New Readers - Are we a dying breed?

[David35580]

I was wondering recently who starts reading Trek literature.
Most Trek Readers, I assume, will have invested years of their lives watching the TV shows or Videos or DVDs of the series and then moved onto the books to help with their addiction.

But I'm in my 50's and grew up with it. Even so, I didn't read my first Trek book until last year (on my 50th book now, so making up for a late start).

I rekindled (so to speak) my enthusiasm by forcing/bribing my sons to watch Voyager and DS9 and had to move on to the books to get my fix. Now I'm hooked.

But how does someone start now? The TV shows are getting old and are not very popular these days.

It's a big universe to just jump into and make any sort of sense of. You need a lot of background knowledge to be able to to enjoy the books and I wondered if that would be a block to gaining new readers.

After all if sales fall, new books won't be viable to write.
In my local book shop there is a whole row of Warhammer and 40K books with just one ST book in the middle (Destiny). It's a worry for the newly addicted.

Any people out there started reading the books without having seen anything on TV? And how did you get on?

 

[Christopher]

But how does someone start now? The TV shows are getting old and are not very popular these days.

Original Trek novels hardly existed until after the original show was cancelled, a time when nobody really expected there would ever be more of it made. And then the movies and a new TV series came along and it became more popular than ever. Media culture is cyclical.

 

[MagGu]

I'm a fairly new reader. I've only been reading Trek books since 2008 or so. I started reading because I finally watched all of DS9 on dvd and I wanted to know what happened next, and when my husband told me there were relaunch books I was ecstatic! and I finished all of the relaunch books and then I started reading other books from other series. I hope more people will read trek books. Maybe having Trek on Netflix will get new viewers and maybe that will lead to new readers!

 

[Therin of Andor]

I was wondering recently who starts reading Trek literature.

New ST readers discover the novels all the time.

The TV shows are getting old and are not very popular these days.

Actually, the DVD boxed sets continue to sell extremely well, and CBS reported that the new movie had caused an unexpected ripple effect: new ST fans were seemingly buying all the ST DVDs out there, not just TOS, as they'd expected.

You need a lot of background knowledge to be able to to enjoy the books

No you don't. Trust the authors to tell you everything you know. Unless a book is something like "Part 2 of a..." duology or a trilogy, you almost always get a satisfying, independent story.

After all if sales fall, new books won't be viable to write.

Most new ST books are at least triple the length of the old Bantams of the early 70s. I would have expected a reduction in page count if ever current sales dropped too much. Even if Pocket/Gallery dropped their license as no-longer-profitable, some smaller publisher would probably try to negotiate a reduced fee and fill the void for new material.

In my local book shop there is a whole row of Warhammer and 40K books with just one ST book in the middle (Destiny). It's a worry for the newly addicted.

It's my understanding that ST fans and collectors, frustrated that they couldn't always find the new ST titles on the day of release, became early adopters of online shopping. Bookshops then started to notice this and reduced their shelf stock accordingly. Here in Sydney, many bookshops actually reduced their stock of "Star Wars" books around the time of JJ Abrams' ST movie - and increased shelf space for all manner of ST releases. Once the ST movie DVD was out, the shelves again increased their "Star Wars" space. There seems to be more shelves for "Doctor Who" (again current on TV) and "Twilight" at the moment.

As for me, I groomed a local bookshop over twenty years ago to anticipate my needs and put aside my monthly ST stash. They rarely let me down, and my pre-orders force them to stay current with all ST releases.

Any people out there started reading the books without having seen anything on TV? And how did you get on?

With only vague memories of TAS in b/w, my first ST book was the novelization of ST:TMP. It turned me into a ST fan. Loved it! Then I saw the movie about five times in two months. Next, I read "The Fate of the Phoenix", the sequel to a previous (bad) ST novel I couldn't find on any shelves. Loved it, even with its obvious flaws. A few years later, I realized I'd also read "Mission to Horatius" as a child - and found it, almost mint, in my younger brother's abandoned toy box.

 

[danielsf]

I'm a very new Star Trek reader, I am 17 and I only started reading star trek books about one and a half months ago. Since then I have bought about 50 star trek books, and read about 15. I'm hooked. I have always been a star trek fan, I guess that's my dad's fault, he made me watch it since I was born in 1994. Anyway, now that I am older, star trek has turned out to be my second favorite show, behind Stargate. The only reason I got in to trek books was because of what I did when I was little, it started when I was about 5, I bought John Peels "here there be dragons" TNG book out of a charity shop because I really liked the cover art. But, after 12 years of procrastination I decided to read my first trek book. I loved it, and then I bought a couple more, and read them too. Now I'm hooked. I then started to buy about 50 Trek books from amazon over the last month and a half. To sum it up, I am reading them all the time now.

I just want to say thanks to all Trek authors on this site, or otherwise for writing such great books. The reason being is that I never found fiction books interesting (I would only read non-fiction) until I started reading your books, so thank you

 

[spooky spice]

I used to read Trek novels, but gave up as I got fed up of the constant blurb about <name> was going to die and <place/ship> was going to be destroyed. You knew darn well neither was going to happen!

I'd like to start reading again, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort

 

[F. King Daniel]

^You did read Before Dishonor and Destiny, right? Because in the former <name> did die and in the latter multiple <places> were destroyed!

 

[Vonstadt]

I am an old old trek reader...going back to the 70's bantam books when i was in junior high. My mom would snag them and the James Blish Adaptations

All through High school College and my time in the army I was an on again off again reader. Whenever I fell behind I noted the title of the last book and then checked the back of the most recent book to find the titles I needed...right there in the book store.

Alas I can no longer do that :P

Ive tried a few times, unless ive got my phone or have to make a note of the titles and then go home to see what ive missed and then go back :P

I really miss the old titles in order in the back of the Star Trek novels...even if it was just for that series of books ...

I read the Books of Destiny and the Titan series and im up to date with the NF series...but wanted to get back into the swing of things leading up to Destiny and such ...but had to go to wiki...but Ive also run into the same stuff at the bookstores

Im guess the days for old farts like be browsing and buying to catch up beyond the internet are over :P

Still though I have enjoyed the books ive read recently.

 

[Christopher]

I used to read Trek novels, but gave up as I got fed up of the constant blurb about <name> was going to die and <place/ship> was going to be destroyed. You knew darn well neither was going to happen!

They couldn't happen then, because the books tied in to TV shows that were still on the air and weren't allowed to do anything that would conflict with them. But these days, the shows are no longer on the air, and a lot of the books are about new characters and crews that never appeared on television. So the old restrictions no longer apply. Major changes can and do happen.

 

[Jedi_Master]

If we enjoy reading the novels, and want to have people to talk about them with, then it is our responsibility as readers/fans to generate interest.
I have one good friend that I -over a period of some months- convinced to read the new Trek novels. He still purchases and reads them today.
Although the Powers That Be certainly could market the Trek novels in a more efficacious way, we as readers can also contribute to the novels popularity.

 

[Relayer1]

I stand pretty much zero chance of getting anyone I know to read Trek novels, even those that like the show / movie.

It has little to do with the quality of the writing, which is pretty high at the moment. It's all seen as a bit sad in a nerdy fanboy manner, yet being able to name all the players in your favourite sports team for the last 30 years isn't...

I am also amazed at how few people actually read for pleasure these days.

 

[bbailey861]

I am an old old trek reader...going back to the 70's bantam books when i was in junior high.

Im guess the days for old farts like be browsing and buying to catch up beyond the internet are over :P

Still though I have enjoyed the books ive read recently.

Like yourself, I am an old reader who has been reading the books since the mid '70s. In my case, I very much enjoyed the 'numbering' system in order to keep track of books. Times being what they are, I ended up buying a program online that catalogs my books rather well. I can keep looking online to see what is new and available (and I make use of this forum as well as other web sites to keep me abreast of the new stuff) and even if I don't buy them right away I can add them to the catalog in the 'needed section' - and slide them over to the 'have' section when they are acquired.

Reminds me of collecting hockey cards when I was a kid - except, of course, there were no computers or programs for us to do that sort of thing then. Got him, got him, need him, got him.....sound familiar?

 

[JD]

You can actually do the same thing for free on Amazon's Shelfari website. I use it all the time.

 

[David35580]

Yeah, I agree with Relayer: the nerdy thing is a big influence.
Two examples:
My 16 yr old son wouldn't go and see the recent movie because ST is seen in such a bad light. Anyone saying anything positive is viewed as a complete loser at school. Most of his year missed a brilliant film because of this. He finally saw it in a hotel when we were on holiday and agreed it was excellent and not what he was expecting, but he would never convince any of his peers of that. Scratch that, he wouldn't even admit to having seen it. Funnily enough, he is now addicted to DS9, but refuses to watch Voyager or TNG as they are nerdy!! I have to keep my mouth shut when his friends come round so I don't drop him in it.
Second: I was in the staff room at work and one of the people asked what I was reading. "A Star Trek book", I replied.
Silence.
Embarrassed silence with a helping of pity.
More silence.
"I've read about 40 in a row", I said (why should I spare them).
Silence.
Lengthening silence.
"Who's that on the cover? "(an act of desperation oh his part there).
"Dr Julian Bashir of Deep Space Nine." I replied (getting into it now).
Silence.
Quite a long silence.
"Well best get back to work." Says one.
"Yes, been here too long as it is," said the other.
I was once more alone with Julian and Ro. (It was Abyss I was reading).

So nerdy,very nerdy at the moment in the UK.
I keep offering a book to my wife - she laughs.
So many people missing such great books.
But again as I said originally, they are great stories (esp. the relaunch books) in part because of all the time we put into watching all those shows on TV. As several replies have stated, people start reading the books to see what happens next - which is why the lack of DS9 stories from the 2377-2382 period is such a blow.

I wonder if perhaps reading some of the books might prompt people to go the other way and get the DVDs? Hmmm.

 

[Relayer1]

Yeah, I agree with Relayer: the nerdy thing is a big influence.
Two examples:
My 16 yr old son wouldn't go and see the recent movie because ST is seen in such a bad light. Anyone saying anything positive is viewed as a complete loser at school. Most of his year missed a brilliant film because of this. He finally saw it in a hotel when we were on holiday and agreed it was excellent and not what he was expecting, but he would never convince any of his peers of that. Scratch that, he wouldn't even admit to having seen it. Funnily enough, he is now addicted to DS9, but refuses to watch Voyager or TNG as they are nerdy!! I have to keep my mouth shut when his friends come round so I don't drop him in it.
Second: I was in the staff room at work and one of the people asked what I was reading. "A Star Trek book", I replied.
Silence.
Embarrassed silence with a helping of pity.
More silence.
"I've read about 40 in a row", I said (why should I spare them).
Silence.
Lengthening silence.
"Who's that on the cover? "(an act of desperation oh his part there).
"Dr Julian Bashir of Deep Space Nine." I replied (getting into it now).
Silence.
Quite a long silence.
"Well best get back to work." Says one.
"Yes, been here too long as it is," said the other.
I was once more alone with Julian and Ro. (It was Abyss I was reading).

So nerdy,very nerdy at the moment in the UK.
I keep offering a book to my wife - she laughs.
So many people missing such great books.

We are not alone....we should start a support group !

The strange thing is, some of my friends are nerds anyway - they will read a Dr Who book but not Trek ! As our American cousins would say, 'Go figure...'

 

[Therin of Andor]

Whenever I fell behind I noted the title of the last book and then checked the back of the most recent book to find the titles I needed...right there in the book store.

Alas I can no longer do that :P

Well, the Pocket Books had the booklists, but you started your post by mentioning the Bantam Books. For a newcomer to ST fiction in the early 80s, there was simply no way to obtain a complete, reliable backlist of everything that had been published by Bantam (until I eventually went to the State Library and went through every volume of "Books in Print" from the mid 60s onwards).

I well remember having a feeling of supreme confidence, one particular day, that I'd foundand read everything. Most of my ST books were second hand Bantams, a few were fresh off the "New" shelves, and a few were Corgi UK versions. (Then there were the "ST Logs", again some in Ballantine editions and some in Corgi UK - it took me a while to work out that these adapted the animated series).

I was returning from a trip to the doctor and wandered into a small stationery/book store - and found a lone copy of "World Without End" sitting amongst other rather generic SF paperbacks. I'd found no other reference to this ST book; very exciting! But then, in the back, a message asked "Have you also read...?", listing just a few titles, including "Trek to Madworld" - and now I had another new, older title to find!

The thrill of the hunt! Of course, one day I rang my favourite SF bookshop, on a whim, and asked if they had any new ST stuff. "We've just unpacked new stock of an older title. That's all. But you'd already have 'Trek to Madworld'."

Eeeek! I was on the next train into the city. It was Thursday "late night shopping". I arrived at the shop, raced to the shelves, picked up my minty, new copy of "Trek to Madworld" - and all the lights went off! The entire block of shops had lost power. No cash register, total darkness. We were asked to put down our intended purchases and leave the store, with little hope that they'd be reopening with only an hour or so left of trading.

I was soooo dejected. Luckily, I happened to pass the shop again a little while later, on my way to the train station. The power had been restored, the shop had reopened - and finally "Trek to Madworld" was mine! (Of course, when I read it, it reminded me a bit too much of several other Bantam ST novels, including "World Without End", but the thrill of the hunt probably improved my enjoyment of it.)

 

[MagGu]

My sister finds Star Trek to be extremely nerdy. But I got her to watch DS9 with me, and now she's addicted. We're almost done with season 6...and I'm hoping to get her to read the relaunch when we're done. She's given me "yeah right" looks when I bring it up...but....I know I wanted to know what happened to the characters I love next, maybe she'll feel the same way.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I stand pretty much zero chance of getting anyone I know to read Trek novels, even those that like the show / movie.

But there's nothing new here. Through the 80s and early 90s, I used to meet about 100-200 ST fans every month at Sydney-based ST marathons of TOS episodes on the big screen. Very few of them seemed to read the tie-in novels with any regularity - and many would loudly proclaim that they'd "never read ST novels because those events didn't really happen". This was long before Richard Arnold started to mention "the canon" that distinguished onscreen ST from its licensed tie-ins.

Funnily enough, these fans knew I bought and read all the books and, after every movie came out, people would ask me to tell them all about "the extra scenes" that Roddenberry, McIntyre and Dillard had added to their novelizations. So there was definitely curiosity there, but many fans of visual media seemingly prefer not to have to put the effort (or money) into reading the tie-ins.

There was also a group of avid fanfic readers (and writers) who had absolutely no interest in hearing about the licensed material. Of course, some of these people spent hundreds more dollars importing airmail copies of often-hefty ST fanzines at the same time as scoffing at my bimonthly licensed ST novel purchases.

 

[CaptainDonovin]

Been reading Trek since '95 but really became hooked when New Frontier began. Since then I've gone through the DS9 relaunch & survived Destiny. Now thanks to Countdown I finally got into comics. Not the same for me as a good 400 page novel but it pases the time.

Not many of the people I know really are into Trek so no chance geting new readers on my end. The few people I do know that like Trek already read the books or have no time to.

 

[Steve Roby]

But how does someone start now?

I sometimes look at my book collection and think, how could I get into something like this now? I've been reading Trek for about thirty years and I've got a ludicrous number of Trek books, fiction and nonfiction.

And then I look at another bookshelf in this room and think, well, you just have to get hooked. And it helps to have some time and money. Ten years ago I picked up a Doctor Who novel, despite not having seen many episodes -- a few episodes each from the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Doctors, and the Eighth Doctor TV movie. In 2001 there was no sign of a new TV series any time soon, but the books were doing pretty well, with several different lines on the go. And I jumped in and had a grand time tracking books down. I don't have everything, but I have most of what I want, and there are still a few filmed episodes I haven't seen yet (I focused more on the books than the videos early on).

So I expect new fans to keep discovering the Star Trek books. You try one, you like it, you try another, you get more interested, you find information online to provide some context, you keep going... why not? It's fun.