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Star Trek Books

posted 8 years ago by vicky_lc2001 (1907)
10 replies | jump to latest

I'm a big fan of Star Trek though admittedly of the later shows, however, I prefer TOS films.

Anyway, I haven't really read any Star Trek novels except for "Yesterday's Son" which pjpurple was kind enough to recall the title for me. I initially read this solely to read more about Prime Spock, and I had this burning need to read more about this character after the second new ST film.

And apparently, there was a sequel to it called "Time for Yesterday" which I didn't know about! So thank you for letting me know now!

I'm reading a book now but after, I think I want to do a bit of a marathon:

-rewatch the episode "All Our Yesterdays"
-re-read "Yesterday's Son"
-then finally read "Time for Yesterday"

:) I have a lot to look forward to now!

Also, although I'm a big Star Trek fan, I've never been good at memorizing episode names on any show at all unfortunately.

[–] [email protected] (5918) 8 years ago

Glad you're going to read that last one! I couldn't put it down.

There are a number of ST novels which feature Spock. The Entropy Effect was excellent. It has more time travel for Mr. Spock. It was written by Vonda N. McIntyre. She's one of my favorite Trek writers. I consider her one of the best.

Killing Time by Della van Hise is also excellent. It involves the Romulans and a time tampering project of theirs called Second History.

Some novels take place on Vulcan such as The I.D.IC. Epidemic and The Vulcan Academy Murders,both by Jean Lorrah.

Well that should keep you busy for a while. lol All this talk of those old novels is making me want to go and reread some of them. I have boxes of them stored up in my attic. Haven't read them in years.

The first ST novel I read was called Spock Must Die! It really got me hooked on the Trek novels. It's one of the older novels published by Bantam books. James Blish wrote it. It was published way back in 1970. I didn't even know there WERE Trek novels back then! I think I found a copy of it around 1988

If you want to read "Mary Sue" type novels, pick up one by Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath. They were a writing team that I swear was in love with Spock! You can tell by the way they treat the character and the female in the story falls in love with him. Triangle is one of their novels. I hesitate to say that it was bad because it was pretty entertaining. But it was quite farfetched and a bit over the top in the way the authors have both Kirk and Spock behaving.

Well I guess that's enough titles for now!

[–] vicky_lc2001 (1907) 8 years ago

I'm pretty excited to get into it soon. I hope I finish the current book I'm reading if not today, then tomorrow!

WOW! Thanks for all the Spock-centric recommendations! I'll have to go search for them if I can find them!

I still cannot get over Quinto's lisp as opposed to Nimoy's low deep voice.

Your books are stored up in the attic? Oooh. you better check that they're ok, I have all my books on my shelves, even the old ones I used to read in elementary school. I notice many of our books tend to disintegrate easily but I'm from the Philippines and it's very moldy and humid here with typhoons that can destroy your stuff so I always have to keep my eye on them.

In fact I've lost half of my Archie comic collection out of sheer stupidity as a kid! :(

Maybe I should start with "Spock Must Die" after my list, if it got you into the novels, maybe it can get me to be really into it?

What do you mean by Mary Sue type novels? The love interests are the Mary Sues? Or Is Spock a Mary Sue?

Hey I don't mind Mary Sue type novels, I think, I've never read one. But I do read some mangas & trashy romance novels, so if I can read unrealistic over the top types, I think I can read them! LOL!

I'll update you once I start on my Spock marathon!

[–] [email protected] (5918) 8 years ago

Oh, Mary Sues? I guess I'm talking like a Trekkie. lol Years ago some fans would write their own stories, fan fiction. Maybe you've heard of it? Some fans, especially females, would place themselves in the story. The character that they would create would be super smart, beautiful, alluring,etc. She would be as smart or smarter than the crew and solve the dilemma. The character that the writer loved whether it was Kirk or Spock, etc., would fall in love with the 'Mary Sue' character.

It's sort of a fantasy fiction where the author puts herself in the story. I've read several fanzine stories like that. Some of them were actually pretty good. A lot of fans had great imaginations.

I don't really have to worry about the books I store in the attic. Now the basement, that's another story. I sadly had some books, including Trek novels, ruined by the dampness in the basement. My attic is pretty dry. It hasn't been humid here for a while. We just had a snowstorm last week that dumped about two feet of snow in us!

Let me know when your Spock marathon starts!

[–] vicky_lc2001 (1907) 8 years ago

Ah, I get it now! I know about fanfics, I once came across a nasty threesome fanfic involving Dr. Bashir from DS9! lol!

In that case, I don't mind reading "Mary Sues" then, lol!

I'll let you know! :)

I wish we could pm each other here.

[–] vicky_lc2001 (1907) 8 years ago

Hello, just letting you know I'm reading Yesterday's Son now, hopefully I'll be through by tomorrow. :)

I watched All Our Yesterdays the other day and remember now why I wanted to read the book. I liked the idea of Spock losing control of his emotions and what may have happened during that relapse. But I never liked that spores episode, he smiled too much for my liking. But here, he was different, more primal and serious which is still similar to the Spock I know but a lot more volatile, lol!

[–] [email protected] (5918) 8 years ago

Yesterday's Son, a good book. I may go search for my copy. It's been years since I read it.

Yes, Spock was very emotional in All Our Yesterday's but he wasn't grinning ear to ear. It was the real Spock only more primal and not so in control, his logic failed him.

In the spores episode, Leila Kalomi basically drugged Spock against his will to get him to show emotion. Not the greatest basis for a long lasting relationship! lol

Of course there were a few moments in "This Side of Paradise" that were funny. When Kirk is annoyed with Spock and asks him WHY didn't he answer his communicator, Spock says, "I didn't want to Jim."

Kirk is totally taken aback at his First Officer's behavior. He can't even think of a good reprimand at first.

I used to wonder what the deal with the spores was anyway!! According to Leila and the the expedition's leader, Sandoval, in exchange for inhabiting your body, the spores gave you perfect health. But it didn't seem to me that the spores actually got INTO Spock or anyone else for that matter! When they blew out of the plant, he was just showered with them. Maybe they just had a fine powdery surface that entered the body through the skin. (Yes, I overthink these things!!! lol)

From the way the colonists were acting, the title of the episode could've been- The Enterprise Finds an Opium Den in Space. ha!

[–] vicky_lc2001 (1907) 8 years ago

I'm in chapter 9 now and it is very good indeed and I don't regret re-reading it! But boy, is Spock so infuriating in this! I totally empathize with Zar!

Also, I noticed something I didn't notice the first time I read it, McCoy explained the sliding doors as 'automatic' and Zar understood the word. Isn't that a new word used to describe automated things? So how would Zar be familiar with the word? LOL, anyway, it was just a small thing I noticed.

But otherwise, I like the descriptions and the actions of the characters, it does remind me of them, even infuriating Spock is so Spock!

-----------------
QUOTE:

When Kirk is annoyed with Spock and asks him WHY didn't he answer his communicator, Spock says, "I didn't want to Jim."
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^^^Spock always gets the best lines doesn't he? Haha.

The spores episode sure sounds like a drugged up version of who you are, so he wasn't really Spock unlike the "All Our Yesterdays" episode.

But you know, tbh, in the same predicament, I think I would've been happy in the Spores planet. Long healthy life where you are content and happy, even if you are drugged up, I wouldn't mind. Of course without the Opium consequences I hope!

[–] Satan2016 (25567) 8 years ago

I didn't know Mary Sue was a Star Trek fan-fic invention, I thought it was recent description of female action movie leads.

Wikipedia describes its origin in a 1973 parody.

[–] vicky_lc2001 (1907) 8 years ago

Wow, thank you for bringing that to my attention, I never knew that either!

Scully from The X-Files is supposed to be a Mary Sue character as well.

[–] [email protected] (5918) 8 years ago

Thanks for that Wikipedia link. Very interesting! I bought a number of published fan fics years ago and it was fairly obvious that some of the authors inserted themselves into the story. Either Spock or Kirk fell in love with them.

But to be fair, they were well written and interesting stories. They didn't make the Mary Sue of the story all knowing and heroic, just a fan wish fulfillment.

I don't necessarily see it as a negative. Many professional authors say that they draw from their own personal experiences and often the hero in their novels is the "alter ego" of themselves. Mary Sues are a genre all their own, worthy of at least SOME respect, imo!