Cover Art - Star Trek - Book

[gmd3d]

There was a time when Star Trek was not the animal it is now, It had as
some of you will know more humble beginnings.I have been a fan since the
1970s when I first saw it on TV, it was been syndicated on BBC or some
other channel, When I saw it I was hooked and watched avidly.

Then it vanished from the screens for many years, at least on my side of
the Atlantic, Star Wars came and went but I still liked Trek more so than
the great adventures seen in Star Wars, Perhaps because it was not in a
Galaxy far far away.

Then I found some Star Trek Books the covers and like the show where
colourful, capturing the look and the feel of the show far more than the
usual sci-fi book cover fare at the time.

I still have these books by James Blish and here are those images that
grabbed my attention and imagination back in the 1980s.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6034/6263322616_0e8ecf7a27_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6263322616/)http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6034/6263808460_c3e7f38cb3_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6263808460/)http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6236/6262797433_836d9bedf0_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6262797433/)http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6232/6263808596_b28f7b70c8_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6263808596/)
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http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6109/6262797521_58c8f1a47c_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6262797521/)http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6111/6263323218_9f7ffba7a4_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6263323218/)http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6225/6262797801_a5dbb25724_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6262797801/)http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6163/6262797863_937b76c9db_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6262797863/)
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http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6042/6263323398_84502057c4_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6263323398/)http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6236/6262797249_198e871f7e_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6262797249/)http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6050/6262797301_3e18f97d11_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6262797301/)http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6177/6262797363_5fcf578d50_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6262797363/)
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6180/6262797123_f14c0eec2f_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6262797123/)
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James Blish wrote the stories for Star Trek 1 through to Star Trek 11. Star Trek 12
was jointly credited to Blish and J.A. Lawrence (his wife), after the death of Blish
in July 1975. The stories were collected in four hardcover titles named The Star Trek
Reader 1,2,3 and 4 in 1976 and 1977. The Harry Mudd stories had been saved for a novel,
and eventually were published together, with an original story written by Lawrence.

The artist name is "Chris Achilleos" and these are his covers painted for Star Trek.
you can see more of his work here:
http://chrisachilleos.co.uk/the-arti...strations.html


Two of the covers 2 & 4 I will change in the future as soon as
I can either scan or locate them.

[Tenement]

The James Blish, Star Trek novelisations were the 70's version of having the episodes on video. I've still got them though they're a bit dog eared now.

[gmd3d]

Yeah for sure I have a few of Blish books and think of them in that very way. they have differences of course,

like instead of doors sliding open, Kirk would pull it open and the like..

[gmd3d]

I also remember the old Gold Key Star Trek comics, anyone else remember them.

here is one cover from one of my favourite stories

[Tenement]

I'm not seeing the image for the Gold key comic.

[gmd3d]

I fixed it.

[Tenement]

It reminds me of the artwork that you used to see over the end credits of Captain Scarlet. No messing with angst in comics of the 60's and early 70's, just straight to the action.

[gmd3d]

yeah,,,, did you ever read them... like the Blish books like gold dust, and sometimes hard to find :)

[gmd3d]

I will add more covers if anyone is interested

[Tenement]

I'm afraid I didn't read any of the Gold Key comics. (Though I did read some of the strips from the comics that had been reprinted in the hardback annuals that were released for Christmas during the seventies and I've found a few sites that have complete strips that you can read.) I did have a few of the Marvel Star Trek comics that were printed after STMP. (I still have a paper back edition and I'll scan the cover at some point soon and upload it.)

[gmd3d]

cool I look forward to seen these old gems :)

[gmd3d]

here is another by Chris Achilleos

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6180/6259964995_1abc185beb.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6259964995/)

[evil_genius_180]

For people interested in the comics:

www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Complete-Comic-Collection/dp/B001B5KYR2/ref=sr_1_4?s=software&ie=UTF8&qid=1319039419&sr=1-4
(Amazon UK has it too, but there appears to only be 1 copy being sold by an individual, not Amazon itself.)

I bought that last year and it's awesome. The comics are in .pdf format, so it works in any OS with a .pdf viewer. :)

I love the old covers. I used to use some of those in my pencil and paper days as references to draw the Enterprise. I love that Immunity Syndrome one. If you want to post some more, Ger, that sounds great. :)

[gmd3d]

yeah I had the old gold key one. I really enjoyed them..

I will post another soon

[gmd3d]

I will post them in my first post,

here is anther a favourite of mine.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6169/6261586740_81ef9fcbf6_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6261586740/)

[evil_genius_180]

That's cool. I remember those old numbered books. I never saw one with that snazzy of a cover, though.

[gmd3d]

there is more... all that I can find, I mush check the collection I have to see if I have the covers not found on line and have them scanned.

Here is Volume 1. Star Trek Book Cover. each book has 5 or 6 episodic stories
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6171/6261059141_cc46c9c171_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6261059141/)

[Tenement]

I've got different editions to the ones you've posted. I'll dig em' out and scan them cos' the covers on mine are pretty plain.

[gmd3d]

cool I like to see them. possibly I have one or to of them as I have a mixed collection.

looking at these covers has me once again jazz up watching the original series again. there is just something about this old show that just grabs you back again and again.

[Tenement]

Scary to think that the show is 45 years old.

[gmd3d]

sure is ...... I think it was first shown on BBC .... we could get that in Ireland back then ..
I been looking over the net for more of Chris Achilleos and found 2 are missing. qucikly checking on my few copies I find I have them and will have them scanned asap.

[gmd3d]

Oh and I am going to edit the images in the first post and just put in the covers for the novels and remove the comic one for now....

[gmd3d]

Posted all the James Blish Star Trek book covers in the first post

[Tenement]

So different from the covers on my editions.

[gmd3d]

I have been looking for some others,

are the images too big ... or are they OK ?

[Tenement]

Image size seems pretty good.

[gmd3d]

Cool ..... I will add some more, its starting to get my rendering creative side going .. hope to have some renders in the future.... one of the members of deviantart and here Arcass has been doing some awesome versions of them .. I will ask if I can post here or even better ask him to post them.... I mean if I saw them I would by a copy

[evil_genius_180]

Those are great. I've seen those books but not with those covers. You can tell at least one of the episodes that is in each book just by the cover image. I have one of Blish's books, Spock Must Die!, but I haven't read it in ages.

[gmd3d]

They where Corgi covers I think....

I have it and like you I have not read it in years. I must do so.. I think it (Spock Must Die) was the second Star Trek book released after
Mission to Horatius

[evil_genius_180]

I also have Mission to Horatius, but it's the 1999 hardcover reprint. The original was released in 1968. The copy of Spock Must Die! that I have might be an original, it's copyright 1970. (I got it at a used book store) I don't know fast they whipped out these books back then, so it very well could be the 2nd one. I know that Star Trek books didn't really pick up steam until the 1980s, when they started coming out with a lot of them a year, so it could have been 2 years between books back in the 60s and 70s. :)

[gmd3d]

for sure. I discovered them by chance walking through a book shop (of course) within about a month I had all of them.

[evil_genius_180]

Here you go, here's a list of the books:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek_novels

Not counting Blish's numbered books because they were episode adaptations, Spock Must Die! was definitely the 2nd original novel after Mission to Horatius. I also have The New Voyages and Planet of Judgment, but they're 1990s reprints, not the originals.

TMP was what opened the floodgates for the Pocket Books novels. Man, that was the start of an awesome run of Trek books that, sadly, has now ended. They're even holding back reboot inspired books so that they don't contradict the sequel to the 2009 movie. As an avid reader, that really makes me mad.

[gmd3d]

This is the cover I had on mine. the book I had was stolen some years ago.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6104/6269054145_d75f3bb122_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6269054145/)
Mission to Horatius-1968 by Mack Reynolds-Cover art -Sparky Moore.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6047/6269053743_8b66871613_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6269053743/)
Original
Mission to Horatius-1968 by Mack Reynolds-Orig art -Sparky Moore.

[evil_genius_180]

Yeah, the 1999 reprint of Mission to Horatius has a reprinted original cover. In fact, the whole book is a recreation of the 1968 printing, except it has a new introduction.

[gmd3d]

I cannot remember the story for the life of me.

[Tenement]

I'd never even heard of it. I got the original Trek books, then 'Spock must die' then 'Spock Messiah'. I must see if their is a copy on Amazon.

[gmd3d]

I read most of the TOS Star Trek books ... It been my favourite Show character and ship design wise.

Out side of the TV adaptations, the original story's I liked are below and
in no particular order.

Out side of the TV adaptations, the original story's I liked are
below and in no particular order.

* Strangers from the Sky: The epic novel of first contact between
man and Vulcan!

* The Vulcan Academy Murders: Captain Kirk becomes an interplanetary
homicide detective!

* Enterprise: The First Adventure: James T. Kirk is the youngest man
to be promoted to the rank of captain in Federation history.

* How Much for Just the Planet: In the novel, large deposits of
dilithium are detected on a colony planet, and delegations are sent
by the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire to negotiate
for mining rights

* Crisis on Centaurus: Massive computer malfunctions are plaguing the
Enterprise when Kirk suddenly receives a shocking message from Starfleet
Command: Centaurus has been bombed and annihilated; thousands are dead.

* Chain of Attack: Stranded in a hostile galaxy, the Enterprise is caught
up in a deadly interstellar conflict!

* Dreams of the Raven: A mysterious alien attack cripples both the Starship
Enterprise and Dr. McCoy!

Its been fun revisiting these old classics covers above.

[evil_genius_180]

I forget what Mission to Horatius is about also. If I remember correctly, they have more than one problem to solve in it. I have Strangers from the Sky (unfortunately, some information in that book is invalidated by First Contact) and Enterprise: The First Adventure. Kirk's age is wrong in that, they claim he's 29, but the numbers don't add up for him being 34 in 2267 (The Deadly Years.) Though, they also did a comic with the "first adventure" of James T. Kirk and crew and it's quite different than the novel. In that one, he was already a captain commanding a smaller vessel when he took command of the Enterprise, so the "youngest captain" thing could still ring true. I do like the explanation that Enterprise: The First Adventure offers for Klingons with and without brow ridges, that it's a caste system and (presumably) the bumpy headed Klingons took control of the Empire and executed their former smooth headed masters at some point (or made them slaves.)

[gmd3d]

Yes I remember those differences between the novels, I´d say that the writers would loved to have had the Star Trek encyclopaedia / star trek chronology book. would have been of great use to them.

The First Adventure offers for Klingons with and without brow ridges, that it's a caste system and (presumably) the bumpy headed Klingons took control of the Empire and executed their former smooth headed masters at some point (or made them slaves.)
I like that too...

I have started to read these again.

[evil_genius_180]

I found the comic where they flash back to the first mission. It was DC Comics Star Trek Annual #1. (1985) It's pretty cool, they even show why Pike's first officer went away after his promotion (there was an accident.)

[gmd3d]

I remember that one, I have it some where.

Yes here is the cover: or at least the one I think you mean :)
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6094/6271449881_4cce4b76d9_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6271449881/)

[gmd3d]

This is my favourite Star Trek Story and Art.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6046/6271509889_2ea4ee121e_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6271509889/)
have any of you read it?

[evil_genius_180]

I remember that one, I have it some where.

Yes here is the cover: or at least the one I think you mean :)
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6094/6271449881_4cce4b76d9_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6271449881/)

Yes, that is the one. I have an actual copy of it somewhere, but it was easier to find the copy on the DVD-rom. ;) (which is sitting in front of me on my desk)

This is my favourite Star Trek Story and Art.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6046/6271509889_2ea4ee121e_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraniscgi/6271509889/)
have any of you read it?

Yep, I've read that, just not for a few years. I have that one as well (actual copy.)

[gmd3d]

I love the art work in Debt or Honor

[evil_genius_180]

Yeah, it's got some really nice artwork in it.

(It's amazing to think that I actually had to look for this stuff before I had this DVD-Rom full of Trek Comics. :tongue2: Plus, I get to see both covers for Debt of Honor this way, not just the one you posted, which is the one I have also.)

[gmd3d]

I have to look around for them. but I am seen stuff I have never seen before.... that alone is cool