This is an old post from my reading diary. But these are still my top favorites.
I just realized that it was already September and I had basically completely forgotten about my 10 New Year’s Resolutions. That’s right. I make 10 resolutions each year. I usually do about 4 of them and then the remaining get stuck onto the next year.
Sandwiched in between #4 exercise more and #6 get a life, is #5 write something everyday. In keeping with that goal I made 365 index cards with subjects on them in case of writer’s block. The idea was that I’d finish my YA supernatural nonromance (This is Blue Moon...coming soon). Since I’m obviously not doing that, without further ado, I present: My Top Ten Favorite Star Trek Novels. (It’s a bullet list, I’m easing into this)
1. The Entropy Effect by Vonda N. McIntyre
Full disclosure. A. I love Spock. No. I mean I love Spock. Spock is it. He is the perfect man. So I think you’ll notice a preponderance of Spockcentric books on this list.
B. I am not a scientist nor am I scientific in any way.
Warnings: Time Travel, mustaches, nudity
Synopsis:
While being awesome and studying a naked singularity Spock and the Enterprise are called away to an emergency. And it is …wait for it… a time travel emergency! I love time travel when it’s not making me hate characters I used to love. (I’m looking at you Steven Moffat.) Anywho, (see what I did there?) Spock finds out his favoritest professor in all the universe (If he had favorites. Which he doesn’t.) is being accused of all these horrible crimes and murders. So Spock to the rescue! Spock gets sucked into trying to fix the mess when things get worse and Captain Jack Kirk, I mean Captain James Kirk is murdered in an awesomely horrible way. Permanently murdered. None of this shooting his corpse into the Genesis Effect business. So now the stakes are even higher as Kirk’s murder leads to Sulu growing a mustache and leaving the Enterprise and the unraveling of the universe. Don’t mess with time travel people.
Why this must be read:
The book is an awesome character study and an exciting adventure. Spock and Kirk both get to shine. Spock with his general awesomeness and Kirk with a unconventional romance. And my favorite part was Sulu getting a lot of page time with an adventure AND a romance. Just great. Read it!
It’s on Kindle.
And then if you wanted to talk about it that would be ok. Whatever.
There’s a link up top. To buy it. On Amazon. Do it!
Please?
2. Price of the Phoenix by Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath
3. Fate of the Phoenix
I’m doing these two together since they are a series.
Price and Fate, oh how I love thee. These two books are in my top ten books of ALL TIME. I love them like kittens and babies and little fuzzy ducklings. They are full of aweomesauce. Now, I’ve heard them called “insufferable” and “pretentious” and “trashy” but those are the three words you need to say to get me to read a book so that didn’t bother me.
Full disclosure C. the first time I read all these books I was 12 so the nostalgia factor may be influencing me.
Warnings: No time travel, nudity, jumpsuits, matriarchy,
Synopsis:
Over the course of these two books Black Omne (what an awesome villain name! Right?) Manipulates everyone to basically prove that Kirk and the federation are a bunch of pretentious meddlers who push their conservative agenda on the universe. When in reality the universe needs to get with it and realize that they need to be following Black Omne’s agenda and falling into chaos and anarchy. I don’t want to say anything else about the plot because I feel it is vital to remain unspoiled on it. But suffice it to say it is awesome and some fringe characters appear and become central to the story.
Why it must be read:
The bromance oh, the bromance. Every bromance movie or book you have ever read pales in comparison to this. Every buddy cop, road trip, Crosby and Hope movie wishes it was these two books. Spock is his Spockiest. Kirk is smart and Omne is sinister. The next Star Trek movies need to be these books. I’m not sure why
SPOILERS FOR STAR TREK 2009
Vulcan had to explode and time be rewritten for the new movie. They should have made these two books into movies and we’d already be watching the second one instead of waiting until 2014. And also, that other thing wouldn’t have happened either. You know the one I mean.
4. Ishmael
Warnings: Time Travel, logging, amnesia,
Synopsis:
Spock accidentally goes back in time and loses his memory!
Why it must be read:
Spock accidentally goes back in time and loses his memory!
And a girl falls in love with him. And he gives her a truly sweet speech about why he could never love her. Awww. Maybe I should read that one again as an adult because there may have been subtext. Hmm.
Also, read its wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael_(Star_Trek)
5. Black Fire by Sonni Cooper
Warnings: Fauxtimetravel, I am a Vulcan and there is not pain, earings, fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles…
Synopsis:
This one starts with a bang and keeps on going. So much happens in this book that it seems like 3 separate books. Did I mention the pirates? Space pirates?
Why it must be read:
Spock gets to be Sherlock Holmes, Errol Flynn, and also Spock.
6. Uhura’s Song by Janet Kagan
Warnings: Giant cats. That can talk. pneumonia, lying, treachery, tree climbing, Snnanagfashtali, AIDS allegory, multiculturalism, camping
Synopsis:
Kirk and the Enterprise must find the cure for a plague before it wipes out a planet of sentient kitty cats who love music.
Why it must be read:
Giant cats that can talk. And my first taste of h/c for Spock. It is super and this 12 year old did not see the twist coming.
7. Imzadi by Peter David
Warnings: naked Riker (no beard), time travel, STNG, Apparently there are 2 more of these that I haven’t read. And it looks like a Worf/Troi/Riker triangle.
Full disclosure: I haven’t reread any the books on this list so I’m relying on my memory, some of it admittedly hazy.
Synopsis:
Old!Riker uses the Guardian to go back in time to save Troi and the Universe!
Why it must be read:
It’s like City on the Edge of Forever with a happy ending.
8. Yesterday’s Son by A.C. Crispin
9. Time for Yesterday
Warnings: time travel, baby!, sword fighting, trebuchet
Synopsis:
Spock finds out that he fathered a child with Zarbeth in the episode All Our Yesterdays. He uses the Guardian to go back in time to rescue him. He is a little late and the child is a man. Romulans try to use the Guardian and the Federation must stop them. And also beings of pure energy get up to mischief.
Why it must be read:
Contains my favorite line, “Kissing in armor is no fun."
What can I say. Time for Yesterday is a better book, but you must read Yesterday’s Son first. Time for Yesterday is a little bit New Age, and a little bit Shakespeare.
And also trebuchets.
10. Star Trek: The New Voyages
Warnings: chess, fairies, fanfic, genderswap
Synopsis: it’s an anthology of fan writing. Star Trek PUBLISHED the writing of fans.
Why it must be read:
The fanfic tropes where they first began! Read about girl!Kirk and h/c Spock/Kirk. Also the actor that plays the main character written about in each story wrote an introduction to the story. That is pretty cool.
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