What Was Once Thought Lost

important things in life, Star Trek Book Challenge

So I have written about this a few times now. About the autographs that my father gave me of the cast of Star Trek. How Shatner’s and Nimoy went missing or worst yet, STOLEN .. I even meet William Shatner and told him the whole story about it. Shanter even talked with my Father over the phone about it hahaha.

A Small Conversation With William Shatner & Bob Camp At Wizard World

Remembering Leonard Nimoy

Star Trek Book Challenge

I know there are a few more post that I have written. But for the life of me, I can not find them haha. Anyways, as I finish up moving. I found a little piece of blueish green paper stuck to the bottom of a old cigar box… Could it be?!? I disbelieve I handed the paper over to my girlfriend to make sure. It was William Shatner autograph!! So I now have my Father’s original autograph, plus mine.

Sadly I am still missing Nimoy and the pictures.. But I fear it maybe to late for his autograph. Unless I pay an ungodly amount of money.. Worst part is the missing pictures, they are family memories. Why would anyone take those? But this is a rather small happy ending, bittersweet if you will.

Star Trek Book Challenge 88: Traitor Winds (Star Trek: The Original Series #70)

Star Trek Book Challenge

Here we are at number 88!! The LAST of the Star Trek novels! The END of this CHALLENGE!! Who knew I was going to able to make to the end when I start this challenge September 3, 2015. One year! It took one year to read 88 core challenge books + 9 side novels that found their way into the challenge (.5), that would equal 97 books in all! I’m happy I did this challenge, even with all the bad and horrible books there were in the challenge. I’m grateful for all the fantastic novel there were, that made the challenge worth while. Because of this I have a better understanding for Star Trek and a new found love for it. I’m also happy this challenge went as long as it did. I believe some where in the middle of this thing, my Father had passed way.

He was the one who got me in to Trek and Wars, comics over all. I would like to dedicate to my Father and to every nerdy Father out there teaching their children the way of fandoms.

So looking back on this challenge I would like to list off my Top 5 favorite Star Trek novels:

1: Star Trek Book Challenge 83.5: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Star Trek: The Original Series)

2: Star Trek Book Challenge 23: Shadows on the Sun (Star Trek: The Original Series)

3: Star Trek Book Challenge 25: Metamorphosis (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (Only because this shocked me more than anything)

4: Star Trek Book Challenge 37.5: STAR TREK: PROBE (Star Trek: The Original Series)

5: Star Trek Book Challenge 47: Q-In-Law (Star Trek: The Next Generation #18)

Now this challenge had an number of BAD novels in it. Some of them almost killed the challenge in it’s tracks. Almost… So following the Top 5 I now give you the Top 5 Worst Star Trek novels of this challenge:

1: Star Trek Book Challenge 11: Nightshade (Star Trek: The Next Generation #24)

2: Star Trek Book Challenge 16: Betrayal (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #6)

3: Star Trek Book Challenge 21: Survivors (Star Trek: The Next Generation #4)

4: Star Trek Book Challenge 30: Doomsday World (Star Trek: The Next Generation #12)

5: Star Trek Book Challenge 51: Grounded (Star Trek: The Next Generation #25)

I really enjoyed doing this challenge and to think it all started by finding a random box full of Star Trek novels. I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did while doing it. So with all that being said! lets got on to book 88!! Traitor Winds (Star Trek: The Original Series #70) by L.A. Graf and it did not disappoint! I am happy that I read this book last, because it ended on a good note as for a story/challenge. This book is rather different from most trek novels out there. Mostly on the fact that it happens on earth for the most part. This is book 3 of the “Lost Years” saga and it is filled with humor, high adventure and is over all just a fun novel. It’s interesting to see Chekov, Sulu and Uhura as the main focus point of the story. Plus them being framed to discredit Kirk is rather a fun twist to the novel. L.A. Graf has done a fantastic job with Star Trek and almost wish some of his stories where made into movies or and episodes.

More than a year has passed since the end of the Enterprise’s legendary five-year mission, and Kirk and his crew have settled into their new, separate assignments. But Sulu and Chekov soon find themselves framed for murder and treason, and the two officers are forced to go into hiding. Admiral Kirk and Lt. Uhura frantically search for evidence to prove Sulu and Chekov innocent and uncover a plot that threatens the very foundations of Starfleet.

The web of conspiracy is woven tighter as the real culprits and Federation agents close in on the fugitives. Unsure of whom to trust and with time running out, the former U.S.S. Enterprise shipmates must once again rely on each other to find the truth and prevent the Federation from facing utter destruction.

So if you find yourself with a copy of this book. Read it and enjoy!!! Thank you again for all the support in doing this challenge and make sure you check out my other challenge that is going on with Star Wars. You can also check every Star Trek novel I’ve read in this challenge here Star Trek Book Challenge. Thank you guys once again!!

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Star Trek Book Challenge 87: The Devil’s Heart (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Star Trek Book Challenge

The Devil’s Heart (Star Trek: The Next Generation) by Carmen Carter is a well rounded novel. The characters were well written and going back and forth in between each crew’s story plot blends nicely. It is a little slow in the beginning, but there is a reason for it as the book goes on. Action and conflicts in the novel seem to end to quickly or some of the other story plots don’t end at all. What action there is in the novel, is well written and doesn’t drag on with detail. A classic Trek story with a fade to black style ending. I can see this being an episode and almost wish it was by the end of the book.

The Devil’s Heart is a legendary object of unsurpassed power and mystery. Worlds that believe in magic consider it Darkness’s mightiest talisman; and worlds of science consider it a lost artifact of some ancient and forgotten race. Some say the Heart enables its possessor to control people’s minds and to amass wealth enough for a dozen lifetimes, while others think it capable of raising the dead, perhaps even changing the flow of time itself. But to all, the location of this fabled object has remained a mystery, until now. An isolated archaeological outpost has suddenly stopped responding to repeated requests for information. Sent to discover why, the “U.S.S. Enterprise” TM crew finds a devastated outpost and a dying scientist, whose last words fall on disbelieving ears: the Devil’s Heart has been found.
As the quest for the Heart unfolds, Captain Jean-Luc Picard discovers that beyond all the legends and age-old secrets lies an awful truth: whoever holds the Devil’s Heart possesses power beyond imagining.

Star Trek Book Challenge 86: The Return (Star Trek: Odyssey #2)

Star Trek Book Challenge

I remember reading this as a kid when it first came out. I was in a hurry to see how they were going to bring Kirk back to life. I remember watching Star Trek: GENERATIONS and seeing Kirk die was a WTF moment *Spoilers*. I loved this book then and I still love it now. I loved how it has a good balance of both TOS and TNG, with just about every favorite character in it.

Veridian III: A world has been saved, the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-D lies in ruins, and one of the galaxy’s greatest heroes rests beneath a simple cairn of rocks on a lonely hillside. But as a legendary Vulcan ambassador comes to the last grave of his best and dearest friend, the adventure is only beginning.

The Borg and the Romulan Empire have joined forces against the Federation, and their ultimate weapon is none other than James T. Kirk, resurrected by alien science to destroy the Borg’s most formidable enemy: Jean-Luc Picard.

The astounding return of Kirk – as only William Shatner can tell it!

Now keep in mind that this is book two in a series of six books and I read some of them out of order back in the day. I’ve fixed that now tho haha. Great book, fantastic series for any Trek fan.

Star Trek Book Challenge 85: The Cry of the Onlies (Star Trek: The Original Series #46)

Star Trek Book Challenge

Here we are with The Cry of the Onlies (Star Trek: The Original Series #46) by Judy Klass where Captain Kirk must confront the ghosts of his past to prevent a catastrophic war.

Boaco Six, a once-tranquil Federation colony, is now caught up in the throes of revolution. The Enterprise’s mission is to re-establish contact with the planet, and determine whether or not formal ties between the Federation and Boaco Six should be strengthened.

Negotiations between Captain Kirk and the planet’s ruling Council of Youngers proceed smoothly, until the atmosphere of goodwill is shattered by the sudden destruction of a Boacan ship, at the hands of an experimental Starfleet vessel!

In order to prevent full-scale war from breaking out, the Enterprise must recapture the stolen Starfleet vessel and its abductors, a mission that will require the aid of the galaxy’s most reclusive genius, and bring Captain Kirk face-to-face with the long-buried secrets of his past.

Now this book serves as a sequel to Miri (episode):

Responding to an Earth-type distress signal many light years from Earth, the USS Enterprise discovers a planet that is an exact copy of Earth. It has the same mass, circumference, density, and atmosphere. Even the topography is identical.

It wasn’t a bad book, it really read like a TNG novel the TOS. Not like that was a bad thing, just not what you expect from Kirk and crew. But it is a classic Star Trek story through and through and it’s nice to see old friends back in actions. A must read for any Trek fan out there!

“This is the vaccine?”
“That’s what the computers will tell us.”
“Without them, it could be a beaker full of death.”

– Kirk, McCoy, and Spock

Star Trek Book Challenge 84: Three Minute Universe (Star Trek: The Original Series #41)

Star Trek Book Challenge

This is an interesting read.. Sackers for one are one of the most creative alien so far in the Trek. But at the same time it comes across as a alien of the week where they throw a dart at a wall filled with skin color, forehead abberation and human culture analogue.. It’s really fills with mix feelings and the story plot is needs work. I think the humor is the only saving grace in the whole thing and also it did a bit of exploring of Uhura’s backstory. Other than that is became a typical Trek story plot and nothing more.

Three Minute Universe (Star Trek: The Original Series #41) by Barbara Paul

The Sackers may be the most hated race in the galaxy, so repugnant that their mere appearance makes most Federation citizens ill. That hatred runs both ways, and now the Sackers have stolen a powerful new device that they use to imperil the rest of the universe. They’ve torn a hole in the fabric of spacetime, an expanding tear so that one universe is leaking into another, and unless the EnterpriseTM crew can stop it, it will consume everything in its path.

Star Trek Book Challenge 84: Timetrap (Star Trek: The Original Series #40)

Star Trek Book Challenge

Timetrap (Star Trek: The Original Series #40) by David Dvorkin…

In a remote area of Federation space, the Enerprise picks up an urgent distress signal — from a Klingon vessel! Tracing the S.O.S., the crew finds the Klingon cruiser Mauler, trapped in a dimensional storm of unprecedented power. Yet paradoxically, the ship refuses both the Enterprise’s call and the offers of help.

Determined to discover what the Klingons are doing in Federation space, Kirk beams aboard their ship with a security team, just as the storm flares to its highest intensity. As the bridge crew watches in horror, Mauler vanishes from the Enterprise’s viewscreen…

And James T. Kirk awakens…one hundred years in the future.

My GOD…. SO BORING!!! Next to no action or story plot for that matter.. It’s just talking about nothing and nothing really happens. Wow. I really don’t know what to say about this one. Don’t…. Just don’t….

Star Trek Book Challenge 83.5: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Star Trek: The Original Series)

Star Trek Book Challenge

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Star Trek: The Original Series)… This has to be one of my all time favorite Star Trek movies! So when I found the novel of this movie I had to get it.

Internal pressures, enormous military expenditures, and the destruction of their primary energy source have brought the Klingon Empire to the verge of catastrophic collapse.

To avert disaster, Gorkon, Chancellor of the Klingon High Council, proposes negotiations between the Federation and Klingon Empire, negotiations that will put an end to the years of hostility between the two powers, and herald a new era of peace and cooperation. Captain James T. Kirk and the U.S.S. EnterpriseTM are dispatched to escort the Chancellor safely into Federation space.

But a treacherous assassination brings negotiations to a sudden halt and places Kirk and Dr. McCoy in the hands of the Federation’s greatest enemy. With time running out, Spock and the Enterprise crew work to uncover the deadly secret that threatens to propel the galaxy into the most destructive conflict it has ever known.

I’m normally worried about novel that are based off movies. How much would they change or how much would they add on and does it add to the story or take away? I grow up with this movie and watched all the time with my Father. It quickly became a comfort movie for myself and my Dad. We were always quoting it or making some type of joke that deals with this movie. There are so many great memories that are linked and I’m happy to share this movie with my son. Who now is in love with it, well he loves anything Trek or Wars and even Who haha. I guess the apple didn’t fall far from the tree there hahaha! This year had been hard personally for myself with the passing of my father. It’s always bittersweet when I find things that remind me of him. So when I found this book, I felt I needed to read this and find out if it was any good. It was! Dillard did a great job turning the movie into a novel and brought back so many memories. Didn’t really change much in the way of the story, might have added a few things here and there. Or gave a little bit more of a backstory or let you peek behind the scenes. I love this story and it show the true form for all the Star Trek characters. Drama, comedy, action you name it’s in there :). I’m beyond pleased with this book and movie as well!

Fun movie facts:

Michael Dorn plays Colonel Worf in this film, and Lieutenant Worf in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). Colonel Worf is the grandfather of Lieutenant Worf.

Christian Slater wore the trousers made for William Shatner in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). “It was an honor to get into Shatner’s pants”, he quipped during a BBC interview.

The film marked DeForest Kelley’s last on screen performance as Dr. McCoy, and likewise Uhura’s final canonical appearance as played by Nichelle Nichols. Nichols would later reprise her role in Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II (2004), an unofficial continuation of the original series based on ideas by Gene Roddenberry and made with the blessing of Paramount and the participation of the Roddenberry estate, including that of his late wife, Majel Barrett

Nicholas Meyer (previously of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)) is the only returning director to direct two non-consecutive Star Trek films. Leonard Nimoy, Jonathan Frakes, and J.J. Abrams all directed two in a row.

Something my Father always use to say..

Star Trek Book Challenge 83: Bloodthirst (Star Trek: The Original Series #37)

Star Trek Book Challenge

Bloodthirst (Star Trek: The Original Series #37) by J.M. Dillard

Dillard is another author that has written a number of Trek novels:

Star Trek Generations

Demons

Mindshadow

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Star Trek TOS: Movie Novelizations, #6)

A class one medical emergency summons the “EnterpriseTM to the Federation outpost Tanis. There, a grisly surprise awaits them. Two of the lab’s three researchers are dead, their bodies almost entirely drained of blood. There are no clues, no records of their research, no remnants of their work. There is only the outpost’s sole survivor, Dr. Jeffrey Adams, who holds the secret of what happened at Tanis, and might now happen aboard the Enterprise.

There is more to the list, but I figured I just name a few off so you can get an idea. Bloodthrist was an interesting book. Vampires and Star Trek?!? Doesn’t seem like a good mix up does it? But it work for the most part and found myself liking the novel more than I should have really. The author did really well with the characters and had a good handle of the shows history. Again this was a fast read and kept a good beat with the action and drama. The part really made me laugh out loud was when every time Chekov said vampires he would say “wampires” hahaha. give it a read if you happen to find a copy of this book.

Star Trek Book Challenge 82: Firestorm (Star Trek: The Original Series #68)

Star Trek Book Challenge

Here is another book by L.A. Graf. He wrote Ice Trap, Death Count and the upcoming novel in this challenge Traitor Winds (Star Trek: The Lost Years, #3). He as written a number of Trek books and so far I’ve rather enjoy his work. Firestorm (Star Trek: The Original Series #68) is a smooth read and goes into more backstory for Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov. Which is nice to see them get some love in the series and not just Kirk and his buddies. L.A. Graf as also shown that he is the go to author for all things Star Trek, with his knowledge of the show and characters. There were times where this novel dragged on and wondered a bit. But this was a good read and would say give it a read is you get the chance.

When a covert Elasian mining operation interferes with a Federation geological expedition, Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise are dispatched to mediate between the two parties. The Elasian Dohlman claims that the planet and its dilithium deposits are hers, but the geologists warn that if Rakatan Mons– the galaxy’s largest known stratovolcano– should erupt while the Elasians are mining its flanks, no amount of dilithium will save them. While Uhura and a landing party strive to determine if the Dohlman’s claims are true, Kirk struggles to keep the two sides from each other’s throats, but that delicate standoff is shattered by the arrival of an Elasian armada and the eruption of Rakatan, which could well destroy everyone on both sides.