutenant Commander Premium Member

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    I don't know if this is still the case, but back in the 90s it was PAD's success in Trek novels that was leading to a higher fee in other areas like comic books. He was far better known for his New York Times bestselling Star Trek novels than he was his work on the Incredible Hulk or X-Factor.

    These days that might not be the case, but other than his work adapting the Dark Tower I can't think of any big seller he has written in quite sometime. He is popular with fans and very talented, but comics don't sell like they used to and Peter David was never quite a best seller.

    If I had to guess, PAD would be more expensive because of that previous Star Trek success, much like Timothy Zahn and his Star Wars novels, if he truly does command a higher rate than someone like David Mack which I'm not sure is the case.
     
  19. Charles Phipps

    Charles Phipps Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I love the series and am doing a "book by book" review on my by blog following the omnibus. The first one is already up.

    http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2013/06/star-trek-new-frontier-is-father-of.html

    New Frontier is awesome but it's definitely something I can imagine sticking in the craw of those who prefer their Star Trek a little more serious. NF doesn't do serious well. The last books were incredibly dark and I dare say actually disturbing.

    But yes, I love NF and wish we could have just ONNEEEEEE more book to wrap things up given everything ended on a cliffhanger.
     
  20. ryan123450

    ryan123450 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Here's a question. I know most of the relaunch stuff is given pretty specific placement in the timeline. Does anyone know what months of 2380 do Turnaround or Treason take place in?