The Continuity of Days Gone By

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by ryan123450, Apr 11, 2011.

  1. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^Keep in mind it's only a tentative possibility. It might not actually fit. I mean, it's worth reading, and not just for the novelty of being an early Trek novel by someone who went on to be a really, really big name in prose SF. But any links to the overall '80s continuity are tenuous at best.
     
  2. ryan123450

    ryan123450 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Well I consider the fact that it referenced the Star Fleet Technical Manual to be enough to include it. It seems many authors of the time considered the info in that book part of their 'personal continuity.'
     
  3. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^Well, at the time, there wasn't much else to go by when it came to Trek tech.

    But personally, I'd be more inclined to count it if it referenced something from the Spaceflight Chronology. As discussed above, a number of '80s books built on the SFC's chronological and historical assumptions; The Final Reflection and Strangers from the Sky in particular are very much set in the "SFC-verse." So one could count the SFC as a foundational work of the '80s continuity along with TFR and the Diane Duane books.
     
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  4. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I've been looking through Corona some more, and I think I've found a Spaceflight Chronology nod after all. Toward the end, it cites Epsilon Eridani as Vulcan's home star, rather than the generally accepted and now near-canonical 40 Eridani. Epsilon Eri was also chosen as Vulcan's primary by the SFC and referenced in Strangers from the Sky, at least according to Memory Beta.

    The book does have some odd continuity glitches, though, like referring to Andorians as "Andorrans." Maybe there was a copyeditor who thought they were from a tiny European principality.
     
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  5. Stevil2001

    Stevil2001 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Corona's Kshatriyans are referenced as an interstellar power in the alternate timeline of The Tears of Eridanus, though I spelled the name wrong.
     
  6. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Yeah, "Kshatriyans" was a weird one, seeing as how the Kshatriya were the warrior/ruler varna (social class, often mistakenly called "caste") of traditional Hindu culture.
     
  7. Cadet49

    Cadet49 Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Thanks for the definitive list of 80s books - I used to love these! I was curious... are any of these events acknowledged in the modern novel continuity?
     
  8. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    There are occasional references to ideas from some of them, mainly elements of the language and culture that John M. Ford established for Klingons and Diane Duane did for Romulans. But it's not meant to imply the specific stories actually happened, since most of the books in the '80s continuity have been contradicted by later Trek screen productions and novels.
     
  9. ryan123450

    ryan123450 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Elements of The Final Relfection and even the book itself have made their way into several Lit-verse books. Many elements of the Rihannsu novels have as well.

    The events of The Vulcan Academy Murders and The IDIC Epidemic where referenced in one of the Vanguard novels. Prime Directive is referenced in SCE: The Future Begins. A Singular Destiny accepted the name T'Khut for Vulcan's sister planet as asserted by Spock's World.
     
  10. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^Actually it was The Vulcan Academy Murders that introduced the name T'Kuht, and then Spock's World picked up on that and changed the spelling to T'Khut.
     
  11. ryan123450

    ryan123450 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Hmmmm, OK. I wish their had been one name settled on in the early days and stuck too. I know there a few other suggested names as well.
     
  12. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^In the novel Sarek it was called T'Rukh. But I think that book said that its name changed depending on the season or something. And of course Vulcan is a whole planet so it probably has more than one language.
     
  13. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Heh, I wish those in charge of TV/film Trek could decide if it even existed and then stick to it! I was suprised to see T'Khut in the concept art for the last movie. But not so suprised that it didn't ultimately make it in:)
     
  14. rfmcdpei

    rfmcdpei Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    The Reeves-Garfields' Prime Directive should also be included as part of 80s novel continuity, published at the end of the continuity's run and with decidedly significant events difficult to reconcile with the continuity though it might be. (The devastation of Talin IV, the expulsion of most of the command crew from Starfleet, and the months-long pause in the five-year mission stand out as particularly problematic.)

    My grounds for doing so lie in the form of the Centaurans, the indigenous near-human species native of Alpha Centauri VII in the 80s continuity. In their earlier novel Memory Prime, the two authors built upon the Spaceflight Chronology to develop the Centaurans as an advanced but somewhat xenophobic civilization, one that hid many of its high-energy emissions sources underground and relied on fibre optics rather than radio transmission, explaining why the first Earth expedition to Alpha Centauri discovered the Centaurans almost before landing. In Prime Directive, the Reeves-Garfields go into greater detail about these Centaurans and their civilization, even introducing Zalan Wilforth, a character of mixed human-Centauran background.
     
  15. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    See post #35. I added Memory Prime and Prime Directive to the list four months ago.

    Not a problem at all in the context of the "second 5-year mission" paradigm my list assumes.
     
  16. rfmcdpei

    rfmcdpei Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Doh.
     
  17. Therin of Andor

    Therin of Andor Admiral Moderator

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    IIRC, the Timeliners' timeline, published in several Pocket books, positions "Prime Directive" at the point between TOS and TAS, thus explaining certain structural changes to the bridge, changes in personnel, etc.
     
  18. Jsplinis

    Jsplinis Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    How does Pandora Principle tie into Duane's books? Also, does it build off the Spaceflight Chronology or the dating system later established?

    Thanks and have fun
     
  19. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    IIRC, mostly just using Duane-style Romulan name formats and terminology. It's consistent with Duane's Rihannsu worldbuilding without heavily referencing it. It's a tenuous connection, which is why I only belatedly caught it.

    It doesn't specify. Few books at the time did.
     
  20. tomswift2002

    tomswift2002 Commodore Commodore

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    "Vulcan Academy Murders", when I red it about 3 years ago, I remember finding that the author's description of Sarek and Amanda's home was more in line with how it was shown in "Yesteryear", since the few other times that I've read about Sarek's home it never seemed to be described as the one seen in TAS. I realize that even Vulcan's could move, but considering Sarek's ambassadorship and his constant missions around the galaxy, I never got the impression that he would want to move around.