Keeping Track of New Characters

[F. King Daniel]

(apologies if something similar has come up before)

All these post-TNG/DS9/VOY books have introduced a bunch of new characters. Some stand out like a sore thumb and are easy to remember (Shar is the blue guy, Dr Ree is the F’n dinosaur etc), but I’m always getting Choudhury and Kadohata on the Enterprise-E mixed up for some reason, not to mention the background crew of the Titan, and the cast of new characters grows with every book (like the weird quarter-Bajoran folk singer/teacher/diplomat from A Singular Destiny). For people like me who like to dip in and out of the current Trek novel continuity (and have a crappy memory), it’s difficult to keep track of who’s who.

The Destiny trilogy had a nice little chart at the back telling you a what ship everyone served on as well as what species they were – but I think a little bit more info would have make it much more useful - I’m thinking of little one-paragraph profiles on all the main characters, giving a brief physical description (skin, eye, hair colour, weird alien forehead bumps etc) and backstory – kinda like the backing cards of the old TNG action figures from the early 90’s.

Memory Beta probably has the info I’d want, but it’s loaded with unavoidable detailed spoilers.

Maybe this would fit in nicely at the backs of those Typhon Pact novels in the works, to refresh the minds of simpletons and bring newbies up to speed?

 

[Cybersnark]

Recent Star Wars novels have started including "Dramatis Personae" listings at the beginning. Maybe something like that could work.

Something simple, just for "Name: Species Job, Location" --eg: "Phlox: Denobulan doctor, Enterprise NX-01,"

 

[Count Zero]

Some Star Trek books have those, too. I've lent my Titan books to a firend but I'm pretty sure there was a crew list in one of them.

 

[Fer]

Yeah, I've found those lists to be helpful too, and I agree that I'd like to see slightly expanded versions of them. The authors do always try to give you whatever relevant background info you need about a character during the course of the story, but if it's mentioned on page 14 I may have gotten it mixed up with someone else by page 314.

Another reason for an in-book list over Memory Beta is if I'm reading a book in public, it may be hours before I can get to a computer to log on and look it up.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Geoff Thorne's also got a thread of Titan character drawings that might interest you. It's not an exhaustive list, but it's pretty cool. I can't promise there are no spoilers at all in this thread, but it might be better than Memory Beta...

http://trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=94498

 

[Captain Randy Hall]

Heck, I'd go one step further and like to see a pencil sketch of new aliens with the list. That would be just black and would help me visualize different races. I realize it would be more expensive to get an artist to draw folks, but I'd sure like it!

 

[21Spike65]

The minipedia in the back of the Vanguard books was really handy. For my own reference, I've drafted a list of characters for the Delta Quadrant Fleet from Full Circle and Unworthy, dividing them between the ships they serve on, and including their position, rank, and species. I've started doing the same thing for Vanguard based off the minipedia and Open Secrets, though that list is still incomplete. I hope to tackle the Titan series next.

 

[Paris]

^You should post them . I'd love to see your list with the various Project Full Circle personnel, as well as the Vanguard list once it's complete .

 

[F. King Daniel]

Geoff Thorne's also got a thread of Titan character drawings that might interest you. It's not an exhaustive list, but it's pretty cool. I can't promise there are no spoilers at all in this thread, but it might be better than Memory Beta...

http://trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=94498

Thanks! The pics are great

 

[21Spike65]

^You should post them . I'd love to see your list with the various Project Full Circle personnel, as well as the Vanguard list once it's complete .

I'll do that when I get a chance. Though the Vanguard one (when I finish it) might be a bit difficult to fit in a post with so many characters.

 

[Paris]

No problem. Post whenever you can . That Vanguard list will be huge! If you ever think of tackling New Frontier, it would be even bigger

 

[JD]

No I think Vanguard would still be bigger, if you include the crews of each of the ships that is.

 

[Technobuilder]

It can be difficult keeping track of all of the characters in the Trek Lit Universe, much less keeping them straight.

Though Sonek Pran I find hard to confuse with anyone as he's just so Memorable.

His family tree and the intricacies of their particular relations however is another matter entirely.

 

[Manisphere]

Recent Star Wars novels have started including "Dramatis Personae" listings at the beginning. Maybe something like that could work.

Something simple, just for "Name: Species Job, Location" --eg: "Phlox: Denobulan doctor, Enterprise NX-01,"

I'm reading Synthesis right now. It really could use a dramatis personae or something like it. It really is a nice little addition to the SW books. The new Trek has so many characters. It's said that the Titan books don't have to be read in a row but I'm thinking it must be helpful to do so.

I remember Reap the Whirlwind having that appendix at the back. Course it was full of RtW spoilers so it kind of defeated the point for that novel. But I do plan to consult it when I get to Open Secrets.

 

[Captain Randy Hall]

It can be difficult keeping track of all of the characters in the Trek Lit Universe, much less keeping them straight.{QUOTE]

Gotta agree with that. Sometimes I just figure it's either Ensign Smith or Lieutenant Jones unless there's something otherwise memorable about the character.

 

[JD]

I'm usually pretty good at remember who the individuals are, in terms of personality, relationships, and position. My problem tends to be remembering how they were described, especially the alien characters. I usually just imagine then as human until I come across a description of them.

 

[21Spike65]

Ok, here's the list I came up with for the personnel of Project Full Circle, taken from the novels Full Circle and Unworthy. I've divided the fleet up by the individual ships, and each ship into departments. Under each department, I've included the name, rank, species, and gender of the people in that department, if known. If anyone notices any mistakes or sees any information I missed, please let me know.

Project Full Circle:

Commanding Officer:Captain Afsarah Eden (Humanoid Female)
Chief Engineer: Lieutenant Commander B’Elanna Torres (Half-human/Half-Klingon Female)
Fleet Advisor: Seven of Nine (Human/Borg/Caeliar Female)


U.S.S. Voyager (NCC-74656):

Command:

Commanding Officer: Captain Chakotay (Human Male)
Executive Officer: Lieutenant Commander Thomas Paris (Human Male)
Second Officer: Lieutenant Harry Kim (Human Male)

Operations:

Operations Manager: Ensign Lasren (Betazoid Male)
Relief Operations Officer: Ensign B’Kar

Flight Control:

Flight Control Officer: Ensign Aytar Gwyn (Human Female)
Gamma Shift Flight Controller: Ensign Gleez

Security:

Chief of Security: Lieutenant Harry Kim (Human Male)
Security Officer: Lieutenant Samantha Maplethorpe (Human Female)
Security Officer: Gaston

Tactical:

Chief Tactical Officer: Lieutenant Harry Kim (Human Male)
Relief Tactical Officer: Lieutenant Samantha Maplethorpe (Human Female)

Engineering:

Chief Engineer: Lieutenant Nancy Conlon (Human Female)
Assistant Chief Engineer: Lieutenant Neol (Bolian male)
Transporter Chief: Ensign Donner (Human Male)

Medical:

Chief Medical Officer: Doctor Sharak (Tamarian Male)
Head Nurse: Ensign Eline Bens
Chief Counselor: Lieutenant Hugh Cambridge (Human Male)

Science:

Chief Science Officer: Lieutenant Devi Patel (Human Female)


U.S.S. Galen

Command:

Commanding Officer: Commander Clarissa Glenn (Human Female)

Operations:

Operations Manager: Ensign Drur

Flight Control:

Flight Control Officer: Ensign Ben Lawry (Human Male)

Tactical:

Chief Tactical Officer: Lieutenant Velth

Engineering:

Chief Engineer: Lieutenant Benoit
Engineering and Holographic Specialist: Lieutenant Reginald Barclay (Human Male)

Medical:

Chief Medical Officer: The Doctor (Hologram)

Science:

Chief Science Officer: Ensign Selah


U.S.S. Hawking

Command:

Commanding Officer: Captain Bal Itak (Vulcan)

Operations:

Operations Manager: Ensign Bloom (Human Male)

Security:

Chief of Security: Griggs

Tactical:

Chief Tactical Officer: Lieutenant T’Pena (Vulcan Female)

Engineering:

Chief Engineer: Lieutenant Vorik (Vulcan Male)

Medical:

Chief Medical Officer: Doctor Lamar

Science:

Chief Science Officer: Lieutenant Lern


U.S.S. Achilles

Command:

Commanding Officer: Commander Tillum Drafar

Flight Control:

Flight Control Officer: Ensign Mirren


U.S.S. Curie

Command:

Commanding Officer: Captain Xin Chan


U.S.S. Esquiline

Command:

Commanding Officer: Captain Parimon Dasht


U.S.S. Quirinal

Command:

Commanding Officer: Captain Regina Farkas


U.S.S. Demeter

Command:

Commanding Officer: Commander Liam O’Donnell


U.S.S. Planck

Command:

Commanding Officer: Captain Hosc T’Mar

 

[Paris]

Great list, but you listed the Galen at the top (with the correct personnel, IIRC) and then at the bottom. I think you meant the USS Planck at the bottom...

Side note - I had assumed that Harry was the second officer and when I asked Kirsten, she said that she never explicitly wrote it into either of the books, but it can be assumed that he is the second officer. He is probably stretched thinner than anyone else on board. Second officer, chief Tactical officer, chief of security, the best engineer not in engineering...I think it's time to make him a Lieutenant commander...

 

[21Spike65]

^Right you are! Gotta love copy-paste errors...Thanks for pointing it out! Fixed now.

 

[Lucky Charms]

This has probably been one of the biggest issues for me since trying to catch up on current Trek novels. I stopped reading Trek lit for over 10 years, and have been trying to catch up the last few years. I love the fact that the storylines and characters are crossing over multiple books, but it is very frustrating trying to keep track of everything.

I am currently reading the Voyager String Theory trilogy and I like that they included a brief glossery of alien terms. I too would love a brief glossary about the characters to be included in the new books.

Thanks 21Spike65 for your list. I know it will be a big help when I finally get around to reading Full Circle and Unworthy.