TNG book recommendations?

[Atomic_Monkey]

I did some research before posting this thread. If I understand correctly, fan consensus is that the un-numbered books are better than the number books, though of course there are a few hidden gems in that series. Several books written by Peter David have been recommended to me, including Vendetta, Q Squared and A Rock and a Hard Place. What are people's thoughts on his writing style? I read some of his comic books back in the day, but I'm not familiar with his prose.

I was also steered towards Mask by John Vornholt and The Devil's Heart by Carmen Carter.

Anyone have any other suggestions? I'm interested in books that focus character and plot, more so than action. I like the dialogue-heavy, "talky" bits of stories that develop characters and advance plots. I've been known to skim action scenes. While the resolution of an action scenes is usually relevant to the plot, the specific details of the fisticuffs, gun battles, chases, escapes, maelstroms, etc, aren't important and can be tedious.

Finally, I'm also considering reading the novelisations of the four TNG films. I don't have high expectations for those and would read them primarily for nostalgia.

 

[JD]

Are you sticking to just the TV series era standalone stuff? Dark Mirror is another great one from that era, but I do like include the warning that it was written before the DS9 Mirror Universe episodes, so it's version of the MU is different from what we ended up getting on DS9.
Are you interesting in diving into the Novelverse and the relaunch or are you just sticking with the standalone stuff?
Immortal Coil is fantastic, it's part of the Novelverse but can easily read on it's own. If you really enjoy it, it was later followed up on in the Cold Equations series, The Persistence of Memory, Silent Weapons, and The Body Electric, which was also fantastic. The storyline from that was also followed up on in or two other books, but I'll hold off on those so you don't get overwhelmed.

 

[bdub76]

I enjoy Peter David's TNG novels overall. His are the ones I originally read back when they came out.

My only complaint with his eBooks are some of the covers aren't all that great.

 

[Greg Cox]

Vendetta, Q-Squared, and Imazadi are my favorites of Peter David's TNG novels.


Meanwhile, the difference between the numbered books and the non-numbered books is that the numbered ones are mostly standalones, while, ironically enough, the later non-numbered books are much more serialized.

Which approach you prefer is a matter of taste.

 

[Cicero]

Meanwhile, the difference between the numbered books and the non-numbered books is that the numbered ones are mostly standalones, while, ironically enough, the non-numbered books are much more serialized.

The non-numbered books were also generally hardcovers, "giant novels," or novelizations and, being expected to sell better, usually were written by popular authors (that's less true for TOS, which saw many of its beloved books published before the hardcover line began).

In addition to seconding the recommendation for Dark Mirror, I'd also suggest Federation, a Zefram Cochrane crossover novel from two years before the release of First Contact (and not entirely compatible with the film). The best parts of the book are set before the post-atomic horror.

If you'd be interested in an action-heavy sequel to Generations guest-starring Kirk and the Borg, William Shatner's The Return is worth reading. I have fond memories of The Romulan Prize, but haven't read it in more than thirty years. And I really liked the novelization of Relics.

 

[Therin of Andor]

As a longtime Data fan, I was intrigued by "Metamorphosis", the first TNG "giant" novel, when it first came out. An early favourite!

Despite changes insisted upon by Richard Arnold, the story introduces crewman Lieutenant Thralen, a Theskian with blue skin, antennae and yellow fur-like hair is an Enterprise crewman. His race is "related" to Andorians, but is said to be "more gregarious". Jean Lorrah had intended that Thralen actually be an Andorian, but it was requested by the then-Star Trek Office at Paramount to make the change, since there were "no Andorians among the Enterprise-D crew".

Jean was seemingly also paying homage to some Andorian speculations from the old zine article, A Summary of the Physiological Roots of Andorian Culture (1976) by Leslie Fish, a friend from her fanfic days (eg. Thralen's references to "The Great Mother" deity).

I have recommended the book to numerous fans, but only one hated it, and couldn't explain why.

 

[Desert Kris]

I always had a great time with any Peter David novel I read, whether TOS or TNG. I've deliberately not read all of the books I have of his, so I still have some to look forward to.

I too read and enjoyed Metamorphosis, the giant novel. In more recent times I read her TOS books, and so circled back to pick up her early number TNG novel, Survivors, with an eye toward revisiting Metamorphosis knowing characters that appear in both books.

Federation is a crossover TOS and TNG novel, and it was great (although the authors seemed to have a better handle on the TOS characters).

Based on Howard Weinstein's TOS novel Deep Domain, I snagged two of his early TNG books, but I can't say more beyond that I liked Weinstein's storytelling, generally.

Also I technically haven't read Eyes of the Beholder, but A.C. Crispin is an author who hasn't disappointed yet, based on her TOS novels; I really enjoyed her Star Wars novels.

 

[DonIago]

Are you sticking to just the TV series era standalone stuff? Dark Mirror is another great one from that era, but I do like include the warning that it was written before the DS9 Mirror Universe episodes, so it's version of the MU is different from what we ended up getting on DS9.

Perhaps there's more than one MU.

 

[Cicero]

Vendetta, Q-Squared, and Imazadi are my favorites of Peter David's TNG novels.

I don't think I'd ever noticed before, but the most acclaimed series-era TNG novels usually revisit TOS in some way:

Federation — Zefram Cochrane, the TOS crew
Dark Mirror — The Mirror Universe
Vendetta — The Planet Killer
Imzadi — The Guardian of Forever
Q-Squared — Trelane

The only ones with at least a 3.80 on Goodreads that don't are Q-in-Law and the novelization of All Good Things...

 

[Smiley]

Based on the initial post, I'd recommend The Buried Age.

 

[Atomic_Monkey]

Are you sticking to just the TV series era standalone stuff? Dark Mirror is another great one from that era, but I do like include the warning that it was written before the DS9 Mirror Universe episodes, so it's version of the MU is different from what we ended up getting on DS9.
Are you interesting in diving into the Novelverse and the relaunch or are you just sticking with the standalone stuff?

Those are great questions I should have addressed in my original post. For now, I'm interested in standalone books. I want to make sure I enjoy them before I commit to reading multiple books in an arc or ongoing series.

I lean towards stories that took place during the TV series era since I'm most familiar with that, but I'm not completely opposed to reading novels set post-TV series. Do the later stories take place after Nemesis or are they concurrent with the film series?

 

[Cicero]

There are books set in both eras. The ongoing continuity that mostly ran from 2004 to 2021 is primarily set during roughly a decade of in-story time that starts shortly before Nemesis.

The most popular novels set earlier than that are The Return (just after Generations), Immortal Coil (shortly before DS9's "Waltz"), and John de Lancie and Peter David's I, Q (before Insurrection, but unrelated).

A lengthly cult classic spinoff series by Peter David, New Frontier, which includes Shelby and Robin Lefler, also takes place during the movie era.

 

[JD]

Perhaps there's more than one MU.

Those are great questions I should have addressed in my original post. For now, I'm interested in standalone books. I want to make sure I enjoy them before I commit to reading multiple books in an arc or ongoing series.

I lean towards stories that took place during the TV series era since I'm most familiar with that, but I'm not completely opposed to reading novels set post-TV series. Do the later stories take place after Nemesis or are they concurrent with the film series?

Immortal Coil takes place between First Contact and Nemesis, and the Cold Equations books take place 5 years after Nemesis. The Cold Equations is part of the ongoing post-Nemesis storyline, but I think could read them on there own, just be aware that things have changed since Nemesis. Oh, and obviously since they were written before Lower Decks and Picard came out the post-Nemesis books take took things in a different direction than the shows did.

 

[bdub76]

I don't think I'd ever noticed before, but the most acclaimed series-era TNG novels usually revisit TOS in some way:

Federation — Zefram Cochrane, the TOS crew
Dark Mirror — The Mirror Universe
Vendetta — The Planet Killer
Imzadi — The Guardian of Forever
Q-Squared — Trelane

The only ones with at least a 3.80 on Goodreads that don't are Q-in-Law and the novelization of All Good Things...

Good Reads ratings aren't that great. I finished up The Book of Lost Hours for book club today, and it was rated 4.09. I'd give the book 2/5.

If I read a short story by a Trek author and enjoy it, I'm more likely to read their novels. I'd suggest this to the original poster. A lot produced short stories for a Star Trek magazine. It's a good way to find authors to read.

And reading anthologies in general is how I'm discovering authors to read too.

 

[Atomic_Monkey]

just be aware that things have changed since Nemesis.

Thanks for the tip. It what way have they changed? What background would I need to know going into them?

I assume Riker and Troi are gone (on the Titan) and Data is still dead? Has B4 become a staple character? Has Worf come back, or is he still off on DS9? Come to think of it, besides Picard, La Forge and Crusher, who's left on the Enterprise?

 

[Greg Cox]

I don't think I'd ever noticed before, but the most acclaimed series-era TNG novels usually revisit TOS in some way:

Federation — Zefram Cochrane, the TOS crew
Dark Mirror — The Mirror Universe
Vendetta — The Planet Killer
Imzadi — The Guardian of Forever
Q-Squared — Trelane

The only ones with at least a 3.80 on Goodreads that don't are Q-in-Law and the novelization of All Good Things...

I confess that's probably what enticed me to check out some of those books, back in the day.

"Ooh, the Squire of Gothos! The Mirror Universe! The Guardian of Forever!"

 

[Atomic_Monkey]

The only ones with at least a 3.80 on Goodreads that don't are Q-in-Law and the novelization of All Good Things...

I was a bit surprised to see All Good Things... rated so well. Do you think that's just spill over from fans loving the televised episode, or does the novelization stand on its own as decent literature?

While I'm new TNG fandom, I've been a lifelong hardcore Doctor Who fan. For the most part, Doctor Who's novelisations (not a typo -- "s" because it's British) are viewed fondly for nostalgia and simple fun, but not considered to be on the same level the original fiction. There are exceptions of course (towards the end of the novelisation range they made a concerted effort to improve their quality), but overall they're considered inferior. That may have biased me into assuming the same is true for Star Trek novelizations.

 

[Atomic_Monkey]

If I read a short story by a Trek author and enjoy it, I'm more likely to read their novels. I'd suggest this to the original poster. A lot produced short stories for a Star Trek magazine. It's a good way to find authors to read.

And reading anthologies in general is how I'm discovering authors to read too.

That is a great suggestion. I do the same with non-Trek fiction to find authors I like, so it make sense to apply that strategy here as well. Are there any TNG anthologies you can recommend? Or can you point me to where I can find reprints of stories from the magazine?

 

[bdub76]

That is a great suggestion. I do the same with non-Trek fiction to find authors I like, so it make sense to apply that strategy here as well. Are there any TNG anthologies you can recommend? Or can you point me to where I can find reprints of stories from the magazine?

There was a magazine called Star Trek Explorer that recently stopped. They put out a bunch of anthologies. And in each issue, they printed short stories too.

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Trek_Explorer_Presents:_%22The_Mission%22_and_Other_Stories

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Trek_Explorer_Presents:_Star_Trek_%22Q_And_False%22_and_Other_Stories

There are more, but those I were able to find at memory alpha.

My library over on Libby has the magazines still available. Good way to try out a bunch of different authors before buying their novels.

 

[Atomic_Monkey]

I always had a great time with any Peter David novel I read, whether TOS or TNG. I've deliberately not read all of the books I have of his, so I still have some to look forward to.

I enjoy Peter David's TNG novels overall. His are the ones I originally read back when they came out.

As I was reading through older threads in this forum I saw a post that said Peter David's dialogue sounds like it's out of a comic book. I realize that's just one person's opinion, but it scared me a bit. Now that the idea has been planted in my head, I'm afraid I'll be predisposed to be judgemental of David's dialogue.