Why Haven't Borg Been Featured In Any New Novels?

[Dayton3]

By featuring the Borg, I've not talking about the "subversive Borg attack" or whatever it was hinted at in the end of Voyagers "Homecoming".

I'm talking about a balls to the wall, all out invasion by the Borg, taking no quarter nor asking for it.

I'm talking about scores of Borg ships streaming into the Alpha and Beta qwadrants. Thousands of starships being sent to stop them. I'm talking about an enormous "alliance of convenience" between the Federation, Klingons, Romulans, Tholians, Gorn, Tamarans, First Federation, Tzenkethi, Orion Syndicate, Breen, Cardassians (whats left of them) and Dominion elements.

I'm talking about a truly epic story that takes hundreds of pages to resolve.

What hasn't one of the writers tackled this?

 

[eastman23]

I could tell you why I think they haven't:

Because the Borg are an overused plot device after Voyager and that one Enterprise episode. They have become a fall-back for when you need a quick story in a hurry. And judging by all the new novels that have and are coming out that are some of the best Star Trek in a while (IMO of course), they haven't needed to use the Borg to tell a good story.

But that's just my take on the subject.

 

[Dayton3]

Out of all the hundreds upon hundreds of novels. One, that is ONE have focused on the Borg.

Peter Davids "Vendetta".

We had a considerable number focusing on the Klingons, Romulans, whatever.

 

[Dayton Ward]

Bearing in mind that this is my opinion only, and that I don't speak for anyone at Pocket Books, any other writer or fan:

Personally, I find the Borg, in a word...boring. I didn't always feel that way. In the beginning ("Q Who?" and "The Best of Both Worlds") I thought they were an awesome villian.

That was then, and this is now. How many times can you fight -- and defeat -- the "unstoppable enemy" before it becomes ridiculous? Are we about to cross that line?

Uh...no. Look behind you.

The reason the books weren't doing it that often before is because they were showing up every other episode on Voyager. The reason the books aren't doing it (much) now is because...well...see above.

In addition to Vendetta, they were an integral part of The Return and there is the Borg plotline in the first two Voyager relaunch novels. They've been in a few short stories, and while I think they're featured elsewhere, I can't remember off the top of my head. I'm sure thre will be others in the future, when somebody pitches an idea that wows editors and Paramount alike.

 

[eastman23]

/\ They were also featured in Mission Gamma: Lesser Evil (although only as a crashed scoutship).

 

[KRAD]

Re: Why Haven't Borg Been Featured In Any New Nov

FWIW, there is a novel that features the Borg coming in 2005.

 

[Dayton Ward]

Re: Why Haven't Borg Been Featured In Any New Nov

^ I guess I should stop deleting all the e-Mail you editor-types send without reading it.

 

[Trent Roman]

Posted by Dayton3:
I'm talking about a balls to the wall [...]

"Balls to the wall"...? Do I even want to know how this expression originated? Maybe it's just because I'm unfamiliar with it, but it conjures strange imagery - like the male crewmembers of the Enterprise rubbing their genitals against the bulkheads.

[...] all out invasion by the Borg, taking no quarter nor asking for it.

I'm talking about scores of Borg ships streaming into the Alpha and Beta qwadrants. Thousands of starships being sent to stop them. I'm talking about an enormous "alliance of convenience" between the Federation, Klingons, Romulans, Tholians, Gorn, Tamarans, First Federation, Tzenkethi, Orion Syndicate, Breen, Cardassians (whats left of them) and Dominion elements.

I'm talking about a truly epic story that takes hundreds of pages to resolve.

The Star Trek universe has just conclude an all-out war with the Dominion. Frankly, it's been done. The only thing different in your scenario are scale, participants and tactics... and such modifications do not, in my opinion, make for original material. Nor, with the number of very interesting plotlines currently being pursued in various series and timeframes, do I see why any author or editor would want to suspend normal operations to describe events that would A) be a rehash and B) require several slots on the production schedule to handle adequately, to say nothing of the aftermath. Personally, I'm getting tired of how often the Dominion War is used to justify odd deviations in the sociological makeup of the Federation and Alpha Quadrant. Let's try more stories set in that period between wars, what is it called again... oh, yes, peace.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Trent Roman]

Re: Why Haven't Borg Been Featured In Any New Nov

Posted by Dayton Ward:
^ I guess I should stop deleting all the e-Mail you editor-types send without reading it.

I think Keith was referring to Gene DeWeese's Engine of Destiny (correct me if I'm wrong, KRADman). Surely you've heard of this one before?

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[CharmCityCrab]

^ The Borg also played a part in the Deep Space Nine novel, "Lesser Evil".

This is just speculation, of course, but I think part of the reason we may not have seen many Borg novels is that, in addition to and perhaps because of their overuse, there are only so many ways you can go with them without changing the Star Trek universe in ways that Paramount could veto. They aren't really a *culture* in the way that the Klingons or the Romulans are cultures. It wouldn't be very easy to do a story featuring what the average Borg drone does in his spare time without boring people to death, and politics on the Borg homeworld are probably non-existent. The good stories seem to lay either in the Borg's past (How did they become "The Borg"? Etc) or in developing their future as a civilization (What happened to the Borg Civil War from Voyager?) and I'm guessing that with all the creative authors out there, we probably would have seen some stuff along those lines already if Paramount was likely to approve it.

The idea of an invasion of the Federation idea is interesting, also, but only if there are lasting consequences. If the Borg are just turned back, it'd be kind of boring. The war would need to have a very lasting effect on the Federation. It wouldn't be very hard to do a story like that, I can think of several lasting consequences a war could have on the Federation (Not listed to avoid risking posting what might constitute a story idea), but, again, Paramount could veto anything like that which might radically alter the landscape.

One of the potential problems that might be preventing the editorial and authorial staff from pursuing large-scale Borg stories, in other words, is that Paramount might be preventing them from doing what they need to do to right a unique and compelling tale. I'm sure they don't want to just churn out a bunch of mediocre Borg novels just to say they've done Borg novels. It might be best to wait to do a epic Borg novel until they can really do a truly great novel or series of novels.

John

 

[Dayton Ward]

Re: Why Haven't Borg Been Featured In Any New Nov

Posted by Trent Roman:
I think Keith was referring to Gene DeWeese's Engine of Destiny (correct me if I'm wrong, KRADman). Surely you've heard of this one before?

Heard of it, but other than the basic premise, I don't know much more about it than most folks, and I didn't know the Borg were involved.

And just to be clear, the original post is valid. There *aren't* a lot of Borg books, and while they're certainly worth revisting from time to time (I liked the premise of "Regeneration" as an homage to The Thing, for example), I just can't get myself jazzed up to write about them. But that's just me. Somebody else can and will certainly fill that void in due time (looks to be 2005, apparently ).

 

[KRAD]

Re: Why Haven't Borg Been Featured In Any New Nov

I think Keith was referring to Gene DeWeese's Engine of Destiny (correct me if I'm wrong, KRADman).

Maybe I am, and maybe I'm not.




Yeah, yeah, okay, I was talking about Engines of Destiny....

Anyhow, as has been said by others, one of the big problems with what Dayton3 suggests is that there's already been a balls-to-the-wall war with the Federation on the last two seasons of DS9.

And the Borg aren't all that interesting to write because they don't have any personality, and they have only the most basic motivations (consume). Even battles aren't going to be intersting, because the only real tactics involved are "keep hitting them really hard" on the part of the Borg's opponent and "adapt to their defenses and then pulverize the crap out of them" on the part of the Borg.

The reason why plenty of stories have been done involving the Klingons, the Romulans, the Cardassians, the Bajorans, etc., is because they're people. The Borg are a collective that subsumes the very idea of people. Literature thrives on the very thing the Borg don't have, and one of the Borg's most powerful aspects is their visual element. Of course, you could go the "try to break off from the collective and reject the Borg programming" tack, but that's already been done repeatedly in "The Best of Both Worlds," "I, Borg," Vendetta, and the last four seasons of Voyager.

I'm not saying it's impossible to do a good Borg novel, but I, for one, have other stories I'd rather tell.

 

[Trent Roman]

Re: Why Haven't Borg Been Featured In Any New Nov

Posted by Dayton Ward:
Heard of it, but other than the basic premise, I don't know much more about it than most folks, and I didn't know the Borg were involved.

Really? And here I thought you authorial types had a shared metaconsciousness, judging from the DS9-R and the S.C.E. I guess you just have good editors.

Well, for future reference's sake, it's a book that supposedly involves Kirk, Scotty, Sarek, time-travel gone horribly wrong, the Borg, Guinan, the Enterprise-D, and may or may not feature a cameo by the kitchen sink. You can see a picture of the cover here at PsiPhi. Note the Borg cube underneath the shattering clock and Nexus-like energy ribbon.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Dayton Ward]

Re: Why Haven't Borg Been Featured In Any New Nov

^Awesome! There really aren't enough novels featuring the kitchen sink.

 

[golakers]

Re: Why Haven't Borg Been Featured In Any New Nov

Hey Dayton3 - Are you going to answer the question posed by multiple members in your OTHER thread about how you would increase demand for Trek Tech manuals outside of the normal Trek fan?

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Re: Why Haven't Borg Been Featured In Any New Nov

The Borg also made a brief appearance at the end of Dyson Sphere.

Just to echo what everyone else has said, I wouldn't be very intrested in an all-out Borg invasion. As others have stated, the Borg don't have any personalities, nor do the negotiate. They just want to assimilate and that's it!

 

[ToddCam]

Re: Why Haven't Borg Been Featured In Any New Nov

Yeah, I'm Borged out myself (because of VGR, of course). I actually was very excited by their use in Lesser Evil, mostly because the Dominion vs. Borg thing. But it would be hard for me to enjoy a Borg novel if it weren't done really well. Couldn't stand the Borg's use in the first two VGR-PF novels.

 

[Geoff Thorne]

Re: Why Haven't Borg Been Featured In Any New Nov

Posted by golakers:
Hey Dayton3 - Are you going to answer the question posed by multiple members in your OTHER thread about how you would increase demand for Trek Tech manuals outside of the normal Trek fan?

Well. I think a book devoted to Seven of Nine schematics would probably cross over.

But, you know, it'd have to be glossy with fold out pages.

 

[Gatekeeper]

Re: Why Haven't Borg Been Featured In Any New Nov

*shrug* I don't mind the Borg, and would likely pick up a novel that featured them.

Of course, what I'd like to see is a knockdown, drag out fight between the Collective and the Dominion, with the latter having to *beg* the Alpha Quadrant to save their scrawny hides from being assimilated!

Gatekeeper

 

[danjamesb]

Re: Why Haven't Borg Been Featured In Any New Nov

There's also two Borg stories in No Limits.

"Balls to the wall"...? Do I even want to know how this expression originated? Maybe it's just because I'm unfamiliar with it, but it conjures strange imagery - like the male crewmembers of the Enterprise rubbing their genitals against the bulkheads.

That could be good too!