When it comes to Star Trek books, few fans consider them canon. It’s understandable, especially with novels written during the run of a series on television. But sometimes a book comes along that almost has to be taken as canon because of who wrote it. During Voyager’s third season, series co-creator Jeri Taylor penned the back story of Captain Janeway in Mosaic. As the creator of the character, no one was more qualified to tell us how Kathryn went from a child in Bloomington, Indiana, to captain of a starship lost in the Delta Quadrant.

In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Matthew Rushing and Christopher Jones are joined by Charlynn Schmidt of To The Journey to discuss Mosaic, the portrayal of Janeway as a child, student, and young woman, what drives her to help the Ocampo and protect her crew at all costs, and, of course, Jeri Taylor’s obsession with hair.

In our news segment we take a look at new blurbs for Sacraments of Fire and Seekers 3, and we judge John Jackson Miller’s Takedown by its cover.

News

Sacraments of Fire blurb revealed (2:37)

Seekers 3: Long Shot blurb revealed (4:52)

Judge a Book by Its Cover: Takedown (6:31)

Feature: Mosaic

Memories and Impressions (9:35)

Structuring the Life of Baby Janeway (20:10)

The Portrayal of Janeway: Good or Bad? (26:42)

Trying to Write a Strong Woman in the ‘90s (33:47)

Everybody’s Got Better Hair Than Me (37:45)

Delving Into the Psyche of Janeway (43:15)

Final Thoughts (53:31)

Closing (58:04)