What novels pass the "Test of Time"

[Therin of Andor]

I suspect we all share a love of good trek lit, and would want to share the 'best bits' we've experienced.

But no one said we "want to share" Laurel K Hamilton's ST novel with the world at large. Hamilton fans may be curious to see an example of her early work; they may have missed seeing it when first released, or tried to order her backlist and it was out of print.

Similarly Greg Bear's ST novel (GB was a fan art contributor to Bjo Trimble's "ST Concordance"). AC Crispin's "Yesterday" duology has twice been reprinted with fanfare as her SF star began to rise. Plus all the books/authors selected for the seven "Signature Edition" trade omnibuses.

 

[Christopher]

^Has Corona ever been rereleased?

 

[Mysterion]

The Entropy Effect
The Wounded Sky
The Galactic Whirlpool
The Final Reflection
My Enemy, My Ally

 

[Therin of Andor]

^Has Corona ever been rereleased?

Not that I know of, although it was kept in print for quite a while. Until they brought out the ST IV novelization unnumbered, the entire ST backlist was supposedly "available" by mail order checklist coupon. I figured that when they started bring out some unnumbered books, these were ones they wouldn't feel as committed to, as those needing to stay "in print" to keep people's numbered collections complete.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Prime Directive is brilliant

Agreed. First time I read it, I was like whoa, this should be a movie! If a book is written well enough and captures the essence of the characters, I think it can stand the test of time.

 

[Christopher]

Until they brought out the ST IV novelization unnumbered, the entire ST backlist was supposedly "available" by mail order checklist coupon. I figured that when they started bring out some unnumbered books, these were ones they wouldn't feel as committed to, as those needing to stay "in print" to keep people's numbered collections complete.

Actually they didn't even start numbering the books until The Final Reflection came out with a "16" on the cover -- but the backlist inside still had no numbers assigned for it or any of the previous 15 books. I no longer have the ST III novelization (numbered as #17), but by the time My Enemy, My Ally (#18) came out, the backlist had been retroactively assigned numbers, and those numbers were subsequently printed on the covers of reprints of the first 15 books (replacing the Timescape logo that had been on the original covers of the novels up through The Wounded Sky).

So when ST IV came out, Pocket had only been using book numbering for two and a half years. Thus, leaving a book unnumbered wouldn't have been as big a deal as it might seem in retrospect. (Particularly since Enterprise: The First Adventure came out just three months before the ST IV novelization.)

 

[JD]

^Has Corona ever been rereleased?

I just looked it up on B&N, and one of the paperbacks say "REISSUE", so it looks like it might have been rereleased somewhere along the line.

 

[Christopher]

^Has Corona ever been rereleased?

I just looked it up on B&N, and one of the paperbacks say "REISSUE", so it looks like it might have been rereleased somewhere along the line.

Yup, the cover shown there is definitely different from the original release's cover. It has the TOS logo above the title while the original had "THE NEW STAR TREK NOVEL" in an ordinary font. It has a "#15" and the standard border of white lines with rounded corners, whereas my first-edition copy has no number and a different border of orange lines with right-angled corners (and the border covers the characters rather than going "behind" them). And it uses a later version of the Pocket logo than the original. So the book must've been reissued at some point.

 

[JD]

I'm thinking there must have been a mass reissue at some point, because there seem to be quite a few books from this era that have 2 different covers.

 

[Christopher]

Not just at one point; my impression is that they kept the old books in print pretty continuously for a while, since they were popular. (Although I can't be sure, since I never needed to buy the reprints. For a long time, I took pride in having a first-printing copy of every Trek novel. Eventually, though, I could no longer afford to keep up that practice, and a lot of the books coming out by then weren't worth keeping anyway.)

 

[Therin of Andor]

Actually they didn't even start numbering the books until The Final Reflection came out with a "16" on the cover -- but the backlist inside still had no numbers assigned for it or any of the previous 15 books.

I realise that, but the then-current books (and new reprints) on the shelves were numbered. The whole marketing trip re numbering attempts to pull in the collectors who are used to hunting for their numbered bubble gum cards. (Scholastic's "Goosebumps" and "The Baby-Sitters' Club" used this feature to huge effect in the 80s.) People bought a few numbered books, realised they were missing some, and often ordered by mail the titles they needed. I understand Pocket had a very healthy mail order trade going until Amazon came along.

So when ST IV came out, Pocket had only been using book numbering for two and a half years. Thus, leaving a book unnumbered wouldn't have been as big a deal as it might seem in retrospect. (Particularly since Enterprise: The First Adventure came out just three months before the ST IV novelization.)

Well, I spoke to a book wholesaler around that time. Pocket had been amazed that the novelization for ST:TMP, retro numbers as #1, was still in print, due to consumer demand, all those years later. It holds some kind of a record for longevity in-print, IIRC. Also, S&S often sold the international rights for the novelizations to other publishers (variously Futura, Orbit, Granada, etc, in UK), and they wouldn't be keeping Pocket numbering. After Titan UK let go of the ST line, S&S started to export the numbered books to UK.

I'm thinking there must have been a mass reissue at some point, because there seem to be quite a few books from this era that have 2 different covers.

Yep. When the gold embossed title covers were current, Pocket started omitting the metallic foil and the embossing from the second printing. I know with "Deep Domain", the unembossed second printing reached Australia (by air freight) before the sea freighted first editions! I really had to scramble to keep my first editions in order! Pocket started blurring the line on what was a second printing vs second edition.

 

[AFEK ESLCAFE W]

"A Stitch in Time" by Andrew J. Robinson has stood the test of time for its in depth look into an alien culture, espionage, psychological intrigue, and the implications of academic and career achievement and one's destiny in society.