Star Trek XI Tie-In Novels Postponed

[M'Sharak]

This just posted on TrekToday a short while ago:

Fans awaiting the four novels by Christopher L. Bennett, Greg Cox, Alan Dean Foster and David Mack, which were due to be published this summer will be disappointed by the news that the book release has been indefinitely delayed by Pocket Books.

Only a few days after TrekToday posted a preview of four new Star Trek XI tie-in novels due out this summer, word has come out that Pocket Books has changed their mind regarding publication of the four tie-in books and has removed them from the Pocket Books 2010 publication schedule.

[...]

It is not known at the present time if the books will be released at a future date or if they have been permanently shelved.

Read the complete article here.

I know quite a few people who were looking forward to these are going to be bummed out by this news. I don't know whether any of the authors involved are permitted to talk about this in any detail or how much more information they might have beyond what's given in the article, but I'm sure people here would be interested in reading whatever thoughts they might have to offer.

See also: TrekMovie's article

 

[Devon]

I read the article at TrekMovie and saw at their "reason," and it sounds like a B.S. to me. There's something else involved. I mean I can't imagine a board meeting going like this...

Bill: Well we have these novels that will capitalize on the success of the franchise reboot.
Dave: Yeah, but, I don't know... sure we could make money off of these, but I would be more comfortable letting the film's writers to continue telling stories in this universe.
Bill: You know what, you're right. Let's scrap all the money we've invested in this, just consider it a loss, and just let them take the keys here.

 

[Tribbles]

What?!

POOOOOCKET BOOKS!

 

[SalvorHardin]

Hmm.
Could it be that Orci and the rest of the guys were planing to include things in XII that would also be covered in the books and didn't want to create confusion, be accused of stealing etc etc ?

I don't generally read Trek books but this decision is a bit disappointing.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Hmm.
Could it be that Orci and the rest of the guys were planing to include things in XII that would also be covered in the books and didn't want to create confusion, be accused of stealing etc etc ?

http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?p=3756214

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

"Murder. Of thousands. Devils! Eternity ends. The chamber of the ages. The altar of tomorrow! Murderers! Stop them. Kill! Strike back! Monsters! "

I am very disappointed

 

[seigezunt]

Clearly a sign that this film will be a flop.

 

[DevilEyes]

Long thread about this in Trek Lit subforum: http://trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=112467

 

[SalvorHardin]

A comment from Bob Orci on the matter (from Trekmovie)

I’d like to hear words from boborci on if he and his team had something to do with this ridiculous move.

boborci : Nothing to do with it. Would’ve liked to read the novels myself, but I may have had to resist!

 

[JarodRussell]

The first day I read there would be 4 tie-in novels I knew it was a bad idea. This "fresh, new, exciting, layered, deep" universe is just 2 hours old, the characters underwent only a tiny amount of development. Anything else is just hype and wishful thinking, but nothing tangible. So there is nothing the novels can work with, as they are also not allowed to expand upon stuff, since they risk being contradicted by the next movie anyway.

And it seems Pocket and Paramount agree with me.

Then there's the other reason that they consider those four storylines for the next movie.

 

[DevilEyes]

The first day I read there would be 4 tie-in novels I knew it was a bad idea. This "fresh, new, exciting, layered, deep" universe is just 2 hours old, the characters underwent only a tiny amount of development. Anything else is just hype and wishful thinking, but nothing real. So there is nothing the novels can work with, as they are also not allowed to expand upon stuff, since they risk being contradicted by the next movie anyway.

And it seems Pocket agrees with me.

Then there's the other reason that they consider those four storylines for the next movie.

Who cares? Star Trek novels have always risked being contradicted by future series and films (and quite a few times, have been).

 

[JarodRussell]

The first day I read there would be 4 tie-in novels I knew it was a bad idea. This "fresh, new, exciting, layered, deep" universe is just 2 hours old, the characters underwent only a tiny amount of development. Anything else is just hype and wishful thinking, but nothing real. So there is nothing the novels can work with, as they are also not allowed to expand upon stuff, since they risk being contradicted by the next movie anyway.

And it seems Pocket agrees with me.

Then there's the other reason that they consider those four storylines for the next movie.

Who cares? Star Trek novels have always risked being contradicted by future series and films (and quite a few times, have been).

LOL, you should be thankful, because those novels would have only been boring. Nothing can happen, nothing can be developed, because in the end, the universe and the characters have to be exactly like they were at the end of the last movie.

 

[Therin of Andor]

you should be thankful, because those novels would have only been boring.

Utter balderdash. There have been many non-boring ST novels whose authors have had to leave the sandbox exactly as they found it.

Who cares? Star Trek novels have always risked being contradicted by future series and films (and quite a few times, have been).

Who cares? The copyright owner cares. Always have. And that's a Good Thing.

Check out Steve Roby's long list of "lost" ST titles: many of those were cancelled/delayed/rejigged, at some point along the publishing continuum, because they failed (in some minor or major way) to meet the essential criteria of interested parties to the ownership of "Star Trek".

The postponement(?) of these four books may be a tiny glitch at the moment. It's very frustrating for the four authors, and for all those incredibly lucky fans with absolutely no other ST on their "to-read" pile. Maybe I'd feel differently if I was totally caught up in my ST reading...

 

[CommanderRaytas]

True. Remember Strangers from the Sky, or whatever it was called. Great novel, ripe with contradictions.

 

[JarodRussell]

I'm saying that works with a TV show, but not with the new movie, and especially not given how the movie ended. You can't give the Vulcan's a new colony because the next movie might contradict that. You can't go into Old Spock's motivations to change or not change the timeline by giving away information, and you can't develop Spock's and Uhura's relationship, because by the next movie, everything could have developed differently. And apparently, they do care for stuff like that, otherwise they wouldn't have stopped those books.

One easy example: what if the sequel starts one second after they went to warp in the first movie, and Spock tells Uhura that he made up his mind and they can't be together, while the tie-in literature turned them into a couple that lasts even several weeks or months after the first movie's events?

 

[The Wormhole]

The first day I read there would be 4 tie-in novels I knew it was a bad idea. This "fresh, new, exciting, layered, deep" universe is just 2 hours old, the characters underwent only a tiny amount of development. Anything else is just hype and wishful thinking, but nothing real. So there is nothing the novels can work with, as they are also not allowed to expand upon stuff, since they risk being contradicted by the next movie anyway.

And it seems Pocket agrees with me.

Then there's the other reason that they consider those four storylines for the next movie.

Who cares? Star Trek novels have always risked being contradicted by future series and films (and quite a few times, have been).

LOL, you should be thankful, because those novels would have only been boring. Nothing can happen, nothing can be developed, because in the end, the universe and the characters have to be exactly like they were at the end of the last movie.

Trust me, it's a good idea to impose those kind of limits on Pocket Books. If left to their own devices, they'll destroy the Federation...

But still, my own negative attitude towards Trek Literature aside, this announcement about the books is total ass. I confess some interest in them, especially Greg Cox's novel about Spock Prime. But also, if Paramount was worried would step on the sequel's toes, why did they bother to greenlight the books and let them develop to this point? I don't know, this just seems stupid.

 

[Wowbagger]

I'll be honest: I wasn't looking forward to these novels, and, as a reader, I am not particularly affected by the news they're not getting published.

But there's still the fact that they've already been mostly written. Writing is... is not easy, Pocket Books! If you're going to greenlight the books, then you'd better darned well not pull the plug on them when the projects nearly done! Throw in the fact that the reason they gave for "postponement" (which looks like cancellation to me) was completely silly, groundless, and inconsistent with Trek's own publishing history, and this whole thing is just outrageous!

So, no, I don't personally care about the books, but I am sympathetic towards and annoyed on behalf of the authors, who work hard and deserve better treatment.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Trust me, it's a good idea to impose those kind of limits on Pocket Books. If left to their own devices, they'll destroy the Federation...

Last I read in relaunch there are over a billion people dead from

Spoiler

THE BORG.

IMHO they have as good as destroyed it. Vulcan blowed up? That's peanuts compared to Pocket's horrors.

 

[trampledamage]

A comment from Bob Orci on the matter (from Trekmovie)

I’d like to hear words from boborci on if he and his team had something to do with this ridiculous move.

boborci : Nothing to do with it. Would’ve liked to read the novels myself, but I may have had to resist!

Interesting...

I'm really annoyed the books have been postponed / cancelled - i was looking forward to reading more of this universe. *sigh* 2012 is so far away...

 

[KirkSpockTOSFan]

A comment from Bob Orci on the matter (from Trekmovie)

I’d like to hear words from boborci on if he and his team had something to do with this ridiculous move.

boborci : Nothing to do with it. Would’ve liked to read the novels myself, but I may have had to resist!

Interesting...

I'm really annoyed the books have been postponed / cancelled - i was looking forward to reading more of this universe. *sigh* 2012 is so far away...

I know how you feel, I'm very disapointed myself. I was looking forward to as we wont have the sequel until two years from now. I thought it was great to give something to hold onto until the new movie comes out, but now that seems unlikely. They got everybodies hope's up for nothing! However what I don't understand is if the books are postpone/hold for now, then why is places like amazon.com still have them to pre-order/buy?