My thoughts exactly. I felt the only way to push the trek universe forwards was to do just this. I doubt a series on TV with a new crew could be sustained with interesting stories about exploring our own galaxy, as it has been done so much, very well and sometimes ridiculously. Either do the new galaxy concept or take the emphasis of exploration away and replace it with something as compelling. Such as the drama of BSG.
That would explain why the term "Eastern Coalition" was invented. Whenever the ECON was mentioned in ST:FC, it was supposed to be China. They changed it at the last minute. In any case, they could always invent similar names like that for other groups of nations. Isn't that what The Sundered did? That being said, I have heard that a particularly excellent TBBS fanfic, First Contact: The Iron Horse was to be expanded into a full length actual novel. I don't know if they are still planning that, but I dearly hope so. You can look it up.
Uhm, guys... it's kinda not cool to post links to fanfic in here... For the writers' and editors' sake, please don't.
^ Why the hell not? I mean, I was posting a link to a TrekBBS thread (in the Fan Fiction forum) into another TrekBBS thread (here). Seems pretty harmless! Everyone, you should really check Iron Horse out, BTW. Think "Star Trek meets Damnation Alley", but without any killer cockroaches.
You'd think they'd want to use the movie or TV show logos, instead of the ugly lump that the 24th century novels have been saddled with for the last few years.
Sounds interesting! But I agree that it's too close to our time and too far from the Star Trek Universe in terms of what we come to expect from Star Trek. Interestingly I once read a rumor years back before Abrams was doing Star Trek that there were plans for a Star Trek movie set dealing with Spock going back in time to World War III. I think that's one way of doing a story in that setting that links it with the Trek era.
I think it looks rather nice and dignified - something I definitely cannot say for the Next Generation TV-series logo and font.
I think that its only sensible that the 'now to First Contact' period is left as vague as possible. Retconning The Eugenics Wars worked well, but you don't want to have to jump through hoops to keep in touch with real world events as time moves on.
^ I think its a shame trek feels a need to keep in touch with real world events in terms of its depiction of the present. It's a fictional universe, i personally wouldn't mind if its present was nothing like ours.
There is already such a lot of cultural 'carry forward' that they can't really go off on a tangent. Besides which, Trek was supposed to show how WE had progressed. A bit leeway now saves a lot of head scratching later...
I wouldn't mind a little more story on CAPT Tryla Scott and why she was "that good." I could see this accomplished through a similar concept as the Strange New Worlds short story series.
I established in Watching the Clock that the story Travis Mayweather told in "Bound" about his family's freighter rescuing a stranded Deltan ship was humanity's first contact with the species. However, that doesn't rule out the possibility of exploring further early contacts with Delta if I get to do more Rise of the Federation books.
I would like to read about the final mission/loss of the Enterprise B. Haynes' Enterprise Guide touched on an end but I'd like an account told. If the B was MIA, it'd be cool to see a story where her wreckage is found. I would also like to see a tale of the ring-ship Enterprise told as a primitive space travel story (and could be a great first contact tale). I love hostory so tales that concrete the legacy of the Enterprise would be great. Lastly, I want to see the return of the Voth.
While I completely agree with your point, I'd happily read such a novel, particularly if you wrote it. (And perhaps keep a notepad handy to make a list of turn-of-the-century cameos. )
On that note Chris, have you considered developing the Denobulan's any further in your up coming book? I enjoyed the Phlox character on Enterprise and would love to learn more about his people.
Agreed. Never understood why they got rid of the TV series logo, especially TNG. In the old days, I could spot a TNG book from across the bookstore. Nowadays they just look like everything else around them.