what series would you bring back to conclude?

[RonG]

The recent conclusion of Vanguard and the Mirror Universe arc, as well as (what seems to be) the ending of Enterprise relaunch with the Romulan War duology, got me thinking about this.

Is TrekLit as a whole (Editorial, readership, etc) ready for more close-ended original narratives, spreading over several volumes? Is there a chance to conclude arcs that had been started and "abandoned", and if so – which series would you bring back?

Going over the various TrekLit series / one-shots, I came up with these options:

Challenger / New Earth – the TOS mini series and Gateways cross-over novel barely scratched the surface as far as exploring Belle Terre and the starring characters. A return would have to be of course by Diane Carey – maybe with Dave Galanter and writing partner / Carey's husband Greg Brodeur.

Klingon Empire – IMO the perfect opportunity for KRAD to return and bring back the Klingon magic by concluding the IKS Gorkon / Klingon Empire series he started a decade ago.

Stargazer – I don't know if this Michael Jan Friedman-penned series had been planned as close-ended, and IMO the nature of Picard's tenure on this ship (22 years IIRC) pretty much prevents the entire mission / tour of duty being close-ended, but I think a large epic arc will make MJF's return to TrekLit a satisfying read.


Opinions?

 

[zarkon]

Klingons - absolutely. Those books were a lot of fun, especially aboard the Gorkon.
Stargazer - wasn't a super hyper fan but wouldn't say no.
Challenger - cold day in hell.

More SCE would be nice (assuming retail omnibi since I don't read ebooks). Never say no to more tev.

 

[Sho]

SCE! SCE! Also, SCE!

Then again, is this specifically about bringing back and concluding a series? If so, then, well, yeah, I'd take a proper conclusion over abandoning it. OTOH, I also think the concept is still good for more stories first.

 

[captcalhoun]

Klingon Empire.

Glory to you and your house *mad starey eyes*

 

[Christopher]

I'd say MJF's Stargazer series did come to a conclusion, at least as much as TNG came to a conclusion onscreen. The final volume wrapped up the major arcs of the preceding half-dozen books, showing the end of Picard's "probationary" period as captain and the beginning of the Stargazer's legendary voyage of deep-space exploration. And the conclusion of the Stargazer's voyages as a whole was chronicled in The Buried Age.

 

[RonG]

I'd say MJF's Stargazer series did come to a conclusion, at least as much as TNG came to a conclusion onscreen. The final volume wrapped up the major arcs of the preceding half-dozen books, showing the end of Picard's "probationary" period as captain and the beginning of the Stargazer's legendary voyage of deep-space exploration. And the conclusion of the Stargazer's voyages as a whole was chronicled in The Buried Age.

I actually never had the chance to read SGZ after The Valiant. Might be a good idea

Buried Age was a favorite of mine, though..

Would you say that MJF's "arc", including Reunion, The Valiant, the Double Helix entry, had definite closure to it, like Vanguard did?

 

[Christopher]

Would you say that MJF's "arc", including Reunion, The Valiant, the Double Helix entry, had definite closure to it, like Vanguard did?

Not in the same way, no. Vanguard was its own unique entity. And the adventures of Picard on the Stargazer are obviously quite different because they lasted so long and their endpoint was predetermined.

As I said, the closure in the SGZ series of novels was just the resolution of its particular set of plot threads and the opening of the next phase. It could be seen as analogous to a season finale, the kind that isn't a cliffhanger but wraps up that season's particular arc and hints at the direction the characters will be going next. It left room for a continuation, of course, but served as a reasonable endpoint for the series at the length it ended up being.

 

[RonG]

Would you say that MJF's "arc", including Reunion, The Valiant, the Double Helix entry, had definite closure to it, like Vanguard did?

Not in the same way, no. Vanguard was its own unique entity. And the adventures of Picard on the Stargazer are obviously quite different because they lasted so long and their endpoint was predetermined.

As I said, the closure in the SGZ series of novels was just the resolution of its particular set of plot threads and the opening of the next phase. It could be seen as analogous to a season finale, the kind that isn't a cliffhanger but wraps up that season's particular arc and hints at the direction the characters will be going next. It left room for a continuation, of course, but served as a reasonable endpoint for the series at the length it ended up being.

By that same token, New Earth could be seen as the "first phase" of that particular storyline, with the Challenger book something of a special one-shot - It seems to me that the New Earth saga, as it were, was also far from complete.

 

[Christopher]

No, New Earth was its own distinct thing as well. It was a six-issue miniseries, and its final volume was a "backdoor pilot" for a Challenger series that ultimately only got one more novel and novella. There's a tendency to treat New Earth and Challenger as interchangeable, but that's not really the case. They're connected and overlapping, but distinct.

 

[RonG]

No, New Earth was its own distinct thing as well. It was a six-issue miniseries, and its final volume was a "backdoor pilot" for a Challenger series that ultimately only got one more novel and novella. There's a tendency to treat New Earth and Challenger as interchangeable, but that's not really the case. They're connected and overlapping, but distinct.

Do you consider New Earth separate because of the starring role of the TOS characters? The setting on both New Earth and the Challenger novel is the same, and the latter continues the story threads begun in New Earth: Challenger concerning Keller and his crew.

Also, how can you call the Challenger novel distinct, when it barely *had* an identity of its own, following the six volume mini series and still being a part of a franchise-wide crossover?

So I respectfully disagree, Christopher, and I'd very much like to hear (read) your reasoning in this matter - could prove to be an interesting debate

 

[JD]

I haven't read all of the books in the series yet, but I've really enjoyed the Klingon Empire/IKS Gorkon and SCE stories that I've read, and I would love to see those two series get proper finales.

 

[Brikar99]

Is TrekLit as a whole (Editorial, readership, etc) ready for more close-ended original narratives, spreading over several volumes?

I dunno about treklit as a whole, but I certainly would be.

 

[Christopher]

Do you consider New Earth separate because of the starring role of the TOS characters?

That and the fact that it was called New Earth, not Challenger, and that it was explicitly labeled as a six-issue miniseries, not an ongoing series. New Earth was a miniseries, the latest of the numerous four- to six-volume miniseries that were an annual tradition during John Ordover's tenure as editor, like Invasion!, Day of Honor, and Captain's Table in the years before it and Double Helix and Gateways in the years following it. But it was also hoped to be, as I said, a "backdoor pilot" for a new ongoing series.

According to Voyages of the Imagination:

p. 430: "Diane [Carey] remembered her editor wanted to use New Earth as a springboard to a new continuing book series that she would write, as Peter David was doing with New Frontier."

p. 433: "With the last book in the [New Earth] series, Diane left the ending open to possibly start a new series."

So there you have it. New Earth was a miniseries, it ended, and its last volume was a "pilot" for an ongoing series that Carey and Ordover hoped would follow. That ongoing series would not have been New Earth, it would've been Challenger -- an ongoing series that spun off from the miniseries. The two were linked, but they were different entities.

Also, how can you call the Challenger novel distinct, when it barely *had* an identity of its own, following the six volume mini series and still being a part of a franchise-wide crossover?

I'm saying that if it had become an ongoing series, it would have been distinct from New Earth, because it would've been about the starship Challenger and the overall politics of the sector, whereas New Earth was specifically about the colonization of the titular planet.

 

[Yevetha]

Did the "Errant" trilogies had a definite ending?

 

[zarkon]

Kevin Ryan's Errand series? Yes, book three of the second trilogy, "Sacrifices of War", definitively ends things.

 

[bullethead]

If I could take two, I'd take Klingon Empire and Challenger. If I absolutely had to pick one, it would be Klingon Empire, mostly because that did a hell of a lot of work fleshing out the Klingons as a people. I'd also settle for a Battlecruiser Vengeance comic series though (complete with anime style humans).

 

[RonG]

That and the fact that it was called New Earth, not Challenger, and that it was explicitly labeled as a six-issue miniseries, not an ongoing series. New Earth was a miniseries, the latest of the numerous four- to six-volume miniseries that were an annual tradition during John Ordover's tenure as editor, like Invasion!, Day of Honor, and Captain's Table in the years before it and Double Helix and Gateways in the years following it. But it was also hoped to be, as I said, a "backdoor pilot" for a new ongoing series.

According to Voyages of the Imagination:

p. 430: "Diane [Carey] remembered her editor wanted to use New Earth as a springboard to a new continuing book series that she would write, as Peter David was doing with New Frontier."

p. 433: "With the last book in the [New Earth] series, Diane left the ending open to possibly start a new series."

So there you have it. New Earth was a miniseries, it ended, and its last volume was a "pilot" for an ongoing series that Carey and Ordover hoped would follow. That ongoing series would not have been New Earth, it would've been Challenger -- an ongoing series that spun off from the miniseries. The two were linked, but they were different entities.
...
I'm saying that if it had become an ongoing series, it would have been distinct from New Earth, because it would've been about the starship Challenger and the overall politics of the sector, whereas New Earth was specifically about the colonization of the titular planet.

I see your point regarding the intent behind the Challenger novel/series as opposed to the New Earth mini series it would have been spun off (even though the original mini series spent time on the "politics of the sector" - the relations between the UFP, Belle Terre colonists, the Blood and the Kauld IIRC).

However, whatever the intent, IMO the Challenger novel never had any identity of its own, being a both a sequel to a mini series and Book 2 in a 7 book crossover event, so I'd hardly call it distinct from anything.

Linking this to my OP, I think that bringing this setting back in order to tell a multi-novel arc (not necessarily an ongoing series) would have to involve it being distinct from the original New Earth series.

 

[Yevetha]

Kevin Ryan's Errand series? Yes, book three of the second trilogy, "Sacrifices of War", definitively ends things.

Thanks.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Kevin Ryan's Errand series? Yes, book three of the second trilogy, "Sacrifices of War", definitively ends things.

It actually ends with an adaptation of the TOS episode, "Errand of Mercy", incorporated into the last volume. A much longer adaptation than the earlier James Blish version.

 

[shanejayell]

I'd love to see more Klingon Empire novels. GREAT series.