Distant Shores (2/3) Spoiler

I have read four more stories. Therefore I am posting now my comments of
the second third of the book:

S P O I L E R

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LETTING GO

This is so far my favourite story together with Command Code. I found it
very interesting and also very touching to see how the relatives and
friends of the missing Voyager crew members dealt with the loss. Me
personally, I have been very lucky so far but reading this story I
couldn`t help wondering how I would cope with the loss of a person who
is very precious to me and not knowing what actually happened. That
people reacted very differently is not surprising and it was interesting
to see how this aspect developed over time for certain individuals.

I also want to add that I welcomed it that also the characters who
didn`t survive the pilot episode were remembered but I think it was
right to focus the story on Mark, who was after all Captain Janeway`s
boyfriend. By the way, I enjoyed the scenes with Molly, too. I have
always been in favour of also having animals in Star Trek.

I can imagine that letting go and moving on with your life after a
devastating personal loss is very difficult but that it is necessary if
you don`t want to destroy yourself. I also liked the later part of the
story about how people reacted when they found out that Voyager wasn`t
destroyed, about who survived and who didn`t.

I think this story had to be written and I think KRAD did an impressive
job doing so.


CLOSURE

Unfortunately this was not a story I enjoyed reading. When you use a
pattern that is old and pretty predictable (someone gets injured in a
collapsing cave, building, whatever, and the companion has to get help
under adverse conditions) it is important to balance this predictability
with interesting character interactions. If that is missing, there is
not much left that makes such a story enjoyable to me. This is
definitely the case here.

It doesn`t help that I very much disliked the attitude Neelix had
towards Kes. In that regard the book is accurate but on the other hand,
it also takes place after "Warlord". In "Closure" Neelix hasn`t learned
anything: He still sees Kes as a precious, beautiful, fragile flower,
someone who is "his", someone who has to be shielded from the truth of
the seriousness of the situation. I have little understanding for this
possessiveness, overprotectiveness (as if Kes is not clever enough to
understand it without his help) and jealousy (jealousy wasn`t part of
the story, but shown on TV). It is nothing that makes this relationship
appealing.

What makes it worse is that the Kes in this story is not the young woman
I remember from Voyager, the TV series. If that was the real Kes, it is
the "girl" Neelix always saw and wanted her to be. Kes assuring her hero
that he did everything he could and that he will find a way out, blowing
Neelix a playful kiss and nearly bursting into tears when they talked
about what happened after she left Voyager. To me, Kes reaction after
"Warlord" made so much sense. I even thought "finally!" when she left
him. That Neelix wasn`t happy with that or her leaving the ship goes
without saying. Reading now that Kes was surprised and nearly burst into
tears makes no sense to me. The Kes I saw in Voyager wouldn`t have
stayed in any case and this choking "Oh, my poor Neelix!" really rubbed
me the wrong way. I can`t shake the feeling that the author also fell
into the same trap some writers of Voyager seem to have fallen.

I like Kes and have always been frustrated and annoyed that her
character has been treated so badly. But there were a few opportunities
- like "Warlord", when Kes could really shine. Especially "Warlord"
showed that Kes might look like a fragile elf but inside this beautiful
shell is a strong, decisive, intelligent personality - definitely not
the "girl" Neelix saw or is described in this story.

If that Kes was real, it undid the character growth shown in Voyager,
especially after "Warlord", which is something I am not happy with at
all. If that Kes was just the product of Neelix fantasy, it shows that
Neelix still hasn`t learned anything but at least it leaves the real Kes
out of it.

The part dealing with Seven was all right. I had no problems with that
but it wasn`t anything remarkable either.

The story is not as annoying as the framing story but in my book, bad
enough.


THE SECRET HEART OF ZOLALUZ

In general, I enjoyed reading this story. The insights shown into
Seven`s personal problems and growth in the fifth season made a lot of
sense and I think, also this story needed to be told.

Zolaluz certainly is a remarkable woman. The description and portrayal
of her and other people like her was touching and I welcomed the way it
showed disabled people. Also her secret thoughts and struggles made a
lot of sense and I found it interesting to see how both women learned
from each other and grew from this experience.

On the other hand, I think the author overdid it when Zolaluz lost one
arm and it was supposedly "a small price to pay" for her. I am
permanently disabled and on crutches and I know, should I lose one arm,
it would make a huge difference to me, especially on a world similar to
the one on which Zolaluz lives. I would have liked the story more
without this part. It wasn`t necessary to add, also without it the story
would have made the intended point.


ISABO`S SHIRT

I was pretty sure before I started the book that there must be a story
somewhere in which the Janeway/Chakotay relationship is dealt with and
Janeway is soul searching if she should or shouldn`t pursue it. Her
attitudes in the TV series and certain episodes are just annoying and
frustrating to me. I expected a rehash of what has been shown and said
numerous times, something I most definitely wasn`t looking forward to
read again in this book. I think I also have mentioned often enough what
my position is and this time, I am not starting another essay. Writing a
new edition of it would just increase my blood pressure and be no fun.

After reading it I found out that the story is in many ways what I
expected but nevertheless, I liked it. I mainly liked it because it was
emphasized that Janeway`s attitude is her personal choice and that there
is no preaching going on that her way of thinking is indeed the right
way and that there is no alternative. It was good to read that Paris and
Chakotay thought differently. At the end, it is up to the reader to read
both sides of the argument and make up his or her own mind.


Baerbel Haddrell