Best Trek Novel Authors!
Calculus
I would like to read the BETTER Star Trek Books/Novels out there,
but I would not like to go through "all" of them to find the best
and the worst.
I would like to hear from YOU: Who are the better/best authors of
Star Trek Novels, Short Stories, and the TV shows, and the like,
no matter how old or how recent.
How many books authors actually had any REAL particpation on
actual tv-scripts ?
Has anyone ever tried counting "all" of the StarTrek books ever
written ? Hmmm....
Thanks!
Email responces preferred.
//Calculus//
http://moose.erie.net/~calculus/eti.html [Wow!]
Maagic
DS9 book number 5 "Fallen Heroes" is hands down my favorite Trek book
EVER! I could not put this one down! I don't normally praise Trek books,
but this one was incredible! Go out and get it NOW!
--
My web page! You won't believe what's here!
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Merete
calc...@erie.net (Calculus) wrote:
>I would like to read the BETTER Star Trek Books/Novels out there,
>but I would not like to go through "all" of them to find the best
>and the worst.
>I would like to hear from YOU: Who are the better/best authors of
>Star Trek Novels, Short Stories, and the TV shows, and the like,
>no matter how old or how recent.
Good authors are Peter David, Diane Duane, John Ford, Janet Kagan.
Also Diane Carey has written some good books, I enjoyed her Piper
books. She also collaborated with her husband on a book called "Best
Destiny", which is about a young James Kirk, his father, and Capt.
April.
There is a pair of authors, Marshak and Culbreth, whom John Ordover
reminded me that haven't written a book in decades, but you still run
accross their books at used book stores. Don't bother to read them,
they are bad. Gene DeWeese also hasn't written a book in awhile, for
good reason. He's boring. He actually had at least one good
character, and then never did anything with her.
A lot of the Bantam books are pretty old, and pretty bad, but I
noticed that Bantam is rereleasing them. Some of the middle books of
Pocket publications are very good. Diane Duane's Romulan books are
excellent.
>How many books authors actually had any REAL particpation on
>actual tv-scripts ?
I believe David Gerrold wrote a book, and he was a character in the
book. The title was "The Galactic Whirlpool", and David was the
character "Specks"
>Has anyone ever tried counting "all" of the StarTrek books ever
>written ? Hmmm....
I own about 200 fiction books, and about 20 nonfiction books. Oh, if
you want to read any nonfiction, stay away from James (?) Van Hise.
His work is poorly researched , often wrong, and very boring.
Shawn Hill
Calculus (calc...@erie.net) wrote:
: I would like to read the BETTER Star Trek Books/Novels out there,
: but I would not like to go through "all" of them to find the best
: and the worst.
: I would like to hear from YOU: Who are the better/best authors of
: Star Trek Novels, Short Stories, and the TV shows, and the like,
: no matter how old or how recent.
I vote for Diane Duane, Peter David, and Vonda McIntyre as being three
entertaining authors who actually comprehend and respect the Trek mythos.
shawn
* . * . * . * .
Q: "Am I still your woman?"
A: "You're the captain's woman...until he says you're not."
. * . * . *sh...@fas.harvard.edu
Bamfer
In article <56pite$5...@news.erie.net> you wrote:
: I would like to read the BETTER Star Trek Books/Novels out there,
: but I would not like to go through "all" of them to find the best
: and the worst.
:
: I would like to hear from YOU: Who are the better/best authors of
: Star Trek Novels, Short Stories, and the TV shows, and the like,
: no matter how old or how recent.
Pretty much anything from Diane Duane and Peter David and you won't
go wrong. For TOS: "The Entropy Effect" by Vonda McIntyre, "Tears of
the Singers" by Melinda Snodgrass, "The Wounded Sky" Diane Duane, "The
Final Reflection" John Ford, "My Enemy, My Ally" by Diane Duane were
all winners. There's a few other good ones, but I can't recall at the
moment.
For TNG: Slim pickings, but again, just about anything from Peter David
is at least decent (the man can even write Wesley well). His best (IMHO)
are his books "Q-Squared", "Imzadi", and "Q-In-Law" (the last is hilarious
if you like David's humor). Diane Duane wrote a mirror-mirror book
called "Dark Mirror" (I think that's the title) that I've heard is
good but I haven't read this one.
For DS9: Peter David's "The Siege" is pretty decent, especially considering
he had only the series pilot to base the characters on when he wrote it.
There's a great line from Kira about "technobabble" too. The best (by far)
DS9 book, though is "Fallen Heroes" by Dafydd Ab Hugh.
: How many books authors actually had any REAL particpation on
: actual tv-scripts ?
Well, Melinda Snograss was the script (or was it story?) editor for
TNG's second season (and she wrote probably the best TNG story in
the second season, "Measure of a Man").
I heard Peter David submitted at least one script (I don't remember
which series now, I think for Voyager), but got it rejected. David did write
two episodes for Babylon 5's second season, and wrote the screenplays for
"Trancers 4 and 5" (although he was heavily edited in the Trancer scripts and
wasn't happy with the outcome). David also writes DC comic's Aquaman
and Marvel's Incredible Hulk (among other books).
: Has anyone ever tried counting "all" of the StarTrek books ever
: written ? Hmmm....
No, have to admit I haven't. However, I pretty much don't buy them anymore
unless it's a Duane or David book sight unseen. They are just not real
interesting anymore, actually that's an understatement. Most of them
are stultifyingly dull. The writers are so constrained with regards to
what they can do in the ST universe, that it really takes an exceptional
writer to get out of this, and even then you've got Duane doing a
mirror universe book (nothing quite as much fun as watching our favorite
characters with an evil streak) and David creating an a couple of alternate
timelines (then with Q, anything is possible).
Sonja
--lans...@scf.nmsu.edu bam...@acca.nmsu.edu
"There are worlds out there where the sky's burning, and the sea's asleep,
and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere
there's danger. Somewhere there's injustice. Somewhere else the tea's getting
cold. Come on, Ace. We've got work to do!" -- Doctor to Ace, "Survival"
Steve
I agree with his assessment about David, Duane, Ford and Crispin being
about the best. Ford's 'The Final Reflection' really started the
rehabilitation of the Klingons.
David Gerrold and Howard Weinstein have written scripts for various
incarnations of the show, plus some good original novels.
I would also add Alan Dean Foster's adaptations of the animated series.
They're alot of fun, particularly Logs 7 - 10.
Junsok Yang
In article <56qmdn$a...@decaxp.harvard.edu>, sh...@husc7.harvard.edu says...
>
>Calculus (calc...@erie.net) wrote:
>: I would like to read the BETTER Star Trek Books/Novels out there,
>: but I would not like to go through "all" of them to find the best
>: and the worst.
>I vote for Diane Duane, Peter David, and Vonda McIntyre as being three
>entertaining authors who actually comprehend and respect the Trek mythos.
Of the Trek books I've read in the last year and a half, "Federation" by J
& G Garfield-Reeves is probably the only one I'd recommend unreservedly.
(Though much of it will be overwritten by First Contact.) The others I've
read ("Q-Squared" by P. David; "Crossover" by JM Friedman; "Mosaic" by J.
Taylor; "Ashes of Eden" by W. Shatner and J & G Garfield-Reeves) were OK,
but I didn't like them enough to recommend unreservedly.
"Joy Machine" by Theodore Sturgeon and James Gunn was a major
disappointment, even though it was written by two SF writers whom I respect
greatly.
"Inside Star Trek" by H. Solow and R. Justman (which is a ST nonfiction
book, not a novel) was greatly enjoyable, and I'd recommend it if you can
spare the money (though I got it at half price... heh, heh.)
--
**************************************************************************
"I'm sitting here, doing nothing but aging." ...George Harrison
Junsok Yang (yan...@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu)
(yan...@minerva.cis.yale.edu)
James Southall
Maagic wrote:
>
> Calculus wrote:
> >
> > I would like to read the BETTER Star Trek Books/Novels out there,
> > but I would not like to go through "all" of them to find the best
> > and the worst.
> >
> > Star Trek Novels, Short Stories, and the TV shows, and the like,
> > no matter how old or how recent.
> >
> > actual tv-scripts ?
> >
> > written ? Hmmm....
> >
> > Email responces preferred.
> >
> > //Calculus//
> > http://moose.erie.net/~calculus/eti.html [Wow!]
> >
>
> EVER! I could not put this one down! I don't normally praise Trek books,
> but this one was incredible! Go out and get it NOW!
Couldn't agree more!
"Fallen Heroes" is the best Star Trek novel there is, though the same
author (Dafydd ab Hugh)'s "Balance of Power" TNG novel is almost as
good, containing many in-jokes and great humorous moments. I was
therefore very disappointed with his effort for the "Invasion" series
(mind you, the TOS and TNG ones were really, really awful).
Peter David has written some fantastic novels ("The Captain's Daughter",
"Imzadi", "Q in Law", "Vendetta"), as has Diane Carey (though be careful
- two of her more recent efforts, "First Frontier" and "Invasion 1" were
both awful).
Probably the second best Trek book is Ann Crispin's "Sarek", which gets
really interesting at times, and the two "Shatner" (I use his name with
some suspicion) are very good, especially "The Return".
Interestingly, the novelizations of "Star Trek 5" and "Star Trek 6" are
both superb reads, really adding something to the film (eg the
"marshmellon" bit in "5" and the "stood in bed" bit in "6"), though the
"Generations" (and, from what I've heard, "First Contact") novelizations
are pretty much transcripts of the screenplays.
Hope this helps!
James
Bamfer
Steve (sw...@ptd.net) wrote:
: I agree with his assessment about David, Duane, Ford and Crispin being
: about the best. Ford's 'The Final Reflection' really started the
: rehabilitation of the Klingons.
: David Gerrold and Howard Weinstein have written scripts for various
: incarnations of the show, plus some good original novels.
: I would also add Alan Dean Foster's adaptations of the animated series.
: They're alot of fun, particularly Logs 7 - 10.
Oooh, I agree about the Logs! It's been forever since I read them, but
I remember liking them very much.
Marty McMahone
Bamfer wrote:
>
> In article <56pite$5...@news.erie.net> you wrote:
> : I would like to read the BETTER Star Trek Books/Novels out there,
> : but I would not like to go through "all" of them to find the best
> : and the worst.
>
> Pretty much anything from Diane Duane and Peter David and you won't
> go wrong. For TOS: "The Entropy Effect" by Vonda McIntyre, "Tears of
> the Singers" by Melinda Snodgrass, "The Wounded Sky" Diane Duane, "The
> Final Reflection" John Ford, "My Enemy, My Ally" by Diane Duane were
> all winners. There's a few other good ones, but I can't recall at the
> moment.
>
Peter David is fabulous. Duane is also very good. Some of Diane Carey's stuff is good.
> For TNG: Slim pickings, but again, just about anything from Peter David
> is at least decent (the man can even write Wesley well). His best (IMHO)
> are his books "Q-Squared", "Imzadi", and "Q-In-Law" (the last is hilarious
> if you like David's humor). Diane Duane wrote a mirror-mirror book
> called "Dark Mirror" (I think that's the title) that I've heard is
> good but I haven't read this one.
> Actually, Peter David wote Dark Mirror. It's a very good take on the Mirror/Mirror
universe. Much better than the DS9 version.
--
***********************************************************************
America is the only country that has the misfortune of being founded
on a philosophical mistake--namely the notion of inalienable rights.
Stanley Hauerwas
***********************************************************************
shan...@pnx.com
On Tue, 19 Nov 1996 22:31:37 GMT, James Southall
<jsou...@geocities.com> wrote:
>Maagic wrote:
>>
>> Calculus wrote:
>> >
>> > I would like to read the BETTER Star Trek Books/Novels out there,
>> > but I would not like to go through "all" of them to find the best
>> > and the worst.
>> >
>> > I would like to hear from YOU: Who are the better/best authors of
>> > Star Trek Novels, Short Stories, and the TV shows, and the like,
>> > no matter how old or how recent.
>> >
>> > How many books authors actually had any REAL particpation on
>> > actual tv-scripts ?
>> >
>> > Has anyone ever tried counting "all" of the StarTrek books ever
>> > written ? Hmmm....
>> >
>> > Thanks!
>> > Email responces preferred.
>> >
>> > //Calculus//
>> > http://moose.erie.net/~calculus/eti.html [Wow!]
>> >
Oh, I forgot to mention that I have picked up most of the Voyager
books, but won't anymore unless they feature Chakotay prominently.
Even paperbacks have gotten so expensive, why buy them unless they
have your favorite characters?
shan...@pnx.com
>Maagic wrote:
>>
>> Calculus wrote:
>> >
>> > I would like to read the BETTER Star Trek Books/Novels out there,
>> > but I would not like to go through "all" of them to find the best
>> > and the worst.
>> >
>> > I would like to hear from YOU: Who are the better/best authors of
>> > Star Trek Novels, Short Stories, and the TV shows, and the like,
>> > no matter how old or how recent.
>> >
>> > How many books authors actually had any REAL particpation on
>> > actual tv-scripts ?
>> >
My favories are for TOS: Triangle, Vulcan Academy Murders, Final
Frontier, First Frontier, Time Trap, Ashes of Eden, The Return, and
First Strike.
TNG:Masks, Rock and a Hard Place, Rogue Saucer and Soldiers of Fear.
DS9: Time's Enemy.
I don't read much DS9. I like the show, but the characters don't
interest me enough to read about them.
Very few of the TNG novels have caught my interest since most
are about Picard and he bores me.
P. Morwood & D. Duane
Marty McMahone <Martin_...@Baylor.EDU> wrote:
> Actually, Peter David wote Dark Mirror. It's a very good take on the Mirror/Mirror
>universe. Much better than the DS9 version.
Uhhh...no, he didn't. (But thanks for the compliment, anyway.)
Then again, if everyone will let me claim Q-IN-LAW, then sure,
Peter wrote MIRROR.
Best! -- Diane
Diane Duane / The Owl Springs Partnership
http://www.ibmpcug.co.uk/~owls/index.html
This message produced using Dragon Dictate. Bye bye, carpal tunnel...!
Lee Billings
In article <56qmdn$a...@decaxp.harvard.edu>, Shawn Hill says...
>
>Calculus (calc...@erie.net) wrote:
>: I would like to read the BETTER Star Trek Books/Novels out there,
>: but I would not like to go through "all" of them to find the best
>: and the worst.
>
>: I would like to hear from YOU: Who are the better/best authors of
>: Star Trek Novels, Short Stories, and the TV shows, and the like,
>: no matter how old or how recent.
>
>entertaining authors who actually comprehend and respect the Trek
>mythos.
Second that, and add L.A. Graf. Duane, however, is absolutely tops!
Merete
owls...@iol.ie (P. Morwood & D. Duane) wrote:
>Marty McMahone <Martin_...@Baylor.EDU> wrote:
>> Actually, Peter David wote Dark Mirror. It's a very good take on the Mirror/Mirror
>>universe. Much better than the DS9 version.
>Uhhh...no, he didn't. (But thanks for the compliment, anyway.)
>Then again, if everyone will let me claim Q-IN-LAW, then sure,
>Peter wrote MIRROR.
>Best! -- Diane
Didn't I see you in "How Much For Just the Planet?" That was a
wonderful book!
m
Junsok Yang
In article <577clu$a...@usenet80.supernews.com>, kav...@ainop.com says...
>>> Actually, Peter David wote Dark Mirror.
>>Uhhh...no, he didn't. (But thanks for the compliment, anyway.)
>>Then again, if everyone will let me claim Q-IN-LAW, then sure,
>>Peter wrote MIRROR.
>>Best! -- Diane
[Just for the reference, since I erased the .sig; the above comment was
from Diane Duane who *did* write "Dark Mirror."]
>Didn't I see you in "How Much For Just the Planet?" That was a
>wonderful book!
Umm... John Ford wrote "How Much for Just the Planet", not Diane Duane.
On the other hand, Merete could mean that one of the characters who was in
"How Much ... " was based on Diane Duane. The rumor goes that Ford used
some of his writer friends as models for the characters in the book.
[copy going to rec.arts.startrek.current.]
Merete
owls...@iol.ie (P. Morwood & D. Duane) wrote:
>Marty McMahone <Martin_...@Baylor.EDU> wrote:
>> Actually, Peter David wote Dark Mirror. It's a very good take on the Mirror/Mirror
>>universe. Much better than the DS9 version.
>Uhhh...no, he didn't. (But thanks for the compliment, anyway.)
>Then again, if everyone will let me claim Q-IN-LAW, then sure,
>Peter wrote MIRROR.
>Best! -- Diane
Didn't I see you in "How Much For Just the Planet?" That was a
wonderful book!
Chris McFadden
Who Me? <calc...@erie.net>wrote:
WM> I would like to read the BETTER Star Trek Books/Novels out
WM> there, but I would not like to go through "all" of them to find the
WM> best and the worst.
WM> I would like to hear from YOU: Who are the better/best authors
WM> of Star Trek Novels, Short Stories, and the TV shows, and the
WM> like, no matter how old or how recent.
Merete <kav...@ainop.com> wrote:
Me> Good authors are Peter David, Diane Duane, John Ford, Janet
Me> Kagan. Also Diane Carey has written some good books, I enjoyed
Me> her Piper books. She also collaborated with her husband on a book
Me> called "Best Destiny", which is about a young James Kirk, his
father,
Me> and Capt. April.
I especially like Peter David and Diane Duane. Michael Jan Friedman,
A.C. Crispin, Howard Weinstein and J. M. Dillard are also good.
Me> There is a pair of authors, Marshak and Culbreth, whom John Ordover
Me> reminded me that haven't written a book in decades, but you still
run
Me> accross their books at used book stores. Don't bother to read them,
Me> they are bad.
I agree. I consider "The Price of the Phoenix" and "The Fate of the
Phoenix" the two worst Star Trek novels ever written. Their other books
aren't very good either.
Me> Gene DeWeese also hasn't written a book in awhile, for
Me> good reason. He's boring. He actually had at least one good
Me> character, and then never did anything with her.
Me> A lot of the Bantam books are pretty old, and pretty bad, but I
Me> noticed that Bantam is rereleasing them.
The Bantams were a godsend to Trek starved fans of the 70's, but they
don't hold up to today's novels.
Me> Some of the middle books of Pocket publications are very good.
Me> Diane Duane's Romulan books are excellent.
sa...@pan-tex.net wrote:
Sa> I would also recommend the books by William Shatner (and his
Sa> ghost writers).
Just a brief clarification - Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens were
co-writers, not ghostwriters. Their names appear on the title page
along with Shatner's. According to an article in "Star Trek
Communicator", Shatner developed the plots and then fleshed out the
scenes with the Reeves-Stevens. They did most of the writing with some
rewrites by Shatner.
Sa> They are excellent reading, and explore Kirk's character really
Sa> well, as one would expect. After all, who knows Kirk better than
Sa> his alter ego? They also have some very innovative plots. They are
Sa> fun to read.
The characterizations of Kirk were excellent. "The Ashes of Eden" and
"The Return" examined many of his fears and weaknesses. Since Kirk is
such a heroic character, I'm not sure we would have accepted this from
another author. The plots were indeed imaginative and fast-paced. I
enjoyed both books very much.
If you are a Voyager fan, look for "Mosaic" by Jeri Taylor. Besides an
exciting plotline in Voyager's present, it includes flashbacks to
Janeway's past from the time she is a small child to the beginnings of
her Starfleet career. This is the first novel to be declared canon and
elements of it will be incorporated in future Voyager episodes.
WM> How many books authors actually had any REAL particpation
WM> on actual tv-scripts ?
Me> I believe David Gerrold wrote a book, and he was a character in the
Me> book. The title was "The Galactic Whirlpool", and David was the
Me> character "Specks"
For those who don't know, Gerrold wrote the popular TOS episode, "The
Trouble With Tribbles". He also wrote TOS episode "The Cloudminders",
wrote two TAS (The Animated Series) episodes, and was involved in the
creation of TNG.
Jeri Taylor is executive producer and co-creator of Voyager and has
written or co-written about a dozen episodes. She served as supervising
producer on TNG during the fourth and fifth seasons and co-executive
producer during the sixth and seventh. She wrote/co-wrote twelve STNG
episodes and co-wrote DS9s "The Homecoming".
Melissa Snodgrass was story editor during TNG's second season and
executive story consultant during the third. She wrote/co-wrote five
episodes.
D. C. Fontanna was story editor for TOS, story editor and associate
producer for TAS, and was involved in the early stages of TNG. She has
written or co-written eight TOS episodes, one TAS episode, six STNG
episodes and one DS9 episode.
Diane Duane wrote TNG episode "Where No One Has Gone Before". Michael
J. Friedman and Kevin Ryan wrote Voyager episode "Resistance". Howard
Weinstein wrote TAS episode "The Pirates of Orion". Alan Dean Foster
co-wrote STTMP.
WM> Has anyone ever tried counting "all" of the Star Trek books ever
WM> written ? Hmmm....From: (WhoMe?)
Me> I own about 200 fiction books, and about 20 nonfiction books.
You beat my fiction count (183), but I have the edge in nonfiction
(56). :)
As for totals, my count for novels is 199. The breakdown by series: 109
TOS (14 Bantam, 95 PB), 58 STNG, 20 DS9 and 12 Voyager). This includes
all of this month's releases. There are also 24 Starfleet Academy books
for young adults (3 TOS, 11 STNG, 8 DS9 and 2 movie tie-ins). If you
count these, the total is 223.
As far as short story collections, I know of 24. Theres James Blish's
12 volume Star Trek series (based on TOS episodes), Alan Dean Foster's
10 volume Star Trek Log series (based on TAS episodes), plus the Bantam
"Star Trek: The New Voyages" and "Star Trek: The New Voyages 2".
Not included in these fiction totals are fan published fiction, graphic
(comic book) novels, Fotonovels and childrens books. Nonfiction books
would be extremely hard to count - too many publishers and a lot of
obscure out of print books. I would say there are about 100 books, but
thats just a guess.
Me> Oh, if you want to read any nonfiction, stay away from James (?)
Me> Van Hise. His work is poorly researched , often wrong, and very
Me> boring
I too have found his books superficial and riddled with inaccuracies. A
good rule of thumb for nonfiction is to choose Pocket Books over other
publishers and to choose *any* other author over James Van Hise.
Chris McFadden
Chris McFadden
We've been primarily discussing Star Trek fiction. I thought someone
might want some information on nonfiction books. There is a wealth of
material on Classic Trek and a good amount on TNG, but very little for
DS9 and Voyager. For what it's worth, here are my recommendations.
Unless otherwise stated, all books should be available at your local
bookstore.
GENERAL STAR TREK: "The Star Trek Encyclopedia" (Michael Okuda, Denise
Okuda and Debbie Mirek) is the premier reference book. Unfortunately,
the current edition only covers TOS, the first six movies, the first
six seasons of TNG and the first season of DS9. A revised edition is
long overdue. "Star Trek Chronology" (Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda)
is the official Star Trek timeline and serves as a mini episode guide
for all four series. A new full color edition, which includes "First
Contact" events, has just been released. There is also a CD-ROM, "The
Star Trek Omnepedia", which combines both the Encyclopedia and the
Chronology. It too has a newly released version.
CLASSIC EPISODE GUIDES: "The Star Trek Compendium" (Allan Asherman)
has great plot synopses and background information. The latest edition
(white cover) includes TOS episodes, TAS (The Animated Series) episodes
and the first six movies. "Star Trek Concordance" (Bjo Trimble), first
released in 1968, has good episode descriptions and wonderful artwork,
but no background info. The second half of the book is a detailed
lexicon (encyclopedia) of Classic Trek. Besides the episodes and movies
covered by Asherman, Trimble includes "Generations" as well as six TNG
and one DS9 episode that features Classic Trek characters. (The DS9
episode is "Blood Oath", not the recent "Trials and Tribble-ations".)
TOS BEHIND THE SCENES: "Star Trek Memories" (William Shatner with Chris
Kreski) is an interesting comprehensive look at the original series and
contains many photographs and quotes from TOS cast and crew members.
"The Making of Star Trek" (Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry),
originally published in 1968, provides insight into the creative
beginnings and production of TOS. "Inside Star Trek The Real Story"
(Herb F. Solow and Robert H. Justman) offers still another perspective
from Trek insiders.
CLASSIC MOVIES BEHIND THE SCENES: "Star Trek Movie Memories" (William
Shatner with Chris Kreski) gives an excellent overview of the Classic
Trek films and "Generations" with plenty of anecdotes and pictures.
There are also at least five out of print books dealing with individual
movies which sometimes show up at used book stores. "The Making of Star
Trek: The Motion Picture" (Susan Sackett and Gene Roddenberry) includes
the story of "Star Trek II", the aborted TV show, and 16 pages of color
pictures. "Captain's Log: William Shatner's Personal Account of The
Making of Star Trek V The Final Frontier" (Lisabeth Shatner) is the
best description of the intricacies of making a film and wins the award
for longest title. "The Making of Star Trek II The Wrath of Kahn"
(Allan Asherman) contains interviews with the director, producers and
stars.
TOS TECHNICAL: "The Star Trek Starfleet Technical Manual" (Franz
Joseph) provides detailed Enterprise diagrams and specifications, as
well as information on Starfleet and the Federation. Originally
published in 1975, much of this book is speculative. Some things, such
as the United Nations as Earth's governing body and the locations of
the Klingon and Romulan Empires, have since been superseded.
CLASSIC MOVIES TECHNICAL: "Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise" (Shane
Johnson) contains illustrations and information on the refitted
Enterprise of the first three movies. There is a brief appendix on the
Enterprise-A.
TNG EPISODE GUIDE and BEHIND THE SCENES: "The Star Trek The Next
Generation Companion" (Larry Nemecek) has excellent plot synopses and
an incredible amount of behind the scenes information. It includes an
interesting chapter on the creation and casting of TNG, as well as
plenty of photographs. The latest edition (brown cover) includes all
the episodes and "Generations". This is my favorite book and I highly
recommend it to any TNG fan.
TNG TECHNICAL: "Star Trek The Next Generation Technical Manual" (Rick
Sternbach and Michael Okuda) provides clear and comprehensive
explanations of how everything (and I mean everything) on the
Enterprise-D works. It has many good diagrams. "Star Trek: The Next
Generation U.S.S. Enterprise-NCC-1701-D Blueprints" (Rick Sternbach) is
a boxed set of 13 22"x34" blueprints with a 16 page booklet. I haven't
seen these yet, but considering the source, they should be impressive.
DS9 AND VOYAGER EPISODE GUIDES: I understand that Pocket Books is
releasing a DS9 episode guide after this season. One for Voyager is
also scheduled after their fifth season. In the meantime, if you only
need brief plot descriptions, you could rely on the new updated "Star
Trek Chronology". Another option is to settle for "The Captains' Log
Supplemental The Unauthorized Guide To The New Voyages" (Edward Gross
and Mark A. Altman). It includes four seasons of DS9 and two seasons of
Voyager. The plot synopses are good and there is a fair amount of
behind the scenes information, but you'll need to overlook a lot of
very bad photos. Despite the prominence of Picard on the cover, the
"First Contact" chapter barely exceeds four pages.
DS9 BEHIND THE SCENES: "The Making of Star Trek Deep Space Nine"
(Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens) is a good solid account of the
creation of DS9. The chapter on special effects is especially
interesting.
VOYAGER BEHIND THE SCENES: Unfortunately, there is no good book. "The
Captains' Log Supplemental", mentioned above, does contain a section on
the series' creation, as well as other behind the scenes info. Even if
you are only a fan of Voyager and not DS9, I would recommend this book
over the substandard "The Trekkers Guide to Voyager" (Hal Schuster)
which is also currently on the shelves.
I hope this is helpful to someone. If not, I had a good time writing it
:)
Chris McFadden
Junsok Yang
Chris's guide is very useful. I thought I'd just add some personal
comments.
In article <msg61554....@eor.com>, Chris_M...@eor.com says...
>TOS BEHIND THE SCENES: "Star Trek Memories" (William Shatner with Chris
>Kreski) is an interesting comprehensive look at the original series and
>contains many photographs and quotes from TOS cast and crew members.
>"The Making of Star Trek" (Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry),
>originally published in 1968, provides insight into the creative
>beginnings and production of TOS. "Inside Star Trek The Real Story"
>(Herb F. Solow and Robert H. Justman) offers still another perspective
>from Trek insiders.
"Making of ST" and "Inside ST" are probably the most useful books on how
TOS got made. I'd add "Trouble with Tribbles" by David Gerrold as another
useful book, this time looking at it from a slightly outsider's point of
view. As for the two Shatner / Kreski books, I've heard from too many other
places that the book is inaccurate. I'd take those with a grain of salt.
>TOS TECHNICAL: "The Star Trek Starfleet Technical Manual" (Franz
>Joseph) provides detailed Enterprise diagrams and specifications, as
>well as information on Starfleet and the Federation. Originally
>published in 1975, much of this book is speculative. Some things, such
>as the United Nations as Earth's governing body and the locations of
>the Klingon and Romulan Empires, have since been superseded.
>DS9 AND VOYAGER EPISODE GUIDES: I understand that Pocket Books is
>releasing a DS9 episode guide after this season. One for Voyager is
>also scheduled after their fifth season. In the meantime, if you only
>need brief plot descriptions, you could rely on the new updated "Star
>Trek Chronology". Another option is to settle for "The Captains' Log
>Supplemental The Unauthorized Guide To The New Voyages" (Edward Gross
>and Mark A. Altman). It includes four seasons of DS9 and two seasons of
>Voyager. The plot synopses are good and there is a fair amount of
>behind the scenes information, but you'll need to overlook a lot of
>very bad photos. Despite the prominence of Picard on the cover, the
>"First Contact" chapter barely exceeds four pages.
Probably the cheapest source of info (and at least in terms of the episode
count, the most comprehensive so far published) is the "Star Trek 30 Years"
commemorative magazine. It's $10, but it contains a short sypnosis,
stardates and some background material for all TOS, ST I - VII; TNG; DS9
1-4th season and VOY 1-2nd season. It also contains a map of the Trek
galaxy which is of questionable accuracy at best. No info on FC or the
current episodes of DS9 and VOY, though.
James Southall
Forgive me, for I have snipped out huge chunks along the way...
Chris McFadden wrote:
>
> We've been primarily discussing Star Trek fiction. I thought someone
> might want some information on nonfiction books. There is a wealth of
> material on Classic Trek and a good amount on TNG, but very little for
> DS9 and Voyager. For what it's worth, here are my recommendations.
> Unless otherwise stated, all books should be available at your local
> bookstore.
>
> CLASSIC EPISODE GUIDES: "The Star Trek Compendium" (Allan Asherman)
> has great plot synopses and background information. The latest edition
> (white cover) includes TOS episodes, TAS (The Animated Series) episodes
> and the first six movies. "Star Trek Concordance" (Bjo Trimble), first
> released in 1968, has good episode descriptions and wonderful artwork,
> but no background info. The second half of the book is a detailed
> lexicon (encyclopedia) of Classic Trek. Besides the episodes and movies
> covered by Asherman, Trimble includes "Generations" as well as six TNG
> and one DS9 episode that features Classic Trek characters. (The DS9
> episode is "Blood Oath", not the recent "Trials and Tribble-ations".)
I always find Bjo Trimble's "Star Trek Concordance" to be the best of
the episode guides for Classic Trek. (For those who don't know, Ms
Trimble instigated the letter-writing campaign that kept "Star Trek" on
air between seasons two and three).
Failing this, Mark Altman and Ed Gross's "Captains' Logs" is excellent,
covering all of Classic Trek, the first six movies and TNG seasons 1-5.
There have been updates since, on TNG seasons 6 and 7 and DS9 seasons 1
and 2.
> TOS BEHIND THE SCENES: "Star Trek Memories" (William Shatner with Chris
> Kreski) is an interesting comprehensive look at the original series and
> contains many photographs and quotes from TOS cast and crew members.
> "The Making of Star Trek" (Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry),
> originally published in 1968, provides insight into the creative
> beginnings and production of TOS. "Inside Star Trek The Real Story"
> (Herb F. Solow and Robert H. Justman) offers still another perspective
> from Trek insiders.
IMHO, "INSIDE STAR TREK" is the best non-fiction Trek book I've ever
read. Unlike the majority of books like this, the authors don't try to
come across as if they were the reason for everything that was right,
and they don't engage in Roddenberry and Shatner-bashing, like
(unfortunately) every other biography/autobiography of producers/actors
of TOS. A great read.
> TNG EPISODE GUIDE and BEHIND THE SCENES: "The Star Trek The Next
> Generation Companion" (Larry Nemecek) has excellent plot synopses and
> an incredible amount of behind the scenes information. It includes an
> interesting chapter on the creation and casting of TNG, as well as
> plenty of photographs. The latest edition (brown cover) includes all
> the episodes and "Generations". This is my favorite book and I highly
> recommend it to any TNG fan.
This *is* a superb book. The episode guides are phenomenally detailed,
with loads and loads of trivia, and there are many decent photographs
(black and white, unfortunately). It's now been updated to include all
the seasons of TNG, and Generations.
> DS9 BEHIND THE SCENES: "The Making of Star Trek Deep Space Nine"
> (Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens) is a good solid account of the
> creation of DS9. The chapter on special effects is especially
> interesting.
This is a fascinating book, not just for fans of DS9, because it offers
an insight into the creation and production of a television series,
detailing all the challanges faced by the producers, and is fascinating.
The only example of a better book of this kind is Stephen E. Whitfield's
"The Making of Star Trek", released in the late 60s, I think, but still
widely available. It is an outstanding book.
> VOYAGER BEHIND THE SCENES: Unfortunately, there is no good book. "The
> Captains' Log Supplemental", mentioned above, does contain a section on
> the series' creation, as well as other behind the scenes info. Even if
> you are only a fan of Voyager and not DS9, I would recommend this book
> over the substandard "The Trekkers Guide to Voyager" (Hal Schuster)
> which is also currently on the shelves.
Stephen E. Whitfield, who wrote "The Making of Star Trek" (above), has
changed his name to Stephen E. Poe (for some strange reason) and is
doing a similar book about the making of Voyager, due out from Pocket
next year (I think).
> I hope this is helpful to someone. If not, I had a good time writing it
> :)
I had a good time reading it!
> Chris McFadden
James