by Una McCormack

Titan Books, out now

 

Kathryn Janeway reveals her life story, from childhood to her first command to her epic journey through the Delta Quadrant leading to her rise to the top as vice-admiral in Starfleet Command. 

Saddled with the rather cumbersome sub-heading of The History of the Captain Who Went Further Than Any Had Before, this is the latest in the ongoing series of autobiographies written in-universe by top Starfleet personnel. As with the forthcoming edition by Spock, Janeway’s is ‘edited’ by Star Trek and Doctor Who novelist Una McCormack.

Written in strict chronological order, my favourite section is the first half, because it’s here that the author has the most freedom to create. After an introduction by Naomi Wildman, who is now a commander and shares that she wanted to grow up to be like Janeway, we trace Janeway’s early close-knit family life and her relationship with her sister and parents. After early acceptance into Starfleet at age 17, we follow her into the Academy and nice little touches such as meeting Boothby the gardener and taking part in the Kobayashi Maru.

As we follow her first duties as an ensign, working alongside Captain Paris, meeting Tuvok, and coming to terms with personal loss, there’s an authenticity to the text that helps with its verisimilitude. You can imagine an in-character Kate Mulgrew sharing these lines, particularly the section on her less-than-stellar commanding officer that threatened to derail her career.

Once Janeway is given command of new vessel USS Voyager, it all becomes a lot more familiar, with McCormack having 170 episodes to dive into to pull out key events. Rather than covering all the adventures – this isn’t an episode guide after all – we focus on significant moments, particularly those where she questions her judgement. Naturally, she talks about her relationship with Seven, her Da Vinci Holodeck programme and her joy at being Queen Arachnia in Tom Paris’ Holodeck serial.

The book concludes with a fascinating section on life back in the Alpha Quadrant following Voyager’s return after seven years. We get to find out what happens to the different crew members back in Earth in greater detail than the TV finale could allow, and there’s a palpable sadness around Janeway’s relationship with fiancé Mark that was never to be.

Verdict: Another strong entry in this popular series, Una McCormack shows us that the seven years on Voyager were just a small part of Janeway’s story. 8/10

Nick Joy

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