Books bits: Latest covers and author comments

Some books news, starting with new covers. UPDATE: New book news! TrekBBS user Kertrats47 spotted a new book listed on David Mack's website. Coming in December next year is Section 31: Disavowed. There's also a cover up on David Mack's site, though Mack has pointed out this is just a mock-up, not the real thing.

Now for some actual new covers: Cross Cult have released the first drafts of Martin Frei's new cover designs for both of the Romulan War novels. I was a little surprised to see these, as Cross Cult tend to keep the original art when it features nice ship scenes (which the second book, To Brave the Storm did), but I suppose they might be trying to keep a consistent style for their Enterprise series, and as you can see, the two books form a diptych:

Click to see new DS9 in high res

In other Enterprise cover news, Doug Dexler recently mentioned that the NX-refit design will be featuring on a future cover - Presumably for the next Rise of the Federation novel, Tower of Babel, after A Choice of Futures established the refit design, known as the Columbia class, in use as T'Pol's command, the USS Endeavour. The interview on the Trek Initiative Wiki covers a wide range of topics from Drexler's work on Star Trek, and also includes a super high-res version of the Revelation and Dust cover, sans titles, giving the best view yet of the new Deep Space 9; you can even see interior scenes through the windows.

Dayton Ward has also been interviewed lately, by both the G and T show, and Trek Mate. He talked to both about his most recent book, From History's Shadow (discussing it in spoiler-filled detail with Trek Mate), and also talked a little bit about future releases. Telling the G and T show about Seekers, he confirmed the first two novels will be telling a more directly linked story, before the alternating ship-series goes onto more independent tales:

The first story is going to be bridging two books, and the three of us are cracking the story for both books together. So even though Dave's book will have his name on the cover, and Kevin and I will have our name on the cover of book two, the story credit will be all three of us for both books. And then from there we'll go off and do our own thing. Then occasionally we might come back for a multi-part story-line if we decide we have a great idea.

He was much more coy about his entry to The Fall series, as his book, Peaceable Kingdoms, concludes the series, and thus is built upon the stories of the four books preceding. He did mention Corps of Engineers' Captain Sonya Gomez will be showing up in his book briefly, and reiterated the impact The Fall is going to have on the future shape of the 24th century story space:

I'm hoping that the stage will be set, by the time that we're done with these five books, that we're heading off in a different direction for 24th century novels, that hopefully people will like.

The G and T show also interviewed Larry Nemecek, who discussed his forthcoming book and maps set, Star Trek: Stellar Cartography, including a summary of the Romulan War map:

...one is the Romulan War, like highlights of the Romulan War done by Starfleet's information service, two years after the Federation's founding. So it's like it's still the 2160s, so it's very recent, and you still have the graphics of the Enterprise-era labelling and everything, but it's just a couple of years afterward.

He went on to reveal the details of the Romulan War in this map are based on the account of the conflict from Federation: The First 150 Years, rather than novelverse version of events.

Conversely, speaking about his forthcoming book, The Klingon Art of War, on the TrekBBS, Keith R.A DeCandido he will be making numerous connections to the novelverse:

There will be references to Morjod's coup, the Borg invasion, Klag being the head of the Fifth Fleet, Lukara forming the Order of the Bat'leth, Presidents Zife and Bacco, and some other stuff besides.

Amazon have also posted a new blurb for this book, revealing the ten precepts that will be covered:

Passed down from the time of Kahless, ten precepts have shaped Klingon culture andindoctrinated Klingons in the Way of the Warrior. With this new translation, people from all walks of life—and all worlds—can harness the ancient Klingon wisdom and learn to embody courage, discipline, and honor.

• Choose your enemies well.
• Strike quickly or strike not.
• Always face your enemy.
• Seek adversity.
• Reveal your true self in combat.
• Destroy weakness.
• Leave nothing until tomorrow.
• Choose death over chains.
• Die standing up.
• Guard honor above all.

For more details of all the forthcoming books, hit the books button on my 2013 and 2014 schedule pages.