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VOY: Unworthy by Kirsten Beyer Review Thread (Spoilers!)

Grade "Unworthy"


  • Total voters
    110
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

And Borders wonder why they're going out of business...

By looking at their shelves I'm surprised they stock any Trek books. Every time I go to our Borders there are fewer, last time there were about 2½ shelves devoted to Trek.

Many Borders stores have gone to Trek books being by special order only. That's how I have mine already (and they have given it to me - I picked it up today).
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

On the other hand, I was in the Penn Station Borders yesterday, and they had five or six copies of The Never Ending Sacrifice prominently displayed on the "New Paperbacks" table up at the front of the store. So I dunno...
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

i just picked up my copy at a local books-a-million even though over the phone they said they didn't have any in stock yet. i'm looking forward to diving into it.

but, this store has a very incompetent inventory system. i had special ordered "unworthy" before it came out and a week before the "official" release date i found 5 copies sitting on the shelf. when i asked why they hadn't called me yet they said they wouldn't have called me before the release date. maroons!!
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

On the other hand, I was in the Penn Station Borders yesterday, and they had five or six copies of The Never Ending Sacrifice prominently displayed on the "New Paperbacks" table up at the front of the store. So I dunno...


Clay,

That's their flagship store and flagship stores usually have the most copies. It is possible they sold all the other copies and they have 5 left. Although, I was there today and I couldn't find any copies of it at all though they told me more's on the way.

However, if you walk down to the 5th avenue B an N, also a flagship store, check the shelf in the back and they got tons. Sometimes it sits next to last month's titles. Last time I went, on the shelf was LTP, TSK and NES all next to each other (more or less). Whether or not this was first stock or second, I have no clue but it is interesting to see how same stores in different locations stock the same stuff.

Also possible that the online version will have it instead of the store even 2 weeks before the store to.
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

Thanks, Man of Steel (can I call you Man for short? :p) - normally I shop at Borders rather than B&N because I'm broke and Borders' rewards card is free (as opposed to the B&N one, which you have to pay for), and the store is right there at the train station, but the way things have been going at Borders, I will probably take your advice and start going to the 5th Avenue Barnes & Noble instead (I like that store anyway).
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

Thanks, Man of Steel (can I call you Man for short? :p) - normally I shop at Borders rather than B&N because I'm broke and Borders' rewards card is free (as opposed to the B&N one, which you have to pay for), and the store is right there at the train station, but the way things have been going at Borders, I will probably take your advice and start going to the 5th Avenue Barnes & Noble instead (I like that store anyway).

I'm not sure who owned who but didn't B.Dalton/Waldenbooks have Borders as their corporate sibling or was that Barnes and Nobles that owned owned them. Either way, Waldenbooks was an excellent bookstore (always had the old Trek books). Went before it's time.

Used to go to Kings Plaza just for that reason.
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

^b. dalton is owned by B&N while waldenbooks is owned by borders.
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

^ And there are still some Waldenbooks out there.
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

Many Borders stores have gone to Trek books being by special order only. That's how I have mine already (and they have given it to me - I picked it up today).

Me, too, but I just got an e-mail from Borders saying that mine shipped today. I guess Borders likes you better than me!
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

Located a copy this afternoon at a Borders. I ordered it from B&N the other day and I just love how I went through the motions when I know they probably had copies in the back, but just hadn't stocked the shelves yet. Every month starting about the 20th, I'm out on my weekends scouring every book store for the next month's book.
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

So my copy came yesterday and I have a few thoughts...

I found it a better read than Full Circle, which I really didnt care for, though I cant say I thought it was a great book.

The middle part, the story with the Indign was interesting, a culture that reveres and looks up to the Borg, trying to get themselves noticed to be assimilated was interesting.

Though during that part of the story, Eden kept saying how it would violate the Prime Directive to tell them that the Borg were gone. Maybe I am mistaken but I thought the Prime Directive only really applied to pre-warp cultures. The Indign were warp capable and I cant see how telling them that the Borg, who basically border their system - but dont bother with them as they deemed them not worth assimilating - are no more is really interfering with them, but thats a small point.

The stuff with species 8472 was not expected, the Admiral in the fleet actually being a covert spy from that species wanting to get home was not something I expected to happen.

And now the Admiral has gone, Eden has been promoted to fleet commander and Chakotay is now Voyager captain once more, to be expected I suppose, if he isnt going to be captain, there is no need to have him in the fleet.

Where I thought the book feel apart a little is the ending.

An evil Indign consciousness, that they tried to use to destroy the Federation ships, has taken over a holograhic member of the crew, Meegan. Who was actually created to be the Doctors long term partner by Reg and Doctor Zimmerman surprisingly. Anyway, using the confusion surrounding the Admiral's attempt to escape back to fluidic space, by causing plenty of problems ship wide, she manages to escape in his shuttle.

Now I thought they were about to go after her and stop her. Turns out I was wrong. Once the scene with the Indign fleet and everything is sorted, the story just skips along to random scenes of how the crew is getting on in the aftermath of the events of the books, with only a small mention of Meegan.

And I still do not like the councilor, Cambridge, and am not a fan of the signs shown of a future romance between him and Seven.

Overall, the book had an ok plot, and was written well enough, I just didnt enjoy it that much.

I do think though, that after reading this and Full Circle, I am simply not that interested in Voyager books, too many characters I dont care about, and if/when the next book comes out, there is a good chance I just wont bother with it.
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

^ Yikes! Is that what Unworthy is about? I have to say... I'm a little worried. I'm curious to hear a few more reviews before I decide whether or not to buy it. I haven't been a fan of VOY, but I was hoping that Full Circle would finally get the series going down the right path.
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

Mine is still waiting for shipment, while I saw a copy at a Faber's in Philadelphia
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

Though during that part of the story, Eden kept saying how it would violate the Prime Directive to tell them that the Borg were gone. Maybe I am mistaken but I thought the Prime Directive only really applied to pre-warp cultures.

That's part of it, but the PD applies to all cultures and races. Mainly the PD states that Starfleet Officers are not permitted to interfere with the internal affairs and natural development of any race.
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

^^ Ah ok, well fair enough. I still dont consider informing them that the Borg were gone to be interefering or anything, but as I said, it was a small point for me, which didnt affect my view of the book either way.
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

Well, I haven't read the book. But I would say that if this race has built their entire culture around worship of the Borg, then telling them the Borg don't exist anymore would cause a pretty massive upheaval within that culture. Thus the badness.
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

Well, I haven't read the book. But I would say that if this race has built their entire culture around worship of the Borg, then telling them the Borg don't exist anymore would cause a pretty massive upheaval within that culture. Thus the badness.

That's the thing though, they didnt worship the Borg in any religious way, they didnt build their culture around trying to emulate the Borg, as (as far as I could tell from what was written, if I read it wrong I will stop going on about it) they had already started their collectiveness before becoming aware of the Borg.

In essence, what they were doing was seeing a neighbour down the road who they was thought was like them, but "better", so they post an invitation through their letterbox inviting them round for a drink, and then sitting in their living room, waiting for them to come and join them.

Having somone stop by and tell you that, hey, the neighbour has actually gone, never to return, and so if you are waiting for him to show up, you'll be waiting a long long time, isnt interfercence in my opinion, if anything, it is being helpful, as you are bound to notice yourself that the neighbour has moved at some point, this just speeds up that realisation.
 
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Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

That's the thing though, they didnt worship the Borg in any religious way, they didnt build their culture around trying to emulate the Borg, as (as far as I could tell from what was written, if I read it wrong I will stop going on about it) they had already started their collectiveness before becoming aware of the Borg.

In essence, what they were doing was seeing a neighbour down the road who they was thought was like them, but "better", so they post an invitation through their letterbox inviting them round for a drink, and then sitting in their living room, waiting for them to come and join them.

Having somone stop by and tell you that, hey, the neighbour has actually gone, never to return, and so if you are waiting for him to show up, you'll be waiting a long long time, isnt interfercence in my opinion, if anything, it is being helpful, as you are bound to notice yourself that the neighbour has moved at some point, this just speeds up that realisation.

I'm the littlest bit worried now that I need to read the final version of the novel. If my last pass in any way resembles the finished product, I have to say this is a serious mischaracterization of the relationship between the Indign and the Borg.

I don't want to add spoilers here, and I have no issue with your overall impression of the book, but there was most certainly a "religious" undertone to the Indign reverence for the Borg and their "offerings". As to the Indign culture, I'd suggest you think again about the design of their ships and the architecture on the planet, as well as the lengths the Indign went to in order to get the Borg's attention. My understanding of the non-interference part of the Prime Directive suggested to me that this would be a complicated encounter. The neighbor analogy really doesn't do the subject justice, though you are, of course, entitled to your reading and opinion.

Best,
Kirsten Beyer
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

^^There is always the chance I simply misinterpreted what I read when it came to that part of course.

I understand that the "offerings", the ship and building design etc were all to attempts to get the Borg's attention, I just didnt get a religious vibe from it all really (I'm not a spiritual or religious man at all, so maybe that biased me). What I did get was more just an attempt of the Indign to get the attention of a species they saw was like themselves but further along, and by imitating aspects of that species, then they might find cause to give them attention.

And because I didnt think of any of it as religious, I didnt think any discussion with them about the Borg's satus to be interference.

If that isnt what was meant, and it indeed was a religious view of the Borg, then yes telling them about their status would be a much more complicated issue.

Either way, it didnt effect my view of the book, I just kept seeing "Prime Directive" being used and because of how I saw the situation and the fact I thought it only applied to pre-warp cultures, it got me wondering as to why.
 
Re: Unworthy - Discuss/Grade Thread <SPOILERS>

^b. dalton is owned by B&N while waldenbooks is owned by borders.

Hasn't B. Dalton been out of business for a few years?

As for Waldenbooks, I don't think they are around either anymore. At least not in NYC.
 
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