Changing opinions

[F. King Daniel]

After ten years and LOTS of vitriol, I decided to go back and re-read the original ENT relaunch and Romulan War books. I hated so much about them, from the retconning of TATV and ENT-established tech to better fit with the other shows to the paths the characters were put on. I didn't like that it was totally different to the cancelled Star Trek: The Beginning movie and that none of the planned ENT season 5 plots were adapted.

So it's years later and I'm going back. My mindset is very different, I've since read The Beginning's script in full and it's not as amazing as it used to be in my head when I'd only read the synopsis'. Discovery has retconned so much that getting annoyed over any of that stuff is utterly pointless.

I'm halfway through The Good That Men Do and it's okay so far. Clunky in places, but I'm having a lot more fun than I expected to.

On the flip side, a few years ago I re-read The Return and had all my fond memories dashed by something that used to be action packed and balls to the wall cool and now seems paper thin and eye-rollingly ridiculous.

Has anyone else re-read a previously hated or loved Trek book and had a similar change of heart?

 

[Jinn]

Ironically concerning the same series you are currently reading, I found To Brave the Storm to be a lot better than I originally thought. It really works well as an end to the Romulan War and made me, someone who was never really interested in the Trip/T'Pol ship, appreciate their happy ending together. The definitive end to the ENT era for me.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

At one time, I thought Cogswell & Spano's Spock: Messiah was actually good. Good enough that it was among several older ST books that I had hardbound by a local bindery that mainly did library work. I didn't, at the time, realize just how sexist (among other less-than-sterling characteristics) it was. Of course, then again, I was 14 when it was published.

 

[Starbreaker]

I read The Return when I was about 13. I don't think it would hold up today at all. I bet it reads like bad fanfic.

 

[mastadge]

Yeah, it really depends on what I didn't like about it. In your ENT example, I often find that revisiting things like that later helps. Get some distance from the disappointment that it didn't go in the direction you wanted, and you can better appreciate it for what it is rather than what it isn't.

Often when my opinion changes for the worse it's, as you say, because stuff that was kewl as a kid is less so as an adult, or because problematic social/sexual/political stuff that went over my head either because it was a different time or because I was a kid becomes more apparent to more educated eyes. Or just stuff that seemed wise to a kid may seem shallow to someone who's been exposed to a lot more ideas.

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, it really depends on what I didn't like about it. In your ENT example, I often find that revisiting things like that later helps. Get some distance from the disappointment that it didn't go in the direction you wanted, and you can better appreciate it for what it is rather than what it isn't.

I think that's pretty much exactly how it went for me with Enterprise.

 

[The Wormhole]

Has anyone else re-read a previously hated or loved Trek book and had a similar change of heart?

Probably the Litverse in general. I remember back when the interconnected thing began with everything connected to each other being rather put off by it, since at the time I was only picking and choosing what I read rather than reading everything. Around 2004, one of the A Time To books I stumbled upon a reference I didn't get at all (which I later learned was in reference to a Trek comic) and decided right there I was done, since when there's a reference in a Star Trek book I don't get, there's trouble. I came back around 2011 at which time I actually found it a fun novelty to see Trek references I didn't understand.

 

[Thrawn]

The first time I read Twilight and Serpents Among the Ruins I thought they were both horrifically drawn out slogs. Second time, I absolutely adored them both and continue to count them among my favorite TrekLit works. DRG3 is certainly wordier than he needs to be, but also heartfelt and genuine in a way a lot of other authors aren’t; once I learned to listen to what he was saying I found it quite profound.

On the other hand, the Star Wars X-Wing books by Mike Stackpole definitely got a visit from the suck fairy (cf https://www.tor.com/2010/09/28/the-suck-fairy/ ). It’s like he never met a woman in his life, and was writing how they behaved based on wholly invented boasts from a lascivious older brother.

 

[mastadge]

Happily, Stackpole chuckled so Aaron Allston could laugh.

 

[Thrawn]

Happily, Stackpole chuckled so Aaron Allston could laugh.

Yeah. Allston’s entries for sure still hold up. It was just funny; as a kid, I liked them about the same. Upon reread 20 years later, though, night and day.

 

[Stevil2001]

Funny, I reread Solo Command a couple years ago and it was nowhere near as good as I remembered! It was just boring.

 

[Elias Vaughn]

I read The Return when I was about 13. I don't think it would hold up today at all. I bet it reads like bad fanfic.

It does but that's what I love about them.

Like,

Spoiler

the Mirror Universe arc where we find out Mirror Kirk has survived as well and is the greatest villain of all time there until the end where he becomes a hero because he wants a Teilani of his own? Chef's kiss.

 

[Desert Kris]

There's only one ST novel I've read more than once at this point, Diane Carey's giant novel Final Frontier. I've re-read it every 5-10 years or so, with gradual diminishing returns. It gets something of a pass on nostalgia grounds, one of the first books I talked my parents into buying me, the first ST book I owned, the biggest/longest book I ever tried to read at the time. I didn't read it properly in early grade school. The first "re-read"/proper read was great.

The second or third time around I was starting to become some aware of the author's controversial reputation, and read a review that challenged the premise of the novel: "Is it ever acceptable to pre-emptively attack?" And lived through real world history where that was happening in real life. I became aware of the author's philosophical beliefs, read the critique of those beliefs, and marvelled at how she and other authors who also believe that philosophy are so weirdly compelled to evangelize that philosophy.

I've also read a lot more of Diane Carey's books over the last couple years, and had a lot of fun with them...but I'm now much more aware of the author's flaws. Dipping into and skim reading favorite passages in Final Frontier is still fun, too, but they've lost some of their edge. I can't ignore how it seems like Carey is trying too hard to impress. I'm very conscious of the confidence in the author's narrative voice, and it gives me an uncomfortable feeling, between being impressed by the author's confidence in herself, but also wanting to cringe from the feeling that it's over-confidence that can't cover up the shortcomings of the writing.

 

[valkyrie013]

Read the enterprise books, lead up and the war.. The lead up ones were okay, Martin isn't my favorite author, but really went tits up with the actual war novels, to short a series. Felt rushed and jammed.
Only books I've re read were Peter F Hamilton stuff. And that's 10-15 years latter so forgot all the details so still enjoyed them. And all his stuff are long slog 1000 page plus paperbacks.

 

[Krupp]

Interestingly I’ve been planning to go back this year and re-read some books / series I enjoyed 20-25 years ago and see how they hold up! I can remember basic plots and details but am fascinated to see how they work in the re-reading. Maybe there’ll be some ups and some downs.

 

[dupersuper]

I've reread a few (New Frontier, Shatnerverse...) and still liked them.

 

[Vox24]

I agree with Thrawn about Mission Gamma: Twilight. The first time I read that book it seemed to stretch on forever and I found it boring. I was not looking forward to reading it again. Imagine my surprise when I ended up liking it a lot and appreciating a lot of what DRGIII was doing.

I didn't hate them the first time I read them but I did find aspects of the Shatnerverse novels annoying. Mainly how Kirk was the best at everything and how terrible the non-TOS characters were treated. Reading them again I didn't let that stuff bother me and I enjoyed them a lot more. They are just bonkers with some crazy plot ideas and I adore them.

The novelization of Equinox by Diane Carey. I read the novel before seeing the episodes so the novel felt more real and fleshed out to me than the episodes did. I read it again and was surprised at what seemed like snarky comments Carey was making towards the script. She had several characters think about how stupid something they or someone else just said or did was. It felt like she hated the script for the episodes and was forced to write the novelization.

 

[ATimson]

The novelization of Equinox by Diane Carey. I read the novel before seeing the episodes so the novel felt more real and fleshed out to me than the episodes did. I read it again and was surprised at what seemed like snarky comments Carey was making towards the script. She had several characters think about how stupid something they or someone else just said or did was. It felt like she hated the script for the episodes and was forced to write the novelization.

Interesting - I knew that happened in Broken Bow, but I didn't know it had slipped into earlier ones too.

I wish I had more of them so I could go back and see where that started. I've got The Search but I think that might be it.

 

[Vox24]

Interesting - I knew that happened in Broken Bow, but I didn't know it had slipped into earlier ones too.

I wish I had more of them so I could go back and see where that started. I've got The Search but I think that might be it.

It was jarring to go back and re-read it and see that she had done something similar to Broken Bow. It isn't as egregious, though. I remember one scene where Janeway is telling Ransom why they have to leave Equinox and Carey has Janeway telling herself in internal monologue how the regulation she just quoted didn't really mean what she had just said it meant and she hoped Ransom didn't look it up. Little things like that. Plus, she seemed to side with Ransom and his crew. I get that the point is that it is a complex situation and the Equinox crew were in dire straits but Carey seemed to side with them and their abduction and execution of the creatures to get the crew home.

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

Yeah, I put down the Equinox novelization this last read through when I got that same feeling of her basically sympathizing TOO MUCH with Ransom’s crew. Sure, they’re desperate people pushed to the brink and all, but they have a literal murder engine they fueled up knowingly and intentionally. That honestly kills a lot of any attempt to sympathize with them for me, and yet her narrative seems to go in a direction of “they feel bad about it, and that justifies and forgives everything.”

It didn’t help that I was also really offput by the narrative text frequently referring to Seven as “the girl.” It struck me as infantilizing her, given that none of the other characters are called “the girl” or “the boy.” Seven’s a grown woman, WHY is she getting referred to this way? Or a reference to Chakotay having crawled through a shuttle junkyard as a child, which indicates a complete lack of familiarity with any of his background, though, really, that was just icing at that point.

That book is pure shelf stuffer at this point.