I really enjoyed the Errand series and i am wondering, are publishers more reluctant to give us more like it or it's just that it would have to feature characters that are less known or new.
Is military sci fi alien to Trek or at least harder to market?
- Thread starter Lexx Shrapnel
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I imagine part of it is simply that there aren't very many periods of the Trek 'verse's history in which a military focus (as opposed to the rather common "cold war" conflict focus) would work. The Romulan War is pretty much the only conflict that comes to mind now, since while we got the broad strokes and a fully-fleshed out first year in the novels, there's arguably room for a closer look. The preparation for full-out Klingon war is unique to that short period already covered by the six "Errand of..." books, the Dominion War is fully fleshed out and explored - some might say overexposed now - and the Borg Invasion is less military storylines and more "Borg show up, starships valiantly try to find ingenious defence, starships are destroyed, Borg cleanse planet" (also the real thing was over in a day 
). The Talarian and Tzenkethi conflicts were more like border skirmishes and on-off-on-again operations in certain restrictive regions, rather than true clashes of civilizations, and the Cardassian War... might be open to exploration, actually, although we know so much about Cardassia now, and we have stories like the Terok Nor books and "The Slow Knife" that flesh out what was happening with Cardassia at the time, even if it didn't visit the front lines. I tend to wonder what more there is to learn.
Of course, this all assumes we're using Starfleet protagonists....
). The Talarian and Tzenkethi conflicts were more like border skirmishes and on-off-on-again operations in certain restrictive regions, rather than true clashes of civilizations, and the Cardassian War... might be open to exploration, actually, although we know so much about Cardassia now, and we have stories like the Terok Nor books and "The Slow Knife" that flesh out what was happening with Cardassia at the time, even if it didn't visit the front lines. I tend to wonder what more there is to learn. Of course, this all assumes we're using Starfleet protagonists....
I do feel like maybe a Cardassian War era book might be interesting.
As I recall, although its been over a decade since I read the stories, but Diane Carey and John Vornholt really expanded upon what was in the episodes, and even featured a special ops mission in the 4-part Dominion War mini-series.
It really surprises me that there has never been a Lost Era book about the Cardassian Wars. I have so many thoughts about the Routledge!
I don't know, Trek novels are "military sci-fi" to me anyway. That is, they are science fiction stories set in a military organization. And like it or not, Starfleet is a military, and actually does get acknowledged as such in many novels these days. And in any case, certainly the IKS Gorkon series, set aboard a Klingon warship counts as military sci-fi?
I'm not really sure what else there could be. Maybe a few more novels focusing on the MACOs or other ground forces would be nice, I suppose.
I'm not really sure what else there could be. Maybe a few more novels focusing on the MACOs or other ground forces would be nice, I suppose.
The Errand series focuses on an away team member.
I think most of Star Trek is already inherently a form of military science fiction. As The Wormhole noted above, the Federation Starfleet is a military.
It is true that Star Trek does not usually feature all-out war. And I consider this a good thing -- Star Trek should be about a hopeful, progressive future for Humanity (and its fictional partners!), not about warfare. There's an entirely different franchise out there that's all about wars in space, after all. Star Trek needs to be different.
It is true that Star Trek does not usually feature all-out war. And I consider this a good thing -- Star Trek should be about a hopeful, progressive future for Humanity (and its fictional partners!), not about warfare. There's an entirely different franchise out there that's all about wars in space, after all. Star Trek needs to be different.
But those are still stories that are explicitly about warfare, even if they're not about larger wars themselves. These are stories about the use of violence by the state against foreign actors -- they're not stories about peacemaking or exploration.
I'm not saying there's no place for such stories in Star Trek, mind. But I think we've had a lot of such stories in the last few years, and I don't think they should be the foundation for Star Trek the way they are for Star Wars.
I don't follow. How does that make it more military?
So what you're saying is you want more special ops stories? We already have novels about special ops missions (most recently Section 31 Disavowed) and we've even seen a few on the show (like Chain of Command, for example). And while these stories have merit and can be quite entertaining, I agree it shouldn't really be Star Trek's primary focus.
I think Star Trek is technically military science fiction, but it plays down the elements seen in most military science fiction (see Starship Troopers, Battlestar Galactica, or any Stargate for more militaristic military sci fi).
That said there are episodes and novels which play up the more militaristic elements. The Poisoned Chalice has a very black ops/war on terrorism feel. It's more spy thriller with a military flavor. And there's a handful of TNG novels set during the Dominion war (at least three I can think of).
That said there are episodes and novels which play up the more militaristic elements. The Poisoned Chalice has a very black ops/war on terrorism feel. It's more spy thriller with a military flavor. And there's a handful of TNG novels set during the Dominion war (at least three I can think of).
The only real difference between Star Trek and those shows is that Trek has producers trying to actively deny Starfleet is a military, while the others honestly admit their organizations are military.
Yeah, it really depends on the producer and the year. I've heard it both ways.
There's more to the term "military science fiction" than just having characters who are members of a military organization. It generally entails a focus on war and combat with a detailed examination of military technology, strategy, and tactics, an emphasis on military values and the experiences of soldiers or officers in wartime, etc. It's something where the military aspects are the driving force of the story's events and themes rather than just a bit of the setting or character background. It's not enough just to have characters in uniform in a story about scientific exploration or a time paradox or something; it has to be about characters in uniform actually engaged in war and combat, with a focus on the mechanics, tactics, and experiential details of said combat.
So something like "The Siege of AR-558" is very much military SF, but something like "Children of Time" or "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" is not. They have the same characters, but one is focused on combat and the experience of soldiers, while the other is not.
So something like "The Siege of AR-558" is very much military SF, but something like "Children of Time" or "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" is not. They have the same characters, but one is focused on combat and the experience of soldiers, while the other is not.
I perfer star trek not have a primary focus like TOS with its use of exploration stories, war stories, spy thrillers, space monster hunting, running into weird crap doing minor milk run missions like hauling crap and people from one place to another, comedy stories, borderline horror stories and ect.
That way we get more variety of story ideas.
I guess I concede that Starfleet qualifies as the military of the Federation, but do most militaries in military science fiction conduct exploration, scientific, and diplomatic missions?
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