Terrible Novels

[Grabthar T Kirk]

Hi all, got a general Trek question. It's largely agreed upon that the Typhon Pact series of novels are among the worst ever written for the Star Trek series; one critic even referred to them as 'literary diarrhea.' Why does Paramount / CBS continue to cut licensing deals with seriously awful writers? Typhon Pact is only the latest example of this. Was this due to some weird clause in Gene Roddenberry's will that anyone who wanted to write fanfic for profit could get a licensing agreement? Or do the powers that be just not care about brand devaluation that much? Anyone know?

 

[R. Star]

Well a number of those "awful writers" are members of this board and not faceless names to point a finger at you know.

The short version is, if you don't like them, don't read them. I've only read the first two TP novels, but I enjoyed them.

 

[BillJ]

CBS doesn't cut deals with individual writers. They license the Star Trek property to Simon & Shuster Publishing. CBS has a person that approves individual stories before publication.

Like pretty much all other artistic endeavors in life: some Trek books are good, some are bad and some are mediocre. Though I question any professional reviewer has referred to them as "literary diarrhea". Care to provide a link?

 

[F. King Daniel]

Let's move this to the Trek Lit forum and let the fun begin

Seriously though, I've enjoyed the Typhon Pact novels this far. The scene in Rough Beasts of Empire where...

Spoiler: RBoE

Spock gets the Reunification Movement legalized on Romulus

...is one of the very few moments I've actually gone "YES!" out loud while reading. I also really enjoyed learning what the Breen really are.

Can you post a link to these critics reviews, please?

 

[Misfit Toy]

We have a Trek Literature forum, and while this thread may be better suited there, I would advise you to understand the difference between 'opinion' and 'fact' before posting there.

If you don't like someone's work, try discussing why you don't like it and don't simply make drive by attacks like this. If you want to stick around, that is.

Thread closed.