Star Trek Reads discussion

There are a lot of Trek books out there. If you're looking for a place to jump into the TNG/DS9/VOY era, look no further! This will bring you up to date with the current timeline. Here's my suggestion of where to start. I've listed them in what I think is a good reading order. If you'd like to suggest a change, please do!

You can jump in either at the beginning of Destiny, or the recent Typhon Pact releases seem to sum up what happened in a lot of these books. But I definitely recommend starting with Destiny.

The ones with an asterix * are recommended to read. That said, there are a lot on this list that are great reads anyway!

*Destiny: Gods of Night – David Mack
*Destiny: Mere Mortals – David Mack
*Destiny: Lost Souls – David Mack
*A Singular Destiny – Keith RA DeCandido
*Voyager: Full Circle – Kirsten Beyer
Titan: Over a Torrent Sea – Christopher L Bennett
TNG: Losing the Peace – William Leisner
Voyager: Unworthy – Kirsten Beyer
Titan: Synthesis – James Swallow
Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game – David Mack
Typhon Pact: Seize the Fire – Michael A Martin
Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire – David R George III
Typhon Pact: Paths of Disharmony – Dayton Ward
DTI: Watching the Clock – Christopher L Bennett
DTI: Forgotten History – Christopher L Bennett
Voyager: Children of the Storm – Kirsten Beyer
Typhon Pact: Struggle Within – Christopher L Bennett
*Typhon Pact: Plagues of Night – David R George III

I also recommend checking out 8 of 5's trek-lit reading order, which does a really good job outlining how wibbly wobbly and crossed-over the stories are. ((Updated flow chart is here)).

So by "recommended" you mean these are the ones with the most essential developments?

In my opinion, yes. If the development doesn't happen in the book, it's summed up in detail.

For example, of the Typhon Pact books I only included Plagues of Night because I think it does a pretty good job of summing up the major plot points in the other 4.5 books. That said, the other TP books are really great reads and from an enjoyment point of view, should get read lol.

It might seem peculiar that I included a Voyager book here, but the book really fills in a lot of holes (the first half) and then outlines their new mission (second half). As Voyager is only mentioned a little in Destiny, reading Full Circle is probably a good idea. But if you don't like Voyager, you can skip it.

I would say that Losing the Peace is an important one as well. It helps to shape a lot of things in the post-Destiny world and pre-Typhon Pact. In a way I liked it a lot better than Singular Destiny since I was still looking for more.

Also the first book in that list should be Greater Than the Sum since it explains the shift in the Borg mentality. I liked that a lot. Now that book had some issues but it really set up the Destiny series.

While I enjoyed Losing the Peace and think folks should read it, I don't think it's one that has to be read. A lot of the political stuff happens in A Singular Destiny and is followed up in the Typhon Pact books.

I didn't read Greater than the Sum, so I can comment on if its a must read or not. That said, I don't feel like I've lost anything by not reading it.

The Trek Collective (formerly 8 of 5) recently updated the reading order flow chart. It includes all the releases for the past year, and lists great places to jump in for each series.

This is so great! Thanks for linking up the flow chart Andrea. I'm a long time fan of Star Trek, but new to reading the novels and I just bought Star Trek Academy: Collision Course earlier this week. Since this seems like a prequel kind of book, I was going to start with it.

Hi Bella! Shatner books are a good place to start if you're just getting into reading Trek: light and fun reads. If you're a fan of Kirk you'll probably enjoy them.

One thing to note is that they're an alternate universe from the non-Shatner books. So just be ready for that if you pick up something else. :-)

The only book that I've read from what my friend calls the "Shatnarrative" is The Return (http://treklit.blogspot.com/2012/01/r...). I found it to be a little self-indulgent and Shatner/Kirk-worshiping, but it was definitely a fun read. Be sure to let us know what you thought of Collision Course, Bella. It's on my to-read list!

Andrea wrote: "Hi Bella! Shatner books are a good place to start if you're just getting into reading Trek: light and fun reads. If you're a fan of Kirk you'll probably enjoy them.

One thing to note is that they'..." Thanks Andrea. I will keep that in mind. I'm just coming off re-reading the Dune Chronicles, so I will enjoy something light and fun.

Dan wrote: "The only book that I've read from what my friend calls the "Shatnarrative" is The Return (http://treklit.blogspot.com/2012/01/r...). I found it to be a little self-indulgent and Shatner/Kirk..."

Thanks Dan. Love your blog btw, I followed on facebook. It's great to see bloggers just concentrating on Star Trek.

Thanks, Bella! Glad you enjoy it!

I just joined this group- thanks for the link Bella. I like Dan's blog. Now following on facebook as well!

Thanks, Lisa! Much appreciated!

Hi guys, I just joined the group. I recently read Immortal Coil and then the first book in the Cold Equations series (great books) but realized part way through that book that it takes place after the events of the Destiny trilogy and the Typhon Pact books which I haven't read. My question is, should I go back and read those books before going any further in the Cold Equations series or have I already spoiled the main bits? Thanks for making this thread by the way.

Hi Kelsey, welcome to the group!

I suppose it depends on your spoiler tolerance. There's definitely events that take place in preceding books that later books will spoil, but most of the new books manage to weave some of the old stuff in so that new readers can jump in anywhere.

That said, the Destiny trilogy is a great read and I recommend all Trek lit fans to read it!

Cool, yeah the Destiny trilogy gets so much praise I decided I'm going to rewind and try and read that and the Typhon Pact books, or at least some of them. Hopefully Destiny isn't too depressing, I've heard what happens in the books is pretty brutal. Oh, and thanks for welcoming me. I'm glad to be able to talk about Star Trek books with other Trekkies! :)

Kelsey. I started with Destiny trilogy and then I've been following this reading order chart: www.thetrekcollective.com/p/trek-lit-...
I've also started to read Vanguard serie and post Enterprise books. I have to say that "The good that men do" is the serie finale that Enterprise deserved.

Thank you. I was hesitant to start any of the spinoffs since I felt a bit lost with all the crossovers. Now I can pick a series that I already like and trace it forward or back, or pick a starting point for a new one.

Would I be totally confused if I started reading these books without finishing DS9 or VOY series? (Episodes) I already read Full Circle, but don't know if I should read Unworthy next since it's the follow up novel, or the next book on your list above... Also, do I need to know more about the Dominion War and Typhon Pact before diving any deeper into the series? I don't want to spoil anything for me or end up totally confused. As for the Borg Invasion that is mentioned in Full Circl, are there any novels mentioned or not mentioned in the list above that actually are set during this invasion? I'm curious in learning as much as I can about this as it peaks my interest! Sorry I know this is a lot but it would be a tremendous help to bear someone else's recommendation! Thanks so much!

Btw full circle is the only book I've read from your list, and the only thing that confused me was references to the Typhon Pact and occasional jumping back and forth in the timeline

Hi Bethany. You don't need to have finished watching DS9 or Voyager, but the books might spoil the series for you.

You don't need to know anything about the Dominion War to carry on, but knowing something about the Typhon Pact is a good idea. If I recall, reading A Singular Destiny should be enough to get an idea of what's going on with the Typhon Pact.

I do highly recommend reading the Destiny trilogy first. It takes the characters from TNG, VOY, and DS9 and brings them all into one current timeline. It's all about the Borg Invasion and it does have a pretty big impact on the Star Trek universe.

No worries on the questions! That's what we're here for. :)

Ok thanks! Is a singular Destiny the first book in the series?

Bethany are you recommending A Singular Destiny be read prior to Gods of Night. I'm seeing that the Destiny series was published in 2008 but Singular was published in 2009. Or do you mean that Singular destiny should be read prior to Zero Sum Game

This may have answered my question. Goodreads includes A Singular Destiny in the Typhon Pact series. https://www.goodreads.com/series/5356...

@Leslie
I don't know but A Singular Destiny was recommended to me to read before I continue the Full Circle series so I'll probably skip the first three for now since I'm looking to read Unworthy after it

Sorry I have one last question! I haven't seen any any TNG movies yet, and I recall that Nemisis is mentioned as the beginning of most of the historians notes in each book. If I want to start reading the very first book that takes place after the last episode/movie of Star Trek, what should I read? Is the Destiny series the very first books after the last movie? I just want to start from the very beginning of the non-canon books that take place after everything on tv and in movies is over. If that makes sense

Bethany, I'm afraid how I responded to your questions might have confused things. I highly recommend A Singular Destiny, but it should be read after you read the Destiny trilogy.

As for the first book after the TNG movies, that's Death in Winter by Michael Jan Friedman. I haven't read it, so I can't tell you much about it.

Ok thank you!

Oh hive mind of Star Trek lit fans.... I would love us to be able to have this updated.

The Destiny trilogy is still my go to when people ask, but I know there's be a lot of stuff published since. I'm a few years behind on the new stuff (I went back and was reading some of the older books for a while).... so I would love your input: where should a new to Treklit reader jump in?

Obviously, if someone is getting into Trek books because they love Discovery, those novels should appeal to that person.

Besides that, there are no books post-Destiny that I would consider great jumping-on points. Cold Equations can help ease the pain of those people missing Data and Wesley.

My advice is to pick a series that you like and choose a book that takes place right after the series or has an interesting synopsis.