Literary Treks: A Star Trek Books and Comics Podcast

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 novel, Asylum. We discuss starting the book, timelines, the Academy storyline, lectures, and interesting friendship, the mystery, themes, writing the SNW crew, references, using talents, heartbreak, a fun note, where to find Una and our final thoughts.                

Feature: Una McCormack Starting the Book (00:03:50) Timeframes (00:06:24) The Academy Storyline (00:09:49) Lectures (00:13:05) An Interesting Friendship (00:16:09) The Mystery (00:18:02) Themes and Questions (00:22:42) Writing the SNW Crew (00:27:12) References (00:29:19) Using Talents (00:34:41) A Fun Note (00:44:56) Where to Find Una and What is Coming (00:48:23) Final Thoughts (00:50:30)      

Hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan 

Guest  Una McCormack

Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)

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 box, wrapping up with our ratings and final thoughts.

In the news we return to the comics and discuss the Sons of Star Trek series, the Star Trek 2024 Annual as well as the Star Trek Celebrations one shot.   News Sons of Star Trek (00:04:21) Star Trek 2024 Annual (00:11:53) Star Trek Celebrations (00:16:03)                

Feature: The Nanotech War     No Number (00:20:26) First Impressions (00:21:54) First Contact (00:27:30) B’Elanna’s Arc (00:34:47) 7 of 9 (00:41:27) Put Everything Back in the  Box (00:48:48) Ratings (00:51:32) Final Thoughts (00:56:21)      

Hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan 

Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)

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 Shadows. We discuss an Uhura story, Crusher vs Pulaski, the rest of the cast, other characters, the mystery, trauma, flashbacks and timelines, plus our ratings and final thoughts. 

In the news we talk about a newish book, a comic milestone and an upcoming novel release.   News A Newish Book (00:03:52) Star Trek 500 (00:05:46) Strange New Worlds: Asylum (00:08:01)                 

Feature: Catalyst of Shadows  An Uhura Story (00:10:17) Crusher vs Pulaski (00:17:42) The Rest of the Cast (00:18:56) Other Characters (00:24:08) The Mystery (00:31:25) Trauma (00:42:55) Flashbacks and Timelines (00:47:16) Ratings (01:01:19) Final Thoughts (01:05:59)            Hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan 

Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)

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. We discuss the story, the connective tissue, as snapshot, a change, political thrillers, big action, how it all turns out, cameos, Star Trek stories, ratings and final thoughts.

In the news we discuss the release of the final covers for two upcoming books.    News Cover Reveals (00:03:00)                

Feature: Deny Thy Father The Story (00:04:22) Connective Tissue (00:10:54) A Snapshot (00:15:53) A Change (00:21:05) Political Thriller (00:26:12) The Big Action (00:33:47) How It All Turns Out (00:31:11) Cameos (00:39:09) How to Do Star Trek Books (00:44:16) Ratings (00:48:40) Final Thoughts (00:50:07)       

Hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan   

Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)

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 discuss, being back with a new book, the genesis of the book, Saavik, a new species, the antagonist, bringing it together, writing 2024, no Past Tense, approvals, what’s coming up and final thoughts.

Feature: Greg Cox Greg Cox is Back (00:03:53) The Genesis (00:04:53) Saavik (00:13:53) A New Species (00:17:54) The Antagonist (00:26:10) Bringing it Together (00:32:44) Writing 2024 (00:39:58) No Past Tense (00:43:56) Approvals (00:47:38) What’s Coming Up (00:50:05) Final Thoughts (00:57:04)         

Hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan 

Guest  Greg Cox

Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)

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, other characters, the structure, doing too much, ending with their ratings and final thoughts. 

In the news section they discuss the latest book announcement!    News Toward the Night Announcement (00:03:11)                 

Feature: Well of Souls    Expectations (00:10:20) Kind of In It (00:12:37) Other Characters (00:19:01) The Structure (00:29:08) Do Too Much (00:34:14) Rating (00:43:10) Final Thought (00:46:06)       

Hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan 

Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)

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. We discuss the genesis of the book, Picard’s struggle, similar themes and true evil, an inconvenient truth, the O’Briens, cameos, the Oceanside, capital Qs, the end, where to find and what’s next plus our final thoughts.

Feature: Dayton Ward Idea for the Book (00:03:11) Picard’s Struggle (00:08:01) Similar Themes and True Evil (00:10:50) Inconvenient Truth (00:20:07) The O’Briens (00:27:36) Cameos (00:34:22) The Oceanside (00:39:53) Capital Qs (00:45:30) The End (00:49:05) Where to Find and What’s Next (00:55:35) Final Thoughts (01:01:42)         

Hosts Matthew Rushing and Jonathan Koan 

Guest  Dayton Ward

Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)

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, Sons of Star Trek, Star Trek, Star Trek: Defiant, wrapping up and their final thoughts. 

In the news they discuss a new release that is imminent and the delay of an upcoming book as well.    News New Releases Coming  (00:02:55)              

Feature: Comics Catch Up New to Comics (00:04:27) Picard’s Academy (00:06:10) Strange New Worlds: The Scorpius Run (00:11:20) Sons of Star Trek (00:21:42) Star Trek (00:31:44) Star Trek: Defiant (00:44:48) Wrapping Up (00:51:45) Final Thoughts (00:53:55)        

Hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan 

Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)

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 show, kicking off the story, had it been done before, seasons 1-3, is anything missing, our ratings and final thoughts.                  Feature: The Art and Making of Star Trek: Picard A New Show (00:03:08) Kicking Off This New Show (00:09:48) It Has Been Done Before (00:16:46) Season One (00:21:33) Season Two (00:28:54) Don’t Step On Toes (00:35:01) Season Three (00:41:23) Anything Missing? (00:48:08) Ratings (00:51:14) Final Thoughts (00:55:18)        

Hosts Matthew Rushing, Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan 

Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)

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 author David Mack to discuss his new Picard era novel, Firewall. We discus the background of the story, writing in the Picard timeline, Seven’s emotions, an anchor, getting in the way, new characters, the spy element, staying true, the framing device, production, making the map, what’s next for David and our final thoughts. 

In the news section we discuss two newly announced books for 2024!   News Book News (00:01:43)               

Feature: David Mack The Background of This Story (00:09:45) Writing in the Picard Timeline (00:13:18) Seven’s Emotions (00:20:25) An Anchor (00:30:40) Getting in the Way (00:36:50) New Characters (00:41:33) The Spy Element (00:46:16) Staying True (00:54:34) Framing Device (00:56:39) The Production of the Book (01:00:54) Making the Map (01:05:08) What is Coming Next (01:08:54) Final Thoughts (01:18:08)         

Hosts Matthew Rushing, Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan 

Guest  David Mack

Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)