Very Confusing...

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I go to Barns and Noble at least once a week, and stop by the Sci-Fiction section looking for new Trek books, I have never considered buying the Novels. They were written after the series were completed. What is your opinion of the Novels, can they be considered extensions of the actual series or are they just books that are assuming what may or may not have taken place in the televised series???

 

[species5618]

I go to Barns and Noble at least once a week, and stop by the Sci-Fiction section looking for new Trek books, I have never considered buying the Novels. They were written after the series were completed. What is your opinion of the Novels, can they be considered extensions of the actual series or are they just books that are assuming what may or may not have taken place in the televised series???

Many of the books were released during the TNG/DS9/VOY run, not necessarily after the series were completed. Of course, the books are still coming out, but I have a whole bunch of paperbacks with late 80's/early 90's copyright dates.

Some of the trek novels I've read have been great, some terrible. Some of the authors are bona-fide trekkies who have a real love for the material, while others are just cranking the books out with clearly little or no affinity for trek as a franchise.

As far as whether these books are extensions of the series, my understanding is that as far as the trek universe goes, only what is seen/talked about on-screen in the shows and movies is considered 'official' or canon.

Of course, some books get things wrong simply because they were published before a trek film or tv show says something differently. An example is a book I read prior to the release of First Contact (I believe it was called 'Federation') which discusses humanity's first contact with an alien race. Instead of the Vulcans in 2063 I think the book had it as the Andorians in the 2080's.

Hope this helps you out.

 

[Trekwatcher]

Having read more of these than I care to admit, I would agree with Species5618 that they really run the gamut. Some of them made a deep and lasting impression on me (the Crucible series comes to mind) while most are just pleasant reads (I call them airport books). I think that the era of the truly dreadful ones has largely passed as the publishers have realized that quality sells.

 

[ryan123450]

I go to Barns and Noble at least once a week, and stop by the Sci-Fiction section looking for new Trek books, I have never considered buying the Novels. They were written after the series were completed. What is your opinion of the Novels, can they be considered extensions of the actual series or are they just books that are assuming what may or may not have taken place in the televised series???

Both. There are many novels that take place during the series and can be seen as having taken place in between episodes of each series. But there are also many that take place after the series end.

The most notable of these is the DS9 "Relaunch" which basically consists of "Season 8" of the series and is now in the beginning of "Season 9". It follows the adventures of Captain Kira and the rest of the DS9 crew both old and new.

Similarly there is the TNG "Relaunch" which takes up where Star Trek: Nemesis and the novel mini-series "A Time To..." left off. It continuies the adventures of the Enterprise-E after the departure of Riker, Troi, and Data. There is also a novel series called "Titan" which stars Riker and Troi on their new ship.

There is also the Voyager "Relaunch" which takes up where the series finale left off with new Voyager adventures back in the Alpha Quadrant.

Finally there is the Enterprise "Relaunch" which picks up where "Demons/Terra Prime" left off, showing a non-holodeck version of the events of "These Are the Voyages..." and continuing on from there.

All of these novel lines and a few more form a vast continuity which could be described to a newcomer as a "Star Trek Expanded Universe", though that term is never actually used.

Since there is zero chance of any of these series returning to the screen, none of this can be contradicted by future productions. So the idea that this is somehow "less official", or "not-real Star Trek" is absurd.

I'd say swing into the Trek Liturature forum for more information and then dive in to the vast sea that is Trek Lit.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I'm moving this to Trek Lit

 

[Sci]

I go to Barns and Noble at least once a week, and stop by the Sci-Fiction section looking for new Trek books, I have never considered buying the Novels. They were written after the series were completed. What is your opinion of the Novels, can they be considered extensions of the actual series or are they just books that are assuming what may or may not have taken place in the televised series???

I'm not sure what you're asking. Are you asking us if we think the novels "really" happened?

Well, they're non-canonical, which means that they have to be consistent with the canon as it exists at the time of publication but new entries in the canon can contradict them at will. But that doesn't really mean anything, since new entries in the canon can contradict previous entries in the canon at will; really, the only difference between a novel and the canon is that the people who make the canon don't have to read the novels, and that people pretend episodes/movies in the canon that have been contradicted still fit into one big continuity that is consistent but don't pretend that this is the case with novels that have been contradicted.

 

[FalTorPan]

I don't care for the novels. My TV remote doesn't work with them, and they're full of these bizarre things called "words."

Ack!

 

[JD]

Most of the books I've read have come out after I started reading them so I don't know much about the earlier books myself. But the books I have read, which have been mostly the Relaunches (DS9, TNG, Enterprise) and non-TV series have mostly been really good. In fact, I can only think of two or three that I have not liked. Alot of people who have been reading Trek books for decades have been calling this a golden age for Trek Lit, so if you are thinking about reading them, I think now would be a good time. I know I say this almost any time someone new comes on here, but if you are interested in the books you really should check out Memory Beta, the non-canon Trek wiki, which focuses on books, comics, video games, and RPGs, but if you go on there be careful of spoilers.

 

[DS9Continuing]

The most notable of these is the DS9 "Relaunch" which basically consists of "Season 8" of the series and is now in the beginning of "Season 9".

Sorry to go off topic, but I actually think we're nearing the end of Season 9.

I count Avatar to Unity as season 8, and Unjoined to The Soul Key as season 9.

 

[Christopher]

^^The DS9 books have not at all been outlined with "seasons" in mind, so any attempt to classify them that way is purely subjective. There's no right answer to which "season" the books are in, because they aren't in any season.

In terms of calendar years, though, everything from The Left Hand of Destiny to Olympus Descending is in 2376, and Warpath marks the beginning of 2377. That might be what ryan123450 was going by.

 

[ryan123450]

Yeah, that what I meant. Though, I do agree agree that Avatar to Unity is obviously the first arc of the relaunch, and now we approaching the end of the second arc.

 

[DS9Continuing]

^^The DS9 books have not at all been outlined with "seasons" in mind, so any attempt to classify them that way is purely subjective. There's no right answer to which "season" the books are in, because they aren't in any season.

I'm fully aware of that, and I've had that discussion with many before. I'm just saying how I choose to think of it.