So I posted this in the General Trek Forum but here it seems more appropriate. What is the proper order of the novels? I saw a few lists of VOY and DS9 ones but I want a list of all of them. I know some of the TNG ones cross over into VOY so I'd like to know the proper order of all of them. Thanks!
As we said over there: Reading Order from the TrekLit FAQs: http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?p=2871855#post2871855 There are useful timelines over at Memory Alpha and Memory Beta. Essentially, read everything in order of publication. The only thing to watch out for, if buying only MMPBs, is that reprinted novels can have originally come out about a year earlier, when they were hardcovers or trades. http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Novel http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Novels Also try this: http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=122092
But it should be kept in mind that there's no mandatory reading order. For the most part, continuity among novels is a bonus, not a requirement; individual stories and series are designed to be able to stand on their own, so readers can pick and choose and don't need to read everything. Insofar as it does matter, reading order is more about avoiding spoilers than it is about comprehending the narrative, and not everyone considers it essential to avoid spoilers. So basically, each series is best read in publication order, but crossover between different series is limited, so there's no requirement for what order to read the various series relative to one another, or to read more than you're interested in reading.
When you say all of the novels, I'm assuming you mean all of the novels that are part of the current continuity? Hundreds of novels have been released since the '70s, but the current interconnected universe has only been around for about 10 years or so.