Literary Treks: A Star Trek Books and Comics Podcast

Scott Pearson.      It takes more than just an author to produce a book. In fact, there's a whole team of people that bring any given book to fruition. It's no different in tie-in fiction like Star Trek. We don't often branch out to talk to anyone but the authors of the new books, and that's an oversight we intend to remedy. In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan...

Greg Cox: Identity Theft.     Pavel Chekov is a reminder that some Star Trek characters do their most interesting growing just outside the spotlight. Known for his youthful enthusiasm, sharp wit, and loyalty to the Enterprise, much of Chekov's development is implied rather than shown on screen. That makes tie-in novels an ideal space to explore characters like him in greater depth, filling in the...

David Mack: Ring of Fire.     With fewer Star Trek series currently on TV, it's the novels that keep us boldly going. These stories bridge the gaps between episodes and explore what happens when the cameras aren't rolling — deepening our connection to the characters and giving us new adventures to imagine. It's an exciting time to see how writers expand the universe we know and love. In this episo...

Gateways: What Lay Beyond.      Back in late 2001, Pocket Books published the most epic crossover event to date: Gateways. With six novels spanning the eras from The Original Series to Voyager, the series brought together multiple authors to tell stories utilizing the gateways created by the mysterious Iconians. And the hook for the series was that each story was to end with a cliffhanger, culmina...

Interview with Star Trek: Khan writers Kirsten Beyer and David Mack.     Legacy isn't reserved for heroes. Some characters leave a mark not through their nobility, but through the incredible shadow they cast. Few exemplify this better than Khan Noonien Singh. Decades after his first appearance, Khan continues to shape the Star Trek universe - his presence echoing through generations of stories, cr...

In 1997, Pocket Books began releasing novels in a new series - one not based on a Star Trek television series. The brainchild of then-editor John J. Ordover and author Peter David, Star Trek: New Frontier was a way to have a series of novels with its own continuity, independent of the shows still on the air. Spanning over 20 novels, numerous short stories, and even some graphic novels, the series...

Gateways: No Man's Land.     At one time, Christie Golden was the preeminent author in the Star Trek: Voyager novel line with 13 of her 16 Star Trek stories being with the crew of Voyager. In fact, even Kirsten Beyer hasn't surpassed Golden's contributions to the series.  In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan discuss No Man's Land. Topics include characterization...

Gateways: Demons of Air and Darkness.     Star Trek literature's mission was to expand the universe of the series beyond what was seen on screen, so in doing that the books continued series that had ended as well as created characters to follow; the Gateway series brought all of those together in one massive crossover. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan talk ab...

James Swallow: Toward the Night.     One of the beauties of tie-in fiction is to do exactly what the name implies, to tie in to the show or universe and add details that the films or shows just don't have time to do. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan welcome author James Swallow to talk about his Star Trek: Strange New Worlds novel, Toward the Night. We discus...

Gateways: Doors Into Chaos.     The early aughts were an intriguing period for Star Trek books, as shows like DS9 concluded, Voyager continued to air, and TNG continued to produce films. The literary landscape truly embraced experimentation and explored new avenues. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan continue the Gateways series with Doors Into Chaos. We discus...

Gateways: Chainmail.     Books set in the Star Trek universe that aren't based on any of the television series can be a mixed bag when it comes to fan reception. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan talk about the second book in the Gateways series, Chainmail. We discuss the Challenger, it being out there, character work, worldview differences, drawbacks, Riutta...

Star Trek: Gateways: One Small Step.     In 2001, the Star Trek literary universe was at the hight of it's popularity especially as it continuing series like Deep Space Nine and The Next Generation, which lead to a massive crossover between all the ongoing series that Pocket books were publishing at the time. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan talk about One Sm...

The Pandora Principle.     Star Trek books are some of the longest running tie-in fiction series out there which means that you never know when an entry will be a diamond in the rough or just rough. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan talk about the TOS novel, The Pandora Principle. We discuss, development hell, get him out of the way, the first chapter, Saavik,...

Una McCormack: Asylum.     One of the joys of tie-in fiction is the way that it can delve into the backgrounds of characters to make the viewing experience feel richer because the fan has a greater understanding of what motivates the characters.  In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Jonathan Koan and Casey Pettitt are proud to welcome author Una McCormack to talk about her Strange New Worlds no...

The Nanotech War.     Star Trek Voyager is a polarizing series to say the least and yet in the realm of literature, it has made for some of the best stories in Treklit. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan talk about The Nanotech War. We discuss the book not being numbered, first impression, first contact, B'Elanna and Seven's arcs, putting everything back in the...

Catalyst of Shadows.     The almost ninety year period between The Original Series and The Next Generation was perfect fodder for the novels to mine, connecting the dots between the eras as well as characters we would meet in the 24th century to those we knew from the 23rd century.  In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan talk about The Lost Era book, Catalyst of Sh...

Deny Thy Father.     On of the beauties of tie-in fiction is the ability to go back and fill in important details or stories that might have been alluded to in a series yet the full story was never told, which is what made the idea of Star Trek's Lost Era so enticing for fans.  In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan talk about The Lost Era novel, Deny Thy Father. W...

Greg Cox: Lost to Eternity.     One of the beauties of Star Trek is all the treads that one can pull on from the plethora of stories that have been told over the years making the books the perfect place to explore all these possibilities.  In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan welcome author Greg Cox to talk about his new Star Trek book, Lost to Eternity. They dis...

Well of Souls.     Captain Rachael Garrett and the crew of the Enteprise-C were some of the biggest highlights of an already stellar episode of The Next Generation making them the perfect subject for one of The Lost Era novels from Pocket Books. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan talk about the Well of Souls. They discuss their expectations, kind of being in it...

Dayton Ward: Pliable Truths.     The best tie-in fiction is something that takes the reader on a journey they never knew they needed to go on and transforms the way they look at the source material forever when they are done. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing and Jonathan Koan welcome author Dayton Ward to talk about his new Star Trek: The Next Generation book, Pliable Truths...

Comics Catch Up.     Comics have been an important medium for Star Trek ever since the release of the first Gold Key comic in 1967 and they have continued over various publishers since that time. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan catch up on all the issues they've missed recently. They discuss being new to Star Trek comics, Picard's Academy, The Scorpius Run,...

The Art and Making of Star Trek: Picard.     On August 4th, 2018 at Star Trek Las Vegas a man well known to Star Trek fans walked on stage and announced that he was back to continue the journey of a character that had begun 31 years prior.  In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing, Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan talk about The Art and Making of Star Trek: Picard. We discuss a new s...

David Mack: Firewall.     With the release of Star Trek: Picard the questions of what happened to our favorite characters from shows like Deep Space Nine and Voyager was once again up in the air and the introduction of Seven of Nine to the show made the questions around her history after the series even more mysterious. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts, Matthew, Casey and Jonathan welcome a...

The Art of the Impossible.     The era between the Star Trek TOS movies and the beginning of The Next Generation has a lot of events that are referenced in the shows but were never seen, which is fertile ground for the novels to cover. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing and Casey Pettitt welcome a new host to the show in Jonathan Koan to help us talk about the next book in The...

The Sundered.     The period between Star Trek Generations and the beginning of The Next Generation is ripe for storytelling and yet has scarcely been mined except in the novels. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing and Casey Pettitt talk about the Lost Era novel, The Sundered. We discuss characters on the cover, the Neyel, the Tholians, responsibility, communication, connection...