Date: 01 Jun 2013 22:22 Title: Chapter 1
I know the song this is based on, and it's telling.
I continue to see fan fiction about parents and children, or canon characters suddenly become parents, and it gives me pause as I wonder how anyone can make it all spin. That is, without someone being in danger, or being left behind.
Distances and replicator rations and weapons and cloaking are all going to be problems to solve, but the real work is going to be in figuring out how families will survive, in any sense, in any manner, as we as a species head into deep space.
Well done.
Date: 29 May 2013 01:29 Title: Chapter 1
I would say like father, like son but I think Owen Paris is wrong in that regard during the final scene. I mean Tom is now off on the USS Phoenix participating in a deep-space mission but Tom has brought his family along with him whereas Owen has always placed his career first. He has missed so much of Tom's childhood and not really understood Tom that no wonder Tom resented him and no wonder Owen always acted so obstreperously around his son.
I have to wonder if Owen really cared -- that is before Voyager went missing -- or if he had a style of parenting where he did want the best for his son, but he could never put that into practice and as such a gulf just formed. In fact given how bad a father Owen was to Tom, I'm surprised Owen and his wife had a child or maybe it was a case of Owen loving his wife more?
Ultimately being so career-focused did not help and perhaps Owen expected his son to be a little junior officer who would follow his father's commands...
But, and this is typical of humans, Owen only seems to realise the magnitude of his mistakes only when Tom has been declared missing. However the two did reconcile, it's just a pity it took like thirty years to do so, and all those bad memories are not something which will easily go away.
So I would say this story is another good one which explores that family/work balance, and how for some Starfleet officers they just don't get the hang of parenthood.
A good story even if it jumped many years and had few words. But there was enough to work what was really going on and you added a bit more to Owen Paris! Good job!
Author's Response: It was based on "the Cat's In The Cradle" and the line about "the new job's a hassle and the kids have the flu" was my starting point.
Date: 26 May 2013 19:15 Title: Chapter 1
And so we see the long, strained relationship between the two Paris men play out. Owen, so focused on his career and Starfleet, and Tom, longing to have his father in the stands for him. Except, his dad never was growing up. The disappointment that Tom feels echoes in this piece in just about every action he takes, from his stubborn child self to him creaming baseballs. He’s always wanted that approval from his father, always wanted that respect.
But it’s hard to earn respect when the person isn’t there for you. Owen put his career before his family for most of this and didn’t really realize how wrong he was until Voyager got lost. His only line, “Tom,” pretty much said it all. All his heartbreak, all his regret, all his disappointment at losing his son came out in that one phrase.
But we all knew how it ended and I’m happy the two of them, upon Tom’s return, seemed to patch things up. I disagree with Owen’s assessment that Tom has grown up to be exactly like him; he hasn’t in my view. Tom has found a balance between his family and career. Given the choice between the two, he’s totally taking his family. It was nice to see Tom out amongst the starts still, but I have no doubt that he’d be just as happy hanging out on some planet with his wife and child.
Well done, a very engaging piece on multiple levels.
Author's Response: see my response to the review after yours...
Date: 22 May 2013 12:35 Title: Chapter 1
"The cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon.."
Date: 23 Mar 2009 02:18 Title: Chapter 1
You know, even though this was a bit fragmented, I still think you chose a very good song for the challenge, and that you really did capture the mood of the lyrics and incorporate them into your work without it coming off as trite. (Not to mention you chose a very good song to begin with.)
Thanks again for entering this into my challenge!