Star Trek: The Original Series Lit-verse Reading List Star Trek: The Original Series Lit-verse Reading List

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The Original Series Reading List lacks a main ongoing storyline that is the hallmark of the other series' literary continuities. However, some prominent storylines and tales can be picked out. The majority of The Original Series novels are stand-alone, and most can easily be read in any order. Accordingly there are no obvious "jumping on points" which the other series can be said to have.

Many The Original Series stories in the last two decades have included elements of the wider Lit-verse, so many novels, short stories, comics, and audiobooks are connected due to various references in other books, or to other books. These references are mentioned in the notes.

Other novels are connected by five crossover series: Invasion! (which is referenced several times in the Lit-verse), Day of Honor (which shares references with several things in the Lit-verse), The Captain's Table (which is thematically connected to the Lit-verse spanning Tales From the Captain's Table), Section 31 (which ties into the Deep Space Nine Post-Finale Series,) and Gateways (which ties into the Deep Space Nine Post-Finale Series and the New Frontier series.)

Nine other short stories or novellas are also connected: five from Enterprise Logs (which shares references among several connected novels), two from Deep Space Nine: The Lives of Dax (which ties into the Deep Space Nine Post-Finale Series), one from The Brave and the Bold duology (which ties into the Gorkon series), and one from Seven Deadly Sins (which ties into three Lit-verse series.)

Five novels and one ebook in other series cross over with The Original Series: Discovery: Drastic Measures, Discovery: Desperate Hours, Department of Temporal Investigations: Forgotten History, Vanguard: Harbinger, Vanguard: Storming Heaven, and Vanguard: In Tempest's Wake.

Also included are the stories from Constellations (one story of which is referenced in The Next Generation: Before Dishonor), and Mere Anarchy (which references several other stories.) Various references in parts of the Crew series, Star Trek #500, the Uchu manga, New Visions: Issue #5, Peter Pan Record #1, the Year Five series, the Wildstorm Star Trek Special, Star Trek #400, and the DC Volume 2 Special #2 connect The Original Series stories from those works. 

The Original Series Reading List stops at the disappearance of James T. Kirk aboard the Enterprise-B and all storylines transfer to "The Lost Era", the Early 24th Century Reading List.

In addition there are the novels that comprised the "Original Lit-verse" of the 1980s. This was a group of stories which were eventually linked together through references and shared characters. Of particular importance to the later Lit-verse are the original two Rihannsu novels, The Final Reflection, and the novelizations of The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan, many elements of which have been more or less incorporated into the modern continuity, though undoubtedly requiring a certain amount of retconning.

The earliest book eventually connected to the "Original Lit-verse" was published in 1977. The continuity flourished throughout the 1980s under editor Dave Stern. Around 1988, under the direction of Gene Roddenberry and Richard Arnold, a push was made to cut back on shared characters and references between novels. This was not a hard rule, and references between books and between comics continued at a slower pace through the mid 1990s under Stern and Kevin Ryan. I place the end of this era, and the advent of the modern Lit-verse, around 1995/1996, under editor John Ordover.

Closely connected to these books was the DC Comics series of the 1980s. Characters were sometimes shared between the two series. Several "Original Lit-verse" novels have been referenced in the modern continuity, more or less linking both bodies of work, though of course with continuity difficulties. The numbering system of the "Original Lit-verse" included here is strictly chronological and did not originate from the authors' or editors' intent. 

(Note that an explanation for my order of episodes and novels during the Five Year Mission can be seen here: The Five Year Mission: Month-By-Month. This is a very specific order that does not always match production order or airdate.)

(Note that the covers of many The Original Series books contain Enterprise designs or Starfleet uniforms which do not match the era of the book, and which sometimes do not even match each other. These should be disregarded.)

Dark blue denotes the works most closely linked to the Lit-verse. Read any or all of these to expand on The Original Series era from the Lit-verse's perspective. Light blue denotes the more expanded storyline. Read these for other works closely connected to the Lit-verse. Dark green denotes the Original Lit-verse. Light green denotes the DC Comics continuity, which was interconnected with the Original Lit-verse novels. Many stories cross between two or more of these categories, and the categories themselves, in the case of The Original Series, could be flexible. The white denotes every other connected story, regardless of continuity. 

Hover for notes. As always, not every reference to every other story is mentioned, just the one I chose as most important to show the expanding Lit-verse web.

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  • Crew: Shakedown
  • Deep Space Nine: Old Souls
  • Crew: The Bottle
  • Discovery: Drastic Measures
  • Though Hell Should Bar the Way
  • Crew: Ghosts
  • Crew: Shadows of the Past
  • Crew: The Ends of Eternity
  • Vulcan's Glory
  • The Children of Kings
  • Early Voyages: Flesh of My Flesh
  • Early Voyages: The Fires of Pharos
  • Early Voyages: Our Dearest Blood
  • Early Voyages: Nor Iron Bars a Cage
  • Conflicting Natures
  • Early Voyages: Cloak and Dagger
  • Early Voyages: The Flat, Gold Forever
  • Early Voyages: Immortal Wounds
  • Early Voyages: One of a Kind
  • Early Voyages: The Fallen
  • Early Voyages: Futures
  • Early Voyages: Thanatos
  • Early Voyages: Nemesis
  • Child of Two Worlds
  • Discovery: Desperate Hours
  • Discovery: The Enterprise War
  • Star-Crossed
  • Star-Crossed: Loved Not Wisely...
  • Enterprise: The First Adventure
  • The Captain's Oath
  • Alien Spotlight: Orions
  • Mere Anarchy: Things Fall Apart
  • Deep Space Nine: Sins of the Mother
  • My Brother's Keeper: Republic
  • My Brother's Keeper: Constitution
  • Vanguard: Harbinger
  • My Brother's Keeper: Enterprise
  • The Landing Party
  • The Janus Gate: Present Tense
  • The Janus Gate: Future Imperfect
  • The Captain's Table: Where Sea Meets Sky
  • The Janus Gate: Past Prologue
  • The First Artifact
  • Alien Spotlight: Romulans
  • Pawns of War: Balance of Terror
  • Shadow Lord
  • The Peril of Planet Quick Change: The Creatures of Light
  • The Peril of Planet Quick Change: The Sinister Guest
  • Errand of Vengeance: The Edge of the Sword
  • Errand of Vengeance: Killing Blow
  • Errand of Vengeance: River of Blood
  • Inalienable Rights
  • The Avenger
  • The Brain-Damaged Planet, Part One
  • The Brain-Damaged Planet, Part Two
  • The Humanitarian
  • Official Record
  • Errand of Fury: Seeds of Rage
  • Errand of Fury: Demands of Honor
  • Errand of Fury: Sacrifices of War
  • The Modala Imperative
  • The Aliens Are Coming!
  • Final Frontier
  • The Disinherited
  • Ambition
  • Chaotic Response
  • Invasion!: First Strike
  • Art of War
  • The Leader
  • Harm's Way
  • See No Evil
  • Federation
  • Romulans: The Hollow Crown, Issue One
  • The Vulcan Academy Murders
  • The IDIC Epidemic
  • Double, Double
  • Twilight's End
  • First, Do No Harm
  • James Kirk's Psycho-File
  • Spocks's Psycho-File
  • Uhura's Song
  • Across the Universe
  • Mere Anarchy: The Centre Cannot Hold
  • Legacies: Captain to Captain
  • I Knew You Were Tribble When You Walked In
  • A Bad Day For Koloth
  • Legacies: Best Defense
  • Legacies: Purgatory's Shadow
  • Bandi
  • Mission to Horatius
  • The Rings of Tautee
  • New Visions: Strange New Worlds
  • The Klingon Gambit
  • Mutiny on the Enterprise
  • The First Peer
  • A Choice of Catastrophes
  • Legacy
  • Crisis on Centaurus
  • X-Men: Star Trex
  • Day of Honor: Treaty's Law
  • Ishmael
  • Assignment: Earth
  • From History's Shadow
  • The Shocks of Adversity
  • Romulans: The Hollow Crown, Issue Two
  • The Entropy Effect
  • Dreams of the Raven
  • The Unhappy Ones
  • Ghost-Walker
  • Devices and Desires
  • Section 31: Cloak
  • Gateways: One Small Step
  • Gateways: One Giant Leap
  • How Much For Just the Planet
  • Vanguard: Storming Heaven
  • Vanguard: In Tempest's Wake
  • Year Five: Weaker Than Man
  • Killing Time
  • Dying of the Light
  • New Visions: A Scent of Ghosts
  • None But the Brave
  • Fracture
  • Assignment: Eternity
  • As Others See Us
  • The Face of the Unknown
  • The Latter Fire
  • Passage to Moauv
  • In Vino Veritas
  • A Crier in Emptiness
  • Log Seven
  • Log Ten
  • Log Three
  • Cat and Mouse
  • Log Five
  • Log One
  • Tears of the Singers
  • The Great Starship Race
  • The Galactic Whirlpool
  • First Frontier
  • Year Four: The Enterprise Experiment
  • That Which Divides
  • Year Five: Odyssey's End
  • Year Five: Communications Breakdown
  • Mindshadow
  • Prime Directive
  • Log Two
  • Agents of Influence
  • Romulans: Schism
  • Yesterday's Son
  • The Eugenics Wars, Volume One
  • The Eugenics Wars, Volume Two
  • Memory Prime
  • The Price of the Phoenix
  • The Fate of the Phoenix
  • Year Five: The Truth Artifact
  • Year Five: Trespasser
  • Year Five: The Wine-Dark Deep
  • Demons
  • Dreadnaught!
  • Year Five: The Mission Who Walks Like a Man
  • Year Five: Guide of Fire
  • Year Five: Vote Mudd
  • Faces of Fire
  • Where Everybody Knows Your Name
  • Corona
  • Battlestations!
  • The Abode of Life
  • Chain of Attack
  • Allegiance in Exile
  • Crossroad
  • Year Five: On the Death of a Friend
  • Savage Trade
  • The Final Nexus
  • Garth of Izar
  • Troublesome Minds
  • The Weight of Worlds
  • Bloodthirst
  • No Time Like the Past
  • The Rings of Time
  • Year Five: The Raptor's Wings
  • Year Five: Ithica
  • Star-Crossed: A Bright Particular Star
  • The Lost Years
  • Year Five: Experienced in Loss
  • Mere Anarchy: Shadows of the Indignant
  • New Visions: Memorium
  • Traitor Winds
  • Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor: Weeds
  • Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor: Error
  • A Flag Full of Stars
  • Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor: Medics
  • Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor: Hosts
  • Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor: Scalpel
  • Serpents in the Garden
  • Recovery
  • Night Whispers
  • The Motion Picture
  • Untold Voyages: Renewal
  • Ex Machina
  • Infestation
  • The Kobayashi Maru
  • The Motion Picture: Echoes
  • Firestorm
  • The Final Reflection
  • Mere Anarchy: The Darkness Drops Again
  • The Enterprise Murder Case!
  • Double Bluff
  • The More Things Change
  • The Prometheus Design
  • Triangle
  • Experiment in Vengeance!
  • Untold Voyages: Worlds Collide
  • Department of Temporal Investigations: Forgotten History
  • Ice Trap
  • The Wounded Sky
  • Rihannsu: My Enemy, My Ally
  • We Are Dying, Egypt, Dying!
  • Spock's World
  • The Better Man
  • There's No Space Like Gnomes'!
  • The Covenant of the Crown
  • Doctor's Orders
  • Untold Voyages: Past Imperfect
  • Rihannsu: The Romulan Way
  • Rihannsu: Swordhunt
  • Rihannsu: Honor Blade
  • Rihannsu: The Empty Chair
  • Shell Game
  • Untold Voyages: Silent Cries
  • Rules of Engagement
  • The Higher Frontier
  • Untold Voyages: Odyssey's End
  • Deep Domain
  • Living Memory
  • New Earth: Wagon Train to the Stars
  • New Earth: Belle Terre
  • New Earth: Rough Trails
  • New Earth: The Flaming Arrow
  • New Earth: Thin Air
  • New Earth: Challenger
  • Gateways, Book 2: Challenger- Chainmail
  • Gateways: Challenger- Exodus
  • The Pandora Principle
  • Dwellers in the Crucible
  • Alien Spotlight: The Gorn
  • Just Another Little Training Cruise
  • Elusive Salvation
  • Strangers From the Sky
  • Time For Yesterday
  • Deep Space Nine: Infinity
  • The Wrath of Khan
  • Seasons of Light and Darkness
  • The Wormhole Connection
  • ...The Only Good Klingon...
  • Errand of War
  • Deadly Allies
  • Mortal Gods
  • Who is Enigma?
  • Saavik's Story
  • The Search For Spock
  • New Frontiers
  • The D'Artagnan Three
  • All Those Years Ago...
  • Giri
  • Dreamworld
  • Wolf on the Prowl
  • Wolf at the Door
  • Double Blind
  • The Trouble With Transporters
  • Around the Clock
  • The Last Word
  • The Trouble With Bearclaw
  • Uhura's Story
  • Maggie's World
  • Judgement Day
  • Vicious Circle
  • The Doomsday Bug
  • The Needs of the One
  • The Voyage Home
  • Debt of Honor
  • Choices
  • Probe
  • Retrospect
  • Prey: Hell's Heart
  • Timetrap
  • When You Wish Upon a Star...
  • Mudd's Magic
  • What Goes Around...
  • The Corbomite Effect
  • The Return of the Serpent
  • Getaway
  • Idol Threats
  • The Stars in Secret Influence
  • Aspiring to Be Angels
  • Aspiring to Be Angels
  • Marriage of Inconvenience
  • Haunted Honeymoon
  • Hell in a Handbasket
  • You're Dead Jim
  • Old Loyalties
  • Finnegan's Wake
  • To Reign in Hell
  • The Final Frontier
  • The Return!
  • The Sentence
  • Death Before Dishonor
  • Repercussions
  • Fast Friends
  • Cure All
  • Not Sweeney
  • Going, Going
  • Gone
  • The Trial of James T. Kirk
  • Memoriam
  • Unspoken Truth
  • In the Name of Honor
  • The Rift
  • The Return of the Worthy
  • Partners?
  • Once a Hero
  • Foul Deeds Will Rise
  • Mission: Muddled
  • The Sky Above...the Mudd Below
  • Target: Mudd
  • Raise the Defiant
  • Class Reunion
  • Where There's a Will
  • Secrets
  • Truth or Treachery
  • Veritas
  • Captain's Log
  • Excelsior: Forged in Fire
  • The Tabukan Syndrome
  • Runaway
  • A Little Adventure!
  • ...Goes a Long Way!
  • Acceptable Risk
  • A Little Man-to-Man Talk
  • Blaise of Glory
  • Deceptions
  • The Peacekeeper
  • Miasma
  • Renegade
  • Time Crime
  • No Compromise
  • Bait... and Switch
  • Rivals
  • A Wolf in Cheap Clothing
  • Captain Sulu Adventures: Cacophony
  • Convergence
  • Mere Anarchy: The Blood-Dimmed Tide
  • Lost to Eternity
  • A Question of Loyalty
  • Prey: The Jackal's Trick
  • Bloodline
  • The Undiscovered Country
  • Klingons: Blood Will Tell
  • Best Destiny
  • Sarek
  • Mind Meld
  • Shadows on the Sun
  • The Ashes of Eden
  • The Captain's Table: War Dragons
  • The Last Roundup
  • The Autobiography of James T. Kirk
  • The Lights in the Sky
  • All That Most Maddens and Torments
  • The Autobiography of Mr. Spock