More Captain`s Table anthology reviews

S P O I L E R

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Now that I have finished the new Harry Potter book (which is great, by
the way!) I am returning to "Tales from the Captain`s Table":

THE OFFICER`S CLUB

I welcomed it a lot to read a story taking place during the occupation I
really liked. I don`t like "Rebels" and because there is little else to
read about that topic, it makes this story quite special to me.

I found these insights into the resistance very interesting. The
officer`s club with its hidden resistance, hidden agents and secrets
provided a fascinating mix. I kept wondering who the traitor is all the
time. The twists and turns added to it. Reon`s death was something I
expected because we know that Kira`s brothers didn`t survive but
nevertheless, the question remained if Kira was right about him or not.

I am definitely hoping to be able to read more about the occupation in
future.



HAVE BEAGLE, WILL TRAVEL: THE LEGEND OF PORTHOS

I liked the idea of Shran introducing Archer to the Captain`s Table very
much and it was fun to read how they interacted with Cap and other
fellow captains. The adventures of Porthos alias agent 001, who prefered
his Peruvian water shaken and not stirred, were of course a complete
fiction told by his proud and protective friend (I don`t like to use the
word master here) Archer. The whole story was very much over the top but
very enjoyable.

I just regretted it a bit that Shran himself wasn`t part of that
adventure.


IRON AND SACRIFICE

I enjoyed all stories with Demora Sulu so far. I like it that at least
one of the TOS descendents plays a more prominent role in the book
universe. I certainly would like to read more about her in future.

Also this time I enjoyed DRG III`s writing style a lot. The way he is
mixing descriptions and characterizations is very interesting. The
author certainly succeeded with explaining Demora`s motives, her
actions.

The problem I have with the story is on a personal level. I see why
Demora acted the way she did when she was visiting her grandmother Hana.
I can see why she made her sacrifice and on a certain level this part of
the story is very touching. But on another level, I was first of all
annoyed at this old, stubborn, narrow minded old woman. First of all,
she moved to that planet and stayed there, knowing perfectly well what
the living conditions there are and she accepted them. I would have seen
to it that she gets help, even against her will if necessary, but giving
up being a starship captain and becoming a full time carer to a relative
who has never been there for me, who showed me nothing else but coldness
at the few opportunities I have ever seen her - no, I wouldn`t have done
it. I respect Demora Sulu for it that she thought differently but to me,
there was a moral choice in the matter. Family is important. I would do
nearly everything for my husband and child, for example but not for a
grandmother like Hana. I kept wondering at the end, as nice as the
confessions in her book are, couldn`t she have said at least something
to her granddaughter when she was still alive? I certainly wouldn`t be
as forgiving as Demora was, who could have been Hana`s carer for years
on this desolate planet. At least it made her feel good and she felt she
made the right choice. I guess that is the most important thing.

The other story involving sacrifice was touching me much more also
because I agreed with everything said here. What Mike did made a lot of
sense to me and his sacrifice touched me a lot, certainly much more than
Demora`s decision did.

Because of the way I view the choice Demora made, the lesson she wanted
to show Strolt didn`t have the impact on me as it was probably intended.
Nevertheless, I agree with it that sometimes it is necessary to act for
the greater good even if it is at the expense of what you most want. I
am glad Strolt made the decision he did. At least he will still have
what he most wants - his mate, if she indeed wants to stay with him
after what happened.

It is a good story and it is interesting but I can`t say that I enjoyed
reading it.


SEDUCED

That story was the biggest surprise in this book. I am not happy with
the direction Voyager Relaunch is taking and especially the so far
latest book was a disappointment to me. Part of it is the hyper
emotional counsellor Christie Golden put into this series, a character
who very much gets on my nerves. The title "Seduced" rubbed me the wrong
way and I didn`t expect much of this story at all.

I think it would have been much better not to choose this misleading
title. The story has nothing to do with someone being seduced by a man
or woman. I don`t even see that Chakotay was "seduced" by Starfleet. To
me, to seduce someone means someone is so strongly attracted that it
blinds him, that it hampers his reasoning. It is not quite as strong as
obsession but it certainly leaves a negative taste as well.

I don`t see anything bad about Chakotay`s choice to join Starfleet. Of
course his insights into what awaits him away from his tribe are limited
but he thought very careful about his decision and to me, it made a lot
of sense. I am glad that his father realized that too and I smiled when
Chakotay was so pleasantly surprised about his reaction, not only
towards his decision but towards a female Starfleet captain as well.

I enjoyed reading this story immensely. This time Christie Golden used
the emotional style she inserted in Voyager Relaunch for good and the
result is a story I found beautifully written and touching. It was also
good fun to read about Chakotay`s struggle with his sexist upbringing
and his sister`s reactions. I liked it that Chakotay was surprised and
amazed to meet a female Starfleet captain and two other high ranking
female officers. There was no resentment, no real prejudice at all which
is something I welcomed a lot. He was surprised but willing to accept
them very quickly. I have the feeling, this is part of the reason why
captain Demora Sulu was willing to sponsor him.

Speaking of her, I enjoyed it very much to already meet her in the next
story after DRG III`s. I also welcomed it that she was still a captain
at a pretty advanced age, still fit enough to be in active duty. To
Chakotay she must have appeared very much as an elder of the "Starfleet
tribe" (so to speak), an experienced leader who is not only wise but
also had a nice sense of humour. But I also liked Chakotay`s
interactions with the Vulcan woman.

Nice story, maybe the next Voyager Relaunch book will indeed be more to
my liking.


AN EASY FAST

I loved that story about this very interesting look at revenge. Each
time the author managed not only to surprise me but also to amuse me,
which is great. Will we meet Captain Silver in a book somewhere one day?
I am definitely for it.

I also very much enjoyed the audience. Their discussions about Silver`s
actions and their views about revenge and honor also provided a mix of
fun and interesting insights into different mentalities I found very
entertaining.

It is good that Al, the future guy from Starfleet, found Gold`s story
helpful. It is nice to know that Gold will become so famous that he will
still be so well known hundreds of years in the future. That this story
was written by one of the creators of S.C.E. is amusing too because of
that little detail. And why not? I also want S.C.E. to live long and
prosper.

Baerbel Haddrell