Great Things About Trek Lit

[Desert Kris]

I think in specific, this is regarding The Buried Age, the book that bridges the gap between the loss of the Stargazer and Picard taking command of the Enterprise. The latter portion of the book shows what brings about Picard assembling this particular command staff for the Enterprise (well, we sort of see it throughout, but that's where it all solidifies), so it helps to sort of smooth over some of the portrayals that are a little off-kilter in season one in comparison to later TNG. Like the one that stands out in my mind in specific is Picard telling Worf that he wants Worf to diversify beyond security, leading to him being the sort of floating position filler he served as until Tasha's death, which, presumably, is part of why Worf is made security chief when that happens, rather than some other Assistant Chief who'd served under Tasha.

How intriguing! Thanks for explaining that; I have Buried Age and I suspected that was the one being referenced. I just haven't read it yet; however this makes me feel a little more curious about it. I'm a terribly slow reader, unfortunately...

 

[David cgc]

Like the one that stands out in my mind in specific is Picard telling Worf that he wants Worf to diversify beyond security, leading to him being the sort of floating position filler he served as until Tasha's death, which, presumably, is part of why Worf is made security chief when that happens, rather than some other Assistant Chief who'd served under Tasha.

The one that sticks with me is why Data had no social skills and a low rank after something like twenty years in Starfleet, despite how much and how quickly he grew over the course of the series. In deference to someone who's yet to read it...

Spoiler: The Buried Age

Data's C/Os prior to Picard found him kind of creepy, so they tended to assign him solitary duties that required too much judgement to be automated, but were too tedious for any organic crewmembers to want to do. When Picard meets him, he's the records officer at a Starbase. Picard quickly picks up on the issue, and starts coaching Data to try and show a little ambition rather than always deferring out of a misplaced sense of politeness, and recruits Data for his current team (well, encourages Data to volunteer to join the mission).

 

[Christopher]

^Yeah, I think that was one of my favorite interactions to write in that book.

 

[Thrawn]

^ I think it might be my favorite scene of yours ever. Just delightful.

 

[flandry84]

Titan and it's multi-species crew,prohibitively expensive to film but ideal for Treklit.

 

[Balok's Decoy]

Devil's Bargain made me love the Horta more than I thought I could after Devil in the Dark. Really expands that species in a compelling way. Continues the bond that was forged between Spock and the Horta. It's great stuff.

 

[Captain Kathryn]

Love the Voyager relaunch the most and always keep up to date with it and am excited whenever a new novel comes out. Also love the Garak novel by Andrew Robinson.

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

Love the Voyager relaunch the most and always keep up to date with it and am excited whenever a new novel comes out. Also love the Garak novel by Andrew Robinson.

That's a another good thing I enjoy about the novels - Andrew Robinson, Armin Shimmerman, JG Hertzler, and even William Shatner have all contributed directly to novels that have focused on their characters, getting information and contributions from the actors who portrayed the characters.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ And at least Robinson and Hertzler did their OWN writing - they didn't use ghost writers. Don't know about Shimerman.

Shatner, however, did use a ghostwriter, I'm pretty sure it was the Reeves-Stevenses.

 

[Markonian]

^ That's not necessarily a quality statement.
Though, I wish it carried more weight that Martok is not a random Chancellor, but the fabled Leader of Destiny!

 

[Mage]

What I love about TrekLit is that it has done for Star Trek what the shows couldn't. Normalized non-heterosexual relationships. Picard getting married and becoming a father. Long lasting consequences. Aliens the likes we never could have seen. All new characters that I completely adore, love and miss deeply sometimes (Vaugh, Shar, Taran'Atar, to name but a few).

Star Trek Destiny, I read that once a year. Vanguard, also once a year. The Voyager relaunch, the DS9 Relaunch. Rise Of The Federation. Titan. I could go on and on and on.


But most of all.... The authors. These hardcore fans who love this show so much, they dedicate time and effort to create characters and stories for other fans. To keep the people we love so much alive and well (well, not always....). These men and women who are actually on this forum to listen and talk and debate with us. THAT's everything I love about TrekLit.

 

[Defcon]

Shatner, however, did use a ghostwriter, I'm pretty sure it was the Reeves-Stevenses.

You keep using the word ghostwriter, but I don't think you know what it means. The Reeves-Stevens are mentioned on the title page of all novels and are even on the cover of the later ones IIRC, so by definition they are co-writers, not ghost writers.

 

[DimesDan]

You keep using the word ghostwriter, but I don't think you know what it means. The Reeves-Stevens are mentioned on the title page of all novels and are even on the cover of the later ones IIRC, so by definition they are co-writers, not ghost writers.

And wasn't it a case of Shatner telling the Reeves-Stevens what he wanted and them expanding from that?

 

[Defcon]

IIRC it was basically Shatner coming up with plot, then the Reeves-Stevens expanded on this, and after that it was back and forth.

 

[DimesDan]

IIRC it was basically Shatner coming up with plot, then the Reeves-Stevens expanded on this, and after that it was back and forth.

Either way though, they didn't ghost write any of his stories, it was very much a collaboration between them all.

 

[Defcon]

Either way though, they didn't ghost write any of his stories, it was very much a collaboration between them all.

Exactly.

 

[Captain Kathryn]

^ And at least Robinson and Hertzler did their OWN writing - they didn't use ghost writers. Don't know about Shimerman.

Shatner, however, did use a ghostwriter, I'm pretty sure it was the Reeves-Stevenses.

I'm pretty sure Shimerman did his own writing since he has also written novels outside of Trek. I believe he considers himself a sci-fi/fantasy writer because of the other novels he has written.

 

[Defcon]

I'm pretty sure Shimerman did his own writing since he has also written novels outside of Trek.

Not quite:

You got it. I used to feel reluctant to talk about the nuts and (self-sealing stem) bolts of my collaboration with Armin, but I've heard him tell it often enough now that I'm no longer uncomfortable discussing it.

After approaching an editor at Pocket Books about the possibility of Armin and I penning a Deep Space Nine novel, we were told that the publisher would indeed be interested, but that we would still have to go through the same process as everybody else. At the time, that meant crafting a narrative outline for the novel, and if that passed muster, then we would have to turn in three sample chapters. Then, at that point, the editor would greenlight the book or pass on it.

So Armin and I met over the course of a couple of weeks and greatly expanded a tale that we had, with a third writer, pitched as an episode to the producers of DSN (the third writer had no interest in writing a novel). Armin and I worked together on this, in the same room, jotting down notes and beating out the plot points and character arcs. Ultimately, I wrote a draft of a narrative outline, Armin went over it, and then we submitted it to the editor at Pocket.

Fifteen minutes later, I received a telephone call saying that Pocket would indeed buy the novel, which at the time Armin and I called War Is Good for Business (a working title I knew we would change). I asked about the three chapters we were supposed to produce, but I was told that based on the writing in the outline, we had already proven our abilities. Armin and I signed on with a literary agent at his theatrical agency, a deal was done, and we then set out to write the book.

Now, understand that Armin had already co-authored a novel, The Merhcant Prince, a delightful science fiction work that mixed in Armin's love of Shakespeare and history. Our plan for our book was that, working from the outline, I would write the first draft of a chapter, then hand it over to Armin so that he could edit, rewrite, and add to it. We would go through however many iterations we needed to get a chapter right, then move on.

A fine, seemingly workable plan. Except that after I handed Armin a hardcopy of the first draft of the first chapter, something else happened. Armin loved what I had written so much that he wanted to leave it virtually unchanged. The same thing occurred with the second chapter, and it soon became readily apparent to the two of us that I would essentially write the novel by myself. As it turned out, that worked out well for both of us. Armin really liked my writing, and I learned that I worked best as a solo artist.

So in the case of The 34th Rule, I ended up writing the actual novel, though Armin and I cracked the original story together. Being the good, honest man that he is, Armin never hesitates to tell readers this. At first, I suggested to him that perhaps he shouldn't do that, but that never stopped him. A class act, that man, and I am very fortunate to be able to call him a friend. (My friendship with Armin and his wonderful wife Kitty was a great benefit of working on The 34th Rule.)

So there you have it.

 

[Captain Kathryn]

Not quite:

Ah, thanks for the info! I listened to a podcast with him talking about his books outside of Trek and just assumed.

 

[Hugh Cambridge]

Trek lit is a great thing in itself.
I like to see the stories continued in the relaunchs, but I like the tie ins too.
I just finished String Theory, and while it was sometimes a bit complicated to follow, it wondefully fits between seasons 4 and 5.