Neat things authors do

[Therin of Andor]

I like it when a story makes me cry.

Thriss's Sending (funeral) and Rite of Memory in "Andor: Paradigm" by Heather Jarman.

The movie soundtrack of "The Lord of The Rings: Return of the King" had only recently been released, and I had it playing in the background as I read an advance copy (via Marco Palmieri) of the book. By total coincidence, Annie Lennox's hauntingly beautiful song, "Into the West", started just as the funeral did -- and I was quite overcome by the experience.

When I mentioned this in a review to Heather Jarman, she said that she had "The Lord of The Rings": The Two Towers" on rotation while writing her novel.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Richard Arnold, representing the Star Trek Office, was reluctant to allow a Trek novel to speculate on the future possibilities of Earth's cetacean species.

God forbid that anything interesting make it into a Star Trek novel under his watch.

On the main topic, I enjoy it when Trek authors expand on or fill in bits of history of the Trek universe, like John Ford's The Final Reflection, detailing the Klingon Empire, Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens' Federation, giving the life story of Zephram Cochrane, or Margaret Wander Bonanno's Strangers From the Sky and Burning Dreams, giving us the story of first contact with the Vulcans and the life story of Christopher Pike, respectively. (Come to think of it, all of those have later been contradicted by live action Trek, but they're still great stories.)

And I think it's really cool when a Trek author can make me look at a classic episode in a whole new way, like when David Mack's The Sorrows of Empire detailed what went on during Mirror Spock and McCoy's mind meld in "Mirror, Mirror," or when David R. George III's Provenance of Shadows created a fascinating connection between "The City on the Edge of Forever" and "For the World is Hollow, and I Have Touched the Sky."

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Eventually some (okay, a few) of those details wind up influencing the shows, either through someone who's read the tie-ins (rare) or someone who's read about the tie-ins/various fan theories online, without always knowing where the details came from.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Eventually some (okay, a few) of those details wind up influencing the shows

And I celebrate whenever that happens. Whether it's FJS's deck plans making a cameo appearance in TNG, or Sulu and Uhura having their generally accepted given names elevated to canonical status, or even that stupid helmet that Radio Shack used to sell becoming a sight-gag in LD.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Worldbuilding in books set in the past or present real world - creating imaginary pop culture typical of its time alongside the real examples.

 

[I am not Herbert]

And I think it's really cool when a Trek author can make me look at a classic episode in a whole new way, like when David Mack's The Sorrows of Empire detailed what went on during Mirror Spock and McCoy's mind meld in "Mirror, Mirror," or when David R. George III's Provenance of Shadows created a fascinating connection between "The City on the Edge of Forever" and "For the World is Hollow, and I Have Touched the Sky."

Well, I contributed enough negativity to the "author habits that annoy you" thread that fairness dictates I weigh in here, too. I don't generally like the idea of sequel books to episodes (small universe problem) but with respect to 'looking at a classic episode in whole new way' I would suggest Bennett's Ex Machina, which adds so much depth to the "For the World is Hollow..." story and characters that I can't watch that episode now without also thinking about the elaborations given to it in the book. Makes a somewhat underwhelming episode (that nevertheless has interesting core ideas*) much more enjoyable

*pun not originally intended, but now formally ratified

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

. . . creating imaginary pop culture typical of its time alongside the real examples.

I do a bit of that in my novel-in-progress (maybe one day, it will see the light of day). My protagonist, a child prodigy organist who prefers real pipes (and tracker key action -- nothing but mechanical linkages between her and the valves in the windchest) and can't stomach the crude electronic substitutes of the 1960s through the early 1980s, has no qualms about playing rock, and plays her own small chamber organ in two separate garage bands (one in high school, the other in college).

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

If done seamlessly, you could almost convince yourself it really happened that way. (Even if occasionally, they wind up replacing something that really existed.)

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

If done seamlessly, you could almost convince yourself it really happened that way. (Even if occasionally, they wind up replacing something that really existed.)

No doubt there are some clueless individuals who went looking for "Edge of Etiquette" albums. Or at least, a single of "I Hate You."

 

[Therin of Andor]

No doubt there are some clueless individuals who went looking for "Edge of Etiquette" albums. Or at least, a single of "I Hate You."

21 copies available, according to Discogs:

https://www.discogs.com/artist/2640321-Edge-Of-Etiquette

 

[Christopher]

Hunh, until now I was never aware of the name of the "band" behind "I Hate You."

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

MA doesn't have a page for it yet - it's listed on a "unwritten pages" list for now.

 

[Smiley]

If you get a chance to listen to Kirk Thatcher on an interview or podcast, I encourage you to do so. He is a great storyteller, friendly, and down to Earth.

Going back to the main thread topic:

I always appreciate when authors remind readers of past events gracefully. As an example, in The Good That Men Do, Mangels and Martin just made a reference to how Archer carried Surak's katra in his head without giving an entire recap of the Vulcan trilogy from the fourth season of Enterprise.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

21 copies available, according to Discogs

Surprisingly, some are the ST IV soundtrack album, which doesn't actually have "I Hate You" (at least, not as a separate, listed, track) and the rest are an album called "Punksploitation."

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

@Smiley Succinct and to the point? Those who know, know. Those who don't, don't have to. And for those who don't know but want to know, Trek is sufficiently documented that a few quick clicks and some scrolling on MA/MB oughta fill you in.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Surprisingly, some are the ST IV soundtrack album, which doesn't actually have "I Hate You" (at least, not as a separate, listed, track) and the rest are an album called "Punksploitation."

“I Hate You” is only on the Intrada double CD release of ST IV’s soundtrack:

https://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.7334/

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Hmm. Never heard of Intrada. But if they did the above, then maybe they could get the rights to Bill Conti's The Right Stuff, and reissue the complete soundtrack recording (I only have the combined edition with North and South on the flip side).

And thanks for the clarification. One less thing for me to do tonight.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

When a background character is described in such a way that you know who it is without their name being mentioned.

Also, depending on the circumstances, I either like or am mildly disappointed when I think I know where the plot is going to go, but I guess wrong.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Also, depending on the circumstances, I either like or am mildly disappointed when I think I know where the plot is going to go, but I guess wrong.

I certainly hear that. And I'm guessing that "the circumstances" are whether you like -- or dread -- the expected plot direction. At least, that's the case for me.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

True, but sometimes it just annoys me that I wasn't a good guesser.