where to start?

[DevilEyes]

Well, it depends on what books you are able to find... So I'll limit my post to those that are still in stock on Amazon, where I usually get my Trek books from.

Do you like alternate universe stories, with very different versions of familiar characters and settings? Maybe you'd be interested in Myriad Universes, 2 collections of AU novellas (a 3rd book is on the way). That way you get exciting stories where you really have no idea what might happen, and you don't need to have read any other literature to be able to follow the stories, it's enough if you have seen all the shows. That way you don't need to be worried about continuity or to read previous books and sequels, and they don't suffer from the reset button problem , unlike the standalone books published during the shows' run.

DS9 relaunch is not out of print, only a few of the middle books are. The first 7 installments are quite easy to find since they've been reprinted in two omnibus books - Twist of Faith and These Haunted Seas - which, I think, are still available on Amazon. If you're interested in DS9, you may also try to read the Terok Nor trilogy (Day of the Vipers, Night of the Wolves, Dawn of the Eagles) or the novel The Never-Ending Sacrifice (if you're interested in Cardassians) - the former is a prequel to DS9, the latter is a side-story. (I would've recommended Andrew Robinson's A Stitch in Time, but it's out of print.)

It's a bit different with TNG and VOY post-finale books, I think the early ones are all out of print... But I guess you could listen to Thrawn's advice and read Destiny, which is supposed to be great (I haven't read it yet, because I was able to get possession of the earlier TNG, Titan and VOY books and I'm reading them in chronological order).

ENT post-finale books are all still in print. There have been 3 so far: The Good That Men Do, Kobayashi Maru, and Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor's Wing. Of course, you should only read them if you liked ENT... but you'll especially enjoy them if you hated the ENT finale "These Are the Voyages".

Thrawn wrote:

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TrekLit has one big, unified continuity that's been going for about a decade now, give or take, but don't be intimidated. This post is going to seem crazy complex, but this is literally everything you need to know.

If you want the short version: just read Star Trek: Destiny, an amazing trilogy, and the stuff that comes after it. Find it on Amazon and buy it right now. It's awesome and you'll love it, and you don't need to read anything else to enjoy it. It features four different starship crews, and a ton of other characters, and will really give you a feel for the amazing scope that the Trek novels have been going for lately.

But I always want to know everything there is to know, so if you're like me and you want the long version, well, there's a lot.

First thing: there are post-finale adventures of DS9, called the DS9 relaunch, and so far it all takes place in a 1 year period from April 2376 to early 2377. It's fantastic, but also getting a little out of print, and scheduling problems led to it losing some steam. Not a good place to start right now. If you'd like to know more, go here: http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/DS9_relaunch but skip The Left Hand Of Destiny and the comics.

Then, there's a VOY relaunch, which consisted of four pretty bad books before both author and editor moved on to other things, all taking place in early 2378. It was sort of re-relaunched, with a VASTLY better author, more recently (see below). I'd also consider those four books a bad place to start.

Funny, I've just been reading those first two 'bad books' (Homecoming/Farther Shore) and quite enjoying them. (Though I'm still early into the second book, so I don't know if I'm still to come across what makes them so bad.)

I also enjoyed The Left Hand of Destiny, which is such a crazy, epic, mythical action story (with some fantasy thrown in), basically King Arthur in Trek version. A lot of insane things happen in Trek lit (at least in what of it I've read so far), but that's why it's fun - the authors aren't limited by budget, studio demands or the necessity to stay within the limits of 'family-oriented' TV.

[AMQ]

DevilEyes wrote:

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ENT post-finale books are all still in print. There have been 3 so far: The Good That Men Do, Kobayashi Maru, and Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor's Wing. Of course, you should only read them if you liked ENT... but you'll especially enjoy them if you hated the ENT finale "These Are the Voyages".

Thanks for the information. I've never read any ST book and trying to decide where to start was hard. I liked Enterprise most so want to start there. Great post though for explaining about all books, very useful information.

[LightningStorm]

KingDaniel wrote:

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...I think it's about time we got a sticky thread for Treklit newbies.

Paris wrote:

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Agreed. It seems like one of these threads pops up every other week

indianatrekker26 wrote:

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Yeah, agreed. the forums over at www.theforce.net have a sticky where they lay out where to start reading, they break it down by the different eras. I think a sticky like that would be great for those newbies that come in here every so often.

I feel like we've already got this ground covered in two of the existing sticky threads: The FAQ and Charting the Novel-verse. Perhaps the FAQ could address it better, so if we make something for this I'd rather place it within the FAQ than a separate thread.

[ryan123450]

Plus its kinda fun for the person each time to say what their favorite series or genre is and then everyone provides their recommendations. Not that I wouldn't have loved to write up a TrekLit primer.

[Maestro]

Bloodthirst, The IDIC Epidemic, The Vulcan Academy Murders, and Demons. Classic TOSLit at its finest.

[King Daniel]

AMQ wrote:

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Thanks for the information. I've never read any ST book and trying to decide where to start was hard. I liked Enterprise most so want to start there. Great post though for explaining about all books, very useful information.

I loved Enterprise, but I hate the relaunch books. I recommend Daedalus and Daedalus' Children, set toward the end of season 2. I thought they were great.

Just don't judge all the 500+ novels bad if you dislike the first one you try, ok?

Oh, and if you like DS9 you've got to read A Stitch in Time. Garak's life story written by Andrew Robinson himself. It's standalone, and 100% awesome.

[ryan123450]

I totally agree with KingDaniel. If you love Star Trek, you will love Star Trek books. You just have to find the right ones. With so many choices available there's something for everybody.

[Destructor]

I initially got into Trek lit via the Shatnerverse novels, but if you really want the most badass Trek novels and you are a DS9 fan, I would recommend giving the DS9 relaunch a whirl.

[A J]

I respectfully disagree that the only books in the A Time to series that should be read are the last 3. I might be in the minority here, but my favorite books of that 9 book series were Sow/Harvest by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore and Love/Hate by Robert Greenberger.

As for recent standalone TOS books, I highly recommend Ex Machina by Christopher Bennett and the Crucible trilogy by David R. George III.

[Destructor]

I didn't enjoy the first two 'A Time To...' books, but I just started #4 (Harvest) and it's excellent so far.