Best Decade?

[Ktrek]

I was wondering what fans generally think is the best decade for Star Trek books?

I have enjoyed books from every decade and some are for sure standouts. In some ways I kind of miss the 90's when the hardback and Giant Novels were coming out with some frequency. I always looked with great anticipation to the latest hardback because it had to be more special than the ol' monthly paperback! Right?

However, the quality of storytelling has greatly improved in the 2000's. I do miss the more standalone novels in many ways and feel like the publishers have created a state of things where you pretty much need to read every novel now in order to enjoy each to it's full. Now, whether this is good or bad I am not exactly sure but I have to think that perhaps more novels would be sold if the stories were once again more standalone. More like individual episodes instead of an ongoing storyline. Perhaps I'm wrong but I really do like the self-enclosed storyline and one off novels. It means less to keep track of and less to re-read in order to enjoy the next book whenever it does appear!

Kevin

 

[nx1701g]

The 2000s.

 

[Johnhead99]

I voted for the 2000's for 3 reasons.

1) The re-launch material is amazing. For every series, it is good.

2) They came out with original side novels along with new characters. See Vanguard or Titan or New Earth.

3) The writers are listening to the fans. They really are. I felt the shows were so far from what fans were asking for; but the novels are great. I'd go as far as saying i have never read a bad ST book written from about 2002 and on. Some are great, others are average, but none were not finishable or left me saying I wish I didnt waste my time. It really seams they are being creative. This whole Destiny trilogy coming up has me so excited that words cannot explain.

 

[Dayton Ward]

I protest the exclusion of the 1960s.

Kirk and Spock were da bomb in Mission to Horatius, yo.

 

[Ktrek]

I protest the exclusion of the 1960s.

Kirk and Spock were da bomb in Mission to Horatius, yo.

Sorry Dayton! I forgot about all the little kiddies in the playground!

Kevin

 

[Trent Roman]

I voted for the naughts.

Abbott: You didn't vote?

No, I voted, and my choice was: naughts.

Costello: Your choice was not what?

Naught, as in the numbers.

Abbott: All the choice are numbers, so you couldn't very well have not voted for the numbers unless you not voted at all.

Not 'not' the negation, 'naught' as in zero.

Costello: That's the worst knock-knock joke I've ever heard.

No, dammit. I voted for the options with the naughts in them, i.e. the option representing the decade with all the zeros.

Abbott: Well, that's not very specific. Every decade has it's share of zeros, that's just human nature.

Costello: Yes, no need to tie yourself in knots over it.

Arrgh!

Not on First, Trent Roman

 

[PaulSimpson]

I protest the exclusion of the 1960s.

Kirk and Spock were da bomb in Mission to Horatius, yo.

And the original James Blish books as well... Where else could we have read a Doomsday Machine story that ends with Decker alive? Or an Operation: Annihilate without the big lights in the sky?

 

[wew]

The 2000s, sure some good books earlier, but the last 10 years have been great in terms of the star trek literature.

 

[JD]

2000s. Most of the stuff I've read has only been published since 2002, but I've heard enough comments, and read enough about the older books that I feel comfortable with my vote. I'm actually tempted to say 2010s, since the stuff just keeps getting better and better, but I really shouldn't since there is a slight chance things could suddenly go downhill next year. I don't find that at all likely, but it is still a posibility.

 

[Darth_Pazuzu]

I love a lot of the current work being done in Star Trek fiction, but I just had to vote for the 1990's, just because Peter David was in his prime then!

 

[JWolf]

I voted for the 2000's. Because Trek now feels like a big universe more so then just single bits.

 

[Julio Angel Ortiz]

The 2000's. The stuff produced this decade has simply been incredible, with the original fiction series (Titan, Vanguard) and relaunches (Deep Space Nine in particular). In the 90's I read only very casually (re: Peter David's novels), but in this decade, I'm a full-blown fan of the fiction range. Who needs Trek on TV?

 

[BryanSorensen]

I voted for the 2000's too. I think what happened was that with 3 shows on in the 90s there wasn't that much room or too much call for books since they were all new episodes. Especially DS9 with the war going on. When the playing field was lowered with the gap between Voyager ending and Enterprise beginning, there was more of a call/need for more trek lit. I think now is the best time of all cause theres no new shows out and all of the characters can be taken futher than they ever have before. my opinion, i could be wrong

 

[KRAD]

^ Minor point: the "gap" between Voyager and Enterprise was all of three months, to wit, the usual summer hiatus. "Endgame" was aired in spring 2001, with "Broken Bow" that same fall.

 

[DeVario]

The 2000s, for the same reasons everyone above has listed. Before 2001, and the start of the DS9-R, Trek novels never interested me (with the very small exception of the movie novelizations and The Lost Years). But once the first post-finale DS9 books started rolling out, that hooked me.

 

[BryanSorensen]

^ Minor point: the "gap" between Voyager and Enterprise was all of three months, to wit, the usual summer hiatus. "Endgame" was aired in spring 2001, with "Broken Bow" that same fall.

Ahem, much apologies there. I thought it was longer. When Enterprise came out i did not have the channel it was on, so I was unable to watch it for the majority of the first season, then i got that channel! it seemed like longer!

 

[KRAD]

I actually went with the 1980s, since that decade gave us The Entropy Effect; Yesterday's Son; The Wounded Sky; The Final Reflection; My Enemy, My Ally; The Tears of the Singers; Uhura's Song; Dwellers in the Crucible; Strangers from the Sky; Deep Domain; The Romulan Way; How Much for Just the Planet?; Spock's World; Final Frontier; Time for Yesterday; Memory Prime; Strike Zone; The Lost Years; The Kobayashi Maru; and the novelizations of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

Besides, I felt the need to recuse myself from voting for the 2000s, given that I've written 15 novels in that decade.........

 

[BaloksPuppet]

I voted early on this and for the 1980s as well, though it was a tough call between that and the 2000s. I'm only up to late 2005 in my reading but there have been some very fine books this decade, particularly the DS9 relaunch and the Lost Era books. I'm glad I started reading Trek books again. But I have such fond memories of the books KRAD lists, that I just had to vote for that decade.

 

[MarianLH]

All of my favorite novels were written in the 80s.


Marian

 

[Starbreaker]

The 2000s. The 90s were good too though.