Posts Tagged ‘trilogy’

STAR TREK: CODA – The End Is Nigh

Star Trek Coda - Moments AsunderThree weeks from today, STAR TREK: CODA, Book I – MOMENTS ASUNDER by Dayton Ward will be published, marking the beginning of the end of more than 20 years of shared, serialized continuity in the Star Trek novels.

The beginning of the “post-finale” continuity in the Star Trek novels generally is considered to have begun in 2001, with the Deep Space Nine novels Avatar, Book I, and Avatar, Book II, by S.D. Perry. Once the shared-continuity books began to grow in popularity, a number of pre-2001 Star Trek novels were retroactively incorporated into it, including the TNG novel Death in Winter by Michael Jan Friedman.

Before long, the shared literary continuity expanded to encompass nearly all new Star Trek book titles, except for those based on The Original Series. It also helped fuel the creation of several literary-original Trek series, including Stargazer (about Picard’s first command); The Lost Era (stories set between the TOS and TNG eras); S.C.E. (aka Starfleet Corps of Engineers, a monthly eBook novella series); Titan (Riker and Troi’s post-TNG careers); Section 31; Department of Temporal Investigations; and Vanguard (a gritty 23rd-century series set parallel to The Original Series).

For more than 20 years, the editors wrangled over 25 authors, most working alone, some in partnerships, to weave a complex web of Star Trek narratives that explored consistent storylines across two centuries of story time. One reason our publisher and licensor (aka Star Trek Licensing at CBSViacom) let us do this was that, at the time, it seemed unlikely that there would be new Star Trek films or TV series set in the 24th century anytime soon.

We pushed the limits of the Star Trek literary universe. Shattered the status quo again and again. Moved characters’ lives forward. Brought others to an end. Returned others from the grave. We threw out Trek‘s “reset button.” It made for an exciting era in which to be a Star Trek novel author or reader.

Alas, as TNG warned us long ago, “All good things must end.” The harbinger of our experiment’s ending was the announcement of Star Trek: Picard.

We knew that once a show featuring Jean-Luc Picard went into development, it would almost inevitably establish events and character actions that would be irreconciable with our literary continuity. Which put us in a tough spot. Star Trek tie-in fiction, like that of most other licensed properties, is required to be consistent with the canon version of the property, as it exists at the time the tie-in material is written. The more we learned about the back story of Picard, the more we realized there was no way to reconcile or retcon our 20 years of narrative with what was coming. One way or another, our communal literary project was soon to end.

I and others behind the scenes knew we had to make a choice. Either let the story be abandoned in medias res — or steer into the wave and craft an ending worthy of two decades of work.

We chose the second option.

Star Trek Coda - The Ashes of TomorrowI began scheming and daydreaming about the story that would become the spine of the STAR TREK: CODA trilogy at about the same time that my friend and frequent partner in literary mischief Dayton Ward was doing the same thing. During the July 4th weekend of 2019, I persuaded the initially reluctant James Swallow to team up with me in pitching the idea. We hashed out the story in broad strokes over BBQ with Trek-author pals Keith R. A. DeCandido and Glenn Hauman.

When I shared our pitch with Dayton the following week at Shore Leave Convention, his idea and ours were eerily similar. Except, because of his new job with CBS Licensing, he was privy to details about Picard that James and I were not. After hearing me out, Dayton summed up the challenges we faced because of Picard with a chilling caution: “Dude. It’s so much worse than you think.”

As it turned out … he was right.

Star Trek Coda, Book 3, Oblivion's Gate, by David MackDayton, James, and I hammered out a story that we felt was a worthy swan song to two decades of work, an encomium to our fellow authors, and an act of gratitude to the readers who had stuck with us all these years.

Coda proved to be the hardest writing experience of my life. While working on it in 2020, I was shaken by three deaths: the first, in January, was that of my longtime idol Neil Peart of RUSH; the second, in April, was the loss of my mother; and in December, the death of my friend and fellow Trek writer Dave Galanter.

This trilogy was a difficult and emotional project for all three of us writing it, each of us for our own reasons. But just as the application of pressure over time can turn coal to diamonds, I think our hardships have made Coda shine.

All three books of the STAR TREK: CODA trilogy are available for pre-order in trade paperback, eBook, and digital audiobook formats, from most book retailers. Trust me, Trek fans, this is an epic story you won’t want to miss.

STAR TREK: CODA, Book II – THE ASHES OF TOMORROW by James Swallow is scheduled for publication on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.

STAR TREK: CODA, Book III – OBLIVION’S GATE by yours truly will be published on Tuesday, November 30, 2021.

#TheEndHasBegun

BEST DEFENSE Cover Revealed!

Now the cover can be shown! Feast your eyes on the just-released cover for my upcoming Star Trek 50th Anniversary novel, Legacies, Book 2: Best Defense, coming July 26 from Simon & Schuster.

Legacies_BestDefense_Full

The description from the back cover:

Just in time for the milestone 50th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series, an epic new trilogy that stretches from the earliest voyages of the Starship Enterprise to Captain Kirk’s historic five-year-mission—and from one universe to another!

A DEBT OF HONOR

One brave woman ventures alone into a parallel universe to save her old shipmates, exiled there decades earlier by a mysterious device called the Transfer Key. She soon learns the alternate universe harbors not just an alien invasion force, but a secret that underpins its very existence.

A MISSION OF PEACE

A long-awaited Klingon-Federation peace summit convenes, led by Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan and Councillor Gorkon of Qo’noS. But both sides have enemies who prefer the two great powers remain at war — and who will do anything to make certain hate wins the day.

AN ERRAND OF JUSTICE

Captain Kirk and his crew seek the stolen Transfer Key that opens a door between universes, but the Enterprise crew soon becomes targets in a deadly crossfire—one whose outcome will decide the fate of two universes.


Book 1, Captain to Captain, by New York Times bestselling author Greg Cox, will be published on June 28; Book 3, Purgatory’s Key, by New York Times bestselling author Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore, will be released on August 30.

Star Trek: Legacies cover copy is here!

Good news, Star Trek literature fans — Simon & Schuster has made public the back-cover copy for all three volumes of its upcoming 50th-anniversary Star Trek: Legacies trilogy!

Star Trek 50th Anniversary Logo


The first book, Captain to Captain by New York Times bestselling author Greg Cox, debuts on June 28, 2016:

An epic new trilogy begins—a tie-in for the milestone 50th anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series—that stretches from the earliest voyages of the Starship Enterprise to Captain Kirk’s historic five-year-mission—and from one universe to another!

Hidden aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise is a secret that has been passed from captain to captain, from Robert April to Christopher Pike to James T. Kirk. Now the return of the enigmatic woman once known as Number One has brought that secret to light, and Kirk and his crew must risk everything to finish a mission that began with April so many years ago…

Nearly two decades earlier, April and his crew first visited the planet Usilde, where they found both tragedy and a thorny moral dilemma. Today, the legacy of that fateful occasion will compel Kirk to embark on a risky voyage back to that forbidden world—which is now deep in territory claimed by the Klingon Empire!

 


I’ve written the trilogy’s second volume, Best Defense, available now for pre-order and on sale July 26, 2016.

Just in time for the milestone 50th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series, an epic new trilogy that stretches from the earliest voyages of the Starship Enterprise to Captain Kirk’s historic five-year-mission—and from one universe to another!

A DEBT OF HONOR

One brave woman ventures alone into a parallel universe to save her old shipmates, exiled there decades earlier by a mysterious device called the Transfer Key. She soon learns the alternate universe harbors not just an alien invasion force, but a secret that underpins its very existence.

A MISSION OF PEACE

A long-awaited Klingon-Federation peace summit convenes, led by Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan and Councillor Gorkon of Qo’noS. But both sides have enemies who prefer the two great powers remain at war — and who will do anything to make certain hate wins the day.

AN ERRAND OF JUSTICE

Captain Kirk and his crew seek the stolen Transfer Key that opens a door between universes, but the Enterprise crew soon becomes targets in a deadly crossfire—one whose outcome will decide the fate of two universes.

 


The concluding tome of the trilogy is Purgatory’s Key, by New York Times bestselling author Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore. Its official publication date is August 30, 2016.

The conclusion to the epic trilogy that stretches from the earliest voyages of the Starship Enterprise to Captain Kirk’s historic five-year-mission—and from one universe to another—just in time for the milestone 50th anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series!

Eighteen years ago, the Starship Enterprise thwarted an alien invasion from another universe, and Captain Robert April took possession of the interdimensional transfer device that made it possible. Since then, each captain of the Enterprise, from Christopher Pike to James T. Kirk, has guarded this secret with his life.

Now, Romulan agents have succeeded in stealing the device and using it to banish Ambassador Sarek and Councillor Gorkon to an unknown realm in the midst of their groundbreaking Federation-Klingon peace negotiations.

With time running out as interstellar war looms in one universe—and alien forces marshal in another—will Captain Kirk and his crew preserve the tenuous peace and reclaim the key between the dimensions?


All three books are now available for pre-orders through a variety of online retailers, and you can also order copies directly from your local book seller.

Get Cold Equations while it’s hot!

Today’s the day, Star Trek fans! My bestselling trilogy Star Trek: The Next Generation — Cold Equations is on sale today as an Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. Get all three books for just $0.99 each — or give them as gifts. Really, at this price, how can you afford not to? But act fast — this deal is good only for today, Friday, May 17, 2013!

Book One: The Persistence of Memory
Book Two: Silent Weapons
Book Three: The Body Electric

 

A nice shout-out from Priority One Podcast

Declan Greene at Priority One Podcast has posted one of the more flattering (and accurate) summaries of my Star Trek writing career, in the form of a countdown of its most prominent highlights.

Yes, I was just as surprised as anyone to find out my “career” had “highlights,” but he makes a pretty persuasive case.

He put this article together in anticipation of the publication of my new Star Trek: The Next Generation trilogy, Cold Equations, which officially starts to arrive on shelves next Tuesday, October 30, with book one, The Persistence of Memory.

So, if you have the time and are even the least bit curious, check out the countdown and leave a comment there for Declan.

Another cover

Hot on the heels of my previous post, here is the just-released cover of The Persistence of Memory, book one of my upcoming trilogy, Star Trek: The Next Generation — Cold Equations.

This book will be on sale at the end of October, and there will be early copies available at New York Comic Con, during my signing hours at the Simon & Schuster booth. I might also bring a few copies with me to GMX in Nashville the weekend before the book’s official release date.

Book Two, Silent Weapons, will be published at the end of November, and the trilogy’s final volume, The Body Electric, will be out at the end of December.

My next big writing project…

Now that the news has officially broken in Issue No. 39 of Star Trek Magazine, it’s time for me to reveal some details about my upcoming trilogy for Star Trek: The Next Generation, about which I’ve hinted much in the past few months.

The “umbrella” title of the trilogy is Cold Equations. All three books are set primarily in the post-Nemesis era of 24th-century Star Trek fiction — specifically, in early 2384, just over four years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis.

Unlike the Star Trek Destiny trilogy, which was one epic story split across three volumes, Cold Equations will comprise three separate novels that are set during a brief span of time (a few months), and share a cast of characters, a number of themes, and some narrative subplots. While I plan to address some large-scale ideas in the new trilogy, I am not trying to replicate my work on Star Trek Destiny. I am not trying to “top” my previous trilogy; rather, I am trying to tell a different kind of story, one that is more personal while still retaining a sense of high stakes.

Book One of the trilogy, which is written and now with the editor, is The Persistence of Memory, and it will put the Enterprise crew at the forefront of an effort to stop the Typhon Pact from exploiting stolen Soong-type android technology as a weapon of war.

In Book Two, Silent Weapons, Captain Picard and his crew must protect Federation President Nan Bacco when it becomes clear she has been targeted for assassination. However, in the course of their mission, the Enterprise crew discovers that there might be an even greater conspiracy lurking behind the assassination plot.

In Book Three, The Body Electric, the Enterprise crew is brought to the center of the Milky Way by an old friend — Traveler and former shipmate Wesley Crusher — to try to stop a massive sentient machine whose mysterious labors threaten the future of every civilization in the galaxy.

For those who might be curious, part of my reason for choosing to title the trilogy Cold Equations is that each of the three stories hinges on a moment in which one or more characters must make terrible moral or ethical choices, weighing the cost of one life, or a few lives, against those of many more, or deciding how much — and who — they are willing to sacrifice for the sake of victory.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish “clearing the decks” of my life by tending to long-neglected tasks, so that next week I can start work on the manuscript for Silent Weapons.

Ciao!