What novels pass the "Test of Time"

[Nathan]

I'm in my 40s and have been reading Trek books since a teenager, so I've read about 95% of the trek books that are out there for the last 25 years or so.

I was in the used book store which has an awesome selection of used trek books. I was thumbing through some of the older books (ie. back when they were numbered) and thought, "I can't believe I read this crap." as fingering through them it seemed several of the books were basically Planet of the Week books with the Enterprise serving as the taxicab for Kirk & Company.

A few that I looked at I got a grin thinking, "Yeah, this was a kick ass book back then and still is now!!!!"

For me, my favs are

Strangers from the Sky
Serpents Among the Ruins
Art of the Impossible
Pawns & Symbols

(yeah, the first 3 aren't numbered but they getting to be pretty old).

I think now alot of the numbered books are just so-so, but I could see as a teen how they could really be great.

And yeah, a lot of the numbered books I thought, "Hmmm...this book sucked the first time I read it and flipping through it, it still sucks"

Just wondering if anyone felt the same picking up the same book that you read about 10 years ago and thought, "I can't believe I read this crap!!!"

And to clarify, even if the books are Kick-@$$ or sucks, I'm just thankful I have to privilege to read Trek book and the Trek line continues.

 

[Sho]

I've read "Crossroad" by Barbara Hambly twice about 15 years apart, first as a young teenager, and enjoyed it as much the second time as I did the first. Still one of the best Trek books I've read, and still quite thought-provoking in its best moments.

Of course it could be the nostalgia talking .

 

[Yevetha]

DS 9: A Stitch in Time.

 

[captcalhoun]

Prime Directive is brilliant

 

[Christopher]

For me, my favs are

Strangers from the Sky
Serpents Among the Ruins
Art of the Impossible
Pawns & Symbols

(yeah, the first 3 aren't numbered but they getting to be pretty old).

Books from 2003 are "pretty old?"

I've read "Crossroad" by Barbara Hambly twice about 15 years apart, first as a young teenager, and enjoyed it as much the second time as I did the first. Still one of the best Trek books I've read, and still quite thought-provoking in its best moments.

Of course it could be the nostalgia talking .

I actually liked Crossroad a lot better the second time I read it (or at least the first time I revisited it after a number of years) than I did originally. So it's not just nostalgia, at least not for me.

 

[JWolf]

Do we need yet another thread on favorite trek books?

 

[Sho]

Do we need yet another thread on favorite trek books?

I think this is a pretty interesting new take on it, personally.

Might be even more interesting if expanded to the scope of novels that didn't hold up to repeated readings and why, though.

 

[Sky]

Strangers from the Sky and Spock's World are the ones I've reread a lot and still really enjoy.

As a kid I loved The Vulcan Academy Murders. I tried rereading it last year but found it kind of predictable and fluffy.

 

[JWolf]

Do we need yet another thread on favorite trek books?

I think this is a pretty interesting new take on it, personally.

Might be even more interesting if expanded to the scope of novels that didn't hold up to repeated readings and why, though.

But we know this is going to be a favorite novel thread yet again. Sure it might turn into a why these books don't stand multiple reads, but I highly doubt it.

 

[JD]

I just finished Spock's World, and despite the fact that alot of it doesn't line up with the canon as we now know it, it's still an awesome book. Strangers from the Sky, Q-Squared, Imzadi, and Reunion are also older books that I've read that I found really enjoyable.

 

[Christopher]

But we know this is going to be a favorite novel thread yet again.

No, because it's specifically about older novels that still hold up well.

And who appointed you board policeman? If you don't find the topic interesting, just don't open the thread.

 

[Reanok]

Books that hold up well Imzadi, Final frontier by Diane Carey, The Wounded sky by Diane Duane,Spock's world.The Lives of Dax story antholgy. Ds9 Prophecy and Change also the Millenium story trilogy.Yesterday's son and Time for Yesterday.Web of the Romulans.Q in law.Covenant of the crown.

 

[timothy]

star trek time trap

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

Strangers from the Sky and Spock's World are the ones I've reread a lot and still really enjoy.

As a kid I loved The Vulcan Academy Murders. I tried rereading it last year but found it kind of predictable and fluffy.

I enjoyed The Vulcan Academy Murders, but I agree about it being predictable. I had the culprit and motive pegged pretty much from their first appearance. Still, I enjoy reading it anyway, so that counts for something, right?

 

[JWD75]

Strangers From the Sky, Spock's World, Prime Directive, The Wounded Sky, Crossroad, the DS9 Millenium trilogy, and Peter David's novels pre-New Frontier are just some that I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Sci]

For me, my favs are

Strangers from the Sky
Serpents Among the Ruins
Art of the Impossible
Pawns & Symbols

(yeah, the first 3 aren't numbered but they getting to be pretty old).

Books from 2003 are "pretty old?"

Eight years, going on nine. That's damn near a third of my lifetime so far.

 

[Christopher]

But Pocket's been publishing original Trek novels for 30 years now. I think 8 years ago still counts as fairly recent.

 

[Sci]

But Pocket's been publishing original Trek novels for 30 years now. I think 8 years ago still counts as fairly recent.

8-9 years is still between one-third and one-quarter of the total time Pocket's been publishing TREK novels, so I still don't think it's unreasonable to count a book from 2003 as being "old."

 

[Christopher]

^To me, it doesn't seem appropriate to call something "old" unless it's at least half the age of the novel line itself. It doesn't make sense to me to refer to 70% or more of the total number of books as "old" and only 30% or fewer as "new." That's highly imbalanced.

 

[captcalhoun]

it's not old until it's at least 12 years old.