Will we ever get a book about Barclay?

[Jayson]

I know he has been used in several books before but I am surprised that he has never been the main character of a book as of yet. My dream would be for a "Stich in TIme" style book that details his life from childhood to the academy to his early days in starfeet to the Enterprise to the point where we see him during "Voyager." The guy doesn't have the edge of Garak but I think he is proably one of the more complex and realistic humans ever to be seen in the 24th century.

Jason

 

[Christopher]

Barclay was close to being a main character in the Gemworld duology, although it didn't explore his backstory.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I recall that John Peel's The Death of Princes was a heavy Barclay book, as well.

 

[Captain W Riker]

I don't think Barclay is a strong enough character for his backstory to be explored as effectively as Garak's. I'd like to see him as part of a crew, though; I'm hoping Kristen Beyer's 2009 VOY novel may throw him into the mix. He did bring them home, after all.

 

[Rex Racer]

I love this character, not sure he could carry a novel though. Unless it's a Get Smart sorta thing where Reg is sent deep undercover in the Klingon Empire or something...

 

[JD]

I've gotta agree with Capt. Riker here, I don't think he could carry a whole book himself, but I would love to see him become a regular character in one of the current series. Do we know yet what happens to him after Voyager gets home?

 

[Therin of Andor]

I don't think Barclay is a strong enough character for his backstory to be explored as effectively as Garak's.

I dunno. Characters are as strong or as weak as they are written. There's something fascinating in Reg's backstory: for example, how did this brilliant but atypically nervous 24th century Starfleet guy pass through his courses and early career, achieve several promotions in rank, and still not seem to be as confident as everyone else. What were there significant incidences in his life that caused him to withdraw to the holodeck?

A well-written backstory would make his character stronger.

 

[haubrija]

Crucible: Barclay? An 1100 page opus featuring dirty holodeck adventures.

 

[Ronald Held]

I do not think he can carry an entire novel, no matter the skills of the writer.

 

[TGTheodore]

I do not think he can carry an entire novel, no matter the skills of the writer.

I saw about 20 authors perk up with the sound of a gauntlet being thrown.

No, wait.

They just thought it was the pizza guy at the door.

--Ted

 

[Trent Roman]

I've gotta agree with Capt. Riker here, I don't think he could carry a whole book himself, but I would love to see him become a regular character in one of the current series. Do we know yet what happens to him after Voyager gets home?

When we first heard about the Titan series, I thought it was an opportunity to make Barclay a regular as Chief Engineer aboard that vessel, in part because his patient/friendship with Troi seems to be his most significant relationship outside of cats and holodeck characters (didn't know that Melora Pazlar would be on the crew at this point - funny, Barclay's great unrequited love and his only known requited love on the same vessel). Not that I have anything against Ra-Havreii, mind you, who has become quite the interesting character as of Sword of Damocles. I seem to remember being told that Barclay was now considered a VOY character... though, thus far, the VOY-R books have done fuckall with him; and, of course, possibly the most underused VOY regular in the VOY-R, Tuvok, also wound up on the Titan.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[William Leisner]

I do not think he can carry an entire novel, no matter the skills of the writer.

I saw about 20 authors perk up with the sound of a gauntlet being thrown.

No, wait.

They just thought it was the pizza guy at the door.

--Ted

Pizza? Where??

 

[wizkid]

I've gotta agree with Capt. Riker here, I don't think he could carry a whole book himself, but I would love to see him become a regular character in one of the current series. Do we know yet what happens to him after Voyager gets home?

When we first heard about the Titan series, I thought it was an opportunity to make Barclay a regular as Chief Engineer aboard that vessel, in part because his patient/friendship with Troi seems to be his most significant relationship outside of cats and holodeck characters (didn't know that Melora Pazlar would be on the crew at this point - funny, Barclay's great unrequited love and his only known requited love on the same vessel). Not that I have anything against Ra-Havreii, mind you, who has become quite the interesting character as of Sword of Damocles. I seem to remember being told that Barclay was now considered a VOY character... though, thus far, the VOY-R books have done fuckall with him; and, of course, possibly the most underused VOY regular in the VOY-R, Tuvok, also wound up on the Titan.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

Agreed. I still think Reg should end up on the Titan. It would close the gap for me because of all the new characters that are so diverse. Having one more friendly face in the book would be the cats meow.

 

[TGTheodore]

I think Reg works best on his own. He DOES manage to work with teams when he absolutely must, but he's at his best tilting at his windmills and marching to his own drummer. That's when he usually manages the impossible and unimaginable.

Being a crewman on a starship would hold him back and deny the rest of the Federation his eccentric gifts and accomplishments.

--Ted

 

[Jayson]

I am surprised that so many people don't think you could build a entire book around the character. The fact that Barclay is ecentric and in starfleet would be a great starting point. The guy is proably the most realistic human in the 24th century and that's got to count for something, doesn't it? Then their is the fact that he has carried several Trek episodes on his own. If he is good enough to build a episode around, wouldn't that mean he would be good enough to build a book around?

Jason

 

[Trent Roman]

^ Books are longer than episodes. More importantly, however, a book like that would have to provide extensive insight into Barclay's interiority, and I think he's a character who works better from the outside, if there's always a bit of mystery--even to himself--about why he acts the way he does.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Amy Sisson]

I think Barclay could indeed be the centerpiece of a novel, although ideally I would want the story to be rounded out with plenty of other characters. But I definitely wouldn't consider Barclay to be "the most realistic human in the 24th century", unless I could first accept that loveable but socially maladjusted, addictive types really and truly represent the majority of contemporary society.

Yes, the fact that Barclay is flawed helps make him realistic. But I think Miles O'Brien, for instance, is more realistic, or at least more representative of everyday people. He struggles with work issues, family issues, feeling-like-he's-getting-old issues (like being shown up by Julian in their version of jai-alai or raquetball or whatever that was). He gets grumpy on a regular basis, and isn't a perfect physical specimen. To me, that's realistic.

 

[Christopher]

^^Agreed. Barclay isn't realistic. He's a caricature (and Schultz's performance, especially on VGR, was often painfully broad and cartoony). O'Brien is a much more believable Everyman character.

 

[DS9Continuing]

I don't think I've ever heard the word "interiority" before.

 

[TGTheodore]

I don't think I've ever heard the word "interiority" before.

I'm trying to come back with a line about having an "interiority complex", but I'm stuck.

--Ted