Why Did the DS9 Technical Manual Sell So Poorly?

[LightningStorm]

Yes, I do as it happens. SW fans tend to accept mediocre literature churned out. ST fans clearly have better taste. The SW books I've read (or tried to read) have been terrible, whereas even the worst ST book I've read is several times better.

These statements have gone beyond simply being your opinion. Your opinion is that the SW lit you have read are well beneath the quality of the Trek lit you have read. You can not state that SW fans "accept mediocre literature churned out" because clearly you don't know most SW fans and whether they consider the lit to be mediocre (but read it anyway) nor do you know that the novels are "churned out" (insinuating that they are basically quickly and carelessly mass produced). I'm betting they go through about the same process as every other tie-in media with regard to timing, editing, approval etc.

As for ST fans having 'better taste' I'm not sure how you can make that claim either, given that: ST and SW have a lot of common fans, many ST fans greatly dislike the ST novel line, some of those same ST fans who don't like the ST novels like the SW ones.

Also this post is vaguely reminiscent of that other thread where a guy condemned the entire Trek novel line based on an excerpt, you've condemned the entire SW line based on a few novels.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Yes, I do as it happens. SW fans tend to accept mediocre literature churned out. ST fans clearly have better taste. The SW books I've read (or tried to read) have been terrible, whereas even the worst ST book I've read is several times better.

These statements have gone beyond simply being your opinion. Your opinion is that the SW lit you have read are well beneath the quality of the Trek lit you have read. You can not state that SW fans "accept mediocre literature churned out" because clearly you don't know most SW fans and whether they consider the lit to be mediocre (but read it anyway) nor do you know that the novels are "churned out" (insinuating that they are basically quickly and carelessly mass produced). I'm betting they go through about the same process as every other tie-in media with regard to timing, editing, approval etc.

As for ST fans having 'better taste' I'm not sure how you can make that claim either, given that: ST and SW have a lot of common fans, many ST fans greatly dislike the ST novel line, some of those same ST fans who don't like the ST novels like the SW ones.

Also this post is vaguely reminiscent of that other thread where a guy condemned the entire Trek novel line based on an excerpt, you've condemned the entire SW line based on a few novels.

LightningStorm, I don't appreciate being considered like Adam Humnault since I have actually read several SW books, persevering in almost every case because I'm not going to waste money. I have found books from Legacy..., New Jedi Order and a few others to be quite badly written, with weak plots and minimal characterisation and I also found that unlike the ST line, where the books are written such that you don't need to be familiar with previous novels, the SW line appear to be written as if every reader has read every SW book. And because the books form the same EU as the films I think there is less quality control, rather than more.

I stand by my statements as my personal opinion and still consider SW to be the lowest common denominator. That's not to say that all those who read them are stupid, but I have not found anything redeeming about the SW line and it turned me off it. I was originally enticed to it by a deal from a book club but after reading them I found that I much preferred other tie-ins, ST, Bones, CSI etc. I just don't think much thought of quality goes into the SW line. This is my opinion and I am aware that several thousand others disagree and read the SW books, otherwise they wouldn't be churning them out.

 

[LightningStorm]

LightningStorm, I don't appreciate being considered like Adam Humnault since I have actually read several SW books, persevering in almost every case because I'm not going to waste money.

"vaguely reminiscent" is not "exactly like," but there are similarities here. Have you read all (or even most) of the SW novels, hell, or at least one novel from each of their writers? If not then you've still made sweeping observations about the entire line based on a small selection.

Of course the funny thing here is that making universal good assumptions about a large series based on a tiny selection is just as fallacious as making bad ones, the good ones are just overlooked.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

As enlightening as this discussion is (and I appreciate the civil tongues), it's not on topic. You may start a separate thread on this matter if you wish, but let's get back to discussing technical manuals.

 

[BrotherBenny]

LightningStorm, I don't appreciate being considered like Adam Humnault since I have actually read several SW books, persevering in almost every case because I'm not going to waste money.

"vaguely reminiscent" is not "exactly like," but there are similarities here. Have you read all (or even most) of the SW novels, hell, or at least one novel from each of their writers? If not then you've still made sweeping observations about the entire line based on a small selection.

Of course the funny thing here is that making universal good assumptions about a large series based on a tiny selection is just as fallacious as making bad ones, the good ones are just overlooked.

I've read eight SW novels, not a large number I grant you, but enough for me to say that I don't care overly much for the book line.

I've read over a hundred ST novels and they've almost all been enjoyable or better. Had I found the SW ones to be enjoyable, I would have read more of them. If everyone liked the same things, life would be boring. There are currently about what, 500-600 ST novels? The SW line doesn't have that many so my ratio of read to not read is significantly reduced in regards to the SW line.

 

[Dayton3]

The difference between Star Wars fans and Star Trek fans regarding the ships and technical aspects is this:

Star Wars fans generally like cool looking ships.

Star Trek fans generally like cool looking ships......with a cross section cutaway, detailed deck plans, and three pages explaining the function and design history of the ship that also explains any inconsistencies seen onscreeen.

 

[JD]

Sounds about right to me.

 

[Dayton Ward]

The difference between Star Wars fans and Star Trek fans regarding the ships and technical aspects is this:

Star Wars fans generally like cool looking ships.

Star Trek fans generally like cool looking ships......with a cross section cutaway, detailed deck plans, and three pages explaining the function and design history of the ship that also explains any inconsistencies seen onscreeen.

QFMFT.

 

[Ronald Held]

???

 

[Rosalind]

google is your friend






.

 

[Sean Aaron]

I got Ships of the Line as a b-day pressie last year; nice pictures and no issues. I got Starship Spotter as a b-day pressie this year -- very disappointed it didn't live up to the name.

Okay, so no encyclopaedias or Technical Manuals are in the future, but could we get a big-ass Star Trek Starship Guide that has every ship that appeared in film/TV? I mean surely that would be a nice coffee-table book that would sell nicely?

 

[BrotherBenny]

but could we get a big-ass Star Trek Starship Guide that has every ship that appeared in film/TV? I mean surely that would be a nice coffee-table book that would sell nicely?

Sign me up for a copy.

 

[MarianLH]

The difference between Star Wars fans and Star Trek fans regarding the ships and technical aspects is this:

Star Wars fans generally like cool looking ships.

Star Trek fans generally like cool looking ships......with a cross section cutaway, detailed deck plans, and three pages explaining the function and design history of the ship that also explains any inconsistencies seen onscreeen.

QFMFT.

Does that make the "Invisible Cross Sections" books a crossover product?


Marian

 

[Smiley]

^I think you mean Incredible Cross-Sections. If they were invisible, who would buy them?

One reason that I don't buy more ST nonfiction is that so much of it seems to be centered on the Federation. With hundreds of episodes, I don't feel that I need to know too much more about the Federation. I would rather learn about some of the powerful aliens and one-shot cultures, such as the Tholians, Gorns, and Voth.

There's also branding to consider. Which sounds more friendly to the casual reader: technical manual or essential guide?

 

[FalTorPan]

There's also branding to consider. Which sounds more friendly to the casual reader: technical manual or essential guide?

That's an interesting observation. I always got a kick out of Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise -- almost entirely due to its content, but also because it was "cool" that Scotty had supposedly written the guide for Starfleet personnel newly assigned to the ship.

I half-expected the TNG Tech Manual to take the form of "Geordi's Guide to the Enterprise." I like the TNGTM as-is, but Scott's Guide was more approachable to the average Joe. It's probably easier to understand that "the photorp room is on Deck M" than "photon torpedos consist of lots of slugs of matter and antimatter which are suspended by subspace fields until..."

 

[Dayton3]

I always thought that perhaps when a future Trek series (perhaps set after ST: Nemesis) something cool to read would be a series of Ship Recognition Manuals.

Like FASA used to put out for each major spacefaring power.

But with a twist.

the "Starfleet Ship Recognition Manual" would be "written" by the Romulans.

as though the Tal Shiar put it out for Romulan Fleet personnel (translated into English for us of course).

The "Klingon Ship Recognition Manual" would be written by the Cardassians.

The "Cardassian Ship Recognition Manual" would be written by Starfleet.

The "Romulan Ship Recognition Manual" would be written by the Klingons.

And so forth.