VOY: #8 Cybersong by S. N. Lewitt Review Thread

[tomswift2002]

Cybersong
Star Trek Voyager #8
Written by S.N. Lewitt
Published June 1996

Plot: Voyager detects a weird signal coming from an alien starship graveyard. When the crew investigates, they are placed under a sort of trance by the alluring signal. Will Voyager become a ghost ship or will it escape?

Review:

I'm starting to re-read this book again. I haven't read it in about ten years, however, back then I managed to read it twice.

Of course that was after having to ask the library to reserve it in order to read it the first time, since everytime that I went to take it out, someone else had checked it out. The second time I had special ordered a number of Voyager novels, and Cybersong was one of them.

Even now, years later I keep thinking of what happened to Daphne Mandel, and I hope that the current Voyager books might hook up with her again, since she was left as an Ambassador to the alien ship. Even now this is one of the top books in the Voyager line, S.N. Lewitt really knew how to write the characters (Kes too) and created a Classic Trek story, one that is a good re-read.

Thoughts? (And, no, I'm not putting "Spoilers" in the title, since the book is almost 20 years old.)

 

[Markonian]

I read this book for the first time about two years ago and remember that Daphne Mandel as a person not easy to get along with.

However, she's still a Starfleet officer left in deep space. If the Full Circle fleet had any idea where she might be at the moment, it would be thorough of them to check on her. But that depends on whether the book is still part of the current continuity.

 

[DimesDan]

Spoilers?

 

[tomswift2002]

Spoilers?

Read at your own risk.

 

[Paris]

Spoilers?

Whoawhoawhoa! How long has this book been out?! You may need to spoiler code it

 

[Cap'n Crunch]

I'd like to vote, but it's been a long time since I read this (about 10 years, I'd guess), so I don't remember anything about it other than a vague recollection of the aliens being giants.

 

[Markonian]

I'd like to vote, but it's been a long time since I read this (about 10 years, I'd guess), so I don't remember anything about it other than a vague recollection of the aliens being giants.

Solution: Re-read.

 

[tomswift2002]

I also enjoy how the artist gave the sphere that rotten-wood look on the cover. Just added to the suspense.

 

[tomswift2002]

I'm currently re-reading this book, and I just noticed in Chapter 10 that the author has Chakotay thinking about how great it would be if shuttles had transporters. And I realize that in order for the scene to play out it did not require transporters, but someone at Pocket should've said "Well transporters can't be used on the shuttle due to the high tachyon field" instead of having shuttles without transporters. In "Best Of Both World's" we saw Data and Worf use a shuttle's emergency transporter to beam to and from the Borg cube. So in that chapter of Cybersong, an edit should've been made. Also why there were no tachyons inside the ship was not explained, as there was a giant hole in the shell of it and very little power, and yet Chakotay also "imagines" the environmental suit being destroyed by the tachyons should he and Kes fall into space and get sent through the opening. So if there is no force field in place, what is keeping the tachyons from entering the vessel in the first place?

 

[ronny]

I read this last year as part of my wanting to finish off the old numbered Voyager books. I don't have much memory of it except I thought it was pretty bad even by numbered Voyager standards.

 

[tomswift2002]

I'm finding it funny how the crew in the book is going crazy for Neelix's cookies. I guess the author must've had a hankering for cookies when they were writing the book.

Also I guess Stellar Cartograhphy got a major overhaul after "Cybersong" and when we see it in Season 4 (there's about 2.5 years between the stories) including the HD screen at the front, as in this book Stellar Cartography sounds like the SC from TNG Season 7.

 

[Damian]

This is another early novel I just finished up from 1996. I have to admit, I didn't care for it a whole lot. First, one issue I always had with a lot of the numbered Voyager novels was the idea that in a lot of books they'd investigate technology that might get them home quicker. Like killing off a main character, you knew that was never going to happen in a novel. So right off the bat you knew the plot was going to be a failure to some extent. They were not going to get home in a novel, period.

But even considering that, there are still some good early Voyager novels. This particular book features the Voyager crew being lured by a mysterious signal to a sector of space with a bunch of old wrecks. Then they become trapped there and as they try to investigate they start having computer issues and their food starts to spoil. Chakotay starts to become a bit paranoid as does Tuvok, who is convinced they have a saboteur. Janeway and Kim are injured at one point, and Kim being injured means they have to turn to a character in astrometrics, Daphne Mandel, who is an unlikeable character. That character is part of the Voyager crew, then separated from the crew by the end of the book. I'm not positive but would that cause a continuity error with the number of crewmen cited on the show at various times?

Overall I found it to be a slow going book. A lot of the characters are slowed down either by the computer issues or from what is going on in their minds. All of this is caused by an AI that at first seems malevolent, later more childlike, even acting like a child. And the ending was abrupt. At first there didn't seem to be a resolution, then in the last chapter a resolution is quickly written in almost as an afterthought it seemed. It just didn't hold my interest all that much overall. It seemed plodding at times and frustrating at others.

 

[David Weller]

That is the trouble with some novels set during the run of the series. At the end you know that the reset button is going to be pressed.

I had that problem during the String Theory trilogy.

 

[Sophie74656]

Even if you know no main character will die, or they won't get home it's usually still an interesting story.

I read most of the Voyager books so long ago, i don't remember much about them. I remember loving a few like #2 whi h the name of escapes me at the moment. (Edit: The Escape)This particular one was written before the show aired so some of the character behaviors are ofd but the story is great

 

[Christopher]

Cybersong was not one of the more memorable novels. It's one of those stories where you think the characters are under the influence of an alien force changing their behavior, and then it turns out they're just being written out of character. I did like the fact that it focused more on Kes than most books, but the plot it set up for her just kind of fizzled out.

Then there's the part where Chakotay wishes there were transporters on shuttlecraft, and then later in the book there are people beaming to and from shuttles routinely. I think the book could've used another editing pass or two.

I remember loving a few like #2 whi h the name of escapes me at the moment. (Edit: The Escape)This particular one was written before the show aired so some of the character behaviors are ofd but the story is great

So the name The Escape escaped you?

It's been a long time since I read it, but I remember The Escape working relatively well for a before-the-premiere novel, without any major continuity or characterization glitches I can think of aside from the Doctor being called Zimmerman (which was from the series bible, something the staff intended but changed their minds about).

 

[Desert Kris]

This is the only Voyager novel I've read to date. Even though it didn't quite work for me, that isn't the reason I haven't read any other Voyager novels, and I'm not biased against them generally. I almost got the novels about Janeway when she was younger and the counterpart novel to that one that looks at the early life of the rest of the crew. I do have a copy of Fire Ship, which sounded interesting and is written by Diane Carey, who I find a very readable author.

As for Cybersong, I got it for superficial reasons, I thought the cover looked really neat (and the blurb sounded decent, too). I mainly remember it for a major guest character of Voyager's crew, who made me uncomfortable the way engineer Barclay of the Next Gen crew made me uncomfortable. Socially awkward. The book was disappointing when that character was at the forefront of the story. I think I remember something about members of the crew having dreams coming from the main threat of the story, but the introduction and emergence of that part of the story wasn't as effectively handled as I would have liked. Still, I did end up feeling somewhat sympathetic towards the awkward guest character, and disconcerted that she was staying behind, so far from home; so at least the novel evoked some feeling out of me.

 

[Damian]

Even if you know no main character will die, or they won't get home it's usually still an interesting story.

That's true. It just seems a lot of the early Voyager books had that Maguffin in them, that possibility of finding technology that will get them home faster, or cut the time in half. In the TV series dangling that fruit worked. I mean, you knew they weren't going to get home right away but sometimes they found something that got them 10,000 light years closer, or cut 2 or 3 years off the trip. There was always that possibility and it was used a couple of times. But in the books you knew they couldn't even do something like that. At the end they'd have to be back right where they started from to maintain continuity with the series. In that case it just seemed like a waste of time to focus part of the story on that.

But I agree, there were some really good early Voyager books even despite that. Marooned is a book that comes to mind. And I enjoyed the String Theory books a lot.

Socially awkward. The book was disappointing when that character was at the forefront of the story.

Yeah, Daphne Mandel was not a very good character. She literally had no redeeming qualities except she was computer savvy. She was unlikeable, she got under everyone's skin and her resolution at the end was just so abrupt. When you write a character like that and make it such a crucial part of the book, it's a big risk I think. And I don't think it paid off here. I kept thinking, would she just go away, I can't wait for Harry to get better just so we can get rid of her.

I did like the fact that it focused more on Kes than most books, but the plot it set up for her just kind of fizzled out.

Kes' character was the most natural in the novel. And she was the only one that didn't let Mandel get to her, I guess that shows you her patience. But yeah, Chakotay was worried the AI would use her but nothing ever came of it. And the whole Tuvok investigating possible sabotage seemed to pick up steam then it was like, nah, never mind.

Then Voyager was just going to leave. Before they had a briefing where they were discussing what to do about the AI, should they leave well enough alone and risk future ships being attacked/kidnapped, should they try to destroy it. Then the meeting ended with no resolution. Then the next chapter (the last) just has her ordering Voyager to set a course for home. And no one says anything or 'thinks' anything. Then they have a quick resolution out of nowhere.

It was almost like Lewitt got bored writing it and just decided he wanted to get it over with.

 

[tomswift2002]

You realize that there was already a review thread on this book here (https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/voy-8-cybersong-review-thread.223672/? Maybe on of the mods could combine the two threads.

 

[Damian]

You realize that there was already a review thread on this book here (https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/voy-8-cybersong-review-thread.223672/? Maybe on of the mods could combine the two threads.

Oops, my bad. I usually check before posting a new thread but I forgot this time (though I'm surprised there's one for this book since it's pretty old at this point).

 

[trampledamage]

*work in progress*

thread merging done - thank you for the appreciation of my hard work @Jinn !

There's a poll on the original thread, so if anyone who commented on @Damian's thread would like to vote, it's there at the top.