50th Anniversay Reading

Anybody still out there interested in this group? I've set myself a challenge this year to read as many of my accumulated but unread Star Trek books as possible by the 50th anniversay in September (and yes, I watched TOS first run). I mostly read TOS and DS9 novels, but have some from every series and lots of the AU, mirror universe and spin-off works. I'm reading Burning Dreams (Pike on Talos 4) and Shattered Light (Myriad Universes #3) at the moment.

I am still interested in the group, mae. I have Doctor's Orders on my list for the year and if I can locate it, It will definitely be before the 50th anniversary.

I would also like to read 'Captain to Captain' by Greg Cox which is book one of the Legacies trilogy being released for the 50th.

What is you favorite Star Trek novel?

Picking a favorite is really hard, I've read so many over 4 decades. I still have a soft spot for Ishmael and How Much for Just the Planet (which I really should reread, I just remember it as very funny). Of more recent reads, I especially liked the Janus Gate trilogy (Present Tense, Future Imperfect and Past Prologue). Anything by Peter David or Keith R. A. DeCandido is usually worth reading as well.

I'm trying to get back into them right at the moment. I've been so involved in catching up on my Capes comic book reading and keeping up with all the Netgalley that I get that I've fallen way behind (again) on the ST novels.

I mostly read the main 3 TNG, DS9, VOY, as well as the novel original stuff. Oh who am I kidding, basically I read everything except for TOS and Enterprise (although I'll pick up a random one of those here and there).

So far this year, I've only read A Hard Rain, and am currently reading Watching the Clock (may as well start an entirely new novel-first series right... :) I still need to catch up on all the Typhon stuff. Not to mention I really want to read the Time To... series, but weirdly enough my local libraries don't own any of the books (which is really weird).

I would list Ishmael too, as well as Uhura's Song. I also love Yesterday's Son.

Yesterday's Son is a Star Trek novel I really enjoyed. I had been looking for the followup Time For yesterday for a while - I found it along with a bunch of other trek books earlier this month so it is high on my list to read this year. Along with several others. I haven't read very many Trek novels but I like them for easy to read comfort books.

ETA: I'll keep track of my 2016 reading of ST novels here.

1. The Klingon Gambit by Robert E. Vardeman, finished January 22, 2016, 1 1/2 - 2 stars, acquired in 2015





This book is #3 in the series of Star Trek novels based on the original series. First published in 1981.

I have only read a few of these, but clearly this is not one of the better Star Trek novels. I was squirming within the first few pages. Since it was a short novel I soldiered on rather than tossing it. The story has some interest, and a feeling that matches some of the TV episodes of the original series. The actual writing of this, and the behavior of familiar crew members is rather uneven and bothersome (no one acts normal as part of the mystery of the story). For me, the ending of the story was unsatisfying. Not recommended.

2. Black Fire (Star Trek) by Sonni Cooper, finished July 16, 2016, 3 1/2 - 4 stars


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Honestly, even though I've only read a handful of Star Trek novels, this must be one of the best. It is a very early entry and the author clearly gave us a treat. The characters in here rang very true and did so even in unconventional settings. Fans of Spock must love this book! Theodore Sturgeon, the great science fiction author who gave us the classic episode "Amok Time" writes a long and engaging introduction to the book and author. It is really too bad we didn't have more from Sonni Cooper.

The story set its hook from the first page and I'm not going to spoil the plot, except to say that Spock and Scotty "borrow" a starship and take it to the far side of the galaxy. Sound like an adventure? This story is full of twists and surprises. For those who like Star Trek novels or enjoyed the original series I'd say this was a must read. This would have made a great two-part episode of the original series.

Part of my personal celebration of the 50th anniversary of Star Trek 1966-2016. This also fits in with my goal to revisit a few old friends from childhood.

3. Star Trek 3 adapted by James Blish, finished July 21, 2016, 2 1/2 stars


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James Blish gets to turn Star Trek scripts/episodes into short stories. These stories are among the earliest Star Trek material published. When this came out in April 1969 the show was just about finished being broadcast and had already been cancelled. Who would guess that the voyage was really just beginning?

We have seven adapted scripts here: The Trouble With Tribbles, The Last Gunfight, The Doomsday Machine, Assignment: Earth, Mirror, Mirror, Friday's Child, and Amok Time. There are a couple genuine classic episodes here, as well as some lesser ones. None of these are
from the final 3rd season. They are all from season 2, including the season 2 opening classic episode "Amok Time" written by Theodore Sturgeon in which Kirk and Spock face a duel to the death on Vulcan.

Honestly, one reads this for a little nostalgia. There is no great writing here, just some enjoyable stories to revisit in your memory. I'm not sure how true to the original episodes these stories are, because it has been a very long time since I watched any of them.

4. Leonard: My Fifty-year friendship with a remarkable Man by William Shatner with David Fisher, finished August 9, 2016, 3 1/2 stars


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I grabbed this off the new books shelf at the library. It fits in perfectly with my 50th anniv of Star Trek read this year.

Part memoir, part confessional, part biography, this was much better than I expected. Shatner being Shatner, this isn't just about Nimoy. The infamous ego does seem to have been dialed back a bit and Shatner comes clean on various times that don't show him in the best light. I found his observations and history of Leonard Nimoy very much worth the read. It is somewhat surprising that they could become friends. Shatner does not have close friends. He repeatedly admits it. He even more or less ackowledges that he was a jealous dick about Nimoy's popularity when "He" was the star of the show. Their relationship certainly had ups and downs.

Some of the really important issues in Nimoy's life are barely touched on, or handled gently, while others get a more in depth accounting. As such, this is a very selective look back on their working lives. Despite the title I kept wondering as I read this, when do we get to the friendship part? It does come, eventually. And there are some touching moments.

Overall good reading, although I think this could be arranged a little better by an editor. There are some glaring typos as well scattered throughout the book. Someone wasn't doing their job.

I miss Leonard Nimoy. I may seek out one of his autobiographies at some point.

5. Triangle by Sondra Marshak & Myrna Culbreath, finished August 13, 2016, 1 - 1 1/2 stars


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This novel follows Black Fire, which I recently read, in the Timescape/Pocket book series of Star Trek novels. This one is set sometime not long after the events of Star Trek the Motion Picture, the first film that gave new life to the TV series franchise. I must say I have a hard time rating this story. The characters for the most part feel very authentic. The writers clearly know the shows and the characters and their history very well. The story however started off very poorly for me. I can see some readers throwing this in the trash. I seriously thought about quitting it about 75 pages in. I thought it was going to get better and then it went to this ridiculous (to me) love triangle bit. The story is written as if the reader has already some familiarity with a central character, Sola Thane, as well as some understanding of a cult-like New Human "Oneness" and another, the "Totality." As near as I can tell this novel is not actually a sequel or follow-up to some prior work. The bad romance novel stuff in here threatened to gag me - I had enough of Kirk being the irresistible babe magnet in the TV series - now they lust for him across species and across the galaxy. There is more here that I won't bother to mention, and some characters and ideas that could have been developed a lot better. There's a lot of philosophizing in here that I read as nonsense. I can't recommend this to anyone. So far this is the worst Trek novel I have read.

Has anyone read the new Star Trek: Legacies by Greg Cox?

>7 brodiew2: Nope. But that does look like it could wind up being interesting. It's a three part series?

>8 DanieXJ: Yes, I've hear it's a series, but it does look interesting. It is holding for me at the library.

I picked up A Choice of Catastrophes as well.

I have fond memories of the Blish novelizations. Really should re-read them sometime. I remember anxiously looking for each new one as it came out, since at the time there was no other way to re-visit the episodes. Little did we know that they'd soon be on everywhere all the time in syndication. And now, of course, you can have the entire series on your shelf - I just got the blu-ray release of TOS. The first thing I picked to watch was The Trouble with Tribbles - my sister and I can still both recite the entire episode line by line while we watch it. Since the set also included Trials and Tribble-ations from DS9, we watched that as well. Many of the Blish adaptations are a bit different from the episodes, as he wrote them from scripts, not the finished product. Another reason to reread them while I rewatch the series.

Yesterday's Son and Time for Yesterday are among the best older ST books. I don't remember anything about The Klingon Gambit and Black Fire is one I don't have but it's gotten good reviews here so maybe I should look for it.

I'm about a third through "Leonard" by William Shatner. I picked it up off the new books shelf at my library and it purports to be about the nearly 50 year friendship between Shatner and Nimoy. It is part biography and part memoir. Reading this I hear Shatner's voice in my head talking. I'm liking it a lot better than I expected to. Shatner does a good job with this one (let's say his ego is dialed down a bit). He starts off contrasting the similarities and differences of their early lives before Star Trek. They were born only 4 days apart and both came from orthodox jewish homes.

Doctor's Orders would be an ideal reread, being both #50 in the Pocket Books series, and one of my favorites. Also might be a good time for me to dig into my omnibuses of Alan Dean Foster's Logs (adaptations of the animated series, which I have neither read nor watched.)

Might as well list here what I've read for my challenge year - Sept. '15 to Sept. '16:
1. Q-Space
2. Q-Zone
3. Q-Strike - trilogy by Greg Cox
4. Present Tense
5. Future Imperfect
6. Past Prologue - trilogy by L.A. Graf, best Trek books I've read in ages.
7. I-Q - Peter David
8. Engines of Destiny - Gene DeWeese
9. Enterprise Logs: Star Trek - anthology of stories about ships named Enterprise
10. Star Trek S. C. E. Omnibus 5-8: Miracle Workers - working my way through what I have of these collections
11. Tales from the Captain's Table
12. Star Trek S. C. E. Omnibus 9-12: Some Assembly Required
13. I.K.S. Gorkon #1 A Good Day to Die - Keith R. A. DeCandido's Klingon Trilogy
14. Star Trek: Seven Deadly Sins - another anthology
15. I.K.S. Gorkon #2 Honor Bound
16. I.K.S. Gorkon #3 Enemy Territory
17. New Frontier #12 Being Human - Peter David
18. No Surrender - ST:COE Omnibus #4
19. Foundations - ST:COE Omnibus #5
20.Shattered Light - Star Trek Myriad Universes #3
21. Burning Dreams - Margaret Wander Bonanno
22. Shards and Shadows - Star Trek Mirror Universe #3
23. Wildfire - ST:COE Omnibus #6
24. Breakdowns - ST:COE Omnibus #7
25. Mere Anarchy - another shared world e-book Omnibus edition
26. The Sundered - Michael A. Martin, first in the Lost Era, set between the TOS movies and TNG
27. Serpents Among the Ruins - David R. George III, the second Lost Era book

Overall I have 318 Star Trek (all series, fiction and non-fiction) related books in my collections that I have read, with 51 still left to be read and 7 old books on my wish list I look for when I go to used book stores. And then there are new books coming out all the time. I haven't even looked into 50th anniversary books yet.

In between chores I have really been enjoying the Star Trek marathon on BBC America today. Right now it is one of the best episodes - the Edith Keeler one - "The City on the Edge of Forever". Some of these episodes are truly awful but there are the excellent ones as well. I'm thinking the first season shall remain my favorite. Have been too busy with life to read much in recent weeks but I do hope to read at least one novel this month, the 50th anniv

>13 SF_fan_mae: Kudos to you. I think that my Star Trek reading is the other way around. I've probably read about 100? (Just looked 136 read, probably about 290 or so to go). I think that my problem is that I mostly use the Library, and some of them are really hard to find (especially the ebooks, I really want to read The Collectors in the Temporal Investigations series, but, my local library via Overdrive hasn't bought it yet.

Oh, and it probably helps that I really don't read many of the Original Series books.