13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Voyager Relaunch "Enemy" - Golden, January 10, 2005
This review is from: Enemy of My Enemy (Star Trek Voyager: Spirit Walk, Book 2) (Bk. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
I have read all of the Voyager Relaunch novels so far. I enjoyed "Homecoming" and "Farther Shore" greatly, so much that I couldn't wait to see how Golden was going to work this series. I read "Old Wounds" and was rather disapointed. In 'Spirit Walk,' Chakotay is reunited with his (umentioned, never heard of, never spoken of) sister Sekya who is, believe it or not, more into the whole spirit/nature thing that he is. If you have read other Golden books, you know what to expect; Chakotay will be in the spotlight. You know to expect Chakotay to speak with his animal guides, for there to be lots of emotional moments (many which are displaced) and for some characters to simply get the short in of the stick when it comes to development and material.
The other reviewers, though it seems harsh, have analyzed this book pretty well. Two stars because this book will leave you asking yourself, "What? That's... it?" Not in a good way either. Golden tries to take on so much that by the end, there are multiple ideas and plots running against one another. In trying to make this all thrilling and exciting, she misses the mark here and "Enemy" is a resulting disaster. This is far from a real professional take on this series. In the Deep Space Nine Relaunch, there are arcs, developments, twists and turns, surprises and drama. Golden, the only author (for some odd reason) of this Relaunch has her own convulted idea of what should happen to these characters. "Enemy" doesn't suffer in its general writing but more so in how it was carried out and the contradictions riddled through out the book.
In 'Old Wounds,' Janeway is truly focused on the problem of some Federation worlds wanting to break away. This is, considering how much the Dominion War left the Federation, a big problem. She's bent on keeping these worlds and people in the Federation. Paris, in some heart-to-heart moment with her, asks if she misses being Voyager's captain. She says she doesn't, which is a shocking moment but a great one, and that she values the change in her career and life. Well. In this book, Janeway is a completely different person. The moment there is trouble, her former officers run to her (completely going against standard protocal) for help. She ignores her duties, the results are revealed at the end of the book. Golden makes it all seem okay, as if there was no other option. I find it hard to believe Janeway would let her personal emotions and feelings compltely take her away from what matters the most.
The second problem with "Enemy" is the lack of depth Golden takes with the characters. Tuvok is reduced to perhaps only one or two spoken lines. Everything else is a raised eyebrow or some other "Vulcan" trait. Voyager's crew are left flat and unappealing; Vorik is ignored and just mentioned, has nothing to do with the situation Voyager is facing when it seems like he would have been the best person to stand up and point out the flaws in logic. Kim just seems helpless as chief of security, Campbell ... well, we still know little about her. Tare's beauty is spoken of and yet she has little to do with anything. Tom Paris is the only character that gets some attention but even he is written as if he cares more about his career than he does his wife and child.
A cameo by the Traveler, Wesley Crusher, Sky Spirits, Moset, and a Changelling all make for a pretty darn bad novel. Golden fails to work these elements together and things clash, things go left unexplained and yet she wraps it up as if alls well for our fair crew. What? Why tease with the constant B'Elanna plot? Why use the Cardassian Moset (who was used in the TNG novel 'Battle of Betazed' and appeared in an episode of Voyager) if he wasn't going to do anything worthy of being involved? Why take all the suspense away by revealing the enemies at the end of book one? Yes, if you read that book, you can pretty much guess what's going to happen here. Why even bring up the cession of the planet if Janeway wasn't going to devote any attention to it?
This was right down horrific. Golden, Pocket Books, what's happening with the Voyager Relaunch? This was a major step down. I felt like this was a continuation of the Chakotay and Paris plot from Golden's "Dark Matters" series more than a fresh new start. The entire idea of Chakotay having powers at the end of the book seemed more in line with an X-Men novel than it did a Trek work. A Re-Launch, in theory, is supposed to take the series and the characters somewhere new. This is taking many a step back and simply making for disapointing reads. No, this book doesn't strike me as one worth your money and time. It's confusing, baffling and one big mess of an idea.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is Golden at her Trek-author best., November 21, 2004
This review is from: Enemy of My Enemy (Star Trek Voyager: Spirit Walk, Book 2) (Bk. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
Captain Chakotay of Voyager and his sister, shaman-trained Sekaya, begin this duology's second installment where we left them at the first book's end. Imprisoned on the apparently abandoned colony world Loran II's surface, in the hands of the supposedly dead Cardassian scientist Crell Moset. Delivered there by a shapeshifting "Founder" who has spent years trapped in the form of a respected Starfleet officer, who now assumes Chakotay's identity and orders Voyager's immediate departure for Earth. Which will leave the real captain and his sister to die in Moset's laboratory, whether from the Butcher of Bajor's horrific research or afterward - because Moset can't afford to let witnesses live.
Meanwhile, Admiral Kathryn Janeway's mission to persuade several seceding worlds to remain in the United Federation of Planets is not going well. On the Klingon sacred moon Boreth, B'Elanna Torres continues researching her baby daughter's heritage as the fulfillment of ancient prophecy, after her husband Tom Paris joins Janeway's mission; and on Earth, concert musician and Starfleet spy Libby Webber makes a discovery that's connected to both the admiral's diplomatic assignment and the events unfolding aboard Voyager.
This is Golden at her Trek-author best. The story's threads come together in ways that surprise the reader without blindsiding, and the characters we Voyager fans already know so well behave exactly as they should. The new characters Golden introduced in her first Voyager re-launch duology manage to play major parts without making me resent the pages they occupy, although I'm still not sure what she has in mind for Akolo Tare. That's one of several plot threads that aren't tied up neatly. This is fine with me, since I know more books are coming. Although Enemy of My Enemy has a satisfying conclusion, it ends with a twist that has me asking with pleasant anticipation, "But what's going to happen next?"
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
First grade writing and reading, March 30, 2005
This review is from: Enemy of My Enemy (Star Trek Voyager: Spirit Walk, Book 2) (Bk. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
Let me start off by saying i love voyager, the series and while the homecoming books were okay, i still enjoyed them. These two books were so simply written it almost made me feel dumber while reading them. Yes, I found some pleasure in reading them because I`m hooked on Voyager and wanted to see what everyone was up to but the storyline was stupid. The whole part with Chakotay and his native american powers? The cat coming out into the real world? Where was Christie Golden going with this? It was just ridiculous.
So, I guess I can say that if you want to keep up on Voyager and you`re a fan, read the books. You`ll finish them both in about an hour. But don`t be looking for great writing and a profound storyline, like the Deep Space Nine books. And Christie, if you`re reading this review, step it up a little in your writing. More original ideas and write for adults, not third graders. We`re capable of a little more.
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