Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today is Friday, and it’s time for another review. Today, I’m sharing my review of the novelisation of Star Trek: Voyager’s finale episode, Endgame, by Diane Carey.
Star Trek: Voyager: Endgame was published in 2001 by Pocket Books and is 240 pages long.
The Plot
As with the TV episode from which it’s adapted, the novel opens with an older Kathryn Janeway reflecting on a future shaped by loss. Dissatisfied with how events unfolded—particularly the deaths of several crewmates—this future Janeway undertakes a dangerous plan: travel back in time and change history.
Her intervention places Voyager on a collision course with the Borg, culminating in a high-stakes confrontation involving a Borg transwarp hub. Two versions of Janeway—one hardened by regret, the other still in command—are forced into uneasy cooperation.
Characters
Admiral Kathryn Janeway
This is a hardened, guilt-ridden version of the Captain we know—more calculating, secretive, and driven by personal regrets. Her decision to break Starfleet’s temporal protocols adds moral ambiguity and emotional depth to the story.
Captain Kathryn Janeway
Still commanding Voyager in the past timeline, Captain Janeway is strategic, compassionate, and visibly changed by the journey. The contrast between her and her older self provides a powerful meditation on time, regret, and identity.
Seven of Nine
At the heart of both timelines, Seven’s arc is deeply emotional. In the future, she has died tragically—and in the present, she is grappling with her humanity and feelings for Chakotay. Her journey adds a layer of poignancy and urgency.
Chakotay
Chakotay’s romantic connection with Seven is handled a little more gently and introspectively than in the episode. Admiral Janeway’s knowledge that Seven’s future death will devastate him adds weight to their scenes. He’s still the steady, quietly emotional first officer—but the prose gives him more reflective moments about loyalty, duty, and the possibility of finally stopping being “the guy stuck in the Delta Quadrant.”
B’Elanna Torres & Tom Paris
B’Elanna and Tom’s impending parenthood is one of the most grounded threads in the story. B’Elanna’s anxiety about giving birth on the run versus the dream of raising her child in the Alpha Quadrant lands particularly well in prose, and Tom’s blend of humour and fear feels more textured. Their scenes anchor the high-concept time-travel/Borg plot in something very ordinary and human.
Harry Kim
In the “future” timeline, Captain Kim’s complicity in Admiral Janeway’s plan gives him a satisfying arc: the once-junior officer now taking a massive ethical risk to help rewrite his own past. In the present, he’s still the earnest, long-suffering ensign, but the book can connect these two versions more clearly.
The Doctor
Given a name and a family in the future, the EMH’s evolution is a triumph of the series—and Carey gives him plenty of room to shine. His relationships, especially with Seven and Janeway, are more fully fleshed out.
Tuvok
The novel leans into the poignancy of Tuvok’s future neurological decline and the fact that reaching home early might save him. His calm Vulcan exterior contrasts with Janeway’s emotional turmoil; Carey uses his condition as one of the sharpest arguments for changing history.
The Borg Queen
The Borg Queen is still the seductive, terrifying personification of the Collective we get in the series; however, in the novel, her mental chess match with Admiral Janeway has room to breathe, and Carey emphasises her arrogance and her inability to fully understand a human willing to destroy herself for her “collective” of one ship.
Writing Style
Diane Carey is a seasoned Star Trek novelist, and her familiarity with the world is clear. Her prose is clear, character-focused, and respectful of continuity. She avoids over-novelising action sequences, instead using the extra space to explore internal conflict, moral ambiguity, and emotional consequence.
Also, the Borg are portrayed as a looming, impersonal threat rather than a purely action-oriented villain, which helps restore some of their existential menace.
If there’s a limitation with the story, it’s that the novel remains closely bound to the episode’s structure. Readers hoping for major deviations or a radically different ending won’t find them here. But what Carey offers instead is cohesion, texture, and emotional clarity.
Final Thoughts
As a novelisation, Endgame does its job very well. It takes a visually flashy, controversial finale and gives it more emotional breathing room, especially for Janeway and Seven. The moral debate between the two Janeways is more nuanced on the page, and the added introspection helps the story land as a genuine character piece rather than just “the one where Voyager gets home.”
For fans who felt the TV episode moved too quickly or left too much unsaid, this novelisation offers something valuable: time. Time to sit with the characters, to understand their losses, and to appreciate just how much it cost to finally say, “Set a course… for home.”
I really enjoyed this one. I’m giving it a 10/10.
Have you read Endgame? How do you think it compares to Voyager’s televised finale?
As ever, thanks for stopping by and reading my review!
Until next time,
George
© 2026 GLT
Categories: Book Reviews, Reading
GEORGE L THOMAS 
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