Pre-FYM stories

[lawman]

Hi folks! So I've been reviewing and updating my personal Trek timeline... and I've been struck by how relatively few stories there are in what I would consider this fairly fertile area of Trek continuity. What I have so far is as follows, and I'm curious if I'm overlooking anything...

The Pre-Captain Kirk era
The only novels I know of set in this period are:
---
Final Frontier (George Kirk and Robert April)
Children of Kings (about Pike)
Burning Dreams (also Pike)
Best Destiny (Kirk as a teen)
Legacies 1: Captain to Captain (April)
Starfleet Academy #1: Crisis on Vulcan (Pike meets young Spock)
Starfleet Academy #2: Aftershock (McCoy meets cadet Spock)
Starfleet Academy #3: Cadet Kirk (Kirk meets Spock and McCoy)
Garth of Izar (self-explanatory)
My Brother's Keeper #1: Republic (Kirk and Mitchell as cadets)
Vulcan's Glory (Spock joins Enterprise crew)
Child of Two Worlds (post-Cage)
My Brother's Keeper #2: Constitution (Kirk and Mitchell as young officers)
Inception (Kirk & Carol, Spock & Leila)
SCE: Foundations Bk 1 (Corps of Engineers)
(...plus of course the Discovery novels published to date.)

There are also novels with the main story set in other periods, but flashbacks or references to character backstory from this period. The ones I'm aware of include:
---
Crisis on Centaurus (McCoy and Kirk)
Shadows on the Sun (McCoy history)
The Better Man (more McCoy history)
Entropy Effect (Spock's studies at Makropyrios)
The Rift (Pike & crew in 2254)
Legacy (Pike & Spock)
Enemy Unseen (Kirk as Lt. Cmdr)
Covenant of the Crown (Kirk as Lt. Cmdr)
Corona (Kirk as Lt. Cmdr/XO)
Crossroad (Kirk as Lt. Cmdr/XO)

...and there are a few comics with relevant stories in this era. The ones I take note of are:
---
DC's Star Trek v2 #73-75, "Star Crossed" (Kirk and Carol)
IDW's Star Trek: Crew #1-5 (Number One's backstory)
Marvel's ST: Early Voyages #1-17 (Pike era)
DC's ST Annual v1 #1, "All Those Years Ago" (Kirk takes command of Enterprise)

Early Captain Kirk era
This period, preceding the events of TOS season one (we could call it the "Gary Mitchell/Dr. Piper period"), seems if anything even sparser. It lasts over a year in terms of continuity, yet all I'm aware of are:
---
Seasons of Light and Darkness (via flashback)
Strangers from the Sky (framing sequence)
IDW's ST: Mission's End #1 comic
Captain's Peril (five months into command)
My Brother's Keeper #3: Enterprise
Mere Anarchy #1: Things Fall Apart
SCE #64: Distant Early Warning
Vanguard #1: Harbinger
Vanguard #2: Summon the Thunder
Vanguard #3: Reap the Whirlwind
...and, of course, the events of "Where No Man Has Gone Before." And not all of these stories even involve the Enterprise crew.

Yes, I'm aware that some of these stories paint somewhat conflicting pictures of some details of the pre-FYM continuity, but that's beside the point at the moment. I just remain surprised there aren't more stories. What if anything am I overlooking here?

(And in particular, one of the questions that got me wondering about this period in the first place...

...what is the chronologically earliest occasion on which Kirk encountered Klingons?

In canon, yes, of course, it's "Errand of Mercy"... but in Trek lit, I'm honestly not sure. Based on my notes I think it could be Crossroad (which I have set c. 2259), but I remain open to correction!...)

 

[Jinn]

A Choice of Catastrophes also had McCoy backstory stuff.

 

[lawman]

Thanks! I confess I'm not familiar with that one... can you tell me a little more about what period of McCoy's life it explores?

 

[Jinn]

It covers about ten years of McCoy's life, basically everything important from meeting his wife as a freshman to getting hired by Kirk as Enterprise's CMO. Other McCoy backstory stories are mentioned, but I believe there are some minor contradictions in the details. I see this as the "streamlined" version of McCoy's backstory, as it is definitely the most exhaustive one, while the others usually only present on important incident. It also manages to give current day McCoy (that is 2268, btw) some character development, which is quite an achievement for a 5YM novel. The novel also has an interesting approach to stardates, or at least an interesting intent; the novel is supposed to be set immediately after a specific episode, but the stardates are lower than the ones from the episode since the next episode has even lower stardates, so logically they would go down. I think @Stevil2001, the co-author of the novel, posted this somewhere.

 

[Garth Rockett]

Looking over my timeline, here's the novels I've included so far that weren't on your list:

The Final Reflection - an 8 year old Spock appears in Part Two, although the framing device for this one does leave open the idea that the main text may or may not be "historically accurate"

Enterprise: The First Adventure - it's all in the title, isn't it?

It doesn't look like you were going for a comprehensive list of the comics, but for what it's worth here are the other comic stories on my timeline that fit the criteria:

Star Trek Vol. 2 Annual 2 (DC) - Kirk's early days at the Academy

Star Trek Vol. 2 Annual 4 (DC) - Not long before "The Cage" (the Enterprise is due at Rigel in "a couple of days")

Spock: Reflections (IDW) - #1 includes a flashback to shortly after Spock's kahs-wan; #2 flashes back to Spock's first mission with Pike; #3 flashes back to Early Kirk period (at least if you follow production order, as I do) due to an appearance by Bailey

Alien Spotlight: Vulcans (IDW) - shortly after Spock joins the Enterprise crew

Captain's Log: Pike (IDW) - first part of the story immediately after "The Cage"

Star Trek Vol. 2 #64 (DC) - prologue just after "Where No Man Has Gone Before", main story not long after Kirk's visit to Tyree's planet; #76 during Gary Mitchell's time in the crew

Debt of Honor (DC) - includes a flashback to Kirk's time aboard the Farragut, shortly after Garrovick's death

Alien Spotlight II: Klingons (IDW) - includes a flashback to 7 years before "Errand of Mercy"

New Visions #21 (IDW) "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" - during Pike's captaincy of the Enterprise; Piper is assigned as new medical officer; Scotty and Kelso are also in the crew

New Visions #5 (IDW) - includes flashback to five months before Pike leaves the Enterprise

Alien Spotlight: Orions - a Pike story after he's promoted to Fleet Captain; I've got this one before "Where No Man Has Gone Before" on my timeline, but could be set in early season one of TOS.

 

[Christopher]

Alien Spotlight: Orions - a Pike story after he's promoted to Fleet Captain; I've got this one before "Where No Man Has Gone Before" on my timeline, but could be set in early season one of TOS.

I agree with your placement. It's soon after Pike becomes fleet captain, therefore soon after Kirk takes command of the E, and probably before the galaxy-edge mission.

 

[lawman]

Looking over my timeline, here's the novels I've included so far that weren't on your list...

Thanks!

I'm aware (and a big fan) of The Final Reflection... guess I just wasn't thinking quite that far back pre-FYM. As for Ent:TFA, I've never liked it, plus it's a tricky fit for continuity in some ways (e.g., Rand!), so I basically just ignore it in my headcanon; I prefer the DC version in Annual #1's "All Those Years Ago."

It doesn't look like you were going for a comprehensive list of the comics, but for what it's worth here are the other comic stories on my timeline that fit the criteria...

True, I wasn't, but thanks. Very comprehensive listing! I've got notes on some of those, but not all.

FWIW, I think the DC Academy story is a little too on-the-nose in terms of having all the characters interacting in the same place and time. OTOH I'd completely neglected the Spock/Pike story in Annual #4; I should fix that! I'm aware of the Debt of Honor flashback, but it doesn't really add anything significant to the timeline, just fleshes out a known incident. Most of the IDW comics stuff I've chosen not to include, honestly because I think a lot of it just isn't very good, but perhaps I should take another look and choose more carefully.

No thoughts out there on Kirk's first encounter with Klingons?

 

[lawman]

Addendum: I am reminded that there's also Academy: Collision Course, by Shatner and the Reeves-Stevenses, set in 2249. I haven't read it, though, so I honestly can't say anything about it in terms of either quality or continuity.

BTW, what the heck is the deal with Choice of Catastrophes out there? Amazon has some copies listed at truly absurdly inflated prices!...

 

[Garth Rockett]

I agree with your placement. It's soon after Pike becomes fleet captain, therefore soon after Kirk takes command of the E, and probably before the galaxy-edge mission.

Thanks. I was thinking it was soon after Pike’s promotion, but I didn’t indicate that on my timeline note so I was afraid my memory was playing tricks on me.

FWIW, I think the DC Academy story is a little too on-the-nose in terms of having all the characters interacting in the same place and time.

Agreed. I recently reread it for my timeline project, and it really feels like an exercise in working into one issue Kirk’s first meeting with everyone he met (or could have met) at the Academy.

 

[tomswift2002]

Addendum: I am reminded that there's also Academy: Collision Course, by Shatner and the Reeves-Stevenses, set in 2249. I haven't read it, though, so I honestly can't say anything about it in terms of either quality or continuity.

Even the 3 books that were released immediately prior to ACC by Shatner contain flashbacks to six months after Kirk takes command of the Enterprise (Captain's Peril, Captain's Blood, Captain's Glory aka Star Trek Totality)

 

[Nightowl1701]

Y'know, outside of two novels (Final Frontier and DSC's Drastic Measures) and one John Byrne comic (Crew), the Robert April era of the Enterprise has been all but completely untouched. Why is that? Seems like prime creative real estate if you're wanting to do 'original-yet-familiar' stories with a mostly-new crew. Even though now both the Romulans and Klingons are off-limits in that time period, April had to have been doing something awesome to be remembered in DSC as one of Starfleet's most decorated captains...

 

[thribs]

The George Kirk one sounds interesting. It seems very little has been done with him. They could make him a Section 31 operative if they wanted to.

 

[lawman]

Even the 3 books that were released immediately prior to ACC by Shatner contain flashbacks to six months after Kirk takes command of the Enterprise (Captain's Peril, Captain's Blood, Captain's Glory aka Star Trek Totality)

Thanks! I haven't read those. Anything particularly noteworthy about those flashbacks?

...Even though now both the Romulans and Klingons are off-limits in that time period, April had to have been doing something awesome to be remembered in DSC as one of Starfleet's most decorated captains...

Indeed! (And IMHO keeping the Romulans and Klingons off-limits sounds more like a feature than a bug...)

 

[Leto_II]

Y'know, outside of two novels (Final Frontier and DSC's Drastic Measures) and one John Byrne comic (Crew), the Robert April era of the Enterprise has been all but completely untouched.

And also sizeable portions of Best Destiny and Legacies: Captain to Captain, which probably cover the better part of another entire novel's length (if not more) in their own right.

 

[Desert Kris]

Dreams of the Raven has information about McCoy's early career, just not by way of flashback. He has amnesia in the story, which is meant to characterize what he was like at a younger age, and he remembers important information as if it has happened to him recently. Don't know if that counts.

 

[JD]

I'm assuming you're only interested in stuff immediately before TOS? You didn't specify in you're original post, and I wasn't sure how far back you are looking to go, because there are a bunch of Enterprise and Rise of the Federation novels, and several novels that go all the way back to the 20th and 21st cenuries. I know of at least two books that even go back to the 19th century.
What about the Mirror Universe?

 

[Stevil2001]

It covers about ten years of McCoy's life, basically everything important from meeting his wife as a freshman to getting hired by Kirk as Enterprise's CMO. Other McCoy backstory stories are mentioned, but I believe there are some minor contradictions in the details. I see this as the "streamlined" version of McCoy's backstory, as it is definitely the most exhaustive one, while the others usually only present on important incident. It also manages to give current day McCoy (that is 2268, btw) some character development, which is quite an achievement for a 5YM novel. The novel also has an interesting approach to stardates, or at least an interesting intent; the novel is supposed to be set immediately after a specific episode, but the stardates are lower than the ones from the episode since the next episode has even lower stardates, so logically they would go down. I think @Stevil2001, the co-author of the novel, posted this somewhere.

I think you've got it all! It draws details of McCoy's career from The Better Man and Shadows on the Sun, though its depiction of Leonard and Jocelyn's break-up is not consistent with those novels.

I did kind of want the stardates to gradually decrease across the course of the novel, but wiser heads prevailed.

BTW, what the heck is the deal with Choice of Catastrophes out there? Amazon has some copies listed at truly absurdly inflated prices!...

It's just that good.

 

[JD]

It sounds like Choice of Catastrophes might be one of their print on the demand books, most of those seem to be about $15.

 

[thribs]

What about Kirk on the Farragut?

 

[TheUsualSuspect]

^ I think it's covered in the second My Brother's Keeper novel.