Distant Shores (1/3) (Spoiler)

S P O I L E R

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I am still waiting for "Orion`s Hounds" and therefore I started reading
a book that got left behind because there were other new books I am more
interested in. But starting a book with short stories has the advantage
that it is easy to pick it up later without having lost track in between
reading other books.

This is my review of the first third of the book, meaning the first four
stories.


DA CAPO AL FINE

I have read both parts of the framing story together because that made
more sense to me than reading one half now and the other possibly months
later.

Unfortunately, I wasn`t impressed. I was very tempted to skip the rest
after having read the first half. Admiral Janeway is dying and a jumble
of old memories is flashing in front of her eyes without any direction
behind it. But I thought, stick with it, who knows, it might still go
somewhere. "Coda" is one of the Voyager episodes I still remember quite
well and it was an interesting idea to let this alien return.

But at this point I expected much more: Oh, yes: "Janeway could hardly
be counted on to be objective where Tuvok was concerned." I mean that
sarcastic. In this story she makes it clear that it has to be her who
has to look for him in the Badlands because this is what she was meant
to do. On the other hand, it is ok in her book to rewrite history by
erasing the part of Janeway`s journey that would have added her closest
friends to the list of victims and to erase the futures - also very
positive ones - her colleagues and friends had built for themselves
after their return. What right does Admiral Janeway have to decide whose
lives are more valuable than others, for whom history should be
rewritten and who should remain dead? What Admiral Janeway did was
extremely selfish. I don`t see anything heroic about it. She wasn`t able
to move on with her life and what she did was not only in order to help
her closest friends but first of all, herself.

What irritates me is that nothing of this is mentioned in the framing
story. Instead Admiral Janeway is portrayed as someone heroic and
selfless. I don`t like it when part of the story is left out and the
truth is glossed over. The story could have been brilliant, exploring
Admiral Janeway`s inner struggle about her decision. Showing that she
has regrets could maybe even have helped to redeem this character at
least somewhat. What a waste of opportunity and an annoying one on top
of that!


COMMAND CODE

It took a while until I returned to this book because the framing story
had really put me off. But finally, I picked up the book again and
started to read.

I quickly forgot the bad first impression this anthology left me with.
This is easily one of the best Voyager stories I have ever read. It
explores the situation on the bridge of the very early Voyager series
very well, showing how these so very different personalities who were
thrown into this situation learn to work and live together, also
exploring their strengths and weaknesses.

The conflict between Tuvok and Chakotay made a lot of sense to me and I
found this aspect of the story very touching. I like it that both men
settled their differences quickly afterwards, that they realized that
also because they are so very different, they can learn from each other
and complement each other.

I understand Janeway`s point of view as well but I don`t blame Tuvok
either. From his point of view, what he did was the logical thing to do.
It spoke for Tuvok as a security chief that he didn`t trust Chakotay
blindly but it was good to see that Chakotay quickly earned his respect.


WINDS OF CHANGE

"Warlord" is definitely my favourite Kes episode. Jennifer Lien`s
performance was so amazingly powerful that it added so much to the
story. I welcome it that this anthology is exploring how what happened
affected her.

It speaks for Kes that she confronts her internal turmoil quickly,
looking for ways to resolve it and regain her inner balance. When Kes
was allowed to show it, it was obvious to me that she has always been a
strong character who had much more to offer than being the Doctor`s
assistant and (for a time) Neelix girlfriend.

I like it a lot that Kes finally tried to turn what happened to her into
something positive and again. I regret it that Kes never really got a
chance to explore the full extent of her talents but the treatment of
Kes on TV is a different topic.

I enjoyed B`Elanna`s part in this story very much, too, especially Kes
helpful discovery and their celebration at the end. That the alien ship
had friendly intentions was a nice surprise. Not that I really
understand it but the idea that there are parallels between windmills
and the propulsion of that alien ship was an interesting idea.

Nice story.


TALENT NIGHT

I liked this light, fun story very much. It was interesting and amusing
to read how everyone reacted to morale officer Neelix suggestion that
Janeway turned into a strong one.

There isn`t much I can add. It has some nice character moments in it but
nothing dramatic. But that is ok, too. It is a good, entertaining story
I enjoyed.


Baerbel Haddrell