Old Wounds (Spirit Walk Book I)
Enemy of My Enemy - (Spirit Walk Book II)

Star Trek Voyager Series

 By Christie Golden

     After the devastation of the Dominion War, the Voyager returned home not to a hero's welcome, but to resentment that its crew had missed the most traumatic event in living history. This pair of books continues the story started in The Homecoming and The Farthest Shore, as the crew fit themselves into a distressed environment. Chakotay is now the new captain of the Voyager, and his first mission is to return some colonists to their planet. It sounds routine enough, but this is a world where the Cardassians left their own indelible mark. Chakotay's sister is also a new part of the crew and she has her own ghosts to deal with, ghosts that are about to come to life and cause havoc for everybody…

     Star Trek has a reputation for being uplifting and cheerful, an optimistic view of a future that seemed more feasible back in the 1960s than it does today. Deep Space Nine changed all that, giving viewers what is (in my opinion) possibly the most engrossing, characterful and uncompromising look at what would probably happen if we did venture into space and find ourselves not alone. These books continue in that vein, with the shattered survivors picking up the pieces of their lives. As such, the books are not uplifting or cheerful, but gritty and topical. There are many analogies drawn here to concentration camps and Nazi experiments, and we are treated to another charming and deadly Cardassian in the shape of Dr Crell Moset. But Star Trek always gives up a lighter side to balance out the darkness, and we also catch up with Tom and B'Elanna on the Klingon planet of Boreth. Surely no any other TV series portrays such in-depth characters that viewers get to know over many years, or has such well-realized worlds. This gives the key to its success. Long may it remain to do so. Now, why hasn't the TV series of Enterprise exhibited any of these strengths? At least there are still books like these.