Ashes of Eden before Return?

[dispatcher812]

I just found a box of ST books and in it had 5 Shatnerverse books. I forgot I had these, (never read them) and after talking a quick peek at them they sound interesting. I also took a quick peek at the plot summaries for Ashes Of Eden and Return. Both seem at least to start off on Veridian III just after Kirk's Death. Do I have to start with Ashes of can I start with Return?

 

[Paris]

^Read Ashes first.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Ashes comes first, and is necessary backstory to properly enjoy Avenger and... whatever the rest are called... later

 

[dispatcher812]

Thanks guys.

 

[JoeZhang]

Ashes comes first, and is necessary backstory to properly enjoy Avenger and... whatever the rest are called... later

KIRK SAVES THE DAY WHILE PICARD AND THOSE 24RD CENTURY BOYS HOLD HIS COAT is the title of at least one of the sequels.

 

[Defcon]

Beside what the others said, Ashes is actually the best of the lot in my opinion, so you should really read it.

 

[3chordboy]

Beside what the others said, Ashes is actually the best of the lot in my opinion, so you should really read it.

yeah i really enjoyed Ashes. my enjoyment faded as the series progressed

 

[F. King Daniel]

Ashes comes first, and is necessary backstory to properly enjoy Avenger and... whatever the rest are called... later

KIRK SAVES THE DAY WHILE PICARD AND THOSE 24RD CENTURY BOYS HOLD HIS COAT is the title of at least one of the sequels.

I'm a big fan of the Shatner novels, but... yes.

 

[JoeZhang]

I am a big fan too !

 

[tomswift2002]

I don't think you really need to read Ashes before Return, since I've tried reading "Ashes" and I could never get through it, but I did get through "The Return", "Avenger", "Spectre", "Dark Victory", "Preserver" and the Totality series just fine.

 

[TJ Sinclair]

I really enjoyed all of them through Spectre. That's where the series ends, in my personal universe.

I wish more authors of today's books took at least The Ashes of Eden into account when mining for continuity. There's nothing in it that inherently contradicts any later canon, or anything else in the novelverse AFAICT. It was nice to see an acknowledgement of it in Cast No Shadow.

The Return is a decent book in and of itself, but actually Avenger is my favorite of all the Shatner novels. Spectre was good, too... but then came Dark Victory (*shudder*).

 

[Tom Riker]

are we ever going to see ebooks of the "Odyssey Trilogy", Ashes-Avenger?

 

[tomswift2002]

What was wrong with "Dark Victory"? I found that the Mirror Universe books were the strongest. Unfortunately the Totality trilogy didn't live up to the MU trilogy or even the Return/Avenger storyline.

 

[TJ Sinclair]

What was wrong with "Dark Victory"? I found that the Mirror Universe books were the strongest. Unfortunately the Totality trilogy didn't live up to the MU trilogy or even the Return/Avenger storyline.

For me, Dark Victory was just poorly written. The plot felt rushed, the characters felt shallow and unconvincing, and the dialogue fell flat at every turn. It was hackneyed and overwrought and definitely suffered from middle-child blues, IMO.

Preserver was at least better written, but I really didn't like it. Both books were a really big letdown after so much promise in Spectre. I'd just prefer the series end on that cliffhanger than to drag out into what it became.

I got about a third of the way into Captain's Peril before I just couldn't take the stupidity anymore and put it down, never looking back.

The Ashes of Eden, The Return, Avenger and Spectre all get A's or A+'s in my book, though.

 

[tomswift2002]

Well you should pick up Collision Course. TOS-only books are not usually at the top of my favorites list (since most of the ones from the 70's to the 90's felt like Westerns, and I'm not exactly into Westerns), but Collision was nothing like the TOS books before it. And it really made the Shatner books rebound after the Totality trilogy. It's too bad that Shatner hasn't written its sequel yet.

 

[TJ Sinclair]

Well you should pick up Collision Course. TOS-only books are not usually at the top of my favorites list (since most of the ones from the 70's to the 90's felt like Westerns, and I'm not exactly into Westerns), but Collision was nothing like the TOS books before it. And it really made the Shatner books rebound after the Totality trilogy. It's too bad that Shatner hasn't written its sequel yet.

Someone gave me a copy of Collision Course as a birthday gift when it came out. It's been sitting unread on my shelf ever since. I had to resist the temptation to tell that person to return it and never speak to me again.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I don't think you really need to read Ashes before Return, since I've tried reading "Ashes" and I could never get through it

"Ashes of Eden" is also adapted as a graphic novel.

 

[Markonian]

Someone gave me a copy of Collision Course as a birthday gift when it came out. It's been sitting unread on my shelf ever since. I had to resist the temptation to tell that person to return it and never speak to me again.

Do you think it's so bad? Give it a try. After all, you can still stop or resell it.

 

[tomswift2002]

Well you should pick up Collision Course. TOS-only books are not usually at the top of my favorites list (since most of the ones from the 70's to the 90's felt like Westerns, and I'm not exactly into Westerns), but Collision was nothing like the TOS books before it. And it really made the Shatner books rebound after the Totality trilogy. It's too bad that Shatner hasn't written its sequel yet.

Someone gave me a copy of Collision Course as a birthday gift when it came out. It's been sitting unread on my shelf ever since. I had to resist the temptation to tell that person to return it and never speak to me again.

The only bad part about it is that its a Part 1 to a multi-part story that never got finished.

 

[F. King Daniel]

All I really remember from CC is that it felt like a nuTrek novel and the Back to the Future-style flying cars (I remember being quite critical of the idea of flying cars in Trek-land. And now they're in Into Darkness!)

Oh, and that it was enjoyable. And that it's kind of a reboot itself, being based on Shatner's 2000-and-something pitch for an academy-based TV series. It's not in continuity with the rest of the Shatnerverse.