Alien Literature Books

[PorthosShadow]

I'll admit that I'm not very well versed on the Star Trek novels so I was wondering, has anyone written an entire novel as though it were written on say Vulcan or Cardassia. I'm kind of curious as to what a Cardassian novel might be like given Julien's rather lackluster review.

 

[Christopher]

There have been a couple of novels written mostly or partially as in-universe books about alien cultures but from a human perspective, The Final Reflection (a work of historical fiction by a 23rd-century human author about events in UFP-Klingon relations from several decades earlier) and The Romulan Way (every other chapter of which is part of a "nonfiction" text on Romulan history written by a deep-cover anthropological observer). But the only book I can think of that's actually been written from the perspective of a member of an alien culture is A Stitch in Time, which is entirely told in the form of Garak's memoirs. I know the novel Kahless revolves around the discovery of a document purporting to be the true memoirs of Kahless, and alternate chapters in the book tell the story of Kahless' life, but I can't remember whether those chapters are actually written in the form of the memoir or are merely a depiction of its events.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Ah yes, we had a great discussion about this some months ago. I remember it fondly.

 

[BrotherBenny]

There have been a couple of novels written mostly or partially as in-universe books about alien cultures but from a human perspective, The Final Reflection (a work of historical fiction by a 23rd-century human author about events in UFP-Klingon relations from several decades earlier) and The Romulan Way (every other chapter of which is part of a "nonfiction" text on Romulan history written by a deep-cover anthropological observer). But the only book I can think of that's actually been written from the perspective of a member of an alien culture is A Stitch in Time, which is entirely told in the form of Garak's memoirs. I know the novel Kahless revolves around the discovery of a document purporting to be the true memoirs of Kahless, and alternate chapters in the book tell the story of Kahless' life, but I can't remember whether those chapters are actually written in the form of the memoir or are merely a depiction of its events.

Christopher, what about A Never Ending Sacrifice? That is told solely from the point of view of Rugal, the Cardassian child from the DS9 episode "Cardassians"

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

It's still written by an outside narrator, and while I CAN see some similarities to the repetitive epic in the way it's executed, it's still a fundamentally human form of literature told by a narrator you can tell is human.

 

[PorthosShadow]

It's still written by an outside narrator, and while I CAN see some similarities to the repetitive epic in the way it's executed, it's still a fundamentally human form of literature told by a narrator you can tell is human.

Yeah, I guess it would be very difficult to write a book from an alien point of view but still it might be an interesting challenge.

 

[Christopher]

Nerys Ghemor is right -- TNES isn't presented as a work of literature within Cardassian culture, merely as a Star Trek novel following a Cardassian character. The original poster is looking for things that are works of literature in-universe.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I guess it would be very difficult to write a book from an alien point of view but still it might be an interesting challenge.

The first 80 pages or so of "Gateways: Challenger: Chainmail", IIRC, are written in a bizarre fashion that certainly puts you in an alien world, scrambling to understand what's going on.

 

[shanejayell]

Does the Klingon Hamlet count?

 

[Christopher]

Does the Klingon Hamlet count?

I think it does. Regardless of the provenance of the text, The Klingon Hamlet is presented as an in-universe work of literature. It is an example of a literary form that canonically exists within the ST universe, namely "Shakespeare in the original Klingon."

 

[ronny]

I guess it would be very difficult to write a book from an alien point of view but still it might be an interesting challenge.

The first 80 pages or so of "Gateways: Challenger: Chainmail", IIRC, are written in a bizarre fashion that certainly puts you in an alien world, scrambling to understand what's going on.

You sure that's what's going on and it's not bad writing?

 

[EmperorKalan]

I know the novel Kahless revolves around the discovery of a document purporting to be the true memoirs of Kahless, and alternate chapters in the book tell the story of Kahless' life, but I can't remember whether those chapters are actually written in the form of the memoir or are merely a depiction of its events.

The chapters alternate between the "present" storyline (which takes place sometime between the end of TNG season 7 and ST:Generations) and the "ancient" storyline (which presents the story in the discovered memoirs, but for the reader it appears as a normal story set in that era).

Some of the "ancient" storyline is contadicted by Klingon lore added later in DS9 (mainly involving Kahless' love life), but then much of the "ancient" storyline involves ways in which events of Kahless' life were mythologized, so you could probably add that to the pile.

 

[JD]

Does the Klingon Hamlet count?

I think it does. Regardless of the provenance of the text, The Klingon Hamlet is presented as an in-universe work of literature. It is an example of a literary form that canonically exists within the ST universe, namely "Shakespeare in the original Klingon."

What about The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition?

 

[Christopher]

I think that would be more "nonfiction" than "literature."

 

[JD]

Ah, I was just thinking of anything written from an in-universe perspective, I forgot about the literature part.

 

[Therin of Andor]

You sure that's what's going on and it's not bad writing?

Well, "bad writing" is in the eye of the beholder. The rest of the book is typical Carey (and some call all Carey "bad writing"), so yes, I'm sure she deliberately intended to convey the alien, metallic world to set up the rest of the story.

 

[Sci]

Isn't Legends of the Ferengi written from an in-universe, in-character perspective?

 

[DevilEyes]

It's still written by an outside narrator, and while I CAN see some similarities to the repetitive epic in the way it's executed, it's still a fundamentally human form of literature told by a narrator you can tell is human.

One can also question if A Stitch In Time has a fully Cardassian point of view, since it's narrated by Garak, but in the form of a letter to his Human friend Dr Bashir. Garak might be adapting some of the views expressed, or even some of the story itself, to fit the reader and his Federation Starfleet mindset and values.

 

[Cybersnark]

What? Garak being less then entirely truthful? Surely that's impossible.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I actually caught him lying on a couple of occasions, at least to my own reading of the book.