Star Trek Log (book series)

Star Trek Log is a series of ten novelizations based on, and inspired by, episodes of the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Animated Series. Published by Ballantine Books from 1974 to 1978, the series was written by Alan Dean Foster and edited by Judy-Lynn del Rey. The series is also known as Star Trek Logs and Star Trek: Logs.

Star Trek Log
Cover of Star Trek Log Ten (1978)
AuthorAlan Dean Foster
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction
PublisherBallantine Books
Published1974–1978
Media typePrint (Paperback)
No. of books10

The series is similar to novelizations based on episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series published by Bantam Books, and written by James Blish and J. A. Lawrence.

See also: Star Trek (Bantam Books)

Production

After completing two novelizations for Ballantine Books, Luana [lower-alpha 1] (1974) and Dark Star [lower-alpha 2] (1974), Foster was approached by editor Judy-Lynn del Rey to adapt episodes of the Star Trek animated series to prose.[1] Foster agreed, and was granted freedom to arrange the adaptations however he wished.

Foster was uncertain how to structure the series initially, but he settled on packaging three episode scripts per book, and attempted to tie them together into a cohesive story. He said of his work on the series, “I had pretty much a free hand. Hence the opportunity to insert little fun bits and pieces.”[1] The first book, Log One, was released during the summer of 1974.

Sales of the first six books "skyrocketed", according to Foster.[1] He was then was approached by del Ray to produce four more books, which he obliged. Log Seven (1976) through Log Ten (1978) were based on one episode script each, which allowed Foster to greatly expand their stories.[2]

Series name

Each book's title follows a simple pattern: Star Trek Log followed by the number in the series. Foster named the books after the captain's log narration in each episode, referring to them as Star Trek "Logs" in Voyages of Imagination (2006).[1] Numbering each book, instead of naming them after an episode was likely inspired by Blish's series of novelizations which were numbered Star Trek 1 through 9 as of 1974.[1][3] That series would later expand to Star Trek 12 (1977).

The most recent omnibus editions used the scheme Star Trek: Log One & Two, etc. Goodreads lists the series as Star Trek: Logs, but this varies according which book or edition is searched.[4] The name Star Trek Logs, plural, was adopted by contributors at Memory Alpha, and other fansites.

Bibliographic sites, such as LibraryThing and the Internet Speculative Fiction Database, list the series as Star Trek Log with each book given its corresponding volume number in the series.[5][6]

Reception

A blurb credited to Cecil Smith of the Los Angeles Times was printed on the cover of Log One (1974), it read: "NBC's new animated Star Trek is… fascinating fare, written, produced and executed with all the imaginative skill, the intellectual flare and the literary level that made Gene Roddenberry's famous old science-fiction epic the most avidly followed program in TV history…"[7]

In his Complete Starfleet Library, Steven Roby commented that Foster carried the adaptations "into territory that might as well have been a different story altogether."[2] The amount of material included by Foster was "enough to make these books seem almost more like original novels rather than simple adaptations."

Steve Lazarowitz of SF Site said in his review of Logs Seven & Eight (1996) that Foster, "did a great job of getting inside character's heads, as well as adding enough science and pseudoscience to make the stories plausible."[8] For fans of the original series and animated series, Lazarowitz said in his review of Logs One & Two (1996) that the books were "must have."[9]

Blogger Tracy Poff contrasted Foster's adaptation of "shorter episodes" from the animated series against James Blish's adaptations of longer episodes from the original series, saying "after reading ten volumes of Blish’s spartan prose" Foster's prose was "refreshing."[10]

The first book in the series received twenty-four printings by Ballantine from 1974 to 1991.[11]

Bibliography

Episode novelizations (1974–1978)
Title Released ISBN
Star Trek Log One June 1974 0-345-24014-6
Includes adaptations of the following episodes:
Star Trek Log Two September 1974 0-345-24184-3
Includes adaptations of the following episodes:
Star Trek Log Three January 1975 0-345-24260-2
Includes adaptations of the following episodes:
Star Trek Log Four May 1975 0-345-24435-4
Includes adaptations of the following episodes:
Star Trek Log Five July 1975 0-345-24532-6
Includes adaptations of the following episodes:
Star Trek Log Six May 1976 0-345-24655-1
Includes adaptations of the following episodes:
Star Trek Log Seven June 1976 0-345-24965-8
Novelization of "The Counter-Clock Incident", teleplay by John Culver.
Star Trek Log Eight August 1976 0-345-25141-5
Novelization of "The Eye of the Beholder", teleplay by David P. Harmon.
Star Trek Log Nine February 1977 0-345-25557-7
Novelization of "Bem", teleplay by David Gerrold.
Star Trek Log Ten January 1978 0-345-27212-9
Novelization of "The Slaver Weapon", teleplay by Larry Niven.

Omnibus editions

Del Rey Books (1993)

Omnibus collection available exclusively to comic book stores and secondary retailers such as grocery stores and news stands. Covers included advertising for other Del Rey releases. Log Ten (1978) was excluded due to length.[6]

Title Author Released ISBN
Star Trek Log One / Log Two / Log Three Alan Dean Foster January 1993 0-345-38247-1
Star Trek Log Four / Log Five / Log Six July 1993 0-345-38522-5
Star Trek Log Seven / Log Eight / Log Nine August 1993 0-345-38561-6

Pocket Books (1995)

Published by Pocket Books specifically for the United Kingdom and Australian/New Zealand markets.

Title Author Released ISBN
Star Trek Logs 1–3 Alan Dean Foster April 1995 0-671-85403-8
Star Trek Logs 4–6 May 1995 0-671-85404-6
Star Trek Logs 7–10 June 1995 0-671-85405-4

30th Anniversary edition (1996)

Del Rey released new omnibus editions in trade paperback format to celebrate Star Trek's 30th Anniversary. A serialized essay by Foster was included.

Title Author Released ISBN
Star Trek: Log One & Two Alan Dean Foster September 1996 0-345-40939-6
Star Trek: Log Three & Four 0-345-40940-X
Star Trek: Log Five & Six 0-345-40941-8
Star Trek: Log Seven & Eight 0-345-40942-6
Star Trek: Log Nine & Ten 0-345-40943-4

Other editions

The Log One through Five were reprinted by Corgi for the United Kingdom market from 1975 to 1976.

Vanity editions of the books were produced by Aeonian Press of Mattituck, New York, in 1979. However, little is known of their release or distribution. Only two volumes have been verified by contributors at ISFDB.[12] Vanity press Amereon, Ltd. was recorded as releasing a hardback edition of Log Four in 1980.[13]

The series were translated for the German market as Raumschiff Enterprise: Die neuen Abenteuer. The series was distributed in various formats from 1992 to 1995 by Loewe, Williams, and Goldmann.

See also

Notes
  1. Novelization of Italian film Luana la figlia delle foresta vergine (1968), directed by Roberto Infascelli.
  2. Novelization of the film Dark Star (1974), directed by John Carpenter.

References
  1. Ayers, Jeff (2006-11-14). Voyages of Imagination: The Star Trek Fiction Companion. New York: Pocket Books. pp. 32–33. ISBN 9781416503491.
  2. Roby, Steven Jacques (2015-01-16). "Complete Starfleet Library - 1974 Star Trek Books". www.well.com. Archived from the original on 2015-01-16. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  3. "Series: Star Trek Original TV Series Adaptations". ISFDB. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  4. "Star Trek: Logs Series by Alan Dean Foster". Goodreads. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  5. "Star Trek Log | Series". LibraryThing. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  6. "Series: Star Trek Log". ISFDB. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  7. Foster, Alan Dean (Jun 1974). Star Trek Log One. New York: Ballantine Books. back cover. ISBN 9780345240149.
  8. Lazarowitz, Steve (2007). "The SF Site Featured Review: Star Trek, The Animated Series: Logs Seven and Eight". SF Site. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  9. Lazarowitz, Steve (2007). "The SF Site Featured Review: Star Trek, The Animated Series: Logs One and Two". SF Site. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  10. Poff, Tracy (2015-07-21). "Star Trek Log One by Alan Dean Foster". Other Stuff Exists. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  11. "Publication: Star Trek Log One". ISFDB. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  12. "Publisher Aeonian Press: Books Published in 1979". ISFDB. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  13. "Publisher Amereon: Books Published in 1980". ISFDB. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
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