Years ago I noticed these two bits of info on Steve Roby's old Trek book website. https://web.archive.org/web/20150111154959/http://www.well.com/~sjroby/lcars/1994.html https://web.archive.org/web/20150106064841/http://www.well.com/~sjroby/lcars/1996.html If you scroll down to the YA sections, you'll see mention of 5 TNG novels in 1994 and 5 DS9 novels in 1996 that were rewritten by Globe Fearon author Joanne Suter as YA novels, and sold to school libraries. I've always remembered this and have these listed on my website as novels. But I was thinking about it lately and set out today to try to find proof of their existence. I've never seen secondhand copies in a used bookstore. There are no copies on eBay. Nothing definite on Amazon. James McCain, one of the sources for the info on Steve Roby's site, can't definitely recall that he had ever seen them in real life. Anyone have copies of these, or seen them? Were they ever actually published?
The only thing I've been able to find is https://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Next-Generation-Masks/dp/B01FJ085IO which is incorrectly grouped with the Dominion books
That's so wacky. I can't imagine a YA version of Bloodletter! On Worldcat, I can see that most are held by some 5-10 libraries in the entire world. If the academic library world was up and running, I'd request some of these via ILL to see what happens. Remind me when things are better and I will try.
There are 5 TNG titles + a Teacher's Guide from 1994, and 5 DS9 titles + a Teacher’s Guide from 1995. I have the 10 adaptations in my collection. They’re digest-sized, slightly larger than the YA Star Trek books Pocket was putting out at the time, and seem to be better made (heavier cover stock, sturdier binding, better paper.) I’ve never run across the Teacher’s Guides, so I have no idea what they’re like. They have an ISBN, so I presume they are at least somewhat book-like. (Edited to fix the years. Oops!)
According to Worldcat, the teacher's guides are each 29 pages. The DS9 one just has sections for each of the books, but the TNG one also has sections called "Aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise" and "Major characters." They are even rarer; the TNG one is held by four libraries in the world, and the DS9 one only two! If you're ever in Waterloo, Iowa, you can check them both out.
Thanks! If I’m ever in Waterloo... Dammit, now I have ABBA stuck in my head! Oh, and they were definitely internet acquisitions. Some from ABE, but mostly eBay, as I recall.
Globe Fearon specialises in books for school libraries, so they would only have turned up in regular book stores if they were remaindered. These sorts of books are often made to match the number of advance orders. School librarians or reading teachers would place an order from an education catalog, and the printer would customize the print run to suit. The teachers' guides might even come free with each set? I have a 1979 rarity in my collection called "Contractions in Action", adapted by Will Dunne from a story by Ruth Kirschner, song by Rick Nowels. Part of a set of slim read-along readers, each with an accompanying cassette tape. This particular title is a parody of TOS with posed photos of child actors. Others in the set are not Trek-related. Published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, and found in Australian school libraries.
@Daddy Todd can you confirm two things for me? The two links which The Siege and The Big Game have to rest of the Litverse are Meyer and Boyajian showing up in The Siege in Chapters 6, 8, 10, 12, 16 and 19, and Captain Higginbotham being mentioned at the beginning of Chapter 40 of The Big Game. Can you confirm either of these being true for the abridged versions? I'd love to make my website as accurate as possible. Thanks so much in advance if you're able to look into this.
The Big Game page 91, summarizing from chapter 40 of the original: Dax turned from her station. "The captains of the two starships would like you to join them for dinner, Benjamin." So nope, Higginbotham not named in this version. The Siege, page 63 Summarizing from chapter 12 of the original: Two of the station's security guards were making their way carefully through Deck 15. No names. They are referred to as "two security guards" elsewhere in the book. (with the caveat that I didn't read it, I only flipped through.)
@Daddy Todd I've found a link for my website for War Drums to Vulcan's Glory, so I'm wondering again if you could look at the YA version of War Drums and see if the reference is included there as well. Just for completeness' sake. In the adult version, in several places in Chapters 12, 13, and 17, mention is made of the Aretians (from Vulcan's Glory). Are they mentioned in the abridged version?