Star Trek: Reading Is fundamental
By Rob Shimer

Want More Star Trek? Then Read a book.

People are asking for new Star Trek; new shows, and new movies. Well, those people should go to their local library or bookstore. There are more captains out there then just Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, Archer and you know, that other Kirk. There are endless crews and ships that only exist on paper. The publisher Pocket Books has put out completely new and original stories that are referred to as the “prose only” series. Here’s a quick overview of several of the titles along with a list of the familiar characters they include.

First, there is Star Trek: New Frontier. This is the one that started the ball rolling and debuted in 1997, with four books Set in the 24th Century. Author Peter David is a prolific Trek novelist and comic book writer and has written many media tie-in novels and original works. His sarcastic wit blends humor with action for maximum entertainment. Familiar Characters: Commander Shelby (“Best of Both Worlds” TNG), Dr. Selar (“The Schizoid Man” TNG), and Robin Lefler (“Darmok “The Game” TNG.) Later, two characters from the cartoon show up.

Star Trek: Corps of Engineers was formally called Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers. It started in 2000 as just an e-book. Being released in paperback form a few years later. It tells the story of the USS Da Vinci, the flagship of the SCE. Imagine a ship full of “Scotties”. The characters readers will be familiar with are; Sonya Gomez ("Samaritan Snare" TNG), Duffy (“Hollow Pursuit” TNG),, Dr. Lense (“Explores” DS9), Mr. Stevens (“Starship Down” DS9) and later Sarjenka (“Pen Pals” TNG). Of course the original miracle worker himself, Scotty is in command of the SCE.

Also in the year 2000, author Diane Carey gave us Star Trek: Challenger. It was piggy backed on two different Multi-novel miniseries. One called New Earth and one called Gateways. It is unknown whether it was intended for only that or if it meant to go further but was killed by poor sales. It is set after The Motion Picture.

In 1991 Michael Jan Friedman put out a book called Reunion. It featured the surviving crew of the USS Stargazer. This unofficially helped launch the Star Trek: Stargazer Series. The official start of the Stargazer series was The Valiant, which was actually started in a novel called First Virtue that was part of crossover miniseries called Double Helix. Christie Golden wrote that one with Michael Jan Friedman. Michael wrote the rest on his own. The only characters readers will be familiar with are Picard and Jack Crusher. 

In 2005 writer David Mack and editor Marco Palmieri created Star Trek: Vanguard. Vanguard is the nickname of Starbase (wait for it) 47. Set during the original series, this “darker, grittier take on the Star Trek Universe,” as Mack puts it, “(shows) how off screen events might have shaped what was seen in the episodes, or exploring how events in the episodes might have had effects throughout local space.”

Not only does this series not feature any familiar characters it has characters with jobs some readers may not have heard of. A commodore commands a group of ships. There is a reporter, a diplomat, and an archaeology-and-anthropology officer. Other intresting characters include a Vulcan intelligence officer and an Orion crime boss. So far, all the books have been written either by David Mack or by the team of Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore.

If you are a fan of Klingons then this next one is for you. Star Trek: IKS Gorkon, later re-titled Star Trek: Klingon Empire, was created by Keith R. A. Decandido. The series takes place in the late 24th century. About half of the crew will be familiar to the readers, including; Klag (“A Matter of Honor” -TNG); Toq (“Birthright TNG). Leskit (“Soldiers of the Empire” -DS9). Rodek / Kurn (“Sons of Mogh” DS9). 

At the 2009 San Diego Comic Convention Decandido, or KRAD was given The Faust That is the grandmaster award for media tie-in writers.

Lastly, at the end of the film Star Trek Nemesis Will Riker was given his first command aboard the USS Titan. Since Star Trek: Titan doesn’t have a visual reference, the authors took the ball and ran with it. Some of the more unusual characters include a person that is about three feet tall, one that looks like a kangaroo, and a fish person. There are also a few characters in Star Trek Titan that people will know. They include Will Riker, Deanna Troi, Melora Pazlar (“Melora” DS9), and Tuvok (in the second novel).

So for all of you out there who crave more Star Trek but can't find it, your search is now hapily over. The stories in these books are a great source for new adventures with your old (and new) friends.

Some of the information for this article was gathered from the websites Memory Alpha and Memory Beta.

Thanks to all the writers that answered my questions.