First Person Trek Stories

[F. King Daniel]

I'm a big fan of Dreadnought. Battlestations wasn't as good IMO, but it was alright.

The only Captain's Table I've tried is Tales from the Captain's Table, and I gave up after the first story. The whole "magical pub" thing killed it dead for me before I started. Then the first story was terrible.

 

[Christopher]

The only Captain's Table I've tried is Tales from the Captain's Table, and I gave up after the first story. The whole "magical pub" thing killed it dead for me before I started.

Then you probably wouldn't like the novels, which take the concept substantially further than the anthology did. In the novels, not only do you have captains from all periods of history interacting, but there are even captains from fiction. Captain Nemo is a prominent character in the frame story of Where Sea Meets Sky (and not even Verne's Nemo -- something closer to the Disney version).

 

[Timewalker]

Now, first person I'm okay with. I'm okay with present tense; I've written some fiction in present tense, and that gives the text a unique flavor if used properly.

Combine the two? It was like fingers on the goddamn chalkboard.

I've written a lot of Crow: Stairway to Heaven fanfic, and it just feels right to me to do it in the present tense. I tend to write poetry in the first-person, present tense and it turns out okay (in my opinion).

Ever read Robert Silverberg's Up the Line? That novel simply would not work in anything other than first person. In particular, the ending would not have the same impact if told from any point of view other than that of first person.

 

[Excalibur7]

I,Q by Peter David and John deLancie was billed when it was released as being written entirely from the perspective of Q. I remember quite liking it when i read it as Q seemed to be the perfect type of character to write a first person perspective story from. His omnipotence allows him to perfectly recall every word that was spoken and remember even the smallest of details, and the long winded internal monologues seemed to fit with the characters overinflated opinion of himself.

 

[Greg Cox]

The problem with present tense is that it tends to call attention to itself. It's best used in small doses, perhaps to indicate an altered or heightened state of consciousness: dream sequences, hallucinations, mind-melds, etc.

It also works great for back cover copy--which is supposed to be grabby!

 

[Thrawn]

Or in books that really use that sense of immediacy and attention-grabbing-ness well throughout, like Snow Crash. Which is, I contend, distinctly better for being written in present tense. It just fits.

 

[Greg Cox]

Ever read Robert Silverberg's Up the Line? That novel simply would not work in anything other than first person. In particular, the ending would not have the same impact if told from any point of view other than that of first person.

That was a great ending.

By amazing coincidence, my very first published novel was a YA spin-off from UP THE LINE. (All the time-travel with none of the drugs and sex.) ROBERT SILVERBERG'S TIME TOURS: THE PIRATE PARADOX.

And, yeah, I wrote it in third-person . . . .

 

[Timewalker]

Ever read Robert Silverberg's Up the Line? That novel simply would not work in anything other than first person. In particular, the ending would not have the same impact if told from any point of view other than that of first person.

That was a great ending.

By amazing coincidence, my very first published novel was a YA spin-off from UP THE LINE. (All the time-travel with none of the drugs and sex.) ROBERT SILVERBERG'S TIME TOURS: THE PIRATE PARADOX.

And, yeah, I wrote it in third-person . . . .

Okay, I totally have to read that! Up the Line is what got me interested in Byzantine history, and later, when I joined the Society for Creative Anachronism, my persona was part-Byzantine (from the 10th century).

 

[Greg Cox]

In the interest of full disclosure, there are no Byzantines in THE PIRATE PARADOX. Just a bunch of time tourists visiting the Golden Age of Piracy . . . .

 

[Timewalker]

In the interest of full disclosure, there are no Byzantines in THE PIRATE PARADOX. Just a bunch of time tourists visiting the Golden Age of Piracy . . . .

That's okay; it's not mandatory to have Byzantines in time travel stories...