So What Are you Reading?: Generations

[Damian]

We're all freelancers, and we're usually contracted for one book at a time, but sometimes a contract is for multiple books, e.g. a trilogy. I'd assume that's what Peter meant.

I found what I originally read from the official Star Trek website:

David: I do have thoughts as to how I’d wrap up the series if given the opportunity. I also have a lot of interesting directions I’d take the books if the series keeps going. But I honestly have no clue if that’s going to come to pass. “Blind Man’s Bluff” was the last book on my current contract, and I’ve been asking Pocket for a year if the series is going to be continuing. I have yet to get a straight answer, or any answer. So for all I know, “Blind Man’s Bluff” is the last hurrah of New Frontier.

Now that was before he did The Returned e-book trilogy for New Frontier. But, of course, that was his last Star Trek story of S&S. I guess it's nice we finally got some resolution to some hanging NF storylines, but there are plenty of cliff hangers that I'd love to see continued (even though I realize that's highly unlikely at this point).

Not sure what he meant by contract in this context. I originally thought that meant he was under contract with S&S, but I guess it meant he had a certain number of books he agreed to write for them that was satisfied with Blind Man's Bluff, and The Returned was just added after the fact.

 

[KRAD]

I believe that Peter was contracted for multiple New Frontier books at a time, so that's likely what he was referring to.
As Christopher said, we do each book on a contract basis, but sometimes a contract will cover multiple books. As an example, I had three Trek novels all covered by the same contract back in the day -- A Time for War, a Time for Peace, Enemy Territory, and Articles of the Federation were all on a single contract.

 

[Damian]

Makes sense now that I think of it and re-read the comment he made.

 

[Greg Cox]

We're all freelancers, and we're usually contracted for one book at a time, but sometimes a contract is for multiple books, e.g. a trilogy. I'd assume that's what Peter meant.

Exactly. None of us are under contract as employees or anything like that. We're all freelancers. Sometimes we may get a three-book contract for a trilogy or whatever, but none of us are on staff or anything like that. I got a two-book contract for THE EUGENICS WARS and three-book contract for THE Q CONTINUUM, but usually it's just on a book-by-book business.

And, to be clear, this is is pretty much how it works for all tie-in books and even book deals in generals. The contracts are for the books themselves, not the author's services, even if, occasionally, a publisher might sign up X number of books at one time, as when Tor hired me to write three LIBRARIANS books for them, no more, no less.

And, outside of the tie-in world, it's the same thing. A publisher may do a deal to buy three new Stephen King or Danielle Steele books at a time, just to make long-term planning simpler, but the books are under contract, not the author. And the contracts may or may not specify the nature of the books, to varying degrees of detail:

"Untitled SF novel"
"CONAN novel #32"
"Book 2 of ZOMBIE MERMAIDS trilogy."

And then, of course, there are option clauses where the publisher is granted first dibs on the author's next book, but that doesn't really apply to tie-in novels.

 

[Smiley]

I am rereading James Swallow's The Latter Fire. It's basically everything that was good about the TOS TV series combined with the strengths of the novel format. If you've been sleeping on this one for the last five years, it's time to check this story out. 5 stars!

 

[Greg Cox]

Still on the contracts thing: it could get confusing sometimes, many years after the fact, to remember "which book was 'Untitled crime novel #4' again?"

Especially if a book went through several different titles before finally being published.

 

[Damian]

Still on the contracts thing: it could get confusing sometimes, many years after the fact, to remember "which book was 'Untitled crime novel #4' again?"

Especially if a book went through several different titles before finally being published.

Just as long as you don't forget yourself and try to rewrite a book you've already written . I'd probably see something like that and have to think, 'hmm, did I ever write that book or not?'

 

[Smiley]

I'm rereading Beware the Power of the Dark Side! by Tom Angleberger. He builds on the solid foundation of Kahn's adult novelization from the 1980's, adding the prequel-era perspective and some interesting footnotes.

I'm also starting on a slew of new-to-me books: The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin, Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse, Binti by Nnedi Okorafor, The Dark Veil by James Swallow, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.

 

[John Clark]

Finished Into the Light by David Weber. (Another cliffhanger.) I enjoyed it, but not as much of some of his other series.

Started on The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo and it's interesting so far.

 

[Greg Cox]

Started on The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo and it's interesting so far.

I just finished that. I enjoyed it.

 

[Reanok]

I'm rereading Star Trek Prometheus Fire with fire by Bernd Perplies

 

[SurvivorJoe]

I just started Catalyst of Sorrows by Margaret Wander Bonanno from The Lost Era series.

Since we're probably looking at a Trek-drought in 2021, I figured I'd dive into the litverse since there's plenty of story material there to tide me over. I decided to start with this book since I couldn't resist the random assortment of characters being used (Uhura, Beverly Crusher, Benjamin Sisko, Dr. Selar, Leonard McCoy).

 

[Greg Cox]

"The Snail-Watcher" by Patricia Highsmith.

 

[John Clark]

I just finished that. I enjoyed it.

Thought it was interesting at the point I posted, but having finished it, thought it was great. Now I'm hoping for a sequel

I think the next up for my list is The Family Trade (The Merchant Princes series) by Charles Stross

 

[Reanok]

I'm re-reading Star Trek Prometheus 2 The Root of all rage by Christian Humberg&Bernd Perplies I'm enjoying reading the books again and the stories are really good.I wonder if there will be a special novel for the 55 Star Trek anniversary.

 

[USS Firefly]

The Dead Zone by Stephen King

 

[Reanok]

Star Trek Prometheus 3 In the heart of chaos by Chstian Humberg &Bernd Perplies

 

[Kertrats47]

New episode of the Positively Trek Book Club is up! Bruce and I discuss The Lost Era: The Sundered by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels. This has long been a favorite of mine, and it was a lot of fun to discuss it on the podcast!



Currently re-reading another favorite: The Lost Era: Serpents Among the Ruins by David R. George III.

 

[USS Firefly]

New episode of the Positively Trek Book Club is up! Bruce and I discuss The Lost Era: The Sundered by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels. This has long been a favorite of mine, and it was a lot of fun to discuss it on the podcast!



Currently re-reading another favorite: The Lost Era: Serpents Among the Ruins by David R. George III.

That is a great book.
I wish we had a captain Sulu book set in the 24th century

 

[Lonemagpie]

2021 booklog #2 BETWEEN TWO THORNS by Emma Newman

A light entertaining mixture of fae fantasy and mystery. Starts off with two magic-themed mysteries, gives us two great characters in the forms of Cathy, a woman with a very strange past that gets her into present trouble, and a detective with a gargoyle sidekick, who I’d love to see done in a TV series.

From there on in it splits in style, between the mystery element with magic and characters dealing weirdness, and of course a gargoyle sidekick, and the machinations of posh families that feels like Pride And Prejudice And Fae. Newman’s style is pleasant and accessible throughout, but the two plot strands are sufficiently different that I enjoyed the one side way more than the other.

It’s thankfully not the typical fae/human story I’d half expected, and so I did enjoy it a fair bit – there’s some good dialogue – and I like the lead characters too. The other downside, however, is that there comes a point where you realise only one of the two main mysteries is solved and there isn’t enough book left for the other one, so it ends of a somewhat artificial cliffhanger for a sequel, and actually forgets in that cliffhanger all about a giveaway from early on that ties in. That makes it feel like it’s been written as one volume and been retroactively split as an editorial decision. I’ve no idea if that’s what happened, but that’s what if feels like.

Nice, fun, but annoyingly incomplete.