Ain't that the truth.
I couldn't finish either of the Phoenix novels. Disgusting trash.
Also the novelization of Broken Bow. A more juvenile attempt to shit all over the source material I have yet to encounter.
Last edited:
Worst Trek book?
- Thread starter Xploda
- Start date
Ain't that the truth.
I couldn't finish either of the Phoenix novels. Disgusting trash.
Also the novelization of Broken Bow. A more juvenile attempt to shit all over the source material I have yet to encounter.
The ENT relaunch and Romuan War novels were a real slog. I stopped halfway through Beneath the Raptor's Wing and never read the final one. I tried a re-read recently and stopped at Kobayashi Maru.Care to share some examples?
The Great Starship Race. Sorry Greg, I like your other stuff though.
I enjoy the Marshak and Culbreath books, because they're so totally insane. It's the same kind of enjoyment I get from Gold Key comics, I guess but about a hundred times more homoerotic
From the depthe by victor milan. i found it just odd.
I once pissed a writer off so completely with a negative review on Amazon that the writer (it was a self-published ebook) changed his book's description to attack me and my review. And I really had grappled with the work -- the writing was poor (I quoted several examples), the plot was thin, and I couldn't recommend investing time in this. Eventually, he took the book down, and my review (and response) is gone.
I've been writing a novel, off-and-on, for over two decades. I'm writing it because it's a book I'd like to read, if it actually existed. So I'm writing it to please myself. If somebody else ends up liking it, so much the better.
I haven't read it in just as long, but I remember it being quite wacky (I think it was the only one of his I read, but I can sort of see how someone could think he and Peter David were secretly the same person, though the specific flavors of wackiness were quite different). Like, it began with the inertial dampers being screwy, so the ship felt like it was pitching and yawing like a sailboat (and if they just stopped, it would just start rotating like a top), which makes less sense the more you think about it. Also Neelix keeping a bunch of spare communicators, tricorders, and phasers in his boots, which does make sense with his background, but doesn't make sense unless he can do some pretty remarkable things with his feet.
Starship Race was a Diane Carey joint. I know, her writing about a regatta in space. Shocking in retrospect, isn't it?
“You know, if we get through to just that one little girl, it'll all be worth it.”
“Yes. Particularly if that little girl happens to pay $46,000 for that doll.”
Warped ain't no one's fave.
I’ve read a couple of hundred Trek novels. Most are a forgettable blur, with only a few outstandingly bad ones. I own Marshak & Culbreath's books (via a bundle) but haven’t read them.
Warped is the worst I’ve read. I have thrown out two copies (one bought directly, one through the aforementioned bundle) because I disliked it so much - and I do not throw out books.
I re-read the second TNG Dominion Wars novel recently; it was strikingly bad.
I really disliked the Millennium trilogy; it was the final straw for me buying Trek books. The only ones I’ve bought since then are Peter David’s; the rest I borrowed from libraries or never read.
Aside from those, there was one book which I didn’t finish. I only vaguely remember it. I think it was a DTI novel. It had slabs of summaries of episodes which felt like they had been pasted from Memory Alpha
Warped is the worst I’ve read. I have thrown out two copies (one bought directly, one through the aforementioned bundle) because I disliked it so much - and I do not throw out books.
I re-read the second TNG Dominion Wars novel recently; it was strikingly bad.
I really disliked the Millennium trilogy; it was the final straw for me buying Trek books. The only ones I’ve bought since then are Peter David’s; the rest I borrowed from libraries or never read.
Aside from those, there was one book which I didn’t finish. I only vaguely remember it. I think it was a DTI novel. It had slabs of summaries of episodes which felt like they had been pasted from Memory Alpha
Doesn't sound like one of mine, then. I try to keep recaps brief, or else to approach them from a fresh perspective (say, a different character's point of view, or an emphasis on facets of the event not seen onscreen) so that those familiar with the information will still get something new out of it.
Both wrote King Arthur novels that tied into the present day as well. PAD has several, beginning with First Knight, and ab Hugh has Arthur War Lord. It didn't seem entirely out of the realm of possibility in the middish 90s to wonder if the two were connected.
Warped ain't no one's fave.
Favorite, no? Defensible, yes. It's Star Trek by way of Philip K. Dick, and I'd binged a lot of Dick's work in the preceding year or two before Warped came out thanks to Vintage Books' publishing program.
I'd met both of them, so I wasn't too confused. I can testify that they were different people.
The New Earth series of novels, especially the ones written by Diane Carey. Kirk and Co. felt 'off' and acted out of character.
The supporting cast wasn't any better. Billy Maidenshore felt like a Harry Mudd wannabe and Governor Pardonnet; I don't know how he was chosen to be the leader of the colonists.
It might have been on this forum or another where I commented that I checked these books out of my local library and still felt like I wasted my money after I was done reading them.
The supporting cast wasn't any better. Billy Maidenshore felt like a Harry Mudd wannabe and Governor Pardonnet; I don't know how he was chosen to be the leader of the colonists.
It might have been on this forum or another where I commented that I checked these books out of my local library and still felt like I wasted my money after I was done reading them.
Which kind of begs the question of what it could have been.
As to Warped, it went out as a publisher hardcover, so somebody must have liked it. Although I don't remember anything about it, other than the author not being one of my favorites.
And I liked the New Earth miniseries, and really wish the Challenger series had taken off. I like the general concept of a whole crew of misfits (probably why I was such a fan of sitcoms like WKRP and Welcome Back, Kotter).
There have been other books than mine that featured DTI characters or time travel and might be misremembered as DTI novels.
Editors acquire or commission books that they hope the audience will like, but they don't always succeed. Taste is subjective.
The notion that Peter David and Dafydd ab Hugh could possibly be the same person never made any sense to me even a little bit, as their styles aren't at all similar. Of course, most of the arguments I saw after Fallen Heroes came out boiled down to, "I really only like Peter David's Trek novels, I liked Fallen Heroes, therefore they must be the same person."
Conflating Peter David and Dafydd ab Hugh makes even less sense to me than conflating Peter David and Peter Morwood (which I actually did, for a grand total of maybe a few minutes, many years ago).
Ohhhhh okay. I know there was one of yours I've torn to shreds here before but I can't remember which oneNo problem . . . since The Great Starship Race was written by Diane Carey.
Pissing off an author is a dangerous game indeed. You could find yourself cast in their next novel as a Nazi transvestite serial killer or something like that. So it would seem to be a good idea to be VERY careful as to what one says in a forum like this (at least regarding authors who are known to hang out here).
Geez, I hope Myrshak and Culbreath aren't here.
I loved the ENT relaunch novels. Anything that explores the Earth-Romulan War in more depth, I'm all for it! I was very disappointed when I heard that there were supposed to be three Earth-Romulan novels but somehow it got pared down to only two.
That said, there is ONE thing about those novels that confused me:
Captain Roy Dunsel heroically sacrifices himself and his ship to prevent the Romulans from taking control of it and attacking Andor. So how does the word "dunsel" find its way into Academy slang for a piece of equipment that serves no useful purpose? Dunsel's sacrifice damn well DID serve a purpose! 
Last edited:
This is a tough one. I have a lot to read. What makes it hard is that I can read multiple books by the same author and like some of their books more than others.
Not liking one book by an author shouldn’t be thought of as hating everything they write.
For example, I love Prisoner of Azakaban, but I can’t finish Order of the Phoenix. It’s her only Harry Potter book I haven’t finished. Another example. I like No Country for Old Men. I don’t like the Road.
Not liking one book by an author shouldn’t be thought of as hating everything they write.
For example, I love Prisoner of Azakaban, but I can’t finish Order of the Phoenix. It’s her only Harry Potter book I haven’t finished. Another example. I like No Country for Old Men. I don’t like the Road.
Similar threads
