Some quick thoughts. I assume I'll have more to say tomorrow. Hopefully.

1) I mentioned in that other book I've read by DeLancey that I had read 15, I think, Voyager books, and seen most, maybe all of the show. And that I didn't exactly recognize the people involved from Voyager in the book I had read. But then that's to be expected. That wasn't a Voyager book. This one is a Voyager book.

A lot of people from Voyager had mostly cameo roles in this book. Or, at least, their scenes were quite small. Tuvok, Chakotay, the Doctor, and Harry Kim had scenes. Kim's were mostly 'contacting people. They are not responding. Scanning' type scenes and did not give enough to see if the characterization matched up with what I recalled of him from the show. Chakotay had a slightly larger role, at least in the importance of his words, but again, not enough there to get a handle on if this Chakotay matched up. Tuvok and the Doctor had even larger roles, and there I can say that both matched up - both of their characters matched what I recalled from the television show I've seen and books I've read. Paris? If this was a television episode, his role would have consisted of seeing how good of a nonverbal actor he could/can be. At least I recall him in the book, but not actually saying anything. Which is more than what Neelix had - he was mentioned, not seen.

Other than Janeway herself, B'Elanna Torres and Seven of Nine appeared to have the largest roles for Voyager crew. Well, Tuvok's could be at or slightly less than their roles. Seven of Nine didn't specific match my recollection, but was within the range of her characterization - which has morphed over the years. B'Elanna? She was a fiery angry person on the show. She was a fiery angry person in the book. Still, there seemed something vaguely 'off' about her. No matter.

Janeway had the most scenes. And seemed to match up well with what I recalled of her character from books and television. The transition from 'nonlesbian' to 'lesbian' wasn't exactly very detailed. Janeway had a guy back on earth. But there always seemed something vaguely off about their relationship, like it was excepted for her to have a relationship, so she did. She seemed a lot more concerned with missing her dogs than missing her man. So something could have been inserted to at least make it appear that she could have always been a bisexual. At least. Since there isn't anything that would make that non-canon. That would remove it from official Star Trek Voyager universe to have her be that. Since she's basically a nonsexual being (on the show - she's the Captain, everyone works for her, who'd she be a sexual being with exactly?). Sure, there's some sexual tension between Chakotay and Janeway, but that always seemed more on Chakotay's side. Instead it's just that Janeway has been able to appreciate the female form before now, but now feels deeper feelings than appreciation.

2) I wish I knew the page total. I dislike leaving it as 0 pages read. mmphs.

3) The book came in parts. Hmm. That's a short sentence and I've already messed it up. There are sections in the book - Voyager finds a ship drifting in space. Finds a woman in there in a stasis chamber. Then book turns to something of a budding romance novel. Then back to science fiction with the introduction of new aliens, and a new planet. I mention this because everything was rather well done. To the point that I was/am vaguely confused as to how well done this all turned out. Quite professionally done, this fanfiction. Then we got to about the 91% and well, weirdness occurred. Granted, by about 96% everything's quite brilliant, but there was the literal introduction of an element . . . well, I can't really say without being spoiler-y. Just . . . it was jarring how I was reading, thought there were a few pages until book conclusion and suddenly . . . a rift in space opens. And weirdness occurs.

4) There were graphic sex scenes and eroticism. Something that probably is unexpected to anyone that has never read a Star Trek book before but has seen them in, say, the young adult section of a library - I've read several Star Trek books, the official ones, that had heightened levels of eroticism in them. One or two might even have had sex. One I think was explicit (the one I recall involved Riker), most were implied. ( )

If this review had a title like Amazon's reviews have, it would be "Sci-fi for lesfic romance lovers", or better yet "FREE sci-fi for lesfic romance lovers". Yep, its free to download on the author's website.

This book is the start of a series of 5 novel-length fan fiction stories based on the Star Trek Voyager TV series and its characters. I know most people equate fanfiction with unsophisticated writing, an abundance of typos, and lack of editing but this is a rare exception. (Note: The author has polished up the books through the years and is now an editor with Ylva.)

I never watched the TV series, so no prior knowledge is necessary to enjoy the book, though a little Wikipedia reading/youtube watching wont hurt. Because of its reliance on the Star Trek universe and characters, there is no need for detailed world-building. The author has the luxury of concentrating on developing the plot, the characters and the romance...and did all of those aspects incredibly well. This wouldn't be a well-written sci-fi book without the tech terminology but its not overwhelming for lesfic readers.

The plot is very well laid out. After I finished the first book, I kinda wondered if each of the books would be like a tv episode, featuring an independent adventure, but fortunately, things are not that simple. There is an overall arc and events that happen in the first book have some surprising repercussions much later in the series.

Most of the book is told from Capt. Janeway's limited pov, so she is naturally the most well-rounded character. But all the other major characters of the tv show get significant character development. I'm surprised (and delighted) that the author chose to inject her own original character(s) into the book. This is a welcome departure from the usual fanfic ships as those have been done to death already and the author wouldn't have been able to make it last 5 books. :)

As I mentioned earlier, this is a book for lesfic romance lovers. You can transport the whole setting to earth, or the sea, and the book will still stand as an excellent romance. The development is slow, realistic and very sensitively portrayed. So much so that there were times when I wondered if it was actually getting too much in the way of the Captain's duties. That's romance for you! :) I shouldn't forget to mention the intimate scenes. For me, these tend to be the most skim-able parts of lesfic. Well, after a few hundred books, they tend to sound like been there, done that. But this book's intimate scenes sizzle!

4.5 stars



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