Reviews

Incident at Arbuk by John Gregory Betancourt

alexbe2ab4's review

lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

glitterkitter's review against another edition

3.0

reread nov 2020: The first one of these numbered novels where the characters properly feel like the characters which instantly makes it more enjoyable than the others. Some good Tuvok stuff, took some time to introduce and flesh out a Maquis side character in a way in which the show didn't do often enough. Some of the people on Voyager would not have meshed well on that ship and they wouldn't have really wanted to.
I had some problems with that arc though:

Spoiler

The Maquis getting transported to Voyager happened fast, some guy could not have smuggled a transporter onboard without everyone else knowing. And Neelix stealing it at the end and trading it in a massive violation of starfleet protocol about sharing tech? I know Fairman probably wouldn't have cared. Neelix isn't Starfleet and doesn't know the rules that well, but that's a big one and it's all treated with a *shrug* and "no big deal".

amyz001's review

4.0

Short but a great Star Trek story. Nice to encounter an alien species that can’t simply be talked to thanks to the universal translator. The Neelix b-story is good fun, would’ve enjoyed more about this with some fun repercussions among the crew. Overall a good story for Tuvok and Neelix, great descriptive imagery and the characters are accurate and likeable versions of themselves.

madisonreadsbooks's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

frakalot's review

4.0

Short and sweet! This punchy little story was fast paced and still managed to include great character moments, fun new aliens, action, suspense and a considerably successful adventure for the crew.

birdmanseven's review

4.0

This was a good blend of action and plot, just what I like in a Star Trek story.

bdplume's review

3.0

This was OK. It did a good job of capturing the characters and relationships as they were at the early part of Voyager. I wasn't particularly thrilled by the plotline, though. I just never felt any sort of danger from the massive weapon-thing, and the mind meld b-story has been done to death.

dreamwanderer's review

3.0

Incident at Arbuck takes place in the very early months of Voyager's journey home.

Answering a distress call Voyager comes in contact with a strange argumentative race known as the Sperians. They have created a super weapon that contains a fatal flaw. Tuvok does a mind meld, B'Elanna works her mechanical wonders,Tom flirts and Kim gets a date. Neelix gets to use his wiles to outsmart a black marketeer. It's a pretty standard early Voyager adventure and fairly well written for a first novel. Its also a quick read, perfect for reading on a plane or in a waiting room. Nice escapism.