Star Trek: Voyager: Encounters with the Unknown

Star Trek Classics #3

by Nathan Archer

Lost in the Delta Quadrant, Captain Janeway and the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656 have been seeking a way home for years. But their quest is interrupted by encounters with an astonishing variety of foes and a few new friends.

Genres: Star Trek, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

208 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2001

About the author

Pen Name for Lawrence Watt-Evans.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember only watching a few episodes of Star Trek Voyager, but I have gotten myself a little addicted to the various Star Trek graphic novels so when I was indulging myself at Thriftbooks towards the ends of the year, I ordered this book to add to my small but growing collection.

There are four stories here, and I enjoyed them all. The artwork is spectacular, in my opinion. I may not be an expert on graphic novel art, but I know when it helps me understand the story or helps create the right mood, and these pages did that.

In False Colors, Seven Of Nine needs to reconnect with a damaged Borg unit in order to save Voyager. But will she feel the pull of the collective too strongly to sever the connection when it is time for that?

I think Avalon Rising was my favorite tale here. It featured the doctor on an away mission, where he encountered a medieval type of society and one squire who did not seem to fit in. I do remember that the doctor was one of the most intriguing characters for me in the tv series, since he was supposed to be a hologram, not an actual person.

Elite Force, according to the fine print, was inspired by a computer game which I can only assume had Star Trek as its theme. This was a bit bloodier, with special teams going in to plant explosives on a Borg unit, blasting away with their fancy guns.

And finally Planet Killer, which was inspired by the original Star Trek episode called 'The Doomsday Machine'. Captain Janeway faces the same problem Captain Kirk had faced. A giant tube sort of thing is destroying planets and she need to stop it but how? Will Kirk's method work here or will she have to pull some other last-minute rabbit out of her hat?

Interesting stories and the next time I treat myself to a used book order, I'm sure I will have a peek to see what other Star Trek graphic novels I can find!

[Rob Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four stories of the crew of the USS Voyager. The first was an average Borg centric story followed by a strange tale featuring the crew in Medieval garb. The third, 'Elite Force' based on the classic computer game, was an ok reworking of its forebear and the final story, a sequel to classic TOS episode The Doomsday Machine was rushed but featured a nice flashback to the original episode.

[Andrew Beet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the stories false colours and the elite force didn’t like the Avalon rising but the one I did enjoy the most was the planet killer story only because I like the doomsday machine episode from the original series

[Carol Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Voyager fan I really liked this. I thought the writers captured the characters to a tee. It was nice to see new characters introduced like a rapid response security team trained to deal work as a unit to handle crises like say a Borg attack.

Not all the stories were strong the Doctor on an away mission turning Voyager into an Arthurian type story was the weakest but still enjoyable if you turn off your cynicism.

One of the things about graphic novels that I enjoy is the ability to tell a visual story. It is different from a novel just like listening to an audiobook is different than reading. As a lover of well told tales I enjoy them in all their formats.

If you are a Voyager fan like I am you should read this and right now it is available on Kindle Unlimited.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Borg ship is destroyed. Voyager encounters a giant spaceship which is crewed by thieves. They steal things from Voyager and a party is sent to get them back. Turns out the thieves aren't as smart as they think and the Borg want to get even.

The second story involves the Doctor and a society that is circa the time of King Arthur. He tells stories about the people on Voyager but in a way that fits into the relatively primitive society he is dealing with. A pretty neat story.

Then there's a story about some crew members being taught how to deal with an away mission to a Borg ship. Things don't go very well for them.

There's a story about a 'harvester' ship and a story that is based on The Doomsday Machine episode.

Overall a good selection of decent stories.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voyager will always have a special place in my heart and this collection of stories is a little celebration of the unique chemistry of that cast of characters. We had a good amount of the Borg involved, which is a good staple of the show. We got a fantastical adventure for the Doctor and more than one chance for him to save the day. And we even got a little connection to the original series, but that sort of nostalgia plays well.

This was fun little book and one or more of the stories are sure to strike your fancy.

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed these stories. The plots were engaging, and the art work was beautiful. I liked that the Doctor got to be the hero in two of the stories, though, my personal favorites were the first one--Seven centric--and the last one--a sequel to "The Doomsday Machine." I always like seeing elements from TOS being revisited with the subsequent generations of the the series.

[Terry Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of competent Voyager adventures. Good art and capable narratives.

A collection of competent Voyager adventures. Good art and capable narratives worthy of the original series. I would thoroughly recommend to any Star Trek fan who appreciates the not so popular member of the iconic science fiction
franchise.

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-reading this out of pure nostalgia.
I am not disappointed.
The stories themselves are maybe not the most sophisticated, but the art is serviceable and it is great as light entertainment and as a trip down memory lane.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun stepping back in the Star Trek Voyager world and their wonderful adventures!! Another must read for those Trekkie fans!

[Jameson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was nice to see this art “remastered,” as the last time I read these stories it was probably a low quality scan. But the stories are lame. Not all of them, but more than half of them.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stories

Good to get four distinct stories in this edition. The Planet Killer was very good in bridging to TOS story “Doomsday Machine”

[Levi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not usually a comics person, and I got this mainly to test an e-reader, but it was definitely enjoyable.

[Isabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun comic collection with 4 stories about the Voyager cast! Would have liked to see a bit more B’elanna content but that’s okay. Cool that each of the comic styles were different.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hit and miss. I liked the first story, but the medieval stuff was boring and long. I'd already read the Elite Force comic in a separate collection, but the collection closed with a strong story. I wish they'd done more with Voyager. This'll have to do.

[Marcelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This smattering of Star Trek: Voyager stories were probably chosen to be featured in this graphic novel for their variety and novelty. The result is a menagerie of good, not so good, and great stories. All of them, though, make use of the medium to tell the kinds of stories, portray the kinds of aliens and worlds that would've been too expensive or nigh impossible to do in a TV show.

The book opens up with a story that's not bad (but also not the best in the collection by a large margin). A 7 of 9 story that, if doesn't add anything to the VOY canon, at least takes a rare peek into an ex-borg's psique — we're at first taken aback by her nostalgia towards the Collective, but we're reassured by her clear loyalty when it counts.

The weakest story, both in writing and art, is the Doctor one. It's too much "original series" and all too convenient the set up to tell what's, in essence, a historical fantasy disguised as Star Trek. Worthy of company of the worst 1960's Star Trek episodes.

There's also the adaptation of the story of the video game Star Trek: Voyager - Away Team. I enjoyed revisiting those characters, even if the adaptation felt hurried; a whole graphic novel could be made out of the story on that game.

IDW left the best for last: Voyager faces a Doomsday Machine in the story that wraps up this volume. Both art and text convey a Doomsday Machine that's truly menacing, ominous, larger than life. I kid you not, I did feel not all characters would survive. I loved it.

I wish all stories in this book were as strong and well drawn as the one that closes it up, but I'm glad I read them all.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, this is my favorite volume of the Star Trek Classics line. The first story, "False Colors," takes place between Voyager season 6 episodes "Live Fast and Proper" and "Muse" and deals with Seven of Nine trying not to lose her individuality to the Borg. I liked the idea of having scavengers disguised as Borg and her being able to figure out that they're not really Borg. The next story, "Avalon Rising," is my favorite in this collection. The Doctor is my favorite Voyager character, so it was fun seeing a knight named Weylin look up to him as if he were a wizard and imagining that Starfleet is an order of nights who follow the stars as they sail. The beginning of "Elite Force" confused me since the opening panels were exactly the same as those of "False Colors." That sequence turns out to be a simulation, which annoyed me very much. Apparently, this story is an abridged version of a video game of the same name. While it feels like it needs to be longer, I really appreciate that those working within the comic and video game mediums were able to work together so that both mediums could feel like the same universe. The last story, "Planet Killer," has the best artwork (and I really loved the illustrations in all of these stories), references and summarizes (perhaps for too many pages) "The Doomsday Machine," and has some high stakes.

[Adam Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Encounters with the Unknown is a compendium of four Star Trek : Voyager comic books collected into one volume. The four stories are all set post the fourth series of the show where Seven of Nine is a main character.

Out of the four stories the best is easily the final story in the collection Planet Killer which a story inspired by the original Star Trek episode The Doomsday Machine in the same way that Star Trek The Next Generation episode The Naked Now was inspired by the The Naked Time. That being said I really enjoyed that story as it was an interesting variation of the events of the original episode but was original enough to be more than just a rip off of an earlier iteration of Star Trek.

The other stories False Colors, Avalaon Rising and Elite Force are ok but are not particularly memorable for me. The artwork for the stories is variable and sometimes they look exactly like the characters and sometimes they look nothing like the characters with Captain Janeway sometimes looking a lot younger then she actually was and Seven seems to be better endowed in some of them than she is in others.

There was one standout story and three rather average stories, which I think sums up Star Trek : Voyager really well!

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a mixed bag, but for the most part is VERY well-written. Considering I was not much of a Voyager fan when it first ran, things like this almost make me want to revisit the show. One story in particular involves The Holographic Doctor visiting a planet somewhat similar to medieval Europe and desperately trying not to break the prime directive. He ends up having to pretend that he's a wizard and ends up with his own band of adventurers that latch onto his tales of Star Fleet. This story alone is worth the read, and this is from somebody that HATES "theme-planet" episodes like Nazi planets.

[Jo Marjoribanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I really enjoyed reading these re-imaginings of old episodes, particularly the three part "Planet Killer" which is linked to "The Doomsday Machine" episode from the Original Series. The artwork was a lot better than when Marvel published Voyager comics (although it was a bit irritating that they gave Janeway brown eyes instead of blue!) and the stories were of a higher quality too. I'm happy to have this in my collection.

[Philipp · Rating 3 out of 5]

False Colors: 2/5
Avalon Rising: 4/5
Elite Force: 3/5
Planet Killer: 3.5/5