Found some Star Trek books from the thrift store. Are these any good?

[urrutiap]

I found bunch of Star Trek paperbacks at the thrift shop recently this week. Havent had the time to read them since some of them are a series. Any of these any good?

Strange New Worlds short stories. 1998 edition.

New Earth series books 1 and 2

New Frontier book 5

New Frontier Excalibur book 3. A spin off of New Frontier I guess?

The Fearful Summons. Direct sequel taking place after Star Trek Undiscovered Country

 

[Jinn]

New Frontier book 5

That's Martyr, right? I think I thought that one was fine.

New Frontier Excalibur book 3. A spin off of New Frontier I guess?

It's basically book 11 of New Frontier. Personally, I didn't like it, but I think generally it is well-regarded.

 

[ryan123450]

If I had to pick one of those to read it would be Strange New Worlds. Can’t recommend you read any books from the middle of a series (the Excalibur book is basically New Frontier, Book 11). Can’t recommend New Earth or Fearful Summons, though some may disagree. At least Fearful Summons is a standalone.

 

[ryan123450]

Lol Jinn beat me to it.

 

[urrutiap]

Well why on the front cover of the New Frontier Excalibur it says Book 3 then it has a # 11 on the front cover?

 

[Jinn]

Lol Jinn beat me to it.

 

[urrutiap]

Ive never read Star Trek short story books. Just Stephen King stuff pretty much.

I was wondering if any newer Strange New Worlds short story books have been made recently? What was the last recent one anyway?

 

[Jinn]

Well why on the front cover of the New Frontier Excalibur it says Book 3 then it has a # 11 on the front cover?

Well, Excalibur is a three-part mini-series within the longer New Frontier main series.

 

[Jinn]

What was the last recent one anyway?

That one was published in 2016, I think because of Trek's 50th anniversary.

 

[David cgc]

I liked the first New Earth book. Good space action, and the miniseries didn't really get samey until the middle. The plots of books 2, 4, and 5 are basically "Bad aliens want to destroy the colony in increasingly outlandish ways," with books 3-6 also having the running subplot of "The colony is becoming a bit of a hole because the planet keeps getting seriously damaged by all these attempts to destroy it." They all pay out differently, but it can feel a little like a party game where a bunch of writers all got the same one-line premise and we get to see how different the resulting stories are.

 

[urrutiap]

From reading the synopsis on the back of the books for books 1 and 2 of New Earth it sounds like to me that the series takese\ place right after The Motion Picture?

 

[Jinn]

From reading the synopsis on the back of the books for books 1 and 2 of New Earth it sounds like to me that the series takese\ place right after The Motion Picture?

I think it's like six years after TMP, but you're right the synopsis reads like two days have passed.

 

[Christopher]

From reading the synopsis on the back of the books for books 1 and 2 of New Earth it sounds like to me that the series takese\ place right after The Motion Picture?

I think it's like six years after TMP, but you're right the synopsis reads like two days have passed.

Story-wise, it makes far more sense if it's years after, closer to The Wrath of Khan (because Spock is a captain and Chekov is on the verge of leaving for Reliant, IIRC), but the historian's note says right after. For some reason, quite a few post-TMP books have historian's notes saying they come "shortly after" TMP. The Pocket timeline in Voyages of the Imagination disregards the historian's note and puts it years later.

 

[Therin of Andor]

The Fearful Summons. Direct sequel taking place after Star Trek Undiscovered Country

Interesting mainly because the late Denny Martin Flinn wrote it, and was able to include his "roundup of the bridge crew" prologue originally scripted for ST VI but dumped for lack of time.

 

[JD]

New Earth series books 1 and 2

I haven't read the New Earth books, but I most of what I've heard about it hasn't been that great.

New Frontier book 5

New Frontier Excalibur book 3. A spin off of New Frontier I guess?

I think you'd probably be able to read NF Book 5: Martyr OK, but the series does follow a bit of an arc with the characters and their relationships, so you might miss out on some things if you haven't read the first four before it.
Excalibur 3/BK11: Restoration, would not be a good place to jump in, the Excalibur miniseries followed up on a specific cliffhanger from book 8, and by that point the character arcs had gotten pretty complex.

The Fearful Summons. Direct sequel taking place after Star Trek Undiscovered Country

I believe I've seen this one referred to as one of the worst Trek books ever, so I would probably avoid it.

 

[Tirius]

New Earth series books 1 and 2

Just wanted to add my 2 cents to these, as New Earth #1 is one of my all-time favorite Trek novels. The entire prospect of the colonization fleet and Kirk doing actual "admirally" stuff while dealing with civilians was a good combo, and the scene with Chekov on the Impeller remains one of my favorite action scenes in all of Trek lit.

I'll second the opinions above that books 2-5 have similar plots, although 2 stands out as the most direct sequel to 1, and 3 and is mostly driven by Scott, Sulu and Uhura plots IIRC, and that I found very refreshing. The final installment, Challenger, I enjoyed as much as the first, though it's best read after the previous ones for the full experience.

Chekov is on the verge of leaving for Reliant, IIRC

Indeed, Chekov leaving for Reliant happens in book 1.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Some thoughts:

Strange New Worlds short stories. 1998 edition.

There should be early Dayton Ward work in there.

New Earth series books 1 and 2

You have two of the three essential New Earth books right there. (The third is the sixth.) What you get in books 1 and 2 are the colonization journey itself and the setting up of the colony. Books 3, 4, and 5 all reprise the second book in some way.

New Frontier book 5

Martyr was decent. Early New Frontier is best New Frontier.

New Frontier Excalibur book 3. A spin off of New Frontier I guess?

At the time, it was eagerly anticipated. I thought it was awful. PAD's character assassination of Shelby is in full-force here (she's deeply insecure and can't earn her crew's respect), and I grew pretty weary of the "Calhoun in a western" plot. Except for a few chapters at the end that resolve one of the plots from the first two books in the trilogy, you can read this book by itself.

The Fearful Summons. Direct sequel taking place after Star Trek Undiscovered Country

It's a bit silly.

 

[urrutiap]

I found a couple more old Star Trek books from the same thrift store earlier today.

New Earth book # 4 Flaming Arrow
New Frontier # 7 The Quiet Place
New Frontier # 8Dark Allies

 

[Jinn]

I found a couple more old Star Trek books from the same thrift store earlier today.

New Earth book # 4 Flaming Arrow
New Frontier # 7 The Quiet Place
New Frontier # 8Dark Allies

Dark Allies is probably one of my favorite NF books and The Quiet Place was also quite good.

 

[JD]

Yeah, those were some of the best NF books.
If you going to read NF #5, #7, and #8, I would try and find #6 Fire on High, since it introduces a major new character who plays a big role in the rest of the series.