Pocket Book Star Trek Novels #11 - #20 Review

Previous Post - Pocket Book Star Trek Novels #1 - #10 Review

Gosh, that came around fast!  Time for my second summary / analysis, this time (unsurprisingly) of books ##11 to #20.  Well almost #11 to #20, I haven't read / reviewed #17 Star Trek III - Search for Spock, because a) it isn't essential for the purposes of this review and, b) I don't have the will to read another Vonda film tie-in massacre.  I will read it, don't worry, I'm just currently enjoying not reading it.

Books #11 to #20 are as follows:

#11 Yesterday's Son - A C Crispin - August 1983 - Year: 2270 (after TOS)

#12  Mutiny on the Enterprise - Robert E Vardeman - October 1983 - Year: 2268 (after The Klingon Gambit)

#13 The Wounded Sky - Diane Duane - December 1983 - Year: 2275 (between TMP and TWOK)

#14 The Trellisane Confrontation - David Dvorkin - February 1984 - Year: 2269 (After TOS)

#15 Corona - Greg Bear - April 1984 - Year: 2270 (After TOS)

#16 The Final Reflection - John M Ford - May 1984 - Years: 2230s  / 2270s

#17 Star Trek III - Search for Spock - Vonda N McIntyre - June 1984 - Year: 2285

#18 My Enemy, My Ally - Diane Duane - July 1984 - Year: 2275 (between TMP and TWOK)

#19 The Tears of the Singers - Melinda Snodgrass - September 1984 - Year: 2270 (After TOS)

#20 The Vulcan Academy Murders - Jean Lorrah - November 1984 - Year: 2267 (After Journey to Babel)

Immediate Observations

• One film novelisation - #17 Star Trek III - Search for Spock - Vonda N McIntyre.  Film tie-ins ignore publishing schedule.
• Six out of ten books are written by female authors (3/5)
• Diane Duane writes two novels in this selection.
• Only two novels take place within the TOS timeline.
• For the first time we see a 'prequel' story (2230s)
• 'After TOS' but before TMP is the most popular time period (4/10)

Personally I think that this group of ten are on average a better quality than the first ten.  A C Crispin, Diane Duane, and John M Ford are the strongest writers, though Robert E Vardeman doesn't lag far behind.

Context

So here is where it all starts to get interesting as fans are starting to respond to the quality of the books produced in the previous ten tie-ins.  The rumblings in the fan community about the quality of the novels, within the time period of the next ten we'll see a crack down on the guidelines for the novels.

Fans were complaining about the quality of Star Trek novels.   Some were pointing out that these 'pro-authors' couldn't reach the lofty expectations of those who had read and enjoyed the 1970s fanfiction, propagated in fanzines.  Lisa Wahl in the June 1983 issue of Interstat, suggested boycotting the October and November novelisations (then Timescape).  This was met with opposition by fans who had read the manuscript of Yesterday's Son however as it would interfere with its release.

On the other hand, there was (and is) always a market for even the most derided works, whatever the fandom.  I have myself seen reviews on Good Reads which give books I hated 5/5, praising them as some of the best novelisations available.  It all depends on which narrative is strongest.  At the time of the early Pocket/Timescape Star Trek novels, pro-authors who wrote in report positive feedback and letters from fans.

I have to admit, if I was alive and reading Star Trek novels as they came out, I would have been disappointed with the first ten too, reading the first ten all together was difficult!  Books #11 - #20 seem to have turned a corner quality wise however (well bar TSFS, I don't have to read that to know it'll be tripe) with some super strong authors trying their hand at Star Trek.

It's good to see that yet again the majority of books are written by women in this selection and that the strongest books are also those written by women.

Story / Theme Trends

There was actually a lot more variation in these novels, and there appears to be less of a focus on individuals and more of a focus on the Enterprise and its crew as a whole.  This made it a little harder to pin down the story trends.

Ignoring the film adaptation.

• 1 'prequel' story (TFR)
• 3 stories expand on Vulcan culture (YS, C, TVAM)
• 1 story expands on Romulan culture (MEMA)
• 1 story expands on Klingon culture (TFR)
• 4 stories in which Romulans are involved as a faction (YS, MOTE, TTC, MEMA)
• 4 stories in which Klingons are involved as a faction (MOTE, TTC, TFR,TTOTS)
• 5 stories featuring new species (MOTE, TWS, TTC,C, TTS)
• 1 story with obvious slash (YS)
• 2 stories with mild slash subtext (TWS, MEMA)
• First story with a focus on Uhura (TTOTS)
• 2 Kirk-centric stories (MOTE, TVAM)
• 1 Spock-centric story (YS)
• 3 stories which rely on out of character behaviour (TTC, C, TTS)
• 5 stories rely on strong original characters (YS, MOTE, TWS, TFR, MEMA)
• 2 stories which have Kirk injured as an important part of the narrative (YS, TWS)
• 3 stories continue the theme of entropy and the weaving / unweaving of reality (TWS, C, TTOTS)

McCoy is once again not a popular character as a focus but he is written well generally throughout this selection of novels.

In my previous summary I suggested that the first ten books were quite inward looking, focusing on adventure instead of wider social problems.  In this selection that trend has shifted more towards a consideration of society than the adventurous, wonderment of a select group of characters.

The Klingons and the Romulans are equally represented in these books!  Even to the point of having one Klingon and one Romulan centric book each!

The first 'Uhura centric' story was... and interesting experience, but I've noted it down as relying on out of character actions...unfortunately the out of character, character was Uhura...

Entropy, the nature of it and the importance of it (the necessity of it even) has grown as an important aspect theme / story element.

Writing of original characters was so much better this time around, original, well written.

Poor cinnamon roll Kirk was inflicted with serious injury twice for the sake of the narrative... and some slashy vindication.  Spock gets the emotional trauma, Kirk gets physical trauma.  Bless them.

Themes

• #11 YS : Family.  Different kinds of love.  The role/love of the father. Shame.
• #12 MOTE : Duty over self. Pacifism / inaction is still action.
• #13 TWS : Entropy.  Different kinds of love.  The best self.  Weight of responsibility. God and the soul.  Loyalty.
• #14 TTC : Appearances can be deceiving.  Best of two evils.
• #15 C : Entropy.  Change.
• #16 TFR : Life is a game.  For the greater good.  Appearances can be deceiving.  Different kinds of love.
• #18 MEMA : For the greater good.  Different kinds of love.  Duty over self.  Loyalty.
• #19 TTOTS : Entropy.  Duty.  Different kinds of love.  The best self.  For the greater good.
• #20 TVAM : Crack.   Family.  Different kinds of love.

As I was reading this group of books, I did feel that the same themes were cropping up again and again.  They felt more cohesive as a series although this could be put down to the average standard of writing being significantly better than in books #1 to #10.

However, I do think that TMP has influenced the themes in this selection, which perhaps it wouldn't have in the earlier ones.  Essentially, the fanbase/writers have had time to respond to the themes which cropped up in the movie and this has bled into these novels.  Nobody can dispute the theme that dare not speak its name in TMP - love - and whereas there was no real thematic presence of 'love' previously we see it in the majority here.  And it really is the theme of different kinds of love too, and it seems that Yesterday's Son was the herald for the change in tone with its depiction of two kinds of love, familial and whatever it is between Kirk and Spock.  Heh.  It is doesn't even matter if you think it is romantic or not, it is devotion.

Devotion, duty, loyalty also are strong themes here, although seen in TMP, I think we can certainly look to TWOK 's influence for the proliferation of those themes.

Certainly I think that the films have on the whole influenced the novelists here to look at the wider picture and deal with the bigger issues, bigger questions.  We still have 'smaller' issues like seal clubbing,  or personal human experience like 'family' but the authors are also tackling God and the soul, pacifism, life's purpose, the nature of entropy.  Big concepts for media-tie ins, right?