What do I mean by that? I’m talking about those Star Trek novels which, due to the ever-evolving nature of the Star Trek franchise, end up being superseded by more recent on-screen events. For example, we have Federation by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, which gave us a great backstory for Zefram Cochrane, the character introduced in the original Trek episode “Metamorphosis.”
Cochrane was a central character in the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact, and the story developed for him is completely different from the one created for the earlier novel. Does this make Federation any less entertaining to read? Hell, no, just as The War of the Worlds doesn’t lose anything for us having learned that there are no Martians on Mars, and Raise the Titanic! is still a fun adventure thriller despite hinging on the fact that the Titanic had to be in one piece.
So, what are some of your favorite “outdated” Trek novels? The Final Reflection? Dark Mirror? There are debates as to whether certain novels, though supposedly having been “overwritten,” can in fact be made to fit with a bit of handwaving. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts on that, as well. For the purposes of this exercise, I’m only talking about novels with plots, events, or developments which end up being replaced by on-screen material which came later.
Why am I asking? Well, I’ve been asked to write on this topic, and I want to get input from the readers of such books as I compile my own list. The first person to recommend a title that I end up using as an example will get a shout-out in the piece, and my sincere thanks and appreciation for their suggestion.
So, let’s have ‘em!
It may not be the most popular, but I’ll say the DS9 trilogy “Rebels”. For years and years, what Winn had done during the occupation hadn’t been touched by the show, so Pocket made a trilogy out of it. As I recall, the show then went and did a story about that just before or just after the books came out.
Strangers From the Sky, which was completely replaced by Star Trek: First Contact… Also, Imzadi, which has a Commodore Data in charge of the Guardian of Forever… and now that’s impossible with Data dead. (unless they do some finger waggling with B-4)
I think my fave is Vendetta by Peter David. Great story and unlike a lot of PD novels has a serious and dark tone.
I second that. And kudos to PAD for briefly revisiting Vendetta in his recent Before Dishonor. Aside from that, I also enjoyed Spock’s World and The Lost Years; I think bits of those are still “canon,” but their bigger plots been overwritten, if memory serves me right.
Not that it matters, as no hand-waving is really necessary; the overwritten stories just take place in alternate universes, of which there is much concrete evidence in canon Trek.
I still think that with the TNG episode “Parallels” the case could be made that 99% of the novels are still canon, but in a different part of the multiverse.
Yes, we could make that case, and was already planning to reference that, but the target readership of the resulting piece won’t care about such nerdly minutiea as tends to consume our days.
The Reeves-Stevens and William Shatner’s COLLISION COURSE, dealing with Kirk’s early days at Starfleet Academy. Light years beyond the drivel we had in theaters back in ’09.
Well, it still coulda happened in the “prime” timeline.
Not my favorite per se, but Christie Golden’s Voyager novel Seven of Nine covered much of the same ground as “Infinite Regress” and did a better job of it, I felt.
Dreams of the Raven by Carmen Carter is a good look at McCoy’s backstory, but the timing doesn’t work anymore because of what TNG established about McCoy’s age in “Encounter at Farpoint” and the date in “The Neutral Zone,” which together require McCoy to be about 7 years younger than DeForest Kelley during TOS (quite by accident, since they were making the numbers up as they went).
Dayton, I’ll lay it straight – you stole the thunder when you listed “Federation” as your prime example as it was my FAVORITE Star Trek novel growing up as a kid, and it was written at a time where the events that were depicted in 21st Century Earth were plausible for me at the ripe young age of 10-11. Even today, I love the story, even with the inconsistencies with “First Contact”. It was good storytelling at its best. I thought Adrik Thorsen was an AWESOME villain for the book and was disappointed when the Reeves-Stevenses did not use Thorsen in some capacity in “Demons”/”Terra Prime”.
Well, not a novel, but my favourite example of these are all the DC comics set between Wrath of Khan, Search For Spock, and Voyage Home. They did manage to retcon themselves back into the line with what each sequel established, but each time was always a bit of a radical switch around. I love how you can see that trilogy as being a neat little package taking place over a pretty short time, or fill the period with all the adventures in the comics as well.
Honestly, my most read and liked were always the academy stories. Getting the (pre-) pubescent Worf described as well as Data and LaForge which was fun. I lost a bit track of the Trekkie literature. I can say that I am at Silver Collection Book Perry Rhodan 67
Well my thought and my brothers was a apocalyptic star trek setting. Where the world as we know and love it comes to a change.
I have a fondness for Majliss Larson’s Pawns and Symbols, an idiosyncratic but compelling take on the Klingons, especially Kang and Mara.
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I’m with Steve; I’m quite fond of “Pawns and Symbols”. This may be heresy, but I actually like the TOS Klingons better than the later ones – especially Kang and Mara. Their depiction here may well have something to do with that. Larson’s Klingon society is also (1) complex, (2) varied, and (3) workable, in a way the monolith TNG Klingons don’t seem to be. And Aernath rocks! I’m also fond of Jean Lorrah and John M. Ford.
Your view on the Klingons isn’t all that uncommon. I’ve heard that same thing said by many fans over the years.