Star Trek Pocket books TOS novels.

Television, Movies Games and Books Star Trek
#1

I want to narrow this thread to the stack of Star Trek books published by pocket books prior to the sucess of Star trek 4. There were some of the BEST trek stories published during this time. Don’t look at the wiki’s for these books cause they are spoiler full. if you need to , look at the memory alpha, cause they print the back of the jacket!

Talk about some of your favorite books. One of my favorites was the “vampire” story:Bloodthirst

from the book jacket:
A class one medical emergency summons the Enterprise to the Federation outpost Tanis. There, a grisly surprise awaits them. Two of the lab’s three researchers are dead, their bodies entirely drained of blood. There are no clues. No records of their research. No remnants of their work.
There is only the outpost’s sole survivor, Dr. Jeffrey Adams. A man with a secret that will rock the very foundations of Starfleet… and a terrible, all-consuming hunger that will bring death to the crew of the starship Enterprise.

My other favorite is The Vulcan Academy Murders!

Kirk and McCoy accompany Spock to the Vulcan Academy Hospital, seeking experimental treatment for a badly wounded Enterprise crew member. Spock’s mother is also a patient in the hospital, and Kirk soon becomes involved in the complex drama of Spock’s family…
Suddenly, patients are dying, and Kirk suspects the unthinkable - murder on Vulcan! But can he convince the Vulcans that something as illogical as murder is possible? Until the killer is caught, everyone is in danger!

#2

My favorites from the pre-ST IV Pocket Books era (and a great era it was, too… as Spock [after Dickens] might say, “Surely, the best of times”):

  • Yesterday’s Son by A.C. Crispin. A sequel to “All Our Yesterdays” so compelling and “eminently logical,” one wonders why it was never explored before. Crispin explores it with spot-on characterizations, exciting action sequences, and even a dash of Gilbert & Sullivan for good measure. (The sequel to this book, Time for Yesterday, I believe technically fell outside the time period we’re discussing here, but it’s good, too.)

  • Strangers from the Sky by Margaret Wander Bonanno. The “true story” of Earth’s first contact with Vulcans (long before the TNG films, remember!). Also a compelling time-travel story that spans from the days of “Where No Man Has Gone Before” to the ST II movie era, so we’re talking a centuries-spanning Star Trek epic. I don’t think anything like it had been accomplished before. It was the first real moment I had of realizing what a rich universe Star Trek was unto itself.

  • The Vonda N. McIntyre novelizations of Star Trek II and Star Trek III, particularly the latter. Trust me: they don’t write novelizations like this any more, at least not in Star Trek. They can and have been enjoyed completely independently of the films… and, for ST III, McIntyre makes damn fine sense out of the script’s rather large plotholes in a manner so deft you’d never know there were problems to begin with. Highly recommended. (As I recall, the ST IV novel wasn’t as hot – maybe Pocket realized they needed to rein her in some if they were going to have any shot at real continuity. Still, her II and III are bravura.)

  • Finally (for now), I can’t recall if Diane Carey’s Dreadnought! was pre-ST IV, but I enjoyed it immensely. It treads close to the “Mary Sue” line but doesn’t cross it, and it is just a joy from start to finish. And technical diagrams to boot - the first time I think any starship blueprints had appeared in a Trek novel.

Yes, those were the days! :slight_smile:

#3

I ripped off Dreadnaught for my FASA RPG back in 1987! THat was a great book. I don’t know if it came out before Starship Battles or not. One of the two of those invented the Federation Drednaught.

I used to get fooled by the cover art. Very often the cover art would show a Klingon bird of prey or a cast member in a “new” uniform. This would lead me to believe I was getting “new” trek. But it was almost never the case! No matter thou. I still loved the novels. In fact, I loved them all ( except for “how much for just the planet”. that book was garbage. Klingon-federation pie fight ending and all!).

another great on was the Kobyashi Maru. the plot: Every one of the TOS cast members tells the story of what they did during their Kobyashi Maru test at the academy.

#4

No no no no no no. If you’re refering to Star Fleet Battles (not Starship Battles) no, the SFB game was around long long before the book Dreadnaught came out.

That’s awesome! I borrowed from the plot of Dreadnaught too for the FASA ST RPG.
In fact, I constantly hunted for stuff in Star Trek novels to use for the FASA RPG. I did the same with Strangers from the Sky.

#5

No, Franz Joseph invented the Dreadnought (along with the Scout/Destroyer and Transport Tug) in his Tech Manual about a decade earlier.

#6

Pike, did I mention that the other day I finally located my official Franz Joseph Enterprise deck plans? So now I can finally answer a question you and I were batting around months ago.
The question was: On what deck is the ship’s bowling alley.

Answer: Bowling Alley is on Deck 21 (secondary hull)–a couple decks just below the Shuttlecraft hangar-deck. There are six lanes, and seating accommodations for 83. :slight_smile:

Ok, now that you have the information, you’re free to go about your day.

#7

You must have missed it, but The GF agreed with you, so we broke out the Tech Manual. Naturally, she (and you) was right (almost to the exact deck it was on.)

I was thinking it was near the living quarters, but I guess they were concerned about the noise…

#8

Def Strangers from teh Sky and teh Trek II, III, IV novels. VI wasnt bad eitehr.

but for the funny–“How Much for just the PLanet” Bascially if Douglas Adams wrote a Trek book–that’s how it would go…

#9

Actually, GR’s own novelization of ST:TMP isn’t half-bad, either. The conclusion is, as I recall, a little more convoluted than it need be… but you get some great character insight into Kirk and Spock throughout. Also, more background on Deltans. And a scene where Spock’s meditation is being disturbed because in the next room over some human couple are going at it. I kid you not.

The rumor has persisted that someone ghostwrote it for Roddenberry, but Pocket and Paramount have just as persistently disavowed the charge, and I am inclined to think it really is Roddenberry’s work. Even Alan Dean Foster has said, “I didn’t write it.”

#10

I did read “How Much for just the PLanet”, but I don’t remember anything about it. So, I’d have to stick it in the “unmemorable” pile.

A Trek book that I thoroughly enjoyed, even though it had nearly zero to do with the main characters, was “The Final Reflection” by John M Ford.
It follows a Klingon character as he rising through the ranks, and the book focuses on klin zha, a Klingon game with similarities to chess. And how Klingon life is a game of klin zha.

#11

It doesn’t make any sense, and I know no explanation for this, but look in the lower right hand of the cover of this book.
Those are definitely Battlestar Galactica Colonial Vipers.

#12

In case this information becomes important to you sometime today, I wanted to tell you immediately:

The bowling alley is on the same deck as the Automated Exotic Foods and Beverages Preparation Facility and the Ships Automated Laundry :wink:

#13

I also liked the far from cannon Enterprise: the first adventure. (well I liked it at the time, i read it later when i was about 24 and thought that it was terrible).

Most of the “special” thicker books with a painted interior page books I didn’t like anyway.

I did like Strangers from the sky.

I hated the one with Captain April where Kirk’s dad gives the romulans the idea for cloaking technology.

#14

I also enjoyed Price and Faet of teh Phoenix–kinda dark stuff, but very cool. Also liked the Section 31 series of books.

Entory Effect was pretty good, as was Killing Time. Teh first Lost Years book was really good, as was Prime Directive.

Federation was REALLY good I thought