Yeah, I know there's a lot of other Trek to go through and plenty of other stories to write, but you can't ignore the people's need for more Robau and George Kirk.
I wouldn't be opposed to such a series... if I got the fascination people have with Robau. What's so special about him? He did what every decent captain would do. I thought Pike's decision to go over to the Narada was even more courageous - because he knew what happened to the Kelvin and to Robau - and went over anyway to try and buy some time. Why make the distinction? The universes split up right at the moment Nero arrives and the Kelvin gets destroyed. Therefore any adventures featuring the Kelvin, Robau and G. Kirk would have to take place prior to that split... and therefore in both universes (unless you want to split them up even further).
I'm wondering when the first refernces from the movie will appear in a novel - maybe a throwaway comment about Robau in Vanguard, or Nero in TNG.
Well, yes and no. Any Kelvin stories set before 2233 would be in the shared antecedent of both timelines, so the distinction would be meaningless. But we know that in the Prime timeline, the Kelvin was not destroyed at that point and George Kirk survived for another 30 years or more beyond that. So there could be Prime-universe Kelvin adventures set after 2233, or we could see appearances by older versions of Robau or other Kelvin crewmembers in Prime-universe fiction (say, maybe an aging Admiral Robau could show up in a Vanguard or TOS novel). Still, my preference would be to set any Kelvin stories pre-2233, at least initially, so they can mesh with either timeline and avoid the prickly temporal issues. Or technically they'd be in the Prime timeline, but they could be marketed with a movie-style title font and imagery. TNG is only in 2381 at this point, six years before the film's flashforward, and Nero is just a lowly mining captain at this point. I think it makes sense for him to remain obscure and unknown to Starfleet at this point.
Yes, you're right - I haven't thought about such stories after 2233. But then again, isn't the fascination of Robau the way he handled himself in Nero's attack? Taking that away because the attack never happens would just turn him into another average captain. Therefore, if there was no need so far to tell the stories of Kirk's father and the Kelvin Prime-Trek - why should that need now arise in Prime Trek?
Your point being? As we've already seen Robau face death, now we should see him face life? Not that it couldn't be interesting but somehow I don't see much suspense in that...
Not necessarily. I can see why such stories might not interest you, but that doesn't mean they might not interest other people. Folks are interested in Captain Robau because of the actor's charisma, mostly -- and that's fine. People are interested in characters like Sulu, who never had much of a personality written into him and whose real personality had to come from George Takei, for the same reason. It can be a fine jumping-off point to tell stories about an amazing captain we've never met before.
If Trek fiction were driven by need, there wouldn't be much of it. Was there any need for SCE to make central characters out of bit players like Gomez, Duffy, and Stevens? Or for Gorkon/Klingon Empire to do the same with various minor Klingon characters? Or for the DS9 post-finale novels to revisit forgotten first-season ideas like the Tosk and the Storyteller's Orb fragment? Trek fans and authors have always been intrigued by the incidental details and minor characters of the Trek universe. Heck, the guy who played the welder in the teaser trailer has become a minor celebrity and is guaranteed a lifetime of convention invitations as a result of that tiny role.
And I repeat myself (albeit to you now): Your point being? That I just should shut up because a captain Robau-series perhaps wouldn't interest me (and let me emphasize the "perhaps" because I do see a possibility for good stories, but not necessarily the need for another spin-off TrekLit series given the many we already have)? Has it come so far that opposing opinions are no longer welcome here?!? That I don't understand the fascination with Robau doesn't mean I don't accept other people's opinions or interests. Well, apparently, that acceptance doesn't run in the other direction. So much for IDIC, I'd say.
I never said you should shut up or anything of the sort. I just said that something that doesn't interest you might interest somebody else. I don't think that you're intending for it to come across this way, Claudia, but in all honesty, your statements are the ones that feel to me like you're trying to tell other people what kinds of stories they should or should not feel interested in and to tell the authors what kinds of stories they should or should not write. Now, I'm sure you don't mean that, just as I didn't mean to sound like I was suppressing you. I apologize if that's how I came across. But I think this nicely illustrates a point: Sometimes, neither side is in any way trying to be rude to the other, but it can feel that way to both sides. Bottom line: Some folks are interested in Captain Robau stories. Others aren't. Some will buy them. Some won't. Some authors might want to write them. Others won't. And we all get to go home happy.
I'm not quite sure why you're turning my remark into some sort of metaphysical discussion about TrekLit. But honestly, now that you've asked: No, I don't see the need to turn everything into some kind of sub-series or have every little topic reoccur at some point. Granted, it's a nice injoke but not necessary IMO. As well, I think nowadays we have a different situation in TrekLit as when f.e. SCE first appeared. We have a large number of spin-offs already now with only 12 books per year, some series we haven't heard from in years etc. So my reasoning is to keep the number of spin-offs limited so that all can be followed up on in a reasonable amount of time (not that the next volume takes 5 years to appear on the shelves), and not risk loss of interest/sales because no one can remember what happened before. That's what I'm arguing about - not about the tastes of the readership or what the authors should write about. Taste can't be argued about, after all. Okay, can't argue about that, since I've still not seen any trailers of the movie. That was never my point, and I apologize as well if it came across as such. Just because I state my opinion doesn't mean that I want to enforce my opinion on anyone else - that's not the way such a board works after all, it should be an open exchange of opinions. I'm not one to accept things "just because they are as they are", if one has an opinion then I'd like to hear more about the reasoning behind it. And honestly, an open exchange should survive the wondering question about what's so fascinating about a certain character - an answer (or at least an attempt at an answer) I'm still waiting for BTW...
About 20 years, at least according to the stuff that's been done with him in past books. I just re-checked my old copy of Final Frontier, and the last page describes how George Kirk was aboard a ship that disappeared without trace (in an obvious set-up for a sequel) just after his son Jimmy entered Starfleet Academy (so, maybe 2252ish? Final Frontier includes dates, but they're on the old pre-TNG timeline that puts everything about 60 years early). Don't know off-hand if any other books have contradicted that since...
The books have pretty much always stuck to what was established in Final Frontier, but the new movie itself just invalidated that with Spock Prime's comment that in the Prime universe, George Kirk lived to see his son take command of Enterprise.
Though I would note that, when I was watching it both times, it seemed like Spock hesitated slightly before saying that. I remembered wondering if it wasn't possible that perhaps Spock was lying to Kirk about his father's destiny in the original timeline. Of course, that might have been motivated by the fact that I've always imagined that Kirk's parents died on Tarsus IV at the hands of Governor Kodos.... Well, speaking for myself, I'd be interested in a Captain Robau story for a couple of reasons: 1. The actor's charisma. This is a very subjective thing, of course, but in my view, Faran Tahir took a very small part that didn't have a lot of personality written into and, and imbued it with life. Enough to the point where I'm interested in getting to know this character better. 2. The early 23rd Century is just interesting to me in general. That entire period between the founding of the Coalition and the start of Kirk's original five-year-mission is fascinating to me in the Prime Universe, and now the period between the founding of the Coalition of Planets and the appearance of Nero is fascinating to me in the altered timeline. (Of course, pre-Nero stories are going to have happened both ways in both universes, but I digress.) What's the politics of the era? How does Starfleet work? What are their missions typically like? What things did they accomplish? Why were they using actual windows for viewscreens? Etc. 3. I really like the idea of a Middle Eastern Starfleet captain. This may be just because of my PC-ness, but I like the idea of a Star Trek story that continues to challenge the popular audience's preconceptions about race and ethnicity and religion by presenting them with a hero and main character who is a Muslim of Middle Eastern descent. And I'd be pretty fascinated by the question of how those cultures may have changed and evolved in the 23rd Century (just like I am of how Christian cultures may have changed in the 23rd Century), while still maintaining their own identity.
there can never be a Robau novel line. Robau's so badass anyone attempting to write for him would suffer from a brain implosion. Robau didn't die, he ascended to another plane of existance. the fascination with Robau stems from a silly meme on here derived from the fact that Bob Orci said the 'Federation Captain' wouldn't be a pansy or insane like so many of the other non-Hero captains and that he'd be 'badass' in an early interview.
^ Well there's that. Also, the fact that Robau knowingly went to Nero's ship, more than likely knowing he'd die, just to buy some time for his crew because he knew they were outgunned. He's a ballsy guy. He's probably the only secondary captain in the ST film series that isn't a jobber. Pike doesn't count, he originated in TOS. Okay, there was Clark Terrell in TWOK. Sci also mentioned that he's charismatic, which is a big plus, and that he's Middle Eastern, which could be a goldmine for great story material. Also, George and Winona Kirk stories.