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

[Thrawn]

People are saying they've seen it in stores, so it seems to be time.

Crazy excited for this one. Woo hoo!

Please tag spoilers. If you don't agree with that policy, see discussion at the beginnings of the last few threads like this; the general preference seems to be for tagging.

[Deranged Nasat]

Perfect timing, Thrawn. I picked it up today and was waiting for you to start the thread (I'm no good with polls, so I leave it in your capable hands). I have a more detailed review below, but for now I'll say it's a pleasing continuation of "Full Circle" and "Unworthy". It maintains the same quality, and it seems the series is progressing smoothly. Beyer's writing is strong and the character dynamics were interesting. Overall, it wasn't anything outstandingly spectacular but it maintained the high standards of Beyer's previous Voyager books and was a solid addition to the mainstream Trek novel 'verse. So I vote "Above Average".

Some thoughts:

There was a much appreciated, understated but significant sense of discovery and scientific wonder to the plot (as there was in Unworthy). It's great to see the series - and Beyer - making use of the Delta Quadrant as a place of potential wonder as well as danger, and creating some truly interesting life-forms. This is just what those parts of space near to former Borg territory should be - strange, disturbing, lawless, dangerous places without all the neat national borders and treaties and trade consortiums that we see elsewhere. First with the Indign in the last book and now with the highly "damaged" Children and their mother, there's been a focus on what the setting of Borg space has to offer the series. With the Indign and the Children, we've had sensible but surprising and fascinating ideas on the effects the Borg presence had on those beings and life-forms who lived alongside them. I'm enjoying that dynamic. It combines a Titan-esque sense of wonder and discovery with a darker undercurrent that makes these Voyager books different enough not to seem like they're covering the same ground.

Character stuff is good, too. I always liked B'Elanna and Tom as a couple, but I was a little concerned that once they "settled down" it would become boring. It hasn't so far, and Beyer makes their domestic relationship seem convincing. As I suppose was inevitable given that (as we all know) Beyer is a recent parent, the focus on parenthood and its joys/challenges is also convincing, and given what the subject matter means to me, I'm gratified that Trek lit acknowledges its importance so readily.

Nice little subplot with Drafar, too. I enjoyed seeing B'Elanna challenge his prejudice in a reasoned and understanding (yet effective) manner; it shows a maturity that is particularly pleasing when considered that her character arc in these books has seen her embrace her Klingon self more readily. That she can balance her "born-again Klingon" traits with the ability not to lash out aggressively when offended, and instead constructively try to break through the prejudice, is a good sign. I wish I could claim similar maturity for myself, but I'm not there yet, sadly.

Cambridge continues to delight (he's one of the better new characters of late), and the relationship with Seven is getting very interesting. It's been well handled so far - "Seven in a romantic relationship" must be a difficult concept to write around, but so far I'm liking this. The continued growth of Seven as a character has also been a strength of the relaunch-relaunch (if you'll excuse that term).

The new new characters were strong enough to hold my attention - O'Donnell in particular was a good addition, and his professional relationship with Fife is one I hope we see more of. The dynamic was an interesting one, unlike any other command staff I remember, and made sense given the ship's specialized nature. There's potential for more here. Captain Farkas was also handled well, and I hope to see more of her too.

I liked the fact that Kressari colour-changing eyes were included. I don't quite know why, save that those little bits of consistancy with other novels always please me.

I was disappointed that we didn't learn more about Sharak (Mayweather, on Enterprise! Temba, Sharak!), but his one scene of importance was well crafted. His position on the issue in question was very Tamarian, but explored in a manner that kept him an individual not simply a mouthpiece for the culture. I had a pleasant low-key epiphany when Dathon was mentioned, and I liked how Sharak's stance on Lasren's risk essentially related back to that without screaming "THINK ABOUT DARMOK!!" at us.

The Children of the Storm themselves were also interesting. As someone who experiences, shall we say, very strong emotional surges, I found their simplicity and power of emotion sadly endearing, and I liked the whole theme of life, regeneration and recreation that connected them, the Demeter crew, and the whole post-Borg timeframe. Quite fulfilling, and it contributes to what I've mentioned before as one of my favourite things about Trek lit- the way it keeps coming up with new ways to explore issues of self and rebirth, discovery and family. The whole line from Greater Than the Sum through Destiny to these post-Destiny stories has been very mature writing in that regard, if I may say so. It's dealt with some very complex ideas that I welcome exploration of and it keeps finding new and inteligent ways to wrestle with them.

So, yes, no complaints. Overall, I'm pleased. It didn't lift itself into Outstanding, but a fitting Above Average.

[AuntKate]

^^Not really spoilers, but I'm reading a lot of names I don't recognize in your review. Are Tom and B'Elanna the only Voyager characters in the novel?

[Deranged Nasat]

AuntKate wrote:

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^^Not really spoilers, but I'm reading a lot of names I don't recognize in your review. Are Tom and B'Elanna the only Voyager characters in the novel?

Not at all. Chakotay gets some good stuff, as do Seven, Harry Kim and Neelix. The only core character who doesn't get that much this time round is the Doctor, and he still has some attention. It's just that I felt like talking about the newer characters more, as they have to prove themselves in a way the core cast don't, and they do get a fair bit of focus; we've got nine ships to cover, after all.

[crotig]

21st July for UK dead tree version. No kindle release date as yet!. Booo!.

Thanks for reviews. I'm very jealous!

[Deranged Nasat]

crotig wrote:

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21st July for UK dead tree version. No kindle release date as yet!. Booo!.

Thanks for reviews. I'm very jealous!

Try Forbidden Planet. They ship a few New York-published books into the store. It's great, because until recently I was in the "waiting a month after everyone else on the board" group, but now I get them on American time.

At least FP says it ships them. I like to assume a group of brave English patriots dare the American border patrols each month and smuggle out a few copies of the latest book, against daunting odds.

[scnj]

I grabbed mine in Forbidden Planet sunday and finished earlier today. It was an easy, intriguing read and the author had a very good grasp of the characters, old and new.

[Freman]

Neelix is in it? Yay!!!

[shanejayell]

Checked around Vancouver, BC, no luck yet. Will look again later this week.

[TerraUnam]

Received it from amazon.ca today. They usually ship on the Monday of the third or fourth week of the month, a week or two before the official release date.

I agree with everything Deranged Nasat says. A good book, well-written and it does the Delta Quadrant justice. So far the last two books have tip-toed around the edges of former Borg space so I look forward to seeing what would happen if and when the fleet gets to the heart of former Borg territory.

[SicOne]

If any kind soul would like to PM me with the list of ship names and classes of the Full Circle fleet (that is supposed to be at the end of CotS) to satisfy my thirst for knowledge while I wait for the book to hit the stores in Omaha, I would be eternally grateful.

[tenmei]

Shane, try Indigo/Chapters downtown or in Park Royal (or the one on Marine Drive or at Metro Town, for that matter) - they should be able to tell you whether they've got any on order and if you check the Indigo website, and check the avaliability for other provinces you can normally see the book flowing westwards from Ontario like a wave.

[SicOne]

Thanks go out to DerangedNasat, who took care of my starship jones...

[Turbo]

Is the cover the same as the "not final" cover that was floated around a few months back, with Voyager flying into what looked like a star?

[Christopher]

^Looks that way.