Star Trek Into Darkness by Alan Dean Foster

[Therin of Andor]

JD wrote:

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I have a feeling most of the people buying the new editions hadn't bought the previous ones.

Exactly, but my point is that, if word of mouth and reviews were of the opinion that this mini-series was generally accepted to be disappointing (eg. JD: "... one of the few people who actually enjoyed 'Countdown'"), was there sufficient call for it to go into multi reprints for the issues, and even a hardcover re-release of the collected trade paperback? Seems to me that most people liked it, or at least didn't hate it.

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I'm delighted whenever Foster writes ST or SW.

Then again, I'm delighted whenever Foster writes Humanx Commonwealth, Spellsinger, or Mad Amos.

And given that the Humanx Commonwealth canon has a very similar "relentlessly optimistic" and "diversity cherished" vision of the future to the one inherent in ST, I've always regarded him as an excellent fit for the ST canon.

(Although I always thought that the full novel-length treatment of The Counter-Clock Incident was because of the logical inconsistencies inherent in the script-as-filmed. But I'm never one [to quote the BEM novelization] "look a gift zintar in the masticatory orifice.")

[Therin of Andor]

hbquikcomjamesl wrote:

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(Although I always thought that the full novel-length treatment of The Counter-Clock Incident was because of the logical inconsistencies inherent in the script-as-filmed.)

There is a new five-part essay by ADF in the most recent "Star Trek Logs" reprints (in five trade paperbacks) that explains how, when the adaptations got to "Star Trek Log Six", Judy-Lynn Del-Rey realized that they were about to lose a successful series at the next book, unless they spun out the remaining four episodes of TAS into one book apiece (thus creating Logs Seven to Ten).

Yes, ADF had some science inconsistencies to fix up in "The Counter-clock Incident", but the additional two-thirds of the story - featuring Kirk sparring with a Klingon he once met during an Academy exchange program - is actually taken from a two-parter episode script ADF once submitted to Star Trek's third season, and which was put on hold in the (unlikely) event ST was renewed!

I once contacted ADF to ask if he could recall the name of his two-parter. Alas, he no longer has a copy of the script, nor can he remember its title. But the anecdote was a great new nugget of trivia in that new essay.

[Fer]

The cover for Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness has been posted at Diamond. (And as Allyn Gibson mentioned earlier, it's Kirk.)

http://www.previewsworld.com/Home/1/...emID=STK520312

(Shouldn't it be called Countdown to Star Trek Into Darkness to avoid the dreaded colon?)

[King Daniel into Darkness]

Thanks for that!

[Silvphoenix47]

Look forward to the book already! oh and the movie! I never was a big fan of ADF(transformers book bored me to death..still not sure why..) but when I read his Star Trek movie novelization I grew to like his writing.

[Admiral_Young]

I'm looking forward to the novelization and Countdown to Darkness. Count me in as another who enjoyed "Countdown" (enough to buy it...making it the first Star Trek comic trade that I've bought since probably the Mirror Universe Saga).

[Tiberius]

Timewalker wrote:

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Would I be correct in thinking that Alan Dean Foster himself has joined the conversation?

That's the thought I had! Welcome, Alan Dean Foster!

[King Daniel into Darkness]

Tell us all your Into Darkness secrets, Alan! We promise not to tell...

[serenitytrek1]

KingDaniel wrote:

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Tell us all your Into Darkness secrets, Alan! We promise not to tell...

JJ has sworn him to enternal secrecy

[Greg Cox]

serenitytrek1 wrote:

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JJ has sworn him to enternal secrecy

That's pretty standard these days. When I was writing the Batman novelization, I had to sign various confidentiality agreements, keep all the files encrypted, and I wasn't allowed to read the last fifteen pages of the script until right before the book had to go to press.

I didn't even tell my friends and family what I working on. Only my girlfriend and my agent knew.

In fact, I let people think I was working on a new Star Trek book, just as a red herring!

[Timewalker]

So you had to do the ending of the book right before press? How much time did you have to finish it?

(personally, I'd rather you had done a new Star Trek book - non-Batman fan here)

[Greg Cox]

Timewalker wrote:

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So you had to do the ending of the book right before press? How much time did you have to finish it?

(personally, I'd rather you had done a new Star Trek book - non-Batman fan here)

Honestly, the last 10,000 words were written in a hotel room in Burbank over a period of three days or so. Lots of coffee and Subway sandwiches!

And don't worry, I wrote a new Trek book afterwards!

(It comes out in March.)

[Tiberius]

I never could have done that.

I mean, how can you write without knowing what you are writing towards?

[shanejayell]

Well, they were working from the scripts, one assumes, so there's some guidence.

Unkess the scripts were awful.