I have never read any of the star trek books, and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions?
What to read??
- Thread starter Captain Ryan
- Start date
The field is pretty wide; what do you like in terms of the shows/characters, and what do you look for in terms of fiction (action, humour, cultural exploration, character study, etc.)?
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
Well, my favorite series is Voyager. I really like how they are fighting to get back to the delta quadrent. I also like the Enterprise and next generation. For culture I find the Borg very interesting, as well as the humans (star fleet, earth, and the federation).
For Voyager, I recommend the String Theory trilogy: Cohesion by Jeffrey Lang, Fusion by Kirsten Beyer, and Evolution by Heather Jarman. It takes place between the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth season. If you want to see what happens to them after they get home, check out Homecoming, The Farther Shore, Old Wounds, and Enemy of My Enemy, all by Christie Golden. For more Delta Quadrant adventures, check out the short-story anthology Distant Shores, edited by Marco Palmieri.
For the Borg, I strongly recommend Resistance by J.M. Dillard, Before Dishonor by Peter David, and the about-to-be-released Greater than the Sum by Christopher L. Bennett, all TNG books. (I also recommend Q & A by me, Keith R.A. DeCandido, which doesn't have the Borg in it, but does take place between Resistance and Before Dishonor).
Thanks, I will definatly check those out!
One thing worth mentioning - the TNG novels that KRAD recommended take place after Nemesis, and start several new, long-term plots, so they don't stand alone. If you want to read all of them, it's worth going in chronological order so that all makes sense. That order would be:
Resistance
Q&A
Before Dishonor
Greater Than The Sum
There's also a book, Death In Winter, that takes place before Resistance but after Nemesis that has to do with the Romulan situation after the film ends, but many of the plots brought up in that book are resolved in another series entirely (Star Trek: Titan, the story of Riker's ship after Nemesis) so you may want to avoid that novel. Just know that it's there, so that when Resistance references it you aren't confused.
Aside from that, just read what KRAD wrote
Resistance
Q&A
Before Dishonor
Greater Than The Sum
There's also a book, Death In Winter, that takes place before Resistance but after Nemesis that has to do with the Romulan situation after the film ends, but many of the plots brought up in that book are resolved in another series entirely (Star Trek: Titan, the story of Riker's ship after Nemesis) so you may want to avoid that novel. Just know that it's there, so that when Resistance references it you aren't confused.
Aside from that, just read what KRAD wrote
If you're a big Voyager fan, pick up Fire Ship (part of the Captain's Table). That was one of my most enjoyable reads.
^ Opinions on that one are divided. 
Likewise, if you like Voyager, I disrecommend the post-series books that have been published so far. If you can find it, Echoes (15 in the numbered Voyager novels) by Kristine Kathryn Rush, Dean Wesley Smith and Nina Kiriki Hoffman is an all-time classic. Mosaic and Pathways by series co-creator Jeri Ryan provide backgrounds for all the characters (the first Janeway, the second the rest of the crew), and also tells you more about Federation society outside of Starfleet. Speaking of which, once you've read the books KRAD suggest, I would suggest tackling Articles of the Federation, an epic novel about the first year in office of a new Federation president which adds a lot to our understanding of civilian life in the 24th century.
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
Likewise, if you like Voyager, I disrecommend the post-series books that have been published so far. If you can find it, Echoes (15 in the numbered Voyager novels) by Kristine Kathryn Rush, Dean Wesley Smith and Nina Kiriki Hoffman is an all-time classic. Mosaic and Pathways by series co-creator Jeri Ryan provide backgrounds for all the characters (the first Janeway, the second the rest of the crew), and also tells you more about Federation society outside of Starfleet. Speaking of which, once you've read the books KRAD suggest, I would suggest tackling Articles of the Federation, an epic novel about the first year in office of a new Federation president which adds a lot to our understanding of civilian life in the 24th century.Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
that was Jeri Taylor, not Ryan. please turn in your Trekkie badge and leave the site.
Dammit; I always make that mistake. Too many Jeris. Gonna just start calling them 'big Jeri' and 'little Jeri'.
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
There's a ton of great stuff. I'll recommend the Titan novel Orion's Hounds. If you love Voyager, this novel exemplifies everything Voyager could have been and more. Plus, it speaks to the core spirit of Trek (exploration) and has such an amazing scope... man, I can't say enough good things about it. Trust me. It's worth every penny.
soo many books so little time! thank you all for the suggestions, now what to choose...
Everything written since 2000 is a good place to start, just speak to your bank manager first.
Loan approved! I just need a cosigner, anybody willing?
Ryan,
In my opinion you should start with where your interest lies and since your favorite series is Voyager then I think Pathways and Mosaic are the place to begin. Everyone has differing opinions about the Voyager relaunch books but I didn't think they were too bad. If you are curious as to what happened after the series ended those might be very fun and quick reads for you. Also the three volume String Theory is a series that I think almost everyone has enjoyed and lavished praise on. Anyway, welcome to the world of Star Trek books and I hope that as you get your feet wet it will whet your appetite for more. There are some really great stories that have been written and some have been more enjoyable to read than then shows were to watch, if that is possible. Good luck!
Kevin
In my opinion you should start with where your interest lies and since your favorite series is Voyager then I think Pathways and Mosaic are the place to begin. Everyone has differing opinions about the Voyager relaunch books but I didn't think they were too bad. If you are curious as to what happened after the series ended those might be very fun and quick reads for you. Also the three volume String Theory is a series that I think almost everyone has enjoyed and lavished praise on. Anyway, welcome to the world of Star Trek books and I hope that as you get your feet wet it will whet your appetite for more. There are some really great stories that have been written and some have been more enjoyable to read than then shows were to watch, if that is possible. Good luck!
Kevin
which would be which?
Just to update you all, I am currently reading Cohesion by Jeffery Lang! Thanks for the suggestions.
You picked a great place to start. As I, too, recommend the three String Theory books.
My comments on some of the recommendations so far as well as another recommendation.
The Voyager books that take place after they get home: many on this site don't like those books at all. I do. I think since Voyager is your favorite series you *might* like them too. I'd say give them a try.
The TNG books that take place after Nemesis: this is another set of books that get rather negative reviews here. (with the one exception being Q&A that gets decent reviews). I agree with the negative reviews of these books where I think Before Dishonor was a disgrace and didn't do anything good with the Borg, the TNG crew, or one of the two Voyager characters that appears in the book.
My recommendation is if you like TNG, to read the books whose titles begin with A Time To... Now those are GREAT books and bridge the gap between Insurrection and Nemesis very well.
My comments on some of the recommendations so far as well as another recommendation.
The Voyager books that take place after they get home: many on this site don't like those books at all. I do. I think since Voyager is your favorite series you *might* like them too. I'd say give them a try.
The TNG books that take place after Nemesis: this is another set of books that get rather negative reviews here. (with the one exception being Q&A that gets decent reviews). I agree with the negative reviews of these books where I think Before Dishonor was a disgrace and didn't do anything good with the Borg, the TNG crew, or one of the two Voyager characters that appears in the book.
My recommendation is if you like TNG, to read the books whose titles begin with A Time To... Now those are GREAT books and bridge the gap between Insurrection and Nemesis very well.
