I just finished the STII novelisation, and got to wondering if there is any literature that takes place after that, but before the story was resolved in STIII. Maybe lit that brings Spock back some way else, or that introduces a replacement.
Yup, the first volume of DC's run is set in between the events of ST II and ST III. Surprisingly good stuff there, despite how little time appears to elapse between movies, and the final pre-Search for Spock tales are bridged pretty well into the opening of the third film. (Also, weren't some of the William Rotsler short stories set between the two movies? Or am I misremembering this?)
No, a few of the stories in Star Trek III Short Stories definitely take place between the two films, or in the early stages (one has Scotty talking to his new subordinates on Excelsior, I think).
Ah, thanks, Steve -- it's literally been decades since I've even read those, and I thought there were several occurring intra-film, but wasn't 100 percent certain. One of the really nice things about the DC Vol. 1 run (specifically, issues #1-8) is that the stories allow for (among many other things) more time between Admiral Kirk and his son prior to David's and Saavik's departure aboard the USS Grissom in the last issue before TSFS begins. The two characters never share another face-to-face scene again in the third film, and this was something that was exceptionally well-written in the comics, I felt.
I would also add the opening chapters of Vonda McIntyre's Search for Spock novelization to the list. She picks up immediately after TWOK ends, dealing with a lot of the remaining aftermath of that movie and showing things like what happened to Carol, how Saavik and David ended up on the Grissom, etc., and she doesn't get into actually adapting TSFS for several chapters. So there's a hefty chunk of original transitional material there -- although it goes in the opposite direction from the DC comics in that it specifies an interval of only three days between the events of the two films.
I really enjoyed that novel. Except for the part early on when Kirk tried to get back with Carol and she shot him down. Kirk should always get the girl.
I saw a great fanfic story that bridges the gap quite nicely (won't say what happened, since it's against the rules for this part of the forum).
Off the top of my head, the Saavik story from "ST II Short Stories", in addition to a few "ST III Short Stories"? Also some of the log entries in "ST II Biographies" are post-ST II, but there are mistakes. Rotsler thinks that Ceti Alpha V becomes the Genesis Planet, IIRC, and claims that people are already calling the new world "Spock".
The DC Comics sadly don't fit very well with later established canon, but I wouldn't mind seeing a story that explains the additional battle damage to Enterprise in TSFS.
IIRC, there is a battle with Klingons between ST II and ST III in the DC Comics that would explain the additional damage. Also, we might imagine that Chapel and Rand (both on board Enterprise in the ST II novelization) accompanied the injured cadets back to Earth on the Firenze (ship mentioned in the novelization), explaining how Rand got back to Spacedock before her ship.
^I think Noddy is aware of the DC version of events and is saying that, since it doesn't fit anymore, it would be nice to see a new book-continuity story that explained the extra damage.
That's the way I understood it as well. I would love to see such a book myself. I love the TOS movie era novels and hope for more of them.
That's one thing I don't like about McIntyre's books. She seems to see Kirk as an immature asshole and has every woman in his proximity react accordingly. Vonda's vision of Trek is apparently one where all women are permanently PMSing.
Seems like I heard something about two differnt species going to war or something...I don't remember.