Retcons in TrekLit due to canon additions (not so much changes)

[Danlav05]

Have there been many?

First major example is they published a TOS Section 31 novel called Cloak, of course the concept of Section 31 did not exist for another 30 years! There's actually a really well done 'fan edit' of Star Trek VI out there called The Khitomer Conspiracy which cleverly works Section 31, Omega particles, the Dominion and the Temporal Cold War into the story.

the TNG Destiny trilogy involved ENT characters in a major way, and Dr Phlox appeared in the 'Flesh and Stone' and 'Blood Will Tell' comics.

Then obviously since then there has been Enterprise that sprung into existance, have there been references to that in TOS material?

I love that Star Trek is a huge universe and everything somehow ties together.

 

[Greg Cox]

A minor example: When The Q Continuum was reprinted a few years back, I took the opportunity to change a few references to "the first Enterprise" to "Kirk's Enterprise" since ENTERPRISE had debuted since the first time those books were published.

Just to avoid confusion with Archer's (newly-established) Enterprise.

 

[Leto_II]

First major example is they published a TOS Section 31 novel called Cloak, of course the concept of Section 31 did not exist for another 30 years!

Although, to be sure, the Abramsverse is a completely separate parallel universe/continuity -- for all we know, it was Nero's temporal incursion which led to the founding of Section 31 much earlier in that timeline, compared to the Prime universe.

 

[Christopher]

There have been countless instances of TOS-era novels acknowledging ideas from later series, from TNG to ENT, and at least indirectly to the new movies. For isntance, back when TNG was new, you got a book or two with characters musing whether the Federation and Klingons would ever be at peace (there was even a whole novel, Timetrap, that was a riff on the idea).

My own TOS-era novels have built on ideas from other series to a greater or lesser degree. Ex Machina acknowledged elements of ENT-era Vulcan society and featured an older Vulcan character who clung to the values of that era (and I later worked that same character into Uncertain Logic to flesh him out more and explain why he didn't go along with the reforms that had been established in ENT's fourth season, after ExM came out). Forgotten History featured an alternate timeline extrapolating forward from ENT-era history and exploring how the galaxy would've developed from there without humanity's involvement.

Although, to be sure, the Abramsverse is a completely separate parallel universe/continuity -- for all we know, it was Nero's temporal incursion which led to the founding of Section 31 much earlier in that timeline, compared to the Prime universe.

You're forgetting that ENT established the existence of Section 31 in the 22nd century. Danlav05 is referring to the real-world fact that Section 31 was conceived in a television series made three decades after TOS.

 

[Leto_II]

^ Ah, I see, yeah. What made me immediately think of the Abramsverse was the thread-title ("Retcons in TrekLit Due to Canon Additions"), and STID being the most recent canonical story released (and Cloak being released years before that movie).

 

[Hartzilla2007]

why he didn't go along with the reforms that had been established in ENT's fourth season,

aka the rose tinted nostalgic view of Vulcans that ignores how they actually were.

 

[Christopher]

But as specified, the question isn't about retcons in the sense of changes, but in the original sense of the word -- retroactive continuity, things that were established later but retroactively treated as having always been the case. Sometimes that means changing what the characters believed to be the case, like having Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch discover they're actually Magneto's children, then having them discover that they aren't, then that they are, then that they aren't, etc. But most of the time it just means backfilling a detail that was never mentioned before but wasn't ruled out either -- like ST:GEN revealing that Sulu has had a daughter all this time. Or, heck, like later TOS season 1 episodes establishing that the Enterprise actually reported to an organization called the Federation, rather than being just an Earth ship as assumed in the first half of the season. Most retcons are something that are new to the audience when they're revealed but are assumed to have been known to the characters all along -- hence the "retroactive" part.

 

[Enterprise1701]

Various ENT and DS9 novels worked to merge the DS9 relaunch's portrayal of Andorians with screen ENT's portrayal of Andorians.

 

[Jinn]

A minor example: When The Q Continuum was reprinted a few years back, I took the opportunity to change a few references to "the first Enterprise" to "Kirk's Enterprise" since ENTERPRISE had debuted since the first time those books were published.

Just to avoid confusion with Archer's (newly-established) Enterprise.

I always liked to think that the NX-01 Enterprise wasn't counted as the first Enterprise, since it was originally an Earth ship while the NCC-1701 was the first Enterprise to be build in the Federation-era.

retroactive continuity, things that were established later but retroactively treated as having always been the case.

Does One More Day count as a retcon, then?

 

[Christopher]

I always liked to think that the NX-01 Enterprise wasn't counted as the first Enterprise, since it was originally an Earth ship while the NCC-1701 was the first Enterprise to be build in the Federation-era.

That's probably the best justification.

Does One More Day count as a retcon, then?

Wow, not at all. That's just the opposite. That's something where a character in the story actually made something happen to alter people's memory of the past. As I said, a retcon in the purest sense is the establishment of something that is new to the audience but is assumed to have been true in-story all along, something that the characters (at least some of them) were aware of even if it never came up in a story before. For instance, Kirk and the audience didn't learn about Spock's brother until ST V, but Spock had always known he had a brother. It wasn't a change, it was just information that hadn't been revealed before.

 

[JD]

In the Vanguard books we're introduced to Ganz as a big powerful Orion crime boss, but then in the later books, after the Enterprise episode "Bound" revealed that women were in charge, we found out he had a female boss.
We've also gotten some TOS era stories dealing with smooth headed and ridged Klingons since the ENT 2 parter, Affliction and Divergence, revealed that they were both around at the same time.

 

[Jinn]

In the Vanguard books we're introduced to Gaz as a big powerful Orion crime boss, but then in the later books, after the Enterprise episode "Bound" revealed that women were in charge, we found out he had a female boss.

But Bound was released before Vanguard. I guess the first two novels were written before Bound permiered.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Although, to be sure, the Abramsverse is a completely separate parallel universe/continuity -- for all we know, it was Nero's temporal incursion which led to the founding of Section 31 much earlier in that timeline, compared to the Prime universe.

As Christopher pointed out, that's not possible, since Section 31 was founded well before the divergence point. Although Nero's interference could have made S31 stronger somehow (like how Starfleet probably upgraded its technology based on scan readings of the Narada) or even more 'militant'.

 

[Christopher]

But Bound was released before Vanguard. I guess the first two novels were written before Bound permiered.

"Bound" aired 5 months before Harbinger came out and 16 months before Summon the Thunder. The former book would surely have been written and copyedited before the episode aired, and the second might have been outlined by then.

 

[Danlav05]

Although, to be sure, the Abramsverse is a completely separate parallel universe/continuity -- for all we know, it was Nero's temporal incursion which led to the founding of Section 31 much earlier in that timeline, compared to the Prime universe.

As Christopher pointed out, that's not possible, since Section 31 was founded well before the divergence point. Although Nero's interference could have made S31 stronger somehow (like how Starfleet probably upgraded its technology based on scan readings of the Narada) or even more 'militant'.

Christopher's right, I was talking from a real world point of view rather than fictional. Section 31 was established during/Before Enterprise from a fictional point of view it exists in the TOS era

 

[JD]

But Bound was released before Vanguard. I guess the first two novels were written before Bound permiered.

OK, I'll confess, I saw that after I wrote my post, but I forgot to go back and correct it

"Bound" aired 5 months before Harbinger came out and 16 months before Summon the Thunder. The former book would surely have been written and copyedited before the episode aired, and the second might have been outlined by then.

But like Christopher said, it was close enough that the first book was most likely done before Bound aired, even if it was released after.
Does anybody remember which book it was that revealed who Ganz's boss was?

 

[Jinn]

Does anybody remember which book it was that revealed who Ganz's boss was?

I think her name was Neera and she was first introduced in Reap the Whirlwind, however I'm pretty sure that she was revealed as Ganz' boss in one of the two final novels. I could be wrong though.

 

[Jarvisimo]

I think her name was Neera and she was first introduced in Reap the Whirlwind, though I'm pretty sure that she was revealed as Ganz' boss in one of the two final novels.

She was the boss from her introduction; she recieves important calls and tells Ganz to see Reyes; and in the minipaedia (paraphrased here on Memory Beta) at the back she is:

Neera—Orion woman, secret boss of Ganz. To outsiders, she seems to be an underboss in charge of the sex trade on Ganz’s ship, the Omari-Ekon. (RTW)

 

[Enterprise1701]

Not strictly prompted by canon Star Trek, but Greg Cox's The Eugenics Wars duology reconciled the "legendary war" from Star Trek Earth's past with the less-advanced-than-predicted reality of the 1990s.

 

[borgboy]

Off the top of my head, there was a very very minor Trill character in the TOS novel series An Errand of Fury series.
Also, there's a TOS novel set on Bajor.