Favorite Star Trek Novels?

[Critteranne]

There hasn't been a thread on Star Trek novels for a while. I'd love to see what books fans are recommending nowadays.

Are there newer Star Trek books you recommend?

If the book is based on one of the newer shows, do I have to watch the new series to "get" the story? (I don't have Paramount+ yet. )

From The Original Series (TOS), I remember loving Uhura's Song, Kobayashi Maru, Prime Directive, Yesterday's Son, and The Vulcan Academy Murders. There are probably others I'm forgetting. And yes, I know I have to read Diane Duane's My Enemy, My Ally and Spock's World plus D. C. Fontana's Vulcan's Glory. And A. C. Crispin's Sarek. And J. M. Dillard's The Lost Years.

For TNG, I remember liking "A Rock and a Hard Place, I listened to the audiobook of Q-in-Law by Peter David. I meant to read Survivors by Jean Lorrah. I also read Debtors' Planet because it had an appearance by Ralph Offenhouse (the 20th century businessman character played by the late Peter Mark Richman).

[Calenorn]

The Final Reflection - John M. Ford
Fortunes of War - Diane Carey

[Critteranne]

Originally Posted by Calenorn

The Final Reflection - John M. Ford
Fortunes of War - Diane Carey

Thanks!

John M. Ford is supposed to be such a great writer. (So well-loved that his final novel was published years after his death, even though he died before he could finish it. ) So the idea that he wrote a Star Trek novel is really cool.

And the Diane Carey book looks interesting...

[Calenorn]

These are older titles that I re-read occasionally. They are from before the movies and the Next Generation, so provide and alternate future for the franchise.

The Final Reflection was reprinted in one volume with another Klingon themed novel. The combined book is called “The Hand of Kahless”.

Ford wrote another Star Trek novel called “How Much for Just the Planet?” which is well-regarded.

Carey’s “Fortunes of War” is a combination of two books, “Dreadnought!” and “Battlestations”. They’re light-hearted romps of a group of young Star Fleet officers who solve their problems in unorthodox fashion. It has a lower decks vibe.

[WillAdams]

_Immortal Coil_ --- it ties together the many instances of androids in all the previous series in a seamless and continuous whole which makes sense.

[305869]

Absolutely love Spock's World by Diane Duane.

[ZodWallop]

I'm only a sidecar Trek fan (I have watched every episode of TOS and TNG with various Trekkies/Trekkers I have known, likely woulldn't bother on my own) and the only Trek novel I have read is Enterprise: The First Adventure by Vonda McIntyre (which doesn't seem to be available digitally?).

Occasionally I will look at the books and the ones that tend to appeal to me are ones that explore some side story, rather than dealing with something that would have been covered in the show. So I have Enterprise, the Khan trilogy by Greg Cox, the Q trilogy by Cox again and the Kobayashi Maru by Mike Martin. I also have Broken Bow by Diane Carey, the novelization of the first Enterprise episode (which now that I think of it, gives me two books that could be described as Enterprise: the first adventure).

[Critteranne]

Thanks for the recommendations!

BTW I stumbled across a website called Deep Space Spines that "chronicles the non-canonical" parts of Star Trek. That is, they're reviewing the Pocket Star Trek books.

[afv011]

I would recommend Imzadi, an enjoyable read.

[rantanplan]

Originally Posted by Calenorn

Ford wrote another Star Trek novel called “How Much for Just the Planet?” which is well-regarded.

It's really polarizing because it's so bad that it becomes entertaining again. I'd liken it to a campy Star Trek musical.

[Calenorn]

Campy humor was frequently a part of the Original Series. Love it or hate it, Ford’s novel fits. “Tribbles” has always been one of the most popular Original Series episodes.

[ekbell]

Put me down as someone who quite enjoyed the humor of How Much for Just the Planet? which definitely lives up (or down) to its title.

My example of a Star Trek book so bad it warped over to being an hilarious read would be Black Fire by Sonni Cooper, where Spock ends up becoming the romantic pirate BLACK FIRE for part of the book (see http://deepspacespines.com/2017/12/08/008-black-fire/ for a better review of this unbelievable book.

On a more serious note I've enjoyed most of the Original Series books noted in OP's post as well as the sequel to the The Vulcan Academy Murders, The IDIC Epidemic.

[Dsharma]

If you're looking for new Star Trek books, James Swallow's "Star Trek: Picard - The Dark Veil" is a fantastic read. It dives into the time between the Next Generation and Picard series. You don't have to watch the new series to understand it, but it definitely adds depth if you do.
If you loved "Q-in-Law", then you might enjoy "The Q Conflict" by Scott and David Tipton. It's actually a comic series, but it's a lot of fun, and involves Q and the crews of TNG, DS9, Voyager, and TOS.

[drofgnal]

I'm a big Trekkie fan, but have to admit I never have read one of the books. I'll have to give it a whirl. Favorite episode of any of the series is from TOS, City on the Edge of Forever, hands down the best.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

Favorite episode of any of the series is from TOS, City on the Edge of Forever, hands down the best.

Harlan Ellison agrees with you.