Voyages of Imagination: The Star Trek Fiction Companion

This book covers all the Star Trek books up until it was published. Excellent reference book.

Jeff Ayers' "Voyages of Imagination: The Star Trek Fiction Companion" is a thorough record of the first 40 years of professionally published "Star Trek" fiction.All of the titles-original novels, short story collections and episode/film novelizations-published by Bantam and Ballantine, as well as works Pocket Books has published from its 1979 acquisition of the "Trek" publishing license until 2006, are included. Ayers further breaks down the Pocket section-which is, of course, the most extensive-by each series, both television and original-to-Pocket series like "New Frontier" and "Vanguard."He also updates Michael and Denise Okuda's "Star Trek Chronology" by providing a back-of-the-book timeline of "Trek" history that not only includes the later seasons of aired "Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager" and the entirety of "Enterprise," but also shows where in that history each novel and short story fits.Ayers offers no critical judgment of the fiction. Rather, he indexes each book by month and year of publication and-following either a brief synopsis or a table of contents-allows the authors to provide valuable insight into their thought processes. The reader learns how and why they became fans of the franchise, why they wanted to write a "Trek" novel or short story, and the inspiration for their stories-and sees authors' individual personalities and sensibilities shine through in the process.Some of their comments aren't always positive-the approval process at Paramount Pictures, which owned the "Trek" franchise rights for most of the time period covered, receives criticism, and many of the writers of "Voyager" novels are candid about how their novels served as responses to their unhappiness with the stories that series' episodes told. Many of their frustrations with "Voyager" echoed mine exactly.Ayers also gives each short story in Pocket's "Strange New Worlds" anthology series the same treatment as the novels, which I appreciated. (The short stories in Bantam's two-book "New Voyages" series don't receive that consideration.)At nearly 800 pages, "Voyages of Imagination" is a hefty volume, but one that deserves a place in "Trek" fans' reference libraries. It's an invaluable source for those, like myself, who seek older "Trek" fiction titles at book sales and through Amazon's third-party sellers and wish to know which books will suit their taste and which will not.

Voyages of Imagination by Jeff Ayers is a must have for all Star Trek fans as it covers every single Star Trek book ever published. From the Bantam series to the current Pocket line to the YA series, everything is here and not only that, it's layered in an easy to read format. Pictures grace the book on every page. While not in color, the pictures are clear and easy to see. This book has been meticulously researched and it shows. Jeff Ayers was able to get the majority of the authors for interviews on each book covered. Sadly, authors like Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens among others declined to be interviewed but it doesn't take away from the book. In fact, this is the largest, biggest and longest Trek book ever. Was this book worth the wait? Absolutely. I had no idea how many books were out there. I had no clue that so many existed. Luckily, the book is broken down into different sections that make it easier to browse to a certain point in the book. Some of the things included in this book, is a comprehensive Star Trek Fiction Timeline that places the books and stories where they belong in the Star Trek Screen Chronology. Also included, is an index and a bibliography which allows you to go to a specific page or book in no time. Very useful if you use this book as a reference source or encylopedia. It took a little over two years for the making of this book and it really shows. Jeff Ayers had to track a lot of people down just to get them in the book and in the end, it gives you a better perspective of what went into the making of a certain book. Why it was made, what led to it and many other fascinating stuff. It's a book that will be loved by all fans. For years, fans wanted a book like this and we now have one and for that we have Jeff Ayers to thank who made many fans dreams come true.Kudos on a job well done.

This is a good guide to have if you want to read licensed Trek fiction and you don't know where to start. A word of caution: this book was published in 2006 so if you are already well versed in Trek fiction, this may not be the book for you as there have been many new novels published since 2006.Nevertheless, the book is divided into 3 parts. Part 1 is Trek fiction published by Bantam Books. Part 2 is fiction published by Ballantine Books. Part 3 is fiction published by Pocket Books. Then there are 15 Sections: ST numbered novels, ST unnumbered novels, TNG numbered novels, TNG unnumbered novels, DS9 numbered novels, DS9 unnumbered novels, VOY numbered novels, VOY unnumbered novels, ENT novels, Novelizations (of tv episodes and movies), original fiction concepts, miniseries, anthologies, other Star Trek Fiction, Young Adult Fiction and to end it all, a fiction timeline.Each entry has the title, author, the date it was published, how many pages, a brief summary and a behind the scenes story of how the author got a chance to write the book, how he or she came up with the story and sometimes how he or she became a Star Trek fan.I bought this for Kindle because I own "Star Wars: The Essential Reader's Companion" for my SW novels info. When I found out there was a fiction companion for Star Trek, I thought: "why not?"

スタトレ本は数が半端でないため、どの本がスタトレの年表上どこに位置するのか、また内容はどんなものかを購入前に調べるのは容易ではありません。手に取って見ればわかりますが、日本ではかなり難しい・・。この本はそんな膨大なスタトレ本(700冊くらいある？）の2006年中くらいまでに出版された本は全て（全部見たわけではないが）網羅してます。例を挙げれば、エンタプライズのLast full Measureとか。いいなぁと思ったのは索引もあるし、年表もTV、映画シリーズを細かく記載しているため、前後のエピソードや関連するオリジナル本などもわかる事です。個々の本の紹介もあるので、大体の話の流れも読めて、スタトレ本の購入に一役買うでしょう。スタートレックのオリジナル小説などが好きな人にはお勧めです。でも、ほんとにこんな本、よく作ったと思います。