The Best of Peter David

[Arpy]

In honor of Peter David, I was wondering if we could do a best-of thread. What are your top 5 Trek titles by the man himself?

Let’s keep this a tight list, so no series—no “the New Frontier series” or “the Imzadi trilogy.” Pick one of the three in the trilogy or count each installment individually.

Of his works I’ve read, I’ll go with:

Q-Squared
Q-in-Law
I, Q (…are we seeing a pattern?)
Imzadi
“Retrospect”— a personal favorite.

 

[Thrawn]

Once Burned, Stone and Anvil, Vendetta, Imzadi, Q-Squared.

Vendetta in particular is just amazing. It feels like the best TNG movie we never got to see. He nails the voices of the characters completely and adds depth that never quite materialized on screen to a few (Guinan, Geordi). Anyone who wants to celebrate his work right now, if you haven't read Vendetta, it's what I'd recommend.

 

[BillJ]

His run on DC’s two TOS Trek titles will always be near and dear to my heart.

Hard to nail it down to a few efforts.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Picking five, at this moment...

1. "Retrospect" (Star Trek Annual #3)
2. Imzadi
3. Q-in-Law
4. Vendetta
5. "Once a Hero" (Star Trek #19)

I went back and forth on the fifth spot with Once Burned.

 

[Arpy]

His run on DC’s two TOS Trek titles will always be near and dear to my heart.

Hard to nail it down to a few efforts.

I understand that, but…that’s the thread lol

 

[Turtletrekker]

Vendetta
Q-in-Law
Imzadi
Retrospect
Strike Zone

Am I the only one who puts Strike Zone on that level of a pedestal? I freaking love Strike Zone.

 

[Lucky]

Imzadi is probably my favorite Star Trek novel. I loved it. I need to check out his other work. RIP Peter.

 

[Oz Trekkie]

In no particulr order

Vendetta
Q-Squared
Before Dishonor
Imzadi
Q-in-Law

 

[donners22]

Q-Squared. The book which got me into Trek. I still love it, 30 years later.

Imzadi II Yeah, the first is great too, and I get his frustration with the ending, but the Worf/Lwaxana dynamic makes me laugh every time.

Excalibur: Restoration I don't see this one get mentioned much, but it feels epic despite its relatively small focus and has plenty of memorable moments.

Once Burned Perhaps the best of the New Frontier series.

The Captain's Daughter It's seen as a bit of a failure, but I find it a great ride.

 

[James Swallow]

A story of his that has always stuck with me is "Once A Hero", issue #19 of DC's 2nd Star Trek comic series; it's a great one-and-done tale about Kirk writing the eulogy for a security officer who died in the line of duty. The ending is downbeat, but it's a brilliant example of a writer who nails the voices of the characters perfectly.

RIP PAD.

 

[Admiral_Young]

01. Imzadi (my second ever Star Trek novel and the first I bought with my own money)
02. Q-Squared ( a top ten banger)
03. Vendetta ( a legit Star Trek horror book)
04. I, Q
05. The Captain's Daughter (underrated book)

 

[TheUsualSuspect]

Vendetta
Q-in-Law (probably the funniest Star Trek novel I've ever read, without ever feeling "not Star Trekky")
Imzadi (one of the early TNG hardcovers that really lived up to the expectations that the hardcovers would tell bigger, more consequential stories)

 

[Mudd]

A story of his that has always stuck with me is "Once A Hero", issue #19 of DC's 2nd Star Trek comic series; it's a great one-and-done tale about Kirk writing the eulogy for a security officer who died in the line of duty.

"I can't wait to go swimming again."

 

[Ghost]

This is not an easy one but I will give it a try.

In no particular order;
Once Burned (I finished this one in one night)
Vendetta
The Captain's Daughter
"Once A Hero", issue #19 of DC's second Star Trek run
Q-in-Law

 

[DarrenTR1970]

I know it's a Best of Peter David Trek, however, I would like to give a shout out to The Incredible Hulk, 'Future Imperfect' illustrated by George Perez, who also sadly, is no longer with us.
As for his Trek works.
Vendetta and Q-Squared. I wore the spines out on those two books. Probably the first two Trek novels I re-read multiple times.​

 

[tomswift2002]

Vendetta
Before Dishonor
Cacophony
Line of Fire
Survival
Q-In-Law
The Captain’s Daughter
A Rock And A Hard Place (New Frontier prototype)

 

[Obsidian_Phil]

This definitely wasn’t easy but my 5 would be:

Imzadi
Once Burned
Q-in-Law
Q-Squared
Vendetta

 

[Poldon]

Vendetta is an easy first place. The next three, in no particular order are Q-in-Law, Q-Squared, and Imzadi. It's very difficult to narrow down a fifth, so I'm going to cheat and just say New Frontier.

 

[Commander Troi]

Q-in-Law is one of the funniest things I've ever read in any genre or medium.

 

[JD]

In no particular order

• New Frontier: I know you said not to include a whole series as one entry, but I don't remember the individual books well enough to pick just one.
• Imazadi: I always like the Riker/Troi relationship and he handled it fantastically here
• Q-Squared: A fantastic Q and alternate universe story

The only other Star Trek book he was involved with that I read was Doomsday World, but I'm not including it for two reasons, he was one of four other who wrote it, and I didn't really like it enough to include on a best list.

Let’s keep this a tight list, so no series—no “the New Frontier series” or “the Imzadi trilogy.” Pick one of the three in the trilogy or count each installment individually.

When did he write a third Imzadi book? I can't believe I never noticed that in any of his bibliographies that I've seen.