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Title: Twilight (Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Mission Gamma, Book 1) by David R. George III ISBN: 0-7434-4560-0 Publisher: Star Trek Pub. Date: 01 September, 2002 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.38 (26 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Deep Space Nine gets back to exploring
Comment: One of the draws to the television show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was the fact that the wormhole passage that was right next to the station enabled exploration to a completely uncharted area of space, the Gamma Quadrant. While the show had its fair share of episodes exploring this area, they spent more time with Bajor, and, subsequently, with the Dominion War. In fact, in later seasons, the wormhole was closed and the Gamma Quadrant was unreachable.
Now that the series is over and the books have taken over the grand Deep Space Nine story, it's time to open up the exploration again. Twilight, by David R. George III, is the beginning of a four-part story which details this. It's a huge novel with a very large story to tell, one which it tells effectively for the most part. However, it's a bit bloated with so much information, and George's occasionally heavy prose and repetition make this problem worse. Still, it's a great read for any DS9 fan.
I have never seen a 500 page Trek novel before, but George has a lot of ground to cover. I'm glad to say that he doesn't waste much of it, though the book could have been trimmed a bit here and there. George's style is very workmanlike and enjoyable. One thing it is not is boring. However, he does repeat himself at times, seemingly to emphasize points that he thinks the reader should definitely remember. Kira's attainder against practicing her religion gets mentioned many times. Other times, repetition is not the problem, but heavy-handed prose is. George allows his characters to get very introspective, but sometimes he goes a bit too far, with pages going by with nothing but a character thinking. I really loved the book, but I found it dragging at times because of this.
The main place where this happens is on the planet where the pulse originated. George does a wonderful job examining his characters, especially Vaughn. Vaughn has a lot of soul-searching to do. His relationship with his daughter is non-existent, as she blames him for her mother's death and for abandoning her afterward in his own guilt. He has always dreamed of exploring, but most of his career has been spent fighting various menaces. He has a lot of regrets in his past, and he ends up reliving a lot of them on the planet. While this was fascinating stuff, it began to get tedious as the pages roll by. Sometimes, I just wanted Vaughn to shut up and get on with it. There are some passages for Dax like this as well, and each character has just a bit too much introspection for my taste. The book just feels a bit bloated because of this.
George captures the other characters wonderfully, getting to the heart of the various conflicts between them. The ongoing tension between ch'Thane and his family is beautifully drawn, finally extracting a promise that he never wanted to make to his fellow Andorians. Ro and Quark tap dance around their feelings, making a wonderful contrast with Quark's relationship with Odo in the series. Kira, and Kassidy are both equally well-done. Taran'atar, the Jem'Hadar warrior who has been assigned by Odo to observe the Alpha Quadrant and learn something, has some wonderful scenes as he moves out of the Operations area and tries to observe the rest of the station. The only characters who are given short shrift are Bashir and Nog (who does get a wonderful scene with Taran'atar), but that's to be expected. George has already tried to pack the book full. However, if the book had to be this big, it would have been nice to chop some of the bloat and give it to these two.
Twilight is a wonderful beginning to the "Mission: Gamma" series, and a wonderful addition to the Deep Space Nine mythos. I'm loving the continuation of the television series, and there hasn't been a bad book yet. I'm hoping the other three books in the series are just as good, if not better.
David Roy
Rating: 5
Summary: It Doesn't Get Any Better
Comment: David R George III is by far the best Star Trek writer out there today. He first book written with Armin Shimmerman just blew me away and this book is even better. Twilight continues the successful relaunch of the DS9 series. The authors attention to detail and descriptive writing style enriches the story. His characterizations are wonderfully drawn. This book is a character driven story rather than plot driven and thats fine with me because its the characters who make the story. We learn a good bit more about Vaughn and why he and his daughter are not on speaking terms and this thread plays out in a most successful manner. Then there is Ezri and Bashiers continuing relationship. Ro Laren and Quark develop an amazing relationship. Kira Has never been a favorite character of mine but the relaunch has changed that. Kira has to deal with a character who is an admiral who first appeared in one episode of TOS. As mentioned before this is a character driven story that is rich in discription and character development that moves at a fast pace and doesnt disappoint. I highly recommend this book to any Star Trek fan. It is one of my top favorites off all the Star Trek novels. I am looking forward to the authors next Star Trek novel.
Rating: 3
Summary: The book was long on words, short on story.
Comment: After reading the book, the first thing I will say is that it's something worth reading at least once. All the primary characters, with the exception of Quark and Kira, are moved down into secondary roles in favor of the newer characters. There are some moments in the book that make the whole thing worth reading, but for the most part it lacks the depth in plotline, character development, and morality issues that marked the DS9 TV series.
I noticed some conversations in the book that had things that Quark, Dax and Kira would never say but the author has chosen to put them in regardless. Prynn, Ro, and the Jem Hadar seem to be the only real new characters of interest. Other than that I think that the story had way too many characters and substories to handle in one book.
It's a good book to read lightly once, but lacks the multi-dimensional depth that's characteristic of DS9.
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Title: Lesser Evil (Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Mission Gamma, Book 4) by Robert Simpson ISBN: 0743410246 Publisher: Star Trek Pub. Date: 01 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Rising Son (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) by S.D. Perry ISBN: 0743448383 Publisher: Star Trek Pub. Date: 31 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Avatar Book One of Two (Star Trek Deep Space Nine) by S. D. Perry ISBN: 074340050X Publisher: Star Trek Pub. Date: 01 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Avatar Book Two of Two (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) by S.D. Perry ISBN: 0743400518 Publisher: Star Trek Pub. Date: 01 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Demons of Air and Darkness (Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Gateways, Book 4) by Keith R.A. DeCandido ISBN: 0743418522 Publisher: Star Trek Pub. Date: 28 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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