Heroic Women of Speculative Fiction! This week it's Kathryn Janeway!

-

 
Captain Kathryn Janeway
 
 
Yes, I admire Captain Kathryn Janeway!  In fact, I love this character and the actress who played her.  I have recently watched all seven seasons of Star Trek Voyager, and my opinions have changed about the show.  I admit, I was not into the show as much when it first aired, but I feel like Star Trek Enterprise. it was underrated.  Also, I do not feel that Captain Janeway gets enough respect.  This woman, this officer was brave, selfless, put the needs of others above her own, and was willing to die if necessary for the greater good.   She had crap to deal with other Star Trek captains did not: like being catapulted into a different part of the galaxy without a compass, dealing with a shipload of cranky Marquis, hostile aliens who never heard of Starfleet or cared,  and no way to call home for some backup.
 
But this woman not only got her crew home, but in the process of the show's seven year run, she and her crew catalogued massive scientific knowledge about the Delta quadrant and its mysteries, made new discoveries,  fought major battles (again-no backup for poor Kathryn) with rude and often advanced aliens, including the Borg.   She also had to deal with Neelix's cooking and his experimental recipes.  I wonder if she had to replicate antacids much? 
 
Captain Kathryn Janeway was an officer and a scientist.  She was savvy, smart, unrelenting, and yet full of compassion.  She would defend her ship and crew with the tenacity of an angry she-tiger and not hesitate to vaporize you if you crossed the line.   Im many wat, she was more of a cowboy than Kirk ever was.  Kathryn could also be funny, she loved dogs, and was unlucky in romance, like most heroines.  She was not a twenty-something.  Thank heavens!!!  She was a real woman who spent years training and was age appropriate for her role as Captain.
 
So let's give this woman and officer some respect!
 
Next week, it's Christmas, so I will not post a new entry in my Heroic Women series until after New Year.  I will be too busy recovering from rum-spiked eggnog and too many chocolates.
 
Until then,  Happy Holidays and watch more fantasy and science fiction.
 
Verna McKinnon
 
 
      
 
 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tree of Bones Release, Goblin Rant: The Curse of Tropes, & Writing On Empty

-
Image
Tree of Bones, A Familiar's Tale, Book 2 It's back! Am so happy Tree of Bones is back again, now published by Wolfsinger Publications. It was just released and am so glad to see it back in print and on kindle. As a reward, there are sweet deals for you! We decided to keep the original cover by artist, Mitch Bentley. Tree of Bones is the second book in my Familiar's Tale series.  Tree of Bones  is now available on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble and the WolfSinger Publications website.  You can read the first chapter at Wolfsinger @  Tree of Bones | Fantasy | WolfSinger Publications (wolfsingerpubs.com)   Readers, you get a 15% discount by visiting the WolfSinger Publications website at: https://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/shop and using code NR2023.  You can also get a 15% discount at Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1422701 by using code PJ87Z.  Discounts will be available through 8/31/23. Enjoy the fantasy! There is also time to ...
Read more

Writing Talk about Dark Forces & Heroes

-
The thing about writing imaginative fiction, whether it be any sub- class of science fiction or fantasy, is to create and maintain some very strong and solid templates for world and characters.  Evil must be strong and frightening-something to make your soul churn- not your stomach .  At least not too much.  I have never been one for the gross out factor.  Tubs of  blood is something easy for humans to spill, because they do it all the time.  Do not get precious.  Our species is flawed and barely evolved out of the primordial pits.  You do not even need to read history to verify this, simply watch the news or read the newspaper.  We are very violent-which is why heroes (real heroes) are important.    The conundrum is to create strong heroes that do not go all wimpy or stupid-or turn as evil as the forces they battle. A person can be brave or willing to sacrifice.  A group not so much.  T...
Read more
-
Image
  Fantasy & Science Fiction: Past & Present When I was a teen and started buying my own books, fantasy and science fiction came in all sizes. The tradition now is for an average fantasy novel to be around a 100,000 words. Some fantasy novels out there are doubler or triple that size now. That is  the current mode and expectation. But when I first dove into reading science fiction and fantasy, many of these novels were much smaller, slim paperback volumes. But the tales within were epic! The small books from great authors now legendary:Tanith Lee, Ursula K. Le Quin, Robert E Howard, Ray Bradbury, and more. Everything is so complicated in the publishing world. This is why I love going into used bookstores, which is about the only place to find books these days outside of Amazon. There are some bookstores left, but few work with smaller publishers and carry their books. I understand there is an issue of profit and loss, but that hurts some genuine good authors who are loo...
Read more