VOY: Children of the Storm by Kirsten Beyer Review Thread (Spoilers!)

[MatthiasRussell]

I was greatly anticipating this book and was not let down. Children of the Storm was probably my favorite release from the past year. Beyer had a hard job to do and executed it well.

The story has an antagonist that is extremely powerful and had little foundation laid for it. Often times, ultra-powerful antagonists are poorly done as they end up being silly or defeated using techno-magic. But the Children were well developed into a very original and intriguing species and the situation was handled in a very Trek way. The resolution was the type that I expect from trek and involved a perfect balance of ingenuity and technology without the techno-babble.

Another area where Beyer could have failed in this book was relying on original, off screen characters for ½ - 2/3 of the book. Despite much of the story centering on new characters I was able to get into the plot and personalities and enjoy the experience. The returning VOY characters were also well done and showed Beyer well understands the characters and appears to know the directions we want the tv characters to take. At no point in the book did I think, “He wouldn’t do that!”

The uniqueness of Full Circle Voyager to me is that it is a fleet with many, many characters. With 9 ships and 9 command staffs, it is easy to get overwhelmed, forget what is happening to each crew, and not get emotionally attached to anyone. This didn’t happen to me. I stayed hooked throughout the read and never once got lost. I totally didn’t expect what happened to the Demeter or Guirinal; they were jaw-dropping moments.

I expected to be ready for another author to take a crack at this but Beyer has kept the momentum going and each of her books keep getting better. I am more hooked on VOY than ever and look forward to the next installment.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[MatthiasRussell]

I would also add that, as a parent, I really enjoyed this book as I saw much of my children in "The Children". VOY always had a family feel to it and Janeway was very maternal to her crew. Between the antagonist and Miral, I could tell Beyer understands kids quite well. She really nailed them and captured that family feel. Though I liked Janeway, Eden has kept the maternal/shepherd feel going.

I'm angered at the hate for this series that there is at startrek.com. Lots of people there who refuse to even consider reading these great books. I exhausted myself trying to encourage them to overcome their bias and give it a try.
http://www.startrek.com/article/kirs...eashes-a-storm

[KimM]

I wish there were a higher superlative than Outstanding for this poll. I finally got my copy and couldn't put it down. Beyer is a true believer and loves these characters as much as we do. I have loved every one of her Voyager books for the spirit they're offered in; hope and exploration and the joy of creation. I was very moved by this installation and feel that these last three books go a long way to heal the hurt of the death of Janeway. They also remind that life goes on and is not only worth living but living as well as can be. Thank you Kirsten, for another wonderful chapter of Voyager. I can't wait for more. They have encouraged me more about the future of StarTrek than any other ST books/movies I have enjoyed recently.

[star trek]

Very entertaining novel. A++++.

Great addition of new characters but I was kinda disappointed when I read the appendix at the end, where a lot of the ships in the fleet is manned by humans, aside from the Hawking, a mostly Vulcan vessel. I guess I just like it when there's more variety and everything is less human-centric in the Federation.

I hope in the next one they will run into an already encountered species from the show, Hirogen perhaps. I'd love to see the planet settled by humans in the Delta Quadrant (The episode with Amelia Earhart) and what had become of them.

I can't wait for the next one. Anyone know if and when the next is coming out?

(I just signed up and i couldn't believe this name wasn't taken! =D :EDIT: wasn't)

[Deranged Nasat]

star trek wrote:

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(I just signed up and i couldn't believe this name was taken! =D)

Welcome to the board, star trek.

[GalaxyClass1701]

I loved it the perfect Trek format ships out exploring the unknown the author nailed all the characters.

A few thoughts.

1. I love the fact the Seven and Cambridge are starting a relationship I find this very funny and intriguing.

2. We finally got a description of one of the ships Achilles. I picture it as the saucer of Prometheus with basically a huge box as the massive cargo hold with two massive nacelles. I just wish we got a better description of the Merrian class.

3 I loved Captain Farkas and O'Donnel!

Only negative is I don't like Eden as still being a Captain IMO it's a little confusing. Star Fleet should have given her a field promotion to Admiral or since the is unique as in Star Fleet doesnt usually send out fleets, She should be a Commador.

[David Brennon]

GalaxyClass1701 wrote:

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Only negative is I don't like Eden as still being a Captain IMO it's a little confusing. Star Fleet should have given her a field promotion to Admiral or since the is unique as in Star Fleet doesnt usually send out fleets, She should be a Commador.

I don't think of it as a negative exactly, but I would like to see something like that. I doubt it'll happen though, and I'm okay with that.

[JD]

I just found an interview with Kirsten Beyer on the official Star Trek site.

[MatthiasRussell]

^LOL, I sited that one a few posts up. Did you read the comments? A lot of haters out there REFUSE to read VOY until Janeway is brought back no matter how good the books are. PD gets a lot of personal hate, too.

[BrotherBenny]

Finally finished reading the book and I have to agree with everyone who loves it. Kirsten really has captured the Voyager characters perfectly. Wish I knew when the next one was coming out.

I wonder what the actual description of those fighters is. I'd like to think of them as like the Vipers of BSG.

[Astraea]

BrotherBenny wrote:

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I wonder what the actual description of those fighters is. I'd like to think of them as like the Vipers of BSG.

Funny you should say that, I thought the exact same thing when I was reading.

[Stephen!]

star trek wrote:

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I hope in the next one they will run into an already encountered species from the show, Hirogen perhaps.

Or the Kazon. Given their desire to obtain Voyager's technology, it'd be like Christmas for them, now that there's an entire fleet.

[JD]

MatthiasRussell wrote:

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^LOL, I sited that one a few posts up. Did you read the comments? A lot of haters out there REFUSE to read VOY until Janeway is brought back no matter how good the books are. PD gets a lot of personal hate, too.

We've gotten alot of that around here too. We've had a couple threads go on for days with people just arguing about that stuff.

[JoeZhang]

I've just finished it and I really enjoyed it - in fact, it's the first Trek book I've liked in a long time. I never liked Voyager very much, no I'd go further than that and say that it was largely garbage but I like this and I enjoyed reading about the characters - both new and old. Even Neelix the intergalactic sex offender was made into a bearable character.

[Christopher]

JoeZhang wrote:

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Even Neelix the intergalactic sex offender was made into a bearable character.

Okay, that's a ridiculous characterization. First off, we have no proof that Neelix and Kes were actually sexually active together. Second, Kes wasn't human, so it's nonsensically ethnocentric to judge her maturity by human standards. She was a capable adult by the standards of her own species, and nobody who paid any attention could possibly think she was too immature to make responsible choices. Hell, she was the wisest person on the ship. So calling Neelix a sex offender is as insulting to Kes as it is to Neelix, because it's misrepresenting her as a helpless child.