Star Trek novels are a gateway drug. The kid reading about Star Fleet today will be reading MacLeod's 'Star Faction' next year and having his mind blown away.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek
Since 1967, hundreds of original [ Star Trek ] novels, short stories, and television and movie adaptations have been published.
Yet ... they are pretty bad. But better than 'Death Be Not Proud', 'Lord of the Flies', 'Catcher in the Rye' and the others works of Literature beloved by High School teachers and almost no one else.