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Tuesday, 20 October 2020

Book bits: New novels for 2021, To Lose the Earth excerpts, and more

Lots of Star Trek novels news today, including the first details of many new books coming next year, previews of the newly released Voyager novel, To Lose the Earth, and other covers and previews from the written world of Trek. Continue below for all the latest.

First up, as I reported earlier in the year, two new authors are joining the Star Trek fold, and now the first details of their books have been revealed, via an announcement on SyFy Wire. Both authors represent an effort to diversify the writing pool for Star Trek novels, and both happen to be to be set in the TV eras of their respective shows, which we've not seen for quite some time.

Specifically the TNG novel Shadows Have Offended, by Cassandra Rose Clark, is to be set in the seventh season. The book will focus on Deanna Troi, Beverly Crusher, and Worf.

A DS9 novel Revenant, by Alex R. White, doesn't have the timeline pinned down in the announcement, but set to feature Jadzia Dax and Kira Nerys, which would seem to limit it to the first six seasons.

They didn't formally announce publication dates for these yet, although Simon and Schuster have recently listed several forthcoming books, and the acronyms probably give us a clue. They are:

  • Untitled TDV(ad), a Picard novel (in hardcover), due January 2021.
  • Untitled SHO(ad), a TNG novel, due in April 2021 - Presumably this is Shadows Have Offended.
  • Untitled DTP(ad), a Discovery novel, due in May 2021.
  • Untitled OATW(ad), a TOS novel, due in June 2021.
  • Untitled STR(ad), a DS9 novel, due in July 2021 - Presumably this is Revenant.
David Mack has mentioned a couple of places that he is working on a forthcoming Trek novel as well, but no other details have surfaced about that yet.

Earlier in the year Simon and Schuster did have listings for another Picard book, Untitled STP, initially expected this December, but now listed in their catalogue for a fanciful 2045 release! I would imagine the new TDV listing might be the same book shifted and retitled?


Coming back to now, the next book due, in a couple of weeks, is Greg Cox's new TOS novel, A Contest of Principles(ad). The audiobook(ad)cover for this has new been revealed, a nicely expanded version of the very distinctive design we've already seen for the print version of the book. This cover also announced regular Star Trek audiobook narrator Robert Petkoff will be back to read this book too.


For a reminder of what the book is about, check out the back cover of the print-edition, which has also been released now:


The newest novel out is To Lose the Earth(ad), the long delayed and much anticipated tenth book in Kirsten Beyer's brilliant Voyager relaunch series - The latest in the series that saw Voyager lead a fleet back to the Delta Quadrant, using quantum slipstream drive, this book has been kicked down the schedule a few times due to Beyer's recent involvement as a writer and producer on Discovery and Picard. But not only has she now delivered the book, but she's even the narrator of the audiobook version(ad) too! As highlighted on the cover that got an update shortly before publication:


Here's a clip of Beyer in action, reading her new book:



And if you prefer reading your books, here's the back cover, and a Kindle preview of that too:



There are also some extra previews out for a book from earlier in the year, David Mack's More Beautiful Than Death(ad), one of the Kelvin timeline books that resurfaced this year, after also being delayed for several years. Robert Petkoff was also the voice of the audio version of this book(ad), and Simon and Schuster did a fun video with Petkoff and Mack discussing their respective work on the release:



There are also video and audio excerpts from the book:





For more on this book, Mack also appeared on a couple of podcasts discussing it, as have other authors recently. If you like your book behind-the-scenes talk, check out some of the following; the interview with Robert Petkoff is especially delightful:


Order links for mentioned books:
Untitled TDV, Picard novel by unknown.
Amazon(ad).
Shadows Have Offended, TNG TV-era novel by Cassandra Rose Clark.
Amazon(ad).
Untitled DTP, Discovery novel by unknown.
Amazon(ad).
Untitled OATW, TOS novel by unknown.
Amazon(ad).
Revenant, DS9 novel by Alex White.
Amazon(ad).
A Contest of Principles, TOS TV-era novel, by Greg Cox.
To Lose the Earth, Voyager novel, by Kirsten Beyer.
Bookshop(ad), Amazon(ad), Barnes and Noble(ad), Ebay(ad).
More Beautiful Than Death, Kelvin novel by David Mack.
Bookshop(ad), Amazon(ad), Barnes and Noble(ad), Ebay(ad).

To keep track of all the latest releases, hit the books button on my 2020 and 2021 schedule page. You can also find series reading lists and author bibliographies on my dedicated Star Trek lists site.



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2 comments:

  1. Fox25 October 2020 at 06:56

    With all these new announcements, I guess it's certain now (not that there was ever much doubt) that To Lose The Earth will be the final novel in the LitVerse continuity. Shame. I had some issues with it (like all of what they did with Sisko) but on the whole, I rather liked it.

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    Replies
    1. Unknown6 November 2020 at 19:21

      I agree with you that is a shame to see the Expanded Continuity line come to an end. But a couple of the authors now work on the shows themselves so that is a plus. And Dayton Ward oversees the entire Star Trek publishing line now. I think that they're going to go back to the one and done style for TNG, DS9, and VOY.
      I hope I'm right because they're definitely not enough DS9 or VOY novels out there. The thing I like about the one and done's is that you don't have to have read 30 books behind them in order to enjoy them. Don't get me wrong, I love stories like the Typhon Pact and the entire DS9 restart but they are limiting. And the reason they're limiting is because if you're just starting to get into Star Trek, they're so steeped in a continuity that's only limited to the books that newer fans don't understand them or who the characters are anymore.
      But the one and done's will be set during the shows so they'll be easier to grab onto for newer fans. This is one HUGE reason why there are so many TOS stories. They're a lot easier for newer fans to pick up because they're just one story, one mission, and then off to the next adventure. DS9 is a prime example of how confusing the modern Star Trek literary universe can be to a newer Trekkie.
      None of the characters from the show are even on DS9 in the books. And they blew up the space station and remodeled so it looks more Federation-like! Ezri Dax has the Aventine, Ro Laren is Captain of the station, and Captain Sisko is Captain of a ship that's not the Defiant. And it's the same thing for the VOY and TNG novels too.
      That's why I think going back to the one and done's is a good idea. After all, I want to continue to see the book line thrive. I've been reading the Star Trek novels since I was 12 and I just turned 41 a few months back so I've been reading these books for almost 30 years. I am a Trekkie to my core.
      I love all of Star Trek. And alot of the classic stories in the novel line all come from the one and done stories. As long as the book line continues to thrive that's all matters, right? Live long and prosper, Fox 🖖.

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