Star Trek, Voyager: Pathways (Adapted)

By: Jeri Taylor

Narrated by: Robert Picardo

Length: 5 hrs

Publisher's Summary

A deadly encounter with hostile aliens has left Captain Janeway's crew separated from the Starship Voyager and slowly starving to death in a disease-ridden alien prison camp. To keep up their determination as they plot their escape, the crew shares with each other the unlikely paths that brought them all to the U.S.S. Voyager and the Delta Quadrant. They began as individuals, following very different pathways, but together, under the leadership of one remarkable woman, they have become one of the finest teams in the known universe - the crew of the Voyager.

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(P)1998 Paramount Pictures, All Rights Reserved

Character backgrounds are great!

I love getting backstory for characters even if they are not "canonical". However Jeri Taylor contradicts the story of the show from time to time and she simply cannot get the idea of a Janeway/Chakotay romance out of her mind. Every book she has written throws them together and the "canonical" storyline doesn't. Give it up Jeri!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

An immersive prequel to the TV series.

It’s a “new adventure” for the Voyager crew in the way that Shades of Gray is a new adventure for Picard’s. But don’t dismay! Rather than a cobbled-together pastiche of familiar emotional moments due to a writers’ strike, “Pathways” gives some of Voyager’s senior officers their turns to share their backstories in leisurely detail, from their earliest considerations of Starfleet through the moment their stories intersect with Janeway’s.

Each of these stories is alluded to in the series, but revealed as proper chronological sequences in Pathways. The final scenes of these weave directly into moments fans of the series will recall as memories from their time spent watching – probably my favourite aspect of Jeri Taylor’s narrative. The audio version is apparently abridged, but feels like a fully substantial journey totalling just over five hours. As such, the granularly complex feeling of a full-length novel doesn’t seem to have been the goal here, but the relatively simple plot which wraps the backstories has its own arc and revelation, adorning the book instead with the feel of an extended Voyager episode.

Tuvok, Kim, Paris, Neelix and others each occupy a generous chapter to share their disparate narratives. Notably absent from the storytelling handful are Janeway herself, and the chipper but self-centred holographic doctor.

The presence of the latter, of course, is still strongly felt thanks to Robert Picardo’s role as the meta-present narrator, adeptly capturing and propagating the distinct tones and attitudes of his castmates. His articulate, heartfelt and dramatic cadence lends itself to the crew’s various aspirations, altercations and pangs, as does the original musical score provided by a trio of composers, spanning an appropriately vast spectrum of styles. The entire team’s talents comprise a product which is enjoyable, satisfying, and is arguably a supplement – or even appropriate as a prequel for nascent viewers – to Star Trek: Voyager.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Awesome

Robert Picardo's time spent as part of the cast of Voyager serves him well as narrator to this must-listen short book that provides all the back stories for the main cast. Every story really adds to the character and when watching the show NOW, I found s whole new dynamic to the characters.

The story of Kes and Neelix is particularly good and it actually changed my feelings towards the two, prior being that I didn't care too much for either of them.

This story should have been a good two parter in the actual series. Too bad it wasn't as I feel it's actually a necessary listen for any fan of ST: VOY.

Definitely worth a purchase. I've tried other ST books and I didn't quite enjoy them. This one however I've already listened twice, both times in one sitting.

DON'T MISS OUT.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A must for Voyager fans.

Excellent back stories about the crew. Excellent job by Robert Picardo. One of the best narrators. Great bed time story.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fun listen for ST:Voyager fans

Too bad this book was abridged, I would have enjoyed more of the personal histories of the Voyager crew before circumstances brought them all together to serve on the same ship. There was nothing on Janeway! Still, it was entertaining. Robert Picardo lends his familiar voice to the narration.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great!

I loved this book! I liked all the background stories of all the characters. It was interesting to find out why Chakotay joined the Maquis and what happened to Nelix before he joined Voyager. It was a great story!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Interesting story

I liked this book because it gave background information on a couple of characters that the tv show never went into. It helped explain why the characters acted the way they did on the show. Read this book if you want to understand the characters more.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Above average, for Voyager

If you've never read or seen Star Trek: Voyager, this is a great starting point. With a look at the back stories of nearly all of the major characters, we get an insight that the series never really provided. I'd say this is Voyager giving an honest best foot forward. Penned by series co-creator Jeri Taylor, Pathways delves into how each character arrived to be aboard Voyager.
The story is best seen as an anthology of stories rather than a number of smaller stories that plug into the overall narrative. That narrative that serves as the catalyst for this collective "tell-all" is nearly the entire senior crew, save Janeway, being captured by some bizarre alien race. Who are they? Who cares? The story doesn't. This bridging narrative is where things fall apart.
I mentioned this is an honest best foot forward and that honesty is on display as the crew concocts an absurd feat of engineering to escape. I won't give that away, but to say having the crew grow magic wings and fly away on the power of hopes and dreams would have been far more believable and practical. That however is a hallmark of Voyager and this wouldn't be a Voyager story with out the overly opportune Deus ex Machina.

Come for the crew's tales, bear with the unbelievable.

I've read better

This is a great book if you want background on every character on Voyager. However, the story telling is... Well, I've read a LOT better from Jeri. I think she just wanted a forum to tell background info, because the actual story is barely part of the book. It was almost like pass the stick at a Boy Scout camp fire night. I have the stick now; I have to tell you everything about me. I gave it 3 stars because I did enjoy the background information. As a Star Trek junky I enjoyed this. If I were a first time reader of STV I would have shot myself (in the toe, maybe).

2 of 4 people found this review helpful

Good fun for fans

If you could sum up Star Trek, Voyager: Pathways (Adapted) in three words, what would they be?

Fun, interesting, cheesey

Who was your favorite character and why?

Argh who do I pick?! You get to hear so much more about so many of the characters that it is hard to choose! Perhaps Harry Kim? Perhaps Tom Paris? Maybe B'Elanna?! Which is all well and good, but not a very helpful answer...in an odd way, Tuvok's narrative might be my favourite as I had a lot of questions about what he did between leaving and returning to Starfleet.

Have you listened to any of Robert Picardo’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I've never listened to any other of Robert Picardo's performances, but I would definitely rate it here - there could be no one better to read a Voyager novel. He has a voice that is both expressive and gentle, not at all grating.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I didn't find myself becoming overly emotional while reading Pathways, but it was certainly amusing in parts, moving in others.

Any additional comments?

I think the only other thing I would say is that the structure is a little formulaic, with each crew member encouraging the others to share their life stories - though I wonder if this is perhaps due to the abridgement? I really wish that they would re-record these books in full now that there is such a big market for audiobooks.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful