Battle Lines

Star Trek: Voyager #18

by Dave Galanter, Greg Brodeur

While exploring a sector of uncharted space, the U.S.S. Voyager is ambushed and forced into service as part of the Edesian Fleet in a war that turns deadly when it's discovered that the enemy -- the Gimlon -- have developed a new super-weapon capable of destroying entire worlds.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Star Trek Voyager, Fiction, Ebooks, Space, Science Fiction Fantasy

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1999

Reviews

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Issues I have with this novel include (1) an extremely clumsy attempt to disguise an early season 2 story in season 4 clothing...a few token Seven of Nine mentions just don't do it; (2) Neelix is all but absent, B'Elanna & Seven are virtual cameos, and the Doctor only appears sporadically. So much for an ensemble. But with that out of the way, I'll give it credit for (1) writing some of the best action sequences ever, and (2) having a great pair of tight relationships between Janeway & Tuvok, and Chakotay & Paris. With so much going right, and so much irritating me, my final rating splits the difference. I'd rather the authors had committed to a story in season two, with a role for everyone in the crew...but you can't have everything, it seems.

[Elizabeth Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We are all animals... we cloak our physical weakness in technology, but we are just brutes, fighting for survival. Sometimes we forget that, because we're not always so raw as in war... But Captains like us would be wise to remember, there is no such thing as civilization. We play at civilization, Captain, like children who put on their parents' clothes and pretend to be adults. Like an ugly monster might delude himself into imagining a mirror reflection of unique beauty... Lies Captain. All lies. We are beasts, and must live our lives as such."

Battle lines is about Voyager being bested. Alien ships surround Voyager then make it to where the crew has to help end their war so Voyager can go on her way.

"Tom, can't we get out of the way of their close range weapons-even closer to their hull?... Captain, we're in so close now that when my shift ends I was going to try their mess hall."

There was a lot to love about this book. These authors were pretty good at adding in humor and seemed to get Pairs as a character, see quote above. I felt like this was a very insightful book and they did great with the aliens (Edesians) that captured Voyager and exploring why they are like they are. I liked many of the crews interactions especially with what Chakotay. This book was just fun and interesting it took me a little longer to get through than most Voyager books but I really didin't mind just living in it, and letting it unravel at a slow pace.

Now for the bad. There were a few star trek tropes thrown around like being saved in just the nick of time, the evil aliens (Gimlons) were compared to the nazies and were one dimensional, and we just didn't hear much from Seven or Neelix.

I really don't know if I would call this the best Voyager number book, but it's certainly up there.

[Aaron Million · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good Voyager story full of action and morality. The ship is attacked, overpowered, and the crew impressed by an alien culture into service in a war against that race’s mortal enemy. This occurs at the beginning of the book, with the remainder of it being about how Janeway wrestles with the stresses of command while trying to simultaneously extricate her ship from a war that is not theirs and also prevent the warring factions from causing further destruction.

Some of the crew, notably Chakotay and Tom Paris, get transferred off the ship and onto one of the Edesian ships. Thus much of the book bounces back and forth between Janeway’s actions on Voyager and Chakotay and Paris attempting to commandeer an enemy ship. I enjoyed both parts as the narrative moved quickly in each chapter. The only annoyance was that I thought that Paris was written as too glib and as too much of a smart-aleck, even for him.

There was a mostly satisfying ending in the tradition of many Star Trek stories. Definitely worth a read if you are a fan of this particular series and you enjoy episodes that feature a lot of battle action.

Grade: B+

[Joshua Palmatier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Voyager, even if I am horribly far behind on the books. *grin*

The premise of this one is that Voyager and crew enter a region of space where multiple races are currently at war. Before they find this out, the ship is conscripted into fighting for one side, the crew forced to man her under the threat of a warp dampener device that can also flood the ship will fatal radiation. Not certain whether the side their fighting on is "in the right", Janeway is confronted with an enemy ship that wields a weapon far more powerful than Voyager. Can she outwit the enemy and those that have conscripted them into a war she knows nothing about, so that Voyager can continue on its way home?

I really liked the idea of the crew being forced to take a side in a way they know nothing about. In the show, they often ran into warring races, but they always came in and found out who the players were and what the issues were almost immediately, or at least before they were forced to take any significant kind of action. In this case, they were forced to fight without knowing whether they were on the "right" side, if there even was a right side. It was an interesting quandary.

However, I had some issues with the first half of the book. Basically, the set-up for HOW they end up in this situation needed some work. During the conscription and "forced to fight" sections, I always felt that the characters and their decisions were slightly off. It didn't feel like Janeway or Chakotay, etc. It felt far too maneuvered, the conscription and the occupation of the ship unnatural. In essence, it felt like a device to get them into this situation so that they could then find their way out; the set-up wasn't believable. The idea was totally believable, but it wasn't carried off in a way that made me believe it. With some rewrites, I think this problem could have been resolved.

Once the set-up was done and Janeway and crew were forced to try to figure out a way out of the situation, the story really took off. All of the characters I remembered from the show were suddenly "right," meaning they were making decisions and acting as I expected them to act from the show. They and their actions felt real. Once that happened, the book grabbed me and held on. I liked the resolution of the plot, and even though I'd figured out the mystery of the powerful ship they were facing, the final confrontation and resolution were great.

So, in the end, a good book in the series. Some initial set-up issues, but once over that hump the book really took off.

[Conan Tigard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Battle Lines is a departure away from most Star Trek books that I have read. What is really different about this one is that almost the entire book is action-packed with a ton of battles. I found this interesting because most Star Trek episodes were about keeping the peace. One thing that was never mentioned, and I kept waiting for it, was the Prime Directive. The Edesians were not as advanced in technology as Starfleet, yet Janeway never seemed to think about it. Weird.

The two authors for this book have written a smash-up, banging good story in this tale of the Voyager crew being held captive and forced to battle in a fight that is not their own. Captain Janeway is the main character in this Star Trek book and I found that I really liked that. The pace of the book is quick and there are plenty of battles. I was shocked when an entire planet was destroyed, along with three billion sentient beings. I found that to be quite appalling. I cannot even imagine that.

I found that I highly enjoyed this book. Even though a lot of people never really gave the television Star Trek: Voyager a fair shake, it is one of my favorites. I sure do miss having a Star Trek show on television. Oh well, at least I can still read the books and pretend I am watching a really long episode. At least new books are still being written.

Battle Lines is another great Star Trek: Voyager story that shouldn't be missed. I cannot wait to read my next Star Trek: Voyager book and see what other adventures Captain Janeway and her crew stumble upon while journeying through the Delta Quadrant.

Side Note: I am very excited that Star Trek: Into Darkness hits the movie theatre on May 17, 2013, less than two months from now. Although I am not sure how I feel about J.J. Abrams messing with the Star Trek Universe, I greatly enjoyed the action-packed first movie.

I rated this book an 8½ out of 10.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure when this takes place but it is after Seven joins the show and Tom and B'Elanna are apparently together although its not shown in this book. There is a brief blink your eyes and you'll miss mention. I'm going to place it in Season 5 simply because that was the 'dark and desperate' season.

The book has an interesting premise. Voyager happens upon an area of space in the middle of a conflict. That is not new. What is different is Voyager is impressed into service for one side under the threat of death. Janeway is forced to fight and she has no idea if she is fighting for or against her own personal ideas. For all she knows the guy with the proverbial gun to her head might be this region's version of Hitler and the 'enemy' might be the good guys.

During the course of the story Chakotay, Paris and a large number of the crew are separated from Voyager and have their own desperate adventure in one of the alien transport vessels.

So credit for an entirely different story idea. The Characters don't really mesh with their TV counterparts until the second half of the book. It is almost non stop action from beginning to end with some interesting character moments sprinkled throughout. Not a bad read.

[Amy Tudor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book grew on me as I read it. I felt it started with very two dimensional characters, and the aliens were frustrating. I agree with other users that the highlight was the Chakotay and Paris story. Paris starts off a little too annoying, I felt like his joking about went a little too far as it seemed to be every sentence was very sarcastic which seemed unlikely given the situation they were in. By the end though, their relationship was brilliant and I enjoyed the acknowledgement that they were friends now. I felt Janeway was well characterised and her inner thoughts were well described. Would've been nice to have seen the rest of the crew more though, and their concern for the loss of a significant amount of colleagues and friends. Kim is the only one other than Janeway that expresses anything about his feeling of loss. Considering B'Elanna and Tom were dating at this time, their relationship is treated as more of an afterthought with Paris, and not even mentioned with B'Elanna.
Overall, a good story that keeps you entertained, would have enjoyed more character development and inner thoughts.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Voyager get caught up in another war, this time their vessel is taken over. It seems like there are so many wars in the Delta quadrant according to the books, surely there is another storyline. The plot was ok. What will make this book memorable will be sentences like 'Janeway rode Voyager like the stallion he was', and other quite laughable, romance novel style phrasing. This happened several times, and made me laugh at loud. I checked with my husband that it wasn't just me, nope, the writer obviously reads a lot of romance novels. An ok read.

[Paul Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite a fast paced book as far as the Voyager books go. All the usual characters on the crew of Voyager are in the book but we also meet some new ones too. I gave it 4 stars mainly because it was a really enjoyable read with an interesting plot. Having read all the previous Voyager books up to this 18th book of the series I am going to take a break and read some different literature for now. Nevertheless I will add the next Star Trek Voyager book “Cloak and Dagger” on to the list.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want pretty skeptical of this one when I started but as the story progressed I began to appreciate it more. The humour between Paris and Chakotay was a lot of fun to relieve a lot of pressure in a dire situation. There were a lot of consequences for actions or inaction in a lot of places which I appreciated. Plus I did appreciate how the Voyager had a monkey on its back for a good portion of the book which made how they had to deal with each situation a little more interesting.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, one of my favorite Voyager books so far. Would have liked to see more out of Seven. The Doctor had some good one-liners but I would of liked to see more of him too. Overall, very well written!

[Shannon Babb · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite Voyager novels. This story strikes a good balance between strong emotion and snarky dialogue. While the ending is a bit cheesy the Chakotay and Paris banter more than makes up for it. Also, the Tuvok and Janeway interactions are also particularly strong in this book.

[Mikael Kuoppala · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit heavy on action, but it manages to create an interesting dilemma for the characters who are drawn out very deeply here. Very entertaining.

[Nabil Hussain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mediocre tale which is disappointing.....

This book was not very impressive. The story was mediocre and not exciting to read. I felt disappointed with this story and felt that the story arcs were not that dynamic. I wasn't thrilled in reading this tale and the story wad just barely plausible. This was not a spectacular effort from the author and overall it gave a displeasing effect to the reader.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action-packed. Chakotay and Tom are a fun couple.

[Symona Fernandes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended for ST Voyager fans

[Steven Shinder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t get through this as quickly as I perhaps should have.

[Jimyanni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad book, really, but far from a really good one. Time and again, the Voyager characters are placed in absolute, can't-win situations, doomed and with no possibility of escape, only to find a way out in less than three minutes. These sort of situations can be great for creative tension once or twice a book, but more than that and they become formulaic and lose their punch. When the reader's reaction to being told that his favorite characters are minutes from death and have no options to avoid it, and his reaction is to giggle and wonder, idly but with no real sense of urgency, which hat they'll be pulling the rabbit from this time, you know the author(s) have overused the device. Furthermore, the "villains" of the piece were far too one-dimensional, and the motivations of at least one of them is never explained at all.

Overall, I've certainly read worse Star Trek books, but this is definitely in the bottom third of the genre, possibly the bottom fifth. On the plus side, the editing was good; there were few if any typos that slipped through into the final product.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is solid and I'm always down to spend time with Janeway/chakotay but she felt OCC. Too emotional and cynical. Yes she is those things but not how it's presented here. I did enjoy the small nod to J/C and their obvious connection.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a disappointing book. The Voyager crew was far too passive at the start. They got rolling later, but I was all ready irritated. Too bad.

[Christina Farr-Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all time favorite