In a word: Superb.
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This book, I felt, has set a new standard for Star Trek novels. With the end of the series, the author was no longer bound to introduce a myriad of supporting characters, so no long-term changes were made to main characters, therefore contradicting canon, which helped the story a great deal. Each character, both old and new gets their time in the spotlight to be explored. Probably the only exception to getting some character development is Bashir, but he still plays his part in the story. Morn is kept true to character too!
The author even goes so far as to shed some light on the lives of the Aldebaran crew, which gives their part of the story a more emotional impact.
Something I was particularly worried about was the author introducing purposefully "alien" characters. Having read the first three Titan books before this, I felt the exotic species described in that book made it hard to really feel for any of the characters or picture them going about their business. Thankfully, all the new characters are totally believable and fits in with what you expect from each species (hopefully, these books will create some more culture for the Andorians where Enterprise left off...).
And that's where this book excels, the story plays out like an episode - with multiple stories running throughout, some crossing over. This is also helped by the fact the characters, and their reactions are believable. I normally have a hard time picturing what I'm reading, but this plays out more like a novelisation of an episode, so you can see what the characters are doing, hear their voices delivering the lines.
S.D. Perry has easily placed herself up there with Peter David as one of my favourite Trek authors. She knows the series, inside-out it seems, and doesn't retcon past stories, or invent new pasts to fill in gaps with established characters, keeping them believable and keeping the Deep Space Nine story alive. As another reviewer said, this is literally Season 8.
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Dissapointing
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This book was definitely one of the hardest to read of all the DS9 books I tried. Not because the book was too complex but because it was badly structured and drawn out in places.
The very start of the book is a good example of this. Several times within the first 20 pages she mentions characters only barely listening to someone talking and that's how I felt the book was like. It drones on, making you only half read because large parts are just dull and then other parts confuse you.
Yet at times she makes confusing switches between characters. Adding on top of that is the bad habit of switching from first to third person and visa versa. First she'll write "he does this" and then she'll write "I have to do this".
The story itself is far from bad, but it just bugged me quite a bit. I had already put the book down once several months ago but because I just completed watching all 7 seasons of DS9 again, I thought it would be worth giving it another go. But again, I struggled. The book doesn't offer enough rewards to the reader.
Also, what's up with the semi-sexist feel of the book? Nearly every captain or important character introduced is a strong woman who the (male) characters strongly look up to. It seems the writer can't introduce anyone without her going on about how strong she is, how well she does her work, etc. The male characters (even established ones like Nog) are reduced to less favorable roles. It's never a good thing when you can guess the gender of the writer just by how she defines the characters. I just as much dislike writers that make female characters weak and helpless (there's been a few DS9 books where Kira was portrayed far too weak).
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Too Much I Missed
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With 4 stars I may be erring on the high side of rating this book. However I do so as it is well written. The Deep Space Nine television series is not one that I kept up with and I chose this book as it was to include The Next Generation cast that I am familiar with. Before the actual tale starts there is a history of Deep Space Nine up until the book's beginning so, if your lack of knowledge is like mine, a general overview is provided. It cannot make up for dozen of missed episodes but it does make the read possible and enjoyable. This is book one of a series and The Next Generation plays the minor role in this first installment. I believe this will change dramatically in book two due to a discovery that the Enterprise makes on an old Cardassian Freighter that requires a trip to the space station DS9. The one character that I always wondered what happened to plays a key role in this book and I would guess in many others that have preceded this volume. Ro Laren was always one of my favorite enigmatic characters from TNG series, and after she betrayed Captain Picard's trust and fled I was always curious as to what happened to her. Her back story is explained in broad strokes, but at the time of this book she is now in a position of authority on DS9. Nothing about her personality has become any smoother, but it appears as though there may finally be an opportunity for her to find someplace where she will no longer feel suspect, feel the outsider. Prior to taking on any more new DS9 material I will have to go well back and reach a point where I can appreciate these stories without only having a brief historical overview for a crutch. This book seemed well done and I believe that to the extent it failed it was solely due to my lack of knowledge.
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Highly informative yet a little too descriptive in places
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As a big fan, i had to read this to see if it will answer any unanswered questions from series finale episodes. It has and more, but on some occasions its delivering more than necessary. Some descriptions of the Bashir-Dax romance were too much but the actions and such were brought to my attention with great detail and i love being able to picture the actions as if they were episodes on TV again. My only comment is that first book was not as informative as second and i wish the info and such developements in the book would have been more divided equally amond the part one and two. Part two is better and has gotten 5 stars from me. There have been some strange long sentences and grammar mistakes, at least in my mind, and i thought it could have had more attention brought to it before the publishing. The book was talked about a lot in the Star Trek magazine...the official paramount edition but it has portraied characters differently than in the actual book. The Shar character in magazine description and picture shown, would have been a female and not a male as book describes it. Its now getting too lengthy here and i will leave it off as informative and it could have been better written without the long sentences and over-descriptivness in some parts.
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DS9 Season 8 - only in bookstores
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I was not disappointed by this surprisingly good double-novel that effectively kicks off a new chapter in the DS9 saga. While some old characters are missed a little, the new arrivals are interesting - especially "Vaughn" who has definite potential. Stick with these books and you will be rewarded. It really does feel at the end like you've just watched a season 8 premiere!
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