|
Rating:  -
As a life-long Star Trek fan (I started watching TNG as a toddler), I have always felt that Voyager was the "red-headed stepchild" of the Trekverse. Although it had the most interesting and complex set of characters, it was mismanaged by both the network and the people at the top. It only added insult to injury when it was decided that Kathryn Janeway should be sacrificed for shock value at a time when both Ben Sisko and Jean-Luc Picard were married and playing happy families.
Full Circle is a Voyager where its' characters and their histories are finally treated with the respect that they deserve. All of the principals that made it to the Alpha Quadrant get the chance to shine, but it is really Chakotay who benefits the most.
The "philosopher and the soldier" (to paraphrase Janeway) was a character that was ill-served in the tv series, due to a more quiet subtle characterization than UPN was able to handle. Full Circle brought all of his best and worst qualities to the fore, including that beautiful subtle romance with Kathryn that the series so mishandled. The ease with which Beyer manages in just a few pages to paint the resolution of their protracted romance and the ease with which they slipped from friends to lovers makes you wonder what the producers were smoking when they said that it would never work.
Even after Janeway's death as he reels from her loss while their former crew remains oblivious, Chakotay 's characterization remains the highlight of an already excellent, though bittersweet book. The entire book is a tribute to the spirit of Kathryn Janeway and the family she kept together through blood, sweat, and tears in the Delta Quadrant. I am just sorry that it took Janeway's death, the destruction of "the family" and four years for it to happen.
Rating:  -
Good, but not the best of the Star Trek book. The story lines did not flow easily.
Rating:  -
(Spoilers!) As a long-time Voyager fan, I was actually looking forward to this book, as I have enjoyed (mostly) reading about the post-TV adventures of its intrepid crew (& even some of the additional ones). Also did then try to keep an open mind even after noting the very unfortunate destruction (in a recent TNG book) of the most important non-tech character of Voyager, its very heart, Kathryn Janeway, which I heard was to be addressed here. Well, the 1st half of this book (Voyager & company goes to the rescue of B. Torres and baby Miral) was enjoyable enough, although it may have inadvertently shown how wrong Pocket books was to arbitrarily get rid of (except maybe in "spirit", small comfort) one of the most important women in Trekdom, as Admlr. KJ was shown as alive, well, and important in the story. That 1st part (including the sorrowful, forewarning introduction), though, seemed like it was only something of a precursor for the depressing and difficult to read 2nd part, which I barely was able to even get through. That part only left me feeling angry and upset, which is not my idea of a good read, however perhaps seemingly well written. (I realize am not an "expert", but am just really compelled to express what I think about this.)
Much of the second half showed most of the original Voyager characters (and also spent some time promoting the new "substitute" main characters that fans are supposed to embrace, as if we haven't perhaps already spent hours watching maybe 170 TV episodes with the canon Delta Quadrant crew) reacting to, and showing their grief, about Janeway's demise. It felt like readers were being told over and over "She's gone, so grieve now, & move on!". Well, I don't like maybe being subliminally advised on how to react, and Kathryn will never be gone for me, no matter what anyone says. Also, the treatment of now-Cptn. Chakotay was, IMHO, rather dismaying. Of course he would grieve mucho over Kathryn's loss (especially after they finally got together, which could have been nice to read about, except for the suspicion that it was just another set-up for tragedy), but he was portrayed as such an extreme emotional basket case that it's kind of a wonder he was a functioning person in the 1st place. It made him look weak, and I'm sure he was a stronger fellow than that. Then the new counselor unctuously tells him to "let her go". Again, it was like the readers were being told "Sorry, Janeway's gone, you too have to let her go," as if we (& Chakotay, though he did need to get better) should just forget about someone so important for so long.
Well, the only thing I am letting go now are any further Trek books (& I've read many of them), but not only for the wrongful deletion of one of my favorite Trek characters, which I realize was first done in a different book. (Also didn't care for what's happening to Tom & B'Elanna, but maybe that will be resolved, although who knows.) The current Trek lit. universe, as ultimately shown in this book, is quite doleful now, full of wars, death & destruction - not what Star Trek is supposed to be - ie. optimistic & adventurous. I don't expect Trek books to be sweetness & light, but such gloom and sadness is not something I wish to explore further. Now, others might not agree with me, but I wouldn't think of critisizing their opinions, and my viewpoint (40 yr. trek fan) is as valid as anyone's. So unfortunately can't recommend this, unless one likes really bad things happening to so many (mostly) good people, and can overlook reading such (mostly) pessimism. (Too bad, as I do still care about the real Voyager characters, & usually try to be positive.) GS. P.S. Rating averaged from 3 1/2 stars for pt. 1, & 1 star for pt. 2 as it definitely did not entertain me.
Rating: -
First of all, I was not a big fan of Golden's Voyager relaunch. I didn't like the story, and Golden had written the characters poorly. It's a shame because I liked her earlier books, but when she wrote the relaunch books, it's like she forgot everything she ever knew about Voyager
Beyer came in spun it around and actually made it GOOD. I know a lot of people think that not all of the characters are in it, and a lot of people are not going to read it because of Janeway's "death", but I honestly think that's ridiculous. Yes ALL of the main characters are in it and they're all the main characters in the book. There are some new characters thrown in too. And personally I think it's ridiculous to not read it because one character is gone. There are after all 8 other characters.
*spoilers ahead*
Yes we all know Janeway "died".
She is quite prominent in the first half of the book, which takes place before her death. Since it had been 5 friggen years since the last Voyager book, I didn't remember much of what happened in it, but you didn't need to be too familiar with all the details. The first half is about Miral being kidnapped and the crew of Voyager (all of them) coming together to find her. In the process they discover a threat to all Klingons.
The second half dealt with Janeway's death, people's reactions to it, and Voyager's next mission. Beyer makes heavy use of flashback scenes to tell what's happened in the 5 years since the last book, what happened in the Destiny books. I did find all the flashbacks kind of confusing and have no idea how much time actually passes in the novel. (somewhere between 1 and 3 years I think)
Those who are upset about Janeway's "death" may like what Beyer did with that. She gave her "death" a lot of meaning and showed how her sacrifice wasn't a stupid suicide trip, but rather an attempt to save her crew from a mission back to the DQ.
And one of the most amazing things IMO is that Beyer actually managed to make Chakotay [i]interesting[/i] she gave him depth and I found myself actually liking him. J/Cers will LOVE parts of this book.
Of course my fellow P/Ters will love this book. I can't wait for the next one to see the repercussions from their friends over what Tom and B'Elanna did.
Rating:  -
Wow. What a Trek novel. Personally, I've never been the biggest fan of Voyager. After all, I wanted more of the aftermath of post DS9 events in the Alpha Quadrant as opposed to the completely unknown Delta Quadrant. But now Voyager is back in the Alpha and deeply, deeply immersed in what's going on currently in the Trek universe. But that's not what makes this novel a wonderful jumping on point for new Voyager fans. Yes, it mops up and answers many questions left by previous works (both in the Voyager series and others). But in the end it brings us together with new faces in a new crew bound together by a daunting new mission. Take the time to invest in reading this novel to prepare for future Voyager works. You won't be disappointed (I hope).
Let's just start with character development. Anyone who's read the TNG relaunch, Titan and the Destiny series will have at least a passing familiarity with the characters involved here. Golden does an excellent job of taking those calamitous events and bringing them down to the perspective of those who lived through them. Chakotay undergoes a great deal of development, as does Tom and B'Elanna's marriage. But understand, this work isn't a walk in the park. It goes to dark, unhappy places before coming back around to a not-so-totally happy ending.
There's enough foreshadowing to be able to guess what Voyager's next mission will be, so I'll leave that for you to read and discover in the final pages. And speaking of pages, this novel has a tremendous page count (over 500) and I cheer to see a Trek title get so long winded. I've wanted longer Star Trek books for years and this one was wonderfully long, well written and a satisfying read, even to someone like me who has little knowledge of the Voyager series. I hope the trend toward longer books continues and that Full Circle is only the first of many.
You may not agree with all the choices the characters make, but for the first time all around we're treated to the in depth reasoning behind their decisions. Its enough to make me look forward to this year's literature in the Trek universe.
Television Show
Collectibles
Movie Searches
|
|
|
Search for posters,
art prints, photos, collectables, merchandise, toys, t-shirts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TV Guide
Program listings, celebrity profiles, industry
gossip, movie reviews, puzzle.
More
Entertainment
& TV Magazines
This site is
Hosted
by Bluehost
Read
my Bluehost Review
Most Popular TV collectibles
|
|
Home
Articles
Images
Forum
Search
Shopping
TV Trivia
Watch TV
Wallpaper
