As was announced at Shore Leave, a third volume of the Myriad Universes series has already been commissioned (expected for release in November 2009). Not long after finishing Echoes and Refractions, I started thinking about the authors and stories I would like to see in this next volume. I posted those ideas on my blog, but thought I'd present it here as well, to see what people here were looking for in future installments...
Authors
The key, I think, to a successful Myriad Universes story is world-building - establishing the changed universe succinctly and with a high degree of realism. All of the authors I'd like to see in Myriad Universes 3 have that as a strength.
Probably above all, I'd love to see Olivia Woods tackle a story - her brief look at alternative versions of Benjamin Sisko in Fearful Symmetry packed a huge amount of characterisation and timeline information into a few short paragraphs. Maybe we could hear more about the Celestial Union, or Dr. Sisko of the Daystrom Institute...
David R. George III also did a good job exploring alternate timelines in Provenance of Shadows, looking at the timeline that resulted from McCoy's actions in "The City on the Edge of Forever". His work is also often epic in scope, yet very personal in content, and certainly lengthy...
Other authors I'd like to see taking a shot at the "what-if"? Well, Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore always produce high-quality and highly-detailed novels - as does David Mack. The pairing of Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin would also create a strong story. Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens are the quintessential "epic" writers. Finally, I'm always wondering if Diane Duane would return to Trek fiction. She did write a piece for the second volume of the manga, so it could be a possibility.
And, obviously, any of the authors from the first two volumes would definitely be welcomed back for the third - although perhaps they should be saved for a fourth (or even fifth) volume, allowing more authors to be spotlighted.
Stories
Keeping a good mix of stories is crucial to the ongoing success of the concept. The galaxy-encompassing epics that have largely been produced so far could be contrasted with more personal stories, which have less of an impact on the world, but more on the people involved. In addition, a mixture of divergence points based on events that occured within the series (along the lines of Marvel's What If...? line) should be mixed with original digressions.
Exploring more of the alternate timelines seen in the various series could also be done. My personal wish is to see the history of the Federation-Klingon War seen in "Yesterday's Enterprise" explored. Of course, having my own ideas on how that timeline evolves (going so far as to try and write the story myself...) might affect my reception of such a tale. And there's only one author I would want to write it, to be honest. Keith R.A. DeCandido is perhaps the greatest writer of the Klingon race, and he's already detailed the history of our timeline at the point of divergence, in The Art of the Impossible. He's the natural fit for the piece.
Regardless of who gets chosen, or what they choose to write, I am confident that Myriad Universes 3 will be as intriguing and thought-provoking as the first two volumes were. Pocket Books has a good thing going here...
So, what would you like to see in the next volume? (Remember, anything detailed about story ideas is a no-no...)
Authors
The key, I think, to a successful Myriad Universes story is world-building - establishing the changed universe succinctly and with a high degree of realism. All of the authors I'd like to see in Myriad Universes 3 have that as a strength.
Probably above all, I'd love to see Olivia Woods tackle a story - her brief look at alternative versions of Benjamin Sisko in Fearful Symmetry packed a huge amount of characterisation and timeline information into a few short paragraphs. Maybe we could hear more about the Celestial Union, or Dr. Sisko of the Daystrom Institute...
David R. George III also did a good job exploring alternate timelines in Provenance of Shadows, looking at the timeline that resulted from McCoy's actions in "The City on the Edge of Forever". His work is also often epic in scope, yet very personal in content, and certainly lengthy...
Other authors I'd like to see taking a shot at the "what-if"? Well, Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore always produce high-quality and highly-detailed novels - as does David Mack. The pairing of Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin would also create a strong story. Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens are the quintessential "epic" writers. Finally, I'm always wondering if Diane Duane would return to Trek fiction. She did write a piece for the second volume of the manga, so it could be a possibility.
And, obviously, any of the authors from the first two volumes would definitely be welcomed back for the third - although perhaps they should be saved for a fourth (or even fifth) volume, allowing more authors to be spotlighted.
Stories
Keeping a good mix of stories is crucial to the ongoing success of the concept. The galaxy-encompassing epics that have largely been produced so far could be contrasted with more personal stories, which have less of an impact on the world, but more on the people involved. In addition, a mixture of divergence points based on events that occured within the series (along the lines of Marvel's What If...? line) should be mixed with original digressions.
Exploring more of the alternate timelines seen in the various series could also be done. My personal wish is to see the history of the Federation-Klingon War seen in "Yesterday's Enterprise" explored. Of course, having my own ideas on how that timeline evolves (going so far as to try and write the story myself...) might affect my reception of such a tale. And there's only one author I would want to write it, to be honest. Keith R.A. DeCandido is perhaps the greatest writer of the Klingon race, and he's already detailed the history of our timeline at the point of divergence, in The Art of the Impossible. He's the natural fit for the piece.
Regardless of who gets chosen, or what they choose to write, I am confident that Myriad Universes 3 will be as intriguing and thought-provoking as the first two volumes were. Pocket Books has a good thing going here...
So, what would you like to see in the next volume? (Remember, anything detailed about story ideas is a no-no...)
