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| "Distant Shores" edited by Marco Palmieri Accompanying the three-book String Theory series, Distant Shores is published to celebrate the anniversary of Star Trek: Voyager, a show that polarised Trek fans more than most. Distant Shores is an anthology of thirteen short stories set throughout the series, as Prophecy and Change was for DS9 a few years ago, and is a great success. The book opens and closes with the two-part Heather Jarman tale Da Capo al Fine, a framing story featuring Admiral Janeway as seen in Endgame. Set during the scene where the Admiral is assimilated by the Borg Queen, it gives us some nice psychological insight into Janeway's mind at the time and sets up the rest of the anthology nicely by exploring some memories from Voyager's past. Jarman enhances an already-brilliant scene and adds some heavy doses of welcome intrigue. Command Code, set very early in Voyager's first season, kicks off the anthology proper. Robert Greenberger's story explores the conflict between the Starfleet and Maquis crewmembers, finally tapping the potential that the fusion of the two crews originally promised. Severely underused on TV, the differences between the crews are exciting enough; but Tuvok's actions seem to lack credibility, and they undermine the effectiveness of the story. An interesting enough piece, if slightly troubled. Stange New Worlds contributor Kim Sheard provides the next story, Winds of Change, which rotates mainly around B'Elanna and Kes. After the events of Warlord, the Ocampan consults Voyager's chief engineer for advice on how to manage her new feelings of contempt and anger, with mixed results. The story is a little cheesy, and the ultimate resolution to the two storylines is predictable, but such problems are compensated for by excellent characterization. And, y'know, the story's just so irresistibly sweet. Talent Night by Jeffrey Lang is an amusing story which looks at the crew's attempt to prevent boredom by arranging a talent show. Lang works hard to lay the foundations for Tom and B'Elanna's relationship, and the plot is simple good fun. Very light and enjoyable, with numerous laugh-out-loud moments. Trek veteran Keith R.A. DeCandido pens Letting Go, an Alpha Quadrant-based tale of the Voyager crew's relatives. Focusing mainly on Janeway's partner, Mark, it shows what happened to the families and friends of some key characters during the seven years; highlighting how drastically their reactions differed and how they eventually managed to come to terms with their respective losses. Possibly the best story in the entire anthology, Letting Go is a great piece of writing full of emotion. Closure is another highlight in the anthology, written by British author James Swallow. When Neelix and Seven of Nine are trapped on an alien world, Neelix sees and talks to the now-departed Kes. Although it's not clear whether Kes was really there or whether she was a figment of his imagination, the ambiguity is very intriguing and the balance of emotions is spot-on. Even if a revisit of the Neelix/Kes romance isn't your idea of a good story, you can't help but enjoy Swallow's tale -- the plot is touching, the final closure to Neelix/Kes is appreciated and nicely-presented, and the characters are well-realized. Robert T. Jeschonek's The Secret Heart of Zolaluz is, after two outstanding stories, something of a disappointment. As a reader, you're dropped right into the middle of the action with explanation slow to materialise. Seven of Nine's personality is accurately-written, and the concept of her locking away a part of herself is unique and interesting. The initial confusion and alienation is quick to pass, and the story is fine as a whole, but it sadly doesn't compete with the quality of other stories here. Isabo's Shirt, by String Theory: Fusion author Kirsten Beyer, is another story that makes little impact. Janeway and Chakotay's will-they-won't-they relationship reaches a peak and Chakotay tries to take things a step further . . . for the story to work, the reader is required to believe in the Janeway/Chakotay romance -- I didn't buy into it before, and unfortunately Isabo's Shirt didn't manage to change it. The prose is slighty too wordy, and descriptions are occasionally overdone; a second read-through helps the story, but the overall effect is sadly a little bland. In Christopher L. Bennett's Brief Candle, Harry Kim falls in love. Again. This time, the subject of his affection is Marika Willkarah (one of Seven's newly-liberated Borg friends from Survival Instinct), who has only one month left to live. The idea of Kim experiencing another flawed relationship is hardly original, but if you put your disbelief to one side Bennett's prose shines once again. The story is uplifting and life-affirming, and it demonstrates further that Bennett is shaping up to be one of Trek's best new authors. Terri Osborne's Eighteen Minutes is another contender for the book's best story. It follows the EMH during his "days" spent on the time-displaced planet from Blink of an Eye, and it works both as an excellent and much-needed booster to the episode and as a marvellous self-contained adventure. Osborne's characterization of the Doctor, particularly the nuances and rhythms of his voice (and his tendency to drift off-topic!), is unparallelled in its accuracy. Eighteen Minutes is another treasure of a story. Or The Tiger is Geoffrey Thorne's contribution to the anthology: a sound story that holds the interest and makes good use of a minor character. The Noah Lessing-orientated tale is a standard adventure that lacks anything to highlight it as being particularly special, but will engage the mind afterwards and manages to be surprisingly thought-provoking. Ilsa J. Bick, writer of the impressive Lost Era volume Well of Souls, pens the story Bottomless. Another U.S.S. Equinox survivor takes on a leading role, and this time it's engineer Marla Gilmore, who still hasn't integrated fully into Voyager's crew and lacks a sense of belonging. Although there's the minor problem of a cliched plot, Bick's writing maintains its unique qualities and easily-identifiable style: beautifully-composed prose is in abundance, and Bick doesn't shy away from exploring the darker side of characters. A confrontation between two of the story's leading personae is absolutely electric, and by far the best scene in the entire book. Brilliant. Voyager was littered with missed opportunities, and attempting to tap so much of its wasted potential is a mammoth task. For the most part, Distant Shores succeeds; bringing new energy to the show and exploring characters in new ways. Stories like Bottomless, Eighteen Minutes, Closure, and Letting Go are near-flawless, and even the less-successful tales are a superb tribute to the show. An overall triumph. |
This review originally appeared on the BookTrek website, between 2004-2007.  Star Trek: Voyager Distant Shores edited by Marco Palmieri Published: November 2005 by Pocket Books Format: Paperback, 350pp UK Price: £8.99 |