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mentat_stem 's review for:
Homecoming
by Christie Golden
I just watched through Voyager with the wife. It brought back fond memories of watching Star Trek:TNG with my family as a kid. I came to the end of the series wanting to spend more time with the characters.
This is the first Star Trek novel I've read in years. Reading them years ago got me into science fiction. I kind of wish I'd done more than keep a checklist of which ones I read. I'd have a bit more to compare this too.
I enjoyed the continuation of the character stories. However there's something missing. It's not just that it's only 1/2 of a longer novel. There was always something Science Fiction EPIC about how Voyager crew interacted with the absolute unknown. That's kind of missing here, in the familiar territory of Starfleet, the Federation and Earth. There are at least 3 main plots: one political, one espionage and one with a familiar foe. They're all definitely related to the Voyager crew, but they don't feel like Voyager plots. We knew we'd have to deal with Seven and the Doctor's place in society after Voyager returns to Earth, but it all comes off a bit heavy handed. That said, I reserve final judgement till I see how they're resolved in the second book.
I was impressed with how many simple references there were to the series. Most of them were superficial, but they offered a comfort to a fan seeking simple continuity. Janeway likes coffee, but knows her future self enjoyed tea. Seven owns a red dress. Stuff like that. I suspect this has always happened in Star Trek novels, but this is the first time I read one after watching a series straight through.
I'll definitely be reading a few more Star Trek novels now that it's easy to cherry pick ones that look interesting for my eReader, but I suspect I won't review many. It's fun to see plot threads (even ones that didn't seem loose) tied up, but if I'm actually going to THINK about what I read I need significantly more substance. Here's hoping I'm proved wrong and encounter a particularly interesting SFnal concept in one that I can geek out about.
I'd rate this 4 stars as a Voyager experience for a fan in withdrawal. On any other scale, it's more like 2 stars.
This is the first Star Trek novel I've read in years. Reading them years ago got me into science fiction. I kind of wish I'd done more than keep a checklist of which ones I read. I'd have a bit more to compare this too.
I enjoyed the continuation of the character stories. However there's something missing. It's not just that it's only 1/2 of a longer novel. There was always something Science Fiction EPIC about how Voyager crew interacted with the absolute unknown. That's kind of missing here, in the familiar territory of Starfleet, the Federation and Earth. There are at least 3 main plots: one political, one espionage and one with a familiar foe. They're all definitely related to the Voyager crew, but they don't feel like Voyager plots. We knew we'd have to deal with Seven and the Doctor's place in society after Voyager returns to Earth, but it all comes off a bit heavy handed. That said, I reserve final judgement till I see how they're resolved in the second book.
I was impressed with how many simple references there were to the series. Most of them were superficial, but they offered a comfort to a fan seeking simple continuity. Janeway likes coffee, but knows her future self enjoyed tea. Seven owns a red dress. Stuff like that. I suspect this has always happened in Star Trek novels, but this is the first time I read one after watching a series straight through.
I'll definitely be reading a few more Star Trek novels now that it's easy to cherry pick ones that look interesting for my eReader, but I suspect I won't review many. It's fun to see plot threads (even ones that didn't seem loose) tied up, but if I'm actually going to THINK about what I read I need significantly more substance. Here's hoping I'm proved wrong and encounter a particularly interesting SFnal concept in one that I can geek out about.
I'd rate this 4 stars as a Voyager experience for a fan in withdrawal. On any other scale, it's more like 2 stars.