I actually remember thinking that Lorrah probably had a better handle on Data's character than the show's writers did in S1, and she writes a great Yar too. Survivors is one of the best Star Trek novels, in my view.
Hey all, March’s Trek ebook deals webpage is up now here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/p/star-trek-ebook-deals ALL OF THE DEALS ARE .99 CENTS AND ARE GOOD UNTIL: 4/2/2023 Thanks goes to @Smiley as well too back at post #1454. All the best, -Koric
You cut off the end of my quote where I specifically said that about Tasha's backstory. At the point Survivors was written/published, pretty much everything about Tasha and her home planet was consistent with what little had been shown on screen, including the brief scene in Where No One Has Gone Before, which very much stuck in my head as a visual while I was reading this. Any inconsistencies in characterisation from the early books are certainly no criticism of the authors - it must be close to impossible to capture the voice of a character at a point where no episodes have been broadcast, working from the writers' bible and perhaps some scripts. Survivors certainly comes a lot closer to Season 1 characterisations than, say, Ghost Ship, in which several characters act very different to how they would even in early Season 1 episodes. But again, that's no criticism of Diane Carey, who was presumably working from the very thin characterisations in the writers' bible - and Ghost Ship is really enjoyable if you're prepared to put that aside. But while it's no criticism of the authors, I don't think it's unreasonable to provide that warning to a reader - some people understandably find it very off-putting.
I think that if people understand that something is not "wrong" for its day but simply representing what was "right" in an earlier version of the series, they might be more receptive to it as a glimpse into history, a chance to explore how the concepts of the franchise evolved. Granted, some people need to convince themselves this imaginary universe is somehow "real" and don't like things that break the illusion, but others are able to engage with fiction as a creative work and find value in exploring how a fictional universe has changed over time. Presenting it as a "warning" strikes me as taking one of those sides over the other. Better simply to present the context as fully and objectively as possible and let people decide for themselves whether they see it as a positive or a negative.
So Kobo Canada and Amazon Canada seem to have a number of novels on for 99 cents right now that aren't listed on the S&S deals page for March. This is what I'm seeing: TOS: The Antares Maelstrom TOS: A Contest of Principles TOS: The Weight of Worlds TOS: Battlestations! TNG: Armageddon's Arrow DS9: Avatar Book 1 DS9: Avatar Book 2 DS9: Revenant ENT: The Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor's Wing ENT: The Romulan War: To Brave the Storm KEL: More Beautiful Than Death Looking back in this thread, it looks like this was the sale lineup for December of last year. I don't know if S&S Canada accidentally reactivated the old sale or something? Or maybe they just never ended it and it's been on since December and I just never noticed? Anyway, if you missed any of these in December, might want to act quickly, just in case?
Some new TREK EBOOKS I just found on Amazon now for .99 cents. It might be APRIL 2023 TREK EBOOK DEALS: All prices are good until May 1st 2023. https://www.simonandschuster.com/p/star-trek-ebook-deals Star Trek: TNG: Before Dishonor Dreadnought! (Star Trek: TOS Book 29) Star Trek: First Contact (Star Trek: TNG REGULAR NOVELIZATION) Star Trek: DS9: The Never Ending Sacrifice Captain's Glory (Star Trek) Shatnerverse Captain's Blood (Star Trek) Shatnerverse A Hard Rain (Star Trek: TNG Book 65) Memory Prime (Star Trek: TOS Book 42) Star Trek: DS9: Trial by Error Captain’s Peril (Collected Shatnerverse works) To the Stars: The autobiography of George Takei I will update as the webpage comes up. To quote Def Leppard from Pyromania “Cause baby I’m NOT F-F-F Foolin...” Sorry I’m a big Def Leppard fan, and couldn’t resist the chance to throw in the reference. Grab ‘em while you can. Happy April 1st to all on the forums. Enjoy all, -Koric
It kind of bugs me that they would include Captain’s Blood and Captain’s Glory (books two and three of a trilogy) but not Captain’s Peril (book one). — David Young
As I recall, Peril was a self-contained prologue to the other two, mostly a flashback to Kirk's past setting up the villain that would figure in the latter two books.
Which means that Peril can be read on its own (it felt like a standalone on first release), not that Blood and Glory make sense without it. But (assuming they don’t drop the price in the next few days) this is hardly the first time the monthly deals have featured part but not all of a series.
Is that really the case, though? Just because a story refers back to something the reader didn't see, that doesn't mean it can't be understood. The very first Trek story ever, "The Cage," is very much driven by the unseen events on Rigel VII before the episode. Everything the viewer needs to understand the story is explained in retrospect. And then there are all the TOS episodes about characters reuniting with old love interests -- Nancy Crater, Ruth, Areel Shaw, Leila Kalomi, Janet Wallace, etc. Most of the backstory is left vague, but the stories still make sense. I don't remember the latter two novels well enough to recall if they could stand on their own, but I know the Reeves-Stevenses are very capable authors who are very good at providing exposition. Moreover, the second book came out a year after the first, and the third book nearly three years after the second. Even people who did read the earlier books would probably have forgotten a lot about them, so it stands to reason that the later books would have been written with enough recaps and exposition to bring the readers up to speed on anything important, rather than just assuming they remembered everything.
Ok. Thanks. Still, it would have been nice for them to have had all three in the same offer. But, yeah, as Brendan said, I know they do this from time to time, include all but one of a series, making us hope that other book will show up eventually in another offer. — David Young
Digital rights may not have been included in Trek book contracts when the first Shatner novels were written. Most older novels where that was the case have had new agreements negotiated to allow e-book versions, but it may be that discussions along those lines didn’t work out for the Shatner books.
Yes, there is an older thread titled “Star Trek Books Not Available as E-Books” (that you have to go back around seven pages to find) where those and a few others still not in eBook format are discussed. — David Young
I agree with @Leathco there are strange holes for certain books and series. But I’m hopefully since recent novels were issued as ebooks with Star Trek IV TVH novelization and Star Trek First Contact novelization as Ebooks. But damn it, can we get Vulcan’s Forge and others released as ebooks as well? I just think it’s strange that you have a well known series with huge holes digitally in the first place. Lastly @Brendan Moody just to venture a guess that when Amazon and Audible were separate entities early on, Shatner’s first two novels are available as audiobooks but not as ebooks. This is still typical in most cases. For example The Batman 1989 novelization by Craig Shaw Gardner IS NOT available as an ebook, but is available THANKFULLY as a great audiobook read by Roddy Mcdowell. Again, go figure the discrepancy, I really don’t know why it just baffles me. You would think an older ebook and audiobook would sell equally as well. Either way I am a completeist. -Koric
Nobody in 1989 knew what an eBook was, so those rights were not accounted for in the contract. Since that was a single contract for a single book from 35 years ago that is long out of print, renegotiating the rights to include eBooks is more trouble than anyone probably thinks it's worth.
I agree 100 percent @KRAD I have been enjoying having all of your old 1990’s Marvel novels in ebook as well as your Trek novels. Especially since I am discovering them for the first time now as new. But someone needs to find out why then Titan Books are snapping up old novelizations and books and releasing them as ebooks then. First with Alien, Predator, and now Conan the Barbarian novelization from L. Sprague De Camp from 1982. Which as a listing on Amazon now for August 2023 right now. This is not directed at you personally, but just a general statement: pardon my french but I’m tired of the POOR EXCUSE that publishers can’t or won’t release an older novel, ebook, or publication digitally. Man, I’ve heard it all. I’m sorry but in my case it’s not only a want but a need. Not being able to physically or easily hold a book because I have Cerebral Palsy, and I am unable to turn my left hand flat like as if you are golding a platter. My ability is deteriorating with age honestly. The only reason I share this is not only for myself, but what about elderly readers that easily want large print a reader provides? Or the ability to combine ebook and audio for the blind, etc etc. I am not special, and don’t want any preveileges for myself, and a good portion of my life was BEFORE the ADA act of 1990, so I learned to live without handrails, ramps, and special bathrooms with hella amounts of difficulty. But truth be told Baby Boomers are the tidal wave that is threatening to drown out and engulf disabled people, but I still feel having electronic books available helps and benefits ALL: elderly, disabled, and otherwise. But, they can also be a source of new fans and support discovering new works for the first time, as everything old is new again. There are other benefits as well...Not to mention archiving, and referencing works easily for the future. Leaving works solely to print unfortunately can be lost to the ravages of time, age, discrepancy, and dare I say the ELEPHANT in the room: PIRACY. Edit: Just to be clear I AM AGAINST PIRACY COMPLETELY. I’m sorry if I shared too much, but I felt it was necessary. -Koric
Titan already has a deal in place with Marvel to do books, so releasing the older books was part of a larger deal that Titan has with the Walt Disney Company. However, the novelization of Batman is a single 34-year-old book that was not part of a larger deal, but was just one book with a limited shelf-life -- novelizations have very brief runs in the stores, rarely longer than when the movie is in theatres -- that would need to have those rights negotiated for in a separate addendum to the original deal. Said deal probably is buried in a file cabinet somewhere (remember, this was 1989), and I doubt anyone at Warner Bros. thinks it's worth it for a book that would then need to be scanned and formatted for eBook (which would cost money) for a book that has almost no market.
Hi @Koric , sorry, I just have to put on the mod hat for a second. First, let me say that I understand your frustration, and I too wish that it was possible to get some older books in ebook format. But I do have to step in here for a brief reminder that promoting piracy is against the board rules. Now, stating your personal belief that you condone it is not necessarily the same thing as promoting it, so I think you are still within the lines, but I just want to make sure this doesn’t go any further. The official board policy (and my own personal belief, TBH), is that we do not condone piracy in any way. We don’t want to risk any legal trouble with the rights holders, since that would be very bad for the board. Thank you for your understanding.
I should add to what @Avro Arrow said that I almost didn't respond to your post, @Koric, because pirating books is theft, and pirating my books is theft from me. You pirate one of my books, you are stealing food out of my mouth and making it harder for me to continue to write for a living. And that applies to every author out there. So condone it all you want, but be aware of what, exactly, you're doing.