A ‘Star Trek’ Fiction Primer
Hitting shelves around the country is Star Trek: A Singular Destiny by Keith R.A. DeCandido, the first novel in the Star Trek universe after the status quo was shaken up in the just-complete Star Trek: Destiny trilogy by David Mack. When we spoke with Mack a few months ago, he said, “All I’m willing to share at this point is that characters who are dead before the trilogy starts stay dead; characters killed during the trilogy will stay dead afterward; there is no reset button at the end of the story; worlds we’ve heard of before will be destroyed; a species will cease to exist.”
For many intrigued by this, the prose works can seem daunting since they carry the storylines forward from the last season of Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and The Next Generation feature films. DeCandido provided ComicMix with a reading list for those interested in seeing what’s been happening:
Pre-Nemesis
There was a nine-book series that set the groundwork for Nemesis as well as many of the post-Nemesis books. None of them are critical. All nine provide some nice background, particularly on Christine Vale, the security chief on the Enterprise-E who goes on to become Riker’s first officer on Titan, and the final five books set up Riker’s captaincy and engagement to Troi (both established in Nemesis), as well as the political situation we see going forward. It’s also, in essence, Data’s final arc, which runs through all nine.
These books take place from late 2378 to late 2379 (the film took place in late 2379).
A Time to be Born by John Vornholt
A Time to Die by John Vornholt
A Time to Sow by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
A Time to Harvest by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
A Time to Love by Robert Greenberger
A Time to Hate by Robert Greenberger
A Time to Kill by David Mack
A Time to Heal by David Mack
A Time for War, a Time for Peace by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Post-Nemesis
Here’s where we get to the nitty gritty.
The Titan books pick up with Riker, Troi, and a bunch of other folks on the good ship Titan, starting with the mission to Romulus mentioned in Nemesis (the first two books, which also sets up the civil unrest that grows out of Shinzon’s failed coup in the movie), and then continuing through to their deep-space exploration mission (the next two).
Taking Wing by Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels
The Red King by Andy Mangels & Michael A. Martin
Orion’s Hounds by Christopher L. Bennett
Sword of Damocles by Geoffrey Thorne
Meanwhile, the adventures of the Enterprise-E do continue. We get some changes in the relationships of some of the main characters (Friedman), plus setting up the Borg storyline (Dillard, David, Bennett), and establishing several new characters (Dillard, DeCandido, Bennett) to replace Riker, Troi, and Data.
Death in Winter by Michael Jan Friedman
Resistance by J.M. Dillard
Q & A by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Before Dishonor by Peter David
Greater than the Sum by Christopher L. Bennett
The political end of things is also covered in an off-the-beaten-path novel that covers the year or so following Nemesis from the point of view of the Federation government. This is President Nan Bacco’s first year in office — the character was introduced in A Time for War, a Time for Peace, and plays a supporting role in Destiny — and (among other things) does more with the ongoing Romulan mishegoss:
Articles of the Federation by Keith R.A. DeCandido
The above-listed books all take place in 2380 (roughly speaking), with Articles covering the entire year.
Destiny
We come into 2381 here, and it all comes together in this big-ass trilogy, and then my follow-up:
Destiny: Gods of Night by David Mack
Destiny: Mere Mortals by David Mack
Destiny: Lost Souls by David Mack
A Singular Destiny by Keith R.A. DeCandido
The book’s back cover promises:
The Shape of Things to Come
The cataclysmic events of Star Trek: Destiny have devastated known space. Worlds have fallen. Lives have been destroyed. And in the uneasy weeks that follow, the survivors of the holocaust continue to be tested to the limits of their endurance.
But, strange and mysterious occurrences are destabilizing the galaxy’s battle-weary Allies even further. In the Federation, efforts to replenish diminished resources and give succor to millions of evacuees are thwarted at every turn. On the borders of the battered Klingon Empire, the devious Kinshaya sense weakness –and opportunity. In Romulan space, the already-fractured empire is dangerously close to civil war.
As events undermining the quadrant’s attempts to heal itself become increasingly widespread, one man begins to understand what is truly unfolding. Sonek Pran – teacher, diplomat, and sometime advisor to the Federation President – perceives a pattern in the seeming randomness. And as each new piece of evidence falls into place, a disturbing picture encompassing half the galaxy begins to take shape, revealing a challenge to the Federation and its allies utterly unlike anything the have faced before.