The Black Shore

Though I liked the show a lot — minus a couple of character caveats, this is the first book I’ve ever tackled in the Star Trek universe dealing with the Voyager crew. This also happens to be one of the most enjoyable reads I’ve ever experienced in the book franchise based on the various shows. Whether it’s the Original Star Trek, Next Generation, or Deep Space Nine, everyone knows the quality of writing and stories for the paperbacks of their continuing adventures in that universe can run from dreadful to really good — but sadly, heavily weighted toward the former. Usually the characterization is off, or the story is lackluster, or the writing is terrible. I’m ecstatic to say that NONE of those things apply here.

Greg Cox has show more done a marvelous job of capturing the essence of the characters from the show, and he’s wrapped them in an entertaining and enjoyable story that while no new shakes, is like a splendid episode we simply weren’t allowed to see. Sure, if you critically examine it upon finishing, it has some standard similarities to an oft-repeated narrative — a seeming paradise with a dark underbelly — but it’s so well done and so entertaining, while you’re reading you simply don’t care. There’s humor and drama, a few thrills, a few dark moments but not so much it takes away from the good feeling throughout that you’re “watching” a lost episode.

Perhaps Cox’s greatest achievement is the way he chose to criss-cut the story, seamlessly flowing from one portion of the crew to the next to give us, the “viewer,” a cohesive overall picture, just as the film editors did on the show. Other writers in the Star Trek universe often choose to focus on one or two main characters, perhaps to make it easy on themselves, but Cox takes the road less traveled, giving most of the crew a chance to shine, and moments that provide us humor or drama, even a tiny bit of insight. It makes this one feel full and well-rounded, much more like a terrific episode where everyone is involved. That brings me to my next point:

By including Harry, Paris and Chakotay, Tuvok and Kes, Neelix and The Doctor, and especially Kes, this lessens the role the grating Janeway has to play in this. If you’re one of the millions like myself who laments that producers did not cast Erin Gray in the role of Janeway, and went with Kate Mulgrew instead, you don’t have to worry about the character as she was written, or as portrayed by Mulgrew, nearly ruining another great episode with her caustic, Kathryn Hepburn-level grating voice, and condescending personality. To be fair, that was the way Janeway was written, but I truly believe Gray would have brought more to the role, and perhaps found a way to dissuade the six people who wrote her character from turning her into such an infuriating mess. With her “screen time” wisely lessened here, though she does play an important role as Captain, she slides down the literary palate much easier here than in the show.

On the technical side, I did run into a number of typos in the print version — either an actual typo, or a “to” missing in a couple of sentences, for example — but they appear in as many mainstream books as they do self-published, despite what you hear from reviewers trying to pull the wool over your eyes. In this case, as is so often the case, it was ticky-tack stuff not relevant enough, nor frequent enough to ever become a distraction, or even an annoyance. And, this was a pretty big book as well. I only mention it as a preemptive strike because someone else is certain to laser in on it. Trust me, it’s nothing. If it was, I’d tell you.

I won’t go into fine detail about the plot on this rare occasion, since the premise is well explained on the back cover of the book and in the introduction of the listing, but suffice it to say I LOVED this one, and had an enjoyable time flying through it. For those wondering about the time frame on this one, Kes is still with Neelix, and Paris and Torres aren't even beginning to come together yet. A great read; a blast, in fact, and a book I’ll be keeping around so I can read it again at a later date. That says it all. show less

Overall pretty enjoyable. Not a surprising story, but still fun. The characters were written well. The setting seemed pretty good. Only gripe I really had was a mention of the Prime Directive towards the end that seemed silly. Without spoiling anything, the Prime Directive does not apply here. Good book though. I recommend it for a quick read.

PLOT OR PREMISE:
Janeway and her crew are in desperate need of shoreleave...and they receive an invitation from an uncharted planet to visit and enjoy the paradise nature of the lands. All is not necessarily as it seems, including the citizens' treatment of their pets, the Neffaler, which seem surprisingly intelligent, almost sentient.
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WHAT I LIKED:
Good descriptive prose, with lots of little sub-stories -- Kes' pre-occupation and disturbing telepathic forces, Paris' involvement with the daughter of the leader, and Torres' desire to find the source of some dilithium signatures.
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The sub-stories don't come together as well as they could, so the overall story is long and rather confused at times. Many of the characters show more seem "off" from their TV version, perhaps reflecting the author's pre-occupation with the characters' lives early in the series' history. Lots of descriptions are heavy on the visual, which would be impressive if it was a TV episode rather than a book, but it doesn't work as well here. The ending is rather fragmented, focusing on three different groups' of actions at the same time.
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BOTTOM-LINE:
Would have worked better as an episode than a book
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DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow him on social media. show less

Basically like a Voyager episode. Which isn't necessarily a compliment.