I'm getting into Star Trek fiction for the first time in about a decade and I am enjoying it so far. One thing that's frustrating though is that there seems to be a lot of not so good books mixed in with awesome stuff. I have found a couple review sites, and there's always Amazon user ratings, so that's been helpful. But I was wondering if you guys could help me out too. As we all know, for the TV shows there is a general consensus that certain episodes are more or less the "best" (e.g. CotEoF, BoBW, Yesterday's Enterprise, the Visitor, etc.). Are there some books that have a similar reputation of being considered "the best"? I'm interested mostly in TOS, but am very willing to read other series if the book is awesome. Thanks!
What ST fiction books are the best?
- Thread starter erastus25
- Start date
I'm not sure how universal my views are, but I think each of my suggestions would be seconded by many:
Great Star Trek literature includes:
Vanguard: You said TOS is your thing, so this must top the list. The ongoing story of a Starbase in a politically volatile area of space engaged in a top-secret scientific/military research project. It is set during the Original Series and Kirk and company show up or are mentioned on occassion, as are events from many TOS epoisodes.
The Lost Era: 10 books to date, set (mostly) between Kirk's "death" in Generations and TNG. Self-contained novels, but they all link up to provide a somewhat epic overview of what happens between these two gateposts. Many feature older versions of TOS characters interacting with younger versions of TNG-DS9-VOY characters.
Deep Space Nine Post-finale: Continuing the story of DS9 where it left off. Not TOS, of course, but possibly the best Trek lit series around. Complex stories, many intertwining ongoing character arcs, politics, exploration; loads to enjoy.
Destiny trilogy: No TOS, but a must read. The final Borg story, and an epic crossover tying all the other series- and most of the Trek lit universe- together. There are also many books either already out or planned, across several series, dealing with the aftermath.
Titan series: Great character-driven exploration/diplomacy tales.
Yep, that's pretty much the list - all the projects started by Marco Palmieri
.For TOS, I'll also add the Crucible trilogy; though it falls off a bit in the third installment, the first two are absolutely amazing, and will certainly appeal to any TOS fan. The first, McCoy: Provenance of Shadows, is also the longest Trek novel ever published.
I'm not good with TOS myself, but the last Trek book I read was The Buried Age by Christopher L. Bennett, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's definitely one of the best Trek novels I've read. It focuses on Picard's years between the Stargazer and leading up to TNG. I'd be happy to expand on my praise for the book if you are interested, but I don't want to bog you down right now.
Beyond that, I also enjoyed several of the post-DS9 novels.
Beyond that, I also enjoyed several of the post-DS9 novels.
I thought I'd just add that "The Buried Age" is a part of "The Lost Era" as mentioned above
I had a thread here at one point asking about TOS books which might help as well.
I strongly urge you check out the Crucible trilogy (the first and third are the best), and I really really enjoyed the Janus Gate trilogy. Those two series got me reading Treklit again after almost 20 years.
I strongly urge you check out the Crucible trilogy (the first and third are the best), and I really really enjoyed the Janus Gate trilogy. Those two series got me reading Treklit again after almost 20 years.
When the film released two months ago, I posted a list of ten recommendations of books that someone coming to Star Trek from the movie can pick up and read. I give some explanatory notes on each. It's geared toward original series fiction, obviously, so that might get you started.
Here's a good one:
Excelsior: Forged in Fire. A pulse-pounding, action-packed THRILL RIDE, if ever there was! And to boot...it answers some questions, continuity-wise!
A Time To... Great build-up to Nemesis--and this series might actually help you ENJOY the dang film!
Ex Machina is pretty good, as is Crucible. Great character work, every one o' them!
Excelsior: Forged in Fire. A pulse-pounding, action-packed THRILL RIDE, if ever there was! And to boot...it answers some questions, continuity-wise!
A Time To... Great build-up to Nemesis--and this series might actually help you ENJOY the dang film!
Ex Machina is pretty good, as is Crucible. Great character work, every one o' them!
I would list the following as great Trek lit.:
1. ST:TNG: Imzadi by Peter David
2. ST: DS9: Millenium trilogy & relaunch novels
3. ST: New Frontier series
4. ST: Spock's World by Diane Duane
5. ST: Joy Machine - it reads like an actual TOS episode
6. ST: The Sundered
7. ST: Ex Machina
8. ST
S9: The 34th Rule - provides an interesting view of the Ferengui and how they can be villians in the Trek universe besides comedic characters.
9. ST:TNG: Reunion
10. ST:TNG: Devill's Heart
1. ST:TNG: Imzadi by Peter David
2. ST: DS9: Millenium trilogy & relaunch novels
3. ST: New Frontier series
4. ST: Spock's World by Diane Duane
5. ST: Joy Machine - it reads like an actual TOS episode
6. ST: The Sundered
7. ST: Ex Machina
8. ST
S9: The 34th Rule - provides an interesting view of the Ferengui and how they can be villians in the Trek universe besides comedic characters.9. ST:TNG: Reunion
10. ST:TNG: Devill's Heart
8. ST
Heros too, don't forget (I love the treatment of Quark as a unsuspecting hero)--and, it seemed to me that it was a bunch of nutcase Bajorans who were the bad guys....
But that's splittin' hairs. Great book, all around!
8. ST
Heros too, don't forget (I love the treatment of Quark as a unsuspecting hero)--and, it seemed to me that it was a bunch of nutcase Bajorans who were the bad guys....
But that's splittin' hairs. Great book, all around!
Good point & I stand corrected (Ferengui can be heroes too). In the novel, I loved how Zek manipulated & started an entire war for profit, which made for a great storyline. Yes, the Bajorans were part of the problem, but the Ferengui (Zek) schemed & orchaestrated it. I'll have to re-read it again, but I'm fairly certain that was how it happened.
Oooh. Good list. I'm starting with Spock's World today as I already have it but have never read it. After that I'm going to jump into the Vanguard series; I'm grabbing them on Amazon and Ebay this week.
And thanks to everyone for the suggestions I've gotten so far. I've definitely got some reading to catch up on!
Well I'd agree with that final comment, as for the other comments, nope, couldn't be further from the truth if you ask me, was boring, repetitive and slow.
I thought I'd just add that "The Buried Age" is a part of "The Lost Era" as mentioned above
Oooh, I didn't know that; thanks for pointing it out! I read random Trek books all the time but I barely pop into this forum and as such don't know much about Trek Literature.
Yeah. Solid, but not one of Mangels/Martin's best.
Ah...yes.... An absolute truism, that.
In the vein of "Today is the first day of the rest of your life....", eh?
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