Where Are We Up To With 2017?

With lots of information coming out of the new show, Ian Kimmins sums up all that we know in one handy post...

As Star Trek Beyond approaches and the excitement reaches fever pitch for our first new Star Trek adventure in a few years, Bryan Fuller has been quietly putting together his staff for the upcoming 2017 Star Trek TV show. 

With only seven months to go until the CBS All Access premiere in January 2017, fans really haven't got a lot of clues as to what to expect. Let's first take a brief look at his team and speculate from what we have heard so far as to what may happen:

Bryan Fuller

Executive Producer, Show Runner, Writer

Is he the best person to run the new series? I think so - without any doubt. When you look at his Star Trek credentials alone he has some great episodes including Drone and the seminal Living Witness (with Joe Menosky!) and of course Bride of Chaotica!. Another reason why I think he is an excellent choice is that he is successful outside of Star Trek with such shows as Pushing Daisies, Heroes and Hannibal.

Gretchen Berg/Aaron Harberts

Gretchen Berg/Aaron Harberts got their start on Beverly Hills 90210. Not a lot is known about both of these writers except that they worked worked with Bryan Fuller previously on Pushing Daisies. They have also worked on popular series such as Revenge and Roswell. 

Jesse Alexander

Jesse Alexander has worked on Alias, Hannibal, Lost and Heroes. Note again the links to Bryan Fuller and also Orci/Kurtzman. For those of you who watched Alias he wrote The Box which starred Quentin Tarantino and was one of their highest rating episodes. 

Joe Menosky

Clive and Tiff talked about the addition of Joe on their podcast because this is a huge addition to the super-team. Joe Menosky is well known to long time Star Trek fans as he got his start on The Next Generation writing such stories as Darmok. He wrote a few episodes of Deep Space Nine which were perhaps less successful including Dramatis Personae and Time's Orphan but most of his post The Next Generation work came on Voyager where he co-wrote Living Witness with none other than Bryan Fuller. He also had a hand in Scorpion and Year of Hell which are regarded as two of Voyager's most popular stories. Menosky is usually known for his high concept scripts so we can see why he was chosen for the new series. Also it bodes better for Menosky if the show is starship-based rather than on a static station. NB - forgive the mid-90's headshot!

Kirsten Beyer

After the announcement of Fuller, Meyer (and possibly Menosky). I don't think anyone generated as much excitement as Kirsten Beyer. As far as TV is concerned she is untried but if you have read any of her Voyager novels you will know how great she is at tying loose ends together and making them work well. Her work is so good Pocket Books have given her a solo run on the Voyager novels. The early word is that she will continue to write these in her downtime from the show. To find out more about Ms Beyer please check out fellow SKoSTer Tiff's interview here. 

Nicholas Meyer

Well what can you say about Nicholas Meyer that hasn't been said before. As one of two people credited with saving the franchise (the other being Harve Bennett) he is well placed to take Star Trek back to its rightful place. He rewrote The Wrath of Khan in 12 days without a screen credit to get in on time! Although he didn't want to limit himself to one genre he was persuaded to come back to help with the writing on Star Trek IV and direct Star Trek VI. A very big shock to the system to hear he was coming in as a writer

Aron Coleite

Aron Coliete is completely new to the Star Trek franchise but he has worked on Heroes but is probably more known from his work on the Ultimate X-Men comic book. He was also involved in the TV show The River starring Star Trek alum Bruce Greenwood (aka Admiral Pike in the Kelvin Timeline). If you get a chance to see this series; do. It's amazing!!

Kemp Powers

Kemp Powers like Kirsten Beyer hasn't worked in TV before. However this is the one that excites me the most. He known as a journalist, author and playwright. If you get to see his play One Night in Miami about Muhammad Ali you are in for a treat. He is likely to bring a real world perspective to the series that might otherwise be missing among the talented team of fantasy and sci-fi writers.

Apart from these faces, a few more announcements were made in relation to staff for the new series they include (just to refresh your memory)...

Heather Kadin

Executive Producer

Not a lot is known about this lady apart from her being Alex Kurtzman's partner in his company K/O Paper Products.

Alex Kurtzman

Executive Producer

Probably Easily the most divisive appointment due to his involvement in the reboot movies. He is also rumoured to be directing the pilot according to Mark Worthington (Production Designer) although this hasn't been confirmed by CBS or Bryan Fuller at this time.

Rod Roddenberry/Trevor Roth 

Executive Producers.

No one is quite sure what there actual role will be. Both are from Roddenberry Entertainment but is it just a marketing ploy to have a Roddenberry involved? We will just have to wait and see!

Vincenzo Natali

Producing Director

The most recent announcement. He has previously worked on Cube which was the cult Nicole De Boer film from the 1990's. He has also worked on Earth Final Conflict with the Roddenberrys and most recently with Bryan Fuller on three seasons of Hannibal. 

Mark Worthington

Production Designer 

Some of you may have seen his designs online for reported Klingon ships. Unfortunately these designs have been removed. For anyone unfamiliar with his extensive work he designed the opening scene for Lost (yeah - that really inexpensive bit with the crashed airliner that helped make it the most expensive pilot of all time). He has worked on shows as diverse as American Horror Story and Ugly Betty. 

And the show?

Well it's 13 episodes long will run anything up to 60 minutes to streaming online rather than being on broadcast TV. There has been the note made that the running times could vary episode to episode because of this swanky format on CBS All Access. 

One of the first things we found out was that it will be filmed in Toronto starting in September 2016 and running to around March 2017. Rumour also has it that the sets have been designed and that they will begin construction VERY soon. Apparently the bridge set is stunning.

The designers have been taking inspiration for new starships from sports cars which sounds very similar to what was done for the reboot USS Enterprise. 

The story for the first season arc is written and the first six episodes are broken down. Wow. Now that's progress for you. Interesting that the first season will be 13 episodes but that doesn't confirm anything for subsequent years. I guess this is a case of seeing how the first year runs and then expand from there. If the show maintains that number of episodes for an average run of seven years we will have a total of 91 episodes making it the second shortest series ahead of The Original Series (79) and behind Enterprise (98).

Bryan Fuller has noted that it is not set between The Original Series and The Next Generation which isn't a huge surprise but then that means we haven't got any timeframe confirmed plus we have it on the authority of Fuller that it's not an anthology series. Taking that and the fact that the teaser trailer talked about "New Crews" we can guess that Star Trek is going to have more than one ship and crew at its heart which I also surmise will help with the 13 episode arc.  

Finally, they are currently talking to actors and hope to release some concrete information around San Diego Comic Con - so there's still hope to see Nathan Fillon in the captains chair huh?! I've not seen that many names banded around actually but let's keep our minds open. I'd rather not commit to anyone and be very pleasantly surprised. Remember all, at one point there was a rumour that Bryan Cranston was going to be the villain in Beyond and look where that went. On the point of cast it's been suggested that in the future of the show we might get to see characters from other iterations of the franchise so that final Garak or Seven of Nine appearance could still be on the cards.

What do we hope to see?

Star Trek is coming home. While we like to see the movies - Star Trek belongs in the TV format. The biggest question people are asking is in which timeline will it be in and here's my answer. I don't care!! There I've said it. Star Trek is about the stories it tells - it's morality plays. At the end of the day a good story is a good story regardless of where it's set. I think one issue that might - and I say might - exist is the fallout from the recently announced fan film guidelines and that fans may boycott the show (and Beyond). I don't think that the number of people who will do that will have a massive effect on the audience but it's something to bear in mind.

There has been a move to rename the JJ/Abramsverse the Kelvin Timeline. Maybe more than Bad Robot will be playing in this universe? But then Bryan Fuller has said we eventually will run into established characters so maybe it's the Prime Universe.

The inclusion of such a diverse range of writers means that while we will undoubtedly get to see new concepts, good character conflict and a firm base in the Star Trek universe we will have a good deal of grounding in the real world too and that's going to be important if Fuller and co are keen to provide a relevant social commentary as occurred with The Original Series.  All I know is the eleven year wait for a new series is nearly up and it will be time for this new generation to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Personnel images from Google Images
Star Trek 2017 images from CBS teaser trailer
Information on the new show includes collated data from Collider

What do you want to see from the new show? Worried it might not go in the "right direction"?

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Voyager's Bold Pioneer: Kirsten Beyer Talks to SKoST

Regular Some Kind of Star Trek contributor Tiffany Groves takes us off the page this week with an exclusive chat to Voyager literary helmer Kirsten Beyer!

Kirsten Beyer has written nine rivetting Star Trek: Voyager novels brimming with expansion and development of many characters whom fans have come to know so well.

A Pocket Full of Lies is the latest and continues the exploration of Voyager’s adventures by revisiting of one it’s most disturbing - and memorable - periods, The Year of Hell.

Kirsten stated in an earlier interview that the “...reset button is the laziest form of storytelling...”  and I given the opportunity to interview her recently I asked about this assertion and her latest novel which covers a story which used just such a device.

“Ever since I first saw the Year of Hell episodes I wished that the writers had found a way for the crew to remember the events, when they restored time.” said Kirsten.

A fascinating prospect for sure, she went on to say; “...the fact that the audience were the only ones who were going to remember this massive, heart-breaking adventure just felt like such a waste."

And so the novel tackles just this challenge very successfully.

It has always been a matter of great importance for myself and other Star Trek fans who loved the Year of Hell story, that we were left with a great number of ‘what if's’ and curiosity in general, Kirsten it seems, has always shared this feeling.

"It has occurred to me that among the species I’d like a little "follow-up with" as we return to the Delta Quadrant and the Krenim are certainly up there. That said, I think it would have felt wrong to see the Krenim again without the context of Year of Hell so one way or another, I needed to get that information to the crew if I was going to go there."

I have really enjoyed these books, and speaking to Kirsten made me aware that she is acutely aware of both the joys and frustrations of being a Trekkie.

As for the crew of the illustrious starship, Kirsten noted that there were some she believed needed greater exploration; “Among the main characters on Voyager I saw the most room for growth early on with Chakotay, Paris and Kim. Each of them had their own specific issues and some have grown more than others thus far."

And Neelix?

“I suppose there is a case to be made that Neelix could use the same treatment, but I find that a little Neelix goes a long way and I sort of like thinking of him in his life on New Talax happy and enjoying seeing his old friends from time to time."

Often in the TV show I personally found it hard to relate to Chakotay or Harry Kim, but within the novels Kirsten has been able to expand on their feelings and traumas and in doing so I have found myself far more interested in these two.

But one of my all-time favourite characters, Garak appears in the earlier novel Atonement and so I had to take the opportunity to ask Kirsten, her take on the great Tailor/Spy; “It was a huge treat to write Garak. He is such a fantastic character, so brilliantly portrayed. Capturing his voice was more fun than ought to be allowed." 

The characters and crew have endured much in both the TV shows and the novels, I asked Kirsten about the focus she places in A Pocket Full of Lies on matters of depression;

“I think to have characters simply dust themselves off and move on the next day as if nothing had happened is dishonest. Star Trek lends itself to so many wonderful kinds of storytelling. That is one of the reasons it has endured for so long. I think there’s plenty of room in Star Trek for looking with some realism at the issues these stories raised, just as there is plenty of room for cool space battles and interesting new alien species. I'm always hoping to find a balance between deep character work and exciting, mind-bending adventures."

As a person who has mental health issues I was keen to ask Kirsten about her take on the subject being covered in Star Trek as a whole and in her novels;

“The issue of mental health is an important one and one that we still know so little about, but was wonderfully handled here, as was the issue of loss, something we can all relate too. Having these characters endure so much and still maintain their sense of self for me, at least, is a testament to their courage and bravery."

And for the future?

“I think of these characters as real people. I think most people who have endured a fraction of what these characters have on screen, let alone in the books, might have chosen to simply resign their commissions and take a house by the sea long ago and no one would blame them. Are they heroes because they haven’t? I’m not sure. But I do believe that the closer we try to stay to the truth of the circumstances we portray – given that we are in a universe where warp travel, replicators, artificial gravity, etc. are real – the more useful we can be in terms of keeping Star Trek relevant to today’s readers and fans."

I wanted to close our brief but wonderful Q&A with a somewhat ‘large question, but one that has intrigued me throughout life as a Star Trek fan, that being "Does Star Trek support the idea of a ‘God’ or Intelligent Design or indeed, should this be a discussion left out of Science Fiction for the better?"

Answered Kirsten; “I think there is plenty of room in Star Trek for considering the existence of and relevance of a belief in the deity of your choice. This has been going on since The Original Series and was handled, I think, in an especially great “science fiction” way on Deep Space Nine with the Bajorans and the Prophets. 

"I also think that for most of the main characters, it tends to be a non-issue. Star Trek posits a future where most of the humans we see don’t seem to be religious or overly preoccupied with the question of whether or not God exists. I think for those who believe in intelligent design, there is nothing in Star Trek that absolutely denies the possibility. We see many alien species with god-like abilities."

It has genuinely been a pleasure both reading Kirsten’s novels and getting the opportunity to correspond with her personally.

My full review of Kirsten Beyer’s newest novel, A Pocket Full of Lies is available separately HERE but suffice to say, another excellent novel from the New York Times Best Selling Author!

Many thanks to Kirsten for taking the time out of her busy schedule to answer these questions for myself and her fans. 

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New Beginnings in A Pocket Full of Lies

Tiff is back with the latest on Kirsten Beyer's ever impressive Voyager novel series...

To say I was eager to read Kirsten Beyer’s latest novel was an understatement. 

But before I continue, I must warn you that this review contains spoilers.

Following on from Atonement, this new novel is the unofficial start of a new plotline as the previous arc finished with the last novel. the main thrust of which is the appearance of another Kathryn Janeway.

The novel starts of solidly with the ramifications from the events in Atonement still clearly present.

Nancy Conlon’s recovery from Seriareen possession has proved slow and difficult, both she and her partner Harry Kim have suffered greatly, the latter sinking into a state of depression and anxiety.

But now the author addresses one of the biggest ‘reset’ conclusions from Voyager’s seven season run, Year of Hell.

Beyer has attempted (and succeeded) in taking on an exciting and intricate challenge here but her detailed knowledge the subject has allowed her to blend back-story and conjecture into a satisfying tale.

The story balances on the actions of the Krenim species and their refusal to allow what they call a ‘chaotic variable’ to exist and threaten their imagined ‘perfect timeline’. This variable is of course Admiral Katherine Janeway.

Proceeding with their abduction, the Krenim actually take an incarnation of Janeway from her younger life, the episode Shattered.

Beyer’s encyclopaedic knowledge really flexes itself here, as we enter the foray of two Janeways and the villainous designs of the Krenim.

We also get a chance to revisit another previously neglected character, Thomas Riker (born of a transporter accident yet a sentient independent person from the more familiar Will); Chakotay comments that …“two identical people choosing very different paths become pale reflections of each other.”

Beyer asks the reader to reflect on matters of destiny and the nature of the single identity in its uniquity.

As viewers, we were able to witness all of the events of the Year of Hell from safely behind the fourth wall. Here we are forced to share and allow the characters of Voyager to have that memory thrust upon them with cruel reality and unavoidable memory.

Seven of Nine describes the similarities she sees in ‘our’ Janeway’s eyes which convince her that she is Janeway: “a specific combination of defiance and pain.”

It is at times painful to read as we secretly wish that none of them should have to know or feel the horrors of that year, but there is hope yet for reasoning. Janeway herself acknowledges some relief that of the many versions of her that she witnessed die, most were following a similar path to her, affording her some comfort in her chosen path in life.

Kirsten Beyer stated previously that the story of the ‘other’ Janeway was in need of telling, and I found her viewpoint that they were better versions of their own selves because of the ‘Year of Hell’ compelling and convincing.

Classic themes are abound, courage, forgiveness, redemption and destiny of course

Tuvok battles with Loss, the Krenim protagonist demonstrates courage, even the omnipotent Q ponders familial immortality.

It seems as though no one, not even a Q can escape destiny.

Hands down this is one of the best Star Trek books I have ever read.

I can’t wait to see what Kirsten Beyer has in store for us next. 

Are you a fan of the new Voyager novels? Keep watching Some Kind of Star Trek for Tiff's interview with author Kirsten Beyer!

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Beyer's Atonement Continues the Voyager Story

Tiffany Groves is back with her THIRD Star Trek novel review and this time she's jumped a few years from Enterprise to Voyager...

The final book in a trilogy of stories following Protectors and Acts of Contrition (Voyager relaunch novels) This review contains spoliers.

This is the first Kirsten Beyer book I have read, she starts the novel by immediately capturing the interest and immersing us in the universe of Star Trek which is pleasing and compels the reader to continue avidly

The story opens with an introduction to the Kinara a collective group of Delta Quadrant races are allied against Janeway's Full Circle Fleet.

The Kinara have declared that Janeway be put on trial for crimes committed during the seven years Voyager spent in the Delta Quadrant. This is an initial aspect of the story; there is a concurrent development involving Seven and Tom Paris trying to uncover the origins of the Catomic Plague.

As we have learned through the previous books, the Catoms are the transformed remnants of Borg Technology by the Caeliar (ancient aliens who may have played a hand in the Borg’s creation)

But now with the Borg threat apparently being gone, Starfleet Medical is focusing all their attention on the Catoms with a view to using them for weapons creation; a disturbingly cruel and unethical change in Federation policy.

Just when we think enough is happening in this novel, Beyer challenges us further with another substantial aside plot.

This element involves Barclays and the EMH Doctor and their dealings with the dangerous Neyser essences (entertaining holographic mayhem follows)

These Neyser essences it turns out are actually the collective conciseness of another ancient alien race called the Seriareen (who have learned to extend their lives indefinitely by ‘possessing’ other people’s bodies)

This device of body possession is both confusing and fun and plays very well into great entertainment

Using the Doctor’s Holographic Matrix, the Neyser attempt to try to engineer events in the Delta Quadrant, (notably by removing Captain Janeway and the Federation and ultimately restoring their lost empire)

There is a lot happening in this novel and the author does risk losing readers at this point. Protectors, Waveforms, Eugenics, Ancient Alien Hybrids and suggesting the potential for a new collective using Catoms are still included within the busy plots and sub-plots

Beyer has handled all this wonderfully and still managed to throw in a few questions of existentialism along the way.

There are many great aspects about this novel; characters we know so well are accurately portrayed and we have a chance to review the events of the Voyager’s journey through the Delta Quadrant from different perspectives

There are re-introductions of characters such as the Devore Inspector Kashyk, and the fascinating Voth.

Particularly pleasing was the arrival of the wonderful Elim Garak who we discover is now the Cardassian Ambassador for the United Federation of Planets. Of course Garak has not changed at all, he is the same master of survival and whit that we know and love from Deep Space Nine. Initially behaving in typical self interest, we eventually see Garak’s cunning motives are indeed for the greater good.

Ultimately, this is a novel about the nature of faith. 

Ignorance and fear has overcome Starfleet following the Borg invasion and the actions of Starfleet medical may change the federation forever. But the actions of the central characters are fuelled by faith in that initiate principle of the Federation’s foundation.

Often they risk being the very antithesis of that belief system and yet they are prepared to make that sacrifice.

Overall, this book is intelligent, faithful yet immensely daring; events have become very
complicated for the Federation in this storyline (a far cry from the simpler times of managing Klingons and Romulans in the Alpha Quadrant).

Next up in the series is A Pocket Full of Lies...

Fan of the Voyager novels and the current storyline? What do you want to see?

You can get hold of Atonement right now from Simon and Schuster priced £7.99 ISBN 9781476790817.

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Acts of Contrition: Beyer's Voyager Vision Continues

Having read the previous book in this series the dramatic conclusion left me priapic with anticipation for the latest novel. For those unaware my review of Protectors did not put it in the best light. 

It wasn't until I started reading Protectors that I realised that it was part of a series of which I had transported into mid-phaser fight. Did I end up going back and reading the previous three books in the series I hear you ask? Erm, no I did not. Although I do appreciate that this might help my understanding of matters. Not to be deterred by this and relishing anything Voyager related, I ploughed through it with some difficulty, struggling to follow the already established plots. 

I know what you're thinking, what do you expect, you've jumped in half way through a series. I agree with this is but I believe an author should be able to draw a reader into an established arc with sufficient backstory such as Kevin J Anderson and his Saga of Seven Suns. Nonetheless I was prepared for this with the latest book, eager to see where the story would go. I still hold the opinion that Protectors was a filler, meant to tie the readers over until Acts of Contrition where the story was hopefully going to engage warp engines instead of manoeuvring thrusters. We haven't achieved much more than impulse at the moment.

Acts of Contrition neatly picks up where Protectors left off. Admiral Janeway is in charge of the full circle fleet tasked with opening diplomatic relations with the Confederacy of the Worlds of the First Quadrant, whose technology is on par with the Federation. In the previous book the Confederacy rescued the Federation starships Voyager and Demeter from an alien armada and although grateful, the crew of Voyager is disturbed in the way that the Confederacy was founded.

Introducing several of Voyager's adversaries from the original TV series, the Devore, the Voth, the Turei and the Vaadwaur all make interesting additions. The 'Karlon' and the 'Skeen' are the new faces which aren't explored in any detail. It would be interesting to have more development on these, especially as these have been created by Beyer. These have formed an unlikely alliance intent on forging war with the Confederacy, and Voyager's presence doesn't help matters. Recognise anyone mentioned above? The Devore were introduced in the season 5 episode Counterpoint where Janeway finally got a little bit of action, well as much as you can on Star Trek without the Doctor's approval. The Voth made an appearance in the season 3 episode Distant Origin and the Vaadwaur and Turei in season 6 Dragons Teeth. 

 
In my humble opinion there seems to be a bit of recycling of old characters going on here. It's nice to have some familar faces but we've got a whole quadrant of alien races that could have been introduced. Is this a wasted opportunity? I personally would have prefered more original content, these are races we have seen in the past. More to the point Beyer seems to have picked all the races with a grudge against Voyager and surprisingly they've banded together intent on capturing Voyager. The Turei and the Vaadwaur!!! Really, in what universe would that ever happen? These two species were at war with each for centuries. After discussing this with my colleague Mark who has seen this episode of Voyager more recently than myself, he considers it a major plot hole and had a look of horror on his face.

Beyond this both the Devore and the Voth had an element of xenophobia about them, would they really team up? Beyer is disregarding even the most basic established tenants of the series, instead opting to rewrite Voyager as she sees fit. Or as Tuvok elegantly put it in Worst Case Scenario (season three, Ep 25): "That is an entirely implausible plot development. Logic is an integral part of narrative structure. According to the dictates of poetics by Te'Hain of Vulcan, a character's actions must flow inexorably from his or her established traits."

Commander Tom Paris has escorted Seven of Nine back to the Alpha Quadrant along with Dr Sharak. As previously mentioned in my Protectors review, Paris' mother is seeking custody of Miral following a storyline from one of the earlier books in which Paris faked his wife and daughters death in order to protect them from some Klingon order. Mrs Paris believes that both Tom and B'Elanna are unfit parents and is applying for sole custody of Miral. I expected this part of the story to be quite boring, arbitration between mother and son, but was pleasantly surprised in the way this arc was explored.

This could be considered a soap style storyline, father of the child cliché. Was this a necessary sub-plot? My interpretation is that Beyer is wrapping up the Paris storyline, although beware, it looks set to continue in the next novel. Although it is not the strongest storyline Beyer portrayed the character very well causing me to sympathise with the issues facing the family.

Another continuing story arc is the catomic plague, from my review of Protectors, it has indeed developed into a more substantial reading point as I suspected. Unfortunately it is difficult to identify exactly what is going on, or where it is going. This is simply because amidst this devastating plague, Beyer chooses to focus on the Seven-Axum relationship which in my opinion is unrealistic and out of character. I imagine that Beyer intends to develop this plot in the next novel, my only hope is the Seven-Axum relationship isn't explored in as much detail. I believe a line needs to be drawn under this and for her to focus on the principle issue of the catomic plague. 

I have recently set myself the task of re-watching Voyager from start to finish and would like to revise my comment in my review of Protectors regarding the relationship between Chakotay and Janeway. The early seasons of Voyager were not may favourite and I haven't seen them for many years, but I believe these early seasons show the chemistry between Janeway and her former first officer. Although I believe that the relationship evolved into a friendship rather than a romantic relationship, it does give more credibility to the two being involved. This relationship is referred to in Protectors but isn't explored in any detail. This may be because it was covered in previous books in the series which I am unaware of, but it may have additional potential. Is an Admiral allowed to have a romantic relationship with a Captain?

If I said Riley Frazier to you would it ring any bells? It didn't for me but luckily I have just re-watched season three of Voyager and managed to connect the dots. For those of you unaware she is from the episode Unity in which she attempts to 'softwire' Chakotay into her mini collective. Once I made this connection I was a little disappointed. We've got Axum, Riley, various foes of Voyager banded together, Protectors from the season two episode Twisted, and that's just in the two books I've read. I feel that too much reliance has been placed on established storylines which have been merged together to create a series that is hard to follow. Not to say that I haven't enjoyed this book, each chapter ended on a cliff hanger compelling me to read on which is a credit to Beyer's writing skills. I just find that hers and mines version of Voyager following the conclusion of the series went on different paths.

At this point I'll offer you my conclusions but before I do, I need to get something off my chest.

I had a little theory from Protectors, I briefly mentioned it in an earlier paragraph but have decided to return to it as I no longer feel I had made a mistake. Sadly this chapter in her series has done nothing but strengthen my theory. I cannot escape the overall feeling that Beyer isn't actually writing the next Voyager installment, rather, rewriting the original TV show. With the ratio of 'recycled' material to 'original' material (and a distinct lack of detail in her original material), it does give me the impression that she watched Voyager and decided that it wasn't how she saw it should have played out.

Now, we all have ideas about what we'd have liked to have seen in the show, but we've known better than to disturb one of the best (in my 'humble' opinion) Star Trek shows thus far.

The continuation of this saga will be Star Trek: Voyager: Atonement, which is due to be released in either July or September 2015. I'm sure many people who have read the whole series will be anticipating the release of this next instalment with the dramatic cliff hanger that Beyer left you with. I say 'you' as to me it actually meant nothing, I've got no idea who this latest bad guy is.

How do you think Beyer is handling the Voyager series? Are these moves in the right direction?

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Star Trek: Voyager - Protectors - Long Awaited Return...?

Since the announcement of a new Star Trek: Voyager book I had been unable to contain my excitement, especially as I was asked by +Clive Burrell to do the review. 

I eagerly awaited its arrival looking forward to spending some time with my favourite characters in the Trek universe. I anticipated it would take me a week tops to read this book being one of those obsessive people that when I start something I'm like a dog with a bone. 4 weeks later I finished the book, and that's only because I spent six hours on a train with nothing else to do.

Let's start at the beginning....

That appears to be an ironic statement in itself as unbeknownst to me this is book four? of an on-going series. Not normally one to be phased by this situation, like my colleague +Mark Thwaite  I love Star Trek and have never had any problems jumping into the middle of a storyline before. With this book I felt like an original series red-shirt, beamed down to a planet to face my impending death.

The book beings with Vice Admiral Janeway; having been offered command of the Full Circle fleet, or what remains of it following the events in the previous books, she has been ordered back to Starfleet headquarters for a review following her assimilation by the Borg, her death and subsequent reanimation by Q. This storyline centres more on the political aspect of Starfleet command and their attempt to remove Janeway from service. 

Her time is spent with various counsellors discussing her actions following the destruction of the transwarp hub in the series finale Endgame; her mother and sister; and a subplot involving the Paris family whereby Tom Paris' mother is attempting to gain custody of his daughter Miral and Janeway is attempting to resolve the situation.

This plot explores the vulnerable side of Admiral Janeway and her insecurities in leading the fleet. Feeling responsible for the devastation by the Borg following Voyager's return Beyer shows a different side to Janeway, one which didn't sit right with me. I don't know whether this was because I've always seen Janeway as a strong character who plays a motherly role to her crew and now she is doubting herself and all the decisions she has made. Is this something Janeway would do? I don't think so. Can I also add that the relationship between Janeway and Chakotay... Really, did no-one else watch seven seasons of Voyager because there was no chemistry there!!!

Meanwhile in the Delta Quandrant, the USS Voyager commanded by Captain Chakotay and USS Demeter commanded by Commander O'Donnell have travelled back to a system that was referenced in the season two episode Twisted. In order to prove to Starfleet that continuing exploration in the Delta Quadrant is worthwhile, Harry Kim convinces Chakotay that the waveform first encountered nine years ago downloaded a distress call into Voyager's database which wasn't discovered until years later after Harry had deciphered the message. Voyager sets course, with the aid of the newly installed slipstream drive, to find the waveform and offer assistance. However, nothing can be that straight forward can it? 

This was an interesting take by Beyer on what really can only be described as a classic Star Trek episode, something weird happens and that's the end of it. Not really exciting enough to continue, Ms Beyer would disagree. I think Voyager encountered a lot more interesting species that could have been continued in a novel but it seems that opinion isn't shared.

Discovering a cloaked area of space inhabited by the titular "Protectors" who are trying to save a dying ecosystem called the Ark Planet, both Chakotay and O'Donnell must decide whether to help the Protectors and if this violates the Prime Directive. The relationship between O'Donnell and his first officer is quite strange with O'Donnell spending most of the time in his quarters while his first office is in his place on the bridge. This may be explained in a previous book but is very confusing to a new reader to the saga.

This is the main arc of the book and centres around what can be described as a first contact mission and finding ways to circumvent that pesky prime directive in order to help the waveforms. Sound boring? Yeah it is. It's one of the 'nothing really happens' episodes in the middle of the season and is forgotten quite quickly. In fact I've got the book to hand as I type this because I'm struggling to remember what it was actually about.

Can things get more interesting I hear you ask? Well.... there is another plot set in the Beta Quadrant that involves a Borg who has been severed from the collective. Starbase 185 encounters a ship heading towards them with unrecognisable life signs. The occupier of the ship is beamed to the Starbase and it is later revealed to be Axum, last seen in season seven's episode Unimatrix Zero. A former love interest of Seven of Nine, Axum was able to experience Unimatrix Zero whilst regenerating. Following the destruction of Unimatrix Zero, Axum became a resistance leader in the Beta Quadrant and was never heard from again. How will Seven of Nine react to this news I wonder.....

Being near death there is only one person in the universe they can call to save the day, and that would be Voyager's very own Doctor. This is where I imagined things would get complicated, the classic love triangle comes into play, but the Doctor's behaviour wasn't right, he was indifferent to Seven of Nine. At first I thought the translation of the character onto a different medium couldn't match the talents of Robert Picardo, but it seems that someone has been playing with the Doctor's programming which is explained towards the end of the book.

Meanwhile on board Voyager Seven of Nine is having vivid dreams of Axum which doesn't sit too well with her current beau Counsellor Cambridge. (That's right, the budding romance between Chakotay and Seven of Nine didn't develop following the conclusion of the season finale, one of the many changes that Beyer has introduced into the series that I struggled to follow).  A new Borg concept is explored here, drones severed from the collective contain technology known as 'catoms'. This isn't explained particularly well, it seems that they play a part in healing an injured drone, something which Starfleet Medical are very interested in. As Seven of Nine has these catoms in her body Starfleet Medical have requested her presence in the Alpha Quadrant.

Another thread to this plot is a disease that Starfleet Medical believe is spread by these catoms hinting they have ulterior motives for both Seven of Nine and Axum, something which isn't explored in this book but looks set to continue in the next instalment. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

The book moved at impulse speed right up until the end when we suddenly jumped to warp seven with an ambush and a space battle. This was as exciting as the book got and it wasn't until this point that I actually wanted to continue reading. Split between space exploration and the personal lives of the crew I felt like something was missing..... excitement maybe.

Phrases such as "Like most expectant mothers, B’Elanna had been hoping for ten little fingers and ten little toes. The rest, including the child’s gender, was gravy. But something in the knowledge that this was her son, Tom’s son, filled her with awe." Didn't endear me to the book.

This quote is taken from the first chapter of the book and using the phrase gravy in a Star Trek book isn't something I expected and filled me with a preconceived notion of where it was all heading.

 I wanted to love this book but found myself deeply disappointed with ninety per cent of it. The redeeming feature was the last couple of chapters where something exciting finally happened. Would I go back and read the other books in the series?... No, I'm afraid Beyer hasn't drawn me into the series with this book which felt very much like a filler to tie the readers over until Acts of Contrition will be released in September. Although this is something that can be done in a television series I don't believe a book should be setting the scene for the forthcoming instalments. A television series is commissioned for a season so filler episodes are expected but a viewer only has to wait a week for the saga to continue. With a novel the reader has to wait considerably longer and may have forgotten about the sequel altogether, something that is likely to happen with this book.  Will I read the forthcoming continuation? I think I will, the last few chapters peeked my interest and I'm hoping that the author was just setting the scene for the upcoming epic battles about to happen. Looking at the synopsis for the sequel it seems I might be in luck. Janeway has taken her rightful place in the Delta Quadrant commanding the full circle fleet and several of Voyager's old adversaries have come together to form a pact to bring down Voyager's new alliance with the ominous Confederacy of the Worlds. Sounds promising to me.

Star Trek: Voyager: Protectors is available now from Simon and Schuster priced £6.99 ISBN 9781476738543