Books about Voyager's Journey

[Purdy Bear]

What books are there about Voyager and her Crew? I looked on Ebay and there are hundreds, so I take it there are books while they were in the Delta Quadrant and those when they returned home. Im more interested in the later, but would love a list of both.

NB Im in the Uk, so would have to use Ebay or Amazon to get hold of them.


Thanks
Purdy

 

[KimMH]

I greatly enjoyed the String Theory trilogy. I had difficulty keeping up with the science and the plots are rather twisty so you have to pay attention but they're all an excellent read!

 

[Purdy Bear]

Iv just found this list on Wikepedia, it covers all the Star Treks:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek_novels#Voyager

 

[KimMH]

Happy reading! You're in for a treat!

 

[Lynx]

On my Kes Website, I've written reviews on the season 1-3 books which can be of some interest. For obvious reasons I haven't bothered to review books written after Kes's "exit" (except for "Pathways since it deals with Kes's background story). Therefore I have to add that I liked the "String Theory" books, even if I found them a bit wrird and also appreciated the "Dark Matters" trilogy.

I found the relaunch books acceptable as long as Christie Golden was responsible for them and adapted my own stories to the ongoing events in the relaunch books but I didn't find them as good and entertaining as the season 1-3 books. And no, I won't comment about the current direction of the "relaunch" since I don't find the current books representative for the quality show Voyager once was.

As for my reviews of the season 1-3 books, there are some valuable information there, such as suggestions for their place in the Voyager timeline and the odd things and contradictions which may be in the books.

Happy reading!

http://lynx677.110mb.com/bookreviews.html

 

[Therin of Andor]

I won't comment about the current direction of the "relaunch" since I don't find the current books representative for the quality show Voyager once was.http://lynx677.110mb.com/bookreviews.html

And... you haven't read them.

"Full Circle" and "Unworthy" have received excellent reviews.

 

[Lynx]

I won't comment about the current direction of the "relaunch" since I don't find the current books representative for the quality show Voyager once was.

And... you haven't read them.

"Full Circle" and "Unworthy" have received excellent reviews.

I don't have to read them to know that I won't like them and I never care about reviews when it comes to creating an own opinion about different things.

I have no interest in reading books where four important Voyager characters are missing and where the main character has been killed off. The content in those books has nothing to do with the series I once liked.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I'm sure Purdy Bear appreciates the spoilers, Lynx, and saying that "four important Voyager characters are missing" also shows you don't know those books.

Fascinating that you can totally dismiss reviews and yet still form "opinions" about books. I look forward to hearing Purdy Bear's informed opinions.

 

[seigezunt]

I don't have to read them to know that I won't like them

I suggest you read "Green Eggs and Ham."

 

[Therin of Andor]

I suggest you read "Green Eggs and Ham."

He will not like them, Sam-I-Am.

 

[Lynx]

I suggest you read "Green Eggs and Ham."

He will not like them, Sam-I-Am.

How come that very time I write something negative about the so-called "Voyager" books, you come up with a personal attack?

I'm sure Purdy Bear appreciates the spoilers, Lynx, and saying that "four important Voyager characters are missing" also shows you don't know those books.

Fascinating that you can totally dismiss reviews and yet still form "opinions" about books. I look forward to hearing Purdy Bear's informed opinions.

If I did reveal anything about the events in the books which I shouldn't have revealed in my previous posts, I apologize for that. However, I have a feeling that a certain event in the recent books is known to most of the Star Trek book fans now.

As for important characters missing, I don't regard tiny "guest appearances", flashbacks and syrupy storylines about grieving as evidence that the missing characters are back in the current so-called "Voyager" books.

And once again I have to state that I don't have to read the books to dislike them. The character destruction in those books plus the absence of important characters is the main reason why I dislike the books and have no intention to read them. I rather re-read "Caretaker" or "The Black Shore" for the umphteenth time than read books where my favorite characters are ruined and annihilated.

 

[Therin of Andor]

How come that very time I write something negative about the so-called "Voyager" books, you come up with a personal attack?

That's a personal attack?

I agreed that you would say you didn't like them, just like the guy in "Green Eggs and Ham" - despite the fact that you say you are not influenced by book reviews and yet haven't read the actual books either. I find it hard to imagine how you ever formed your opinions. How do you know that there are "tiny 'guest appearances', flashbacks and syrupy storylines about grieving"? I still say you are misinformed, and I felt the OP deserved to know that.

 

[Lynx]

How come that very time I write something negative about the so-called "Voyager" books, you come up with a personal attack?

That's a personal attack?

I agreed that you would say you didn't like them, just like the guy in "Green Eggs and Ham" - despite the fact that you say you are not influenced by book reviews and yet haven't read the actual books either. I find it hard to imagine how you ever formed your opinions. How do you know that there are "tiny 'guest appearances', flashbacks and syrupy storylines about grieving"? I still say you are misinformed, and I felt the OP deserved to know that.

As I've mentioned before, I don't have to read the books or the reviews to know that I won't like them. I just have to know about the scenario in those books to know that they won't be to my taste.

The comment about "tiny 'guest appearances', flashbacks and syrupy storylines about grieving" was a reply to your comment to one of my previous post. I know that one missing character is supposed to make a guest appearance but that doesn't mean that the character will re-join the crew and therefore I don't care that much about that guest appearance. I do know that there are a lot of grieving for another character and that scenario doesn't interest me either.

What I do know is also that the main character is killed of and three others are missing for different reasons and since I see no hints or don't find any information that any of those characters, especially the main character will be brought back as permanent members of the regular cast (without further destruction of the characters), I see no reason to read the books or try to like the scenario in them.

 

[kimc]

^Knock it off - all of you.

Back to the original topic I personally don't care for the direction Pocket took with Voyager post-Endgame. However, I can recommend "Mosaic" and "Pathways" as very good Voyager books. There is also some fairly good fanfic online.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I can recommend "Mosaic" and "Pathways" as very good Voyager books.

Jeri Taylor did a great job with "Mosaic", but "Pathways" ended up a bit of a dog's breakfast. It was long-delayed, and seemingly hampered by the fact that it was written while Kes was still with the show, but Jeri Taylor was then expected to shoehorn Seven of Nine, instead of Kes, into the framing story.

Everyone tells their personal anecdotes around the campfire, but Neelix has to magically channel the Kes POV story, as well as his own. And Seven doesn't get to contribute hers.

There is also some fairly good fanfic online.

And lots of bad ones.

 

[Lynx]

^^
I don't think that "Pathways" in any way was hampered by Kes's story wich acually was one of the book's best stories (together with Neelix's and Chakotay's stories). In fact, I did find the stories about the main characters backgrounds much better than the rather weak framing story which was very predictable.

I also think that the reason why Seven didn't have her own story in the book was that the character was rather new and that her backround story hadn't been thought out yet or confirmed in any way. Because of that, Taylor didn't want to write anything which could be contradicted by some event later on in the series.

The only thing I found bad with the background stories in "Pathways" was Taylor's ability to smooth out all conflicts which may have been (Paris and his father, Kes and the Kazon, Chakotay and Paris, Chakotay and his father, B'Elanna and her parents etc.) plus the in-written romance between Paris and Torres during Paris's stint with the Maquiswhich seems like an after-construction, in "Caretaker" it was obvious that they hadn't met before. There were simply too many small details which contradicted what we did learn about the characters in the series.

As for "Mosaic", it was very good and highly recommendable.

And yes, there are a lot of good fanfiction stories to be found, some not so good ones as well but most of them are written with a love and affection for the characters.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Taylor didn't want to write anything which could be contradicted by some event later on in the series.

And yet we then got the novel, "Seven of Nine" by Christie Golden, very soon after - and which was contradicted by the episode "The Raven", IIRC.

No, as I said, "Pathways" was essentially already written, but was delayed, and then Taylor was apparently asked to add Seven to the framing story and rejig Kes's story so that Neelix could channel her. And sorry, I found Ke's tale to be utterly forgettable, and yet I recall many details of Janeway's story in "Mosaic".

Peter David had two novels caught up in the Crusher/Pulaski/Crusher revolving door for TNG.

 

[Lynx]

Taylor didn't want to write anything which could be contradicted by some event later on in the series.

And yet we then got the novel, "Seven of Nine" by Christie Golden, very soon after - and which was contradicted by the episode "The Raven", IIRC.

No, as I said, "Pathways" was essentially already written, but was delayed, and then Taylor was apparently asked to add Seven to the framing story and rejig Kes's story so that Neelix could channel her. And sorry, I found Ke's tale to be utterly forgettable, and yet I recall many details of Janeway's story in "Mosaic".

Peter David had two novels caught up in the Crusher/Pulaski/Crusher revolving door for TNG.

Maybe Golden didn't feel limited by "canon" in the same way as Taylor might have done.

I can agree about your statement about the novel being delayed but in that case, Taylor actually did a good job in saving it by including the Kes story the way she did.

As for Peter David's problems with the novels, I wonder if he was about to kill off Crusher or Pulaski but couldn't due to the ongoing TNG story?

 

[Therin of Andor]

Maybe Golden didn't feel limited by "canon" in the same way as Taylor might have done.

Lynx, it is not up to the authors whether they feel "limited" or not, it is an ongoing mandate from the copyright owners and the Licensing Department. ST tie-ins must reflect the canon of the day. Even as a co-producer of VOY, Jeri Taylor could not have written a ST novel that deviated from established (aired) canon. Seven wasn't even in the TV series until after the "Pathways" manuscript was finished, then the novel had to be held over until it could be rejigged to reflect the change of actress and character.

Christie Golden was then asked to do a separate Seven of Nine novel (called "Seven of Nine"), using what was already established canonically about her backstory with the Raven and her parents, but when the TV series decided to do an episode based on Seven's early life, the writers wouldn't have even looked at the content of her novel. Thus "The Raven" episode barely resembles the earlier Golden novel, and it didn't have to.

The situation was different for Taylor and "Mosaic". She wrote that while still working as VOY's co-creator and co-producer, so she used her own backstory for Janeway, developed by her for the show's Writers' Bible and added to throughout the series, formalizing it into "Mosaic" - and even suggesting to the episode writers that they should consider the work definitive. Which they did, until Taylor left the show.

She offered the same advice for "Pathways", but she'd already left the show by then. By which time the series writers had already started to feel free to ignore some of the Janeway details from "Mosaic", and they ended up ignoring most of the detail of the "Pathways" backstories too.

It's very rare that TV showrunners have the luxury of time to read tie-in novels that are being written for 1% of the viewing audience (let alone be current with what is coming out!)

I can agree about your statement about the novel being delayed but in that case, Taylor actually did a good job in saving it by including the Kes story the way she did.

A Kes fan would say that, I guess, but I could see the joins of the cannibalized manuscript all too clearly.

As for Peter David's problems with the novels, was he about to kill off Crusher or Pulaski but couldn't due to the ongoing TNG story?

Sigh. No. Sorry I even bothered mentioning it.

 

[Lynx]

^^
Well, I hope that you understand that I'm not too fond of Peter David after the annihilation of Janeway.