Frustrations with Trek lit...

[Thrawn]

To illustrate that point... Destiny was EIGHT YEARS AGO.

...yeah that's a strong point!

Time sure does pass. Destiny still feels recent to me. Damn.

 

[Greg Cox]

Well, not every reader is going to be willing or able to do that. So from a writer's standpoint, the goal should be to make sure that a story is understandable entirely on its own terms without requiring the reader to consult anything else. It can be helpful to refresh your memory of other works if you like, but it shouldn't be mandatory. Writing a story that way would just confuse and alienate many readers..

That's kinda my attitude. Yeah, there are resources on-line these days, but tie-in novels are recreational reading. You shouldn't have to do homework to enjoy one.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

That's kinda my attitude. Yeah, there are resources on-line these days, but tie-in novels are recreational reading. You shouldn't have to do homework to enjoy one.

I distictly recall having Robert Foster's Complete Guide to Middle Earth handy when reading The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. And I doubt I could have gotten through The Canterbury Tales (yes, recreationally!) without the Cliff's Notes close at hand.

My own pet peeve with multi-book ST story arcs is that usually, by the time the next volume is out, I've already forgotten where the previous one left off. To the point where, if successive books are released months apart, I tend to jot down several pages of notes on the situation at the end of one book, and stuff them into that volume, or in the case of consecutive months (e.g., Prey), I just don't start the first volume until two weeks before the final volume is to be released.

 

[Markonian]

Out of excitement, I tend to reread the last novel in a ST series before the next one comes out.

In the ongoing German sci-fi novel (pulp) series I read, there's always a 1- or 2-page "The story so far" in the beginning. There's a new 64-page novel every 2 weeks. And a reader can pick up any novel in the series and delve into universe and characters, without pre-knowledge. In addition, every issue x25, x50 and x00 is designed as jump-on point (season premiere).

Aye, somebody might miss Sisko in a DS9 books, but it's not a deal breaker. It's not a "Status quo is god" series. However, I understand the desire to go back to the "good old days" of the series, too.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Out of excitement, I tend to reread the last novel in a ST series before the next one comes out.

But that means reading the earlier volumes of a serial more times than the later ones, e.g, in a trilogy, reading the first volume 3 times, the second twice, and the third only once. Which seems unfair to the later volumes, as well as wasting time that could be spent reading other things. For example, instead of starting on Prey as soon as I had the first volume in hand (I'll admit that I read the "prologue" chapters, but then stopped and set it aside), I re-read CLB's DTI novels, starting immediately after re-watching "Trials and Tribble-ations" (and making up hardcopy annotated pictures of Dulmur and Lucsly, so that I could keep them straight in my mind), none of which I'd touched in over four years.

I might add that in the more recent DTI E-novallas, CLB was masterful in his handling of characters he'd introduced in WTC and/or FH, but who hadn't been seen or heard from since. At no time, reading them on my vacation, did I feel the need to look up anybody, and neither did I feel like I was the target of an info-dump.

 

[Christopher]

But that means reading the earlier volumes of a serial more times than the later ones, e.g, in a trilogy, reading the first volume 3 times, the second twice, and the third only once.

Markonian actually said he re-read the last novel before the new one, not the entire series. So that means every book except the last one would be read only twice.

I might add that in the more recent DTI E-novallas, CLB was masterful in his handling of characters he'd introduced in WTC and/or FH, but who hadn't been seen or heard from since. At no time, reading them on my vacation, did I feel the need to look up anybody, and neither did I feel like I was the target of an info-dump.

Gee, thanks! That's nice of you to say. Although... Did I actually introduce any characters in Forgotten History who recurred in the novellas? I'm pretty sure all the new DTI characters in FH were in the 23rd-century portions. As far as I can recall, the 24th-century DTI characters in the novellas are almost all from WTC, aside from Dr. Warain, who debuted in The Collectors.

 

[Greg Cox]

, I tend to jot down several pages of notes on the situation at the end of one book, and stuff them into that volume.

Digressing a bit, I do that with books I edit, so that months later, when Tor is asking me for the catalog copy or whatever, I'm not "What was that book about again? Something about werewolves and ninjas, and there was a scientist-guy who was on the run from somebody . . . ?"

Quite often I'll knock out a rough draft of the cover copy right after I finishing editing the manuscript, while the book is still fresh in my mind . .. . .

 

[Avro Arrow]

But that means reading the earlier volumes of a serial more times than the later ones, e.g, in a trilogy, reading the first volume 3 times, the second twice, and the third only once. Which seems unfair to the later volumes

Don't worry, I'm sure the books will be able to get over it in short order. Inanimate objects tend to be a fairly forgiving lot.

 

[Vnix]

Well aware that I'm skipping over a lot of the thread (read up till page 3 then ran out of time). It certainly is daunting to jump into relaunch trek, but in the end, I made the jump. I decided, I'll buy a book. My first book of th relaunch was Typhon Pact book 1 Zero Sum Game, in a language I still have trouble with to read (German) knowing next to nothing on relaunch! Boy was it a surprise, but it cought my attention, and since then I've bought quite a few books, I do try to keep the series together, but I have not got them all, nor have I read it all. I have read what I wanted to read, as in I just jumped in whereever and that has worked. Not much infodump found or required. If needed there was my friend wiki, but most of the time knowing the series and at least some of the characters and the universe involved allowed me to understan most if not all of it.

 

[Jinn]

Don't worry, I'm sure the books will be able to get over it in short order. Inanimate objects tend to be a fairly forgiving lot.

I asked my copy of The Eternal Tide if it was angry at me for buying a second copy, this time in German, and it didn't say anything! TET didn't talk to me ever since and I'm afraid that it now hates me!

 

[Voth commando1]

The OP mentioned Star Wars and being a star wars(legends fan) I would like to comment on that. In Star Wars in the 1990s-you had quite a few standalone-except the Thrawn trilogy, and a few other duologies and trilogies. After the beginning of the New Jedi Order series it became a big meta plot lasting 19 books in the NJO 3-DNT, 9-LOTF, 9-FOTJ, 1-C, not to mention stories set in the Old republic era, clone wars, and the era of the OT.

Though I thin the difference would be that in SW you have the OT main cast(post ROTJ) followed by their children, circle of friends/followers and he story progressed from there.

In ST it's not so streamlined-you have three 24th century era shows and crews, combine that with a lot of big events and new characters old characters dying and so on its not nearly easy to follow it.

The Star Wars EU in its last year's had the problem of too much information for casual fans to grasp as well-as heartbroken as I was by the reboot in April 2014 I could understand just how difficult it would be for casual fans to get into the EU.

It seems Star Trek has a similar problem, SW resolved that problem by the sad use of the reboot(). In any case I don't know how Star Trek will solve it-but it seems to me it's getting more convoluted all the time more complex and more difficult to understand for casuals. I hope it can resolve it without reboots or becoming so esoteric that no one except hardcore fans read it.

 

[The Wormhole]

The Star Wars EU in its last year's had the problem of too much information for casual fans to grasp as well-as heartbroken as I was by the reboot in April 2014 I could understand just how difficult it would be for casual fans to get into the EU.

That was done for more important reasons than just making the novels accessible to casual readers. It was done because new movies set after ROTJ were planned and Disney didn't want to adhere to a twenty year-old novel continuity that most of their target film audience likely never read.

 

[Voth commando1]

That was done for more important reasons than just making the novels accessible to casual readers. It was done because new movies set after ROTJ were planned and Disney didn't want to adhere to a twenty year-old novel continuity that most of their target film audience likely never read.

Well that as well, and of course they wanted to spite EU fans like me. I still get teary eyed-I just miss it.

 

[Greg Cox]

That was done for more important reasons than just making the novels accessible to casual readers. It was done because new movies set after ROTJ were planned and Disney didn't want to adhere to a twenty year-old novel continuity that most of their target film audience likely never read.

Exactly. It's all about orders of magnitude. The movies are seen by millions; the books are read by thousands. So you can't expect the movies to be constrained by the books. The tail can't wag the dog.

 

[Idran]

Exactly. It's all about orders of magnitude. The movies are seen by millions; the books are read by thousands. So you can't expect the movies to be constrained by the books. The tail can't wag the dog.

Well, in most giant media franchises, at least. Not all.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Hmm. For my own part, I found a lot of the SW EU novels to be (at least in comparison to ST novels) either boring, poorly written, really gross (think "droch"), or more than one of the above.

I went to great lengths (and great expense) to obtain a rare publisher HC edition of my all-time favorite SW novel (ADF's Splinter of the Mind's Eye), but of other SW novels, I think I've unloaded more than I've kept, and I know I've ignored more than I've bought.

 

[Hugh Cambridge]

I was a Star Wars fan in the 1990s too, and some of the books (Thrawn, X-wings) were very good reads. But even if the story went on, it is true that a lot of the books were boring (Traviss's commandos, the swamp story with Mace Windu) and also, the Star Wars stories themselseves became limited because it always came back to Good-Evil type stories.
In 2008 Destiny went out, and this made me let Star Wars down for star Trek.
I liked Star Trek before and had read some books, but this trilogy made me want to read the rest, and since then I make sure to get all the books when they are published.
Star Trek has something more, in this universe, everything is possible and not only good-evil stories. The stories can be Political (Articles of the Federation), Hard-SF (Watching the clock or Live by the code), Fantasy (Dragon's honor), Fun (Doctor's Orders or The Kobayashi Maru (the part with checkov was hilarious)), Space Opera (Rising son), you name it. For me Star Trek lit is IDIC-lit
That is why I never stopped reading it since 2008.

 

[The Wormhole]

Well that as well, and of course they wanted to spite EU fans like me. I still get teary eyed-I just miss it.

Yes, Disney's Masterplan in buying the Star Wars franchise and making new movies was specifically a move against the EU fans, for whom they have no respect. Disney wants the EU buried and forgotten, so of course they aren't going to reprint all the novels with the "Legends" banner added onto them. They certainly aren't going to add Grand Admiral Thrawn to their own canon by making him a character on Rebels, which certainly isn't going to lead to another reprint of the Thrawn trilogy with brand new covers done up for them, only a year or so after they were reprinted to add the Legends banner to them. Disney just lacks respect for the EU fans that much.

 

[Idran]

Yes, Disney's Masterplan in buying the Star Wars franchise and making new movies was specifically a move against the EU fans, for whom they have no respect. Disney wants the EU buried and forgotten, so of course they aren't going to reprint all the novels with the "Legends" banner added onto them. They certainly aren't going to add Grand Admiral Thrawn to their own canon by making him a character on Rebels, which certainly isn't going to lead to another reprint of the Thrawn trilogy with brand new covers done up for them, only a year or so after they were reprinted to add the Legends banner to them. Disney just lacks respect for the EU fans that much.

I think someone might want to let Disney know that this plan might backfire.

 

[Greg Cox]

I think someone might want to let Disney know that this plan might backfire.

I think we all realized Wormhole was being sarcastic and that there is no such agenda.