The Murdered Sun

Any fan knows how hit and miss these Star Trek books can be; they range from awful to very good, with a lot of mediocre ones filling the in-between. Finding quality writing and a good story which lines up with characterizations that ring true with the way they were portrayed in whichever series the book is set within can be like looking for a needle in a haystack at times. The Voyager franchise seems to have even fewer good ones than the other Star Trek series books. I thought I had cherry-picked the best ones from the series already, but took a chance on this one, because I was in the mood for something light and fun. The Murdered Sun was a very nice surprise.

One of the greatest compliments you can bestow on a Star Trek book is to say show more it would have been a great episode of the franchise, and that is certainly the case here with The Murdered Sun. This entry seems rich and full, the characterizations spot-on for the most part, and the story, while perhaps derivative of Star Trek tropes, is very enjoyably done by Christie Golden.

Though Janeway, Chakotay and Tom Paris have the biggest roles in this story, I feel like I read an entirely different book than some here who make too much of that. Tuvok, B’Elanna and Kim have their fair share of screen time here as well; even Kes and Neelix get a few minor moments. The Doctor probably has the least screen time in this story. Janeway, Chakotay and Paris definitely carry the heavy lifting and interactions, but this still feels like a very good episode, with everyone involved. It is in no way or manner, “just” the three aforementioned involved in this story.

A possible wormhole that might get the Voyager crew home — it seemed to always be happening in the series, and never worked out — is a concavity that is murdering the sun of Veruna Four, where an intelligent species with many similarities in culture to Chakotay’s ancestors reside. But they are less concerned with their own dying planet than the attacks on them by the apparently war-like Akerians. The Akerians are at present more advanced, and they are using the concavity in some mysterious way for their own purpose, kidnapping, enslaving, and threatening the people of Veruna.

As you’d expect, the Akerians, who shield their faces, don’t appreciate Voyager’s presence, or interference. Also as you’d expect, the Voyager crew is sympathetic to the friendlier and more welcoming people of Veruna, even if their appearance is reptilian in nature. There is much back and forth about the Prime Directive, and some pretty inconsistent actions and reasoning for them. The appearance of the Verunans is especially repulsive to Tom. This becomes its own story when Tom finds a kindred soul in Kaavi and gradually overcomes his repulsion.

What you might not expect, because this sounds like very familiar ground for the franchise in all its various incarnations, is how wonderfully it reads as penned by Christie Golden. The Murdered Sun is not only enjoyable, but touching and resonating on a few occasions. And because it’s about the attempted genocide of one similar people against another, simply for existing, it is especially pertinent for modern readers. The Murdered Sun is nearly flawless as a Star Trek Voyager story and I found myself flying through it; always the case with the good ones in the Star Trek universe.

Ancient advanced technology, oral traditions of storytelling to preserve history, overcoming superficial differences and finding common ground, even a common past, and doing the right thing make this a really great entry in the Voyager book canon which should satisfy anyone who enjoyed the show doing its long run on television. Really great stuff ! show less

A good book with an exciting and fun story. My only quip is the constant nagging about the Prime Directive. It makes sense at first, but as more is revealed about these people, its pretty apparent that the Prime Directive doesn't apply.

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