Seven of Nine. In Star Trek: Voyager's fourth season, a new character was introduced: Seven of Nine, a former Borg drone liberated from the Collective by Captain Janeway and her crew. Played by Jeri Ryan, the character was an immediate hit, so it only makes sense that the character would eventually be introduced into the Voyager tie-in novels being published at the time. In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson welcome Suzanne Williamson to the show to discuss the Voyager novel Seven of Nine by Christie Golden. We talk about capitalizing on a new character, Annika Hansen and Seven's memories, the significance of the ravens, the Skedans and their vendetta against Emperor Beytek, ties to the wider lit-verse, and wrap up with our final thoughts and ratings. In the news segment, we discuss the delays in the publication of Trek comics thanks to COVID-19. We also respond to feedback from The Babel Conference for Literary Treks 300: Miss Cleo's Just a Spectre! News IDW Comics COVID-19 (00:02:56) Listener Feedback (00:08:19) Feature: Seven of Nine First Time Read? (00:13:33) Capitalizing on a New Character (00:17:05) Insights into Seven of Nine (00:20:14) Her Memories and Pathways (00:25:38) The Black Birds (00:36:28) The Skedans' Weapon (00:42:48) Poor Harry and Chakotay (00:49:10) Tom and B'Elanna (00:54:49) Ties to the Wider Lit-verse (00:56:52) Emperor Beytek and Xanarit (00:58:57) Ratings (01:01:21) Final Thoughts (01:07:47) Hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson Guest Suzanne Williamson Production Bruce Gibson (Editor and Producer) Dan Gunther (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Jeffery Harlan (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)

When the Deep Space Nine relaunch began in 2001, readers were treated to a great series of stories that laid the groundwork for the shared continuity of the 24th century novels. Unfortunately, the ongoing story of DS9 under Captain Kira came to an unexpected halt with The Soul Key, the final novel before the narrative was jumped forward to catch up with the rest of the shared universe. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing and Dan Gunther talk about The Soul Key. We discuss the end, a convoluted plot, Ghemor and her plot, characters we know and love, forgotten characters, comparisons, the cover and our ratings. In the news segment we talk about Ongoing #52 and Star Trek/Green Lantern #6. Hosts Matthew Rushing and Dan Gunther Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) Norman C. Lao (Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Will Nguyen (Content Manager) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) Will Nguyen (Associate Producer) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Associate Producer) Bruce Gibson (Associate Producer) News Wrap-Up Podcast (00:03:00) Ongoing #52 (00:04:08) Star Trek/Green Lantern #6 (00:07:11) Feature: The Soul Key The End (00:14:04) Convoluted Plot (00:18:41) Ghemor and Her Plot (00:21:56) Characters We Know and Love (00:24:35) Forgotten Characters (00:28:55) Comparisons (00:33:07) The Cover (00:36:41) Ratings (00:38:34) Final Thoughts (00:41:13) Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact Visit the Trek.fm website at http://trek.fm Subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.com/trekfm Support the Network! Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep Star Trek talk coming every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm

David Mack: Section 31: Disavowed. Doctor Bashir’s entanglement with the Federation’s secretive rogue agency has not turned out well for him over the years, and  he even sacrificed his career for a chance to infiltrate the group and destroy it from within. Now, in a direct follow-up to the events of The Fall, Section 31 is back to take Bashir on one more ride to save not only the Federation but the entire galaxy. And to do so will mean crossing over into the Mirror Universe. In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Matthew Rushing and Christopher Jones are joined by author David Mack to discuss his latest entry in the Star Trek saga, Disavowed. We find out how he set up Bashir’s story and moved it forward, how he approaches working in the Mirror Universe, the influences he draws upon in writing the spy game, where he sees Bashir going in the future, and more. We also get a first-hand account of how the cover art came together, and learn about the original cover design that was even a few notches higher on the Scale of Sufficient Excitement. In our news segment we judge Christopher L. Bennett’s The Collectors by its cover, find out a bit more about Kirsten Beyer’s Atonement, speculate on just how John Byrne is going to bring the Borg to the 23rd century in New Visions, and review the fourth part of The Q Gambit.   Hosts Matthew Rushing and Christopher Jones   Guest David Mack   Editor and Producer Christopher Jones   Associate Producers Will Nguyen and Lisa Stevens   News Judge a Book By Its Cover: The Collectors (00:02:53) Blurb revealed for Kirsten Beyer’s Atonement (00:07:07) John Byrne bringing the Borg to TOS in New Visions (00:10:09) Review: The Q Gambit, Part 4 (00:16:11)   Feature: Section 31: Disavowed Designing the Cover (00:32:01) Crafting Disavowed and the Life of Bashir (00:40:03) Researching and Remembering the Past (00:50:17) Working in the Mirror Universe (00:57:16) Charting Bashir’s Future (01:09:28) Influencing the Spy Game (01:20:12) Section 31 Didn’t Know WHAT?! (01:23:34) Principles Betrayed and a More Interesting Conflict (01:29:59) What’s Next for David? (01:36:59) Closing (01:43:32)   Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact Visit the Trek.fm website at http://trek.fm Subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.com/trekfm   Support the Network! Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep Star Trek talk coming every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm

Mosaic. When it comes to Star Trek books, few fans consider them canon. It’s understandable, especially with novels written during the run of a series on television. But sometimes a book comes along that almost has to be taken as canon because of who wrote it. During Voyager’s third season, series co-creator Jeri Taylor penned the back story of Captain Janeway in Mosaic. As the creator of the character, no one was more qualified to tell us how Kathryn went from a child in Bloomington, Indiana, to captain of a starship lost in the Delta Quadrant. In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Matthew Rushing and Christopher Jones are joined by Charlynn Schmiedt of To The Journey to discuss Mosaic, the portrayal of Janeway as a child, student, and young woman, what drives her to help the Ocampa and protect her crew at all costs, and, of course, Jeri Taylor’s obsession with hair. In our news segment we take a look at new blurbs for Sacraments of Fire and Seekers 3, and we judge John Jackson Miller’s Takedown by its cover.   Hosts Matthew Rushing and Christopher Jones   Guest Charlynn Schmiedt   Editor and Producer Christopher Jones   Associate Producers Will Nguyen and Lisa Stevens   News Sacraments of Fire blurb revealed (2:37) Seekers 3: Long Shot blurb revealed (4:52) Judge a Book by Its Cover: Takedown (6:31)   Feature: Mosaic Memories and Impressions (9:35) Structuring the Life of Baby Janeway (20:10) The Portrayal of Janeway: Good or Bad? (26:42) Trying to Write a Strong Woman in the ‘90s (33:47) Everybody’s Got Better Hair Than Me (37:45) Delving Into the Psyche of Janeway (43:15) Final Thoughts (53:31) Closing (58:04)   Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact Visit the Trek.fm website at http://trek.fm Subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.com/trekfm   Support the Network! Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep Star Trek talk coming every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm