Literary Treks: A Star Trek Books and Comics Podcast

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)

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 Lost Era, The Art of the Impossible. We discuss the Cardassian and Klingon conflict, the juxtaposition, Curzon, many characters, other things, our ratings and final thoughts.    News A New Host (00:01:47)                 

Feature: The Art of the Impossible Cardassian and Klingon Conflict (00:14:18) The Juxtaposition (00:30:47) Curzon (00:33:32) Many Characters (00:41:17) Other Characters (00:50:18) Ratings (00:54:34) Final Thoughts (00:59:03)         

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)

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, connections, our ratings and final thoughts. 

In the news section we judge to new books by their covers!   News New Book Covers (00:03:00)                 

Feature: The Sundered Characters on the Covers (00:10:45) The Neyel (00:17:51) The Tholians (00:28:36) Responsibility (00:38:16) Communication (00:44:49) Connections (00:48:51) Ratings (00:56:08) Final Thoughts (00:58:19)          

Hosts Matthew Rushing and Casey Pettitt 

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

Derek Tyler Attico: The Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko.     The captains of Star Trek are some of the most revered characters in the saga yet there is only one whose story is as unique as the one who lead on Deep Space Nine.

In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing and Casey Pettitt welcome author Derek Tyler Attico to talk his book, The Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko. We discuss the framing device, the family, Academy years, early career, Curzon, filling in more details, in the Celestial Temple,, ending with Benny, one last question, where to find Derek and our final thoughts.

In the news we review Defiant #9 and Picard's Academy #2.   News Defiant # 9 (00:03:11)                    Picard's Academy #2 (00:08:52)  

Feature: Derek Tyler Attico    The Framing Device (00:12:30) The Family (00:19:36) Academy Years (00:32:26) Early Career (00:38:44) Curzon (00:43:55) Filling in More Detail (00:46:36) In the Celestial Temple (00:52:18) Ending With Benny (00:57:37) One Last Question (01:00:58) Where to Find Derek (01:04:05) Final Thoughts (01:07:33)        

Hosts Matthew Rushing and Casey Pettitt   

Guest  Derek Tyler Attico  

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