nuHmey wISov*! Your first officer, Mac here. With Omicron on the rise, we’ve had to scramble our podcast recording schedule a bit. We’ll be back with more of season 1 TNG just as soon as we can, but in the meantime, this is as good a time as any to check back in on the world of Trek lit on sale!
Every month Amazon puts an array of Star Trek tie-in books on sale for the dirt-cheap price of $0.99. If you’re anything like me, you’ll buy nearly anything Trek-related if it’s less than a dollar… which is why I have not only have a Tom Paris collectible plate, but a Joe Carey one as well. But you may find yourself wondering which books are on sale this month. Never fear! Here are each of the books on sale in January!
Available Light (TNG Relaunch) by Dayton Ward
With Coda (and by extension, the entire “relaunch” timeline) having concluded, it may be time to dig into some of the later entries in that saga, as it can be viewed as a story with an (admittedly calamitous and depressing, if the reviews I have read are to be believed) actual, verifiable ending.
Or does that ending make the later entries in the saga mean less, if the characters are careening toward something that might very well be an anti-climax.
Homecoming (VOY Relaunch) by Christie Golden
Harry Kim gets promoted to Ensign. I repeat—and this is not a drill—Harry Kim finally gets promoted. What more could people possibly want?
I mean, if you’re a Voyager fan then there’s plenty to like. I actually read this one a few years back after a re-watch of Voyager, and it kind of eased the burn that was “Endgame**.”
Valhalla (DS9, Book 10) by Nathan Archer
I’ve written here on the blog about my affection for the numbered, semi-throw-away novels of days gone by. That goes double, maybe even triple for those set on Deep Space Nine. That cover tells me absolutely nothing, other than the book probably has some scenes on a Runabout and the color red might be prominently featured. Once again, I am sold.
Although that tagline is something else. I may need a day or two to parse out the syntax there.
Q Are Cordially Uninvited (TNG Relaunch) by Rudy Josephs
Looking for a quick read? The value may not be quite the same as some of the other books, but a later-era Q adventure is always a good time. And for those of you out there who have spent nearly 40 years shipping Crusher and Picard, this is all sorts of payoff that canon material is unlikely to ever give us.
On that note…
Q-Squared (TNG Hardcover) by Peter David
OK. Hear me out. This may very well be the greatest Star Trek book ever published. Epic in scope, and witty in its construction, the story weaves the best elements of “The Squire of Gothos,” and “Yesterday’s Enterprise” into a highly surprising narrative. It does many of the things “All Good Things…” (arguably TNG’s greatest episode) did, but only a few weeks after TNG went off the air.
I’ve spoken about how many of the Trek books are escapist fare, not much removed from what other people would get out of romance or western paperbacks. This one legitimately had an impact on my work as a writer. If you haven’t read it, I would highly recommend it. If I didn’t already own it in multiple formats (including Kindle), it would be my first order of business to purchase it once again.
Star Trek: Discovery Novels by Various Authors
Drastic Measures by Dayton Ward
The Way to the Stars by Una McCormack
The Enterprise War by John Jackson Miller
Wonderlands by Una McCormack
Not a full series reduced in price this month, but filled with more than enough gems to select. I still haven’t gotten around to grabbing Wonderlands (detailing Michael Burnham’s adventures between the year she arrived in the 32nd century) yet, but was sure to with this sale. Want to know more about Lorca from the prime universe, along with a Discovery-era cameo by a young James T. Kirk that doesn’t feel at all indulgent? Drastic Measures has you covered. Wondered what Pike and company were doing during the first season of Discovery (or just can’t wait for Strange New Worlds to finally make its debut)? Friends, The Enterprise War is ready to scratch that itch. Want to spend more time with Sylvia Tilly now that she has left the Discovery for greener pastures at Starfleet Academy? The Way to the Stars is the way for you.
That’s it for this month’s books. Be sure to check back here next month, check in on us at the podcast, and seriously, if you’re not bummed about Tilly leaving the regular cast of Discovery, then… I don’t know what to do with you, but I do know we aren’t friends anymore, and you’re no longer invited to my birthday party.
*Roughly translated from Klingon, “Welcome, bibliophiles.” “Welcome” is probably a bit of a stretch, but anyone who thought the children of Kahless wouldn’t have a word for “bibliophile” has clearly not read Shakespeare in the original text.
**OK, OK. It’s not quite the burn that “These are the Voyages…” but I’ll die on the hill that “All Good Things…”-lite wasn’t much of an ending, and you know I’m right.