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A review by octavia_cade
The Final Fury by Dafydd ab Hugh
adventurous
medium-paced
3.0
This book takes place very early on after Voyager arrived in the Delta Quadrant; it seems as if they've been there only a matter of months. I can't be bothered to look up the date of publication, but it seems as if it were written, as well as set, early on in the show's run, because the characterisation is a little off in places. This actually works to the benefit of one character, as Neelix, when featured, come across as a great deal more competent than he ever appeared in the show. If only this presentation of him had been the norm!
The Final Fury has primarily an action storyline that works fairly well, I think, although the ending is a bit weak. It took a while to get going as well, but by about a third of the way in I was solidly engaged and stayed that way until the end. I think what I'm most struck by, though, is the tone - especially in that first third. There, it almost felt like a sort of bastard mash-up of Star Trek and the Black Library. I actually looked up the author to see if he'd ever written for them, but no. It was a bit of an uncomfortable mix, at times; I love the Trek franchise because it is so ultimately hopeful, and because it works to find commonalities between species. The first book in this mini-series did that very well, if ultimately tragically, but it seems to have dropped off entirely here.
The Final Fury has primarily an action storyline that works fairly well, I think, although the ending is a bit weak. It took a while to get going as well, but by about a third of the way in I was solidly engaged and stayed that way until the end. I think what I'm most struck by, though, is the tone - especially in that first third. There, it almost felt like a sort of bastard mash-up of Star Trek and the Black Library. I actually looked up the author to see if he'd ever written for them, but no. It was a bit of an uncomfortable mix, at times; I love the Trek franchise because it is so ultimately hopeful, and because it works to find commonalities between species. The first book in this mini-series did that very well, if ultimately tragically, but it seems to have dropped off entirely here.