Decent Star Trek Novels?

[Bick]

I know there's a Star Trek sub-forum, but this isn't about the films or TV... if a mod wishes to move I wont be offended, but I worried no one would see the question if I hid it there...

I have a mild hankering to visit the Star Trek universe through a novel or two. I'm not a "Trekkie", though so I don't much care if it fits with the canon or whatnot, I just like the characters and charm of it all. I understand there have actually been some Star Trek books written by pretty decent authors, particularly going back a way. i.e.:

Vonda McIntyre: Entropy Effect; Enterprise
Joe Haldeman: Planet of Judgement
James Blish: Spock Must Die

Others I've seen lauded on the interweb as actually being quite good include:
Peter David: Imzadi (& other novels by same author)
J & G Reese-Stevens: Prime Directive
Andrew Robinson: Stitch in Time

Has anyone read any of these, or any others? Are they any good; entertaining; worth my precious reading time in favor of reading another Weber/McDevitt/Scalzi? Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[biodroid]

Apparently the ST books by David Mack are supposed to be very good. Try the Cold Equations series, not read it but heard good things about it, oh and the Vanguard series.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Prime Directive by Judith Reeves-Stevens, Spock's World by Diane Duane and First Enterprise by Vonda McIntyre were my favourite three.

From The Next Generation I wet myself laughing reading Q in Law by Peter David however I am now nearly twenty years on and not sure if I would feel the same way.

 

[Rodders]

I've not read any Star Trek novels for a long time, but i did go through a stage where i read about 200 of them. Generally they are of good quality with a lot of well known authors submitting titles. I did find Imzadi and Prime Directive to be very good reads.

 

[steve12553]

I own and read several novels that must date back nearly 20 years. I think I stopped reading them because they had an unreal quality about them to me (Spock wouldn't act like that; Sulu wouldn't say that.) Almost the way the seventies cartoon show was: maybe a little child-like. When the films and St-TNG came around I was less desperate for just anything Star Trek and less interested in the books. Seems like I picked up a couple at a Flea Market since then but just shelved them for desperate times. It could just be the particular ones I got.

 

[Fishbowl Helmet]

Essential Star Trek Novels That Even Non-Trekkers Should Read

 

[Rodders]

Nice link.

 

[Bick]

Thanks for the feedback guys

 

[Montero]

The ones by Barbara Hambly.
The one by Janet Kagan.
The Diane Duane ones especially the Rihansu series starting "My Enemy, My Ally"

and I seem to remember enjoying Doctor's Orders (with McCoy left in charge of the Enterprise) can't remember who wrote it.

Many years ago I enjoyed "How Much for Just the Planet" which is slapstick, but when I tried it again a couple of years back I couldn't get into it.

 

[Gramm838]

Stay away from Star Trek 'Titan' books - when the sentient velociraptor was introduced as the ship's doctor, I threw the book away...

 

[Rodders]

Aren't the Titan mores more "Young Adult"? I haven't read them but my reaction would probably be similar. My reading experience with Trek dates to the mid nineties and it was a good time.

 

[antiloquax]

This is a useful thread. I would never have considered myself a Trekkie, but I have got into it a bit more recently due to the J. J. Abrams movies and all the Star Trek references on "The Big Bang Theory". I will certainly check some of these out (ie. the Barbara Hambly and Vonda McIntyre titles).

 

[Montero]

The great thing about the books is that they can focus on characters other than Kirk and also Kirk is rather less annoying in the books. (Yup, I find Kirk annoying - personal taste )
Also some of the books are centred around junior officers who are not even in the series (that I recall) so you have the Star Trek setting, with new characters, so rather more approachable for people who haven't watched much Star Trek and don't know the back story of the "big" characters.

I also like the spin off books on the old series of Star Trek more than the new series (Picard series).

 

[neopeius]

I know there's a Star Trek sub-forum, but this isn't about the films or TV... if a mod wishes to move I wont be offended, but I worried no one would see the question if I hid it there...

I have a mild hankering to visit the Star Trek universe through a novel or two. I'm not a "Trekkie", though so I don't much care if it fits with the canon or whatnot, I just like the characters and charm of it all. I understand there have actually been some Star Trek books written by pretty decent authors, particularly going back a way. i.e.:

Vonda McIntyre: Entropy Effect; Enterprise
Joe Haldeman: Planet of Judgement
James Blish: Spock Must Die

Others I've seen lauded on the interweb as actually being quite good include:
Peter David: Imzadi (& other novels by same author)
J & G Reese-Stevens: Prime Directive
Andrew Robinson: Stitch in Time

Has anyone read any of these, or any others? Are they any good; entertaining; worth my precious reading time in favor of reading another Weber/McDevitt/Scalzi? Thanks for your thoughts.

I remember most Trek novels to be lackluster and too focused on The Big Three. I recall J.M. Dillard's stuff being good, however.

I'm always pleasantly surprised by how much of early Trek fiction was written by women.