Trek XI universe novels coming!

[trampledamage]

I know discussion of the books is a Trek Lit subject, but I thought there might well be people here who are looking forward to the possibility of novels set in the Trek XI universe, who don't regularly hang out in Trek Lit.

Well, here's the annoucement!

Trek Today link


Four new novels coming out in the summer of next year written by Alan Dean Foster, Christopher Bennett, David Mack and one other not yet announced.

I am looking forward to these

 

[DiSiLLUSiON]

I am eagerly anticipating these novels, as well.

 

[davejames]

Haven't read a Trek novel in ages, but I would be kinda interested to check these out.

The key though is whether they are told in the same style and sensibility as JJ's movie, and explore these fun new versions of the characters. If they're just the usual, plot-heavy TOS novels with generic versions of Kirk, Spock, etc plugged into it, then never mind.

 

[MapleJack]

Will these novels be considered as cannon? Or not so, as with all others?

 

[trampledamage]

I doubt it - that's not the way the Trek universe works.

 

[MapleJack]

I doubt it - that's not the way the Trek universe works.

True and as I suspected. I'll probably pass on them then.

 

[trampledamage]

I doubt it - that's not the way the Trek universe works.

True and as I suspected. I'll probably pass on them then.

I love the Trek original novels, and it never bothers me that future on-screen work might contradict them. In fact, I like it that way - it gives the authors far more leeway to tell great stories.

 

[MapleJack]

I doubt it - that's not the way the Trek universe works.

True and as I suspected. I'll probably pass on them then.

I love the Trek original novels, and it never bothers me that future on-screen work might contradict them. In fact, I like it that way - it gives the authors far more leeway to tell great stories.

There are several that I also enjoyed, but most I found I couldn't because they just really didn't fit. Some could be argued that they fit, as with the New Frontier series or the novel Vulcan's Glory. But while a good story is a good story, I prefer that they all are considered working with the whole.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Will these novels be considered as cannon? Or not so, as with all others?

They'll be read by less than 1% of those attending the movie. So do you really think they should become canonical, forcing the next movie's screenwriters to read all four books and then tweak their plans for the script to ensure it fits with four novels?

Then, the film after that has to be forced around the plots of those four books plus more that come out in the intervening years, again tweaking their plans for that script to ensure it fits with eight novels?

All for books read by only 1% of the audience.

 

[Chrisisall]

Will these novels be considered as cannon?

Inquire as to whether I am concerned.
(Ask me if I care)
I love a good Trek story, no matter the "cannon."

 

[NileQT87]

As with my most common complaint about the Star Wars EU (which I have unfortunately been acquainted with): CHARACTERS! The MAIN ones. Focus on them and their journeys like the movies do. It's absolutely painful if you're a fan of the main trio of Luke, Han and Leia and care somewhat for Chewie and Lando. Hardly any of the EU material even notices those characters as the leads. Original characters, random Jedi and random pilots just don't do it for me.

A lot of EU garbage is hurt because the writers are more focused on coming up with some silly sci-fi/fantasy plot and not about developing the characters.

One thing that this movie did for the Star Trek franchise was bring it back to the core characters and their internal conflicts and personal journeys. If you want new Trekkies that were introduced with this film to care about the comics or novels, you've got to give the same kind of dramatic treatment that focuses on these characters. Sure, you can have a sci-fi plot-of-the-week sort of deal, but that's only interesting if it affects any of the characters on a personal level in some sort of way.

Now, a good idea for the Trek books/comics would be to maybe do some kind of origins series about each of the main characters: their youth, what made them who they are, their time at Starfleet Academy, etc...

It would be an excellent chance to try to tell the story of how Spock/Uhura came about (this would at least get some females to perhaps check out the expanded universe material--it's certainly the fanfic topic that's taken off), about Spock's first experiences on joining the Academy on Earth before becoming a professor or perhaps a bit with Kirk and McCoy's friendship at the Academy, Kirk's changed parental figures growing up, etc... It would also give a chance for characters like McCoy, Uhura, Scotty, Chekov and Sulu to get backstories that probably won't ever be told on screen.

Actually, if there's any topic that would be worthy of a new book series, it would be about each of the characters at Starfleet Academy. A fill-in-the-blanks series, if you will.

 

[rahullak]

^^

The authors for the 2010 novels set in JJverse are all fantastic character writers who can weave depth into them and also spin the the "big plot" at the same time.
You could read David Mack's Destiny or Christopher Bennett's Titan novels and you'll know what I'm talking about

 

[EJA]

I'm glad some will be written by big names in Trek Lit, such as Christopher Bennett. I look forward to the one about the Vulcan refugees!

 

[Starbreaker]

Novels are not and never will be canon. It's only a word anyway. You can either like the books or not. I'll be buying them.

 

[rahullak]

Frankly, the real beauty and depth of Trek is brought out more in the "non-canon" novels, comics etc. imo. There's no way TV series and movies can compete with books and comics when it comes to characterization and story-telling. Only in terms of visual effects and acting ... just the nature of the medium.

In the end, it really doesn't matter what's canon and what isn't. It's our ability and willingness to enjoy the story and the medium that really makes it worthwhile.

 

[Therin of Andor]

In the end, it really doesn't matter what's canon and what isn't. It's our ability and willingness to enjoy the story and the medium that really makes it worthwhile.

The point is, if you want more JJ Star Trek, and you love reading, and feel impatient for the next movie, there will be four novels (and two more comic mini-series) to fill that ache between movies.

 

[Chrisisall]

The point is, if you want more JJ Star Trek, and you love reading, and feel impatient for the next movie, there will be four novels (and two more comic mini-series) to fill that ache between movies.

I went to the comic store today, and asked for the comic that went before JJ's movie (Countdown), & I was startled at how the art sucked. No way am I paying $18 for such a mess. I'll buy it in novel form if possible, but I'll be happy to wait for the next movie if this is all we get, comically speaking.

 

[Star Treks]

I'm happy Alan Dean Foster is doing one of them. He's one of my favorite writers but his Star Trek novel wasn't his finest work - I think he had to get it done a bit too fast. The upcoming novel will be a chance for him to really branch out in this new Trek universe... he's a fantastic imaginer of worlds and characters.

 

[rahullak]

In the end, it really doesn't matter what's canon and what isn't. It's our ability and willingness to enjoy the story and the medium that really makes it worthwhile.

The point is, if you want more JJ Star Trek, and you love reading, and feel impatient for the next movie, there will be four novels (and two more comic mini-series) to fill that ache between movies.

I know...but that wasn't the point i was trying to make.

 

[NileQT87]

I'm not familiar with what the state of the ST EU is, but I do know that in many other fandoms, the EU books generally are felt to be rather inferior (granted, I'm mostly familiar with SW and BtVS/AtS EU). Though, SW has a lot of fanboys who don't take criticism of their canon EU lightly (which I think is completely off-track). BtVS/AtS fans, on the other hand, openly mock expanded universe material with the exception of a handful of titles (granted, most of it is non-canon with the exceptions of several comics--though, the non-canon comics are more well-known and well-received than the books). I know because of Roswell's limited run the spin-off books are considered canon, but are apparently very rare/expensive (though it was built on a book series to start with). I know Heroes has been putting out online comics and online video snippets practically since the beginning.

Would you say that ST EU has generally gone in the right direction? Is it character-oriented or does it get side-tracked with sci-fi and original characters?

I'm really curious. Though I might be more likely to check out the comics. How are those generally handled quality-wise for ST? I know that IDW has the license and they've done marvelous work with their AtS license and I like many of the artists they use (from what I've seen from scanning various previews of other properties besides AtS), so that might interest me. Countdown looks interesting to me, so I might check that out. What would be nice is if they delved into the Abramsverse group of alternate characters in their next projects.

Of course, my wish is definitely for some backstory/Starfleet Academy stuff. What would be fascinating is a back-and-forth compare-and-contrast between the two timelines.