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Rating: 
Summary: One of the most memorable Voyager books!
Review: "Fire Ship" is a particularly intriguing and well written book by one of "Trek's" best authors. In "Fire Ship" Captain Janeway tells the story of how she was once separated from Voyager. Believing Voyager was destroyed when she escaped from an alien spacestation aboard an extremely small escape pod. She's picked up by a less technologically advanced race in the middle of a war. From there she attempts to warn them that a more viscious species is coming, to no avail. In order to do something about it, she is forced to basically start off on this ship as a deckhand and work her way up to captain.
A great concept carried out extremely well by the author. Clearly one of the best Voyager books as a stand alone and a fine addition to "The Captain's Table" series. Thank you to Diane Carey for a great read.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome and deep - it swallows you up!
Review: A totally wonderful book! At first I did not warm up to the idea of Janeway 'losing' everyone on Voyager, but Diane Carey did a great job! With first-person narration by Janeway, we get a look at what makes her tick, which adds a great deal to the TV character we're used to. Carey's portrayal of Janeway threw me off a little at first, but in the end it gave me a greater understanding and 'respect' of the CAPTAIN.
A great read if ever there was one -- and an extra comforting ending too!
Rating:
Summary: Very Memorable
Review: For those of you who are mad that this ook doesn't feature Voyager or anyone besides Janeway: If you skim through the book, you can easily tell that this book is Janeway and nothing but Janeway.That being said: Yes, Janeway is out of character. But guess what? It's a story that Janeway's telling. Maybe it happened, and maybe it didn't. That's what we're left to guess at. Here's another way to think about it: Chakotay making up Indian stories to prove a point to someone. Jesus coming up with a parable. Did it happen? Probably not. Or maybe not that exact way. It's a story and you just 'go with it' and enjoy the ride. Anyway, back to the book... Basically, Janeway is exploring and comes upon this little bar where all these captains sit around telling 'war stories'. She's asked to tell a story and begins. The whole novel is her story, basically. What did I think of the book? I loved it. It was an interesting story and I really couldn't put it down when I first read it. And get this: I've read it several times after. Now that's a good book! So do yourself a favour and read 'outside the box...er, ship' this time. Well, unless you hate Janeway - then don't read the novel.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the best stand-alone Voyager novel!
Review: Forget all the standard-fare Voyager-in-trouble cliche books (i.e., Voyagers #1-18), if you only get one Voyager book, this has to be the one you get. Right off the bat, this has NOTHING to do with Voyager (the ship) itself. Bottom line is, if you like Janeway and feel that she's been sorely underused, and needs some fleshing out both in the written form and on TV, then please pick this one up. I expected it to be a run-of-the-mill story, but Carey gives this such an edge that it actually was very emotional for me to read the last two or three chapters. Well, read it for yourself, I don't want to give away the story. Quite possibly, this is also the best of the Captain's Table series, and deserves a place on my list of favorite books. Pick this one up; I guarantee you it's worth it.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK! Must Read!
Review: I am very loathe to give any Star Trek book more than three stars. Star Trek books are almost by definition entertainment light, and mere entertainment should not, generally, receive more than three stars. But then along came Diane Carey and Fire Ship, and try as I might I cannot bring myself to give it only three stars. Like Sulu, Picard, and Sisko before her (Kirk had been there before), Janeway stumbles into the incredibly dopey "Captain's Table", a bar exclusively for captains of ships from all times and places. Like her predecessors, Janeway must tell a story. But there the comparisons with previous Captain's Table debacles ends. Carey boldly ignores the Captain's Table conventions and lets Janeway tell her story without the constant interruptions that plagued the previous books. And what a story it is. Janeway finds herself alone with an alien crew, forced to adapt to no longer being in charge and literally swabbing decks. Carey has found her stride as an author (see the atrocious TNG novel Ghost Ship for an earlier effort), weaving a narrative that is compelling, interesting, and evocative. There are, inevitably, some bits that do not entirely "work," but this was the first Trek novel in a long, long time that I a) didn't want to put down and b) looked forward to picking up again. It is also the first Trek book in recent memory that I actually *want* to read again. An observation about the negative reviews. I have never been a big Voyager fan. I am familiar with the characters, of course, but, except for the Doctor, am not attached to any of them. So, the lack of other Voyager crew did not bother me in the slightest. Similarly, I am by no means a Janeway afficionado. Is "Fire Ship"'s Janeway a realistic portrayal of the original? I have no idea; it was to my inexpert eye. However, "Fire Ship" is so enjoyable that the Star Trek aspects of it are really beside the point. Read "Fire Ship" and enjoy it for the wonderful tale it is.
Rating: 
Summary: Captain Out of Character
Review: It is interesting to see everything from the captain's point of view, but I noticed one fatal flaw: Captain Janeway is out of character. She is almost a raving lunatic for a few chapters instead of keeping her usual level head. The worst part is when she gives up trying to find Voyager. She doesn't know for sure if it is destroyed, doesn't go to check, and almost immediately accepts Voyager's destruction.
Another thing I didn't like was the lack of other Voyager characters. They were mentioned, but appeared only at the beginning and end of the book. Half the fun of seeing everything from the captain's point of view is watching how she deals with some of the members of her crew. Take Tom, for example. If he makes one of his characteristic remarks, does the captain mind? Does she feel annoyed?
On a more positive note, I did find the book entertaining, and the lack of Voyager made me more happy to see it in the end.
Rating: 
Summary: A shove to the wall!
Review: This was indeed a very thrilling book because you dont know the characters and its makes it very unpredictable! However I did miss the crew, but this I have to admit is the best stand alone Janeway book next to "Mosaic" of course. I recommed this book if your a Janeway fan! :)
Rating:
Summary: Funny how some things work out in life, isn't it?
Review: What I mean is, I read the beginning of Rudyard Kipling's book Captains_Courageous, the story upon which this installment of the Captains' Table series is based, when I was in 3rd or 4th grade, and I hated it. But I like this book. Go figure, huh? While this book is not, in my opinion, the best of the Captains' Table series, it is quite a good story in its own right. Captain Janeway's attempts to fit herself into an alien culture and crew with a quasi-Victorian view of women are interesting, and her growth into compassion for a woman of the mysterious "Menace" race is touchingly realistic, as she struggles to overcome the hatred for them which is almost all that has kept her going since the destruction of the USS Voyager, which she has witnessed. Plus, there's a special twist to the ending, but I won't tell you what it is, except to say this: the story does not end exactly the way one might expect it to. Buy it, especially if you like "coming-of-age"-type stories.
Rating:
Summary: Janeway as you've never seen her!
Review: WOW! I simply can't articulate how much I enjoyed this book! I am a devoted Janeway/Kate Mulgrew fan, and I found this story irresistable. The fact that it takes place away from Voyager and the rest of the crew was a bit daunting to me at first. (I was in a rut, and liked it just fine.) But I quickly realized that that fact alone made this book unique and memorable. And Diane Carey delivered all the way through. The story was well thought out and entertaining from beginning to end. This was a look at a side of Janeway we never saw on Voyager. Can you imagine Kathryn Janeway swabbing the deck? Wonderful! And the thing I loved the most about this book was that Carey portrayed Janeway with dignity and grace, even in the worst cirmustances imaginable. And on a far more shallow note, it also answers the question about what happened to her long hair. If you are a Janeway fan, you simply must read this book.
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