The most worthwhile novels from the different series

[Eddie Roth]

I'm currently trying to get back into some Star Trek reading again. The last time I read Trek novels was back in 1994 or so, some of the TNG and movie novelizations. I remember reading The Final Nexus, The IDIC Epidemic, Time Trap from TOS. Vendetta, Contamination, Boogeymen from TNG and Bloodletter from DS9.

Now I found a copy of "Enterprise! The First Adventure" in my basement and I'm halfway through. I don't think it's particularly well-written and it moves at a very slow pace so far, but altogether I'm enjoying it. I may soon have a very long commute to work every day, so I'm planning on reading a lot more. But the library has become so big by now, I don't know where to start.

Could you point me to some of the most worthwhile novels from every era? I'd like to sample all of them, but an older thread I found about your favorites didn't really include information on what novel features what characters etc. Any suggestions for a can't-miss TOS novel or novel series= TNG? DS9? Voyager?

 

[neogothboy74]

One Trek novel that all my friends seem to agree is a great read is the DS9 novel, "A Stitch in Time" by Andrew J. Robinson, which is mainly about the Cardassian Elim Garak. If you enjoyed the character at all, this book is a must read; filling in the character history while giving us a nice epilogue to his final appearance in the series finale. It's a great book.

 

[JD]

If you really want to check out some of the best of current Trek, IMO you might want to check out some of the post-finale series and novel only series, since they are both some of the best Trek out there, and what the majority of books are these days.
My favorites in order:
Vanguard: A novel series focusing on a space station in the TOS era.This series features a good cast of new character, intersting plot, and some fun ties into the later Treks. Easily one of my favorite Trek series in any format.

Titan: Follows Riker and Troi on their new ship after Nemesis. Also features Nurse Ogawa, Tuvok, Melora Pazlar, and a couple of recurring characters from some of the other novels. This series focuses alot on old fashioned Trek exploration.

DS9 Post Finale: The first post finale novel series, these books do a great job of continuing the story of DS9 after the end of the TV series. It also introduces some really good new (and one not so new) characters to replace the ones who left in the finale.

TNG Post-Nemesis: Baiscally does for TNG what DS9PF did for it. This series is a little more hit and miss when it comes to quality. I skipped over a few of them, but the ones I did read where really good.

Corps of Engineer/ SCE: An e-book series focusing on a starship beloning to the SCE. Also features a mix of new and old characters (most of the series do). The series is also being released as paperbacks collecting four and eventually eight ebook stories in each collection. I've only read a handfull of stories, but they were also good.

New Frontier: The first novel only series. These books are alot of fun, although some people complain that they can be a little to over the top at times. I've read these books pretty much since they started in the mid ninties, and other than a fall in quality twoards the middle, I've enjoyed most of them.

IKS Gorkon/Klingon Empire: A series focusing on the crew of a TNG era of a Klingon ship. I've only read one of these so I can't really form an opinion myself, although most people do seem to like them.

Voy-Post Finale: Another PF series, this one is just about to start again with a new author and new direction, after the original author left to due non-Trek stuff.

A couple months back we just got Destiny, a major crossover with characters from the casts of DS9PF, TNGPF, Titan, and the Columbia from ENT. The trilogy followed a major Borg invasion, and has had a major effect on the Litverse, that will pretty much continue from now on. The new direction of the Voyager Relaunch is a direct result of Destiny.

I'm not trying to say you need to read all of these, these are just the series that are going on right now.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I'd recommend any of the four anniversary anthologies -- Prophecy and Change (DS9), Distant Shores (Voyager), Constellations (original series), and The Sky's the Limit (TNG). Each features a nice mix of stories that run the gamut from space exploration, character exploration, filling in missing pieces, that sort of thing. Whichever series you choose, you'll find something to engage you, guaranteed.

 

[Eddie Roth]

Yes, I had a brief look at Prophecy and Change. The concept of short stories covering many things is appealing. Good to know such volumes exist for the other series as well.

I am not overly interested right now in reading book series about new characters. Are there any recommendations about the older, numbered Pocket Books? Surely there were some classics among these, too?

 

[Trent Roman]

For TNG, #18 Q-in-Law, is a favourite; unnumbered but from the same era (and also very good), Metamorphosis and Q-Squared. For Deep Space Nine, scope out #23 The 34th Rule and #27 A Stitch in Time. From Voyager, the best of the numbered novels--and, really, the best Voyager book overall--is #15 Echoes.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[HIj'Qa]

Fallen Heroes for DS9
Federation for TOS/TNG
Uhura's Song is a classic numbered TOS
The Final Reflection is a great book. It doesn't deal much with established Trek characters, though, so it might not be your thing.
LA Graf writes good adventure Trek, mainly TOS,
Ice Trap
Death Count
Firestorm
Traitor Winds
Armageddon Sky (DS9)
Good commuting reads.