Customer Reviews
Recommended.
Voyager encounters the sharply divided Chiar civilization characterized by its development and dependence on nanotechnology. The story progresses as each faction of Chiar attempts to use Voyager and her personnel to their advantage. What this novel does best is to provide an excellent commentary on the concept of slavery/servitude. To a lesser extent, it provides some good observations concerning both the potential dangers of relying too heavily on any form of technology and the even greater dangers associated with such social problems as intolerance, chauvinism, prejudice, and bigotry. The Seven storyline involving her use of the holosuite to recreate a childhood she never had is both fascinating and touching. The Paris/Torres relationship is very well represented.
best star trek novel i've read yet
i'm a pretty tough critic, writing-wise. and i'll admit it--sometimes a book with writing that makes me wince earns my love just because the ideas are so good; in this case, because i love the characters so darned much. this is why i keep so many of my voyager books, even when the writing is mediocre. in this case, it's the best i've seen yet.
let's get this out of the way first: paris/torres relationship wise, it's beautiful. it's not mushy fanfic (is that necessarily a bad thing?), but it's got them interacting in a way that's very believable and very cute.
okay. now that my all-important p/t obsession has been dispensed with... the writing quality is by far and away superior to any other star trek novel i have ever read. the style flows without delving into that painful realm of flowers and metaphors, and the words chosen fit the character being described, be it in physicality, action, or speech. the plot is creative but not utterly ludicrous, raising interesting ideas about dependence on machines for all things. i highly recommend it to all fans.
