Should the novelverse create an Essential Chronology?

[TheAlmanac]

The more I read in this thread, the more I think that the Essential Guide to Characters / Who's Who in Star Trek approach would actually be more useful than a novelverse chronology in letting people know how many ongoing characters appear in the novels as well as getting them up to speed on major developments--it's less abstract and more personal, with illustrations of the characters (ideally) to make them "real" and give readers more of a reason to get invested in them (and literally invested in buying more novels ).

 

[Charles Phipps]

I admit, I might like that more myself.

I wonder how one would go about getting something like that pitched.

 

[Jedi Ben]

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.

So it was! That's exactly the kind of little thing I'd wish they'd revive.

It seems so little, but it really helps.

 

[Therin of Andor]

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.

That's what this board is for.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

Is anybody here familiar with Lance Parkin's 'AHistory - The History of the Doctor Who Universe?' It incorporates the TV show along with all of the tie-in media into one chronology. The material which is considered 'cannon' are in bold text while everything else is regular text or italic. He includes a short synopsis of each episode and novel as well as footnotes and essays where he explains his reasoning for placing episodes and novels where they are in the timeline. If there were to be an 'Essential Novel Chronology' that would be the blueprint I would use.

 

[Leto_II]

^ I still have my copy of that book somewhere (likely boxed up with all my '90s NA and MA novels). Great stuff. Of course, it was rendered somewhat moot by the Time War and the advent of the Russell Davies Who, but "continuity" and "Doctor Who" aren't exactly three words I'd ever equate together in the same sentence anyhow.