It's Over.

Once upon a time, when you picked up a Star Trek book you pretty well knew exactly what you were in for. A story with your favorite characters about exploring space, meeting interesting new beings and then on to the next encounter. Oh sure there'd be the odd one now and again that might break out of that mold. But never so far out as to be unrecognizeable. The important thing was that at the end of every story it was re-established that the Federation was good, and that life was joyous and worth living. If there was difficulty or controversy it was dealt with by the stories end so that everyone could go to bed happy.

Then came Destiny.

The Borg like a biblical plague swept through the land. Wreaking havoc beyond imagining. But our heroes not just survived they even triumphed. Everyone assumed that after that things would go back to normal. Back to happy adventures with happy endings.

Like lightning following thunder the Typhon Pact came. Now suddenly groups who had in the past been enemies of the Federation were making common cause. And to top it all off a long time ally, a founding member no less left the Federation.

Since then it's been one thing after another. Book after book where things don't all get set right. Book after book where the characters contained therein are forced to confront hard choices with no certainty of the outcome. Kind of like real life.

Star Trek has changed. Oh mind you it's still Trek. Beings striving to become better than they were, working to make something of themselves and to build a civilization in which all persons are respected and valued. But it's no longer as simple as it once was.

Frankly I don't think I've been as excited to be a Star Trek fan as I am right now.

I personally hope that this change is as permanent as possible.

Oh don't get me wrong a book now and again in the old style (not just TOS mind) would not be unwelcome. But for the most part I want this, have always wanted this. Stories that matter, stories where we don't just get told that the future is "perfect" but rather that we get to see the work that goes into making tomorrow better than today.

This is Star Trek being everything I thought it could be. And when the next TV series is developed (and I have faith that eventually there WILL be another tv series) I really hope that the creators pay attention to what has been done in the books in these recent years. Not to craft canon around the specific events but rather to see all the depth and subtlety that can be brought to bear using the lens of fiction.

I personally think that everyone involved with these stories should be very proud of themselves.

 

I've really only just gotten into trek and trek literature, and I cannot be more pleased with the breadth of books there is out there to read. I seem to have picked the right moment to 'jump in', so to speak.

I won't pretend that I agree with every choice, but on the whole, I easily count the novel-verse right up there with any of the shows. I only wish some of my friends were into reading.

 

Completely agree. I think the the majority of what we have gotten for the last 12 years or so has been awesome. It's definitely a great time to be a TrekLit fan.

 

I have been loving TrekLit in the 24th century the last few years. Political intrigue, characters actually developing instead of only acting in character, major changes that would happen to governments and people in real life as well.

Some people complain that they don't fully recognize their favorite characters anymore. Well yeah, ofcourse. We are basicly 6 years after Nemesis right now. That's a lot of time for a lot of things to happen to a lot of people. They're not gonna stay the same. People are affected by the circumstances around them, so it makes sense our characters would aswell.

As for the stories themselves, I can see how some people feel TrekLit has become somewhat grittier, and I can see that. Ofcourse, that would be a matter of taste. Personally, these novels really draw me in to the story a lot more then the average older Treklit would. But that it just a matter of opinion ofcourse.

 

Very much agree...I never liked the planet-of-the-week/reset-button style of most of the pre-relaunch novels, as it didn't make me feel the least bit invested in the situations and plotlines. Now that we have an ongoing, evolving narrative, i'm hooked.

 

It's also one of the reasons I love buying some of the older books I've missed when I stopped reading TrekLit for a while. I know a lot of things that happened in A Time To, The Left Hand Of Destiny and so on. But reading them now makes everything seem so interconnected and just part of one big story. I love it.

 

So, what exactly is it that's over?

 

What's over is the planet of the week style of non-interconnected stories. Think most of the numbered TOS books.

 

That's not over. TOS books are still doing that.

 

There are a lot of people that really miss the planet of the week / everything back in the box novels.

I really don't...

 

I think you can make a good balance. Some books can be more episodic or self contained, and then you have books that move the storyline forward.

The only danger in escalating conflicts is the lure to 'one up' yourself in each conflict. Luckily I don't see that happening, since Typhon Pact has been more of a cold war than a war like with the borg.

 

TOS still delivers the standard episodic novel on a regular basis. You can really have the best of both worlds right now with what is happening in the novelverse.

 

Yes, someone at S and S has played a blinder. I'm more committed to Treklit than I have ever been, and I've been onboard for much of the last 35 years...

 

Not really, especially when TOS is not your series. It would be nice to see an "episodic" TNG novel set during the D days, or a Kes-era novel.

 

Yeah. I haven't followed them myself, but based on reviews and comment I've seen online, it sounds like the main Star Wars novels focused on Luke, Han, Leia, and their family and allies fell into this after they New Jedi Order series. They appearently just keep piling huge galaxy spanning wars one after the other. I know it is called Star Wars, but before NJO they did to do some smaller conflicts.

Honestly, I think what we are getting now is a lot like what we would get with a new Prime 24th C series. These kinds of big arcs based stories are popular right now, so I have if Trek was on TV right now they'd be doing this kind of thing.

 

I really do.

Which is not to say that I'm not enjoying what's currently going on in the books (although, book two of the TNG COLD EQUATIONS trilogy left alot to be desired.), but I don't understand why we can't have books set within their respective series timeframes. TOS is doing this, why not the others?

And I really don't understand why everybody seems to hate self-contained stories. After all, they're just as valid as ongoing ones.

 

I prefer a novel that moves things on and effects change. You appear to be happy with a well told story.

Your viewpoint is equally valid, even if I don't share it.

 

I'd like to have my cake and eat it too. Meaning, a well told story, that movies things on and effects change.

 

I also prefer the self-contained variety. Who knows, we may get some more later. The concept is not "over". That's too fatalistic.