In this long-delayed introductory essay to one seven zero one, I wanted to outline my personal history with Star Trek and Star Trek books, and also talk a bit about my intentions with and approach to this blog. I became a Star Trek fan during the mid-nineties, shortly after Star Trek: The Next Generation had ended and was being rerun in syndication. I have fond memories of watching the show every weeknight. Two episodes were broadcast back to back at nine and ten, and I would often fall asleep watching them, gradually becoming familiar with the world of Star Trek. I consider the first time I saw the excellent TNG episode "The Inner Light" as the moment I became a Star Trek fan, and it remains my favorite episode of that series to this day. I could write a lot more about what appealed to me about Star Trek, but since this is a Star Trek books blog, I'll just note that I moved from TNG to watching the other Trek series (Deep Space Nine and Voyager were still broadcasting new episodes at the time, and my best friend's sister lent me her massive library of homemade VHS tapes of The Original Series), and, finally, to the Star Trek novels published by Pocket Books.
I didn't read a huge amount of Star Trek novels at this time, but I remember being particularly fond of the William Shatner Captain Kirk books, particularly The Return. I also really liked Peter David's New Frontier series. The mid-to-late-nineties were a good time to be a Trekkie. There were two Star Trek TV series on the air, one of the best movies, First Contact, came out around this time, and of course a lot of Star Trek books were being published. As the decade came to a close, however, the franchise seemed to fade a bit. Deep Space Nine and Voyager came to an end, the movies following First Contact weren't as good, and the new show, Enterprise, would be the first Star Trek series since the original to be cancelled, after a four-year run. I was in college around this time, and there were plenty of distractions both academic and otherwise. I was studying English literature and becoming increasingly self-conscious about the type of reading I was doing. I didn't consider Star Trek books to be "real" literature and could not justify continuing reading them, and anyway I was losing interest in Star Trek in general. I became more interested in new, more hip and self-aware genre fiction like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and while I retained a fondness for Star Trek, I stopped watching Enterprise and did not go to see what turned out to be the final TNG movie, Nemesis. Given the direction the franchise has taken since that time, it is obvious my experience mirrored that of a lot of the audience. It seemed as though people had finally had their fill of Star Trek.
A few years ago, around the time buzz started to build for J.J. Abrams' new movie, which would reimagine the franchise for a modern audience, I started to become interested in Star Trek again. An article in Entertainment Weekly magazine celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation inspired me to revisit all of the Star Trek TV shows, starting with the original series. Thus began a years long project. I purchased and watched every episode of every series on DVD, the first time I had given the shows such a close viewing. I found I loved them even more now then I had then. I also really enjoyed the new movie. When I finally watched the final episodes of Enterprise, I was left wanting more. With the next Star Trek movie over a year away and no TV series currently on the air, where was I to turn for my Star Trek fix? Clearly, the time had come to return to Star Trek fiction.
As I was watching the various shows on DVD, I was sort of peripherally aware of what was going on with the books. I would often be tempted to start reading them again, but I couldn't quite justify taking time away from the kinds of books I was already reading, both professionally and recreationally. When I found a nearly complete set of the William Shatner written novels at a used bookstore, though, I decided to take the plunge. I was also inspired by a conversation with one of my co-workers, who spoke to me passionately and at length about his affection for Robert B. Parker's mystery novels. These novels, genre work not generally considered "literary," had clearly given him such joy, and he was able to speak so intelligently and enthusiastically about them. The conversation inspired me to "follow my bliss" as a reader, to find books that excited me as much as Parker's books had inspired my co-worker. Right now, those books, for me, are Star Trek books.
While I've figured out a way to incorporate Star Trek fiction into my regular routine in a way that still allows me to read all of the other kinds of books I enjoy reading and need to keep up on for my job, I am putting everything else aside for the next three months and only reading Star Trek books, in a project I have affectionately dubbed the "Summer of Star Trek." My current plan is to attempt to get caught up on the original fiction concepts (such as New Frontier and Vanguard), as well as the series based on the various TV shows after the point at which they continued beyond the end of the shows, or beyond the film Nemesis in the case of TNG. I realize that this is an unnecessarily completest approach, and I may not stick with it, but for now that is my reading plan. This is why you've been seeing so many reviews for early books in the New Frontier series posted on the blog, and why you may not see any reviews of newer books posted for a while. I fear this may make one seven zero one seem hopelessly out of touch with the current world of Star Trek fiction, but perhaps some of you will find the perspective I offer here to be of some value.
What can you expect to find here at one seven zero one? In the immediate future, expect more reviews of Star Trek books published in the nineties (although I promise my next review is NOT of a New Frontier novel). You can probably expect the frequency of new posts to stay fairly consistent throughout the summer, and while I'd like to maintain the pace of at least two new posts every week, things may slow down a bit in the fall. We'll see. Expect reviews of nonfiction Star Trek books, in addition to the novels. I also want to post things other than reviews, although further essays or general commentary on the world of Star Trek books will not be as long or self-indulgent as this one, I swear. If there is any interesting or noteworthy publishing news, I may mention it here from time to time. I suspect I am too shy to do interviews with authors, but I'm not completely taking that option off the table. Again, we'll see. What you WON'T see here is any discussion of Star Trek films or television episodes. I want to keep this blog focused only on the books. I sincerely thank anyone and everyone who has been reading this blog since our soft launch a month ago, and promise that I will continue to try and improve the quality of my writing and criticism, and of this blog in general. If you are ever moved to comment on anything I post here, I would be grateful.
Finally, welcome to one seven zero one: a star trek books blog!
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