Chrysalis

Star Trek: Voyager #12

by David Niall Wilson

When the sensors of the USS Voyager detect abundant plant life on an unexplored planet, Captain Janeway leads an away team in search of fresh food supplies. They find lavish gardens inhabited by an enigmatic alien race that holds the gardens sacred. The fragrent blossoms are beautiful, enticing – and far more dangerous than they appear. One by one, the away team begins to fall into deep comas from which they cannot be revived.

Unwilling to spread the affliction to Voyager, the away team is trapped on the planet until a cure can be found, but their investigation is perceived as desecration by the devout worshipers of the gardens. Pursued by a fanatical mob, slowly succumbing to the insidious effect of the blossoms, Janeway faces either a violent death – or an endless sleep.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Star Trek Voyager, Fiction, Ebooks, Media Tie In, Tv

279 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 3, 1997

About the author

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David Niall Wilson has been writing and publishing horror, dark fantasy, and science fiction since the mid-eighties. An ordained minister, once President of the Horror Writer 's Association and multiple recipient of the Bram Stoker Award. He lives outside Hertford, NC with the love of his life, Patricia Lee Macomber, His children Zane and Katie, occasionally their older siblings, Stephanie, who is in college, and Bill and Zach who are in the Navy, and an ever-changing assortment of pets.

David is CEO and founder of Crossroad Press, a cutting edge digital publishing company specializing in electronic novels, collections, and nonfiction, as well as unabridged audiobooks and print titles.

Reviews

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a perfectly well-characterized, VERY first season-set novel...although it's all in service of a plot that didn't exactly set my hair on fire. Still, Voyager's first dozen novels have a better track record than their DS9 counter-parts...which is the complete opposite of what happened on television.

[Excel Lifestyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s been a while since I read this one, but I recall the ending revealed a fairly interesting society on the planet but the rest was a mediocre slog. In the book all the characters are on the edge of falling asleep which the reader will empathize with while reading

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again this book takes place during the early seasons of Voyager. I think this takes place sometime after Parturition.

Once again the Crew is in need of food and stops at a likely looking planet. It is lush and full of edible plants. I will give the writer credit for at least giving the reader strong hints that this planet is 'not what it seems' instead of surprising us with seemingly nice aliens who turn out to be evil. Neelix has heard rumors and old stories about it but dismissed them. Guess what? The rumors are true.

I will also give the writer credit for NOT falling into that other overused trope 'Paris gets involved with an alien woman' although as a sort of substitute he does spend most of the book with Kes but not to worry, as I said this apparently takes place after Parturition. They are on a rescue mission.

Each character gets a fair amount of 'focus'. Neelix's moments get tiring because all he does is worry about Kes and demand to be sent to the planet surface when there is no need for him to be there.

If I had any criticism it would be that too much time is spent from the alien's point of view delving into their philosophy of life and their religion. It really didn't add to the plot and some of the story 'back tracks' and the character moments overlap each other. It would have been better to just have kept it moving forward.

Fairly well written and not a bad read.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

A poor Star Trek book.

I had a few problems with this book.

Firstly, the premise is that Voyager needs food, again. This seems to be the idea in many of the voyager novels and it is not exactly a riveting plot idea.

Secondly, the book is only 279 pages, however in my opinion the book was at least 50 pages too long. I found a lot of chapters quite boring and it took a lot of willpower to continue reading this book.

Third, shut up Neelix. My god, he was never this annoying.

Fourth, I just didn’t like the main theme of the book. Some fantastic Star Trek episodes and novels have involved religion, beliefs and cultures but I just didn’t like this one. Snooze fest. It is a shame because when Janeway found the ruins I thought, eight, here we go! They have found an interesting discovery! Nope, not this time.

Onto the next novel! Hopefully Voyager is fully stocked.

[Craig · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was very difficult to get through. It was boring and the moments of tension were lost in confusion of what exactly was going on plus getting events replayed over and over from everyone's perspectives. I wanted to punch Neelix in the face as he was whining his whole way through the book over Kes. The characters were on point but it was just such a dumb story I didn't even care. I think the conflict of two different belief systems would have been something that would have fit better in the Deep Space Nine than Voyager so that didn't work either.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Voyager needs food again, this is a common problem in the novels. They land on a planet with a religious group who are very strong in their beliefs. The plot really didn't do much for me, it was very predictable. The characterisations were ok, there was just not enough page turning moments for me. An ok read.

[Patrick Satta · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the first Star Trek novel I ever read. It was terrible. I can even remember that character names were spelled wrong. It seemed like fan fiction with names changed to avoid copyright infringement.

[Sean Randall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Voyager novels, especially those going off the Bible, have had some grammar issues. But this, penned by an otherwise successful writer, seems disproportionately awful. I probably should have stopped to find specific issue, but it was just yucky.

[Anne Thorpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad, characters pretty good story is interesting.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

[P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

the p l o t w a s s t r e t c h e d sooooooo thin.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chrysalis see Janeway and her band encountering a planet called Urrytha! :D They need food and supplies, which makes the planet look perfect, especially as Neelix knows the place! :D Initially the planet is presumed to be uninhabited but this turns out not to be the case! :D The locals are very much alive and well and preparing for what they call Ascension! :D Meanwhile Janeway, Tuvok and co have been sniffing the literal flowers and are starting to get space out! :D This set up the plot of the book as the alien belief system seems to be nuts to the crew but they choose to respect it as you would! :D Things take a turn though with the falling unconscious of the Ensign Kayla and the aliens desire to have her start what they believe is The Long Sleep! :D This is part of the alien belief system that will apparently lead to what they call Ascension! :D Needles to say Starfleet has it's won ideas! :D This immediately put the Starfleet on the defensive, as well as the aliens, and contributes to feel of the book! :D

This neatly sets up great conflict between the two civilisations! :D Janeway, Tuvok have to plum the full depths of conflict resolution in this one! :D The epic lengths they got to accomplish this really jump off the page and give the book another contribution to its feel! :D The book has a feel good nature about it though even with all the potential Red-Shirts about! :D Lol We get to see things from the aliens perspective but at the same time we see Starfleet doing their thing as well! :D The whole situation is cleverly handled and Wilson put the characters through the wringer! :D The team breaks up to investigate what is going on which allows us multiple POV's! :D The Starfleet characters as you would expect go all out to save their missing crew members as the plot develops so we get to see Paris and Kes working as a team and at the same time we get to see Tuvok out on his own! :D This gives the characters great development, at the same time we see from the Urrythians perspective from the characters of Vok, Ban and the other into what feels like a truly alien culture! :D The book deals with differences in a different way to what you would expect! :D But the aliens and crew all come ff shining throughout shinning! :D Both sides have the best intentions! :D The books positive nature shines throughout though! :D You know both sides will reach an accommodation but this brilliantly as how they go about it keeps you on your toes! :D

Chrysalis throughout is full of action which comes as a surprise considering the pollen in the air, at the same time there is a great philosophical divide between the two civilisations and this give the book it tone! :D The civilization conflict results in clear misunderstandings and the way they crew have to fix this is requires invention! :D The Alien POV also enhances this and Tuvok and Ban exemplify this throughout! :D the Understanding, respect are the themes throughout and both sides strive to find this throughout in a book that is full of tension throughout that works brilliantly! :D Janeway and Chakotay, upstairs of course on the bridge, really pull it out and give it all! :D The epic feel of adventure and the books feel of zippyness comes flying off the page! :D Chrysalis is full of ancient artefacts, mystery, plot twists, philosophy, right and wrong, adventure and action packed! :D Brilliant stuff Crisp High Five! :D Highly recommended! :D

[Elizabeth Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Voyager has to get supplies and lands on a planet with some strange readings.

Normally I don't care for the 'slow burn' type of star trek books but this one was pretty good because I got to learn more about the whole cast. I especially loved where Paris goes with his thoughts, he was just very relatable. Neelix was actually important and valued to some degree in this one, I wish I saw that more on the show.

If there are any cons I think it's just that the book was kind of slow and the aliens could be a little more interesting.

I also felt like there were some thought-provoking allegories in this book, and a few other 'read between the lines' moments that made the book that much more unique.

I would recommend this too anyone that doesn't mind a book that isn't too fast paced because this one really does slow down.

[Amy Tudor · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story which analyses faith and culture. Set up was not particularly unique for Voyager, with the ship in need of food, and them needing to harvest on a planet as Neelix suggests. Basically the same as the previous book!


All the characters had fairly significant roles to play in the story, and were well written. The story was quite slow but I didn't struggle with it and quite enjoyed the action towards the end. I wish they could've explored the same themes differently, as I often felt like the crew were put in negative situations which may cause damage to the culture of the aliens due to misunderstanding. It made me feel more for the aliens than the invading crew. I enjoyed the crew experiencing the wonder of the ending though, and overall enjoyed the story.

[Nabil Hussain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Star trek Voyager tale.

This book was written well but was not completely engrossing to read. It did not seem to have a compelling theme to follow. It was a bit tedious in places. However, I managed to finish the story.

[Frank Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although somewhat familiar, the concept for this story is great. I wasn't overly impressed with the writing, but I enjoyed the plot nonetheless.

[Cathy Tully · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but ultimately only enough plot for a short story. Contained every ST Voyager character stereotype, so nothing new or interesting there.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

As is the case with some Star Trek novels, this is one that started off having my interest and then not so much as it got further.

[Joshua Palmatier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing my attempt to catch up on all of the Star Trek books I've bought but haven't gotten around to yet, just finished Chrysalyis. The basic premise is that Voyager is low on food and stops at a very earth-like planet to scrounge for some food. An away team beams down to the lush gardens riddled with ancient ruins after scanning the planet and finding no life--at least not what we expect as life. There is some kind of energy reading that comes across as a life-force, but it permeates the entire planet and wreaks havoc with Federation technology. Once they've beamed down, the locals make themselves known but seem very friendly. But then a member of the away team collapses for no apparent reason and things start to go wrong from there.

Overall, the book was OK. The beginning was a little slow, and there was far too much time spent on repeating things we already knew and expounding on some philisophical ideas. Also, some "insights" into the characters were thrown in here and there and really didn't have anything to do with the main plot and didn't spring from that main plot much either. Character development should come FROM the plot, not just be thrown in for filler, and that's what these felt like. Initially, I was ready to write this one off completely about halfway through.

But the real heart of the novel doesn't come until toward the end of the book, and it's much more of an idea than it is anything about Voyager or its crew. The central idea could have been set in nearly any other SF&F universe, not just Star Trek. But the idea was good enough to elevate this book above a write-off. I won't spoil the idea here, but know that the book doesn't really become interesting until the last half/third of the novel.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. I really like this novel and it was nice rereading it. :)
The aliens and their faith was something that intrigued me, and it was so beautiful in a way. Perhaps the fact that I have faith myself was a large factor in me really falling for this story.

"It was a glorious civilization," Vok said, his voice betraying a bit of emotion that was still absent from the sad mournful lines of his face. "They built this city to honor their own ancestors. It has been nearly twenty thousand years since they laid down the first stones here, nearly half that since they themselves began the Long Sleep."
"The Long Sleep?" Tuvok asked.
"We believe that once we have been lain to the final rest of this body, we will rise again to a new life - a new birth," Vok intoned. "It is the goal we dedicate our lives to. It is the goal our ancestors sought, as well. They left this city behind when they began that journey. Now, while they sleep the Long Sleep, we tend them, waiting for our own chance to join them in the One Voice."

[Jimyanni · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonably interesting, well-written Star Trek book, this story's pacing was just a touch off. It seemed to me that it peaked a bit too soon, with the last 40 pages or so something of an anticlimax, if not uninteresting. It had an interesting basic concept, the conflict between the "religious beliefs" of alien species, and the misunderstandings that can occur when they come into conflict, and this concept was handled pretty well. My head tells me that I should give this story a fourth star; reading over what I've said, this sounds like a four-star review and I can't honestly say why it doesn't rate that highly, but I just didn't enjoy it enough to rate it that highly.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just meh. The title kind of gave it away, the whole time I was just waiting for the butterfly aliens to hatch forth. It is such a solid example of me as a reader just being on the lookout, with a decent idea of what I would get ahead of time. It didn't do much to make it intriguing or great, and so it just gets an average mark. It is average and completely worthy of being skipped or skimmed.

[Stasia Bruhn · Rating 3 out of 5]

He still worried more about the affairs of others, & their opinions than he did about the state of his own spirit pg. 150

"Would it not be arrogant of U to believe your own to be the only possibilty in the universe?"Tuvok to Ban pg.214

[Mikael Kuoppala · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever, psychedelic and surprising book with a truly nice, culturally relativistic angle.

[Dustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent, interesting book. Maybe a little monotonous towards the end, but ultimately worthwhile.