#Star Trek Relaunch Novels

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Star Trek: Typhon Pact Cross Cult Cover Art

[cosmicvaca]

Secrets and Lies <3

[killermanatee]

Could I read any of the 20+ books that are on my "new books shelf"?

Sure.

But could I also reread the Voyager Relaunch novels and settle down in this deep, deep rabbit hole of J/C love?

I mean...

What kind of question is that, considering paragraphs like this one:

[isagrimorie]

I think one of the interesting ideas the Voyager relaunch books brought up is the idea that the Voyager crew sense that while they were celebrated by the Federation and by Starfleet brass, the crew sense there's some level of disdain towards them.

Because they missed the whole Dominion War, some Dominion War vets think the Voyager crew had it easy, and some think they were lucky.

The Voyager crew in the relaunch novels are handled with kid gloves and given 'easy' assignments.

Of course, most don't know that the Voyager crew had their own hardships and dangers.

[overseer-picard]

JJ Abrams: "Well you see, these new movies take place in an alternate universe so we have more creative freedom."

Paramount: "Do your thing, Wunderkind!"

Akiva Goldsman: "Picard season 2 is set in a completely new timeline so the details of canon aren't particularly relevant."

Paramount: "Neat! We LOVE that you won an Oscar once."

The dozens of showrunners for Discovery: *Gesture vaguely at things and stuff*

Paramount: *gives them a little kissy*

Henry Alonso Myers: "And now Strange New Worlds will also be in an alternate universe so we can avoid canon restrictions with Kirk."

Paramount: "But of course! How else are you supposed to write a prequel series?"

Me: "I sure love these 80+ relaunch novels that span 15 years of my real life and add to the established universe and lore with accurate, heartfelt characterizations and fun new plots. Maybe they could be a separate universe? Since it would be inconsequential to the shows--

Paramount: "Absolutely not. Throw them in the Woodchipper of Canon Compliance immediately. Obliterate them. And make it horrible and violent and sad."

Me:

(Technically SNW is still the prime universe but they are going to “bend canon”)

[midnightlovestories]

My greatest reading achievement this year is making myself plough through The Architects of Infinity. I usually love character driven novels but this one is just so painfully dull and boring, I honestly don't understand what was this book supposed to be and why Janeway and Chakotay suddenly feel like side characters and the issues they have with their relationship are just skimmed through and glossed over whereas the actual side characters take up like 3/4 of the book? And I don't know where to begin with the whole Harry/Nancy baby drama 🫠🫠🫠.

I liked bits with Tom and B'Elanna, though. 2.5/5 * for Tom and B'Elanna and the last 1/4 of the book.

[kiscon]

 Philon Awards 2024

After last year's successful relaunch of this beautiful celebration of fannish creativity, KiScon is honoured to once again host the Philon Awards. 

There are 8 categories: Short fic (word count under 10K) Long fic (word count 10K-50K) Novella/novel (word count over 50K) Podfic Traditional Art Digital Art Poetry Zines For each category the voters will determine a Gold (first place) and a Silver (second place) winner. Nominations for this year's Philon Awards are open now through August 31st.

You can nominate up to 3 works per category.

The work must focus on the pairing Kirk/Spock or Kirk & Spock. Slash (romantic and/or sexual relationship) and gen (friendship) are equally eligible. If a fic includes Kirk and/or Spock in relationships with other characters, be they canonical or original, this does not disqualify the work for the Philon Awards, as long as the focus is clearly on Kirk and Spock's relationship.

Art must feature Kirk or Spock or both of them; additional characters in the artwork are allowed, but no depiction of Kirk/Other or Spock/Other.

The work must have been created and published (print or online) after last year's nomination period. So everything from 1 September 2023 onwards until the end of the current nomination phase (31 August 2024) is eligible. Reprints or uploads of earlier works (e.g. a fic you wrote and published a few years ago and uploaded to the AO3 only recently) cannot take part in this contest. If a multi-chapter fic was started earlier, but the date of completion falls within the eligible range, then it can also be nominated.

You can find detailed information and all the rules here on the KiScon website.The nomination form is here: https://forms.gle/eMViYWZxvjGvNbeQ8 There were several events in the K/S fandom (and also fandom at large) that produced works that fall within the eligible period. A good opportunity to revisit your faves or find new delights from K/S Advent 2023, K/S Spring Fever 2024, Shore Leave! T'hy'la Reverse Bang, Star Trek Winter Gift Exchange 2024, Febuwhump, Spirktober (AO3 tag, Tumblr tag), Kinktober, KiScon Bingo, KiScon 2023 Zine, Wild Heart Zine, Mirror May,...There surely were other events and challenges, e.g. non-K/S-specific ones that still included some K/S works, so please be sure to check all the pertinent places (fortunately, most works end up on the AO3 or Tumblr, so a search by tags is the way to go). Always check whether a work conforms to the rules detailed for the Awards.

[trillscienceofficer]

“Sins of the Mother” (The Lives of Dax) S. D. Perry Audrid writes a letter to her estranged daughter, Neema, to explain the truth behind the death of Neema's father. This was Danelle [Perry]'s first work of Star Trek fiction. She remarked “Marco [Palmieri, editor of The Lives of Dax anthology] asked if I would be willing to write a story for Audrid. He mentioned that she and her daughter were estranged for a while. I took that suggestion and ran with it.” Marco recalls, “ ‘Sins of the Mother’ was what earned Danelle the Avatar [duology in the DS9 relaunch novels] gig. Her subtlety, strength of characterization, and pacing really shine in this story. I loved the idea of doing it as an epistolary.” This tale, together with “Allegro Ouroboros in D Minor” and “Reflections” [both in The Lives of Dax collection], eventually became integral to the post-TV DS9 fiction.

From “Voyages of Imagination: The Star Trek Fiction Companion” by Jeff Ayers (2006)

[slightlycrunchy]

I’m sure this is common knowledge to everyone else but some very dedicated Trekkies put together a flowchart directing how to make your way through the books and I just find it to be wonderful.

What dedication! Now to find out just where to jump in! (After I pry myself away from fanfic)

[pluralzalpha]

Star Trek headcanons (been chatting in the old FB shitposting group):

1. TAS is canon, except where it isn't.

2. ST Continues follows TAS

3. "These are the Voyages" is a false history, as per relaunch novels

4. NX-01 was decommissioned after the Romulan War but refit and recommissioned. We see it at the Fleet Museum, but the correct registration is NCC-01

5. There are many races in the Klingon Empire that have interbred over the centuries. Houses are more important than blood, and not all variations in appearance are due to the augment virus.

6. The Romulans also interbred with another species, which is why some have brow ridges.

7. There are still isolated Borg hives around the galaxy after Picard.

8. Troi, Riker and Worf definitely had a threesome at some point. Only Riker regrets it.

9. Danny Bird is a time agent who had to make sure the right people ended up on Voyager

10. There's at least one version of Braxton still at large, gunning for Janeway.

[emchovy]

WHAT I READ IN APRIL 2023:

Okay, so this one is actually a bit of an aberration. Normally, these are full of manga, and I'm like, jokingly apologetic about it, but I read SO MANY NOVELS in April. Unfortunately, nearly all of them were Star Trek tie-ins. I read SIX, coming in right under the threshold of seven that my roommate said she'd be worried about me at. Woo-hoo! As such, though, this month I'm gonna separate out the reading into two sections, one for Star Trek, and one for the other two books I read! With no further ado, let's go!

Star Trek Tie-In Novels:

(Instead of alphabetical, the Star Trek section's gonna be chronological. It will also contain SPOILERS for the DS9 relaunch series.)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Left Hand of Destiny Book One by J. G. Hertzler and Jeffery Lang

Alright, the first book of the Star Trek relaunch that I read! (Other than A Stitch in Time, which kinda counts.) I was expecting to not like this one very much, but I ended up enjoying it a lot. Martok is a really well-drawn character, and his struggle against what he sees as his destiny is compelling. The bummer things are the fact that his wife and daughters die (feels like a waste of characters, to be honest) and there's a LOT of old guys disguising themselves as beggars wandering around. Also, as a random note, it's a little funny that the villain just basically have the Dune Voice.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Left Hand of Destiny Book Two by J. G. Hertzler and Jeffery Lang

As just a direct sequel to the first book, there's not a ton different to say about this one, other than the titular Left Hand of Destiny payoff was very good!

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Avatar Book 1 by S.D. Perry

I'm actually familiar with S.D. Perry's work, as I read all of those Resident Evil novels she wrote. I also enjoyed this book a lot. Ezri's conflict within it is great, the Enterprising swinging by for a visit was fun, two women talk to each other not about a man, Kira's storyline as she struggles with her faith is so compelling, and Jake and Nog get some WONDERFUL moments together. Really enjoyed this one.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Avatar Book Two by S.D. Perry

Pretty much the same as the previous sequel, I'd also say that this book's final moments with Jake, and the hanging mystery of his disappearance is incredibly compelling. Also, it's made me really like Kasidy Yates, when I was so neutral before.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Section 31 - Abyss by David Weddle and Jeffery Lang

Julian fights a Tumblr sexyman to stop him from doing genocide. Great book. Ezri's faith in Julian shaking because of his Fucked Up Actions was compelling, and Section 31 continues to be a weird, credible threat. Also, the Jem'Hadar Taran'atar gets a lot of focus here, and he's evolving into one of my favorite characters.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Gateways - Demons of Air and of Darkness by Keith R.A. DeCandido

Are these titles getting maybe too long? (The answer is yes). Anyway, I enjoyed this book but all of the standout moments seem to have left my head instantly. Uhhhh, I enjoyed the Gul Dukat fakeout with Macet, and Kira wrestling with her feelings around Cardassians is always interesting. I literally can't remember the other stuff I enjoyed while reading it, but it was there! This was a good one, I promise!

Everything Else:

Love, Hate, and Clickbait by Liz Bowery

This is a romance novel I read that I swear to god is just Veep DanJonah fanfic with the serial numbers filed off. It's a decent romance novel, and I read it in a morning.

Fantastic Four: Doomgate by Jeffery Lang

This is UHHHHHH another tie-in novel. This one being for the Fantastic Four. I bought it mainly for the scene between Doctor Doom and Mr. Fantastic everyone clips, and that scene is very good. However the novel in general is just okay, with a couple standout lowpoints being the Sue Storm Epic Landlord Grandstanding (cringe) and spelling Matt Murdock's last name wrong!

That's all for April. Truly a month full of Star Trek and also rain. Hopefully, by the end of May I'll have diversified a little.

[littlewalken]

sep 23

Moved the last couple stacks of books over to the book corner, most are Star Trek and I still have that second copy of ASIT and the follow up book but you have to take the other Cardassian books, the Section 31 books I have, and any other relaunch novels too. All but like 1 or 2 are in great shape.

Got the office/art corner back so the desk is facing the rest of the room and not the wall. Just need to have the bed and dresser swap places then everything should at least be in their respective corners/areas.

Worked on the potato purse. It's time to put the webbing along the outside. That will take several rows of stitching but in the long run it will be a great idea. The only reason I don't use the "newspaper" purse that matches the doll carrier that often is the fabric actually stretched out a bit from the times I really loaded her up so any future purses need better support.

If you're in a situation where you need to make your own shopping totes get a set of pillow panels and some coordinating fabric. Front and back are pillow panels, or pillow panel sized, sides and bottom are half as wide. Sews up quickly. I have 20 year old Beatles fabric ones that I'll have to start using again now that white trash trash bags are being banned.

Watched some more Smallvile while I sewed. The whole s5 Lionel knows thing could be explored more along with Lex's how many times has Clark lied to you? You know why, don't you? It really is the season Lex pivots to his villainy.

And yes, the Lionel redemption arc should be taken with a spoon of salt but it's also reflective of a lot of real situations where something happens and people do want to change. You don't have to accept their change.

Found at least one more Grease 2 review to listen to before I see what I can do to make sense of that end of things. Tried to see if I could condense the Spider-Man timeline I want to use for the CYOA but I wasn't approaching it right. It's still too long, detailed, and complicated to make the project more digestible.

[afaimscorner]

Everytime I think it can’t get worse for me with “Star Trek”...

Ugh, that first “Star Trek: Coda”-Novel is so bad, it makes me wish they would just have let the Pocket Universe die without trying to give it an ending. I mean, yes Disney just cancelling the Expanded Universe and de-canonizing every Novel, Comic and Game ever written made me quit “Star Wars” and made me regret a good part of my fan-life, but if this is the alternative ... well, no but thanks.

The worst part is that it is “Star Trek: Picard” all over again. Every fan, who is here for anything else than Picard and some TNG Nostalgia is treated like a second class citizen. I mean, why promote this as a Crossover Series, if the first novel bascially only is for TNG-Relaunch Novel Fans? Not even “Titan” is in it, so why promote this as Picard, Riker, Sisko and Dax and their ships banding together, when this is not happening at all? (For reasons, I will get into later).

It seems like the second novel focuses on DS9 after all, but as a DS9-Fan, who read the first novel it’s like Icheb in “Picard” for Voyager-Fans all over again, but he got to be at least a boy in the fridge for Seven, and it was “only” Icheb, but here ...

SPOILER ALERT They just go an kill of Ezri Dax like she is just another Pocket Book Universe Supporting Character and not a Main Character from an actual Canon-Show! They make the greater tragedy of T’Ryssa Chen dying than Ezri and Dax dying! And, yes, it is a TNG-Novel (even though - again! - the lie about that everywhere), but when they killed of Janeway in another TNG-Novel back then it was a big thing and not an afterthought with her as one of many casulties. Granted, Pocket Books Ezri Dax has not much in common with Canon Ezri Dax at this point, but still ... they would never pull that with let’s say Geordi in a DS9-Novel, would they? It’s bad enough the whole Crossover seems to be “Let’s slaugther as many of our characters, that we investeted a good part of the last two decades of ST-Novels in, as possible, even though the Multiverse is ending and Our Timeline is probably  going to be earased anyways”, but giving a Canon Character this treatment ist just beyond wrong. Sorry. I mean, feel free to do with the Pocket Book Character what you will, that’s in your rights, but this just isn’t, if it does not get the space it deserves. And if this was supposed to be a “Anyone can die”-Moment, why put on in an Universe-Ending Storyline? They stakes can’t get any higher than everyone dying and that is the fucking plot, so why do it at all? SPOILER ENDING

And apart from the senselss slaughter this novel was hundreds of pages of Wesley Techno-Babbeling Time Travel Mechanics combinded with a Jean-Luc Picard-love fest. Not a single interesting moment there for anyone who is interested in Wesley as a person instead of Plot Device or anyone whose favourite Trek-Character is any one but Jean Luc Picard.

I can’t believe this is supposed to be a love letter to the Pocket Book Universe, because frankly it feels like is was written by someone who actually hates it. Dayton Ward can claim he wrote that book, I refuse to believe it, even the worst David Mack Trek-Novels are usually better than this and Dayton Ward’s Trek-Novels always were much much better than this one in the past.

So, I hope this series gets better in the next two books (but I have my doubts), but mainly I am just done with the whole “TNG is the only Trek-Series that matters and Picard is the only character that matters”-attitude of all those so-called fans turned authors, who then claim to write for the whole fandom but only every shit on DS9- und Voyager-Fans. It’s all right to only write for TNG- and Picard-Fans, but if you do that don’t use the characters from the other shows! It is as simple as that.

So, no waiting for the translation did not pay off and my gut-feeling about “Coda” not being something I would like was totally spot on, at least for the first novel, but I fear it won’t get better.

[isagrimorie]

I keep going back to what Kirsten Beyer said in the BTS for Stardust City Rag

Kirsten Beyer: "What we expect of our Star Trek heroes is that they will be able to overcome the very natural Human instincts that would in that case demand revenge." [snip] "I'm torn because my lifelong love for Star Trek tells me the same thing that the reason these people are our heroes is because they always manage to find their way to the light. But what a show like Picard is very intentionally and conscientiously doing is making the darkness a little bit deeper and darker. I sort of understand the necessity of a story like this."

Beyer hinted how much she struggled with this choice and writing this story for Seven. She gets why but it's something I feel she still struggles with because when David Mack wrote Firewall -- Beyer made sure to walk Mack back when he had a scene where Seven just killed a lot of people and walked it off.

Mack gave credit to Kirsten for pulling him back from that and how Kirsten made sure to note that 2 years post-Voyager, Seven of Nine wouldn't be just cavalier about killing people.

And that in Stardust City Rag Seven was driven to that point.

I've now read Kirsten Voyager's relaunch novels and I get why Kirsten had some reservations.

As for Jeri Ryan, as an actress, of course, she loves this kind of stuff-- the more gut-wrenching, the better the acting exercise it is for her. The one Jeri Ryan had trouble with is Seven's new speech pattern. It's only when Jonathan del Arco shared the insight that Seven might have just been masking/becoming more Human for survival

Personally, I don't have a problem with Seven killing Bjayzl, the cold open has given enough reason why Seven would.

Although I don't think Seven killed Bjayzl's guards.

When Seven killed Bjayzl her blaster (phaser?) color was red:

And then when the guards stormed in, Seven's blaster colors turned blue:

So she was, at most, stunning them on her way out.

Seven executed Bjayzl but only Bjayzl. She played judge, jury, and executioner but also as Seven said in that part of the 'verse (I refuse to consider Freecloud as part of the Federation) there was no law.

Also, killing Bjayzl might have also stopped the Borg harvester operation-- at least in her organization.

Anyway, I wish we saw Seven's soul searching after she killed Bjayzl.

How she went from here:

To this moment in the season finale of Picard s1:

I can make the leap in my head how Seven got there -- how after so many years of searching Bjayzl finally got her revenge and in the end... apart from the moment of satisfaction. It didn't really assuage her pain.

But on the show, we didn't really see this soul searching onscreen since Seven wasn't a main character in Picard s1 -- on Voyager we would be following her all the way to the end of the episode. But also, the show was called "Picard" not "Seven of Nine". And it only had 10 episodes, there's not enough runway to showcase this.

One of my favorite moments in The Originals is after finally enacted her vengeance on someone who made it impossible for Hayley to be with her infant daughter.

And how in the end, that revenge didn't even do anything.

I feel Seven needed to walk that dark path, so she could find her own way back, following her own road out.

/ETA

[drgracehowell]

“Come to think of it…” she whispered.

He silenced her with a kiss.

Their lips met, tentatively at first. Soon enough, however, they moved beyond timid exploration and succumbed to the promise that had always lived between them.

-Full Circle

[roguetelepaths]

there is just so much potential in the idea of what happens after Odo goes back to the Great Link but none of the people telling that story are telling it in the way I WANT THEM TO