Library Computer: “Star Trek Mere Anarchy” Review + “Haynes Enterprise Manual” Announced May 20, 2009
by Robert Lyons , Filed under: Books, Review, Star Trek (2009 film) , trackback
This week the Library Computer is catching up with a review of the paperback reprint of “Mere Anarchy”, a six part mini-series originally produced in eBook format to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Star Trek. This week we also have news of the original book set in the new Star Trek continuity – and it’s sure to be a surprise!
REVIEW: STAR TREK MERE ANARCHY COLLECTION
The “Mere Anarchy” collection started its life in 2006 as a series of six e-books. Editor Keith R.A. DeCandido recruited writers and put them to task to tell the tale of the the planet Mestiko, and it’s inhabitants, the Payav. Unique to this series was that, over a six month period, one was able to follow the story of the people of Mestiko from the pre-pilot era of The Original Series through and beyond the ‘death’ of Jim Kirk aboard the Enterprise-B. On the whole, “Mere Anarchy” is a really engaging and interesting reading experience. But let’s take a few moments and break down some thoughts about each story.
Things Fall Apart
by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
(Set in 2265 – prior to the episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before”)
It might seem like a bit of writer’s hyperbole, but to begin their story (and the series) with the words, “First Consul, believe me when I tell you that every living thing on this planet is going to die.” Is no hyperbole. Ward and Dilmore dig in to some interesting and plausible scientific concepts to set the disastrous stage for a series of adventures that worthily celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Star Trek. The Federation learns of the impending events because of the presence of a pre-First Contact team stationed on Mestiko, a team who comes out of hiding initially to contact the scientists of the world, but who become known to the civil government, a government which then proceeds to beg for help. Enter the starship Enterprise, with the newly-minted Captain James Kirk in command, and with new, experimental technology designed to help avert the catastrophe on the planet. We are treated to an interesting setting on the bridge of the Enterprise, one very much in keeping with the vibe of “Where No Man Has Gone Before”, right down to the voices of the crew and the commands issued through the ship. Ward and Dilmore get the story off to an engaging and rousing start. “Things Fall Apart” is easily the best story in the bunch.
The Center Cannot Hold
by Mike W. Barr
(Set in 2267)
Two years after the events of the previous story, Mike W. Barr brings the Starship Enterprise into Mestiko orbit in an attempt to assist with post-disaster recovery on the planet. Joining the crew is a Federation scientist, Dr. Lon, who has a strong desire to assist in the cleanup and revitalization of the planet. Of course, since the planet is in disputed territory between the Federation and the Klingons, the Organian Peace Treaty gives the Klingons a footing on the planet, one they intend to exploit for every benefit they can. And, since we are talking about the Klingons, you can bet that they don’t care whose ecosystem is destroyed, or what intelligent species goes extinct – just so long as they get what they want. And yet, the Klingons aren’t acting directly, far from it… and Barr goes a long way to give several central Payav characters strong motivation for cooperating with the Klingon’s urgings. Barr presents a solid story, one that is fast paced and packed with story development. It definitely keeps the ball-a-rollin’!
Shadows of the Indignant
by Dave Galanter
(Set in 2271)
Welcome to the Lost Years, and a journey with Admiral James Kirk (acting more like Commander James Bond) and retired Starfleet surgeon Leonard McCoy. After being rudely accosted in a Kentucky eatery (not KFC!), McCoy agrees to join Kirk (or should I say Mr. Temple) on an undercover journey back to Mestiko in an effort to figure out just what is going on on the planet. Kirk is playing a hunch, to be sure, but he and McCoy soon learn just how much of a pain following a hunch can be. While Kirk suspects the Klingons, what the pair will discover will draw them into a time on the run, and a confrontation with the planetary leader, Raya elMora. On reading “Shadows of the Indignant”, the presence of McCoy initially felt out of place, given the setting between the Original Series and The Motion Picture. However it becomes quickly apparent that only McCoy could have fulfilled the role that Kirk needed in this story, and his ‘old country doctor’ approach to things serves to compliment well the brashness of Kirk as they together aim to continue doing their part to put to rights the situation of the Payav.
The Darkness Drops Again
by Christopher L. Bennett
(Set over a period from 2274 to 2283)
Political upheaval is a part of any society, and in the wake of The Pulse disaster, the planet Mestiko becomes wrapped up in the ongoing debate between scientific advance and ritual purity. Several political and religious entities on the planet have taken to blaming, quite vocally, the Federation for the disaster that has befallen their world, and it is their express intent to ensure that it is well known how they feel. Public dissatisfaction with the recovery of the planetary ecosystem leads to a widespread revolt as the planet’s political body, the Zamestaad, is exiled to a barren dump of a backwater that they will need to plow and work into submission. In the wake of the revolt, Kirk returns to the Admiralty and, after a few years, returns to the planet in an effort to retrieve Dr. Lon to assist another world. Lon, however, is a prideful and stubborn man, has found his pet project, and he has no intention of leaving without a fight. In a jam-packed part three, Kirk has retired, Spock commands the Enterprise, and, among others, Captain Terrell and Commander Chekov of the starship Reliant come to Mestiko to observe the planetary elections. Eventually, we meet-up with a retired Kirk who is enjoying retirement in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, when an unexpected guest arrives and plants in him the seed that will lead him to leave his cabin, Antonia, and the quite of everyday life to return to Starfleet – and place him on a collision course with Khan. “The Darkness Drops Again” is an extremely packed story, but it was so well paced that it never became boring or formulaic. Bennett kept a strong balance of action and reflection in the tale which made it quite an interesting and welcome approach to a long period in the planet’s history – and in the lives of the crew of the Enterprise.
The Blood Rimmed Tide
by Howard Weinstein
(Set in 2291)
With the Zamestaad restored and things moving forward on Mestiko, the planetary government establishes a ‘Discovery Center’ on one of the planet’s moons. Imagine the shock of those who funded the work when an attack sees the death of several scientists and the theft of a new subspace weapon, one that can rip the fabric of subspace itself. Kirk, Chekov, Saavik, and the Enterprise crew must chase down this stolen weapon to keep it out of the hands of the Klingons. Along the way they meet up with Admiral Morrow (ST:III) and Captain Spock, behind Klingon lines. “The Blood Dimmed Tide” serves as an interesting bridge between the fifth and sixth feature films, but the storyline of a galactic super-weapon being stolen lacks a certain feeling and seems almost out of keeping with the rest of the stories in this collection. Though it is well written, Weinstein’s contribution to the series is easily the weakest of the bunch, and it comes the closest to losing one’s interest of any of the stories in the book.
Its Hour Come Round
by Margaret Wander Bonanno
(Set in 2293)
James Kirk is dead, but the hearings on the planet Mestiko concerning joining the Federation must go on. Captain Sulu and the crew of the Excelsior ferry Federation diplomats, including Spock, McCoy, and Uhura. The Klingons are there too, with their delegation headed by Chancellor Azetbur, but in the wake of the events at Praxis, there is a different feel to their visit. Initially, Kirk’s absence causes a bit of a furor, but on the heels of the announcement of his death to those gathered together in council, things get (essentially) underway. As a part of the process, McCoy is reviewing medical records on the planet when a strange situation attracts his interest. He heads out into the backwater of Mestiko to investigate, and finds far more than he bargained for – a secret that, at least to some, is worth killing over. While all this is going on, weeks and weeks of debate and discussion occurs as the planet forges its future. Bonanno makes an unusual story choice at the end of “Its Hour Come Round”, one that may not set well with every reader. From my perspective, it was a unique and open-ended way to conclude the story (while offering the chance for a follow-up visit in the future) but I recognize that some will feel unfulfilled. Either way, Bonanno’s concluding contribution is as engaging as any other part of the story, and is a fitting way to conclude an anniversary story that may very well have earned the moniker of ‘epic’, at least from a Trekker’s point of view.
"Star Trek: Mere Anarchy" (available now)
BOOK NEWS – Haynes Enterprise Manual announced
In a bit of a surprising announcement, Simon and Schuster (parent company of Pocket Books) is teaming up with Haynes (yes, the company who makes the automotive manuals) to produce a the "Haynes Enterprise Manual" for the new Enterprise featured in J. J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” feature film. According to a press release from CPLG (the rights marketing agency for Star Trek in Europe) the Haynes Guide will be
the ultimate guide to the Enterprise, applying its famous ’step-by-step’ approach of stripping the ship down to its essentials and reassembling it with detailed illustrations.
CPLG would not provide any additional details or images, except to say the Enterprise guide will be out in 2010. TrekMovie will keep an eye on this exciting project.
The USS Enterprise is going to get the Haynes Manual treament
COMING NEXT WEEK
The Library Computer heads to the latter days of the original five-year mission as Spock encounters a being who will forever alter his perception of himself, and his take on his own future. Dave Galanter’s “Troublesome Minds” is on the docket for next week. Hope to see you then!
Available for pre-order for May: "Troublesome Minds"
REMINDER: SIGNED "STAR TREK" ADAPTATION BOOK & BOX AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER
In our ‘dueling reviews’ of the Alan Dean Fosters adaptation of the new Star Trek movie, we announced that a limited edition signed hard cover was coming out in June. Each book is signed by the author and comes in a leather box. All are numbered and have a letter of authenticity.
"Star Trek" collectors edition
The ‘collectors edition’ of "Star Trek" is available on June 8th and costs $35. You can pre-order the book now at premierecollectibles.com.
Loading ...
Comments»
Boy, for a made up world, Trek sure has a lot of history!
I wish I had an Enterprise to actually go through a teardown as described in the Haynes. I’d need some help on that though. Couldn’t do it by myself, you know.
Oooooo… That’ll be nice to add to my book collection!
OK, the Haynes guide is a good step. But where are my “Art of …” and “Visual Companion”-type books for the film?
As much as Paramount was promoting the movie, I think Pocket dropped the ball on this count. The adaptation is nice and all, but that’s only a piece of the experience. I want to see the sketches and read about how it was done.
Can’t wait for that Haynes Manual!
I can finally get that damned starship on my front lawn and off of those blocks…
Lessee here… Okay… “disconnect pasma coil” thinga-me-bob… Alright, done… “then take mains offline”… OK… “lower anti-matter containment field”… OK, check… “but first purge anti-matter from chamber or it will react to matter causing a large megaton yeld explosion within a five mile radius and…”
Oh, crap… Run!!!!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Do It Y-arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-self…
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…
The Haynes manual is something I will definitely be looking for in the future. I would also like a book on the art of the new Star Trek, but I suspect that’s in the cards as well.
… “Haynes Enterprise Manual announced”…
Ah, but where will they put the bowling alley? ;p
I can just see it now, canonistas opening the manual:
“ITS ALL WROOOONG! WROOOOOOOOOOOONG”
Also, I ordered my signed copy. Delicious.
#8 – Maybe one or two decks below the brewery. :)
SO getting that manual!
4 – yeah there was no ‘Making of’ type book and no Comic of the movie either!!
You know, having a brewery on the ship is an excellent idea in my opinion. They’ve obviously had a breakthrough in technology in the new timeline, allowing them to use brewery by-products to power the warp engines instead of anti-matter. This is why the engine room is in the ship’s brewery, and why the nacelles are bigger. The nacelles now have to house large amounts of brewery waste.
As an added bonus, the crew is happier and more stable as a result of being able to produce their own alcohol, as opposed to relying on sythehol. This also frees up power normally used for the replicators that is used to power the many floodlights all over the ship.
It all makes sense. :)
Cannot wait for the Haynes manual!
I’d love to see that Haynes manual be a two parter…. one side new ship… flip it over, and the other half of the book is the classic ship.
All I can say is that the new ship had better still have bowling alleys! Where else will they have the formal balls?
I noticed Alan Dean Foster wrote the book adaptions for not only Star Trek, but Terminator Salvation and a prequel to Transformers 2 as well.
I’m sure none of his work suffered accordingly.
Blueprints. And posters. Mr. Scott’s guide to the Enterprise, (updated) will have to wait till after the next movie WHEN THEY GET THE DAMN BREWERY OUT OF STARFLEET.
I’m really annoyed with Pocket Books. They can make a Making of Insurrection but not the new movie? What were they thinking? Now if we get anything they are going to put it out a year late. Great. They’ll probably undersell and we won’t get anything for the new movie. I’m very annoyed there’s an visual companion for Angels & Demons but not Star Trek! And this movie is just calling out for an “Art of”
If Pocket Books didn’t believe in the movie enough to do some basic tie-ins then Paramount needs to take their license for non-fiction books to a publisher who does.
#9: You say “canonista” like it’s a bad thing! We are all canonistas – unless you prefer your Star Trek to have no internal consistency among series, movies, or episodes, or even internal to a single episode. If lack of consistency in any respect doesn’t bother you, perhaps a less well-thought-out series would better suit your tastes. But if it does bother you – even a little bit – you care about canon too.
Ha, there was a ton of Watchmen stuff out for that movie, but it bombed. Now, there’s a ton of Terminator stuff out, and that movie looks terrible.
#10 Rick Sternbach
Are you the same Rick Sternbach that did cover art for the Larry Niven known space books in the late seventies? The first science-fiction books I ever read were Ringworld and A World Out of Time and I remember how I found the cover art so beautiful and inspiring. From then on I was hooked to sci-fi and Larry Niven’s books in particular.
Parts of the schematics for the new Enterprise Engineering should be easy. Write that brewery for their layout. Cut. Paste. Viola!
#20 –
That’s the same Rick Sternbach who contributed greatly to Trek’s technical awesomeness for the last couple of decades.
Here are a few examples from Doug Drexler’s blog:
http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/index.php?s=sternbach
Warp Cores for Dummies? Self sealing stem bolts?
I’m still waiting for the new Quantum Mechanics Quarterly to come out.
14. Don’t forget the swimming pool! Did the TOS ‘E’ have the botanical garden in the secondary hull, or was that only after refit?
The Haynes guide is a really clever twist on the “incredible cross-sections” series, once again tied to our modern world.
I absolutely do not need an assembly guide for a fictional starship, and I absolutely will get it on publish day and devour every detail. They know my nerd buttons.
#10 Rick Sternbach
Is the brewery above or below that communications section where they store all the beer? Is that what all those pipes were for?
And was that basically what the original Enterprise would look llike if they didn’t have any walls?
I didn’t know that Willie Wonka designed the interior . . .
(just kidding . . .)
#24 –
There was an arboretum in a couple of third season episodes (”And The Children Shall Lead” and one other that escapes me). Can’t say if it was in the secondary hull or not.
I’m assuming the room in “The Man Trap” where Sulu was working and Beauregard lived was some sort of botanical lab, as it bore no resemblance to the later arboretum.
love the mere anarchy cover. its a strnage combination of TMP uniform on kirk, mcCoy sporting the WOK and spock in the where no man has gone before pilot. Nice.
Greg UK
#17 – You are making an assumption about Pocket Books (and Paramount for that matter) of which you have no evidence. Pocket produces what the studio gives them clearance to produce. They have a liaison who reviews all that they do. There may also be other agreements in place that bind or constrict Pocket Books, the studio, and others. Instead of reviling the details we are not privvy to, let’s be thankful for what we are getting!
Rob+
re: 1. Harry Ballz – May 20, 2009
” Boy, for a made up world, Trek sure has a lot of history!”
…not any more!
The Haynes book is a step in the right direction. But I am with the other people that think Trek has been woefully mishandled in regards to this movie. Barnes and Noble, Hastings, and Borders all have tons of Star Wars books. Tech manuals, fiction, species books, the list goes on and on. Trek sections feature some fiction books I’ve either read or hold little interest and the Trek Encyclopedia which is incomplete. And a bit dull, I might add.
Come on, Star Trek! Let’s get back to producing some really cool books. This franchise used to lead the world in the making of books.
Haynes guide sounds cool and all but um why didn’t they get their tails in gear last year on this to oh I dunno know- coincide with the movie release? I’m not a marketing expert but I hear there’s this thing called synergy.
#28
I’ll say straight up that I have no idea whose decision it is to commission new books. Whoever that person is, however, dropped the ball.
“Thankful for what we are getting” …
OK. The novelization. Oh, and in a year, the Haynes manual.
That’s it.
Again, a ball was dropped in providing some real synergy for one of the summer’s biggest movies. A movie that — by all accounts — Paramount loved to death, as evidenced by their moving it to be a May tentpole. And yet they aren’t making the books to back it up? Books that they know the rabid fanbase and newcomers would snatch up?
Ball. Dropped.
I think the brewery finally explains the lack of recognizable currency in Star Trek. They just trade with intoxicants instead! What’s better, people: the gold standard or the beer standard?
Now if only TNG’s producers had had the stones to show us the cargo bay Riker surely set aside for his grow-op…
The more I stair at the cover of Troublesome Minds, the more I think Quinto doesn’t fit the role of Spock… Sorry! :-P
For me Spock will always be Nimoy. :-)
#20 – Same ol’ me. Wish somebody would option RINGWORLD for real and finally make the movie.
I have just seen the movie for the third time. To my surprise, I enjoyed it more. This time I focused on sound effects: they are really awesome, a wonderful blend between modern and classic. The more I see ST09, the more I appreciate the TOS-style storytelling. All of my non-trekker friends were very satisfied. Trek is healthy and strong again.
6. British Naval Dude – May 20, 2009
Lessee here… Okay… “disconnect pasma coil” thinga-me-bob… Alright, done… “then take mains offline”… OK… “lower anti-matter containment field”… OK, check… “but first purge anti-matter from chamber or it will react to matter causing a large megaton yeld explosion within a five mile radius and…”
Oh, crap… Run!!!!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Do It Y-arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-self…
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…
You are realy scaring me. I may havt to put you in the Agoniser booth for a few hours.
For a television and movie series so steeped in literary themes and references (Melville, Shakespeare, etc.) the TOS novels I read for over 20 years were amazingly lacking in that capacity and, with few exceptions, were not all that intelligent or well-written. I remember a particularly poor one (I think titled Shadow Lord, by an author named Laurence Yep) that I used excerpts from in my composition classes for years to depict bad writing. Hopefully this situation has changed for the better, but with a finite life span I decided to seek my literary pleasure outside the Trek publishing universe.
re: #39
Lawrence Yep is one of the most important authors in modern Children’s Literature. His book “Dragonwings” was a Newbery Honor book and he has written many, many books since then. I had no idea he’d written a Star Trek Book. I’ll have to check it out. It was probably one of his early works.
technical manual, yesss …can’t wait! :D
I’ve had Mere Anarchy for a couple weeks now, can’t wait to read it… Right now I’ve finally gotten to Decandido’s Singular Destiny, after having read Vanguard books 2, 3 & 4, Vulcan’s Glory, and a couple others in between. I wasn’t sure what to expect with SD, and I recall the review on this site evoked mention by fellow posters that it might be too political. I’m into SD a little less than half way, and I’m enjoying it. Decandido has a whimsical style that agrees very well with my sense of humor, that gives me little chuckles here and there. The drama so far is unfolding steadily and Sonek Pran is a cool, likeable character. He makes me think of that one teacher or profesor that is kind of a hippy and treats you like you’re equal, rather than some dope in a tie. I dig it! Can’t wait to get into Mere Anarchy as well, which is just 1 of 4 anthologies I’ve yet to get to and 4 regular sized Trek books.
28 – The story takes place across the entire spectrum of TOS from before “Where No Man…” past Star Trek VI. Thus, the various uniforms.
Rob+
29.
I’m not sure you understand how the publishing business works. The liscenser (Paramount) doesn’t TELL Pocket Books what to produce. Pocket Books gets the rights to produce books from Paramount. They are the ones who decide whether to produce a book or not. Paramount might deny them the right to produce something, but it’s of no interest to them to prohibit the tie-in books. Pocket got burned on a lot of the non-fiction books they produced for Trek in the form of low sales which is why they pretty much stopped producing them. The fact that we don’t have any tie-in books is due to Pocket not taking a chance on them. On one hand it’s understandable but frankly if there was ever a time to take a chance on producing non-fiction tie-in books now would have been the time. Their lack of courage has deprived the fans of what could be some cool books and potentially deprived them of profits. They might have some in the works and they were waiting to see how the movie did, but it’s not a great way of doing business. They dropped the ball. There should have been an end cap full of tie-in books when the movie came out like there was for Watchmen or Terminator. Any books that come out now are going to be based on how well the movie did and none of them will have the sales they could have had if they’d been better timed.
I love the Haynes manuals. They’ve saved me buckets of money over the years, and now, my lovely lass with the ample nacelles will be spread out in all her glory for me to peruse.
#43 father robert lyons
thanks for that…makes sense now. lovely cover though.
cheers
Greg
UK
That’s a whole lotta pipes that Haynes will be illustrating!
And maybe we’ll actually see where the Enterprise’s plumbing goes, e.g. where the restrooms are located in proximity to the bridge.
Watch for the manual to show up in the next movie/series. I just wouldn’t want to be the person who has to diagram all those freeking pipes in the bilge room. Oh, I should have said engine room.
#46 The captain’s head (restroom) and all the others were show in the very first FJ Blueprints.
i hope that there will be a ‘making of’ for the next Star Trek
…and I know just the guy who can write it ;)
haynes Guide to stripping down the Enterprise then reassembling it in somebody’s Hyperspatial dorm room as a prank.
Re: 40
Thanks for the info. I suspect Shadow Lord was indeed one of Yep’s early works, as it was not very polished. It is good to hear he went on to greater success.
One very positive thing we can say about Trek publishing is that it served as an excellent springboard for new authors to break into the writing profession, particularly in the fertile Trek book-hungry 1980s. During that era I recall the novels frequently appeared on the New York Times bestseller list (albeit with patronizing little descriptive blurbs by the editors).
#36 Rick Sternbach
I’m not sure Ringworld would make a good movie, but if they do make it I would surely go see it… By the way, kind sir, would you know who is responsible for the brewery-like engineering deck of the Enterprise and what was their logic in such a design? Just asking…
If this Haynes manual is like their automotive manuals, they’ll leave out a couple of crucial steps in the plasma injector manifold tear-down, mislabel milicochrane-scale units as kilocochranes and erroneously illustrate the process of calibrating the navigational deflector with an exploded diagram of an Antares-class impulse driver coil.
I’m really annoyed that there’s no “Making of” book. I’ve said all along that the only book I’d be interested in would be an account of how the new film came to be. Sorry, AP, but a making-of for the next movie is too late. The principal casting was done for this one! The design of the new ship was done for this one! A whole new sensibility, team and budget came together for this one! Nimoy came out of retirement for this one! That story should have been told in a comprehensive and well-illustrated book!
Here’s the problem (my take on it, anyway) with Paramount and Pocket Books’ seemingly lack of interest in publishing new TREK books, especially those that tie in with the movie. There’s a number of issues here:
This is firmly displayed by the very late announcement that Alan Dean Foster would do a tie-in novelization.
At the height of the series’ popularity, Pocket Books were publishing in excess of two TREK titled books a month. However, in the past five or six years (maybe even longer) there has been a marked reduction in the number of Star Trek books.
I would liken this to the same fan-weariness of the fictional voyages as to the same diminishing ratings displayed by the various series and box office receipts of the last three films leading to the current movie, which thankfully is bucking that trend.
It seems we fans got too much of a good thing, and like the results of a steady diet of desserts, sadly we got tired of it.
For example:
a) There has been a reduction in books that cover either the crews of TOS, TNG, definitely a reduction in DS9 and VOY (which was hampered by the TV series’ finale) books and ENT titles have been very limited at best.
b) There has been somewhat of an increase in titles that have nothing to do with any of the crews mentioned in (a), i.e., the Captain Calhoun or the USS Titan stories, for example.
c) The annual fan-written New Voyages series is gone. Anthology titles are at a high.
d) There were a number of books that were ill-conceived (Star Trek Cookbooks, Star Trek Star Charts, etc.) — Yawn!
e) The e-books are gone. As a traditionalist (preferring to read a book in print), I never got into the e-books, so I really have no comment here.
Some might say that the books have covered so many topics leading some to ask what’s left to write about, except for a lack of a better word, the experimental and anthologies?
Personally, I think both Paramount and Pocket Books overdid it.
Another example of this is seen knowing that the decrease in sales led to a reduction of editorial forces at Pocket Books.
It comes as no surprise (at least to me) that both Paramount and Pocket Books displayed some wet feet in regards to publishing a ‘the making of, the art of, an updated Star Trek Encyclopedia, etc. Frankly, I am surprised we are going to get a technical manual.
I hope the success of the new movie will buck this trend and help re-energize an interest in Star Trek fiction and technical manuals.
I have some ideas of what might interest readers, but then the editors of Pocket Books have never asked me (grin).
#31: “The Haynes book is a step in the right direction. But I am with the other people that think Trek has been woefully mishandled in regards to this movie. Barnes and Noble, Hastings, and Borders all have tons of Star Wars books. Tech manuals, fiction, species books, the list goes on and on. Trek sections feature some fiction books I’ve either read or hold little interest and the Trek Encyclopedia which is incomplete. And a bit dull, I might add.”
Really now? You cannot blame Barnes & Noble, Hastings and Borders for a smaller selection of Star Trek books on the shelves. The bookstores, like other businesses, only stock what the market demands and supports.
They are, after all, in the business to make money.
If blame is to be laid (and what does that serve, really?), it is first to Pocket Books for over-saturating the market and secondly (and I hate to say it) to fans who abandoned the series in droves. *
* I may be in a minority here, but overall I liked the direction Berman and Braga was taking the series (which is not to say they didn’t make mistakes). ST: Enterprise, for example, could have taken us up to, if not into, the Romulan War years.
What an exciting tale that might have been (and far more interesting to me than the Xindi story arc, which kind of left me cold)!
#50: “i hope that there will be a ‘making of’ for the next Star Trek …and I know just the guy who can write it ;)”
Why thank you, Anthony. I appreciate your vote of confidence!
hahahahahaha
Maybe the brewery itself is the reason the ship got so much bigger . . . Perhaps in this alternative universe, the man who invented replicator (TOS “Food Processor”) technology died aboard the Kelvin (Or maybe he instead went on to become a fashion designer). Without his contribution to science, Starfleet wessels require their own breweries. It would certainly help morale.
It’s just going to be a shame when they transition over to synthohol.!
Perhaps Bergholt Stuttley Johnson was involved. Normally the still is hidden in the engine room, it’s just that the relative proportions are reversed.
So getting the Haynes manual.
#57 –
The direction I found ENT going was enjoyable, but that was attributable mostly to Manny Coto, who really pushed the fourth season toward what the show had been from the start. Yes, it would have been great if the show continued — with Coto at the helm — so that we could have seen the Romulan War and the founding of the Federation.
(The founding of the Federation was in the finale? Hmm. I don’t remember that in “Terra Prime.”)
#62: Agreed! Manny Coto, I think, could have saved the show if UPN had only let it continue. -sigh- Our loss, really.
its a big shame there was no ‘making of’….but its always been hit and miss as to wether they do them or not – (they did them for I, II, V, VI, VIII and IX)…however with the scale and difference of this film i thought itd be a dead cert
no one bothered that there wasnt a Comic Adaptation either? :( i thought thatd be a no brainer what with Countdown (other films with prequels comics got adaptations – Superman Returns, T4 etc)
we just had to wait 27 years for one for Trek II….i hope this aint gonna be the same!
Haynes Manual? Sounds just like the old Chilton books. Back in the day, any time you bought a car, the first thing you did was go buy the Chilton book for it. Of course, that was pre-2000 when you could still realistically work on your own car…
Might be a good idea to get that one in the stores by Christmas.
They have to call it “Mr Scott’s guide to the Enterprise” for 09!
I wish DK would publish the visual dictionary and cutaway books for Trek as they do for Star Wars..those books are awesome!
Haynes is good, but I wonder if Chilton will make a version as well?
[...] Library Computer: “Star Trek Mere Anarchy” Review + “Haynes … [...]
“Mere Anarchy” sounds interesting. I haven’t picked up a Star Trek paperback (a new one, anyway) in a decade or so, but this sounds groovy.
MC1 Doug
not exactly who i had in mind
#69: I kinda figured that, naturally.
AT LAST an explanation of how they fitted that Brewery into the Engineering Hull
Anthony and everyone,
Because there hasn’t been a ‘Making Of’ book yet for ST09, is it pretty certain that there won’t be one at all? Not even for the DVD release maybe?
If not, I’ll be very disappointed :(
#62: “(The founding of the Federation was in the finale? Hmm. I don’t remember that in “Terra Prime.”)”
I so agree with you! “Terra Prime” should have been “Enterprise’s” swan song. The sorry excuse for an ending was ridiculous. It was almost like Berman and Braga were slapping the fans in the face for not supporting *their* version of TREK.
Definitely the two were suffering from TREK fatigue when they put that conclusion to bed.
My blood still boils (no, not from Pon Far) when I think of how they so stupidly put away one of TREK’s most interesting characters (Tripp).
I’ve asked this on numerous occasions, and have no evidence to support it, but I think Tripp’s death was really intended as cliffhanger device that would have been resolved if UPN had bravely changed its mind and brought ST: E back for a fifth season.
UPN’s short-sightedness so angered me that I haven’t once gone back to that network (yeah, not even to its CW merger) since.
It’s really too bad that no one picked the series up. For the most part, I have defended Berman and Braga over the years, but on the subject of “Enterprise,” I think they let it die… even when the fan campaign surfaced, raising funds to finance it for another network, they let it go; even when it was suggested it should go to the Sci-Fi Channel or to go syndicated, they still let it go, saying it was too expensive of a show.
For that, I find B&B’s actions unforgiveable. Plain and simple, if fans were getting tired of TREK, it is obvious that B&B were even more tired of it.
BTW, there’s a new concept image of the Jellyfish on Ryan Church’s site. If you’re already aware of this, just ignore me.
http://www.ryanchurch.com/index.htm
I’m excited about the Haynes book but why is it coming in 2010? Did they just think of it?
I will also throw in my vote for an “Art of…”, Visual Companion and/or “Making of…”. I mean, they had one for Benjamin Button and all that movie did was make a guy look old. ;p
AD
Barking Alien
I loved the 1979 cutaway poster and how it made the structure and the utility of the Enterprise make sense. They’ll have a more challenging job ahead of them to “shoehorn” in all the brewery tech. If they can pull it off, for example, by visually explaining that there are no Jefferies tubes in this version of the E, but rather most of the secondary hull IS one massive Jefferies tube with all the piping and tech exposed.
Still needs a proper “engine room”, though.
I’ve still never heard a rational “explanation” for ST5’s massive number of decks that Spock and Kirk fly vertically through. Now THAT would be a prime example of “shoehorning”…
#77:
Mark, perhaps because that film didn’t have its act together… bad continuity, bad research, well bad lots of things… and too bad really, since the KMS triad was at its best in this film… the film should have had everything going in its favor in this one mis-step of all TREK movies.
-77. Mark, from what I understand, Gene Roddenberry didn’t think much of STV, and that he didn’t consider it canon. So if that helps any. . . . :P
id like to see Anthony do a making of either this movie or a sequel…i mean what is this site than a sort of big online ‘making of’ / ‘guide to’ the new film over the past 2 years?
anyone could print off a selection of the articles/interviews and there would be the ‘making of’
With regard to the Pocket Books situation I remember reading last year that they had made severe cutbacks throughout the company and in the Trek division one of the editors; Margret Clark or the other guy whose name escapes me at the minute; got let go along with being told to stay completely away from TOS for at least a year and to cut back on releases.
I completely agree with those who have said that the Trek book market was oversaturated. Neelix’s cookbook was around the time I started thinking they were taking the p**s big time.
Having said that though there’s been plenty of unofficial movie companions written over the years so get writing Anthony! (unless of course you don’t want to get in the bad books with TPTB, no pun intended!)
#56: The laying off of Marco Palmieri — one of the two TREK editors — had precisely NOTHING to do with STAR TREK and everything to do with the economic downturn we’re currently in. Marco was one of 35 employees of Simon & Schuster who were let go in early December 2008 from all across the company.
Also: STAR TREK was only part of what Marco was responsible for — he also handed the books based on Blizzard Games (World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo), books based on DC Comics, some of the Marvel Comics-based books, and other game tie-ins, as well as a few original genre novels (like David Mack’s upcoming THE CALLING).
Bottom line: the fact that there’s only one TREK editor now instead of two has absolutely nothing to do with TREK and everything to do with the economic realities of the world right now.
As for a making-of book, that requires access to the set, which was rather severely limited in the making of this movie, which may have been a factor in whether or not such a book was done.
On another topic, the vast majority of the TREK books published by Pocket Books remain TOS and TNG books. That has not changed. There was a moratorium on TOS books for 2008 because they were told to leave that era alone (and then they went and moved the movie to 2009, thus screwing with that plan). The “Destiny” trilogy was designed to be released at the same time as the movie, and featured all the non-TOS parts of the franchise.
#79: Roddenberry actually hated ALL the films made after “The Motion Picture.” He spent all of 1982 going to conventions bad-mouthing “The Wrath of Khan,” saying it wasn’t “real” STAR TREK. Nobody remembers that now, because everybody EXCEPT Roddenberry loved TWOK. People remember him bad-mouthing “The Final Frontier” because, well, so did everybody else, but the fact is that GR had no use for any of the films made after 1979.
I think an “Art of” book might still be possible. They got one out in time for Iron Man’s DVD release… although it seemed to be a pretty limited release and is hard to come by now, much to my consternation. I think the Art book would be easier to do as it just involves selecting the work, writing captions, maybe interviewing some of the behind the scenes people and writing the main text (which is usually rather minimal) and can be done after the fact, which is harder to do with a “Making of.”
I’d much prefer an “Art of” anyway… “Making of” books can get a bit repetitive once you’ve read one of them.
83 – true i have the’Art of Superman Returns’ as well as the ‘making of’ (aka ‘Guide to’) and the Art of is far superior.
the ‘Guide’ is basically a glorified movie magazine – much like the one Titan did for the new Trek movie (so in a way the new film DID get a ‘Making of’)
perhaps now Paramount sees just how popular the new film is they will produce an ‘Art of’ type book to go alongside the forthcoming Tech Mannual
I remember the TNG tech manual like i read it yesterday. i could build a warp core, no problem !
Glad to hear about the Haynes manual. I’m building a life-size Enterprise in my backyard and this book will come in handy. I intend on moving in full-time after a public showing. The living room will be… well, duh… the bridge. Oh, wait a minute… I can’t AFFORD to build such a thing. But I’ll buy the book!
I have that Superman Returns art book. I remember being mildly annoyed that the one collection of mapping that I most wanted to see in the book was left out: the street mapping of that movie’s version of Metropolis that was used as props in the Daily Planet scenes. But then, studying that sort of fictional mapping is something of a personal hobby of mine.
The Haynes project reads as particularly intriguing, though…