No Walter Koenig Books

[2takesfrakes]

I'm very under the impression that Walter Keonig did N0T write STAR TREK novels. He did write a book on the Behind the Scenes Making of TMP and an autobiography. But he always seemed interested in renewing his ties with STAR TREK and making more of a contribution. His acting career, otherwise, was virtually non-existent and so he turned to writing scripts, as with an episode of TAS. But it seems so obvious to me that he would've turned to writing STAR TREK novels, which even Shatner's (supposedly) done. I've tried looking it up, but to my knowledge, he never did. Am I wrong about that?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Walter wrote the TAS episode "The Infinite Vulcan". That's it.

He's never written a Trek novel.

 

[Avro Arrow]

He did write a Star Trek comic in the 1980s, though.

Chekov's Choice

 

[Daddy Todd]

Walter wrote the TAS episode "The Infinite Vulcan". That's it.

He's never written a Trek novel.

Well, he never PUBLISHED a Star Trek novel, but he worked on a novelization of Roddenberry’s unfilmed Trek movie script The God Thing. His version was never finished. Michael Jan Friedman worked on a later attempt to get a novel off that script. His version wasn’t finished, either.

In addition to his two memoirs, Koenig also wrote a novel called Buck Alice and the Actor-Robot. I have a copy, but I’ve never read it.

 

[2takesfrakes]

He did write a Star Trek comic in the 1980s, though.

Chekov's Choice

I had to start laughing at how Chekov's surrounded by all these floating heads looking angrily at him, like some 1930's nightmare sequence!

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Well, he never PUBLISHED a Star Trek novel, but he worked on a novelization of Roddenberry’s unfilmed Trek movie script The God Thing. His version was never finished. Michael Jan Friedman worked on a later attempt to get a novel off that script. His version wasn’t finished, either.

I met Mike Friedman at a con a year or two back, and they had a panel where they talked about The God Thing. Friedman said that a big reason the book adaptation never happened was because it was an inherently flawed story and everyone brought in to the project had to drastically revamp it and add to it to try and make it work. But Majel Barrett just wanted them to stick to Roddenberry's unworkable plot.

 

[Daddy Todd]

I met Mike Friedman at a con a year or two back, and they had a panel where they talked about The God Thing. Friedman said that a big reason was the book adaptation never happened was because it was an inherently flawed story and everyone brought in to the project had to drastically revamp it and add to it to try and make it work. But Majel Barrett just wanted them to stick to Roddenberry's unworkable plot.

I thought that might be the problem. They should just publish the script, then. Let the readers sort it out...

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Did GR have a full script, or was it just a treatment? I don't even know.

 

[Daddy Todd]

There was apparently some kind of script, or script/treatment combination sold on eBay several years ago. I haven’t heard any more about it after that.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Koenig also wrote a novel called Buck Alice and the Actor-Robot. I have a copy, but I’ve never read it.

I read it when it first came out and it was quirky/fun. I recently uncovered and bought an audio version (seven hours)!
https://www.brillianceaudio.com/product?i=3882

Koenig also once did a comic mini-series, "Raver", which is now available digitally.
https://www.comixology.com/Walter-Koenigs-Raver/digital-comic/35557

 

[2takesfrakes]

It's a curious thing, how Walt chose to write for comic books, rather than paperback novels. I wonder what drew him in that direction. I can only imagine it must've seemed more commercial, more likely to catch on, if he wrote for comics that are colourful, with lots of pictures and a ready market of kids who are probably more accepting of an author's original work, than readers of paperbacks are.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

There was apparently some kind of script, or script/treatment combination sold on eBay several years ago. I haven’t heard any more about it after that.

There was a script. The first twenty pages are online here:

http://www.missionlogpodcast.com/discovereddocuments/s016/Star-Trek-II-Script.pdf

 

[Therin of Andor]

It's a curious thing, how Walt chose to write for comic books, rather than paperback novels. I wonder what drew him in that direction.

Famously, Walter Koenig is a fan and serious collector of "Big Little Books". They are chunky, hardcover novels of the 1930s-70s, written for kids, that are generously illustrated by full-page, captioned comic book panels.

 

[Daddy Todd]

There was a script. The first twenty pages are online here:

http://www.missionlogpodcast.com/discovereddocuments/s016/Star-Trek-II-Script.pdf

Oh cool, thanks!

 

[2takesfrakes]

Famously, Walter Koenig is a fan and serious collector of "Big Little Books". They are chunky, hardcover novels of the 1930s-70s, written for kids, that are generously illustrated by full-page, captioned comic book panels.

I love your posts, Sir! You're always the go-to guy for all of this stuff and I appreciate the information.

 

[Mysterion]

Famously, Walter Koenig is a fan and serious collector of "Big Little Books". They are chunky, hardcover novels of the 1930s-70s, written for kids, that are generously illustrated by full-page, captioned comic book panels.

I remember those. I had one which concerned the adventures of Major Matt Mason (an astronaut toy that I obsessed over in my younger days), I don't remember too much about other than there was some sort of giant moon-worm involved in the plot.

For those of you under the age of 50 or so, here's a link to help explain the awesomeness of Major Matt Mason: http://www.wildtoys.com/MMMPage/index.asp

 

[tomswift2002]

I have 3 of those "Big Little Book" in my collection: Tom Swift and His Giant Telescope, Tom Swift and His Magnetic Silencer and a Dick Tracy book.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I have 3 of those "Big Little Book" in my collection: Tom Swift and His Giant Telescope, Tom Swift and His Magnetic Silencer and a Dick Tracy book.

I always thought it would be cool for "Star Trek" to have a "Big Little Book" and Koenig would have been the perfect author for it. What a missed opportunity. I once sought out a rumour that there was a Trek edition out there, but it seemed to be a strange one-off bootleg. (Whitman's did publish a Trek book: the first licensed tie-in book, "Mission to Horatius". Like the BLB series, there are lots of illustrations in "Mission to Horatius".)

I first discovered BLBs when there was a major push to reprint them in the late 60s and my younger brother was given about ten of them, including Disney and Warner Bros cartoon characters. I also ended up with "Space Ghost". Many years later, I sought out second hand copies, for my own collection, of ones I'd remembered ("Superman" and "Batman") and found the "Fantastic Four" title.