Books that are Connected to Vanguard

[Paul K]

I have never read any of the Vanguard/Seekers series. As a fan of the Corps of Engineers, I've decided to branch out and read this series. I know that the SCE stories "Foundations," "Time Stands Still," and "Distant Early Warning" are connected to the Vanguard Series. As someone who likes to read things in order (not necessarily chronological order but in a consistent order with regard to narrative and theme), what other books, particularly TOS, are connected to Vanguard? Using ryan123450's StarTrekLitverse site and that great flowchart that's out there, I've assemble the following list of books & stories that seem to be connected and in continuity with each other:

• • Declassified: Almost Tomorrow
    
  • Foundations: Book One
    
    • Distant Early Warning
    • Mere Anarchy: Things Fall Apart
    • Harbinger
    • Constellations: The Landing Party
    • Summon the Thunder
    • Reap the Whirlwind
    • Declassified: Hard News
    • The Janus Gate: Present Tense
    • The Janus Gate: Future Imperfect
    • The Janus Gate: Past Prologue
    • The Brave and the Bold: The First Artifact
    • Errand of Vengeance: Edge of the Sword
    • Errand of Vengeance: Killing Blow
    • Errand of Vengeance: River of Blood
    • Enterprise Logs: The Avenger
    • Foundations: Book Two
    • Constellations: Official Record
    • Errand of Fury: Seeds of Rage
    • Errand of Fury: Demands of Honor
    • Errand of Fury: Sacrifices of War
    • The Aliens Are Coming!
    • Open Secrets
    • Constellations: Ambition
    • Constellations: Chaotic Response
    • Constellations: See No Evil
    • Shards and Shadows: The Greater Good
    • Sorrows of Empire
    • Shards and Shadows: Black Flag
    • Constellations: First, Do No Harm
    • Mere Anarchy: The Centre Cannot Hold
    • Legacies: Captain to Captain
    • Legacies: Best Defense
    • Legacies: Purgatory's Key
    • Precipice
    • Harm's Way
    • Declassified: The Ruins of Noble Men
    • Seven Deadly Sins: The First Peer
    • A Choice of Catastrophes
    • Declassified: The Stars Look Down
    • From History's Shadow
    • Shocks of Adversity
    • The Folded World
    • Where Time Stands Still
    • What Judgments Come
    • Seven Deadly Sins: The Unhappy Ones
    • Constellations: Devices and Desires
    • Section 31: Cloak
    • Badlands: Book One
    • Gateways: One Small Step
    • What Lay Beyond: One Giant Leap
    • Storming Heaven
    • In Tempest's Wake
    • Devil's Bargain
    • Constellations: As Others See Us
    • Face of the Unknown
    • The Latter Fire
  • Second Nature
  • Point of Divergence
  • Long Shot
  • All That's Left
  • That Which Divides
  • Agents of Influence
  • Constellations: Where Everybody Knows Your Name
  • Allegiance in Exile
  • The Antares Maelstron
  • A Constest of Principles
  • Savage Trade
  • Garth of Izar
  • Troublesome Minds
  • Crisis of Consciousness
  • The Weight of Worlds
  • No Time Like the Past
  • The Eugenics Wars: Book One
  • The Eugenics Wars: Book Two
    
  • The Rings of Time
  • Foundations: Book Three

What I really want to know is, if I want to read a long series of books set during TOS that focus on Vanguard/Seekers, Corps of Engineers, Federation/Klingon/Romulan/Tholian politics, and the 20th/21st century events, what stories here should be included and which ones are not relevant? Try to minimize possible spoilers but I care more about a good read list than about being spoiled.

 

[Markonian]

That's a great list.
I'm sorry, I'm not well-versed enough in the 2260s-era novels to provide any insights.

 

[Thrawn]

Those are a bunch of really great books but very few of them actually interface with the Vanguard story in any meaningful way. If you just want a bunch of great books, read all of them! But if you're looking to get the "full Vanguard experience", so to speak, you don't need most of them.

https://www.thetrekcollective.com/p/trek-lit-reading-order.html

Check out the far upper left of this to see the ones that really have an impact. (And even the Errand of... books don't connect much; they're consistent, but not at all essential.) Read them in the order they're given there; don't try too hard to be chronological. They play better as published.

There's also one more that was published after the last version of this flowchart was updated - David Mack's recent TOS novel Harm's Way. I haven't read it so I don't know whether it works better read afterwards or read chronologically; perhaps someone who has read it can answer that?

 

[David Mack]

Those are a bunch of really great books but very few of them actually interface with the Vanguard story in any meaningful way. If you just want a bunch of great books, read all of them! But if you're looking to get the "full Vanguard experience", so to speak, you don't need most of them.

https://www.thetrekcollective.com/p/trek-lit-reading-order.html

Check out the far upper left of this to see the ones that really have an impact. (And even the Errand of... books don't connect much; they're consistent, but not at all essential.) Read them in the order they're given there; don't try too hard to be chronological. They play better as published.

All good advice.

There's also one more that was published after the last version of this flowchart was updated - David Mack's recent TOS novel Harm's Way. I haven't read it so I don't know whether it works better read afterwards or read chronologically; perhaps someone who has read it can answer that?

Harm’s Way is set around the middle of book five, Precipice. Rather than interrupt one’s reading of Precipice, I’d suggest reading Harm’s Way after Precipice but before the Declassified anthology and/or What Judgments Come.

 

[Paul K]

Thanks for the input guys. So not counting anything from Vanguard/Seekers, Corps of Engineers, or the "Errand of..." series, which books and stories on the above list have a focus on Alpha/Beta Quadrant politics, miraculous feats of engineering, or the 20th/21st century events?

 

[Thrawn]

There, you might have to do some of your own research. Read the book blurbs and see what seems interesting to you. That's a pretty broad set of things to focus on, and depending on what counts as "politics" or, for that matter, what counts as "focus", that might swing any recommendations a lot. I think you'll be a better judge of your own preferences. If you have specific books you're not sure about, though, people here could probably answer more specific questions.

 

[Faldor]

Enjoy! Vanguard is some of the best Trek Lit, if not Trek itself out there!

 

[Paul K]

Thanks to everyone who is here answering my questions. So from what information I've been able to gather, stories dealing with 20th/21st events are:

• The Aliens Are Coming!
• From History's Shadow
• Assignment: Eternity
• The Eugenics Wars: Book One
• The Eugenics Wars: Book Two
• The Rings of Time
• Elusive Salvation
• Lost To Eternity (forthcoming)

Stories that appear to have a focus on galactic politics (first contacts, diplomacy, military engagements, treaties, espionage, etc) are:

• Mere Anarchy: Things Fall Apart
• Constellations: Official Record
• Day of Honor: Treaty's Law
• Constellations: The Leader
  
• Constellations: See No Evil
  
• Mere Anarchy: The Centre Cannot Hold
  
• Seven Deadly Sins: The First Peer
• A Choice of Catastrophes
• Shocks of Adversity
• Seven Deadly Sins: The Unhappy Ones
• Constellations: Devices and Desires
• Section 31: Cloak
• The Badlands: Part One
• Constellations: Fracture
  
• Constellations: As Others See Us
• The Latter Fire
• That Which Divides
• Agents of Influence
• Constellations: Where Everybody Knows Your Name
• Allegiance in Exile
• A Contest of Principles
• Savage Trade
• Garth of Izar
• Troublesome Minds
• Crisis of Consciousness
• The Weight of Worlds

Stories that appear to focus on creative solutions to science and engineering problems:

• Constellations: Ambition
• Constellations: Chaotic Response
• Twilight's End
  
• The Folded World
  
• Devil's Bargain
• The Antares Maelstrom
  
• No Time Like the Past

The Janus Gate trilogy appears to focus on the Enterprise crew. Which of these lists (if any), does the Legacies trilogy fit best with? Is there anything here that's in the wrong list? Is there anything that's not on one of these lists that you would recommend should be?

 

[Thrawn]

Legacies is a big ol' sprawling crossover, dealing with contact with a mysterious alien species and all kinds of fallout and complication. Probably the most appropriate place is your "galactic politics" list. It's a great read, by the way.