Getting back into ST books after five years away

[James Cole]

From the mid 90s till about 2003 I pretty much read every Trek book that came out month to month. But then came college, grad school (in another country no less), plus lots of traveling and I fell behind on developments in the ST literary world. Since then I have managed to keep up on NF but aside from that haven't really had the opportunity until now to try and get back except for the Mirror Universe duology and the ENT book on what really happened to Trip (great job Mangels and Martin BTW).

In looking at the FAQ on this page it looks like the DS9 relaunch has continued, a TNG one has begun, Challenger has been abandoned, and in its place are series on a TOS-era space station, a Klingon-focused series, and a spin-off of Riker post Nemesis on the Titan.

I am mainly a TNG/DS9/VGR fan, but have enjoyed the Lost Era books plus many TOS novels.

If anyone could offer some input on the following it would be most appreciated:

1) First off, is there a current list of all the ST books? PsiPhi doesn't look like it had been updated in some time and their book list stops in 2006. Has another site taken its place?

2) How interconnected are the TNG "A Time To.." series, the post-Nemesis TNG books, Titan, and the DS9 relaunch after Unity? I am wondering if I should try to read them in chronological order based on the book timelines or series by series.

3) Have there been any developments with Voyager? I didn't particularly enjoy the post-Endgame books by Christie Golden (otherwise I have enjoyed her work). The only other Voyager books I have found searching on Amazon were the String Theory series which looks to be set between seasons 4 & 5.

4) This one is pretty subjective, but what are a couple of highly regarded stand alone books that have come out since 2003? I would like to start here before I dive into the multi-part interconnected series.

5) How available are the recent books in eBook format? I used to despise eBooks and gave up on the SCE series because of it but now find them the most accessible when I am moving around frequently. Ideally from now-on I would like to purchase all of the books in eBook format. I don't have a Palm-like device so I would have to keep them on my laptop. How easy is it to move the books to a new computer? I would hate to spend a lot of money only to not be able to move them because of DRM. Would Microsoft Reader, Adobe, or another format be the best one to build a collection in?

Thanks for your input, and I'm sorry if any of these topics have been done to death.

 

[Rosalind]

From the mid 90s till about 2003 I pretty much read every Trek book that came out month to month. But then came college, grad school (in another country no less), plus lots of traveling and I fell behind on developments in the ST literary world. Since then I have managed to keep up on NF but aside from that haven't really had the opportunity until now to try and get back except for the Mirror Universe duology and the ENT book on what really happened to Trip (great job Mangels and Martin BTW).

welcome back to Trek literature!

In looking at the FAQ on this page

woohoo, someone reads the FAQ!

1) First off, is there a current list of all the ST books? PsiPhi doesn't look like it had been updated in some time and their book list stops in 2006. Has another site taken its place?

you might like to check out Memory Beta

2) How interconnected are the TNG "A Time To.." series, the post-Nemesis TNG books, Titan, and the DS9 relaunch after Unity? I am wondering if I should try to read them in chronological order based on the book timelines or series by series.

The books share the same continuity, so events described in detail in one book might get a mention in another, characters might appear across the various series. HOWEVER, you don't need to read them all to understand any one book, and you certainly don't need to read them chronologically. Trust the authors and editors to include details for events that are important.

3) Have there been any developments with Voyager? I didn't particularly enjoy the post-Endgame books by Christie Golden (otherwise I have enjoyed her work). The only other Voyager books I have found searching on Amazon were the String Theory series which looks to be set between seasons 4 & 5.

the Destiny trilogy to be published later this year will give clues for what will happen to Voyager, other than that, nothing has been announced.

4) This one is pretty subjective, but what are a couple of highly regarded stand alone books that have come out since 2003? I would like to start here before I dive into the multi-part interconnected series.

Articles of the Federation by KRAD
The buried Age by Christopher L. Bennett
other than those two, I can't think of anything that's not part of the DS9 relaunch, or TNG relaunch, or another multi-part series. Unless, you're looking for stories outside TNG/DS9/VOY series.

5) How available are the recent books in eBook format? I used to despise eBooks and gave up on the SCE series because of it but now find them the most accessible when I am moving around frequently. Ideally from now-on I would like to purchase all of the books in eBook format. I don't have a Palm-like device so I would have to keep them on my laptop. How easy is it to move the books to a new computer? I would hate to spend a lot of money only to not be able to move them because of DRM. Would Microsoft Reader, Adobe, or another format be the best one to build a collection in?

everything should be available in ebook format, although sometimes there are delays in releasing the ebooks. as for DRM and transferring between computers: I'm sure someone else will tell you about MS reader, so I'm going to talk about the one I'm familiar with: palm. I've bought all my books with them, I've transferred books from one computer to another with no problem, they keep a copy of all your downloads on their website, so you can download them if you ever lose one, and you can change the unlock code of the books on their website if you want. Oh, and adobe format is just a bad idea.

 

[Sci]

4) This one is pretty subjective, but what are a couple of highly regarded stand alone books that have come out since 2003? I would like to start here before I dive into the multi-part interconnected series.

Well, these are semi-sorta-kinda standalone even though they're part of a series; you can read each without having to read the others. But I would contend that anyone jumping back into Trek fiction really ought to read the following books in the following order:

A Time to Kill by David Mack
A Time to Heal by David Mack
A Time for War, A Time for Peace by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Titan: Taking Wing by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels
Articles of the Federation by Keith R.A. DeCandido

In addition, these three books are part of the Star Trek: Vanguard series, but VNG is very independent of any other series, and you really ought to read these three:

Harbinger by David Mack
Summon the Thunder by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore
Reap the Whirlwind by David Mack

The novel The Sorrows of Empire, found in Star Trek: Mirror Universe, Volumne One, is pure brilliance, and The Good That Men Do by Martin and Mangels is wonderful, but I believe you mentioned reading those already.

Finally, no Star Trek literary experience is complete without the Crucible trilogy by David R. George III:

McCoy: The Provenance of Shadows
Spock: The Fire and the Rose
Kirk: The Star to Every Wandering

 

[Kopernikus]

This one is pretty subjective, but what are a couple of highly regarded stand alone books that have come out since 2003? I would like to start here before I dive into the multi-part interconnected series.

Some thoughts on this:


Ex Machina (TOS) by Christopher L. Bennett (2005)

Hollow Men (DS9) by Una McCormack (2005)

Articles of the Federation (TNG) by Keith R.A. deCandido (2005)
(But I'd recommend to read the "A Time to Series" first, it's not necesarry, but will certainly boost the fun tremendously, and they're quite good anyway)

Burning Dreams (TOS) by Maragret Wander Bonnano (2006)

The Buried Age (TLE) by Christopher L. Bennett

If you're open for Short Stories, try Tales of the Dominion War (Cross-Series-Anthology), Constellations (TOS-Anthology), The Sky's the Limit (TNG-Anthology) or any of the Strange New Worlds Fan-Anthologies

and in its place are series on a TOS-era space station

Vanguard, one you should definetly give a try, imo the best of the new series.

How interconnected are the TNG "A Time To.." series, the post-Nemesis TNG books, Titan, and the DS9 relaunch after Unity? I am wondering if I should try to read them in chronological order based on the book timelines or series by series.

As already explained, it's usually not necessary to read a certain book, just to be able to understand another one. But it also doesn't hurt to be familiar with the "prequels". I propose, if you're going to read all of them anyway, just stick to the publication-order. (A Time to, Articles of the Federation, Titan, TNG-Relaunch).

 

[Rosalind]

Hollow Men (DS9) by Una McCormack (2005)

can't believe I forgot this book! I blame the fact my copy of it is selved somewhere else.

Articles of the Federation (TNG) by Keith R.A. deCandido (2005)
(But I'd recommend to read the "A Time to Series" first, it's not necesarry, but will certainly boost the fun tremendously, and they're quite good anyway)

I must repeat the "not necessary" part, I still haven't got to the ATT books yet, and I had no problem reading this book, and enjoyed it enormously. One little thing I forgot to mention in my previous post is that this is not exactly a TNG book, it took place after the ATT books, but it is about a year in the life of the new Federation president. Think "Star Trek" meets "The West Wing". I know you said TNG/DS9/VOY, but since you said you enjoyed the Lost Era books, I think you won't mind a recommendation outside these serieses.

 

[Steve Roby]

1) First off, is there a current list of all the ST books? PsiPhi doesn't look like it had been updated in some time and their book list stops in 2006. Has another site taken its place?

It hasn't taken anything's place, but my site has been around for nine years and is still updated every couple of months or so.

3) Have there been any developments with Voyager? I didn't particularly enjoy the post-Endgame books by Christie Golden (otherwise I have enjoyed her work). The only other Voyager books I have found searching on Amazon were the String Theory series which looks to be set between seasons 4 & 5.

I strongly recommend the Distant Shores short story anthology, published in 2005. The stories are set during the series' run, but they're well worth reading.

4) This one is pretty subjective, but what are a couple of highly regarded stand alone books that have come out since 2003? I would like to start here before I dive into the multi-part interconnected series.

There are some excellent suggestions already in this thread, so let me just point out that some of the new series are still young. There are only three Vanguard novels so far, and they're all good. There are only four Titan novels, and (imho, I'm not suggesting this is anything like a consensus view) two of them are very good, one's a little disappointing in some respects, and another is a little disappointing in most respects, but you might like the ones I didn't. Plenty of people here did. Point being, you don't have to invest too much time or money to explore some of the new developments in the literary Trek universe.

Oh, and you're just in time for the Terok Nor trilogy. The first one's out, and it's very good indeed.

 

[KRAD]

First off, welcome back. Some of these questions have been answered, but I refuse to let that stop me..............

1) First off, is there a current list of all the ST books? PsiPhi doesn't look like it had been updated in some time and their book list stops in 2006. Has another site taken its place?

Both the Complete Starfleet Library and Memory Beta are excellent sources, and both this board and Psi Phi post updates of upcoming books at the top of each month.

2) How interconnected are the TNG "A Time To.." series, the post-Nemesis TNG books, Titan, and the DS9 relaunch after Unity? I am wondering if I should try to read them in chronological order based on the book timelines or series by series.

They're all consistent with each other, if that's what you're asking. I wouldn't worry too much about obsessing about chronological order macrocosmically -- by which I mean, it isn't vital that you read the stories that take place in late 2376/early 2377 (DS9, SCE, Gorkon) before reading those that take place in 2379/2380 (TNG, Titan, NF). Just so long as you read the particular books in the particular series in order, you'll be fine.

3) Have there been any developments with Voyager? I didn't particularly enjoy the post-Endgame books by Christie Golden (otherwise I have enjoyed her work). The only other Voyager books I have found searching on Amazon were the String Theory series which looks to be set between seasons 4 & 5.

Not yet, but soon. Destiny will indeed be a start...

4) This one is pretty subjective, but what are a couple of highly regarded stand alone books that have come out since 2003? I would like to start here before I dive into the multi-part interconnected series.

Assuming you've read the Lost Era books, which are all standalone, there's also:

TOS: The Case of the Colonist's Corpse by Bob Ingersoll & Tony Isabella
Tales of the Dominion War, ed. by Keith R.A. DeCandido
TOS: To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh by Greg Cox
TOS: Ex Machina by Christopher L. Bennett
DS9: Hollow Men by Una McCormack
VOY: Distant Shores, ed. by Marco Palmieri
Tales from the Captain's Table, ed. by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Engines of Destiny by Gene DeWeese
Articles of the Federation by Keith R.A. DeCandido
TOS: Constellations, ed. by Marco Palmieri
TOS: Burning Dreams by Margaret Wander Bonanno
ENT: Rosetta by David Stern
ENT: Last Full Measure by Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels
TNG: The Sky's the Limit, ed. by Marco Palmieri
TNG: The Buried Age by Christopher L. Bennett
Excelsior: Forged in Fire by Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels

Plus the seventh through tenth volumes of the Strange New Worlds anthologies.

5) How available are the recent books in eBook format? I used to despise eBooks and gave up on the SCE series because of it but now find them the most accessible when I am moving around frequently. Ideally from now-on I would like to purchase all of the books in eBook format. I don't have a Palm-like device so I would have to keep them on my laptop. How easy is it to move the books to a new computer? I would hate to spend a lot of money only to not be able to move them because of DRM. Would Microsoft Reader, Adobe, or another format be the best one to build a collection in?

I'll leave it to others to answer your later questions, but the answer to your first one is "all of them."

And I hope this means you'll give SCE another shot.

 

[James Cole]

Thank you to everyone who have replied. It looks like a lot has changed from when there was TOS and TNG one month and DS9 and VGR the next, with the summer providing a blockbuster crossover event. Now it looks like everything is a special event!

Quoting KRAD:
They're all consistent with each other, if that's what you're asking. I wouldn't worry too much about obsessing about chronological order macrocosmically -- by which I mean, it isn't vital that you read the stories that take place in late 2376/early 2377 (DS9, SCE, Gorkon) before reading those that take place in 2379/2380 (TNG, Titan, NF). Just so long as you read the particular books in the particular series in order, you'll be fine.

Ok great. My main concern was reading one of the TNG books and having a major spoiler for the DS9 relaunch or other past books come up (like if one of the main DS9 relaunch characters had been killed off).

And I hope this means you'll give SCE another shot.

I will. I bought the first three books in MS Reader format, only to lose them when I got a new hard drive and they were DRM-locked. Then I bought them again in Adobe, plus up to around book #15 (the last one I read was by one of the guys who did Marvel's Early Voyages and was about the Ferengi and Beta-III). These all were lost when I tried to transfer the files to a new computer and Amazon and B&N wouldn't let me download them again. Needless to say I wasn't happy losing $50 worth of ebooks and gave up on them, but I did buy the Wildfire two parter anyway due to its good reviews. Those two are the only SCE ebooks I have left now.

Steve Roby:
Oh, and you're just in time for the Terok Nor trilogy. The first one's out, and it's very good indeed.

I saw that one in the bookstore a couple days ago and bought it. That's what got me interested in the books again. Great to see how your site has expanded from the Lost Books and God Thing pages.

Rosalind:
woohoo, someone reads the FAQ!

It was very helpful! It looks like the book canon debate is never over!

Between the IDW comics and the books there is a lot to look at!

Thanks again. I don't feel so lost now.

 

[ripster]

Just one thing to add on the subject of eBooks, I bought a CyBook GEN3 in December 2007 and I do all my reading on it now. If you've never seen an eInk based device it's almost impossible to realise how much of a better reading experience it is than a PC Screen.

The http://www.mobileread.com website has loads of good articles/reviews of all the current eBook readers on the market (check out the forums).

Cheers,

Colin

 

[JD]

Rosalind:
woohoo, someone reads the FAQ!

It was very helpful! It looks like the book canon debate is never over!

Between the IDW comics and the books there is a lot to look at!

Haha, we wish. It still starts up again every couple months.

 

[Steve Roby]

Thank you to everyone who have replied. It looks like a lot has changed from when there was TOS and TNG one month and DS9 and VGR the next, with the summer providing a blockbuster crossover event. Now it looks like everything is a special event!

That's the upside of the schedule reduction. There were times in the past when the books seemed a bit like assembly line product, but that's really not the case now. Not to mention that having no ongoing Trek TV series has freed up a lot of new angles for the books.

Great to see how your site has expanded from the Lost Books and God Thing pages.

Thanks. It kind of got a bit out of hand somewhere along the way...

 

[Upper pylon 3]

I too have started reading Trek lit after a long break, about 5 years. I got burned out on them and had less time to read because of amassing a large tv on dvd collection.

Anyway, since it has been so long since I have read these books I am going to re-read some of the on-going series (ds9-r, new frontier, etc) before I continue with those series. In the meantime I am reading some of the newer books that are either standalone or don't conflict with the vast crossover tapestry that is modern Trek lit. (I am currently enjoying the Terok Nor trilogy.) I have compiled a list of books that i need/want to re-read before I read certain new books to refresh my memory and enhance my enjoyment of the new books.

I do have one question. I read that Melora Pazlar (from ds9's Melora episode) is in the Titan novels. She was also in the Gemworld duology. Are there any Melora storylines in the Gemworld duology that continue in the Titan books?

 

[Christopher]

I do have one question. I read that Melora Pazlar (from ds9's Melora episode) is in the Titan novels. She was also in the Gemworld duology. Are there any Melora storylines in the Gemworld duology that continue in the Titan books?

Not specifically, but there are occasional acknowledgements of the events of Gemworld in the Titan books. They're in continuity with each other, but several years elapse between them and they don't have much relation to each other.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

From the mid 90s till about 2003 I pretty much read every Trek book that came out month to month. But then came college, grad school (in another country no less), plus lots of traveling and I fell behind on developments in the ST literary world. Since then I have managed to keep up on NF but aside from that haven't really had the opportunity until now to try and get back except for the Mirror Universe duology and the ENT book on what really happened to Trip (great job Mangels and Martin BTW).

welcome back to Trek literature!

What she said.

In looking at the FAQ on this page

woohoo, someone reads the FAQ!

*does his happy Time Lord dance*

You have no idea how happy this makes both of us.

Everything else seems to be well covered. Enjoy catching up.