Some disappointing Star Trek e-book news

[Kane]

Simon and Schuster has decided to put the Star Trek ebook originals line on "hiatus". They will still offer ebook versions of all the paper Trek books that they publish, but are stopping the publication of original ebooks lines like Corps of Engineers and the recent Next Generation mini-series Slings and Arrows.

The Trek originals were some of the best selling ebooks out of all of the company's electronic publishing line, but that wasn't enough it seems. To be fair, the Corps of Engineers series ran from 2001 to till just recently. It's still disappointing, though.

Since we're on the subject of Star Trek, I've noticed some older threads here asking about reading recommendations. I've read a lot of it, so if anyone has any questions I'd be happy to make some suggestions.

Link

[Nate the great]

I'd like to put this on the front page. can you give us a link to your source?

[Kane]

It's from this post on the TrekBBS.

Keith R. A. deCandido is one of the writers most involved with Trek fiction at the moment. He also was the editor of Corps of Engineers series.

[Kane]

Nothing to see here. Move along.

[Kane]

deCandido follows up on his livejournal and also includes some info about future print collections of some of the ebooks.

Oh, and, front page=neat. Does this mean I'm famous?

[Nate the great]

The problem with your post was that it was your first link. It had to be approved by a moderator.

[Donnageddon]

Well, I am glad there are at least keeping the existing content available. I just started on the SCE stuff a couple of months ago.

[JSWolf]

I've been reading the SCE eBooks and I'm up to 44 or 45. I do hope they continue as I really do like them. Have to check and see what CoE eBooks I have and purchase the ones I don't have. I still need to finish with Slings and Arrows series. I have some credit over at Fictionwise I'll use for that.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

I haven't been reading Trek like I used to... I have a few dozen books, but I think I got burned out on it... the last one I read just didn't really hit me.

Of course, all the Trek I have is TOS, and I've never ventured into any of the other series (I hit burnout before then). The TOS books have largely been too 2-dimensional to me, which is funny considering the amount of background and detail there is in those characters by now. (Best exception IMO: Prime Directive.)

Not to mention the fact that the last book I read fell into that hole of writing as if it is in a competition to make as many arcane references to the original episodes as humanly possible. After awhile, that gets mighty tiring.

Actually, I didn't say all that to beat on Trek... it was to ask for recommendations on Trek e-books that do not fit the issues mentioned above. And I'm not particularly interested in action in terms of battles and space warfare, but in discovery and personal challenge. Suggestions?

[JSWolf]

The current Star Trek books have been overall quite good. And I like the continuity as well.

[Kane]

Here's a list of the CoE series. Lengthwise, most of them are technically novellas if you judge by word count.

A few notes first.

Volume 1 (#1-#66) is titled Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers or just SCE. Volume 2 (#1-#8) is Star Trek: Corps of Engineers or CoE. Pretty straightforward, right? Things can get confusing, however, when you start to look at the omnibus reprint editions. The reprint collections were the first time the series was available in paper form, but the collections were released in ebook form also. So it is actually cheaper to buy the ebook versions of the omnibus titles.

The confusion comes about because while the first seven collections are titled Star Trek :SCE, books 8, 9, and 10 are titled Star Trek: CoE although they are still collecting installments of Vol.1 - SCE. In the paper editions, the title change accompanied a switch from mass market to trade paperback size, but that obviously doesn't apply to ebooks.

The series is set in the late 24th century (beginning about the time Deep Space Nine - the television show - ends), although there are some flashback stories contemporary with the original series. You can read them independently of the other fiction lines for the most part, although they are part of a much larger tapestry and you will see connections if you read some of the other stuff.

As far as I know, only two installments tie directly into other book lines. #10 is an epilogue to a mini-series called Gateways, and #64 is a prequel to the Vanguard series.

One last thing, DO NOT even look at the cover of omnibus #7 Breakdowns until you get ready to read it unless you want a major spoiler!

Vol. 1 SCE

#1: The Belly of the Beast by Dean Wesley Smith
#2: Fatal Error by Keith R.A. DeCandido
#3: Hard Crash by Christie Golden
#4: Interphase Book 1 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#5: Interphase Book 2 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#6: Cold Fusion by Keith R.A. DeCandido
#7: Invincible Book 1 by David Mack & Keith R.A. DeCandido
#8: Invincible Book 2 by David Mack & Keith R.A. DeCandido
#9: The Riddled Post by Aaron Rosenberg
#10: Gateways Epilogue: Here There be Monsters by Keith R.A. DeCandido
#11: Ambush by Dave Galanter & Greg Brodeur
#12: Some Assembly Required by Scott Ciencin & Dan Jolley
#13: No Surrender by Jeff Mariotte
#14: Caveat Emptor by Ian Edginton & Mike Collins
#15: Past Life by Robert Greenberger
#16: Oaths by Glenn Hauman
#17: Foundations Book 1 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#18: Foundations Book 2 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#19: Foundations Book 3 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#20: Enigma Ship by J. Steven York & Christina F. York
#21: War Stories Book 1 by Keith R.A. DeCandido
#22: War Stories Book 2 by Keith R.A. DeCandido
#23: Wildfire Book 1 by David Mack
#24: Wildfire Book 2 by David Mack
#25: Home Fires by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#26: Age of Unreason by Scott Ciencin
#27: Balance of Nature by Heather Jarman
#28: Breakdowns by Keith R.A. DeCandido
#29: Aftermath by Christopher L. Bennett
#30: Ishtar Rising Book 1 by Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels
#31: Ishtar Rising Book 2 by Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels
#32: Buying Time by Robert Greenberger
#33: Collective Hindsight Book 1 by Aaron Rosenberg
#34: Collective Hindsight Book 2 by Aaron Rosenberg
#35: The Demon Book 1 by Loren L. Coleman & Randall N. Bills
#36: The Demon Book 2 by Loren L. Coleman & Randall N. Bills
#37: Ring Around the Sky by Allyn Gibson
#38: Orphans by Kevin Killiany
#39: Grand Designs by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#40: Failsafe by David Mack
#41: Bitter Medicine by Dave Galanter
#42: Sargasso Sector by Paul Kupperberg
#43: Paradise Interrupted by John S. Drew
#44: Where Time Stands Still by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#45: The Art of the Deal by Glenn Greenberg
#46: Spin by J. Steven York & Christina F. York
#47: Creative Couplings Book 1 by Glenn Hauman & Aaron Rosenberg
#48: Creative Couplings Book 2 by Glenn Hauman & Aaron Rosenberg
#49: Small World by David Mack
#50: Malefictorum by Terri Osborne
#51: Lost Time by Ilsa J. Bick
#52: Identity Crisis by John J. Ordover
#53: Fables of the Prime Directive by Cory Rushton
#54: Security by Keith R.A. DeCandido
#55: Wounds Book 1 by Ilsa J. Bick
#56: Wounds Book 2 by Ilsa J. Bick
#57: Out of the Cocoon by William Leisner
#58: Honor by Kevin Killiany
#59: Blackout by Phaedra M. Weldon
#60: The Cleanup by Robert T. Jeschonek
#61: Progress by Terri Osborne (What's Past Book 1)
#62: The Future Begins by Steve Mollmann & Michael Schuster (What's Past Book 2)
#63: Echoes of Coventry by Richard C. White (What's Past Book 3)
#64: Distant Early Warning by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore (What's Past Book 4)
#65: 10 is Better Than 01 by Heather Jarman (What's Past Book 5)
#66: Many Splendors by Keith R.A. DeCandido (What's Past Book 6)

Vol. 2 CoE

#1 Turn the Page by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#2 Troubleshooting by Robert Greenberger
#3 The Light by Jeff D. Jacques
#4 The Art of the Comeback by Glenn Greenberg
#5 Signs from Heaven by Phaedra M. Weldon
#6 Ghost by Ilsa J. Bick
#7 Remembrance of Things Past Book 1 by Terri Osborne
#8 Remembrance of Things Past Book 2 by Terri Osborne

Omnibus editions


#1 Have Tech, Will Travel (#1-4)
#2 Miracle Workers (#5-8)
#3 Some Assembly Required (#9-12)
#4 No Surrender (#13-16)
#5 Foundations (#17-19)
#6 Wildfire (#20-24)
#7 Breakdowns (#25-28)
#8 Aftermath (#29-36)
#9 Grand Designs (#37-42)
#10 Creative Couplings (#43-49)
#11 Wounds (#50-56) - due in the fall of 2008

Hope this is useful.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

I haven't been reading Trek like I used to... I have a few dozen books, but I think I got burned out on it... the last one I read just didn't really hit me.

Of course, all the Trek I have is TOS, and I've never ventured into any of the other series (I hit burnout before then). The TOS books have largely been too 2-dimensional to me, which is funny considering the amount of background and detail there is in those characters by now. (Best exception IMO: Prime Directive.)

Not to mention the fact that the last book I read fell into that hole of writing as if it is in a competition to make as many arcane references to the original episodes as humanly possible. After awhile, that gets mighty tiring.

Actually, I didn't say all that to beat on Trek... it was to ask for recommendations on Trek e-books that do not fit the issues mentioned above. And I'm not particularly interested in action in terms of battles and space warfare, but in discovery and personal challenge. Suggestions?

Steve, if you're an original series guy I'd recommend the following titles.

Federation by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. They wrote Prime Directive, which you mention. The book is actually contradicted by later stuff shown on screen, namely Star Trek: First Contact, but is still an excellent read.

Burning Dreams by Margaret Wander Bonnano. The life story of Captain Pike, the guy before Kirk.

Strangers From The Sky by Margaret Wander Bonnano. Same contradiction problems as Federation, but still a good book.

The Vanguard series.
0.5 Distant Early Warning (SCE # 64) by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore. A prequel story but not absolutely necessary.
1. Harbinger by David Mack
2. Summon the Thunder by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore
3. Reap the Whirlwind by David Mack
Set aboard a space station in the time of the original series. Kirk an co. guest star in book 1. The third book really drives home the idea that books have no special effects budget to hold them back. Some spectacular sequences.

The Crucible series by David R. George III.
1. Crucible: McCoy: Provenance of Shadows
2. Crucible: Spock: The Fire and the Rose
3. Crucible: Kirk: The Star to Every Wandering
These were designed to be more accessible than some of the other books and exist in a seperate continuity from the main Trek book continuity. The idea is that you only need to be familiar with the original TV series to read them. They do reference events from the show a bit, but not in a crippling way. It would help, though, if you're familiar with City on the Edge of Forever, the episode with time travel, The Guardian of Forever, and Joan Collins guest starring.That episode is the "crucible" in question.

Edit. Forgot to mention - Constellations edited by Marco Palmieri. Original series short story collection. The paper version actually has extra content - a story from Star Trek: The Manga, published by Tokypop. Believe me, you won't miss it.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Thanks for the recommendations... I'll have to start checking some of them out!

[JSWolf]

If you are purchasing the eBook editions of the SCE series, it's actually cheaper to purchase the eBook Omnibus editions.

[HarryT]

A question to all your Trek fans: how come the Klingons look like normal people in the original Star Trek series, but have become completely "alien" by "Next Generation"?

That's something I've been lying awake at night worrying about for 20-odd years .