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I like the technical fiction aspect of Trek. Years ago I read a Trek novel called The Final Reflection that had loads of good "Treknical" stuff. The other handful of novels I've read have been quite disapointing. Are there any recommendations for Trek novels with some good Treknical substance to them?
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Registered: Jul 2003
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You're right, REFLECTION has got some impressive stuff, both in character and tech departments. I think it must be the rare novel that built on stories mentioned in the original 1980 SPACEFLIGHT CHRONOLOGY book, since that volume has stuff about the Babel conference and Carter Winston, who was carried over from TAS.
More science treknical stuff, hmm ... Look at a couple of the earlier Reeves-Stevens novels. The MEMORY PRIME one explains why the components on starships are so bulky (has to do with being overbuilt to stand up to subspace feedback or something to that effect) ... they also have some great stuff on conscious computers in that book.
In FEDERATION, they have a scene when the -D rams a Romulan ship and cuts it in half, and they do it in a way that seems pseudo-scientifically credible, as opposed to just the usual doubletalk stuff you hear onscreen in ModernTrek.
Really great 'new physics/quantum physics' stuff in Diane Duane's THE WOUNDED SKY. Might make your head hurt, but solid anyway, mind-expanding stuff (at least back in 83 it was.)
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Registered: Jul 2003
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The TNG novel "Vendetta" reputes itself to be the first to use the then-new TNG tech manual as a resource. Mind you, Peter David wrote it, so you can take any tech rationalizations he makes with a fanboy-sized grain of salt.
quote:Originally posted by kmart: In FEDERATION, they have a scene when the -D rams a Romulan ship and cuts it in half, and they do it in a way that seems pseudo-scientifically credible, as opposed to just the usual doubletalk stuff you hear onscreen in ModernTrek.
"Federation" does extraordinarily well, especially in reference to Cochrane, warp physics, and early human spaceflight history. If I had it my way, the Cochrane history it presents would be canon. The only bad part is the end-struggle which is sweet, but "Treknically" stupid.
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Prime Directive I seem to remember having some nice tech stuff in it. And it was a good story too, although I did read it years ago.
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Actually, the SCE books are truly *surprisingly* good. On average, they feature *less* treknobabble cop-outs than a typical aired episode. Treknobabble is used to set up a challenge for the heroes, but they defeat their foes and save their damsels by using wits and solid engineering approaches that have nothing to do with the "babble" element. And SCE books don't actually contradict or "overstep" canon or Okuda treknology the way all those Reeves-Stevens books do.
Granted, there is relatively little drama in the books - but that is compensated by the sheer volume of writing. SCE is the soap opera of Trek novels, allowing the characters to grow by pumping out so many stories that everybody unavoidably has something to say or do.
As for the best tech novels, I love the "New Earth" series of six books. Diane Carey's books 1 and 6 represent a nice transition for that writer, from FASA technology style to Okuda tech manual style. Book 6 is actually quite hilarious in making use of Okuda verbatim! Books 2 and 5 can be skipped more or less safely. Book 3, by the L.A.Graf, has gritty down-to-earth tech, while book 4, by Jerry Oltion, is a superbly "realistic" story about laser physics.
You get starships galore. You get subspace galore. You get guns of all kinds, genetic engineering, communications, mining operations, colonization, surface and air transportation, sensors, tactics. "New Earth" IMHO is the "Final Reflection" of the 2000s. No kidding. (Well, perhaps a little.)
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