Not really, currently it is thought that dystrophic themes sell books but since no one is writing any other kind, that is not necessarily true. The general thinking has been, only 15 year old boys read Science Fiction and therefore Trek, but that doesn't make that assumption true either.
For the record, I'm not aware of any official strategy or policy to that effect. Nobody at CBS or Pocket Books has ever told me that I need to add more death or destruction to my books. Heck, it's sometimes the other way around. (Believe it or not, the Terminator people once asked me to tone down the violence in my book!)
Definatly, and I suppose that's sort of what I'd love to see in TrekLit. I'm not sure an actual 'comedy' would work, but I'd love to see something a bit lighter right now. Mind you, I have no complaints about the novels themselves, nothing at all. Sure, there have been a few less then stellar novels over the last three years. But in general, I'm a happy man. I'd just love to some more optimism in TrekLit, that things not only seem to be going the right way, but are actually staying there for a while.
^I think New Frontier might fit the bill. Not always super light, but lighter than the mainline books of late ...but you may have already read them. Just sayin'...
I cried my eyes out over DRGIII's Plagues of Night and through most of Raise the Dawn but came away from the second much cheered and feeling like things were beginning to look up. I almost didn't buy them because I've been thinking about the "darker Trekverse" comments I've been hearing and didn't think I could stomach more doom and gloom. PoN and RtD aren't for the faint of heart either, but I am much encouraged by the message and the tone and highly recommend them both. And Kirsten Beyer's work - well you HAVE to read them because she's great and the new one will make you grin. You can feel her joy through the pages. I'm almost giddy over the recent turn of events in the Trekverse. I plan to go back this weekend and clear everything else they have out (all four of them) and do some catching up!
I used to read NF. Thought it was cool at first, new and fresh. Got boring and repetitive quite fast. So no, not my thing.
I'm very much looking forward to finally reading The Eternal Tide. It's delivery cannot come fast enough.
I know, you have my sympathies! I'd send you mine but I think by the time it crosses the Atlantic you'd take delivery of the other already.