A Separate Peace
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| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | A Separate Peace |
| Publisher: | Orion Press |
| Editor: | |
| Author(s): | |
| Cover Artist(s): | |
| Illustrator(s): | |
| Date(s): | June 1999 |
| Medium: | print zine |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: Voyager |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | A Separate Peace |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
A Separate Peace is a gen Star Trek: Voyager 199-page digest-sized novel by Andra Marie Mueller. The cover is a drawing of Janeway and Chakotay by BEKi.
Summary
This alternate universe fanzines answers two questions: What if Voyager had never been swept into the Delta Quadrant? And what if Janeway and Chakotay had met before the events depicted in "Caretaker"? As the Alpha Quadrant sits on the brink of war, the Maquis continues to wage its own private war with Starfleet. At the heart of this battle are two strong-willed and passionate captains: Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay of Dorvan. Fifteen years ago, the conflict between the Federation and the Maquis tore them apart; now it has reunited them as enemies, forcing them to walk the thin line btween love and hate, and decide once and for all which is more important. [1]
Reactions and Reviews
A J/C story. Mm. Eh. An Alternate Universe story. Mm. Eh. Not necessarily reasons against the story or reasons to avoid the story, but reasons that could possibly used at some future point to explain why I really didn't like it all that much. I got the fanzine because it was: (1) a VOY fanzine and (2) written by an author with whose work I was familiar. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Andra Marie Mueller has outdone herself with her "alternate universe" tales. "A Separate Peace" was the best story she's done yet and the best J/C story that I've read. For this novella, Mueller asked two questions... "What if Janeway and Chakotay had met before their tenure on Voyager?" And "What if Voyager was never transferred to the Delta Quadrant?" The story explored the Dynamic Duo from their time as Starfleet lieutenants (before Chakotay turned freedom fighter/terrorist - depending on who you talk to) to the present day. Who else?: All the players that Trek fans know and love were there to join in the festivities, and a good time was had by all. Where?: The story trekked [ha, ha] from the Alpha Quadrant to the Gamma Quadrant, from Starfleet Command to the Bajoran station, Deep Space Nine. Why?: I wasn't aware that J/Cers needed to answer this question. My bad. When?: The story took place at the very beginning of the Cardassian/Dominion partnership which preceded the Dominion War. The Maquis were still alive and causing trouble for various people. What I enjoyed most about the story was the characters. What I enjoyed most about the characters, and what made early J/C so difficult for me to read, was that in Mueller's novella, neither character was compromised. They were, at all times, the passionate and strong personalities and leaders that viewers have been led to believe that they are. [The show's writers told us that they are, so they must be.] At no time did one character repress part or all of him- or herself in order to make the relationship between them work. They started out as and remained individuals. Also, Mueller stayed away from exaggerated, overblown and/or soap-opery dialogue between and about the characters. Everyone's speech was 'realistic'. [I accept that many of my Now Voyager brethren get all giggly just thinking about the 'angry Warrior' speech. Me? It makes my skin crawl every time.] Outside of the romance, Janeway and Chakotay were written wonderfully, not just in terms of their dialogue, but in terms of their physical and mental behaviors. The adventure in which everyone was embroiled was very well written and was a story in and of itself that didn't need the romance to justify it. Like the keeping of the Duo as individuals complementing one another, this made for a good partnership of the romance alongside the adventure instead of having one subjugate itself. The only problems that I had with the story were on the editing front, a distressing situation since the novella had two editors. Though consistent, the spellings of common characters' names and everyday places used on ST:DS9 were atrocious. A drawing of Janeway and Chakotay, provided by the mucho-talented BEKi, graced the cover. [2]
I am anti-J/C these days, but I decided to give this novella a chance for two reasons. First off, it takes place in an alternate universe, and any universe is more interesting than Braga and Berman's vision of the Delta Quadrant. More important than this, fan fiction writers are still giving us the best bang for our buck. Mueller takes a lot of liberties with her alternate universe and ignores a lot of canon. She draws characters from TNG, Voyager, and DS9.... Despite some rather vivid torture scenes, Andra lays on the gooey sentiments 'til she's blue in the face. I have nothing against children, but I'm tired of reading stories where J/C have kids. In this case, it's downright irresponsible of Janeway to have unsafe sex. You'd think that her birth control boosters would be up to date, wouldn't you? After all, this is the 24th century. I'm still waiting for a story where Janeway gets pregnant and seriously weighs the pros and cons of becoming a mother and maybe even has doubts about her choice. And has anyone noticed that the kids in these stories are always perfect little angels? They never, ever cry and they sleep all the time. Heck, I'd pay to see or read something where the baby has colic and the parent is ready to tear their hair out. Torres would probably be a good candidate. Mueller also sets part of the story on a Maquis colony in the Badlands. This planet has the same animals as Earth. Isn't that a bit far-fetched? Grizzly bears on some way out colony? I just couldn't buy that. I also had trouble with her version of the alternate universe. For example, Julian Bashir infiltrates the Maquis settlement, which is OK by me, but he also knows that he's genetically engineered and nobody is upset about it. What's more, it doesn't fit into the DS9 timeline. This novella takes place at the onset of the Dominion War, which lasted several years. Julian didn't find out he was genetically engineered until Season 6... In addition, Mueller has so many peripheral characters that at times, I don't know whether she's coming or going. It's always best to stick to the main characters, and if you introduce peripheral characters, then they should be few in number and not central to the plot. ... And moving right along, we have this incredibly close relationship between Janeway and her sister Phoebe. I never got the impression that the two were close, but maybe I should go back and read Mosaic (god forbid) to check and see. I have to give Andra credit for a few things. Despite the fact that I found the story rather boring and predictable, I have to admit that it's well-written sap. She also has a very good ear for dialogue. These characters are not terribly complex, but it's pretty easy to hear them saying the words she's given them. So, all in all, it's certainly not a bad story. It's just not a terribly compelling one. [3]