After a couple days’ thought….
It was suggested that a Rachel Garrett novel would work best within the framework of a Captain’s Table II series.
I wonder if such a series would even be viable .
The Captains’ names I’ve seen bandied about–April, Keller, Shelby, Kira, Gold, Garrett, Harriman, another dozen easily –strike me as being, by and large, “second tier” or “niche.”
Kira, at this point, wouldn’t be considered “second tier,” but look at the other choices. Characters who appeared once in several cases.
Series weren’t built around April. Series weren’t built around Harriman. Series weren’t built around Garrett. These are niche characters, characters that appeared on stage once then departed for realms unknown.
This isn’t to say that a Captain’s Table II absolutely cannot be done. I think a Shelby novel would be interesting and could rectify some of the damage her character has taken in New Frontier due to lack of characterization; Shelby could be just as defined by this hypothetical novel as Calhoun was defined by Once Burned. I would welcome a Garrett novel regardless of whether it was part of a Captain’s Table series or not.
I just question whether the concept of a Captain’s Table II would be viable. Would people buy Star Trek novels with characters on the cover that they might never have seen? Admittedly, there would be a curiosity factor in buying an April novel; people might wonder just why Gene Roddenberry in a retro Starfleet uniform was on the cover of a Star Trek novel.
I wonder if such a series would generate the sales necessary to support it. My guess is that it might not.