My collecting/reading plan of attack

[Falconer]

I’ve been wanting to get into Star Trek novels, but there are so many of them that it took me a while to figure out a plan of attack. After an embarrassing amount of research, I settled on the 80s (Pocket) TOS canon. It looks like they hit a sweet spot between standalone adventures and building a bit of a canon. It became apparent that Diane Duane was the single most popular author, basically functioning as the Tim Zahn of this period, hence this canon has been called by some the Rihannsu-verse in her honor. So, other than a few outliers, my list spans from her first book, #13 (December 1983), to #50 (June 1990), which was the last of her classic TOS books. I started with a Rihannsu-verse list from the “Charting the Novel-verse” thread, dropped a few poorly-reviewed books and added a few highly-reviewed books. I’m pretty happy with (and excited by) the result!

(I tried to post the following list in neat columns with table code, but couldn’t find any way to do it.)

The Entropy Effect – Vonda N. McIntyre – Jun 81 (#2)
The Final Reflection – John M. Ford – May 84 (#16)
Yesterday’s Son – A.C. Crispin – Aug 83 (#11)
The Wounded Sky – Diane Duane – Dec 83 (#13)
My Enemy, My Ally – Diane Duane – Jul 84 (#18)
The Vulcan Academy Murders – Jean Lorrah – Nov 84 (#20)
The Tears of the Singers – Melissa Snodgrass – Sep 84 (#19)
Ishmael – Barbara Hambly – May 85 (#23)
Crisis on Centaurus – Brad Ferguson – Mar 86 (#28)
Dreadnought! – Diane Carey – May 86 (#29)
Enterprise: The First Adventure – Vonda N. McIntyre – Sep 86
Battlestations! – Diane Carey – Nov 86 (#31)
Dreams of the Raven – Carmen Carter – Jun 87 (#34)
Strangers from the Sky – Margaret Wander Bonanno – Jul 87
The Romulan Way – Diane Duane and Peter Morwood – Aug 87 (#35)
How Much for Just the Planet? – John M. Ford – Oct 87 (#36)
Final Frontier – Diane Carey – Jan 88
The IDIC Epidemic – Jean Lorrah – Feb 88 (#38)
Time for Yesterday – A.C. Crispin – Apr 88 (#39)
Spock’s World – Diane Duane – Sep 88
Memory Prime – Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens – Oct 88 (#42)
Vulcan’s Glory – D.C. Fontana – Feb 89 (#44)
The Lost Years – J.M. Dillard – Oct 89
The Kobayashi Maru – Julia Ecklar – Dec 89 (#47)
The Pandora Principle – Carolyn Clowes – Apr 90 (#49)
Doctor’s Orders – Diane Duane – Jun 90 (#50)
Prime Directive – Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens – Sep 90

I can always read other books later (or at any point), but, at least now I have a plan of attack!

Part of the fun of having developed this list is that I frequent used book stores, and it’s pretty easy to find these (cheap, too!); it’s nice to go in knowing which ones to hunt for.

Please forgive the newbieish post. I don’t expect this to be particularly interesting to anybody else, just thought since I came up with the list I might as well post it. Thanks for indulging me!

 

[Desert Kris]

Wow, man. This list looks so familiar to me! I don't know if it's any consolation, but I also put in an embarrassing amount of research, so maybe it's reassuring that it's not just you. Good luck, and hope you have fun with the books!

So, to get into specifics, can you tell me about your inclusion of Ishmael? Kobayashi Maru is something that I wonder about, too, although I'll probably read it whether it's technically part of the continuity or not anyway.

Skim carefully, to avoid spoilers:
https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/tos-80s-novel-continuity-read-through.294008/

 

[Falconer]

Sure, man, well one factor was this Goodreads list. The ratings may have changed by now (probably not much, though, since each book has thousands of ratings), but according to my notes, the highest-ranked books (through 1990) include:

4.05 Spock’s World
4.04 Time for Yesterday
4.03 Uhura’s Song
4.00 Prime Directive
3.98 My Enemy, My Ally
3.96 Yesterday’s Son
3.94 Doctor’s Orders
3.93 Ishmael
3.93 The Romulan Way
3.92 Strangers from the Sky
3.92 The Final Reflection
3.91 The Kobayashi Maru
3.88 The Vulcan Academy Murders
3.86 Final Frontier
3.82 The Lost Years
3.81 The IDIC Epidemic
3.80 The Pandora Principle
3.78 The Wounded Sky
3.75 Battlestations!
3.70 Vulcan’s Glory
3.70 Enterprise: The First Adventure
3.68 The Tears of the Singers
3.68 Killing Time
3.67 Dwellers in the Crucible
3.66 Crisis on Centaurus
3.65 The Entropy Effect
3.65 Memory Prime
3.63 Black Fire
3.63 The Three-Minute Universe
3.63 Dreams of the Raven
3.62 How Much for Just the Planet?
3.62 Dreadnought!

There’s a lot of overlap here with the Turtletrekker’s Rihannsu-verse list and your list and several other lists (here, here) (and multiple other instances of personal recommendations over the years) that I cross-referenced, which was encouraging. Basically, I’m simplifying, because it took me a while even to establish for example the criterion of a 1990 cutoff, or to figure how much I cared about the Goodreads ratings. It all just kind of gelled over time. I decided I would like to read everything with a 3.7 rating or better (hence Uhura’s Song, Ishmael, Vulcan’s Glory, and Kobayashi Maru), and not read anything with less than 3.6 rating (sorry, Dillard!). But that’s ultimately really just a post hoc justification of the fact that I liked the idea of those books and wanted to read them. Kind of like the conceit that #13 is about the point at which you see the development of a “school” of authors. Maybe, maybe not.

 

[Desert Kris]

Nice, thank you for sharing your perspective on that. I respect the approach of going with books that are going to be higher quality, as compared to my own approach of including the "essentials" and going back later to hit the more universally praised books (Uhura's Song is one that I constantly think and re-think).

Without intending to talk you into any extra books, just on a conversational standpoint it's fair enough on the exclusion of JM Dillard's books. Some books are "bite the bullet" affairs, admittedly. I'm surprised that Crisis on Centaurus made the grade, which is great, but I'm surprised it outranked Mindshadow, which I personal felt was a better book. It's amazing how subjective this stuff can be! Including JM Dillard for me wasn't a "bite the bullet" prospect because I had already read and enjoyed some of her novelizations and liked her prose style. I was honestly so surprised that her second numbered Trek novel, Demons, was such a disappointment to me personally, and I'm amazed that that one ranks higher than Mindshadow. The only thing that made Demons worthwhile was the progression of characters and the expansion of the Enterprise's security department, following on from Mindshadow and as a lead-in eventually to The Lost Years. Well...the prose was also very readable for me, too, true to form.

Anyway, great list, I look forward to reading your thoughts on the books, and how you interpret and perceive the development of that continuity.

 

[Falconer]

Thanks for your thoughts! Well, again, I can always go back and read them. If I decide that I probably will, then I’ll probably skip The Lost Years till I have done so.

One other random thought: I had at one point considered reading the books in chronological order. But I gradually realized there was in most cases little agreement on what the chronology should be, so I would just let it unfold as it would, and just visualize the TV sets and costumes unless directed otherwise.

Other random books outside this era that I am potentially curious to read:

The New Voyages 1
The Slaver Weapon (both Larry Niven’s original and the Log Ten adaptation)
Log Seven (curious to read Alan Dean Foster’s “lost episode”)
Vanguard series
New Earth series

I have read The Galactic Whirlpool, and begun TMP but didn’t get very far. Currently in The Entropy Effect and enjoying its brisk pace (albeit with uncomfortable romantic subplots).

 

[Christopher]

One other random thought: I had at one point considered reading the books in chronological order. But I gradually realized there was in most cases little agreement on what the chronology should be, so I would just let it unfold as it would, and just visualize the TV sets and costumes unless directed otherwise.

Here's my stab at a roughly chronological reading list for the '80s novel continuity (though only counting the ones that have continuity links to one another, so it doesn't include everything from that period):

https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/the-continuity-of-days-gone-by.140169/page-4#post-7910899

It's generally not that hard to tell which books are pre-TMP and which are post-TMP, as long as you follow the text instead of the cover art. If Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov have their TV-era ranks, it's pre-TMP. And the books that are movie-era tend to be explicit about it.

The Slaver Weapon (both Larry Niven’s original and the Log Ten adaptation)

The original, "The Soft Weapon," is part of Niven's larger Known Space universe, and introduces a character who would go on to have a featured role in Niven's most famous novel, Ringworld. You can find it in one of several Niven story collections -- Neutron Star, which is exclusively Known Space, and Playgrounds of the Mind and The Best of Larry Niven, which contain a mix of Known Space and other Niven universes.

 

[Damian]

Next summer I plan on re-reading some of the 80's Pocketbook novels and these lists are always helpful.

One I always throw out there whenever anyone brings up 80's novels was "Chain of Attack" by Gene DeWeese. I didn't see that on the list above, but that was always one of my most favorite early Star Trek novels. So I always give it a plug.

The Enterprise gets thrown into a faraway galaxy that is besieged by a centuries old war. And Kirk and co. have to find a way to get the two sides to talk. I loved the eeriness of the early chapters as they encounter planet after planet obliterated by war in various ways and then when they finally encounter the aliens we see some of what makes Kirk such a great captain and diplomat. And of course, since they are in another galaxy they really are alone can can't call for back-up.

I remember it was one of the few books I read over a weekend (it usually takes me about 2 to 3 weeks to read through a novel). I couldn't put it down.

There is a sequel book he wrote, "The Final Nexus"--which was an ok book but I didn't find it quite as good. COA does loosely follow a prior novel by (edit) Lee Correy (The Abode of Life....I think unless I'm mixing up my titles). But that's a weaker novel and it's not necessary to read that before reading COA.

 

[Damian]

I always had a soft spot for Battlestations!, as that was my very first original Star Trek novel I read. And it's a good story. It's a sequel to Dreadnought so I would read Dreadnought first (I obviously read them out of order--not a huge deal, but given the choice it's better to read Dreadnought first). It was one of the few Star Trek novels written from a first person perspective throughout.

 

[Desert Kris]

I always had a soft spot for Battlestations!, as that was my very first original Star Trek novel I read. And it's a good story. It's a sequel to Dreadnought so I would read Dreadnought first (I obviously read them out of order--not a huge deal, but given the choice it's better to read Dreadnought first). It was one of the few Star Trek novels written from a first person perspective throughout.

I just recently finished Battlestations a day or so ago, and I agree. I liked the overall structure, and felt like it followed on very satisfyingly from Dreadnought. I think it would have been nice to have had one final Piper book to add to these two, and I wouldn't have objected to her appearing in later TOS era books (I know this would have been problematic during the era of oversight from Richard Arnold, but it's fun to speculate how it might have unfolded differently). A non-conspiracy focused book involving Piper would have been healthy, too.

 

[Christopher]

COA does loosely follow a prior novel by Lee Cronin (The Abode of Life....I think unless I'm mixing up my titles).

You got the title right, but not the pseudonym. "Lee Cronin" was Gene L. Coon's pseudonym on the TOS episodes he wrote in season 3 while contracted to another studio. The Abode of Life was written by "Lee Correy," the pseudonym that science writer G. Harry Stine used for his science fiction.

 

[Damian]

You got the title right, but not the pseudonym. "Lee Cronin" was Gene L. Coon's pseudonym on the TOS episodes he wrote in season 3 while contracted to another studio. The Abode of Life was written by "Lee Correy," the pseudonym that science writer G. Harry Stine used for his science fiction.

Oops. I just watched "Wink of an Eye" a few days ago and that's probably why I was thinking of the name Lee Cronin. I fixed my earlier comment just in the interest in accuracy (and also since it's not a great book I figure I don't want to give Gene Coon a bad rep )

I just recently finished Battlestations a day or so ago, and I agree. I liked the overall structure, and felt like it followed on very satisfyingly from Dreadnought.

I definitely plan on re-reading Dreadnought/Battlestations!---this time in the proper order . I still remember reading Battlestations! as a newbie fan. I was just starting to watch the original series episodes and couldn't wait to see the episode it was based on. It wasn't long before I realized the novels were original stories, and not novelizations of the episodes .

The first actual Star Trek novel I ever read was the novelization to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Maybe that was why I initially thought the novels were just novelizations of episodes.

 

[Desert Kris]

I definitely plan on re-reading Dreadnought/Battlestations!---this time in the proper order . I still remember reading Battlestations! as a newbie fan. I was just starting to watch the original series episodes and couldn't wait to see the episode it was based on. It wasn't long before I realized the novels were original stories, and not novelizations of the episodes .

The first actual Star Trek novel I ever read was the novelization to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Maybe that was why I initially thought the novels were just novelizations of episodes.

I posted my review for Battlestations in the topic thread I started for similar books to the OP's own reading list. I seem to recall that you mentioned that some of the Klingon types introduced by Vonda McIntyre in Enterprise: The First Adventure and the novelization for TSFS also appear in Battlestations, my reflection does a little bit of analysis of that.

As for thinking that the original novels were also novelizations, that's certainly an interesting first impression to take towards the books. It can't be more strange than some of the weird assumptions I made when first experiencing Star Trek in its different forms.

 

[Christopher]

As for thinking that the original novels were also novelizations, that's certainly an interesting first impression to take towards the books. It can't be more strange than some of the weird assumptions I made when first experiencing Star Trek in its different forms.

The way to tell the difference is that the novelizations credit the original authors as well as the novelizer. So if there's only one author credit, it's original.

I recall noticing as a kid that the Blish TOS adaptations said "Based on" the original episode while the Foster TAS adaptations said "Adapted from," and I always wondered what the difference was. I assumed "Based on" was looser, because the early Blish ones went further astray, though that doesn't track because most of the later ones were more faithful, while some of the Foster adaptations interpolated a lot.

 

[Falconer]

So, after a few stops and starts, I read The Entropy Effect. I thought it was interestingly science fictioney and engagingly plotted, with generally great pacing and lots of twists and turns. I should say this was true of the main story, which was centered on Spock and McCoy, because the various subplots surrounding Sulu and Kirk didn’t really work for me. Also, there were various idiosyncrasies which stuck out because they are incongruous with the show — alien crew members aboard the Enterprise (other than Spock), male crew members with facial hair and long hair, and what seemed like female security crew members. However, what really endeared me to this book is that the characterizations were stark and spot-on. The only other Star Trek book I’ve read previously is The Galactic Whirlpool, which was very interesting, but cold, aloof, omniscient. The Entropy Effect erred on the side of warmth. You get into the characters’ heads and experience their emotions, a little too much, but that’s okay!

 

[Christopher]

Also, there were various idiosyncrasies which stuck out because they are incongruous with the show — alien crew members aboard the Enterprise (other than Spock), male crew members with facial hair and long hair, and what seemed like female security crew members.

We saw all of those things in the animated series (even the facial hair one). And of course the movies gave us a mustachioed Scotty and plenty of background alien crew members. Both of those improved on the limitations of TOS rather than just being slavish to its mistakes and shortfalls. No reason the books shouldn't do the same. That was a large part of their appeal, in fact -- the chance for readers to finally see Trek stories do things and go places that the TV show didn't or couldn't, whether by portraying more exotic worlds and species, telling more spectacular, epic stories, or featuring characters of types underutilized on the show.

 

[JD]

That's one of my favorite things about the books, and to me it's always felt like correcting a mistake the shows made, or expanding on things that the show couldn't do, rather than being inconsistent with the show.

 

[Desert Kris]

So, after a few stops and starts, I read The Entropy Effect. I thought it was interestingly science fictioney and engagingly plotted, with generally great pacing and lots of twists and turns. I should say this was true of the main story, which was centered on Spock and McCoy, because the various subplots surrounding Sulu and Kirk didn’t really work for me.

I got a kick out of this one, and was fascinated by it's take on time travel. I personally liked some of the background with Captain Hunter, and the details about Sulu's personal history.

Also, there were various idiosyncrasies which stuck out because they are incongruous with the show — alien crew members aboard the Enterprise (other than Spock), male crew members with facial hair and long hair, and what seemed like female security crew members.

You should have seen the reaction of Doctor Who fans to a series of novels started coming out after the original series died. From a kid's/family show to a series of hard-R rated novels! Anyway, the novels are great because they can show what the series often couldn't, through no fault of it's own. We can really let our imaginations run wild with the imagery the books offer to us, and maybe even conclude that what they do show was always there in the original series, just out of sight.

However, what really endeared me to this book is that the characterizations were stark and spot-on. The only other Star Trek book I’ve read previously is The Galactic Whirlpool, which was very interesting, but cold, aloof, omniscient. The Entropy Effect erred on the side of warmth. You get into the characters’ heads and experience their emotions, a little too much, but that’s okay!

As far as characterizations go, while I like the background given to Sulu, he seems way too self-conscious of himself compared to the cheerful, confident depiction of the original performance, and most other authors accentuate this side of Sulu as a highly charismatic character. As for Scotty, having read all of McIntyre's Star Trek novels except for one, I still can't get my head around what she is trying to do with Scotty's character over the long run. Generally, I agree, that the characterizations of all the regulars are recognizable enough, but everyone seems to get so touchy in a McIntyre novel.

So which one is next for you? Are you going with publication order, with Yesterday's Son? I really like that one as it is a quick, short read that is a lot of fun but also has some quality drama, too. I know you don't have Vonda McIntyre's movie novelizations in your list, but they kind of complement McIntyre's original novels. I know novelizations are a hard sell, when its so easy to just watch the movie.

 

[Christopher]

You should have seen the reaction of Doctor Who fans to a series of novels started coming out after the original series died. From a kid's/family show to a series of hard-R rated novels!

Yeah... The New Adventures were impressively written, but they didn't feel that much like Doctor Who a lot of the time. It wasn't just that they were more adult, but that they were so dark and solemn. I liked how sophisticated and intelligent they were, but they weren't as much fun as the show.

As far as characterizations go, while I like the background given to Sulu, he seems way too self-conscious of himself compared to the cheerful, confident depiction of the original performance, and most other authors accentuate this side of Sulu as a highly charismatic character.

Yeah, McIntyre's Sulu was strangely gloomy. In Entropy, I figured it was just the result of the tragic events of the story and the life decisions he was faced with, but then he was just as sullen and insecure in Enterprise: The First Adventure, and it just didn't feel like Sulu.

 

[David Weller]

The thing about Doctor Who New Adventures was that research had shown that the majority of the readers were adults; so the publisher aimed them at adults.

That said, I think having a male companion get a blowjob in the back of a taxi was a step too fat.

 

[Christopher]

The thing about Doctor Who New Adventures was that research had shown that the majority of the readers were adults; so the publisher aimed them at adults.

That's what I figured, but still, you can write for adults in a way that's still accessible for children. And I was an adult when I read them, but I still felt they were too self-consciously dark and serious and too great a departure from the show. It was fine up to a point, they did some very good books, but they just kept doing the same thing without enough variation from it.