If you grew up in the 70s, and were a Trek fan, you probably came across the Star Trek series of books by James Blish. Co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto take a look at these books in this episode of 70s Trek.
James Blish started writing the episode adaptations for Bantam Books in 1967. He is credited for writing 11 books through 1975. That's when he died from cancer.
His wife Judith Lawrence finished Star Trek 12 in 1977. Blish also wrote the first Star Trek novel for adults in 1970, Spock Must Die. It was a sequel to the episode Errand of Mercy. But more importantly, it marked the beginning of publishing original Star Trek novels that continues today.
The Blish books proved that there was an audience for written Star Trek material, and it was large! From 1967 through 1975, the Blish adaptations sold over 4 million copies, which was unheard of for the science fiction genre.
