# Star Trek book fans unite!



## leathco (Jul 31, 2010)

Post some Trek book recommendations that are available in the Kindle store!

Here's a few of mine...

Vendetta - Pretty interesting novel.  Was wrote back when the Borg where the hunters in the Trek universe and not the pansies they turned into later.  Also has some great tie ins with the original series, and ties up some loose ends from the old show.

Beneath the Raptors Wing - For me, Enterprise was a great show that got cut off at the legs.  I think they should have at least gotten a 5th season, if not a 6th.  These books are prolly the closest thing we will ever get to a season 5.  Thankfully, they're awesome.  They detail the Romulan/Earth war, something talked about in TOS and TNG but never really explained in detail.  This is actually the middle book in the series, with the first one (Kobayashi Maru) also available in the Kindle store, but the next book not due out til 2011.


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## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

I haven't actually read any Star Trek novels but I do agree with you that Enterprise was a great show, even though it had the most incompetent Captain ever to grace a Federation ship.    

I guess I need to check these out.


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## Cliff Ball (Apr 10, 2010)

I haven't read any Trek novels on Kindle, and I don't know if these are on Kindle, but I think the Star Trek Destiny series was a good way to explain how the Borg came into being and how one of the _Enterprise_ era ships, The _Columbia_ helped in that.

I also read the Mirror Universe novel _The Sorrows of Empire_, where it told of Spock doing whatever it took to bring down the Empire, but, he wasn't nearly as free from corruption as he would have liked.

I think a lot of the _Voyager_ novels after they came back are also pretty good.


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## masquedbunny (Jul 18, 2010)

The Q Continuum trilogy. The plot isn't as tight as it could be, but I love any story involving the Q, so I'm probably too easy to please in that regard.

Ooh, and while I haven't read it, I have listened to the unabridged audiobook of the 2009 film. Zach Quinto doing all the voices and accents is highly entertaining.


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## leathco (Jul 31, 2010)

Can you recommend some of the Voyager post-return books?


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I started reading ST books about a year ago and then the novels post-_Nemesis_ in the timeline. I read the first in the _Titan_ series but haven't continued it yet. I finished the _Desting_ trilogy and I highly recommend them, _Losing the Peace_ and _A Singular Destiny_. They are my favorite kind of ST - involving quadrant-wide wars (if you're going to do Space Opera, do it big .... )

After _Nemesis_, the Alpha/Beta quadrants become completely reorganized politically along with some major destruction involving another war with the Borg. there is a new series, _The Typhon Pact_ about to start in October with a complete new alliance arrayed against the Federation and their allies. I'm excited and cannot wait.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

cliffball said:


> I haven't read any Trek novels on Kindle, and I don't know if these are on Kindle, but I think the Star Trek Destiny series was a good way to explain how the Borg came into being and how one of the _Enterprise_ era ships, The _Columbia_ helped in that.
> 
> I also read the Mirror Universe novel _The Sorrows of Empire_, where it told of Spock doing whatever it took to bring down the Empire, but, he wasn't nearly as free from corruption as he would have liked.
> 
> I think a lot of the _Voyager_ novels after they came back are also pretty good.


The Sorrows of Empire is on Kindle as are a bunch of the "mirror universe" short story collections. I reccommend A.C. Crispin's follow up to the episode All our Yesterday's, titled Yesterday's Son, and Time for Yesterday and Barbara Hambly's Ishmael.

My "star trek" collection on my kindle has 50 books in it, and I know there are a lot more available that I don't own.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Oh, and I should comment that Star Trek books are the reason I bought my kindle.  I wanted to replace some of my paperbacks that were not in good shape, but were out of print, but available on kindle.


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## river daughter (Jan 12, 2010)

I love all of Peter David's books! Q-Squared is my favorite followed by Imzadi. I haven't read a Star Trek book in a while, but my husband still keeps up with them. He really liked the Titan series. 

I wasn't a huge Enterprise fan either. TNG and DS9 all the way for me.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Scarlet my Love!!! I knew there was something more than a healthy sense of humor for me to love about you. Hurray - a Trekkie!!!!

so, let me use you. Have you read the _Myriad Universes_ books? I loves me some Alt History but I keep looking at those and being unsure ....

AND .... (as long as I'm using you for your Trekkiness) Would you recommend _Corps of Engineers_ or _New Frontiers_ as a new start up series once I finish out my current (albeit non-ST) series?


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Geoffrey said:


> Scarlet my Love!!! I knew there was something more than a healthy sense of humor for me to love about you. Hurray - a Trekkie!!!!
> 
> so, let me use you. Have you read the _Myriad Universes_ books? I loves me some Alt History but I keep looking at those and being unsure ....
> 
> AND .... (as long as I'm using you for your Trekkiness) Would you recommend _Corps of Engineers_ or _New Frontiers_ as a new start up series once I finish out my current (albeit non-ST) series?


Trekker, not Trekkie, please. Regarding the myriad universe books, like any short story collections there are some great stories, some good stories and some gosh awful stories. In each book.

I have not read COE or NF, I'm an old-fashioned Trek kind of girl. Original series and Next Generation mostly. A little DS9 or Voyager but not never saw Enterprise.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

This one:











It was one of the first books I bought for my Kindle. (I also love any book that has Q in it.)

I never cared for Enterprise, but I like STNG, DS9, and Voyager.


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

luvmy4brats said:


> This one:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks! I put this on my "To Buy" list. I've never read a Star Trek book before, but I did enjoy TNG and VOY.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

AddieLove,

This book has a special meaning to me. When Hubs and I were married, my wedding gift to him was a tie clip engraved with the word Imzadi. When you read the book, you'll understand.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

scarlet said:


> Trekker, not Trekkie, please.


heh. I used to make that distinction too ... now the only important one to me is 'geek' not 'nerd'.


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## Cliff Ball (Apr 10, 2010)

How does everyone feel about William Shatner's post-_Generations_ novels about Kirk? I actually like them, but was wondering what other Trekkers think.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

cliffball said:


> How does everyone feel about William Shatner's post-_Generations_ novels about Kirk? I actually like them, but was wondering what other Trekkers think.


Spectre, Preserver, etc? I've read 3 of them and while I like some of it, I hate other aspects of it. The writing is good, but I don't enjoy some of the plot decisions


Spoiler



the pivot point between the universes being Cochrane's decision to tell the Vulcans about the Borg? Really? And the whole odd genetic thing on his son? Oh, and one other interesting point, regarding the "Miri" planet. It looked exactly like Earth during the original series, but once they redid the computer graphics, it no longer is, so that whole "duplicate" Earth thing doesn't quite pan out for me.


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## zartang123 (Aug 6, 2010)

I've not read any Star Trek books but as a dedicated Star Trek fan I felt morally obligated to say hello.


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

Oh, I loved 'Imzadi' but I haven't read it in years. I didn't realize any Star Trek books were available for Kindle. I see they have an edition with both Imzadi and Imzadi II in it called Imzadi Forever.

Ah, they also have a DS9 book I remember liking (I like most things with time travel in it!) called Fallen Heroes

Looks like a lot more things about to be added to my wishlist. It's bad enough with the things I want to read, nevermind adding things I want to _re_-read. Oh heck, now I'm going to have to go and see if they've got any Doctor Who on kindle ......


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## samalex (Jul 30, 2010)

leathco said:


> Post some Trek book recommendations that are available in the Kindle store!


TNG started when I was about 10 years old, and from the first TNG pocket book I was hooked. I've got most of the TNG novels and hardbacks plus many books from the other series, and I always have at least one going. Right now I'm reading Yesterday's Son, which was A. C. Crispin's first novel. I'm also trying to get into the USS Titon series with Riker as captain, but honestly they're not grabbing me.

Also when it's late and I'm just looking to burn an hour or two, I like to pick a random Trek book from the shelf, open to a chapter, and just start reading. It's funny, watching ever Trek episode (many of which MANY times), and reading so many books, thinking back I often forget which stories were from books and which were from TV  Am I the only one who does this?

And with so many good Trek books out there, it'd be interesting to see a Trek book club take off. I wonder if any of the Trek websites have something like this going.

Take care --

Sam


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## samalex (Jul 30, 2010)

luvmy4brats said:


> This one:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I bought this in hardback when it came out years ago, though I've never read it... Now that I'm finding more time to read I'm going back and reading lots of books I've had for years but just never found the time to read. I have well over 100 Trek novels, and I've only read maybe 20% of them.

Sam


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Linjeakel said:


> Oh, I loved 'Imzadi' but I haven't read it in years. I didn't realize any Star Trek books were available for Kindle. I see they have an edition with both Imzadi and Imzadi II in it called Imzadi Forever.
> 
> Ah, they also have a DS9 book I remember liking (I like most things with time travel in it!) called Fallen Heroes
> 
> Looks like a lot more things about to be added to my wishlist. It's bad enough with the things I want to read, nevermind adding things I want to _re_-read. Oh heck, now I'm going to have to go and see if they've got any Doctor Who on kindle ......


i picked up Imzadi forever.....two for the price of one...cant beat that. I have seen great reviews on the Star Trek Destiny trilogy and picked them up from the 1/2 price store, but haven't read yet


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## Valmore Daniels (Jul 12, 2010)

I went through a phaze a while ago where I think I read about 40 or so TNG books, but for the life of me, the only one I can remember is Imzadi - I really enjoyed it.


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## D.A. Boulter (Jun 11, 2010)

I haven't read many Star Trek novels, but came across this one once and was pleasantly surprised.


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## leathco (Jul 31, 2010)

Well, I chose two this week.  The first book in the Destiny series and the TNG Technical Manual.  I also went ahead and picked up a couple non-Trek books in World War Z and I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell, since I got paid a lil extra these past couple weeks.  Can't wait for my Kindle to actually show up next week!  Using my iPhone works, but gets a lil grating on my eyes after over an hour.

Also I finished Beneath the Raptors Wing, its a great read.  It ends on a cliffhanger for the next book thats not out yet.


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## JaneD (May 11, 2010)

cliffball said:


> How does everyone feel about William Shatner's post-_Generations_ novels about Kirk? I actually like them, but was wondering what other Trekkers think.


I've only read 2 Shatner/Trek books, Ashes of Eden and the Academy one, Collision Course. I really liked them both, though Collision Course was a little more fun, with teen Kirk & Spock investigating mysterious shenanigans at the Academy.

I mostly read TOS-era books, and the stand outs so far have both been from Diane Duane: Doctor's Orders and Spock's World were both excellent.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

JaneD said:


> I've only read 2 Shatner/Trek books, Ashes of Eden and the Academy one, Collision Course. I really liked them both, though Collision Course was a little more fun, with teen Kirk & Spock investigating mysterious shenanigans at the Academy.
> 
> I mostly read TOS-era books, and the stand outs so far have both been from Diane Duane: Doctor's Orders and Spock's World were both excellent.


Since you've enjoyed Spock's World, I recommend Wounded Sky, which actually comes before Spock's World.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Chad Winters (#102) said:


> i picked up Imzadi forever.....two for the price of one...cant beat that. I have seen great reviews on the Star Trek Destiny trilogy and picked them up from the 1/2 price store, but haven't read yet


I finished Imzadi I, it was pretty good....but


Spoiler



the last chapter annoyed me. So Riker returns to the future from the alternate time line unchanged? And the regular Riker is still around....plus the transporter duplicate Riker. So there are three of them now? At least Deanna can always get a date....


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## r0b0d0c (Feb 16, 2009)

Having been a hard-core Star Trek fan since it was actually on TV (young child, but still watched EVERY episode!), I don't know why I hadn't looked for Kindle versions of the vast Star Trek library! I have a HUGE collection, both hardcovers and paperbacks, many of which I'd never gotten time to read yet. And now, thanks to fellow "Kindle enablers," I have a new source of downloads to choose from! 

I'd like to hear others chime in on their favorite books, maybe from each lineage of Star Trek (TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise)!


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Lifelong Trekkie here. I haven't read an ST book in ages, but, I have read oodles of them. Like others, I liked Spock's World, Imzadi and Doctor's Orders. I also enjoyed Ishmael, Invasion! and Sarek, but don't really remember them.


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## Batgirl (Sep 22, 2009)

Big Star Trek fan here (especially TOS).  I bought lots of the books when they first came out, but stopped collecting them years ago.  Now I'm looking to fill in the holes in my collection with Kindle editions.  It seems to me they're a little pricey for the size of the books, though ($7.99-$8.99).


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## Chloista (Jun 27, 2009)

Monique said:


> Lifelong Trekkie here. I haven't read an ST book in ages, but, I have read oodles of them. Like others, I liked Spock's World, Imzadi and Doctor's Orders. I also enjoyed Ishmael, Invasion! and Sarek, but don't really remember them.


Oh, I loved Ishmael, too!

Lifelong Trekkie or Trekker or whatever anyone wishes to call it. Have been to many a con, met many a star, and just overall love the entire ST universe. I used to have almost all the ST paperbacks, but after a time, donated them to my sister -- another Trekkie.

Like this thread a lot!


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## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

The David R George III CRICIBLE trilogy
Set at the time of the classic episode, City on the Edge of Forever, these three books explore an alternitive universe based on that single moment where Kirk, in order to save the universe, saves Edith Keeler's life.
Crucible: McCoy: The Provenance of Shadows
Crucible: Spock: The Fire & the Rose
Crucible: Kirk: The Star to Every Wandering

These should be read in this order
yes they are on Kindle
If you love a good long story, the McCoy and Spock portions of this trilogy are some of the longest Trek books in publication
Highly reccomended
The publishers had scheduled an omnibus version at one time but i don't know if it went to print or not

In fact, I had stopped buying Trek books "just because each one was the new one published"
So I decided to wait for something with bite to it. These three do indeed, have bite. I haven't bought another one since where the plot looked like it would have the same impact. These are worth reading


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Over in the TBR thread, I mentioned how much I'm looking forward to the release of Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game in a couple days.


Hurray!!

And afterward I found myself wanting to talk Star Trek - and I thought It best to revive a thread than to hijack the other one. I'm excited about this new post Borg story arc and I'm glad they're bringing in pretty much a new crop of bad guy races. Most of these have been minor evilness races in other stories but never major players ... but now that they pretty much surround the Federation as well as mixed throughout the newly expanded Khitomer Accords members.

What do you think about this new story arc as well as the whole aftermath of the Borg invasion and/or the post movie and series story lines?


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

I am currently working on getting all ST books onto my kindle so I can get rid of 19 metric tons of DTB  ST books. (ok, not that much, but every time we move it sure feels like it)


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## Cliff Ball (Apr 10, 2010)

I love how Pocket Books/Simon/CBS has decided to link Titan, TNG, DS9, and Voyager together in one big storyline now. It used to be standalone stories. I have yet to read the novel about Janeway sacrificing herself to the Borg, but, I did manage to read all the novels afterwards so far. The Caeliar, the Columbia, etc. Its all really cool.


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

BTackitt said:


> I am currently working on getting all ST books onto my kindle so I can get rid of 19 metric tons of DTB ST books. (ok, not that much, but every time we move it sure feels like it)


I know what you mean, and Mother Nature took care of most of that for me. In the recent rains we had here in SoCal, my garage roof leaked and several boxes of ST books were destroyed. Won't have to carry them around anymore.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

I just re-read Doctor's Orders.  McCoy in command of the Enterprise?  Priceless.  I also pre-ordered the next Mirror Universe anthology.


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## tanstaafl28 (Oct 10, 2010)

_My Enemy, My Ally_ was written in the early 80's by Diane Duane, is still one of my all time favorite Trek novels.


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## kyrin (Dec 28, 2009)

My two favorites are by Peter David. A Rock and a Hard Place and Strike Zone are two very good Next Generation tales.

For the Original Series, I like Spock's World and a few others whose titles I forget.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

scarlet said:


> I just re-read Doctor's Orders. McCoy in command of the Enterprise? Priceless. I also pre-ordered the next Mirror Universe anthology.


I haven't gotten into the Mirror Universe that much. I kinda liked what they did with it in the DS9 series but ... I dunno .... just can't bring myself to read the books.


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## LCEvans (Mar 29, 2009)

I'm a fan, but it hadn't occurred to me to get the books for my Kindle until you enablers posted to this thread.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

LCEvans said:


> I'm a fan, but it hadn't occurred to me to get the books for my Kindle until you enablers posted to this thread.


Welcome to the Dark Side.

(oh, sorry, wrong milieu)


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Resistance is Futile.


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## jmkwriter (Sep 14, 2009)

Cliff Ball said:


> How does everyone feel about William Shatner's post-_Generations_ novels about Kirk? I actually like them, but was wondering what other Trekkers think.


Gereatric Trek is more like it. The adventures of Kirk and Co. when they're old!

That being said, I read them all and liked them. Although, I thought Shatner has an interesting(inflated) take on Kirk. Apparently in his old age he talks more and fights less and gets really, really philosophical. Never quite jibbed with me. But the Shatnerverse was fun nonetheless.


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## jmkwriter (Sep 14, 2009)

Lyndl said:


> I haven't actually read any Star Trek novels but I do agree with you that Enterprise was a great show, even though it had the most incompetent Captain ever to grace a Federation ship.
> 
> I guess I need to check these out.


I would argue that Janway had the distinct of being the most incompetent captain ever.


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## RangerXenos (Mar 18, 2009)

If you loved Deep Space 9 (I did!), Andrew Robinson's book about Garak is excellent. (It's also ridiculously priced for Kindle at $8.99, but I believe it's out of print.)


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## RangerXenos (Mar 18, 2009)

Wow, I didn't realize how much they're getting for a lot of the old Trek books on Kindle! Typical, trying to rake the Star Trek fans over the coals! I own all these books in the paper versions, as I have met a lot of the authors over the years at Trek cons. (Major Star Trek Geek here!)

Here's another of my favorites, you really can't go wrong with any book written by Peter David.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

You can thank agency pricing for the outrageous ST prices.. pre-agency pricing I was picking them up for about $3 apiece. Now, they are the same as a NEW paperback, even the ones that came out 20+ years ago.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

tanstaafl28 said:


> _My Enemy, My Ally_ was written in the early 80's by Diane Duane, is still one of my all time favorite Trek novels.


Have you read the follow ups to My Enemy, My Ally?


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## r0b0d0c (Feb 16, 2009)

scarlet said:


> I just re-read Doctor's Orders. McCoy in command of the Enterprise? Priceless. I also pre-ordered the next Mirror Universe anthology.


I liked that, also!

By "Mirror Universe anthology," did you find a Kindle download that's a collection of these? Do you have an Amazon link? Thanks!


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## SidneyW (Aug 6, 2010)

I'm in the Lifetimer category also. Watched TOS as a kid. One of my favorite novel "Spock, Messiah" from the Bantam days doesn't seem to be on Kindle, but another, Strangers from the Sky is - it's about the first contact with Vulcans. It has time travel and all kinds of cool elements. I have liked the Shatner post-Generations novels also.


[URL=http://www.amazon.com/Strangers-From-The-Sky-ebook/dp/B000JMKS8I/ref=sr_1_1]http://www.amazon.com/Strangers-From-The-Sky-ebook/dp/B000JMKS8I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1288109558&sr=1-1[/url]


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## jonconnington (Mar 20, 2010)

My favorite probably would have been Spocks World, because of the history if Vulcan it shows,


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

r0b0d0c said:


> I liked that, also!
> 
> By "Mirror Universe anthology," did you find a Kindle download that's a collection of these? Do you have an Amazon link? Thanks!


When I say "Mirror Universe" I refer to these anthologies....







In my mind I call the ones below "Mirror Universe" but technically they are "Myriad Universe" anthologies.





and the upcoming one


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## r0b0d0c (Feb 16, 2009)

Thanks, scarlet! I'll have to try the first of those - haven't read them yet! 

Sure wish I'd "stocked up" on Star Trek Kindle books before "agency pricing" infected Amazon - combining my "Kindle addiction" with my many decades long "Star Trek addiction" is going to get expensive........


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## stormhawk (Apr 29, 2009)

I own a signed copy of Imzadi, but I've never read it. Friends of mine were friends with Peter David's Father, and got me the book as a gift.

The only Star Trek books I've read were the James Blish novelizations of the original series. Those, I love. 

The rest strike me as fan drool, and I choose not to read them.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

r0b0d0c said:


> Thanks, scarlet! I'll have to try the first of those - haven't read them yet!
> 
> Sure wish I'd "stocked up" on Star Trek Kindle books before "agency pricing" infected Amazon - combining my "Kindle addiction" with my many decades long "Star Trek addiction" is going to get expensive........


Any time. I was lucky enough to buy most of my ST books as soon as I got my kindle, so pre-agency pricing.



stormhawk said:


> I own a signed copy of Imzadi, but I've never read it. Friends of mine were friends with Peter David's Father, and got me the book as a gift.
> 
> The only Star Trek books I've read were the James Blish novelizations of the original series. Those, I love.
> 
> The rest strike me as fan drool, and I choose not to read them.


Until you've read a few of them, I don't think you can lump them all into one category. There are some comedies (How Much for Just the Planet?), some based on classic episodes (Time for Yesterday and Yesterday's Son), and there are Original Series books, Next Generation books, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise and even some new spin-offs. Try one or better, more than one, before you call them fan drool, please.


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## Rory Miller (Oct 21, 2010)

It's been a while, but I used to have the books about the ship that wasn't on any of the shows.  For some reason I just couldn't get into it if TV had covered that crew before.  Any ideas what series I'm talking about?  I think it was set post DS9.

Also, I feel obliged that someone should mention how wrong it was that the one time the TV folks made a woman a captain the ship got massively lost!


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## RangerXenos (Mar 18, 2009)

BTackitt said:


> You can thank agency pricing for the outrageous ST prices.. pre-agency pricing I was picking them up for about $3 apiece. Now, they are the same as a NEW paperback, even the ones that came out 20+ years ago.


They are losing my business, I refuse to pay inflated prices.


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## jmkwriter (Sep 14, 2009)

RorySM said:


> It's been a while, but I used to have the books about the ship that wasn't on any of the shows. For some reason I just couldn't get into it if TV had covered that crew before. Any ideas what series I'm talking about? I think it was set post DS9.
> 
> Also, I feel obliged that someone should mention how wrong it was that the one time the TV folks made a woman a captain the ship got massively lost!


Was the New Frontier series by Peter David? That was a great series. He pulled in all these side characters from the TV and the different books to build his cast. It definitely should have been a TV show.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

RorySM said:


> Also, I feel obliged that someone should mention how wrong it was that the one time the TV folks made a woman a captain the ship got massively lost!


At least she stopped and asked for directions ...


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## dengar (Dec 27, 2010)

I figure I bump this thread instead of post a new one.  Watched all of the movies and shows, but never read the books except for a handful and I cant remember the names.  Can someone recommend a good place to start?  Also do the authors follow any kind of guidelines set by the publishers or others that own the rights to Star Trek?  Or can they pretty much write whatever the hell they want.  I know in the Star Wars universe George Lucas has complete control of what is written by the authors.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

dengar said:


> I figure I bump this thread instead of post a new one. Watched all of the movies and shows, but never read the books except for a handful and I cant remember the names. Can someone recommend a good place to start? Also do the authors follow any kind of guidelines set by the publishers or others that own the rights to Star Trek? Or can they pretty much write whatever the hell they want. I know in the Star Wars universe George Lucas has complete control of what is written by the authors.


Different authors have different "universes" and back stories. Diane Duane's "The Wounded Sky," "Spock's World" and her Rihansu [Romulan] series ("My Enemy, My Ally", "Romulan Way" etc) are my favorites. Some authors share universe/world views, but for the most part, they are pretty much individual efforts. Case in point, William Shatner's alternate universe draws from different starting points than does Diane Duane's "Dark Mirror". My suggestion? Sample, sample, sample....


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

This is an awesome thread.  I have read only one or two Trek novels, but I really liked them.  I've thought about picking up more of  them from time to time, but there are so many, it always got back-burnered as more of a nostalgia thing.  And where do you jump in., you know?  I hadn't even thought about how easy Kindle makes this.  These posts provide great directions.  Now I'm excited to find a good one!  Thanks everybody.


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

I'm seeing a lot of names mentioned but no real consensus on the authors. Are any of the books better written than others? Any recs along those lines?


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## Lee (Nov 7, 2008)

My personal opinion, Margaret Wander Bonanno is always a sure bet.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Lee said:


> My personal opinion, Margaret Wander Bonanno is always a sure bet.


To each his own. I couldn't get through Burning Minds. But I do love Strangers from the Sky.

If you want an interesting twist on an alternate universe


Spoiler



with Spock as Enterprise's captain, no less


I recommend-



I don't read a lot of Next Generation books, but a good one is Diane Duane's Dark Mirror (no image available for it) which is set in the Mirror/Mirror universe. It was written before the DS9 Mirror/Mirror episodes, so is a completely different set of circumstances.


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

Thanks, Scarlet and Lee.  And thanks for linking them, too.  Man, the prices for these books are all over the map, aren't they?


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

STH said:


> Thanks, Scarlet and Lee. And thanks for linking them, too. Man, the prices for these books are all over the map, aren't they?


That they are. And for no rhyme or reason that I can see, since so many are from the same publisher.

This is one of my favorite re-reads.



One fun thing about the books is that authors can be all over the place with characters that would not have been physically possible during the TV show.


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## swolf (Jun 21, 2010)

I'm a fan of Star Trek, but I don't consider myself a Trekker or Trekkie.

For those who are, and have a good sense of humor, I highly recommend the book 'Beyond the Beyond' by Lee Goldberg.  It's a satirical look at Hollywood, and a thinly-veiled send up of the Star Trek phenomenon (including the books that surround the series).  Completely over the top, but hilarious.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

swolf said:


> I'm a fan of Star Trek, but I don't consider myself a Trekker or Trekkie.
> 
> For those who are, and have a good sense of humor, I highly recommend the book 'Beyond the Beyond' by Lee Goldberg. It's a satirical look at Hollywood, and a thinly-veiled send up of the Star Trek phenomenon (including the books that surround the series). Completely over the top, but hilarious.


I second Beyond the Beyond! Also, for those of you with a sense of humor and a taste for romance, check out Ellen Fisher's





Geoffrey said:


> I haven't gotten into the Mirror Universe that much. I kinda liked what they did with it in the DS9 series but ... I dunno .... just can't bring myself to read the books.


Actually, I don't like the DS9 mirror/mirror universe. The myraid universe anthologies I posted are short stories that are not necessarily set in THAT alternate universe, but rather AN alternate universe.


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## cdstedman (Jun 4, 2010)

Trek books are the reason I first got my Kindle as well. Lots of recommendations for Imzadi, my first Star Trek read. Q-Squared is great, and since I'm naming Peter David book his New Frontier series is very well done.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

dengar,

I was in the same boat as you when I started reading trek books last year. I started with _Star Trek: The Next Generation: Death in Winter_ as it occurs just after *Star Trek:Nemesis*. Then I read a few novels set in the same time period - the late 2370's - to get some more flavor (_Taking Wing, Article of the Federation, Resistance,_ etc)

... My goal was to get background history so I could read the _Star Trek: Destiny_ trilogy, which is the next big war against the Borg. Now I'm caught up in the timeline after reading the 3rd _Typhon Pact_ novel and I'm thinking about going back to the Dominion War or picking a series or otherwise reading all the millions of novels still out there.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Geoffrey said:


> dengar,
> 
> I was in the same boat as you when I started reading trek books last year. I started with _Star Trek: The Next Generation: Death in Winter_ as it occurs just after *Star Trek:Nemesis*. Then I read a few novels set in the same time period - the late 2370's - to get some more flavor (_Taking Wing, Article of the Federation, Resistance,_ etc)
> 
> ... My goal was to get background history so I could read the _Star Trek: Destiny_ trilogy, which is the next big war against the Borg. Now I'm caught up in the timeline after reading the 3rd _Typhon Pact_ novel and I'm thinking about going back to the Dominion War or picking a series or otherwise reading all the millions of novels still out there.


That's very helpful. I have the Destiny series which I picked up at the 1/2 Price Bookstore (Take that Agency Book Prices!!)
but I couldn't start them without knowing what happened before. I'll have to grab these before Destiny. Was Typhon after Destiny?


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

does anyone else's head hurt trying to keep all the different "histories" straight?

Part of the problem is when books got written.  Books written during TNG run before DS9 or Voyager can take things in a different direction then books written after certain episodes in those series.  And backstory that was fine when written before Enterprise becomes problematic now.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Chad Winters (#102) said:


> That's very helpful. I have the Destiny series which I picked up at the 1/2 Price Bookstore (Take that Agency Book Prices!!)
> but I couldn't start them without knowing what happened before. I'll have to grab these before Destiny. Was Typhon after Destiny?


Yes. _Destiny_ is a war with the Borg then there are two dealing with the aftermath of the war: _Losing the Peace_ and _A Singular Destiny_ that lead directly into _Typhon Pact_. There have been 3 Typhon books released since October with a new one listed for the end of January ... I'm not sure how many will be in this series but I just finished the third last week ....


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

Thanks again, Scarlet. I think I'm going to get this one. Love the old school characters. Anything that focuses on Spock has got to be good.


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## MegHarris (Mar 4, 2010)

Thanks for the mention, scarlet. 



> I don't read a lot of Next Generation books, but a good one is Diane Duane's Dark Mirror (no image available for it) which is set in the Mirror/Mirror universe. It was written before the DS9 Mirror/Mirror episodes, so is a completely different set of circumstances.


I agree; this is one of my fave TNG books. And as someone mentioned upthread, her _The Wounded Sky_ (TOS) is awesome too.

Most of my Star Trek reading has been TNG books. My faves are _Metamorphosis _(big Data fan), _Q in Law_, _Q-Squared_, _Imzadi _(obviously I really like Peter David), and _The Eyes of the Beholders._ I agree that the Kindle prices are really high, though-- I'd like to try some of the newer TNG novels I haven't read yet, but whoa, they're not cheap, are they?

Oh, but _Strangers From the Sky_ is on Kindle now? I haven't read that in forever, and I no longer have my copy. Darn those publishers, I think they got me...


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

EllenFisher said:


> Thanks for the mention, scarlet.
> 
> I agree; this is one of my fave TNG books. And as someone mentioned upthread, her _The Wounded Sky_ (TOS) is awesome too.


Welcome to the thread! And yeah, I think the Wounded Sky mention was mine....

And yes, Strangers from the Sky is available on kindle. As is Dark Mirror, FINALLY! But unfortunately, I'm in the middle of a Simon Green fest and can't read it until I'm done with the Nightside books....


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

@Scarlet,

Okay so I started "Ishmael" last night, per your recommendation on the writer.  Yep, this one is perfect for me.  Even in an adventure, I think the real skill of a writer is being able to live inside the heads of each character.  And of course, with old-school Star Trek, the dynamic between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy was always the intangible part that made it so good.  This author has got that part nailed.  I'm digging it. Thanks!


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

STH said:


> @Scarlet,
> 
> Okay so I started "Ishmael" last night, per your recommendation on the writer. Yep, this one is perfect for me. Even in an adventure, I think the real skill of a writer is being able to live inside the heads of each character. And of course, with old-school Star Trek, the dynamic between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy was always the intangible part that made it so good. This author has got that part nailed. I'm digging it. Thanks!


Glad you're enjoying it. It is one of the books where the writer "got" the characters.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

went wandering through the store today and found another old favorite that is now available. This has a nice characterization of Yeoman Janice Rand in it. She actually sounds like she has a brain!



And for Uhura fans, I recommend:


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

> Glad you're enjoying it. It is one of the books where the writer "got" the characters.


Yep. it's like a particularly good episode of the TV show but without all the papier mache rocks. It's also a rare case where you actually want to picture the actors in your head instead of making your own picture. Her dialogue is pitch perfect, especially the funny stuff. McCoy really "stirs the drink" in all the conversations. Great stuff.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

It's been a long time since I have read a Star Trek novel, but I used to read a lot of them. It's best not to try to put them all into one reality, as each author takes them in their own direction. There have been so many books that there wouldn't have been time for all of them to have actually taken place within their fictional reality.

Many years ago, I read Star Trek comic that had a fascinating premise for how the Mirror Universe got started. In the alternate reality, Earth lost the Romulan War. When they finally broke free of the Romulans, they were determined to never be dominated by any other power, and instead of setting up a Federation, set up an Empire to instead dominate others. I liked the simple logic of the difference.

I thought Enterprise was a pretty good show, but it got on the wrong track for too long, and was too little too late when it got back on. At first, the show spun its wheels with the "You know all those alien species that were first met in TOS and TNG? Well they REALLY were first met on Enterprise!" They would have been better off with focusing on meeting the species that were well established in TOS. But they really got on the wrong track with the Xindi arc. That was a year where they weren't moving the story forward where it needed to go, pointing towards the beginning of the Federation. The temporal cold war didn't work either.

I liked the new reboot movie on its own merits, but its not quite the same. I remember people were debating whether the universe of the TV show still existed or whether the reboot universe replaced it. In other words, was this a parallel universe or did it rewrite the existing one? I observed that the original universe is still there, as the books still exist, and the old TV shows still air!


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

QuantumIguana said:


> I liked the new reboot movie on its own merits, but its not quite the same. I remember people were debating whether the universe of the TV show still existed or whether the reboot universe replaced it. In other words, was this a parallel universe or did it rewrite the existing one? I observed that the original universe is still there, as the books still exist, and the old TV shows still air!


I love this philosphy! If we can still see it, it's still there.


Spoiler



hangs head in shame. Never saw the movie.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

Enterprise had one episode that angered me. There was this planet that had two intelligent species, one more advanced than the other. The more advanced species was suffering from a terrible illness. Doctor Phlox discovered a cure, but decided to withhold it. His reasoning? The less advanced species was evolving, and he felt that by giving the more advanced species the cure, it would hold back the advancement of the less advanced species. I don't know the medical ethics on his home planet, but if I was Archer, I would have dumped Phlox off at the next base with a one-way ticket to his home planet.

Voyager also had one episode that angered me. Members of the crew were captured by the Vidiians, a species which harvests other species for their organs. They rescue their own people, but make no effort to rescue any of aliens who were captured with them.

Kind of getting off the topic of books though, I guess.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

QuantumIguana said:


> Voyager also had one episode that angered me. Members of the crew were captured by the Vidiians, a species which harvests other species for their organs. They rescue their own people, but make no effort to rescue any of aliens who were captured with them.
> 
> Kind of getting off the topic of books though, I guess.


If Voyager had only ONE episode that angered me I'd be thrilled. They had a whole season that made me stop watching and want to throw things.


Spoiler



I hate time travel stories that end with it "never happening" and they did that on their 3rd episode!


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## Cliff Ball (Apr 10, 2010)

I just got done with reading the latest Typhon Pact novel: Rough Beasts of Empire. I like how CBS and Paramount are getting the novels, at least in the post-TNG, Voyager, and DS9 universe to all fit together in one huge storyline. 

I'm trying to buy the whole Enterprise series, because I missed season's 2 through 4, and was able to see it again from season 4 1/2 to 5, and I enjoyed that part of the show. I'm really interested in why everyone hates Enterprise.

Now, with Voyager, the ending is what really ticked me off. I remember my reaction being "That's it?!?! They fly out of the Borg sphere, come out near Earth, and then it fades out?"  I felt ripped off.  Then, I read the novels after that about what happened to the crew, and felt a little better.


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## MegHarris (Mar 4, 2010)

> If Voyager had only ONE episode that angered me I'd be thrilled.


My fifteen-year-old is making me do a rewatch of Voyager, which I haven't watched since it aired and don't really remember. I love Star Trek: DS9, but Voyager doesn't really thrill me by comparison. I do like Janeway, though, which brings me to my question relevant to the thread: has anyone read _Mosaic _by Jeri Taylor (the life story of Janeway), and is it any good?


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