49: Deconstructing KathyKirsten Beyer:
Protectors.
Since leaving television, Star Trek: Voyager has grown into the
rich story that it always had the potential to deliver. Through the
deft pen of author Kirsten Beyer, the characters have evolved, the
stakes have been raised, and the overall depth of Voyager's world
has grown. Her latest novel, Protectors, picks up after the
destruction of four fleet vessels at the hands of the Omega
Continuum. In the story, the U.S.S. Voyager and the U.S.S. Demeter
set course for a region of the Delta Quadrant far beyond anything
previously explored. But it isn't just space that is explored. Upon
her return from the dead, Janeway must face the consequences of her
past actions.
In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing and
Christopher Jones are joined by Kirsten to discuss the writing of
Protectors, the process of tearing down Janeway and building her
back up, the evolution of Chakotay and Paris, and what it is like
to write Star Trek stories that are displaced in time from the rest
of the 24th-century literature. Plus, in our news segment, we learn
about a new Department of Temporal Investigations story and two new
Enterprise novels—all coming to us from Christopher L. Bennett—and
we review Star Trek Ongoing #29, Parallel Lives, Part I.
# Temporal InvestigationsA branch of the Star Trek universe that deals with the complexities of time travel and its implications in storytelling.
