Wow, Kirsten Beyer made VOY not suck!

[DarKush]

I was not a VOY fan, but that being said, I was very iffy on the decision to kill off Janeway. However, KB took that and just ran with it, and she made me care about characters that I thought were pretty bland and undeveloped/underdeveloped. I wish she had been on the VOY writing staff.

I'm currently reading the Typhon Pact books, but they aren't meeting my expectations. As a result, I am looking forward, even more than I was before, to the next chapter in the VOY saga, surprisingly the best relaunch series going.

 

[Bishop76]

How do they compare to Vanguard? (the best novel series going, IMO)

 

[Thrawn]

Vanguard is better, but not by much. If Vanguard is 10/10, Voyager is at least 9/10.

 

[Bishop76]

Nice! Well worth checking out then.

 

[SicOne]

This would probably be a good time to ask when "Children Of The Storm" is due to hit the shelves. Kirsten?

It's a June release, so it will probably be out sometime in the last weeks of May.

Thanks, Defcon.

 

[Starbreaker]

I'm going to catch up on Voyager this year. I read Homecoming and The Farther Shore several years ago, but have been behind since then. So much to read!

 

[Warp Coil]

I definitely agree that Kirsten Beyer has done something remarkable. I watched VOY's seven seasons and walked away disappointed in the lack of depth, inadequate character development and severe lack of continuity. In my opinion, the show never lived up to its premise and failed to push boundaries or leave a meaningful mark in Trek lore. The relaunch novels, as penned by Christie Golden, didn't do anything to bring VOY to to the same level of quality as TNG or DS9.

Then, something surprising happened. Golden was out, Beyer was in, and the series was re-launched yet again. Golden's storylines were wrapped up and swept under the rug and VOY was spun off in a new direction. Beyer breathed fresh life into what was a stale and uninspired series. The characters seem far more complex, more fleshed out, and more interesting. I've never cared so much for these characters as I have in these past two novels, Full Circle and Unworthy. I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of the next book in the series - that is not something I ever expected to say about Voyager.

 

[shanejayell]

I'm going to catch up on Voyager this year. I read Homecoming and The Farther Shore several years ago, but have been behind since then. So much to read!

I read those, then skipped ahead to Full Circle and didn't have much trouble following it. I probably missed some references, but eh...

 

[Raisor]

Glad to see a a new thread about this, so I don't have to bump up an old one. Just started the book yesterday after all the good things I've read about it on the board. About 80 pages in and I love the Raiders of the Lost Ark homage.


Was never a big Voyager fan, stopped watching sometime in the 4th season, but I'm digging the book so far.

 

[Starbreaker]

I'm going to catch up on Voyager this year. I read Homecoming and The Farther Shore several years ago, but have been behind since then. So much to read!

I read those, then skipped ahead to Full Circle and didn't have much trouble following it. I probably missed some references, but eh...

I'm debating that. I might just skim Memory Beta... but then the completist in me will cry.

 

[JD]

^That's what I did and it worked fine for me.

 

[Johnhead99]

Thought I'd pitch in my thoughts.

Beyer is indeed great. Fusion was a mess but it was still the best of the bunch from String Theory. That entire trilogy was not my favorite to say the least. Her relaunch work on the other hand is fantanstic. They make sense, are fun to read, and keep my attention. I'm very grateful for her work.

As for Golden, I do not have near the amount of bad words about her work as others. Her relaunch novels were acceptable. I enjoyed the Dark Matters trilogy and believe they were hands down better than String Theory. She also had one of the better stand alone Voyager novels in The Murdered Sun. She is no Kirsten Beyer by a longshot, but Christie Golden should still get some credit for her work and time with Trek lit as well.

 

[DeafPoet]

^That's what I did and it worked fine for me.

I didn't even do that much. I got by on the few stray mentions in TNG and Destiny novels concerning the VOY folks. Didn't read any of the Golden stuff and I was able to follow it pretty easily.

 

[captcalhoun]

likewise, i never read Golden's crap and was glad of it from what i've heard. loved FC and Uw

 

[Lynx]

I'm not gonna start ranting over this, just have to state my opinion.

And present a distortion to the ongoing homage to the current direction of the Star Trek books.

I actually hate the current direction of Star Trek and most of all the current direction of the Voyager books.

As for the movie, if it hadn't been for the destruction of certain known, important planets which in at least one case is a screw-up of established Trek history, I could probably have accepted the direction the movie has created. But for the books, especially the "Voyager Relaunch", I see nothing positive at all.

When he relaunch started, I was hoping that some stupidities from the later seasons of the series would have been corrected and it actually looked that way from the start. OK, I wasn't too impressed by the direction the relaunch books took but at least the storyline was acceptable and I did actually adapt my own writings to the ongoing storyline in the relaunch books even if it meant dropping characters like Tuvok and Neelix.

But then it all turned out to become a nightmare. janeway was killed off! Can you imagine that, the main character and the most important character killed off. How stupid!

So what we do have today is a bogus Voyager, without main characters like Janeway, Kes, Neelix and Tuvok. They are replaced by unintersting no-no's. We have to stand all the wallowing in grief which the current situation has created, not to mention a possible C/7 reunion and possible further character destruction when the bogus crew returns to the Delta Quadrant.

I find that unacceptable.

When I read a Voyager book, then I want to read about the main characters of the TV series, not some replacements for them and I definitely not want to see my favorite characters ruined, destroyed or killed off. Such things were the reason why I did stop watching Voyager in season 6.

So I rather re-read the excellent book "The Black Shore" for the umpteenth time than to waste my hard-earned money on the "relaunch" books.

Which is sad because it would actually be fun to read an new Voyager book.

But when it comes to new Voyager stories, I've learned that if I want to read a new Voyager story, then I have to write it myself!

 

[DeafPoet]

Hey man, if that's your opinion then great. But you sound to me like you're one of the few that just can't be pleased.
I'll address a couple of your points.

I find it odd that you're disappointed with both the last few seasons of the show and the novels. They're pretty diametrically opposed in their approaches to storytelling. To wit: Janeway's death. That's the kind of risky shit good serialized stories do. I don'y think they shpuld have killed her on the show, but the show would have benefitted from a few more balls and a few less reset buttons. The fact that it makes the Voyager crew way more interesting in the process is gravy.

You also seem to be chafing at the inclusion of new characters. I'm not sure why. Nobody from the show is getting short shrift in the transaction. Kes is probably worm food on Ocampa, Neelix shows up in a limited fashion for a good reason and Tuvok's doing all kinds of stuff over on Titan. Not only do new characters shake things up, they're practically required in light of that.

You're well within you rights not to like it, but you've chosen some pretty frivolous reasons not to do so. Especially since negating all the things you dont like would restore the status quo you also claim not to like.

 

[Warp Coil]

So what we do have today is a bogus Voyager, without main characters like Janeway, Kes, Neelix and Tuvok. They are replaced by unintersting no-no's. We have to stand all the wallowing in grief which the current situation has created, not to mention a possible C/7 reunion and possible further character destruction when the bogus crew returns to the Delta Quadrant.

I find that unacceptable.

When I read a Voyager book, then I want to read about the main characters of the TV series, not some replacements for them and I definitely not want to see my favorite characters ruined, destroyed or killed off.

To me, the current status of the VOY relaunch is no different than any of the other 24th century series. DS9 was the first "relaunch", and it featured a dramatically different cast of characters. Sisko, Odo and O'Brien had all left and readers were introduced (or re-introduced) to characters like Vaughn, Ro and Shar. It was definitely a shake-up and it changed the status quo, but it was necessary (due to the way WYLB ended) and also made things more interesting. TNG's "relaunch" followed suit with new characters, as well. In fact, TNG's revolving door of characters made things even more unstable for the first few novels (Nave, Battaglia, T'lara, Leybenzon all came and went within the first few books).

Perhaps the changes in the crew dynamics seem more acceptable for TNG and DS9 due to the on-screen events that preceded the books. Several characters leave Deep Space 9 at the end of the series, so new characters have to be brought in to fill those gaps. Several characters are no longer serving aboard the Enterprise-E after NEM, so again, new characters must be brought in. VOY's rushed ending still shows the crew together aboard the ship when it returns to earth, and since we don't see any aftermath, it's assumed that the crew must stay together? I honestly don't find it to be very realistic. We also see on-screen that Janeway gets promoted to Admiral (NEM) so it could be implied that she no longer commanded Voyager. Neelix left the ship before the series even ended, so his absence certainly isn't the fault of the authors or editors writing the novels. The changes in the VOY cast in the relaunch novels don't bother me one bit.

 

[Bishop76]

As for the movie, if it hadn't been for the destruction of certain known, important planets which in at least one case is a screw-up of established Trek history, I could probably have accepted the direction the movie has created.

Really? I have heard this from other people and I so don't get it. It was brilliant of them to wreck Vulcan, IMO, because so many people cared about it. It was dramatically appropriate and made the stakes very real. What does it matter what happens down the road in the original universe? How does that make this universe less interesting? The point of this reboot and setting it in an alternate universe was to MAKE IT DIFFERENT FROM THE ESTABLISHED TREK HISTORY.

But then it all turned out to become a nightmare. janeway was killed off! Can you imagine that, the main character and the most important character killed off. How stupid!

Like the guy ahead of me said, this is another bold, dramatic move that the series lacked so often. And again, if her death makes the other cardboard cut-out characters more interesting, I'm all for that. None of these characters was ever even remotely interesting in the show, so why not revel in the fact that they've become interesting now?

So what we do have today is a bogus Voyager, without main characters like Janeway, Kes, Neelix and Tuvok. They are replaced by unintersting no-no's. We have to stand all the wallowing in grief which the current situation has created, not to mention a possible C/7 reunion and possible further character destruction when the bogus crew returns to the Delta Quadrant.

I find that unacceptable.

I just think you're resistant to any sort of change. Which is something Voyager needed a lot of to be good/interesting to all the people outside of the small minority of Voyager fans.

 

[chelly]

I read the books and I don't think you need to read Christine's books to read Kirstens. Like all the writers they are very good at summarizing stuff if they need to.

Though I have to say the spirt walk books weren't totally bad. It was nice to see Chakotay have a story for once. I was getting tired of the Seven saves everyone again oh the other people helped to stories. (yes I am looking at the tv writers)

Both writers I think have given us some great books.

It has been awhile since I read the String Theory books but I do remember enjoying them. (I will have to re read them today). I do have to say I love the Voyager relanch especially with Kirsten at the helm.

Kirsten can you give us a hint of what will be in the book? Please, I do have some virtual chocolate.

 

[Lynx]

Hey man, if that's your opinion then great. But you sound to me like you're one of the few that just can't be pleased.
I'll address a couple of your points.

I find it odd that you're disappointed with both the last few seasons of the show and the novels. They're pretty diametrically opposed in their approaches to storytelling. To wit: Janeway's death. That's the kind of risky shit good serialized stories do. I don'y think they shpuld have killed her on the show, but the show would have benefitted from a few more balls and a few less reset buttons. The fact that it makes the Voyager crew way more interesting in the process is gravy.

You also seem to be chafing at the inclusion of new characters. I'm not sure why. Nobody from the show is getting short shrift in the transaction. Kes is probably worm food on Ocampa, Neelix shows up in a limited fashion for a good reason and Tuvok's doing all kinds of stuff over on Titan. Not only do new characters shake things up, they're practically required in light of that.

You're well within you rights not to like it, but you've chosen some pretty frivolous reasons not to do so. Especially since negating all the things you dont like would restore the status quo you also claim not to like.

Oh yes, I can be pleased. I was very pleased with the whole of TNG and the first three seasons of Voyager. Not to mention that I really love the season 1-3 Voyager books!

As for your first paragraph, I disagree with most of it. Killing off main characters is not the opposite to seasons 4-7 that I want, it only makes matters worse.

As for the second paragraph, I'm not against the introduction of new characters, in fact I've introduced a whole bunch of new characters in my stories. But they are cooperating with, not replacing the Voyager main characters! That's an important difference.

And yes, four important characters are "getting short shrift in the transaction". As for your comment about Kes, it shows lack of imagination (if it wasn't made to pour salt in open wounds) because I myself have managed to come up with a prolonged lifespan for the character, something that shows that anyting is possible with a little touch of inspiration.

The problem is that Janeway, Kes, Tuvok and Neelix has been replaced by characters who simply can't replace the originals which makes Voyager looks like one of those surviving bogus rock bands with hardly one original member.

By the way, when I read through the posts with all the positive comments about the current direction of Voyager, I get the impression that many of those who praise the current direction of Voyager didn't really like the series and its characters.