The State of Star Trek Literature

[Sxottlan]

Time for the 2011 edition. A little earlier than last year, but I figured as people are wrapping up the last Typhon Pact book, now would be a good time to post it.

As always, this should be interesting.

1. In general, how do you feel the Trek book line has done in the last 12-15 months?

2. More specifically, what have you liked in regards to the entire Trek book line in that time? Any favorite novels?

3. And more specifically, what have you disliked in regards to the Trek book line of the last year or so? What were your least favorite books?

4. What new recurring trends or themes in the last 12 months have you noticed? Do you like or dislike these trends?

5. What editorial decisions from the last 12-15 months have you like or disliked?

6. What would you change in the Trek book line? Be it production choices or story editorial decisions?

Enjoy!

 

[Janos]

I'm not caught up yet, so I can't answer all the Qs. If I am disappointed in something its lack of new DS9 relaunch material.

In terms of what I happy about, well, still reading PAD's New Frontier and am I pleased, editorial direction-wise, that S&S is doing new things like DTI, etc.

That's all I got (for now).

I would also ask that folks that post here to pleas use the spoiler feature so that those of us who aren't caught up with key events to have them spoiled.

Thanks!

 

[Warp Coil]

Trek lit seems to be in an odd place right now for me. The past 15 months or so have been very hit-or-miss. 2010's release schedule was fragmented and I spent many months waiting for new material that interested me. The early part of the year was very TOS heavy, and then there was the long dry spell through the summer which featured little new material due to the Abramsverse novels getting shelved. Things didn't get interesting for me until the fall, when the Typhon Pact books were released. I've read 3 out of 4 so far, and they've been... okay. Not as good as they could have been.

Really, aside from the TP books, there has been no forward momentum for any of the series that I follow. Seize the Fire is the only book to continue the Titan series, and it was, unfortunately, a very weak book. Paths of Disharmony is the first TNG book in a while, and I haven't read it yet (it's on deck next) so I can't comment on it yet. DS9 continues to get screwed over, with no follow-up to The Soul Key anywhere in sight. I wasn't too happy to see where some of the DS9 crew end up in the post-Destiny timeframe, either (as depicted in Rough Beasts of Empire). We also haven't had any VOY in the past 15 months or so.

So yeah... I've mostly been waiting for things to pick back up. I am not sure why there has been such a delay. It may have something to do with the editorial and behind-the-scenes shakeups that have been taking place at Pocket. Hopefully, 2011 will be better than 2010. I'm excited about Indistinguishable From Magic, DTI: Watching the Clock, and Children of the Storm. Sadly, the latter half of the year may not have much in store for me. I realize that there are only so many slots available in the calendar year, and there are so many different series and stories to tell, so they can't cater to everyone.

 

[JD]

Time for the 2011 edition. A little earlier than last year, but I figured as people are wrapping up the last Typhon Pact book, now would be a good time to post it.

As always, this should be interesting.

1. In general, how do you feel the Trek book line has done in the last 12-15 months?

The only books from last year that I've read so far are Sorrows of Empire, Seven Deadly Sins, and Zero Sum Game, and other than one story in SDS I enjoyed each of those. Most of the stuff announced for this years sounds pretty cool, I'm especially looking forward to new Vanguard and Voyager, Indistinguishable from Magic, and DTI. So over all I'm still very happy with Trek Lit, although I haven't read all of the stuff from last year yet.

2. More specifically, what have you liked in regards to the entire Trek book line in that time? Any favorite novels?

As much as I've enjoyed the ongoing post-Destiny storyline, I'm really happy that they are still doing other things like Seven Deadly Sins, The Children of Kings, and Unspoken Truth. My favorite book from last year was The Sorrows of Empire.

3. And more specifically, what have you disliked in regards to the Trek book line of the last year or so? What were your least favorite books?

My least favorite thing I read was the Lust/Mirror Universe story: "Freedom Angst". I only made it about 10 pages into it before I lost interest and moved onto the next story. I don't know what it was specifically that didn't work, I think it just felt rather bland for some reason. I'll probably go back it later after I've read some other stuff.

5. What editorial decisions from the last 12-15 months have you like or disliked?

I really wish we could have gotten the Abramsverse books.

6. What would you change in the Trek book line? Be it production choices or story editorial decisions?

I'd rehire Marco Palmieri.

Enjoy!

 

[Thrawn]

I'd rehire Marco Palmieri.

Yep.

I could write a longer post, but that's all it would really say.

 

[Sxottlan]

Well, I hope I didn't post this too soon. That recent thread on apathy turned into a general sounding board about the books, but there's a chance here to also focus on the good in the line.

Then again, a lack of response could also be telling about people tuning out around here.

 

[Starbreaker]

Nothing has really caught my attention since Destiny.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

1. In general, how do you feel the Trek book line has done in the last 12-15 months?

I think "hit or miss" would be a generally accurate term. I've found that when the novels were good, they were pretty good, but when they were bad, they were fairly or really bad. I'll elaborate in subsequent questions.

2. More specifically, what have you liked in regards to the entire Trek book line in that time? Any favorite novels?

I've liked the relative range of stories and events that have been presented. Out of the past 12-15 months, I would say my favorite novels have been:

Out of the Cocoon
What's Past
Inception
Unspoken Truth

3. And more specifically, what have you disliked in regards to the Trek book line of the last year or so? What were your least favorite books?

The lack of DS9 and VOY novels in particular has been something I really dislike. Also, the moving up of the DS9 line to keep it in sync with the other, post-Destiny novels without any sort of really showing what's happened between "now" and "then".

My least favorite books from this past year or so are:

Seize the Fire
Rough Beasts of Empire
Revenant and Freedom Angst from the Seven Deadly Sins collection.

All of the other books that have come out fall somewhere between the two ends of the spectrum here (I enjoyed the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins entries, but the two I listed would prevent it from being a "favorite". Children of Kings and Paths of Disharmony are two where there things I enjoyed, but that were counterbalanced by things I disliked. I'm still not sure how to "rank" PoD.

4. What new recurring trends or themes in the last 12 months have you noticed? Do you like or dislike these trends?

One recurring trend/theme that I like is the fact that life has suddenly gotten hard for many people in the Federation. Rebuilding and development efforts have always interested me, and I find that aspect of the post-Destiny line to be extremely fascinating.

However, I also almost get this feeling of "Let's see how much more we can change now that we kinda ended life as the Alpha Quadrant knows it". This ties into my comments/complaints about the editorial decisions, but the way some characters are written or described seem to have been to justify or be used as an example of said theme.

5. What editorial decisions from the last 12-15 months have you like or disliked?

I disliked the way Sisko was portrayed in Rough Beasts of Empire. He is an unsympathetic, cold, unrecognizable and inflexible character who only shares the same name and face as the character from DS9. I honestly believe the only reason he is presented that way is to show How Much Things Have Changed. Continuing with RBoE, I felt that the IRS/RSE arc was wrapped up too conveniently and rapidly, and ignored prior plot developments and writing.

I'm not sure who thought it would be a good idea to publish Seize the Fire, considering the errors and really clunky and awful plotline and writing. Further, it was fairly dull and the characterization, again, was sub-par.

The syncing-up of the various book lines without any sort of explanation beyond maybe a few paragraphs was jarring and disappointing. I think I spent the first fifteen minutes of Zero Sum Game alone going "When did (x) happen? Why did (y) leave and go do (z)?" and so on. The scene at the beginning of RBoE was even worse, because it was like an attempt to explain the syncing up, only to backfire and cause even more questions and disappointment to appear.

6. What would you change in the Trek book line? Be it production choices or story editorial decisions?

-More DS9 and VOY, particularly in regards to the Ascendants storyline (that needed to have been resolved before any syncing up could have or should have occurred)
-More Lost Era books, to flesh out various backstories and possibly to expand or influence the current novels
-Bringing Janeway Back
-Changing/Reversing the Sisko storyline in RBoE
-More VAN, and releasing more of the SCE into collections, to get the Tree Killing Squad up-to-date

I'm not sure if this would count as a change to the book line, but part of the problem with the books was the changeover in editors. I felt that with Marco Palmieri and Margaret Clark gone, we don't really have anyone who matched their level of interest in and passion for Trek in charge, and that lack of interest and passion shows. Just my opinion, but YMMV.

 

[Defcon]

I felt that with Marco Palmieri and Margaret Clark gone, we don't really have anyone who matched their level of interest in and passion for Trek in charge, and that lack of interest and passion shows. Just my opinion, but YMMV.

Just to play devil's advocate here, but if I'm not mistaken we haven't seen a project yet that wasn't started by Margaret Clark (as I seem to remember that she was the one still calling the shots when Thypon Pact was announced) , so even if there was a perceived lack of "interest and passion" that could just as well be because it weren't the responsible editor's "babies", so to speak. I don't know about you, but I think your heart is just a little bit more into a project if it is your own idea, even if it is only subconsciously.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

I felt that with Marco Palmieri and Margaret Clark gone, we don't really have anyone who matched their level of interest in and passion for Trek in charge, and that lack of interest and passion shows. Just my opinion, but YMMV.

Just to play devil's advocate here, but if I'm not mistaken we haven't seen a project yet that wasn't started by Margaret Clark (as I seem to remember that she was the one still calling the shots when Thypon Pact was announced) , so even if there was a perceived lack of "interest and passion" that could just as well be because it weren't the responsible editor's "babies", so to speak. I don't know about you, but I think your heart is just a little bit more into a project if it is your own idea, even if it is only subconsciously.

Oh, I definitely agree. That was the point I was trying to make, that the lack of "ownership" or interest is shown in the output in many of the entries over the last few months.

 

[Christopher]

Just to play devil's advocate here, but if I'm not mistaken we haven't seen a project yet that wasn't started by Margaret Clark (as I seem to remember that she was the one still calling the shots when Thypon Pact was announced)...

That's right. I believe this month's Indistinguishable from Magic is the first project coming out that was commissioned during Jaime Costas's tenure. However, Margaret had been laid off by the time the Pact books were revised/edited, I think.

 

[Greg Cox]

Yeah, it's hard to mark the transitions sometimes.

Seven Deadly Sins is a good example. That was a project that was initiated by Marco, continued by Margaret (who commissioned my story), and finished off by Jaime (who I worked with on the final corrections and revisions). And that's not even counting the people at the CBS/Paramount end of things.

Nor is this an unusual state of affairs. My third Khan book was commissioned by John Ordover (who worked with me on the original proposal), edited by Ed Schlesinger, with significant input from Paula Block and John Von Citters at Paramount . . . .

You can't always point at a book and easily say who gets the credit (or the blame).

 

[ClayinCA]

I'd rehire Marco Palmieri.

Yep.

I could write a longer post, but that's all it would really say.

Me too. His editorship was a real Golden Age of Trek literature in my opinion.

 

[BillJ]

1. In general, how do you feel the Trek book line has done in the last 12-15 months?

I'll be kind and say 'average'.

2. More specifically, what have you liked in regards to the entire Trek book line in that time? Any favorite novels?

The Children of Kings and The Sorrows of Empire are the only standouts that I've seen in the last 12-15 months.

3. And more specifically, what have you disliked in regards to the Trek book line of the last year or so? What were your least favorite books?

Anything by Micheal Martin, Inception and Unspoken Truth were all dreadful. The Typhon Pact books were, collectively, underwhelming.

4. What new recurring trends or themes in the last 12 months have you noticed? Do you like or dislike these trends?

Bland. After the shake-up brought about by Destiny I don't think Pocket has met the challenge of continuing to keep the universe interesting.

5. What editorial decisions from the last 12-15 months have you like or disliked?

Dislike the continued focus on post-series 'relaunch' books.

6. What would you change in the Trek book line? Be it production choices or story editorial decisions?

Some books that take place during the varying TV series runs would be nice. Getting the 'Abramsverse Four' back on the release schedule.

 

[JD]

5. What editorial decisions from the last 12-15 months have you like or disliked?

The continued focus on post-series 'relaunch' books.

Did you like or dislike that?

 

[BillJ]

The continued focus on post-series 'relaunch' books.

Did you like or dislike that?

Thanks for catching that!

 

[Janos]

I'd rehire Marco Palmieri.

Yep.

I could write a longer post, but that's all it would really say.

Me too. His editorship was a real Golden Age of Trek literature in my opinion.

Agreed. He's missed.

 

[bok2384]

1. In general, how do you feel the Trek book line has done in the last 12-15 months?
To be honest, I think that it has barely kept its head above water. Obviously, a few spanners were thrown in the works what with shelved novels and redundancies, but it definitely had an effect on things.

2. More specifically, what have you liked in regards to the entire Trek book line in that time? Any favorite novels?
I think my biggest reason to be cheerful this year was the return of proper TOS books, bringing to an end the "ban" in the build-up to the Abrams movie. Despite that, I think the quality wasn't brilliant, but the full-length Sorrows of Empire and Inception were both enjoyable to varying degrees.

3. And more specifically, what have you disliked in regards to the Trek book line of the last year or so? What were your least favorite books?
Like everyone else, I was shocked and appalled at the shelving of the NuTOS books so late in the game. This caused a severe dip over the Summer months. The decision to reprint Nightshade was baffling as I would have welcomed (and purchased) a omnibus of the Slings and Arrows series.

I also found The Typhon Pact to be rather disappointing as a whole. While Zero Sum Game and Paths of Disharmony were good reads, although far from being the best works from either David Mack or Dayton Ward, Seize the Fire and Rough Beasts of Empire failed to entertain me. And less said about what was done with Ben Sisko in the latter book, the better.

4. What new recurring trends or themes in the last 12 months have you noticed? Do you like or dislike these trends?
There haven't been many books to notice any themes or trends in. At least from my perspective.

5. What editorial decisions from the last 12-15 months have you like or disliked?
The shelving of the nuTOS books, the rendundancies of Marco Palmieri and Margaret Clark. Michael A. Martin being the sole writer for Star Trek: Enterprise. The decision to bring an end to the Imperial Romulan State, doing away with story-telling opportunities.

6. What would you change in the Trek book line? Be it production choices or story editorial decisions?
Rehire Marco Palmieri and/or Margaret Clark for definite. Add in different writers for the Enterprise novels.

More Voyager novels by Kirsten Beyer, I don't care if she has to be chained to her computer.

Although I enjoy the majority of post-finale novels, I'd like to see a few novels set during series, especially for TNG and ENT.

The return of the Corps of Engineers eBook line. EBooks are shit hot at the moment with almost everyone having Kindles, Nooks, iPads etc.

 

[Sxottlan]

Out of the past 12-15 months, I would say my favorite novels have been:

Inception
Unspoken Truth

Interesting. What did you like about them may I ask? I wasn't really bowled over by either of them.

One recurring trend/theme that I like is the fact that life has suddenly gotten hard for many people in the Federation. Rebuilding and development efforts have always interested me, and I find that aspect of the post-Destiny line to be extremely fascinating.

However, I also almost get this feeling of "Let's see how much more we can change now that we kinda ended life as the Alpha Quadrant knows it".

Agreed.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

Out of the past 12-15 months, I would say my favorite novels have been:

Inception
Unspoken Truth

Interesting. What did you like about them may I ask? I wasn't really bowled over by either of them.

I liked that they filled in some gaps in the characters lives (Now we've seen how Kirk and Dr. Carol Marcus met, and the origins of Project Genesis, for Inception, and we know more about Saavik and what she's been doing). I liked that they weren't "action heavy", which was a bit of a welcome change from many of the other entries. The emphasis or thrust, for me anyway, was on the story, and how it was told, and not on the action (Note that I am not trying to imply or say that all the other authors do the opposite.)