Canonizing Litverse Trek

[Cake]

I really hope we get a Horta crew member. There was one on the Enterprise in some old TOS books. That was great.

 

[Shalashaska]

Perhaps going pre-TOS rather than post-NEM helps canonize the relaunch novels in some people's minds.

 

[JoeZhang]

To what extent do you think they will try deliberately to canonize aspects of litverse Trek, as Star Trek: Enterprise did with the animated series?

EDIT: I wonder if Memory Alpha will be consulted for advice

Spoiler: Beyond

like they did for the material Uhura's necklace was made of in Beyond,

or maybe even frequent users will get an Okudagram homage. This would excite me, as I am a user of MA.

Surely Memory Beta if this is about the books?

 

[USS Triumphant]

Memory Alpha, itself, is not canonical, and should be listed at Memory Beta.

 

[UnknownSample]

Memory Alpha, itself, is not canonical, and should be listed at Memory Beta.

Correct me then, please. Wasn't Memory Alpha the library in Lights of Zetar?

I never got interested in ST novels specifically because they did not make up one whole continuity that was shared with the series, and contradicted each other. All that's uncanonizable... So why take little bits and pieces from these, minus the uncanonizable stories they came from? A clean separation would be nice.

On the other hand, I'd love book series that are consistent within themselves, and consistent with onscreen Trek, to be dumped totally and completely into canon, so any new TV must be consistent with them. Unless they're lousy. I don't know these books.

Sure, very few fans may have read them, but what matters is that all this extra Trekverse is out there waiting TO be read, that IS a part of the worldbuilding done onscreen.

 

[USS Triumphant]

Correct me then, please. Wasn't Memory Alpha the library in Lights of Zetar?

*That* Memory Alpha is canonical, and belongs at the Memory Alpha site. *The Memory Alpha site*, OTOH, is a non-canonical work, and should be listed at Memory Beta.

 

[WB2]

They should do a Star Wars and draw a line, say thateverything past this date is canon, everything else, not canon. Then they may canonize bits and pieces of the latter.

 

[The Wormhole]

They should do a Star Wars and draw a line, say thateverything past this date is canon, everything else, not canon. Then they may canonize bits and pieces of the latter.

How is this better than the current arrangement of "TV shows and movies: canon. Everything else: not"?

 

[WB2]

It's better because we would get a lot more canon, so we who like to read will know that what we read isn't wasted.

 

[The Wormhole]

It's better because we would get a lot more canon, so we who like to read will know that what we read isn't wasted.

Canon does not automatically equal quality, and just because material isn't canon doesn't make it wasted. Hell, you do realize the non-canon Star Wars "Legends" novels sell equally as well as the official licensed Disney Canon novels? Hell, the old Thrawn trilogy still surpasses the Disney Canon stuff.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Can someone change the title of this thread to: "Canonizing Aspects of Litverse Trek"? That should make it less confusing.

So like including a planet or a species or a food that some author made up in their books, not saying that all the events of all books are canon.

Kirsten Beyer might actually get the opportunity to canonize some of her made-up stuff in DSC. I know she writes Voyager books, but for instance, if she came up with some Vulcan foodstuff that Tuvok eats, she might make some other Vulcan character eat it in the TV show.

 

[RandyS]

Canon should be shot out of a cannon.

 

[Balok's Decoy]

As far as I'm concerned, "head canon" is a legitimate (and fun) exercise in fleshing out your understanding of Star Trek. Of course, aspects of head canon shouldn't be presumed as Official Canon or argued that way, but if you want to believe X thing happened to Such and Such Character...you can do that.

 

[Tenacity]

They should do a Star Wars and draw a line, say thateverything past this date is canon, everything else, not canon.

Or before a certain date, personally I like the older stuff better than the stuff over the last decade or so.

 

[WB2]

Canon does not automatically equal quality, and just because material isn't canon doesn't make it wasted. Hell, you do realize the non-canon Star Wars "Legends" novels sell equally as well as the official licensed Disney Canon novels? Hell, the old Thrawn trilogy still surpasses the Disney Canon stuff.

I do realize that but it's easy enough to canonize old stuff. Just look at Thrawn who is actually Canon now.

As much as I like something, reading non canon is basically just reading fanfiction.

 

[Balok's Decoy]

As much as I like something, reading non canon is basically just reading fanfiction.

I think that's a little unfair. There are some excellent writers who have produced wonderful Trek novels, which aren't canon, but are well written and thoughtful. Much more than just fan fics.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

And who says fanfics aren't great? Many Trek authors got their start writing them didn't them?

 

[Balok's Decoy]

And who says fanfics aren't great? Many Trek authors got their start writing them didn't them?

There certainly are but they carry a stigma. Like "just fanfic" is a way of disparaging something as lacking quality or seriousness.

 

[The Wormhole]

I do realize that but it's easy enough to canonize old stuff. Just look at Thrawn who is actually Canon now.

As much as I like something, reading non canon is basically just reading fanfiction.

Honestly, canon shouldn't matter. I didn't get around to reading the Trek novel Federation until after I had seen First Contact, and it sure as hell didn't bother me or have any impact on my enjoyment that canon had superseded it.

And it's just insulting to refer to anything written by a professional author as "fan fiction."

 

[F. King Daniel]

It's better because we would get a lot more canon, so we who like to read will know that what we read isn't wasted.

If you enjoyed the book, is it really wasted? The Final Reflection is one of the best Trek books ever written, but was completely contradicted by Next Gen. Does that make it a waste?