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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Avatar #1
Avatar: Book One of Two
RETURN TO THE EDGE OF THE FINAL FRONTIER.
As the Federation prepares to launch a counterstrike against the Dominion, Colonel Kira Nerys searches for a way to prevent another galactic holocaust. But when a newly discovered prophecy propels Jake Sisko on an impossible quest and threatens to plunge all of Bajor into chaos, Kira is forced to choose between being true to her faith... and being true to herself.
Meanwhile, as the combined crews of Deep Space 9 and the Starship Enterprise struggle to stop a terrorist plot to destroy the station and the ship, lives change, new friendships are forged, and the shocking truth behind a grisly murder is revealed.
THE ASTONISHING RENEWAL OF THE EPIC ADVENTURE.
As the Federation prepares to launch a counterstrike against the Dominion, Colonel Kira Nerys searches for a way to prevent another galactic holocaust. But when a newly discovered prophecy propels Jake Sisko on an impossible quest and threatens to plunge all of Bajor into chaos, Kira is forced to choose between being true to her faith... and being true to herself.
Meanwhile, as the combined crews of Deep Space 9 and the Starship Enterprise struggle to stop a terrorist plot to destroy the station and the ship, lives change, new friendships are forged, and the shocking truth behind a grisly murder is revealed.
THE ASTONISHING RENEWAL OF THE EPIC ADVENTURE.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 2001
About the author
S.D. Perry
84 books762 followersSD Perry (Stephani Danelle, by the way, though she prefers SD or Danelle) has been writing novelizations and tie-ins for most of her adult life. Best known for her work in the shared multiverses of Resident Evil, Star Trek, and Aliens, SD is a horror nerd and an introvert. Her father is acclaimed science fiction author Steve Perry. SD lives with her family in Portland, Oregon.
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January 6, 2016
The "Relaunch" Universe starts here!
The term "Relaunch" has been used on Star Trek to denote the novels written to expand the history of the TV spin-offs series set on the 24th Century of the franchise, namely Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager; and even you can include Star Trek: Enterprise, which it was set on the 22nd Century. This "Relaunch" term applies to identificate those novels considered canon in the franchise and they serve to continue the stories of the before mentioned TV spin-offs after the their cancellation on air.
Avatar is a book event of two parts setting how Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was going to continue in prose novel format, after the cancellation of the TV series.
Colonel Kyra Nerys
After being First Officer during seven years under Captain Benjamin Sisko, now she is in command of the space station and she has to deal with the aftermath of the Dominion War. After three months, DS9 station is still under severe maintenance and updating work. The USS Defiant is in similar bad shape. Also, she is learning not only to be in the big chair but also to deal with the new members of her new senior staff, and the biggest friction is when dealing with her new Security Chief which is Lieutenant Ro Laren.
Lieutenant Ro Laren
Ro Laren, the prodigal daughter of Bajor returns to home. She has been Resistance Underground Operative during the Bajor Occupation, Starfleet Officer, Maquis Terrorist and even Non-Sanctioned Resistance Fighter during the Dominion War. For a person with many roles in her life, she is still looking to know for certain who is she, and even more important... is Bajor really her home? Bajor is a very religious world and Ro Laren never has been a believer of the divine status of The Prophets, she knows that they live inside of the Wormhole but hardly she can accept that they are the gods of Bajor. And certainly that's something truly difficult to be able to fit in Bajor. Realizing that it's not easy to live on the surface of Bajor, she takes the empty job of Security Chief on DS9.
Kyra Nerys and Ro Laren, two women with personalities too much alike but being in the totally opposite sides in the topic of Bajoran religious faith.
And to make it worse, now, a murder investigation conducted by Ro Laren may be lead to the discovery of a book with the power to endanger the foundations of Bajoran religious faith.
Lieutenant Ezri Dax
She dealt with lot of changes last year when without preparation she has to accept the Trill symbiote, Dax, becoming its Ninth host, after the tragic death of Jadzia.
All her life, Ezri only wanted to serve as Counselor for some years on Starfleet, and later to retire and getting to work in the private sector as psychologist in her native Trill.
But now, she owns the memories and experiences of eight lives inside of her, and she is not sure anymore if she will be happy with her original life plans.
An emergency on the USS Defiant will be pivotal for Ezri to re-analyze her future.
Ensign Thirishar ch'Thane a.k.a Shar
He is a young Andorian, recently transfered to DS9 as Science Officer, but he is very secretive about his culture and even more about his family.
Jake Sisko
He is still "mourning" the dissappearance of his father, Benjamin Sisko, after joining the Prophets on the "Celestial Temple" inside of the Wormhole, but after reading a prophecy, it seems that there is a chance to get back his father, and how he will do whatever necessary to do it, on his own.
Commander Elias Vaughn
He is a living legend on Starfleet. He is 101 years old, that it's not so rare taking in account that life expectancy on previous centuries was shorter and shorter depending how far in the past you go, so, in the future is only reasonable that people can get to grow older even more, keeping a very good health. He has been a key officer in many secret missions to Starfleet, and even his rank of Commander hasn't promoted for his own choice to be able to move easier from place to place without getting many attention, but he has a security clearance level that even some admirals only dream about.
He is on a consultive mission aboard the USS Enterprise-E, during a survey tour through the border of The Badlands, but after an unexpected experience on an away mission, it seems that he needs to know more about DS9 station.
--o--
Colonel Kyra Nerys will have a baptism of fire in her commanding role of the Deep Space Nine, facing threats from outside and inside of the space station, risking the recently peace after the Dominion War and also daring her deepest religious beliefs.
Avatar, book One, is an exciting beginning of the next volume in the history of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, where you even will have guest starring the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The book even has, in the first pages, a timeline of the highlight events during the TV series to help to any interested to read the "Relaunch" era of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and being able to understand and enjoy this great new era of the sci-fi series.
Recommended to any Trekker, but also enthusiasts of science fiction and/or space operas.
The term "Relaunch" has been used on Star Trek to denote the novels written to expand the history of the TV spin-offs series set on the 24th Century of the franchise, namely Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager; and even you can include Star Trek: Enterprise, which it was set on the 22nd Century. This "Relaunch" term applies to identificate those novels considered canon in the franchise and they serve to continue the stories of the before mentioned TV spin-offs after the their cancellation on air.
Avatar is a book event of two parts setting how Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was going to continue in prose novel format, after the cancellation of the TV series.
Colonel Kyra Nerys
After being First Officer during seven years under Captain Benjamin Sisko, now she is in command of the space station and she has to deal with the aftermath of the Dominion War. After three months, DS9 station is still under severe maintenance and updating work. The USS Defiant is in similar bad shape. Also, she is learning not only to be in the big chair but also to deal with the new members of her new senior staff, and the biggest friction is when dealing with her new Security Chief which is Lieutenant Ro Laren.
Lieutenant Ro Laren
Ro Laren, the prodigal daughter of Bajor returns to home. She has been Resistance Underground Operative during the Bajor Occupation, Starfleet Officer, Maquis Terrorist and even Non-Sanctioned Resistance Fighter during the Dominion War. For a person with many roles in her life, she is still looking to know for certain who is she, and even more important... is Bajor really her home? Bajor is a very religious world and Ro Laren never has been a believer of the divine status of The Prophets, she knows that they live inside of the Wormhole but hardly she can accept that they are the gods of Bajor. And certainly that's something truly difficult to be able to fit in Bajor. Realizing that it's not easy to live on the surface of Bajor, she takes the empty job of Security Chief on DS9.
Kyra Nerys and Ro Laren, two women with personalities too much alike but being in the totally opposite sides in the topic of Bajoran religious faith.
And to make it worse, now, a murder investigation conducted by Ro Laren may be lead to the discovery of a book with the power to endanger the foundations of Bajoran religious faith.
Lieutenant Ezri Dax
She dealt with lot of changes last year when without preparation she has to accept the Trill symbiote, Dax, becoming its Ninth host, after the tragic death of Jadzia.
All her life, Ezri only wanted to serve as Counselor for some years on Starfleet, and later to retire and getting to work in the private sector as psychologist in her native Trill.
But now, she owns the memories and experiences of eight lives inside of her, and she is not sure anymore if she will be happy with her original life plans.
An emergency on the USS Defiant will be pivotal for Ezri to re-analyze her future.
Ensign Thirishar ch'Thane a.k.a Shar
He is a young Andorian, recently transfered to DS9 as Science Officer, but he is very secretive about his culture and even more about his family.
Jake Sisko
He is still "mourning" the dissappearance of his father, Benjamin Sisko, after joining the Prophets on the "Celestial Temple" inside of the Wormhole, but after reading a prophecy, it seems that there is a chance to get back his father, and how he will do whatever necessary to do it, on his own.
Commander Elias Vaughn
He is a living legend on Starfleet. He is 101 years old, that it's not so rare taking in account that life expectancy on previous centuries was shorter and shorter depending how far in the past you go, so, in the future is only reasonable that people can get to grow older even more, keeping a very good health. He has been a key officer in many secret missions to Starfleet, and even his rank of Commander hasn't promoted for his own choice to be able to move easier from place to place without getting many attention, but he has a security clearance level that even some admirals only dream about.
He is on a consultive mission aboard the USS Enterprise-E, during a survey tour through the border of The Badlands, but after an unexpected experience on an away mission, it seems that he needs to know more about DS9 station.
--o--
Colonel Kyra Nerys will have a baptism of fire in her commanding role of the Deep Space Nine, facing threats from outside and inside of the space station, risking the recently peace after the Dominion War and also daring her deepest religious beliefs.
Avatar, book One, is an exciting beginning of the next volume in the history of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, where you even will have guest starring the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The book even has, in the first pages, a timeline of the highlight events during the TV series to help to any interested to read the "Relaunch" era of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and being able to understand and enjoy this great new era of the sci-fi series.
Recommended to any Trekker, but also enthusiasts of science fiction and/or space operas.
August 2, 2021
This felt like a worthy followup to the last season -- not great, but true to the characters and to the type of story often told with them.
There were a few lovely surprises: Ro Laren and Quark, Ro Laren and Kira, Kasidy's interiority, Shar. Nog Nog Nog Nog. There were also a few utterly expected disappointments: Kira continues to fasci-ly bigot, and Ezri continues to...Ugh.
Also the crew of the Enterprise are here for no apparent reason and there's some dude named Vaughn that I'm supposed to give a shit about? It's fun, I'm here for the Bajoran intrigue and Jake and Nog and Shar can come too also Ro. And Quark, obviously.
There were a few lovely surprises: Ro Laren and Quark, Ro Laren and Kira, Kasidy's interiority, Shar. Nog Nog Nog Nog. There were also a few utterly expected disappointments: Kira continues to fasci-ly bigot, and Ezri continues to...Ugh.
Also the crew of the Enterprise are here for no apparent reason and there's some dude named Vaughn that I'm supposed to give a shit about? It's fun, I'm here for the Bajoran intrigue and Jake and Nog and Shar can come too also Ro. And Quark, obviously.
March 12, 2022
The Deep Space Nine t.v. show is over, and Pocket Books at Simon and Schuster has the perfect opportunity to take the characters and the story and run wild. They decided to choose S. D. Perry to lead off with this two parter series, and so far it is very good...but not stellar.
What works in this book is the DS9 characters and plotlines. S.D. Perry absolutely nails Kira Nerys, Ro Laren, Bashir, Ezri Dax, Jake Sisko, and Quark. There is a reason she wrote several Star Trek novels, the majority of them for DS9, and this book shows why. Everything fits just right within the DS9 storyline. In fact, this truly does feel like the beginning of DS9 Season 8...just in book format.
The weak aspect of this book is the Enterprise plotline. This stems mainly from the fact that Perry was tasked with introducing the character of Elias Vaughn into the universe. While Vaughn is a unique and interesting character, the Enterprise-E feels unneccesary in this book. Since this is a DS9 story and not considered a crossover, DS9 should have had the sole focus, whereas the Next Gen crew takes up roughly 1/3 of the book. I should state that this is not an inherently bad decision, just one I disagree with and wouldn't have included.
The strength of S. D. Perry's writing comes in her exploration of religion in the role of culture. She asks several questions about atheism vs organized religion and pure belief vs sight belief. Much of this is more vague and discussed abstractly in the book, but it has some great applications to real life. Just the right deeper themes that are needed in tie-in books.
There is a timeline that takes up nearly 10 pages in the beginning of the book. If you know me, you know I love when books have timelines. As someone who watched the DS9 tv show only sporadically and not fully, this was helpful in filling in the gaps in my memory and knowledge. However, I think it could have been trimmed down a little bit, as it felt like I was reading a history book at times.
Perry does an excellent job of laying groundwork that pays off in future books. Ezri Dax takes command during a situation and she realizes her leadership abilities. This is MASSIVELY important later down the line, and I squeeled when I read that part of the book.
Overall, this is a solid first part out of two. I am going to read part 2 next, and I'm excited to see where things go. This one got my hopes up and made several promises, exactly what a tie-in book should do, now I just hope part two has payoffs. But this book gets a 8.0 out of 10! Good job S.D. Perry!
What works in this book is the DS9 characters and plotlines. S.D. Perry absolutely nails Kira Nerys, Ro Laren, Bashir, Ezri Dax, Jake Sisko, and Quark. There is a reason she wrote several Star Trek novels, the majority of them for DS9, and this book shows why. Everything fits just right within the DS9 storyline. In fact, this truly does feel like the beginning of DS9 Season 8...just in book format.
The weak aspect of this book is the Enterprise plotline. This stems mainly from the fact that Perry was tasked with introducing the character of Elias Vaughn into the universe. While Vaughn is a unique and interesting character, the Enterprise-E feels unneccesary in this book. Since this is a DS9 story and not considered a crossover, DS9 should have had the sole focus, whereas the Next Gen crew takes up roughly 1/3 of the book. I should state that this is not an inherently bad decision, just one I disagree with and wouldn't have included.
The strength of S. D. Perry's writing comes in her exploration of religion in the role of culture. She asks several questions about atheism vs organized religion and pure belief vs sight belief. Much of this is more vague and discussed abstractly in the book, but it has some great applications to real life. Just the right deeper themes that are needed in tie-in books.
There is a timeline that takes up nearly 10 pages in the beginning of the book. If you know me, you know I love when books have timelines. As someone who watched the DS9 tv show only sporadically and not fully, this was helpful in filling in the gaps in my memory and knowledge. However, I think it could have been trimmed down a little bit, as it felt like I was reading a history book at times.
Perry does an excellent job of laying groundwork that pays off in future books. Ezri Dax takes command during a situation and she realizes her leadership abilities. This is MASSIVELY important later down the line, and I squeeled when I read that part of the book.
Overall, this is a solid first part out of two. I am going to read part 2 next, and I'm excited to see where things go. This one got my hopes up and made several promises, exactly what a tie-in book should do, now I just hope part two has payoffs. But this book gets a 8.0 out of 10! Good job S.D. Perry!
February 14, 2018
So you're planning on relaunching DS9, one of the most breakthrough TV shows of the latter half of the 20th century, and you've got at least a decent budget to get authors. Why in God's name would you go for SD "tell tell TELL don't show!" Perry?
Look, I like navel-gazing in a novel. Toll the Hounds is my favorite novel, and basically even the people who like it agree there's probably a bit too much empty philosophizing in it. But Jesus, everything in this book is people just thinking about stuff rather than anything actually happening.
After 10 chapters, I realized I was skimming so much I might as well just read a summary. Which I did, and I don't feel I missed anything. Everything is like:
Boy, Jake was sad since his dad died, or ascended, or whatever. And that was a hotly contested issue, sure. But he wasn't going to continue being sad! He dusted some on the potsherd in his hand, and the dust flew away like the thin veneer of calm over his soul. Boy, he missed his dad.
DO SOMETHING. JESUS. Show us how a character feels through dialogue! ANYTHING BUT THIS. I don't want to hear Kasidy reminiscing about what Dr. Bashir said re: his troubles with Ezri! I want to friggin' hear them! Well, OK, no, I really don't, because they're silly, and one of the most cringeworthy subplots of DS9 was the whole 'who will Ezri choose because it has to be one of these two characters & she has to make a choice' in s7. For such an enlightened and sexually adventurous show (and Dax, especially!), that sure wound up mired in sitcom hell.
Man, I hope the books after this get better.
Look, I like navel-gazing in a novel. Toll the Hounds is my favorite novel, and basically even the people who like it agree there's probably a bit too much empty philosophizing in it. But Jesus, everything in this book is people just thinking about stuff rather than anything actually happening.
After 10 chapters, I realized I was skimming so much I might as well just read a summary. Which I did, and I don't feel I missed anything. Everything is like:
Boy, Jake was sad since his dad died, or ascended, or whatever. And that was a hotly contested issue, sure. But he wasn't going to continue being sad! He dusted some on the potsherd in his hand, and the dust flew away like the thin veneer of calm over his soul. Boy, he missed his dad.
DO SOMETHING. JESUS. Show us how a character feels through dialogue! ANYTHING BUT THIS. I don't want to hear Kasidy reminiscing about what Dr. Bashir said re: his troubles with Ezri! I want to friggin' hear them! Well, OK, no, I really don't, because they're silly, and one of the most cringeworthy subplots of DS9 was the whole 'who will Ezri choose because it has to be one of these two characters & she has to make a choice' in s7. For such an enlightened and sexually adventurous show (and Dax, especially!), that sure wound up mired in sitcom hell.
Man, I hope the books after this get better.
September 21, 2018
This was my first foray into trying out a Star Trek novel. Being an adamant Trekkie, as with most full-fledged, card carrying Trekkies, I have seen every episode of every Star Trek series at the very least 3 times, in some cases of my favorite episodes, many more times than that. So, as with I assume most Trekkies as well, I was in desperate need of more Star Trek than exists, and new and novel stories as well... So it was inevitable... my desire for more Trek, and my love for reading led me to be curious about the many many countless Star Trek books. I thought, “What the hell... what have I got to lose? If I hate the book, I can always stop reading and chock it up to a lost cause.”
So, for one, I went for my favorite series, which is DS9. And for two, I was generally more intrigued by the idea of novels that take place post-series finale, which I came to learn in my lickity-split research learned that such novels in the Trek literary universe are known as “relaunch” titles... which of course led me to the first book of the DS9 relaunch titles... which, you guessed it, is this very book, Deep Space Nine: Avatar Book One... it might as well have been a mathematical formula to plug in and pick the book for me to choose... at first, I though it would be overwhelming trying to pick a book out of so damn many Trek books... but when it came time to actually pick one out to try, it was pretty much inevitable that this would be it... luckily my local half price book had it available when I randomly decided to try out a Trek book one day while browsing the store.
Anyway, about the book itself... I liked it! :D ... much more than I thought I would. It’s probably an unfounded bias, but I always just assume that books based on an established series like this, or say, Star Wars, or some other well-loved pop culture phenomenon of a fandom that have such a well-stocked novel series, would be bound to have pretty shoddy writing in genera... that maybe there were a book or two that were worth reading, but if so, they were most likely few and far between, and inevitably hard to find the diamonds in the rough. I don’t know how wrong this biased idea is, and it’s admittedly one that’s completely made up of supposition from my own ideas as opposed to something I’d heard from someone who actually had read books out of such intellectual properties... and it still could very well be true... but if it is, I lucked out and picked a diamond in the rough with this first sortie into literary Trek territory.
While it admittedly isn’t particularly amazing writing, (which is what I fully expected) it’s not particularly bad writing in any sense at all. It’s no Kurt Vonnegut, or Philip K. Dick, or Arthur C. Clarke, or *insert your favorite amazingly awesome sci-fi author here*, but like I said, I certainly didn’t expect as much, and in fact, I was steeled myself for the worst publishable writing imaginable. I was pleasantly surprised with what I got.
And as for the story itself... well... I’m a fucking Trekkie, and DS9 is my favorite... and like any DS9-loving Trekkie, I really would have absolutely freakin LOVED to have more DS9 past the series-finale...so it was a treat to revisit the characters I love so much in a new adventure... And the addition of the bits with the Capt. Picard’s Enterprise-E was an absolutely welcomed addition to the book, and I’m kind of excited to see the real role it plays in the story with the second Avatar book, because it doesn’t really do much to link it with what’s going on at the station, obviously just setting up a much more pivotal role for it to play in conjunction with the events on the station.
The book was a welcome exploration of a post-series, post-Dominion War DS9, and while many characters were missing from the cast I know and love (of course for a reason, because that’s how the show left things in the finale) such as the O’Briens, Captain Sisko, Grand Nagus Rom and Leeta, Worf, and of course, Odo, the addition of newly created characters (and in the case of Ro Laren, an imported character, and one that perhaps made the most sense as an addition to the DS9 roster. ) were surprisingly well-fitting. I particularly liked the characters of Shar, the Andorian, and Elias Vaughn from the Enterprise-E.
All in all, I was very very pleasantly surprised with this book. I went into it with the lowest of low expectations... practically non-existent, except perhaps expecting to enjoy, at the very least, revisiting some great characters... hell, I didn’t even particularly expect to finish the book, and in the end I not only finished it AND thoroughly enjoyed it, but I’m actually excited to pick up Avatar Book 2, and see how this story winds up. Hell, if I enjoy the next book as much as I did this one, I might even continue reading more Star Trek novels. Perhaps try my hand at delving into the “relaunch” titles for Voyager and The Next Generation.
Either way, I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The only real reason I gave it a 4 instead of a 5, is that it IS true that when compared to my regular standard for what I consider GOOD writing by my favorite authors, this isn’t really the BEST writing in the world. But I didn’t go into this for the fantastic literary achievement that it was bound to be... I went into it for a fun romp with one of my favorite sci-fi character ensembles of all time... to get the first episode of that 8th season that I always wished were there waiting for me every time I binged watch the epic final 9 episode arc of the 7th season... and that’s exactly what I got! Recommended to any Star Trek Fanatic who’s favorite series was DS9. If you’re like me in tat regard, you won’t regret picking this one up.
So, for one, I went for my favorite series, which is DS9. And for two, I was generally more intrigued by the idea of novels that take place post-series finale, which I came to learn in my lickity-split research learned that such novels in the Trek literary universe are known as “relaunch” titles... which of course led me to the first book of the DS9 relaunch titles... which, you guessed it, is this very book, Deep Space Nine: Avatar Book One... it might as well have been a mathematical formula to plug in and pick the book for me to choose... at first, I though it would be overwhelming trying to pick a book out of so damn many Trek books... but when it came time to actually pick one out to try, it was pretty much inevitable that this would be it... luckily my local half price book had it available when I randomly decided to try out a Trek book one day while browsing the store.
Anyway, about the book itself... I liked it! :D ... much more than I thought I would. It’s probably an unfounded bias, but I always just assume that books based on an established series like this, or say, Star Wars, or some other well-loved pop culture phenomenon of a fandom that have such a well-stocked novel series, would be bound to have pretty shoddy writing in genera... that maybe there were a book or two that were worth reading, but if so, they were most likely few and far between, and inevitably hard to find the diamonds in the rough. I don’t know how wrong this biased idea is, and it’s admittedly one that’s completely made up of supposition from my own ideas as opposed to something I’d heard from someone who actually had read books out of such intellectual properties... and it still could very well be true... but if it is, I lucked out and picked a diamond in the rough with this first sortie into literary Trek territory.
While it admittedly isn’t particularly amazing writing, (which is what I fully expected) it’s not particularly bad writing in any sense at all. It’s no Kurt Vonnegut, or Philip K. Dick, or Arthur C. Clarke, or *insert your favorite amazingly awesome sci-fi author here*, but like I said, I certainly didn’t expect as much, and in fact, I was steeled myself for the worst publishable writing imaginable. I was pleasantly surprised with what I got.
And as for the story itself... well... I’m a fucking Trekkie, and DS9 is my favorite... and like any DS9-loving Trekkie, I really would have absolutely freakin LOVED to have more DS9 past the series-finale...so it was a treat to revisit the characters I love so much in a new adventure... And the addition of the bits with the Capt. Picard’s Enterprise-E was an absolutely welcomed addition to the book, and I’m kind of excited to see the real role it plays in the story with the second Avatar book, because it doesn’t really do much to link it with what’s going on at the station, obviously just setting up a much more pivotal role for it to play in conjunction with the events on the station.
The book was a welcome exploration of a post-series, post-Dominion War DS9, and while many characters were missing from the cast I know and love (of course for a reason, because that’s how the show left things in the finale) such as the O’Briens, Captain Sisko, Grand Nagus Rom and Leeta, Worf, and of course, Odo, the addition of newly created characters (and in the case of Ro Laren, an imported character, and one that perhaps made the most sense as an addition to the DS9 roster. ) were surprisingly well-fitting. I particularly liked the characters of Shar, the Andorian, and Elias Vaughn from the Enterprise-E.
All in all, I was very very pleasantly surprised with this book. I went into it with the lowest of low expectations... practically non-existent, except perhaps expecting to enjoy, at the very least, revisiting some great characters... hell, I didn’t even particularly expect to finish the book, and in the end I not only finished it AND thoroughly enjoyed it, but I’m actually excited to pick up Avatar Book 2, and see how this story winds up. Hell, if I enjoy the next book as much as I did this one, I might even continue reading more Star Trek novels. Perhaps try my hand at delving into the “relaunch” titles for Voyager and The Next Generation.
Either way, I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The only real reason I gave it a 4 instead of a 5, is that it IS true that when compared to my regular standard for what I consider GOOD writing by my favorite authors, this isn’t really the BEST writing in the world. But I didn’t go into this for the fantastic literary achievement that it was bound to be... I went into it for a fun romp with one of my favorite sci-fi character ensembles of all time... to get the first episode of that 8th season that I always wished were there waiting for me every time I binged watch the epic final 9 episode arc of the 7th season... and that’s exactly what I got! Recommended to any Star Trek Fanatic who’s favorite series was DS9. If you’re like me in tat regard, you won’t regret picking this one up.
July 15, 2018
Avatar Book I picks up a few months after the series left off. It was wonderfully nostalgic for me. Perry nailed a few of the characters, especially, Kira, Ro, Quark, Jake and Nog. Not so sure about Bashir and Ezri. Both were among my favorite characters on the show, but not so much in this book. Too much about their relationship. The story itself just starts to get interesting when it comes to an end. But alas, it's only Book I, and the sign that it succeeded is that I immediately jumped into Book 2.
June 10, 2020
Okay so I'm really big on no elitism when it comes to reading! You wanna read Star Wars? Great. Wanna read a graphic novel? All about it, I've read three this year. In the mood for that middle grade book you read four times as a sixth grader and want to revisit the world? Yes yes yes!
So why do I feel the need to justify reading a Star Trek tie-in novel? Is it because I have grace for others when it comes to "less than high literary" content, versus myself? Yes, as I do with all things.
So forgive this exhaustive psychoanalysis into *why* I wanted to read this book.
Deep Space Nine was a really important Trek series, both to me and the television landscape of the 90s. To keep it short, it featured a black captain and his family. It featured the first on-screen same-sex kiss in a Trek series. It featured religion and didn't shy away from all that came with it. It featured conflict among the crew (a big no-no for the charter of what Star Trek was "supposed" to be, i.e., a bright future where humanity had resolved its differences to the point where there would be no interpersonal conflict among itself - either a challenge or feat to overcome for show writers!). And it featured a war that lasted two seasons long, breaking the traditional, episodic format of the time and delving headfirst into long-format television, paving the way for the long-form stuff we see today from Game of Thrones and The Expanse to literally any Netflix original series.
Deep Space Nine, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and (of all things) Frasier would say I are the shows that most influenced me as an adolescent.
DS9 was intriguing to me because it showed a war, and what 14 year old doesn't LOVE big space battles with huge stakes? (Probably most don't care one way or the other, but *I* did!)
It intrigued me because my uncle didn't want to watch it *because* it featured a black captain.
It intrigued me because half the crew aboard the titular space station, Deep Space Nine, were *not* Starfleet officers, but members of the planet that DS9 orbited, Bajor, and deeply religious people.
Bajor had just overthrown their imperialist Cardassian occupiers of more than 50 years and were trying to get their feet back under them. Every nuance of that sentence is explored over the season sevens in the character of Major Kira Nerys, one of the best characters on television, I think, ever. She juggles being a member of the Bajoran militia and first officer on the station with being a devote member of her religion. We see her have to confront the PTSD of being in the resistance against the oppressive Cardassians during the occupation, watch as she overcomes feelings of gut-instinct prejudice against them, and deal with revelations throughout the series.
The Bajor plot of will-they-won't-they join the Federation is never forgotten, even with the complications of the war I mentioned.
So enter the aforementioned commander, Benjamin Sisko, who shows up in time to learn he has been foretold as being the Emissary of prophecies long foretold in the Bajoran people's religion. He's brought his young son with him and a lot of baggage toward Jean-Luc Picard, the lead in the last Trek series, for killing his wife in a fleet action when Picard was a Borg.
In that first episode a lot is introduced - from the shape-shifting Odo that would go onto to play a *huge* role in the arc of the show, particularly in the war; the arrogant but well-meaning Dr. Bashir, anxious to try his hand at frontier medicine in the backwaters of the quadrant (Major Kira doesn't take too well to this phrasing); Jadzia Dax, a science officer with a slug inside her belly that's been passed from host to host and has all the wisdom of six lifetimes to balance her youthful appearance; and Miles O'Brien, blue-collar, world-weary engineer who never lacks for anything to fix on the station; then there's Quark, the money-hungry bartender and his family he runs it with.
In the course of that episode Sisko deals with his hatred toward Picard and everyone finds out Bajor is home to a stable wormhole that leads to the Gamma Quadrant and suddenly the backwater Bajor is the stepping stone to a greater frontier and DS9 is the first and last defense for it! (Cue the 1000-year empire they'd discover and enter into that big war with but that wouldn't happen till later.)
ANYWAY! The show ran for 7 years and while it dealt with most of the major threads and resolved most of the character arcs, there was a surprising amount that went left to the imagination.
Enter this book, finally. It's the start to the unofficial (but as official as it gets) season 8 for DS9. And it does a really good job, okay, that's what I can say. Yeah it's based on a TV show and references a number of things you'd have to be kind of intimately familiar with to understand, but I loved every second of it. There was an energy to the book and the writing. Like the author is saying, we know you've been waiting for this and we're going to give it to you and we're having just as good a time telling it!!
I've been rewatching the show for what I've concluded to be the 4th time. It's a scary time right now in the world and Star Trek, even with DS9's reputation as the "dark one," portrays a bright Utopian future where, for the most part, everyone has really good intentions. I'd always been meaning to read this book and the few "season 8" books that follow it, every since my second rewatch of the series, but this time I figured- what the hell. Who am I trying to impress by not reading this?
And also, space battles.
So why do I feel the need to justify reading a Star Trek tie-in novel? Is it because I have grace for others when it comes to "less than high literary" content, versus myself? Yes, as I do with all things.
So forgive this exhaustive psychoanalysis into *why* I wanted to read this book.
Deep Space Nine was a really important Trek series, both to me and the television landscape of the 90s. To keep it short, it featured a black captain and his family. It featured the first on-screen same-sex kiss in a Trek series. It featured religion and didn't shy away from all that came with it. It featured conflict among the crew (a big no-no for the charter of what Star Trek was "supposed" to be, i.e., a bright future where humanity had resolved its differences to the point where there would be no interpersonal conflict among itself - either a challenge or feat to overcome for show writers!). And it featured a war that lasted two seasons long, breaking the traditional, episodic format of the time and delving headfirst into long-format television, paving the way for the long-form stuff we see today from Game of Thrones and The Expanse to literally any Netflix original series.
Deep Space Nine, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and (of all things) Frasier would say I are the shows that most influenced me as an adolescent.
DS9 was intriguing to me because it showed a war, and what 14 year old doesn't LOVE big space battles with huge stakes? (Probably most don't care one way or the other, but *I* did!)
It intrigued me because my uncle didn't want to watch it *because* it featured a black captain.
It intrigued me because half the crew aboard the titular space station, Deep Space Nine, were *not* Starfleet officers, but members of the planet that DS9 orbited, Bajor, and deeply religious people.
Bajor had just overthrown their imperialist Cardassian occupiers of more than 50 years and were trying to get their feet back under them. Every nuance of that sentence is explored over the season sevens in the character of Major Kira Nerys, one of the best characters on television, I think, ever. She juggles being a member of the Bajoran militia and first officer on the station with being a devote member of her religion. We see her have to confront the PTSD of being in the resistance against the oppressive Cardassians during the occupation, watch as she overcomes feelings of gut-instinct prejudice against them, and deal with revelations throughout the series.
The Bajor plot of will-they-won't-they join the Federation is never forgotten, even with the complications of the war I mentioned.
So enter the aforementioned commander, Benjamin Sisko, who shows up in time to learn he has been foretold as being the Emissary of prophecies long foretold in the Bajoran people's religion. He's brought his young son with him and a lot of baggage toward Jean-Luc Picard, the lead in the last Trek series, for killing his wife in a fleet action when Picard was a Borg.
In that first episode a lot is introduced - from the shape-shifting Odo that would go onto to play a *huge* role in the arc of the show, particularly in the war; the arrogant but well-meaning Dr. Bashir, anxious to try his hand at frontier medicine in the backwaters of the quadrant (Major Kira doesn't take too well to this phrasing); Jadzia Dax, a science officer with a slug inside her belly that's been passed from host to host and has all the wisdom of six lifetimes to balance her youthful appearance; and Miles O'Brien, blue-collar, world-weary engineer who never lacks for anything to fix on the station; then there's Quark, the money-hungry bartender and his family he runs it with.
In the course of that episode Sisko deals with his hatred toward Picard and everyone finds out Bajor is home to a stable wormhole that leads to the Gamma Quadrant and suddenly the backwater Bajor is the stepping stone to a greater frontier and DS9 is the first and last defense for it! (Cue the 1000-year empire they'd discover and enter into that big war with but that wouldn't happen till later.)
ANYWAY! The show ran for 7 years and while it dealt with most of the major threads and resolved most of the character arcs, there was a surprising amount that went left to the imagination.
Enter this book, finally. It's the start to the unofficial (but as official as it gets) season 8 for DS9. And it does a really good job, okay, that's what I can say. Yeah it's based on a TV show and references a number of things you'd have to be kind of intimately familiar with to understand, but I loved every second of it. There was an energy to the book and the writing. Like the author is saying, we know you've been waiting for this and we're going to give it to you and we're having just as good a time telling it!!
I've been rewatching the show for what I've concluded to be the 4th time. It's a scary time right now in the world and Star Trek, even with DS9's reputation as the "dark one," portrays a bright Utopian future where, for the most part, everyone has really good intentions. I'd always been meaning to read this book and the few "season 8" books that follow it, every since my second rewatch of the series, but this time I figured- what the hell. Who am I trying to impress by not reading this?
And also, space battles.
January 17, 2024
Review for Avatar Part I and for Part II will follow. I won't include spoilers, but I will allude to stuff that happens in both Parts I and II.
So, I stumbled across these two books (Avatar Parts I and II) by S.D. Perry after looking for worthwhile Star Trek: DS9 story continuation lists online.
This two-part story is really one book, published into two volumes - presumably to make it easier to digest or to get more on the marketing end? Not a problem, in my estimation, as this first part has a nice cliffhanger ending as well as feeling just right at the point where it ended - you better believe I was thrilled to have part II on hand right away. It really being the same story in two parts is also why this is a review for both books.
The world of Star Trek spin-off books is a vast one. It's difficult to know what will be more enjoyable for its own sake (The Neverending Sacrifice by Una McCormick, for example) and what will be more enjoyable for an avid fan of a given Star Trek series (Pathways, by Jeri Taylor).
This isn't literary fiction. It's fan fiction and spin-off fiction at its character-driven best. S. D. Perry is a character builder more than a world builder, especially because the Star Trek world - and in particular the worlds of DS9 and Star Trek: The Next Generation - are already there for her to delve into. And she's exactly the right sort of author to have in this place. She obviously knows both series and their respective characters well, writing them clearly, engagingly, and accurately. They feel like the same characters the actors brought to the series, which is critical in an ensemble story like this.
The ensemble storytelling means that there won't be as much focus on individual characters as readers might like, but given the 2-part nature of Avatar, Perry was able to get a considerable amount of characterization in to the point that the story didn't feel at all rushed. The pacing is great, with a good amount of insight into character motivation and interaction, and periodic action sequences that are difficult to put down. Exactly what you'd want in your ensemble DS9 fiction.
I first read S.D. Perry in her two short stories in the anthology Star Trek: The Lives of Dax, and while they weren't my favorite stories, you can see the author's deft handling of character when she writes Dax's hosts (Audrid and Joran, two harder ones to take on, if you're a Dax fan) in those, too.
Avatar Parts I and II is basically a 3-4 episode arc in what could be part of an 8th season of DS9. It's 3 months after the Dominion surrender, DS9 is in an understandably long period of repair during which the station is practically nonfunctional. The wormhole is quiet.
We are introduced to main characters - both new ones and series regulars we love - before the inciting event of three Jem Hadar strike ships attacking a vulnerable station, protected by only one assigned Starfleet ship and a down-for-refitting Defiant. Given that it is close enough to the end of the Dominion War for everyone to be jittery about the conflict beginning all over again, tension is high.
At the same time the station is reeling from the Jem Hadar attack, the Enterprise-E, captained by Jean-Luc Picard and his crew, makes an important discovery that draws them toward DS9. Will Riker, Deanna Troi, Beverly Crusher and Picard himself all have viewpoints that feel very authentic to their characters. I loved Next Gen growing up; this story feels a bit like the DS9 series premiere, in which we get both the Enterprise and DS9 in the same story. Like in the episode Emissary Parts I and II, Next Gen takes a backseat because this is a Deep Space Nine story, but it has a worthy showing.
While in Part I the action is surrounded by a lot of slow character building, the action sequences were much more heavily featured in Part II, and any action scene was hard to put down; once we got into the consequences of the Jem Hadar attack, I was hooked. The first part of this story builds us up to a satisfying payoff by the end of Part II.
Just know it's a bit of a slow beginning and prepare yourself for a wild ride once it gets started.
DS9 is my favorite series of all the Trek series, so I didn't have too much trouble after the slow start. Start and finish dates on Goodreads are never an indicator for when I actually read the book (should I update? Oops, forgot to update, damn, this book is good, so I need Part II right now, will update later!). Part I took me about a month to finish, mostly because I didn't get past chapter 3 for a while, reading other things. After chapter 4, there is no such problem, and I finished it in about three days, and another three to read Part II.
When I was younger, when DS9 aired on TV, Jadzia Dax and Captain Sisko were my favorite characters. Ezri Dax, not so much, but she grows on you - and she has a very nice arc in this story. Sisko, of course, is barely a phantom presence in this story, and if you've seen the DS9 finale, you know why.
Kira Nerys became my favorite character after my mid-20s. Avatar handles Kira so well. She and Ro Laren (another great character!), who is the new Tactical/Head ofSecurity Officer taking Odo's place after his return to the Great Link, would obviously butt heads. I'd wanted them to meet so badly while watching Next Gen and DS9 for the few years they coincided on TV when I a teenager (yes. you now know how old I am), and they finally do here. Both of them are treated so well.
Kudos for contrasting and fair viewpoints within the Bajoran religion! (There is an additional character who is an example of religious fanaticism in the story, too, no spoilers, so I won't mention who they are.) Within a religion, you'll find all types, and this book makes the worlds of DS9 and Bajor feel real and respectful, both to the nonbeliever and the believer represented by Ro and Kira respectively. The perils of believing you are right above all other viewpoints and the importance of allowing all viewpoints to be expressed (it doesn't hurt a strong faith to showcase viewpoints that don't back it up) are themes in the story.
Kira, in particular, ends up in such an interesting place. She commands the station as Colonel, balances her work and faith, and braves peril in the finale of Part II like the badass she has always been in the series. Her faith in the Bajoran people proves especially gratifying.
Commander Elias Vaughn, as a character, isn't well-liked in other Goodreads reviews and comments on this story. In contrast, I didn't find him to be so dull, but he wasn't a favorite either. It's probably because he wasn't a regular of either the Next Gen or DS9 shows and we just don't know him as well, so there's bound to be some telling instead of showing going on from his perspective and those who see him through their own. S.D. Perry is very smart to put a lot of Vaughn into Captain Picard's scenes, because she knows (and we, the fans know) Picard and loves him so well; she gets Picard and writes him well. This makes it easier to connect to Vaughn, because as a reader, I was already connected to Picard.
Kassidy Yates features strongly, but like other readers, I would have liked to have more from her point of view, and more of Jake. As I understand it, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Unity, also by S.D. Perry, (continuation of this story line? Yes, please), takes off where this story leaves off, so here's hoping we see more of Kas, and maybe also in Rising Son, which is supposed to feature Jake's continuing story more heavily.
If you've ever wondered what became of Ensign Ro Laren - and especially what would happen when/if she ever saw Picard again - her arc is one of the best featured here, too. Ro Laren made such an impression on Next Gen (and on Picard) in only 3 or 4 episodes; her force of presence is fully felt here.
Additional bonuses: PoV scenes from Quark, Nog, Julian Bashir, a Jem Hadar heavily involved in the plot, even a small bit from Odo - these make the nostalgic fan giddy and satisfy immensely by way of humor and fulfilling continual poignant character development from the series.
Special notice goes to the introduction of Thirishar "Shar" ch'Thane, an Andorian science officer on DS9, who is so much fun to follow. The more we find out about him, the more fascinating he is.
In conclusion, this story really feels like an organic extension of the DS9 series. The characters go very neatly, but surprisingly in some ways, where you would understand them going as they develop beyond Deep Space Nine's finale.
Very much looking forward to reading more Star Trek by S.D. Perry.
So, I stumbled across these two books (Avatar Parts I and II) by S.D. Perry after looking for worthwhile Star Trek: DS9 story continuation lists online.
This two-part story is really one book, published into two volumes - presumably to make it easier to digest or to get more on the marketing end? Not a problem, in my estimation, as this first part has a nice cliffhanger ending as well as feeling just right at the point where it ended - you better believe I was thrilled to have part II on hand right away. It really being the same story in two parts is also why this is a review for both books.
The world of Star Trek spin-off books is a vast one. It's difficult to know what will be more enjoyable for its own sake (The Neverending Sacrifice by Una McCormick, for example) and what will be more enjoyable for an avid fan of a given Star Trek series (Pathways, by Jeri Taylor).
This isn't literary fiction. It's fan fiction and spin-off fiction at its character-driven best. S. D. Perry is a character builder more than a world builder, especially because the Star Trek world - and in particular the worlds of DS9 and Star Trek: The Next Generation - are already there for her to delve into. And she's exactly the right sort of author to have in this place. She obviously knows both series and their respective characters well, writing them clearly, engagingly, and accurately. They feel like the same characters the actors brought to the series, which is critical in an ensemble story like this.
The ensemble storytelling means that there won't be as much focus on individual characters as readers might like, but given the 2-part nature of Avatar, Perry was able to get a considerable amount of characterization in to the point that the story didn't feel at all rushed. The pacing is great, with a good amount of insight into character motivation and interaction, and periodic action sequences that are difficult to put down. Exactly what you'd want in your ensemble DS9 fiction.
I first read S.D. Perry in her two short stories in the anthology Star Trek: The Lives of Dax, and while they weren't my favorite stories, you can see the author's deft handling of character when she writes Dax's hosts (Audrid and Joran, two harder ones to take on, if you're a Dax fan) in those, too.
Avatar Parts I and II is basically a 3-4 episode arc in what could be part of an 8th season of DS9. It's 3 months after the Dominion surrender, DS9 is in an understandably long period of repair during which the station is practically nonfunctional. The wormhole is quiet.
We are introduced to main characters - both new ones and series regulars we love - before the inciting event of three Jem Hadar strike ships attacking a vulnerable station, protected by only one assigned Starfleet ship and a down-for-refitting Defiant. Given that it is close enough to the end of the Dominion War for everyone to be jittery about the conflict beginning all over again, tension is high.
At the same time the station is reeling from the Jem Hadar attack, the Enterprise-E, captained by Jean-Luc Picard and his crew, makes an important discovery that draws them toward DS9. Will Riker, Deanna Troi, Beverly Crusher and Picard himself all have viewpoints that feel very authentic to their characters. I loved Next Gen growing up; this story feels a bit like the DS9 series premiere, in which we get both the Enterprise and DS9 in the same story. Like in the episode Emissary Parts I and II, Next Gen takes a backseat because this is a Deep Space Nine story, but it has a worthy showing.
While in Part I the action is surrounded by a lot of slow character building, the action sequences were much more heavily featured in Part II, and any action scene was hard to put down; once we got into the consequences of the Jem Hadar attack, I was hooked. The first part of this story builds us up to a satisfying payoff by the end of Part II.
Just know it's a bit of a slow beginning and prepare yourself for a wild ride once it gets started.
DS9 is my favorite series of all the Trek series, so I didn't have too much trouble after the slow start. Start and finish dates on Goodreads are never an indicator for when I actually read the book (should I update? Oops, forgot to update, damn, this book is good, so I need Part II right now, will update later!). Part I took me about a month to finish, mostly because I didn't get past chapter 3 for a while, reading other things. After chapter 4, there is no such problem, and I finished it in about three days, and another three to read Part II.
When I was younger, when DS9 aired on TV, Jadzia Dax and Captain Sisko were my favorite characters. Ezri Dax, not so much, but she grows on you - and she has a very nice arc in this story. Sisko, of course, is barely a phantom presence in this story, and if you've seen the DS9 finale, you know why.
Kira Nerys became my favorite character after my mid-20s. Avatar handles Kira so well. She and Ro Laren (another great character!), who is the new Tactical/Head ofSecurity Officer taking Odo's place after his return to the Great Link, would obviously butt heads. I'd wanted them to meet so badly while watching Next Gen and DS9 for the few years they coincided on TV when I a teenager (yes. you now know how old I am), and they finally do here. Both of them are treated so well.
Kudos for contrasting and fair viewpoints within the Bajoran religion! (There is an additional character who is an example of religious fanaticism in the story, too, no spoilers, so I won't mention who they are.) Within a religion, you'll find all types, and this book makes the worlds of DS9 and Bajor feel real and respectful, both to the nonbeliever and the believer represented by Ro and Kira respectively. The perils of believing you are right above all other viewpoints and the importance of allowing all viewpoints to be expressed (it doesn't hurt a strong faith to showcase viewpoints that don't back it up) are themes in the story.
Kira, in particular, ends up in such an interesting place. She commands the station as Colonel, balances her work and faith, and braves peril in the finale of Part II like the badass she has always been in the series. Her faith in the Bajoran people proves especially gratifying.
Commander Elias Vaughn, as a character, isn't well-liked in other Goodreads reviews and comments on this story. In contrast, I didn't find him to be so dull, but he wasn't a favorite either. It's probably because he wasn't a regular of either the Next Gen or DS9 shows and we just don't know him as well, so there's bound to be some telling instead of showing going on from his perspective and those who see him through their own. S.D. Perry is very smart to put a lot of Vaughn into Captain Picard's scenes, because she knows (and we, the fans know) Picard and loves him so well; she gets Picard and writes him well. This makes it easier to connect to Vaughn, because as a reader, I was already connected to Picard.
Kassidy Yates features strongly, but like other readers, I would have liked to have more from her point of view, and more of Jake. As I understand it, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Unity, also by S.D. Perry, (continuation of this story line? Yes, please), takes off where this story leaves off, so here's hoping we see more of Kas, and maybe also in Rising Son, which is supposed to feature Jake's continuing story more heavily.
If you've ever wondered what became of Ensign Ro Laren - and especially what would happen when/if she ever saw Picard again - her arc is one of the best featured here, too. Ro Laren made such an impression on Next Gen (and on Picard) in only 3 or 4 episodes; her force of presence is fully felt here.
Additional bonuses: PoV scenes from Quark, Nog, Julian Bashir, a Jem Hadar heavily involved in the plot, even a small bit from Odo - these make the nostalgic fan giddy and satisfy immensely by way of humor and fulfilling continual poignant character development from the series.
Special notice goes to the introduction of Thirishar "Shar" ch'Thane, an Andorian science officer on DS9, who is so much fun to follow. The more we find out about him, the more fascinating he is.
In conclusion, this story really feels like an organic extension of the DS9 series. The characters go very neatly, but surprisingly in some ways, where you would understand them going as they develop beyond Deep Space Nine's finale.
Very much looking forward to reading more Star Trek by S.D. Perry.
February 6, 2021
In the aftermath of the Dominion War, Deep Space Nine tries to get back to normal. "Normal" now means Colonel Kira is in command of the station with Commander Tiris Jast (a Bolian woman) from Starfleet as her first officer, that Nog is chief engineer and that Lieutenant Ro Laren, formerly of Starfleet and the Maquis and now part of the Bajoran Militia is chief of security. Ezri Dax is settling both into her duties as station counselor and into her relationship with Dr. Bashir, and both Jake Sisko and Kasidy Yates Sisko are learning how to move forward with Captain Sisko gone from this plane of existence and with no idea when or if the Prophets might send him back.
Jake is a volunteer at the B'hala dig on Bajor when he meets Istani Reyla, a prylar in the Bajoran faith. She gives him a parchment to read, which convinces him that he is destined to go through the wormhole to find his father and return with him to Bajor.
Colonel Kira is feeling the effects of too much work and too little sleep when her new security chief informs her there's been a murder on the station- Istani Reyla. On the surface it seemed to be a robbery, but Lieutenant Ro is determined not to take this case at face value. She believes there's more to it than a simple robbery gone wrong and sets out to prove it.
While Nog oversees massive repairs to the station, three Jem'Hadar ships come through the wormhole and attack the station without provocation. The USS Aldebaran and the Defiant defend the station as best they can, but in the end, there is much loss of life and damage to an already damaged station. And, several crew members, including Andorian science officer Thirishar Ch'thane, sense that there may be an intruder on board the station, but aren't sure how to discover who or what it may be
Captain Picard takes the Enterprise to recover a derelict Cardassian ship. While leading an away team, visiting tactical specialist Commander Elias Vaughn discovers a valuable artifact, one that will require them to head for Deep Space Nine so they can deliver it to Bajor.
Colonel Kira finds herself presiding over what may turn into Dominion War part II if they're not careful, and isn't sure how to proceed. I can't wait for Book 2 to see how this all turns out
Jake is a volunteer at the B'hala dig on Bajor when he meets Istani Reyla, a prylar in the Bajoran faith. She gives him a parchment to read, which convinces him that he is destined to go through the wormhole to find his father and return with him to Bajor.
Colonel Kira is feeling the effects of too much work and too little sleep when her new security chief informs her there's been a murder on the station- Istani Reyla. On the surface it seemed to be a robbery, but Lieutenant Ro is determined not to take this case at face value. She believes there's more to it than a simple robbery gone wrong and sets out to prove it.
While Nog oversees massive repairs to the station, three Jem'Hadar ships come through the wormhole and attack the station without provocation. The USS Aldebaran and the Defiant defend the station as best they can, but in the end, there is much loss of life and damage to an already damaged station. And, several crew members, including Andorian science officer Thirishar Ch'thane, sense that there may be an intruder on board the station, but aren't sure how to discover who or what it may be
Captain Picard takes the Enterprise to recover a derelict Cardassian ship. While leading an away team, visiting tactical specialist Commander Elias Vaughn discovers a valuable artifact, one that will require them to head for Deep Space Nine so they can deliver it to Bajor.
Colonel Kira finds herself presiding over what may turn into Dominion War part II if they're not careful, and isn't sure how to proceed. I can't wait for Book 2 to see how this all turns out
August 2, 2010
Having read S.D. Perry's work before I suspected I would not care for this book. To my surprise, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Taking place 3 months after the last episode and set to "relaunch" the book series, this could have been a great book. It isn't. Instead of giving us an update as to where our favorite characters are, the book starts with a dry, incomplete chronology of what happened in the series. The book is structured badly. The Enterprise crew's story should have started sooner and been better intertwined with the station in structure if not topic or timeline.
Much like when the first DS9 novels came out, there's a murder on the station and the head of security has to solve it. Of course, that person in now Ro Laren instead of Odo.
My biggest problem is with the Ro Laren character, but I never liked her. Actually, I liked her in Wrath of the Prophets, but they chose to ignore that book. From an editorial point of view, I don't blame them. It was interesting how the books in the Deep Space Nine series attempted to treat the previous books as canon, but I can see it as an editorial nightmare. Since this is the "relaunch", I would have said nothing outside of the series and the Next Gen movies will be canon. A wise, if sad, decision...that apparently wasn't made as A Stitch in Time is referenced.
A lot better happen quickly in book two of the Avatar series to save the story. Needlessly to say, I'm not confident it will happen.
Taking place 3 months after the last episode and set to "relaunch" the book series, this could have been a great book. It isn't. Instead of giving us an update as to where our favorite characters are, the book starts with a dry, incomplete chronology of what happened in the series. The book is structured badly. The Enterprise crew's story should have started sooner and been better intertwined with the station in structure if not topic or timeline.
Much like when the first DS9 novels came out, there's a murder on the station and the head of security has to solve it. Of course, that person in now Ro Laren instead of Odo.
My biggest problem is with the Ro Laren character, but I never liked her. Actually, I liked her in Wrath of the Prophets, but they chose to ignore that book. From an editorial point of view, I don't blame them. It was interesting how the books in the Deep Space Nine series attempted to treat the previous books as canon, but I can see it as an editorial nightmare. Since this is the "relaunch", I would have said nothing outside of the series and the Next Gen movies will be canon. A wise, if sad, decision...that apparently wasn't made as A Stitch in Time is referenced.
A lot better happen quickly in book two of the Avatar series to save the story. Needlessly to say, I'm not confident it will happen.
May 9, 2020
This was my first foray into the Star Trek relaunch, and the first book of the Star Trek relaunch.
I just finished re-watching Deep Space Nine on Netflix, so I decided to take this off my bookshelf and give it a whirl. Since the finale's original airing, I had always wondered what adventures might have happened if they had a season 8, or a movie. Being a naive kid, I figured Next Gen got a movie, DS9 would, too. Since nothing ever happened, it was nice to read a continuation.
The characters sound pretty close to the originals, and there's some fun action and stuffy Bajoran religion to make it feel authentic. I do miss hearing about my favourite characters, but I understand they left the station at the finale, so maybe they will swing them my way when I read Book 2.
Speaking of Book 2, I think Book 1 feels a little bloated. I would've probably rated it a bit higher if Books 1 and 2 were trimmed down and slapped together.
If you are a DS9 fan, I think you will like reading about the station's new adventures.
I just finished re-watching Deep Space Nine on Netflix, so I decided to take this off my bookshelf and give it a whirl. Since the finale's original airing, I had always wondered what adventures might have happened if they had a season 8, or a movie. Being a naive kid, I figured Next Gen got a movie, DS9 would, too. Since nothing ever happened, it was nice to read a continuation.
The characters sound pretty close to the originals, and there's some fun action and stuffy Bajoran religion to make it feel authentic. I do miss hearing about my favourite characters, but I understand they left the station at the finale, so maybe they will swing them my way when I read Book 2.
Speaking of Book 2, I think Book 1 feels a little bloated. I would've probably rated it a bit higher if Books 1 and 2 were trimmed down and slapped together.
If you are a DS9 fan, I think you will like reading about the station's new adventures.
February 25, 2016
I really enjoyed the start of the Deep Space Nine Relaunch. I always thought that it was a shame that this great show ended after 'only' 7th seasons. So I was really excited about being reunited with Kira, Bashir and the others.
It was a fast and easy read with an interesting story and it was well written. I really like the new characters. Especially Commander Vaughn and Shar. But I have to admit that I am not so sure about Ro Laren as new head of security. I never liked her that much and I don't even know why. I have no problem with rebellious characters. Well, I hope I'll get used to her.
For me it's a bit annoying that you have to read two books to find out how the story ends. I prefer one large book instead of two smaller ones. But now I am looking forward to the second part and to find out about the end.
It was a fast and easy read with an interesting story and it was well written. I really like the new characters. Especially Commander Vaughn and Shar. But I have to admit that I am not so sure about Ro Laren as new head of security. I never liked her that much and I don't even know why. I have no problem with rebellious characters. Well, I hope I'll get used to her.
For me it's a bit annoying that you have to read two books to find out how the story ends. I prefer one large book instead of two smaller ones. But now I am looking forward to the second part and to find out about the end.
April 23, 2021
Such an interesting story.
The characters are so rich. I enjoyed watching Ro interacting with the DS9 crew. There's also Lieutenant Nog doing Lieutenant Nog things, which is excellent. You love to see it.
The characters are so rich. I enjoyed watching Ro interacting with the DS9 crew. There's also Lieutenant Nog doing Lieutenant Nog things, which is excellent. You love to see it.
May 9, 2021
Great novel. Really liked this. More in-depth review to follow.
September 2, 2021
(This is part of my ongoing look at the 850+ novels comprising the "Star Trek Non-Canon Expanded Universe." For more on what exactly non-canon novels are and why they can be tricky to review, see my very first Star Trek write-up, for SD Perry's Section 31: Cloak; or see here for the master list of all Star Trek novels I've now reviewed.)
2021 reads, #73-74. Friends know that the entire reason I started reading Star Trek novels to begin with was because of a desire for more stories about Section 31, the CIA-type "dirty tricks" wing of the Federation that was originally invented by the clever nerds at the franchise's black sheep, the conceptually dark and deeply serialized Deep Space Nine, which originally ran on television from 1992 to 1999; and that after finishing the four-book series on the subject (all of them published in 2001 as a special "summer reading event" for fans), I then learned that an entire other trilogy was later written within the same milieu, including 2014's Disavowed, 2017's Control and 2019's Collateral Damage, all of them by David Mack, which I thought I would take on immediately after. But alas, just a chapter or two into Disavowed I realized that I had absolutely no freaking idea what was going on, the book referencing dozens of events and characters that I didn't remember in any way at all from the original TV show; and that's when I learned that there is actually a very specific series of books within Simon & Schuster's non-canon Star Trek literary universe that might for practical purposes be called "mini-canon," in that these roughly one hundred titles all follow a singular cohesive storyline that persistently exists from one book to the next, one overseen by Simon & Schuster executives so to make sure there are no plotline slip-ups, just that this storyline only "officially" begins on the day after the last day of the last episode of the TV show, and therefore has absolutely nothing to do with the "official canon" that the show itself represents.
See, the issue of what is or isn't "canon" among creative franchises has become a particularly thorny one in our current age, in that we now finally exist in a world where a growing amount of such franchises (think Marvel and DC, Star Trek and Star Wars) have become so huge and unwieldy, with so many story bits introduced over the decades by hundreds upon hundreds of unrelated creators, that the "official" story of what exactly is going on has become too impossibly huge to handle, leading to a growing amount of schisms and paradoxes and outright clashing details within what's supposed to be one giant fictional universe that all these stories live inside. For one notorious example, think about how the Klingons of the original 1960s Star Trek TV show looked like little more than particularly swarthy humans, while the Klingons of the much higher-budgeted '80s motion pictures have the ridged foreheads and dog-like teeth that we now commonly think of when we think of these aliens, despite the fact that these Klingons are actually supposed to be newer than the ones seen in the original series. So what supposedly happened in Star Trek's fictional history to cause such a radical change in their appearance? Well, turns out that several Star Trek novel authors have tackled this question themselves over the years, positing everything from genetic engineering gone wrong to a natural virus on the Klingon homeworld; but since many of these explanations directly contradict each other, and thus would lead to heated debates at next year's Coniconicon, Paramount declared that none of them were the official answer, and that in fact we wouldn't get an official one until all the way in 2005, during the episodes "Affliction" and "Divergence" from the much-maligned 9/11-era Star Trek show Enterprise. (The official answer? Spoiler alert: KHAAAAAAAAAAANNN!!!!!1!!)
These kinds of canon trip-ups can get diabolically convoluted at the mature stage of these kinds of ongoing franchises, and the companies in charge of them have tackled the problem in various ways. DC Comics, for example, famously did a complete reboot of their entire universe in 2011, declaring all former storylines null and void and allowing their creatives to build the company's iconic characters back up again from scratch, even if those stories sometimes clashed with what had gone on before; while Disney, after buying the Star Wars universe from George Lucas in 2012 for 6.3 gajillion dollars, simply killed the franchise's expanded universe altogether, especially apropos here since the studio was planning on enlarging their "official" universe to eventually be the size of most other franchises' non-canon universes. But Star Trek, as far as I can tell, has largely tried to find an uneasy balance between full embrace and full disavowal, greenlighting some series that don't have even a single thing to do with any of the original TV shows or movies (such as the popular Corps of Engineers titles, for example, in which a group of Indiana-Jones-type super-nerds fly around the universe helping with such thorny problems as boobytrapped alien space stations and pulling starships out of plasma clouds), while also churning out an endless series of stories that are all set within the initial runs of the various original television shows, as if we were watching an off-day adventure that happened on the starship on, like, a Tuesday in season 4 when the cameras weren't officially rolling.
This is why nothing is usually ever allowed to happen in non-canon novels that would somehow permanently affect the characters, effectively returning the stories back to television's "you can watch these in any order during syndication, it doesn't matter" roots (especially important in these kinds of situations, where so many new readers are going to be finding their way into these books through completely random titles found out of order at yard sales and used bookstores); but this is also one of the most notoriously negative aspects of non-canon novels' sketchy reputation, that they essentially feel like fan-service time-killers and not "real" literature, pleasant and breezy stories in which nothing's at stake and nothing ever truly happens, the entire universe set back to zero the moment you finish the last page. So it's to their big credit, then (or perhaps the credit of former Simon & Schuster executive Marco Palmieri, who seems to have been in charge of this line while he was there, and is now over at the great science-fiction publisher Tor), that the company ended up greenlighting the concept of these "relaunch" novels, in which the books in this series pretty much pretend that they're the missing eighth, ninth, tenth seasons and beyond of the original TV series, picking up where the show left off but now with the opportunity to kill off characters, destroy major settings, and all the other fun stuff you can do in "official canon" projects.
And destruction is indeed in mind here in this initial relaunch "duology" (which is Simon & Schuster's polite way of saying, "We don't want to release a 600-page Star Trek novel and scare everyone off, so here they are split into two"), by our old friend SD Perry of Section 31: Cloak, the very first Star Trek novel I ever read. Here Perry really relishes her role as the initial creator of a brand-new Star Trek status quo, giving us a story not just with the kind of sweeping scope of a full-length feature, but one that would literally take a six-part special streaming series at Netflix to fully tell in its entirety. It's an interesting set of choices she makes here, including leaving Odo back with his people at the Great Link (or at least for now), and unexpectedly filling his Chief of Security role back at the station with the Next Generation character Ro Laren, the first character to actually introduce the Bajoran race to Star Trek fans, way back in 1991, and who was initially supposed to play the Kira Nerys role when Paramount producers were first setting up the DS9 shooting schedule (an idea that was nixed after actor Michelle Forbes decided she didn't want to get bogged down by a seven-year commitment). Perry also introduces some fascinating new characters, including the franchise's first-ever regular Jem'Hadar, who were the villainous aliens' "muscle" in the original TV show and therefore never existed much beyond 2D sketchiness in that version, so makes them particularly ripe for conceptual expanding in these novels. She also embraces and stretches out some of the very last story developments that initially happened during the final episodes of the show, such as Dax's new host Ezri getting into a romantic relationship with the station's head doctor, Julian Bashir, or our favorite duplicitous Cardassian spy Elim Garak now officially being welcomed back to his homeworld as their new Federation ambassador. Plus she sets up lots of complicated problems that are sure to leave the characters busy for at least the next dozen books, including but not limited to the entire bottom half of the freaking space station essentially being rendered unusable, not to mention the "Avatar" religious prediction of the book's title, in which it's prophesied that the kid Ben Sisko had with Kasidy Yates, before entering the wormhole as the TV show's final climax, is destined to usher in a new golden age of peace and harmony on nearby Bajor, but only after ten thousand Bajorans are willing to commit suicide in order to bring about this new golden age.
So all in all, an extremely satisfying start to this new relaunch series, which as far as I can tell encompasses some 40 to 50 novels when it all is said and done, and complexly ties in to yet other persistent plotlines from other series within the Simon & Schuster Star Trek non-canon novels, such as the franchise-spanning "Typhon Pact" event of 2011-12 and its follow-up "The Fall" series from 2013. (Also not clear is whether novels in this relaunch plotline are still being currently published or not; the Wikipedia page has no more of them listed after 2017, although that could always be because the Wikipedia page hasn't been updated since 2017, while what you would think would be an exhaustive section of the Simon & Schuster website devoted to this subject doesn't even include a full list of all the titles that already exist, much less any information about any of them or what future titles will bring. I've CC:ed author Perry to this review over at her Twitter page, so with any luck maybe she'll jump on here with a comment and get us up to speed on what exactly is going on with these relaunch novels, as well as correct any misinformation I might have here about how they came about. I think we'd all find it fascinating to know, for example, how much of these novel plots are determined by the editor at Simon & Schuster, and how much is made up by each author.) A lot of reading ahead of me over the next year; but given how pleasant I've found these books so far, it's a challenge I look forward to.
2021 reads, #73-74. Friends know that the entire reason I started reading Star Trek novels to begin with was because of a desire for more stories about Section 31, the CIA-type "dirty tricks" wing of the Federation that was originally invented by the clever nerds at the franchise's black sheep, the conceptually dark and deeply serialized Deep Space Nine, which originally ran on television from 1992 to 1999; and that after finishing the four-book series on the subject (all of them published in 2001 as a special "summer reading event" for fans), I then learned that an entire other trilogy was later written within the same milieu, including 2014's Disavowed, 2017's Control and 2019's Collateral Damage, all of them by David Mack, which I thought I would take on immediately after. But alas, just a chapter or two into Disavowed I realized that I had absolutely no freaking idea what was going on, the book referencing dozens of events and characters that I didn't remember in any way at all from the original TV show; and that's when I learned that there is actually a very specific series of books within Simon & Schuster's non-canon Star Trek literary universe that might for practical purposes be called "mini-canon," in that these roughly one hundred titles all follow a singular cohesive storyline that persistently exists from one book to the next, one overseen by Simon & Schuster executives so to make sure there are no plotline slip-ups, just that this storyline only "officially" begins on the day after the last day of the last episode of the TV show, and therefore has absolutely nothing to do with the "official canon" that the show itself represents.
See, the issue of what is or isn't "canon" among creative franchises has become a particularly thorny one in our current age, in that we now finally exist in a world where a growing amount of such franchises (think Marvel and DC, Star Trek and Star Wars) have become so huge and unwieldy, with so many story bits introduced over the decades by hundreds upon hundreds of unrelated creators, that the "official" story of what exactly is going on has become too impossibly huge to handle, leading to a growing amount of schisms and paradoxes and outright clashing details within what's supposed to be one giant fictional universe that all these stories live inside. For one notorious example, think about how the Klingons of the original 1960s Star Trek TV show looked like little more than particularly swarthy humans, while the Klingons of the much higher-budgeted '80s motion pictures have the ridged foreheads and dog-like teeth that we now commonly think of when we think of these aliens, despite the fact that these Klingons are actually supposed to be newer than the ones seen in the original series. So what supposedly happened in Star Trek's fictional history to cause such a radical change in their appearance? Well, turns out that several Star Trek novel authors have tackled this question themselves over the years, positing everything from genetic engineering gone wrong to a natural virus on the Klingon homeworld; but since many of these explanations directly contradict each other, and thus would lead to heated debates at next year's Coniconicon, Paramount declared that none of them were the official answer, and that in fact we wouldn't get an official one until all the way in 2005, during the episodes "Affliction" and "Divergence" from the much-maligned 9/11-era Star Trek show Enterprise. (The official answer? Spoiler alert: KHAAAAAAAAAAANNN!!!!!1!!)
These kinds of canon trip-ups can get diabolically convoluted at the mature stage of these kinds of ongoing franchises, and the companies in charge of them have tackled the problem in various ways. DC Comics, for example, famously did a complete reboot of their entire universe in 2011, declaring all former storylines null and void and allowing their creatives to build the company's iconic characters back up again from scratch, even if those stories sometimes clashed with what had gone on before; while Disney, after buying the Star Wars universe from George Lucas in 2012 for 6.3 gajillion dollars, simply killed the franchise's expanded universe altogether, especially apropos here since the studio was planning on enlarging their "official" universe to eventually be the size of most other franchises' non-canon universes. But Star Trek, as far as I can tell, has largely tried to find an uneasy balance between full embrace and full disavowal, greenlighting some series that don't have even a single thing to do with any of the original TV shows or movies (such as the popular Corps of Engineers titles, for example, in which a group of Indiana-Jones-type super-nerds fly around the universe helping with such thorny problems as boobytrapped alien space stations and pulling starships out of plasma clouds), while also churning out an endless series of stories that are all set within the initial runs of the various original television shows, as if we were watching an off-day adventure that happened on the starship on, like, a Tuesday in season 4 when the cameras weren't officially rolling.
This is why nothing is usually ever allowed to happen in non-canon novels that would somehow permanently affect the characters, effectively returning the stories back to television's "you can watch these in any order during syndication, it doesn't matter" roots (especially important in these kinds of situations, where so many new readers are going to be finding their way into these books through completely random titles found out of order at yard sales and used bookstores); but this is also one of the most notoriously negative aspects of non-canon novels' sketchy reputation, that they essentially feel like fan-service time-killers and not "real" literature, pleasant and breezy stories in which nothing's at stake and nothing ever truly happens, the entire universe set back to zero the moment you finish the last page. So it's to their big credit, then (or perhaps the credit of former Simon & Schuster executive Marco Palmieri, who seems to have been in charge of this line while he was there, and is now over at the great science-fiction publisher Tor), that the company ended up greenlighting the concept of these "relaunch" novels, in which the books in this series pretty much pretend that they're the missing eighth, ninth, tenth seasons and beyond of the original TV series, picking up where the show left off but now with the opportunity to kill off characters, destroy major settings, and all the other fun stuff you can do in "official canon" projects.
And destruction is indeed in mind here in this initial relaunch "duology" (which is Simon & Schuster's polite way of saying, "We don't want to release a 600-page Star Trek novel and scare everyone off, so here they are split into two"), by our old friend SD Perry of Section 31: Cloak, the very first Star Trek novel I ever read. Here Perry really relishes her role as the initial creator of a brand-new Star Trek status quo, giving us a story not just with the kind of sweeping scope of a full-length feature, but one that would literally take a six-part special streaming series at Netflix to fully tell in its entirety. It's an interesting set of choices she makes here, including leaving Odo back with his people at the Great Link (or at least for now), and unexpectedly filling his Chief of Security role back at the station with the Next Generation character Ro Laren, the first character to actually introduce the Bajoran race to Star Trek fans, way back in 1991, and who was initially supposed to play the Kira Nerys role when Paramount producers were first setting up the DS9 shooting schedule (an idea that was nixed after actor Michelle Forbes decided she didn't want to get bogged down by a seven-year commitment). Perry also introduces some fascinating new characters, including the franchise's first-ever regular Jem'Hadar, who were the villainous aliens' "muscle" in the original TV show and therefore never existed much beyond 2D sketchiness in that version, so makes them particularly ripe for conceptual expanding in these novels. She also embraces and stretches out some of the very last story developments that initially happened during the final episodes of the show, such as Dax's new host Ezri getting into a romantic relationship with the station's head doctor, Julian Bashir, or our favorite duplicitous Cardassian spy Elim Garak now officially being welcomed back to his homeworld as their new Federation ambassador. Plus she sets up lots of complicated problems that are sure to leave the characters busy for at least the next dozen books, including but not limited to the entire bottom half of the freaking space station essentially being rendered unusable, not to mention the "Avatar" religious prediction of the book's title, in which it's prophesied that the kid Ben Sisko had with Kasidy Yates, before entering the wormhole as the TV show's final climax, is destined to usher in a new golden age of peace and harmony on nearby Bajor, but only after ten thousand Bajorans are willing to commit suicide in order to bring about this new golden age.
So all in all, an extremely satisfying start to this new relaunch series, which as far as I can tell encompasses some 40 to 50 novels when it all is said and done, and complexly ties in to yet other persistent plotlines from other series within the Simon & Schuster Star Trek non-canon novels, such as the franchise-spanning "Typhon Pact" event of 2011-12 and its follow-up "The Fall" series from 2013. (Also not clear is whether novels in this relaunch plotline are still being currently published or not; the Wikipedia page has no more of them listed after 2017, although that could always be because the Wikipedia page hasn't been updated since 2017, while what you would think would be an exhaustive section of the Simon & Schuster website devoted to this subject doesn't even include a full list of all the titles that already exist, much less any information about any of them or what future titles will bring. I've CC:ed author Perry to this review over at her Twitter page, so with any luck maybe she'll jump on here with a comment and get us up to speed on what exactly is going on with these relaunch novels, as well as correct any misinformation I might have here about how they came about. I think we'd all find it fascinating to know, for example, how much of these novel plots are determined by the editor at Simon & Schuster, and how much is made up by each author.) A lot of reading ahead of me over the next year; but given how pleasant I've found these books so far, it's a challenge I look forward to.
January 20, 2019
I never expected this to be as good as it was. I felt like I was back in a brand new episode of Deep Space Nine. I'm so excited to continue this saga!
July 11, 2020
There are many great things about this book, not least of which is the fact that Captain Sisko is only mentioned by name and does not appear in it. I was never a fan of his and always found Kira to be the better character. I also did not miss Worf, who I have always felt was only added to the series to boost the ratings, but I was surprised that O’Brien and Odo’s absences didn’t bother me either. It’s easier to connect with fewer leads perhaps.
I’ve always thought that Nog should have been a bigger presence throughout and I like the introduction of a Bolian and an Andorian. For all the ideas of a future that is a United Federation of Planets, it has still always been very heavy on the Terran’s. The one thing that does bug me about the introduction of so many new people is that they all have to have their histories explained, even if they die in the next sentence. There’s a lot of names to remember and am I supposed to recognise any of them from the TV series’ or other books? A disclaimer at the bottom of the page would be nice to remind me of the episodes they may have already been in?
I could as always have done without Vic and I would have liked the prophets to have found some way of changing Ezri back in to Jadzia, but even they didn’t spoil it for me.
The book starts with a timeline to show all the key points of the Deep Space Nine series to help you understand the events that follow in this novel, set just 3 months after the final episode and the end of the war with The Dominion. I found this to be very helpful, even though I had just finished watching it all the way through. There was a lot I had already forgotten.
I think personally I would have liked a more defined ending for this one as a book in its own right as it almost seems that they have just split it in to two to make more money from the fans. I actually only read this one because it leads up to another in a different serial about Section 31, but I’m glad I did, because not only did I really like it, but having already started the other book before I realised I needed to read this too, I now know a bit more about how they got there.
An enjoyable read with the beginnings of a good story, I can’t wait for The Enterprise to arrive and to see how things go in the next volume. It will be interesting to see their reaction to finding Ro Laren on the station, who is another great addition to the crew.
I’ve always thought that Nog should have been a bigger presence throughout and I like the introduction of a Bolian and an Andorian. For all the ideas of a future that is a United Federation of Planets, it has still always been very heavy on the Terran’s. The one thing that does bug me about the introduction of so many new people is that they all have to have their histories explained, even if they die in the next sentence. There’s a lot of names to remember and am I supposed to recognise any of them from the TV series’ or other books? A disclaimer at the bottom of the page would be nice to remind me of the episodes they may have already been in?
I could as always have done without Vic and I would have liked the prophets to have found some way of changing Ezri back in to Jadzia, but even they didn’t spoil it for me.
The book starts with a timeline to show all the key points of the Deep Space Nine series to help you understand the events that follow in this novel, set just 3 months after the final episode and the end of the war with The Dominion. I found this to be very helpful, even though I had just finished watching it all the way through. There was a lot I had already forgotten.
I think personally I would have liked a more defined ending for this one as a book in its own right as it almost seems that they have just split it in to two to make more money from the fans. I actually only read this one because it leads up to another in a different serial about Section 31, but I’m glad I did, because not only did I really like it, but having already started the other book before I realised I needed to read this too, I now know a bit more about how they got there.
An enjoyable read with the beginnings of a good story, I can’t wait for The Enterprise to arrive and to see how things go in the next volume. It will be interesting to see their reaction to finding Ro Laren on the station, who is another great addition to the crew.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 4, 2023
Summary: Jake Sisko is in B'hala excavating Bajoran artifacts when Prylar Reyla gives him an ancient document to translate. It says the first son will enter the Temple and return with the Emissary, then the infant Avatar will be born.
Colonel Kira is awakened from a vision of the Emissary by Lt. Ro Laren, the station's new security chief. She tells Nerys that Prylar Reyla was stabbed to death in front of Quarks; the unknown murderer then tripped over a railing and fell to his death. Kira says Reyla looked after her when her mom left. Ro feels like an outsider on DS9; she and Kira famously do not get on.
The station is understaffed and in charge of relief efforts to Cardassia, which suffered huge losses during the Dominion War. Kassidy's house on Bajor will be ready in 2 weeks. Bashir feels like there's a divide between him and Ezri; Kas says it's just the sheen of new love wearing off.
Nog is the new engineering chief, since O'brien left.
The USS Aldebaran is defending DS9 while it undergoes massive system overhauls/repairs. It has been 3 months since the wormhole has opened--but 3 Jem'Hadar ships come through in attack formation. They quickly destroy it with some sort of quantum warhead. Kira tells Commander Jast to get the Defiant as the Jem'Hadar head toward the station.
The Defiant manages to take out one of the Jem'Hadar ships, but the lead one scores a direct hit; Commander Jast is killed. Ezri takes command as the ships continue to attack DS9's core. They take out the point ship, but the Defiant goes dark and the last ship resumes attacking the station.
The station takes a hard hit and Ro falls down the stairs at Quark's. After some internal debate, Quark carries her to safety.
The remaining ship attacks until DS9's shields are completely down--but then another Jem'Hadar ship comes through the wormhole and starts attacking the first. The second ship is already damaged and doesn't stand a chance, but it does give Nog enough time to launch a guided torpedo at the attacker, destroying it.
A meeting with 7 members of the Vedek assembly is held covertly after the disappearance of Kai Winn, and Yevir Linjarin decrees that he will go to DS9 to speak with Kira. He will find the heresy and burn it.
The Enterprise-E is scouring the Badlands chasing down a Breen warp signature when they come across a Cardassian freighter adrift in an eddy. Elias Vaughn, who is assisting in the search, confides in Picard that he's done fighting wars and is thinking about retiring. He takes an away team to the freighter, feeling his destiny is intertwined with it.
On the freighter, everyone is debilitated by their past memories (even Data), to the point where they miss their check in window with the Enterprise. Picard sends an security team to retrieve them before the ship is sucked into a plasma storm. Vaughn finds an Orb of Bajor, and when he closes the box, the food of memories ceases. He beams it back with the rest of the team to the Enterprise.
They decide to take the Orb of Memory back to the Bajorans, and so head for DS9. Vaughn tells Picard the experience was invigorating, and he wants to explore again, his youthful passions reignited.
Admiral Ross tells Kira that Starfleet is preparing a taskforce of Federation, Romulan, and Klingon ships to go through the wormhole to assess the Dominion's capabilities.
While making love, Dax moans Julian's name, and he senses that it came from Jadzia. Bashir is greatly offended that Ezri switched personas on him, they have a fight, and he leaves.
Nog and Shar both think they hear someone strange but dismiss it. Kira feels like she's being watched.
Kira confronts Ro about her attitude, who breaks into shouting. Kira asks Ro why she came to DS9, and she can't answer. She decides to stay aboard to figure out who murdered the prylar, to prove to Kira she's not incompetent.
Nog and the Andorian Ensign Shar join Bashir at Quark's. Shar senses that someone is watching them again and suddenly throws a pitcher, which shatters abs reveals a Jem'Hadar soldier named Kitana'klan. It says it was sent here by Odo on a mission of peace and needs to speak with Kira. Kitana'klan tells Kira that his ship was the one that defended the station against the rogue Jem'Hadar, and that Odo sent him there to observe how other races and cultures work and live together. He offers his obedience and life; Kira is incredulous.
Ro finds an ancient book that the prylar hid behind a maintenance panel. She asks Shar to translate it for her.
Jake arrives at the station and tells Kassidy he's leaving B'hala to go visit his grandpa on Earth, but leaves out that he's going into the wormhole to meet his dad. He is shocked to find out Reyla was murdered.
Shar brings Ro the translations, which appear to be ancient religious prophecies. She's skipping Jake's party to review the translation.
En route to DS9, Admiral Vaughn starts researching the station and realizes Captain Sisko was with him when he had his experience with the Orb.
Vedek Yevir Linjarin comes to DS9 to give a sermon, but his true intent is to find the missing book. Kira invites him to Jake's party afterwards.
Jake tells Quark he needs to buy a shuttle; Quark dismisses him, but Jake proves he has plenty of latinum he inherited from his dad. Jake meets up with Nog, and tells him he's going to sneak out later that night, but not the real reason why.
Ro finds that the book is one of prophecies, and it's shocked to see that they were all true; it even includes the Cardassian Occupation. She takes the book to Kira. The final prophecy says that 10,000 people must die before the Emissary's second child is born, or the Avatar will not be born into a world of peace.
Jake boards his ship, the Venture, and heads for the wormhole.
Epilogue: Admiral Ross, still not having heard from the Enterprise, deploys the fleet.
Colonel Kira is awakened from a vision of the Emissary by Lt. Ro Laren, the station's new security chief. She tells Nerys that Prylar Reyla was stabbed to death in front of Quarks; the unknown murderer then tripped over a railing and fell to his death. Kira says Reyla looked after her when her mom left. Ro feels like an outsider on DS9; she and Kira famously do not get on.
The station is understaffed and in charge of relief efforts to Cardassia, which suffered huge losses during the Dominion War. Kassidy's house on Bajor will be ready in 2 weeks. Bashir feels like there's a divide between him and Ezri; Kas says it's just the sheen of new love wearing off.
Nog is the new engineering chief, since O'brien left.
The USS Aldebaran is defending DS9 while it undergoes massive system overhauls/repairs. It has been 3 months since the wormhole has opened--but 3 Jem'Hadar ships come through in attack formation. They quickly destroy it with some sort of quantum warhead. Kira tells Commander Jast to get the Defiant as the Jem'Hadar head toward the station.
The Defiant manages to take out one of the Jem'Hadar ships, but the lead one scores a direct hit; Commander Jast is killed. Ezri takes command as the ships continue to attack DS9's core. They take out the point ship, but the Defiant goes dark and the last ship resumes attacking the station.
The station takes a hard hit and Ro falls down the stairs at Quark's. After some internal debate, Quark carries her to safety.
The remaining ship attacks until DS9's shields are completely down--but then another Jem'Hadar ship comes through the wormhole and starts attacking the first. The second ship is already damaged and doesn't stand a chance, but it does give Nog enough time to launch a guided torpedo at the attacker, destroying it.
A meeting with 7 members of the Vedek assembly is held covertly after the disappearance of Kai Winn, and Yevir Linjarin decrees that he will go to DS9 to speak with Kira. He will find the heresy and burn it.
The Enterprise-E is scouring the Badlands chasing down a Breen warp signature when they come across a Cardassian freighter adrift in an eddy. Elias Vaughn, who is assisting in the search, confides in Picard that he's done fighting wars and is thinking about retiring. He takes an away team to the freighter, feeling his destiny is intertwined with it.
On the freighter, everyone is debilitated by their past memories (even Data), to the point where they miss their check in window with the Enterprise. Picard sends an security team to retrieve them before the ship is sucked into a plasma storm. Vaughn finds an Orb of Bajor, and when he closes the box, the food of memories ceases. He beams it back with the rest of the team to the Enterprise.
They decide to take the Orb of Memory back to the Bajorans, and so head for DS9. Vaughn tells Picard the experience was invigorating, and he wants to explore again, his youthful passions reignited.
Admiral Ross tells Kira that Starfleet is preparing a taskforce of Federation, Romulan, and Klingon ships to go through the wormhole to assess the Dominion's capabilities.
While making love, Dax moans Julian's name, and he senses that it came from Jadzia. Bashir is greatly offended that Ezri switched personas on him, they have a fight, and he leaves.
Nog and Shar both think they hear someone strange but dismiss it. Kira feels like she's being watched.
Kira confronts Ro about her attitude, who breaks into shouting. Kira asks Ro why she came to DS9, and she can't answer. She decides to stay aboard to figure out who murdered the prylar, to prove to Kira she's not incompetent.
Nog and the Andorian Ensign Shar join Bashir at Quark's. Shar senses that someone is watching them again and suddenly throws a pitcher, which shatters abs reveals a Jem'Hadar soldier named Kitana'klan. It says it was sent here by Odo on a mission of peace and needs to speak with Kira. Kitana'klan tells Kira that his ship was the one that defended the station against the rogue Jem'Hadar, and that Odo sent him there to observe how other races and cultures work and live together. He offers his obedience and life; Kira is incredulous.
Ro finds an ancient book that the prylar hid behind a maintenance panel. She asks Shar to translate it for her.
Jake arrives at the station and tells Kassidy he's leaving B'hala to go visit his grandpa on Earth, but leaves out that he's going into the wormhole to meet his dad. He is shocked to find out Reyla was murdered.
Shar brings Ro the translations, which appear to be ancient religious prophecies. She's skipping Jake's party to review the translation.
En route to DS9, Admiral Vaughn starts researching the station and realizes Captain Sisko was with him when he had his experience with the Orb.
Vedek Yevir Linjarin comes to DS9 to give a sermon, but his true intent is to find the missing book. Kira invites him to Jake's party afterwards.
Jake tells Quark he needs to buy a shuttle; Quark dismisses him, but Jake proves he has plenty of latinum he inherited from his dad. Jake meets up with Nog, and tells him he's going to sneak out later that night, but not the real reason why.
Ro finds that the book is one of prophecies, and it's shocked to see that they were all true; it even includes the Cardassian Occupation. She takes the book to Kira. The final prophecy says that 10,000 people must die before the Emissary's second child is born, or the Avatar will not be born into a world of peace.
Jake boards his ship, the Venture, and heads for the wormhole.
Epilogue: Admiral Ross, still not having heard from the Enterprise, deploys the fleet.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2010
A perfectly acceptable geeky Star Trek book. When DS9 ended it was pretty obvious that there was no chance in hell they were ever going to get a film franchise, so the cast disbanded pretty much entirely. I was curious to see how a post-series novel would feel with no Sisko, Odo, Worf, O'Brien, Garak, etc. The answer... Bring in the Enterprise and Picard's whole crew. Doesn't make for the most inspired book ever, but it works. And honestly, if you're looking for inspired literature in a Star Trek book you're looking in the wrong place. Just a fun little space-opera book full of worlds and characters that I know and love.
March 24, 2018
Deep Space 9 was an amazing show and when I discovered there was a series of canon books that continued the storyline, I leaped at the chance to read them. I hope this first book isn't a sign of things to come because God was it boring. I think I have to put most of the blame on the author who just TELLS TELLS TELLS all day long. I've never skimmed so many sections of a book before and just wanted it to be over.
I'll keep going with the series for now but not a good start.
I'll keep going with the series for now but not a good start.
September 5, 2015
An excellent early book in the ds9 relaunch. Must read part 2 asap!
September 8, 2015
no idea why these weren't just one book, they're not very long. they are, however, entertaining and good.
June 12, 2008
Couldn't have asked for a better relaunch to DS9.
November 26, 2020
Despite being almost 20 years old, while reading Avatar book one I kept checking the copywrite date; because it felt like it was written in the past five years. Make of that what you will. The continuation of DS9 should've been a huge multimedia project, with novels and comics and other merchandise, but there may have been some real world events that overshadowed its release. Having said that, the author selected to begin this much anticipated relaunch could've been stronger IMHO.
I don't have much experience reading SD Perry books, though she seems to be a genuine Trek fan. Unfortunately in Avatar she has a distinct pattern that goes something like: character shares a feeling about something (usually through internal monolog), character describes feeling in unnecessarily high detail, character summarizes same feeling but not actually effecting the situation. Repeat ad nauseum. Normally getting into the heads of characters is a good thing, but slogging through redundant emotions in every chapter... almost every page, slows pacing down to a crawl. It also makes those we know feel out of character, particularly Ro Laren. Everyone is so conflicted and whiney that it made me wonder what this arc would read like through any of the other popular ST authors.
I rounded the review up to three stars because there really is an interesting plot here. The potential return of Sisko, a murder mystery, new threat from the gamma quadrant, discovery of a new orb... Together these make for a compelling DS9 continuation; it's just the execution that didn't sit well with me. Why is literally everything down for repairs at the same time, why is the flagship doing such a meager assignment (or in the book at all really), why is the most important station suddenly forgotten about...? Between the rare occasions that focused on the main plots, we're provided with exposition from new and old characters, none of whom captured a significant level of intrigue on my part, aside from maybe Elias Vaughn.
Having not yet read part 2, and at this point I'm not sure I will, I'm guessing Avatar didn't need to be split into two books, since this one could've been cut down by fifty pages at least and is already close to novella territory. Perhaps two parts was a decision outside of Perry's control, so she had to pad things up a bit... something entirely possible. No matter the case, I'm not a fan of beginning a series where all of the scenes that focus of the main plot can fit into one chapter; the same goes for character development too.
I don't have much experience reading SD Perry books, though she seems to be a genuine Trek fan. Unfortunately in Avatar she has a distinct pattern that goes something like: character shares a feeling about something (usually through internal monolog), character describes feeling in unnecessarily high detail, character summarizes same feeling but not actually effecting the situation. Repeat ad nauseum. Normally getting into the heads of characters is a good thing, but slogging through redundant emotions in every chapter... almost every page, slows pacing down to a crawl. It also makes those we know feel out of character, particularly Ro Laren. Everyone is so conflicted and whiney that it made me wonder what this arc would read like through any of the other popular ST authors.
I rounded the review up to three stars because there really is an interesting plot here. The potential return of Sisko, a murder mystery, new threat from the gamma quadrant, discovery of a new orb... Together these make for a compelling DS9 continuation; it's just the execution that didn't sit well with me. Why is literally everything down for repairs at the same time, why is the flagship doing such a meager assignment (or in the book at all really), why is the most important station suddenly forgotten about...? Between the rare occasions that focused on the main plots, we're provided with exposition from new and old characters, none of whom captured a significant level of intrigue on my part, aside from maybe Elias Vaughn.
Having not yet read part 2, and at this point I'm not sure I will, I'm guessing Avatar didn't need to be split into two books, since this one could've been cut down by fifty pages at least and is already close to novella territory. Perhaps two parts was a decision outside of Perry's control, so she had to pad things up a bit... something entirely possible. No matter the case, I'm not a fan of beginning a series where all of the scenes that focus of the main plot can fit into one chapter; the same goes for character development too.
June 3, 2023
An okay entry into the Deep Space Nine relaunch series but rather a slow burn to be honest.
Some of the new characters are interesting such as the new commander and science officer though the commander is really an example of 'tell not show' as he apparently has a long extensive history with Starfleet but as the character was not introduced earlier the stories have to be told through references and flashbacks.
The Jem'hadar 'observer' was interesting but knowing how that character's story would play out, I think I would not have wasted too much time on him.
Maybe also not much could be told with the character.
More Bajoran religion and history. I know Bajor plays an important role in the DSN story but I sometimes felt that the world and its people had to be made into one of the most important worlds of the Star Trek verse when it in reality is just one of hundreds of worlds.
Also dislike how the Wormhole Aliens become more and more genuinely divine beings when they are suppose to be just advanced but weird aliens from different part of the universe.
But this is not a problem with just the DSN books.
Sorry for the rambling. I never cared much for the Bajoran religion on Deep Space Nine and what a prominent role it has come to play.
While the book and its sequel helped set up the DSN Relaunch series, I don't think the two really 'sold it', and that if people wanted to feel that their interest was rewarded that they would have to continue with a few more entries.
Some of the new characters are interesting such as the new commander and science officer though the commander is really an example of 'tell not show' as he apparently has a long extensive history with Starfleet but as the character was not introduced earlier the stories have to be told through references and flashbacks.
The Jem'hadar 'observer' was interesting but knowing how that character's story would play out, I think I would not have wasted too much time on him.
Maybe also not much could be told with the character.
More Bajoran religion and history. I know Bajor plays an important role in the DSN story but I sometimes felt that the world and its people had to be made into one of the most important worlds of the Star Trek verse when it in reality is just one of hundreds of worlds.
Also dislike how the Wormhole Aliens become more and more genuinely divine beings when they are suppose to be just advanced but weird aliens from different part of the universe.
But this is not a problem with just the DSN books.
Sorry for the rambling. I never cared much for the Bajoran religion on Deep Space Nine and what a prominent role it has come to play.
While the book and its sequel helped set up the DSN Relaunch series, I don't think the two really 'sold it', and that if people wanted to feel that their interest was rewarded that they would have to continue with a few more entries.
June 29, 2024
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Avatar: Book One by S.D. Perry
Adventurous, challenging, emotional, hopeful, inspiring, sad, and tense.
Fast-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75 Stars
Okay, the beginning of this portion of the Trek-Lit Reading Flowchart, is still Post-Nemesis, but a few years prior to where I left off...with the other books (sadly). It won't be a problem, really...but it was a slight surprise.
I love Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and it is good to be back with this portion of the galaxy/universe, but with slightly different characters. Kyra is running DS9 at the moment. Sisko is with the Prophets (in the Wormhole), Ezri Dax is still on DS9 (biggest surpise), Nog is working in Miles' position. Jake arrived back for a moment, but then left...and Ro Laren is the Security Officer on DS9.
The battle sequences were interesting, especially for the readiness (or lack there of) of DS9.
Also, we have some Enterprise moments with Picard, Riker (another big surprise) and Troi.
Overall, I felt a little awkward. Having to get my feet underneath me. It is probably ALL me, on why I didn't connect with this story, better. I'm hoping that the conclusion with the second book, will put me on the right path forward.
We shall see.
Adventurous, challenging, emotional, hopeful, inspiring, sad, and tense.
Fast-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75 Stars
Okay, the beginning of this portion of the Trek-Lit Reading Flowchart, is still Post-Nemesis, but a few years prior to where I left off...with the other books (sadly). It won't be a problem, really...but it was a slight surprise.
I love Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and it is good to be back with this portion of the galaxy/universe, but with slightly different characters. Kyra is running DS9 at the moment. Sisko is with the Prophets (in the Wormhole), Ezri Dax is still on DS9 (biggest surpise), Nog is working in Miles' position. Jake arrived back for a moment, but then left...and Ro Laren is the Security Officer on DS9.
The battle sequences were interesting, especially for the readiness (or lack there of) of DS9.
Also, we have some Enterprise moments with Picard, Riker (another big surprise) and Troi.
Overall, I felt a little awkward. Having to get my feet underneath me. It is probably ALL me, on why I didn't connect with this story, better. I'm hoping that the conclusion with the second book, will put me on the right path forward.
We shall see.
March 6, 2021
Wow, what a start to the (real) beginning of the DS9 Relaunch!
Here, we pick up after end of Season 7 of DS9. Sisko is with the Prophets. O’Brien is on Earth. Worf is away doing ambassadorial duties. Kira is in charge of DS9. Ezri is trying to figure out who she is. Quark is still bartending. And Kassidy is very pregnant.
In addition to our main cast of characters, we meet a few new ones, including the very enigmatic and interest Elias Vaughn, who despite his incredibly high security clearance and age, is somehow still only a Commander.
In this plot, we see what comes after Season 7 of DS9. Jake Sisko desperately wants his father back, and when he finds an opportunity though an ancient prophecy, he takes it. This all happens in tandem with another Dominion attack and the potential of Odo’s return to Federation space.
It’s all really exciting stuff, and it’s written well. I can’t wait to dive into Book Two.
Here, we pick up after end of Season 7 of DS9. Sisko is with the Prophets. O’Brien is on Earth. Worf is away doing ambassadorial duties. Kira is in charge of DS9. Ezri is trying to figure out who she is. Quark is still bartending. And Kassidy is very pregnant.
In addition to our main cast of characters, we meet a few new ones, including the very enigmatic and interest Elias Vaughn, who despite his incredibly high security clearance and age, is somehow still only a Commander.
In this plot, we see what comes after Season 7 of DS9. Jake Sisko desperately wants his father back, and when he finds an opportunity though an ancient prophecy, he takes it. This all happens in tandem with another Dominion attack and the potential of Odo’s return to Federation space.
It’s all really exciting stuff, and it’s written well. I can’t wait to dive into Book Two.
May 6, 2021
"Deep Space Nine" ist bis heute meiner Lieblingsserie im Star Trek-Universum. Bislang kam ich nicht dazu, mich einmal mit den in Deutschland beim Verlag Cross Cult Romanfortführungen der nach Staffel 7 beendeten Serie zu befassen, aber nun nehme ich das Abenteuer mal in Angriff. Und Band 1 "Offenbarung: Buch 1" (in der Übersetzung vom lieben Kollegen Christian Humberg) hat mir gleich sehr gut gefallen. Autorin S. D. Perry beweist ein sehr glückliches Händchen beim Beschreiben der liebgewonnenen Figuren und findet gute Ansatzpunkte, um die Story weiterzudrehen. Auch die "Enterprise-E" unter Captian Picard ist mit dabei. Dass der erste Teil des Doppelbandes die Handlung nicht zum Abschluss bringt, ist klar. Besonders spannend sind auch die neuen Figuren, die eingeführt werden - und welche Charaktere man in diesem Zweiteiler ausgespart hat. Insgesamt sehr gelungen - und Teil 2 habe ich schon begonnen!
April 4, 2021
A great Star Trek book. Perry does a great job setting the scene and picking up where the series left off. She clearly understands the characters well and fills out their internal dialogue well. The battle scenes are engaging and meticulously to align with established canon, such as the DS9 Technical Manual. The story manages to set a refreshing tone and perfectly transitions from closing off threads from the Season 7 finale to establishing a rich new setting for adventure. Each of the main characters is at a specific life stage, and we see them contemplating recent events and their own lives in a way that is rarely conveyed in the TV series.
Clearly this was a larger book into two, but I'm starting to get the sense the relaunch books are episodic, so this makes sense. This was my second DS9 relaunch book after A Stitch In Time (also excellent), and I'll be reading more.
Clearly this was a larger book into two, but I'm starting to get the sense the relaunch books are episodic, so this makes sense. This was my second DS9 relaunch book after A Stitch In Time (also excellent), and I'll be reading more.
January 10, 2024
I've read a lot of Star Trek relaunch novels at this point, so it's kinda strange that I'm only now starting with essentially the first one of the lot. DS9 was my favorite Trek series of all time, and the author clearly knows it well. That said, I don't see why this had to be a two-parter. Anybody who is reading these books don't need extensive amounts of recap from the show to understand what you're referencing, and average readers who aren't fans won't get the references to old events regardless.
Anyways, she for sure does justice to all of the characters, and brings back Ro, which was an inspired choice. But the pacing could have used some quickening and I truly think a single book would have sufficed. That said, kinda fun that it's a "two-parter," I can see the justification for that in the sense that Emmisary was.
Anyways, she for sure does justice to all of the characters, and brings back Ro, which was an inspired choice. But the pacing could have used some quickening and I truly think a single book would have sufficed. That said, kinda fun that it's a "two-parter," I can see the justification for that in the sense that Emmisary was.
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