Thirty Days of Star Trek: Favorite Trek Novel

[selenak]

Day 17 - Favorite Trek Novel

There was a time when I read a lot of these, all through the 80s and early 90s, i.e. before the internet really took off for me. These days, it needs a particular author to get me buying them (to wit: I enjoyed Una McCormack's Tilly novel, and of course her Cardassian saga, The Never-Ending Sacrifice, detailing what became of Rugal, the Bajoran-raised boy in DS9's Cardassians). Now, it's not that I don't like Diane Duane as well as the next fantasy reader. And I loved Vonda McIntyre's Star Trek movie novelizations which really took the trouble to go beyond the script and create books out of them. Several of the Peter David TNG novels, I read repeatedly (and was crushed years later to find out he's on the Kirk side of the fanboy Kirk vs Picard debate), with Q Squared, probably the most ambitious ST novel he wrote, crossing multiple timelines and starring three versions of the entire TNG ensemble in addition to Q, Trelane and some OCs, being my second favorite ST novel.

But there's no question as to which Star Trek novel I loved best and still love best. The Pandora Principle by Carolyn Cowles, which is about Saavik, fleshing out the backstory Vonda McIntyre added in her Wrath of Khan novelisation (short version: Saavik is a half Vulcan, half Romulan who spent the first few years of her life on a prison camp world named Hellguard until the Romulans abandoned it (and the surviving prisoners); she and the other survivors were then rescued by Spock & Co., and Saavik ended up as Spock's protegé) as well as providing an adventure plot set between ST movies I and II. The Spock and Saavik relationship is central, but it's also a coming of age story for Saavik, the Enterprise cast is well drawn, Admiral Nakamura who has about two lines in the movies becomes a main character and the most interesting and fleshed out ST Admiral at point of publication (when Admirals other than Kirk were there to be an obstacle to him), and there's even a subplot that explains why Kirk took the desk job he has at the start of Wrath of Khan. Oh, and there's a great Romulan OC who is a trickster type of character (a trader of uncertain loyalties and with a sense of humor), preventing that the Romulans come across as uniformely evil.

Young!Me ate this up with a spoon, and older me still has it as her headcanon forever and ever.



Day 1 - Favorite TOS Episode

Day 2 - Favorite Federation Race

Day 3 - Favorite Starship

Day 4 - Favorite Captain

Day 5 - Saddest Event

Day 6 - Happiest Event

Day 7 - Favorite TNG Episode

Day 8 - Favorite Federation Enemy

Day 9 - Favorite Character

Day 10 - Most Shocking Moment

Day 11 - Crew Position You Would Want

Day 12 – Crew Position You Wouldn’t Want

Day 13 - Favorite DS9 Episode

Day 14- Favorite Time Travel Episode

Day 15 - Favorite First Officer

Day 16 - Favorite Voyager Episode


Day 18 - Favorite Non-Aligned Race
Day 19 - Favorite Enterprise Episode
Day 20 - Character You're Most LIke
Day 21 - Least Favorite Character
Day 22 - Favorite Trek Film
Day 23 - Best Trek Tech
Day 24 - Best Overall Space Vessel
Day 25 - Favorite Discovery Episode
Day 26 - Planet You Would Most Like To Visit
Day 27 - Character You Would Date
Day 28 - Name Your Own Starship
Day 29 - Favorite Trek Quote
Day 30 - Favorite Trek Series

Comments

[lilacsigil]

The Pandora Principle was fantastic! I hadn't seen any of the movies (no cinema and we didn't have a VCR yet), but I loved Vonda McIntyre's novelisation of Wrath of Khan and read The Pandora Principle shortly afterwards, which led me onto Diane Duane's Romulan books.

[selenak]

If you read the novels first - were you disappointed by the lack of screen time for Saavik post ST III (and even there…)?

[lilacsigil]

I actually read most of the available novelisations before ever seeing an episode of the TV show or a movie (the first one I saw in the cinema was STVI, which was a pretty great option!), so by then I was used to all these super-interesting female and/or alien characters not getting much actual screen time unless they were Kirk's Designated Episode Love Interest. So yes, disappointing, but not surprising.

[oracne]

I never read that one! Now I really want to.

[selenak]

I still heartily recommend it.

[kore]

This sounds great!

[selenak]

I think it is.:)

[cahn]

Eeeeee The Pandora Principle! I love that book so much. Saavik is so great, her relationship with Spock is lovely, especially the way he understands her even though he kind of feels like he shouldn't. <3 (Also, the adorable Obo!)

I kept checking back for years to see if Carolyn Clowes had written any other books, but apparently not. I'd totally buy it if she did!

[selenak]

Same here, but alas, no luck so far!

[maia]

I've thought of doing this meme, but almost all of my answers would be identical to yours, so what would be the point? Trek-wise, at least, we were separated at birth!!

[beatrice_otter]

That is such a great book, I should re-read it sometime.

[selenak]

I plan to as well.

[nolivingman]

I love that novel’s take on Saavik and Spock and everything else so much; it is also my headcanon, since canon was not as interested in Saavik as I was and am.

[selenak]

Same here!