I'm suprised there seems to be no thread about this one. I read it recently and would have loved to see more books by the author who wrote this one. All the characters felt right, it one of the few books which is set during season 7, the plot is interesting ... The part when Tom is on the planet was both surprising and compelling. Well I liked it very much and was wondering if I am alone in that case.
I liked it when I read it. There were some funny holodeck scenes involving Seven from a child's point of view. And some odd aliens. Other than that I can hardly remember the story.
I remember reading it when it came out in 2001-2002, and being disappointed that it wasn't a post-Endgame story. I do remember that the crew were surprised by some of the built in security features of Voyager (due to the Borg, Starfleet had put protections in to counteract the Borg's nanites), because they tried to beam a couple of Ambassadors aboard and as soon as their nanites were detected the force fields went up to prevent the spread of nanites. And then it was mentioned that, in order for Voyager to dock at their station the aliens had to command their nanites to pull back and just have no nanites around the ship. It was almost like Voyager had an allergy and they had to use a special dock.
It has the distinction of being the only novel set in the 7th season of VGR, although there are a few short stories set there. I did think the Federation aversion to nanites as portrayed in the book was excessive, since TNG established they were used medically. (In fact, TNG: "Evolution" coined the word "nanite." Before that, they were generally called nanobots.) But I tend to give it a pass on the grounds that maybe Voyager's nanite-security protocols were extra-strict because of their years fighting the Borg.
I re-read this several months ago, and was actually thinking about it today. I really like it, there's some interesting plot and world building going on. I think it's pretty logical if Voyager developed stricter protocols in dealing with nanotech because of the borg.
That was one of the things I liked about it, it felt like a good episode from season 7. A pity no other voyager novel is set in this time frame, even it is not the best season. Spoiler And also there is this part when Paris is stranded on the planet as a slave with no memory, a very intereesting way to give an insight into Chiar civilisation.
This was a pretty good one. I think most Voyager fans would like it. Especially if they are fans of Tom & B'Elanna or Seven. I'm not a huge fan of season 7, but this would have made a great episode. You would have to make the aliens humanoid but other than that it would have worked just fine, imo. The cover for this one isn't bad, but their expressions make me feel like I've just been grounded. "You wrecked the station wagon and you infected your father with nanobots - what do you have to say for yourself young man?"