"Silly" doesn't even begin to describe what I would call this, but if it's legal...I guess there's nothing that can be done. Except spread the word.
Should the novelverse create an Essential Chronology?
- Thread starter Charles Phipps
- Start date
"Silly" doesn't even begin to describe what I would call this, but if it's legal...I guess there's nothing that can be done. Except spread the word.
if the people behind the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikia don't care, why should we, I say.
Just because it's legal doesn't change the fact that it's still a scam. (Would YOU buy expensive books if you knew you could get that stuff free from Wikipedia?)
IMO, of course.
But are you firing off from the hip about something you don't understand as if it you were actually knowledgeable?
I think the better solution would be a Star Trek version of the approach taken to the Star Wars Essential Guide to Warfare. That mixed historical summaries, in-depth looks at ship types and tech, in-universe accounts and character portraits. Had a full list of acknowledgements too and an absolute pile of very sweet art.
But, this would not be a small or quick undertaking in any respect.
Do it right and you end up with a volume that makes sense of the overall universe while inviting the reader to look into numerous books.
But, this would not be a small or quick undertaking in any respect.
Do it right and you end up with a volume that makes sense of the overall universe while inviting the reader to look into numerous books.
Just because it's legal doesn't change the fact that it's still a scam. (Would YOU buy expensive books if you knew you could get that stuff free from Wikipedia?)
IMO, of course.
Actually, people do all the time. There's numerous Game of Thrones supplements which have assembled the best and brightest of various websites with the permission of the authors involved. They also sell pretty well, IMHO.
Albeit, again, I would prefer an original work, I would still be glad just to have all of it assembled in one place so I can read it versus combing though Memory Beta every time I need to try to figure out what's going on.
I think if this happens then its a weakness of the book being read. It doesn't have to explain everything, but it should supply the info the reader needs for the story to work.
I don't necessarily think this is a WEAKNESS per se but it is something which requires a dedicated fandom which Trekkers and Warsians (do we have a name?) share. I mean, jumping into the middle of the Yuuzhan Vong or Legacy of the Force stories would be completely confusing for those who don't know who any of those characters are.
The novels have certainly changed a lot about the "default" Star Trek universe, which is very good. The Borg are gone, DS9 has been destroyed/rebuilt, Sisco is back, there's now the Typhon Pact, Tucker is/was alive as well as a spy, Ezri is no longer a goofball, Bashir is kinda/sorta destroying Section 31, Data is back (which we all knew was coming), and other stuff which would be good to sort through.
For all of Star Trek: Online's faults, many of which they've corrected, I appreciated the Path to 2409 because it managed to explain just about everything you needed to know in a manner which didn't overwhelm the reader. If nothing else, a guide to characters would allow us to know, "Okay, so what's Ensign/Captain Ro up to now."
If I had unlimited supernatural powers of editorialness, then I would do the following:
* The Essential Guide to the Star Trek Novelverse: A book which would explain the various series and their characters as well as the ships. Who is the Titan's First Officer? Why should we care? How about Worf's dead ex-girlfriend in Security? What have our favorite characters been up to for the past two decades? Basically, sort of a catalogue for what series you might want to pick up as well as summaries so you can know what events are being referenced.
* The Essential Chronology of the Star Trek Novelverse: A book which would give the timeline of the Star Trek novelverse from the Preservers to, I assume, the Hobus Supernova event which is still the end of the "Old" Timeline. At least until the novels actually reach it (how close are they now?)
* The Essential Guide to Star Trek Expanded Universe Ships and Technology: The U.S.S Excalibur, the U.S.S. Dauntless, the U.S.S Sovereign, future Enterprise, the Redeemers vessels, and so on. You wouldn't have to stick to the novelverse canon for this one.
* Also, a similar guide to it for Alien Races.
Obviously, only the Essential Guide to the Novelverse is possible, let alone likely but I'm greedy this way.
* The Essential Guide to the Star Trek Novelverse: A book which would explain the various series and their characters as well as the ships. Who is the Titan's First Officer? Why should we care? How about Worf's dead ex-girlfriend in Security? What have our favorite characters been up to for the past two decades? Basically, sort of a catalogue for what series you might want to pick up as well as summaries so you can know what events are being referenced.
* The Essential Chronology of the Star Trek Novelverse: A book which would give the timeline of the Star Trek novelverse from the Preservers to, I assume, the Hobus Supernova event which is still the end of the "Old" Timeline. At least until the novels actually reach it (how close are they now?)
* The Essential Guide to Star Trek Expanded Universe Ships and Technology: The U.S.S Excalibur, the U.S.S. Dauntless, the U.S.S Sovereign, future Enterprise, the Redeemers vessels, and so on. You wouldn't have to stick to the novelverse canon for this one.
* Also, a similar guide to it for Alien Races.
Obviously, only the Essential Guide to the Novelverse is possible, let alone likely but I'm greedy this way.
Last edited:
First off, I assume you meant Trek there, not Wars. Second, despite what some novels have claimed, the only canonical information we have about the Preservers dates them to the 17th-18th century CE (since the Native Americans weren't an endangered population before then), not billions of years ago or whatever. The Preservers are a recent group, not an immeasurably ancient one. The oldest known civilizations in Trek history are the Q and the First Humanoids from "The Chase" (who are sometimes mistaken for the Preservers even though they have absolutely nothing in common besides being excuses for humanoid aliens).
Star Trek EU is a Tholian web and you are the...Tholian.
And not the slow as hell ones from the Original Series but the crazy fast ones from the Mirror Universe!
Last edited:
Which would be bloody stupid, wouldn't it? That'd be like someone starting the DS9 relaunch at Unity or Ascendance.
Now if you meant that it can be hard to work out the sequence of books from the info in each volume alone, I think you're onto something.
For instance, if someone thought they could get the complete DS9 relaunch tale by buying every book that has that title, they would be entirely mistaken! So I think signposting for the consumer so they know which volumes precede and follow a book could be improved. (This is far from being restricted to Trek books too.)
Of course, that strikes at what I think is the confusing nature of the narrative. If you're a consumer and, say, want to read a story about Bashir or Section 31 then you'll probably be inclined to read a book about that even if it's connected to the overarc.
Funny how Star Trek's episodic nature is biting it in the butt.
Funny how Star Trek's episodic nature is biting it in the butt.
But without the internet, how will they come to know about it?
Which is why I think the signposting could be improved upon. This happens elsewhere with comics and films - the assumption is that everyone is online, but that's not always so. Even if it is, it doesn't mean people have time to somehow find helpful resources online.
One thing I've observed is the nature of Star Trek fiction is trying to find a healthy balance between appealing to the causal fan, the hardcore Trekker, and those who want to be able to enjoy new material. The most popular Star Trek novels are and have always been the Original Series episodic adventures. Just like the most popular Star Wars novels have always been about Han, Luke, and Leia. In these forums, we had a thread talking about how a poster couldn't bring himself to care about the majority of the STEU original characters. Which undermines when something truly tragic happens to them or they get increased rolls.
This is a shame because part of the reason I love Titan and NF is because it's basically entirely new casts or "series" of ST with a couple of old characters to ground them.
This is a shame because part of the reason I love Titan and NF is because it's basically entirely new casts or "series" of ST with a couple of old characters to ground them.
You have read Vanguard Charles? Great little side story to the TOS, with some excellent cameos from Kirk and co, but the bulk of the time? Other characters take centre stage.
That and it's pretty damn epic. Seekers is a great follow-up but can't match its predecessor in terms of scale. Being fair though - it's not supposed to.
One reason I wanted to mention the Chronology is it's not so much I can't figure out what's going on is that sorting through which and which to read what is a chore. My present plans are as follows:
1. To finish catching up with Titan
2. Finish DOTI
And either go on to The Fall or start a new singular series like Vanguard or Klingon Empire.
I, of course, accept recommendations but that's a bit off topic.
1. To finish catching up with Titan
2. Finish DOTI
And either go on to The Fall or start a new singular series like Vanguard or Klingon Empire.
I, of course, accept recommendations but that's a bit off topic.
Gorkon / Klingon Empire is brilliant. Sadly only 4 books, but they're great. If you're after Klingon stuff, Left Hand of Destiny is worth seeking out.
Vanguard though was one of the best series I read in ages. I only found out about due to one of its flapping plot ends turning up in The Fall and I wanted to know more of it.
Vanguard though was one of the best series I read in ages. I only found out about due to one of its flapping plot ends turning up in The Fall and I wanted to know more of it.
I forget when this started (Worlds of DS9, maybe?), but the later DS9 relaunch titles included a nice list on the inside front cover, down to indicating that you had to read a novella in Gateways: What Lay Beyond to get the full story. I don't know if the post-Destiny ones do, though; I haven't picked up a post-Destiny novel since Losing the Peace.
Similar threads
