You're least favorite Trek book

[Dayton3]

It wasn't just that. That was one part of the whole thing.

Of course it wasn't "just that".

But the inclusion of two characters from a book that would already be setting off alarm bells with Richard Arnold was clearly the trigger.

"Dwellers In The Crucible" was along with "Pawns and Symbols" & "The Final Reflection" & Diane Carey's "Dreadnought" & "Battlestations" the five relatively early OS novels that featured the original characters the least.

Carey's books were full of Captain Kirk worship so they got somewhat of a pass. Ford's book was considered a great look at the Klingons. To a lesser extent "Pawns & Symbols" was as well.

But "Dwellers In The Crucible" was different. It set up the "what if Kirk and Spock were women" situation.

The Vulcan character isn't too bad.

But the human character is a mega slut by any standard. A parody at best of Kirk.

And frankly, some of the situations that the two women were put into had clear lesbian overtones. Which given that their relationship is a stand in for the Kirk/Spock relationship, makes one immediately think of the infamous slash fan fiction.

Given Roddenberry's reaction to the Kirk/Spock fiction out there, I'm sure that Richard Arnold had the same opinions and would've wanted to kill any book featuring those two characters.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

Richard Arnold was an ass, and in no way beneficial (AFAIK) to Trek, Paramount, or Pocket Books.

Second, Dwellers in the Crucible was a very popular book, if it got onto the New York Times bestseller list.

You *did* read the whole explanation garamet has written down, right? And you're not reading too much into some things, right?

 

[Dayton3]

Richard Arnold was an ass, and in no way beneficial (AFAIK) to Trek, Paramount, or Pocket Books.

Second, Dwellers in the Crucible was a very popular book, if it got onto the New York Times bestseller list.

You *did* read the whole explanation garamet has written down, right? And you're not reading too much into some things, right?

Books sales mean little regarding quality.

Now, I should mention this, the writer of "Dwellers In the Crucible" and I are mortal enemies politically. Both here and at other discussion boards. But I freely acknowledge that some of her books are quite good. And her and I have had civil discussions before

And I've read her entire explanation directly from her websites. Four times straight through.

Now, I won't deny that all kinds of other factors including some incredible corporate politics went into this mess.

But the two characters from "Dwellers In The Crucible" were clearly the trigger that set things off.

Or more accurately the "wedge" that Richard Arnold was able to use against "Music of the Spheres".

 

[Christopher]

It is clear from Margaret Wander Bonano's website regarding the "Probe fiasco" that including the two main characters from "Dwellers In The Crucible" in "Music of the Spheres" was the trigger that caused the entire mess.

That's not "fallout." To quote Inigo Montoya, I do not think that word means what you think it means.

It apparently inspired Richard Arnolds hatred of the book and set off Pocket Book editor David Stern as well. Which prompted him to bring in J.M. Dillard to begin the massive rewrites.

That's grossly distorted. It wasn't about the kind of animosity you're suggesting, and it wasn't directed specifically at Bonanno's Dwellers characters. As has been discussed on this board many times before (and I'm sure you've been around long enough to read such discussions, so you should know this), it was the general policy of Roddenberry and Arnold to discourage Trek tie-ins from using continuing characters other than members of the TV cast. DC Comics had to discontinue its use of ongoing original characters several years before Probe came along. Diane Duane had to rewrite Doctor's Orders in 1990 to divorce it from the continuity of her earlier books. And Dillard herself didn't get to continue the original security characters she'd introduced in her initial four novels.

So you're totally misrepresenting the facts. It's not that Dwellers was so bad that the editor embargoed the reuse of its characters and fired its author. Music of the Spheres/Probe was just one of many books that were required to make changes as a result of a broader policy. And that's despite the success and popularity of Dwellers, just as the abandonment of Duane's and Dillard's recurring characters was despite their popularity with readers.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

See, I'm reading the explanation right now, and I've read it several times prior. And garamet got permission to use the characters from Dweller in Probe AKA Music of the Spheres.

For those of you who want to follow along, or haven't read the explanation (and I got permission from garamet to post the link):

http://www.margaretwanderbonanno.com/files/Probed.doc

ETA: Christopher, this post was directed at Dayton3, not you. Just wanted to post this in case of misunderstanding.

 

[garamet]

Good Lord, not this again -! Dayton3, give it up, willya?

 

[Dayton3]

Duane and Dillard from what I've heard didn't have their ENTIRE books rewritten like Bonano did.

What was it NINETY THREE PERCENT of "Music of the Spheres" was rewritten in the end?

I can't believe that the Kirk/Spock overtones from "Dwellers In the Crucible" didn't set off alarm bells with Roddenberry (and thus with Richard Arnold).

That said, even if "Music of the Spheres" had been unaffected, "Dwellers In the Crucible" is still one awful book.

The Federations plans for planetary assault being implanted in the heart of a loved one of each planets rulers?

That is idiot in the extreme!!!!

All you have to do to devastate a planet in the Star Trek world is fire phasers.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

You clearly didn't really understand what happened at all.

 

[Dayton3]

See, I'm reading the explanation right now, and I've read it several times prior. And garamet got permission to use the characters from Dweller in Probe AKA Music of the Spheres.

For those of you who want to follow along, or haven't read the explanation (and I got permission from garamet to post the link):

http://www.margaretwanderbonanno.com/files/Probed.doc

ETA: Christopher, this post was directed at Dayton3, not you. Just wanted to post this in case of misunderstanding.

I thought her website said she got permission to use those two character INITALLY.

But that once she turned in the completed product she was told she couldn't use them.

 

[garamet]

What was it NINETY THREE PERCENT of "Music of the Spheres" was rewritten in the end?

Tell ya what - read the free download and you can tell us.

 

[Dayton3]

What was it NINETY THREE PERCENT of "Music of the Spheres" was rewritten in the end?

Tell ya what - read the free download and you can tell us.

I took the figure from your website. You said only 7% of the original material remained.

I'm actually on your side in this garamet.

Still hate "Dwellers In the Crucible" but I fully believe you were lied to and shabbily treated in regards to the Probe fiasco.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

See, I'm reading the explanation right now, and I've read it several times prior. And garamet got permission to use the characters from Dweller in Probe AKA Music of the Spheres.

For those of you who want to follow along, or haven't read the explanation (and I got permission from garamet to post the link):

http://www.margaretwanderbonanno.com/files/Probed.doc

ETA: Christopher, this post was directed at Dayton3, not you. Just wanted to post this in case of misunderstanding.

I thought her website said she got permission to use those two character INITALLY.

But that once she turned in the completed product she was told she couldn't use them.

*ahem* (garamet, I apologize if posting this is not something you'd want)

[FONT=Verdana]After some haggling over the title, Rockstar approved my outline in October, 1989. I made it very clear that, in addition to creating several new Romulan characters, I was reintroducing Cléante al Faisal and T'Shael, the human and Vulcan characters whom I'd introduced in Dwellers in the Crucible.

All of these characters were integral to the plot, but in supporting roles. Kirk and Spock and Company still got to do all the serious work of saving the ship, the diplomatic mission, every planet in the surrounding area, and the universe in general.

The outline was sent to Paramount Licensing for approval.

About six weeks later, I received a copy of a one-page memo from Licensing. I will quote Item 2 from that memo here: "Please treat T'Shael and Jandra as supporting characters in this story, rather than major characters, as this tends to slight the STAR TREK regulars."

My initial reaction was "Whew, that was easy!" Because I knew that no way, no how could any of my little characters slight or overshadow Kirk, Spock and Company. So despite what had happened to Brad Ferguson's Flag Full of Stars and the rest, naïf that I was, I thought I was safe. I'd gotten affirmation in writing, hadn't I? I had in hand an Official Memo from Paramount, giving me permission to go forward and write my novel as submitted. What could possibly go wrong?

I was safe, wasn't I? Hoohah.

A few points about that memo. It was typed, not on letterhead stationery, but on plain paper. It was not dated. It was not signed. But I didn’t worry about such details at the time. Silly me.

The memo was faxed to Rockstar's assistant at Pocket, who photocopied it and mailed it to me. (I did not own a fax machine at the time.) I've since been told that a fax is not considered a valid legal document. However, a photocopy of that same fax is considered a legal document. I don't know if that's true, and it certainly doesn't make sense, but go figure.

However, despite the fact that I still have a photocopy of the fax of that memo in my possession, and even though if I squint very carefully I can still make out part of a fax number beginning with the area code 213, and part of a date in December, 1989, and the words "PARAMOUNT LA" at the very top, the memo doesn't exist.

Why? Because Rockstar said so.

Over a year later, when the nonsense started in earnest, I challenged Rockstar on that. "I've got the memo from Licensing right here in my hand." I quoted it back to him. His answer was "Is it dated? Is it signed? Is it on Paramount letterhead? What memo?"

But, silly me, at the beginning I actually thought I was dealing with grownups. So I started writing my novel. And then the real fun began.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]I completed my manuscript, based on the outline that had been approved by both Pocket Books and Paramount, and in light of the memo from Paramount. Unbeknownst to me, some interesting machinations were transpiring elsewhere.

For one thing, six months before the deadline for completion of PROBE, a completed hardcover dust jacket suddenly arrived in my mailbox. Cover art by Keith Birdsong, my name spelled correctly, nice little synopsis inside the front flap based on my outline and, emblazoned on the back: "THE EXCITING SEQUEL TO THE VOYAGE HOME!"

Now, I was more than a little surprised to find that the dust jacket had been created while the novel was only halfway written, and I asked Rockstar about that. "Oh, no big deal," he said. "Just trying to save a production crunch at the other end."

Uh-huh, okay, whatever. But what really alarmed me was that dirty word on the back cover. You know, the word - gasp! - "sequel."

Because the Gospel According to Trelane dictated that only what we see onscreen is "real" Star Trek. Star Trek novels - even though they generate considerable revenue for Paramount - are not "real." Ergo a novel could never, ever possibly in a million years be considered a - gasp! - sequel to a major motion picture.

I mentioned this to Rockstar. "No big deal," he said. "Besides, the covers have already been printed. It would cost way too much to correct them. Nothing we can do about it now."

That set off a little warning bell in the back of my head but, after all, I did have that memo from Paramount, didn't I? And besides, there was nothing I could do about it now, except finish my manuscript.

Which I did, just under my December deadline. And Rockstar read it in a timely fashion and snail-mailed me a list of minor things he wanted fixed before he sent it out to Paramount.

I fixed everything he asked me to, got the manuscript back to him during the Christmas holidays, and he called me to say he'd approved the manuscript and it was on its way to Paramount for their approval.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. The new year would bring some interesting surprises...[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]***[/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana]Rockstar called me from home on a Saturday in early January to tell me that Licensing had refused to approve my manuscript. He said this as if I should have expected it.

When I found my voice, I asked him what the problem was. He said it was because I've reused two characters from a previous novel in PROBE, and that made PROBE a "sequel," and sequels were not permitted.

I stopped myself from reminding him that it was his idea to have the word SEQUEL blazoned across the back of the book covers. However, I did remind him that I'd been given permission by Licensing, in writing, nearly a year earlier, to use my original characters.

His answer was silence. I ask him why he had approved the manuscript and sent it to Licensing if he thought there would be a problem. (Remember: The manuscript can't leave the editor's desk at Pocket until he has approved it.)

"I didn't approve it. I just sent it out there because I was worried about making the deadline," he said, as if that made perfect sense.

"I wish you could see this letter they've sent me," he went on. "There are a lot of other things they want changed."

"They"? I thought. There was only one person in Licensing in charge of approving the novels at that time. I didn't ask him: Who's "they"? I already knew.

Rockstar started rattling off some of the things in the letter, including the "fact" that some "expert" at Paramount had determined that whales don't really sing. I asked him how soon he could send me a copy of the letter. He said "You don't need the letter."

I asked him how I was supposed to make the changes if I couldn't see the letter. He didn't answer. I never did see that letter.

Then he dropped the real bombshell: "Oh, by the way, I need this on my desk by next Friday."

I thought fast. He was expecting me to rewrite somewhere between 25-30% of a 500+ page manuscript within six days. I did not at the time own a computer. I'd written PROBE on a memory typewriter with a maximum storage capacity of three pages, so the only copy of the manuscript was the hardcopy.

I was expected to (1) delete all reference to my original characters and any scene they appeared in (2) dream up some new subplot to replace the approximately 150 pages that this and the unspecified "other things" would entail, including any references to whale song, and retype the entire manuscript. In six days.

I'm a 95 wpm typist. I could probably have retyped 500 pages in six days, if I'd ignored my husband and children and given up sleeping. But dream up 150 pages of new material as well? I couldn't do it, and I said so.

"I'll do it," I said. "But I need more time. Give me four weeks, a month, tops."

"Let me think about it," Rockstar said. "I'll call you from home on Monday."

Like a fool, I thought: That means he's going to give me more time. He wouldn't take his time deciding if he seriously expected this finished by Friday.

Well, he didn't call me on Monday. And I didn't have his home phone number, so I couldn't call him. He finally called me on Tuesday. Before I could say a word he announced: "We can't wait for you; we've decided to give this to a rewriter."

From that point on, I lost all control over the manuscript. And I later learned that he gave the rewriter three months to do what he'd expected me to do in six days.

But it was, quite literally, out of my hands.

[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Pocket published my first Star Trek novel, Dwellers in the Crucible, in 1985. The manuscript was approved by both Pocket and Paramount, and the book made the NY Times' soft cover bestseller list for two weeks.

In 1987, Pocket Books published my second Star Trek novel, Strangers from the Sky. This manuscript also sailed through the approval process with - I remember this - exactly seven words changed. Seven words. Out of 125,000. This is important. It seems to suggest that the folks at Paramount assumed I knew what I was doing. Strangers was on the Times' soft cover list for five weeks. Obviously the fans thought I knew what I was doing, too.

In 1990, I wrote a third Star Trek novel, Music of the Spheres. Thematically, the book had a lot to do with music, and I also wanted the title to refer to Pythagoras’ theory that the universe had its own music.

My editor at Pocket said the title was too long. This was the same editor who had worked with me on Strangers from the Sky. We'll call him Rockstar. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Or[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] maybe[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] Dire[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] Straits[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]This is not his real name. But since his real goal in life was to be a rock star (y'know, money for nothing and his chicks for free), that's what we'll call him. "Nobody remembers long titles," said Rockstar.

Now, not to quibble, but Music of the Spheres has the same number of syllables as Strangers from the Sky, and is in fact one letter shorter. No one had trouble remembering Strangers from the Sky. But Rockstar announced that The Novel Formerly Known as Music of the Spheres would hereafter be called Probe. Because he said so. Even if I hadn’t been aware of what was being done to other writers’ work (wait for it), that alone should have warned me there was going to be trouble.

Probe was advertised for release in April, 1991. It was, in fact, released one year later. Touting itself as "the exciting sequel to The Voyage Home," it had my name on the cover. What was left of my manuscript comprised 7% of the words between the covers.

Yes, you read that correctly: 7%. From seven words changed in Strangers to 7% of my work surviving in Probe. Obviously I no longer knew how to write a Star Trek novel. Or else the rules had changed.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Between the premier of STTNG in 1987 and early 1990, when I was working on the manuscript for PROBE, strange things started happening to other Trek writers' work:

1. A novel by Michael Jan Friedman was almost canceled because a stardate was wrong

2. Another novel, which was to have been the middle of the Lost Years trilogy was killed in manuscript, leaving an odd gap in the trilogy, and ending the author's Trek career before it began

3. A Flag Full of Stars by Brad Ferguson, turned out to be, well, mostly not by Brad Ferguson

4. Allan Asherman's The Star Trek That Never Was was produced, shipped to the warehouses and, the night before it was due to arrive in bookstores, sent to the shredders instead.

Why were all these bad things happening? you ask. Because someone at Paramount at that time had the clout to make them happen.

[/FONT]

 

[Dayton3]

^Once again, the first inclination of disapproval with the original book is in reference to the two main characters from "Dwellers In the Crucible" appearing there.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

But it's not the characters themselves. It's that one of the "rules" about "sequels" was broken, even though Kirk and Co. are still the main characters and that the Vulcan and the Human are supporting cast.

 

[garamet]

And the important point is, I was initially given permission to reuse the characters, and then that permission was retracted.

This is ancient news. I've let it go. I wish everyone else would as well.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

Sorry

 

[garamet]

Sorry

Not you. Just those who try to stir it up as some kind of controversy. It's old news...

 

[Rosalind]

^ indeed, Dayton3, please drop this.

and everyone else, let's get back on topic, ok?

 

[Dayton Ward]

Gee, it's a wonder I didn't see that trainwreck coming when I asked for elaboration.

 

[diankra]

"You're least favorite Trek book"
No, I'm not.

Grammar aside, there's enough negativity around here right now, don't you think?

I was going to say. Do we really need this thread (which has been done before) right now?

Maybe we could balance it out with a "Your favorite Trek book" thread?

My Trek reading has been done primarily in two batches, one in the early 90s that covered around 60 books, and the second circa 2002-present covering close to 30. The ones I remember liking the least from "Batch 1" were The Prometheus Design and Gilliver's Fugitives, while my least favorite to date from "Batch 2" is without a doubt (and likely no mystery) Before Dishonor, which is sad considering that some of Peter David's earlier works were among my favorites from "Batch 1". I think as I've matured in age I've outgrown his writing style.

To keep from sending the threat down too negative a path, though, I'd interject that the number of novels I've disliked is very low, and that the vast majority of my experience has been very positive. I guess that makes sense, seeing how I still read them on a regular basis

Another vote for Gulliver's Fugitives, which I suspect is missing out through being so old that younger people haven't got back to it...
I've got some pet hates from the recent years (mainly, pretty much anything by John Vornholt, Michael Jan Friedman and Diane 'Salute the Flag' Carey), but... a scene from 1990-ish, as this poster reaches page 130ish of Gulliver's Fugitives:

Alien from planet that bans imagination discovers the holodeck and accuses the Enterprise crew of heresy.
Picard responds with speech in praise of fiction so clumsy that it would have had Patrick Stewart walking off-set, pausing only to pick up his passport before heading for the airport.
Already dreadful book goes flying across room towards bin - first Trek book never finished (and I made it to the end of every Bantam book!).