Raise the Dawn

Star Trek: Typhon Pact #7

by David R. George III

The second novel in a two-part Typhon Pact adventure set in the universe of Star The Next Generation. After the disastrous events in the Bajoran system, Captain Benjamin Sisko must confront the consequences of the recent choices he has made in his life. At the same time, the United Federation of Planets and its Khitomer Accords allies have come to the brink of war with the Typhon Pact. While factions within the Pact unsuccessfully used the recent gestures of goodwill—the opening of borders and a joint Federation-Romulan exploratory mission—to develop quantum-slipstream drive, they have not given up their goals. Employing a broad range of assets, from Romulus to Cardassia, from Ab-Tzenketh to Bajor, they embark on a dangerous new plan to acquire the technology they need to take control of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. While UFP President Bacco and Romulan Praetor Kamemor work feverishly to reestablish peace, Captains Sisko, Jean-Luc Picard, and Ro Laren stand on the front lines of the conflict...even as a new danger threatens the Bajoran wormhole as it once more becomes a flashpoint of galactic history.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Ebooks, Space Opera, Media Tie In

394 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2012

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest: I know very little about Deep Space Nine. My Star Trek audiovisual experience is limited to the first and second seasons of The Original Series and The Next Generation, the first few episodes of Enterprise, and a few of the movies, mostly either featuring Picard and crew or part of the J.J. Abrams reboot series.

So...quite a bit of this was lost on me.

Still, I can appreciate the effort behind it, and it was very well-written and exciting, even if I didn't understand most of it.

I hope the next entries in the series focus more on the characters with whom I'm familiar.

[Sud666 · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Raise the Dawn" could have been better. It tells the story of how the original DS-9 was destroyed. This was something I had been curious about for some time and that part of the story, along with the slipstream drive caper, are good. It's the unfortunate tendency of this story to devolve into that uncomfortable Star-Trek love/relationship ordeal which is NEVER done well. It's too stilted and unreal.

So first the good: DS-9 gets blown up. Who did it? Are their traitors within Starfleet? Is it the Typhon Pact? The Typhon Pact meanwhile is trying to steal slipstream drive technology. Could they be allying themselves with the Dominion? These are vital questions being raised in the backdrop of the Vulcan Empire possibly running some dangerous operation within Federation space that also utilizes the Bajoran wormhole. So there is a lot going on here.

There are even good personal events. I don't mind social/human interaction, but Star Trek love is a very nerdy SJW take on love. No one really seems to get emotional. It's very annoying to read. There is also a great deal of Prophet "dream sequences" that are not very fun to read, all centered around Kiera Nerys. These dream sequences and the Benjamin Sisko divorce conversations are painful and truly drag down the story. The rest? About Dr. Bashir's lover, Sarina, being a suspect for the bombings or the trauma of the DS-9 survivors was good. But so much was wasted on the stilted love/dream crap that it took away from an otherwise good plot.

So this one answered a lot of questions and I enjoyed the bigger plot quite a bit. The unfortunate dream sequences and Sisko drama didn't do it for me. This one was a meh.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic better than the destiny trilogy :)

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Trek: Raise the Dawn is the penultimate novel in the Typhon Pact series. It was written by David R. George III and was released in July of 2012.

While the Typhon Pact series has had everything from fantastic entries to utterly dull ones, this book lands itself somewhere in the middle. There are things that I thought were excellently done in this book, while there were other elements that bored me throughout.

I’ll begin with what works in the book. When writing a political story, David R. George does a really good job. The Typhon Pact vs. The Federation storyline here was fascinating and I was hooked on every chapter. In some ways, this book paid off several books of development, particularly the last few by David R. George. While I’ve seen many reviewers discuss how this novel is part of a duology with “Plagues of Night”, I would argue that it’s more of an end to a trilogy, including “Rough Beasts of Empire”.

The reason this book works is that George fixes several issues he created in “Rough Beasts of Empire”. In that novel, he set up a really bad plot line and character arc for Sisko. However, in this book, he not only fixes that plot arc, but he also makes it worthwhile. I don’t know whether this was planned all along or whether George made a change last minute as a result of the backlash to “Rough Beasts”, but it works nonetheless.

This book also has some hilarious character interactions, particularly featuring Nog/O’Brien/Ro, as well as Bashir/Douglas/Quark. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. David R. George really gets Quark and I think should continue writing Quark novels for the foreseeable future. I would certainly read them.

There are some sequences that follow the leadership of the Federation and the leadership of the Typhon Pact that I really enjoyed, and I especially liked when they all converged towards the end.

I thought the fallout from the previous book was entertaining, but should have been a bigger story. The climax of the previous book was so huge that it should have had universe shattering implications. There are certainly repercussions, as evidenced by this book, but George could have spent a lot more time with them. It is also interesting that the action and disaster around DS9 was sidelined for other ships and storylines. The book was entertaining and engaging nonetheless, but it could have been so much better if it had cut out some superfluous elements and added more to the disaster in the beginning.

Speaking of superfluous elements, this book does have a few, and that’s what keeps it from true greatness. The biggest problems here are the supernatural elements and nonlinear elements. When George writes supernatural elements or nonlinear elements, his stories become endlessly boring. This occurs with a vision sequence that is throughout the book (you’ll understand when you read it) that absolutely doesn’t work. There are also some supernatural elements closer to the end that just weren’t interesting. Those elements lead into his “The Fall” novel Revelation and Dust, where it wasn’t interesting there either!

Overall, this is an enjoyable novel. It fixes issues from previous books, delivers on the political storylines, and also provides enjoyable character pairings. However, George has some elements he really needs to step up to keep his books from being bland and run-of-the-mill. Overall, Raise the Dawn gets a 4 out of 5.

[Yvette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was up and down. The Benny Russell part was disappointing and was not needed. The Federation President and Romulus Praetor were excellent in every page they were in. The Enterprise was once again worthless in this story.

[Graff Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Trek: Post-Nemesis: Typhon Pack 07 Raise the Dawn by David R. George III

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense

Medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus? Yes

4.25 Stars

This is the penultimate book in the Typhon Pact series. It really has been a unique seriest within the Post-Nemesis era of Star Trek. I've been reading the Trek-Lit Reading Flowchart.

This story dealt with a LOT of dangling threads...that had been built outside of this series, but mostly within this series. It was a VERY satisfying story to read.

It focused on Captain Benjamin Sisko and his struggles with the Prophets and his wife Cassidy (and their child, Rebecca). This storyline was fraught with ups and downs, but had a satisfying conclusion (with a LOT of room to grow from).

The struggles with Tenmei and her father was well done. Loved that.

The Romulan part of the Typhon Pact was consequential in this story. We got to see the workings within the government and the war machine, including the Tal Shair (their secret service).

Some devastating things happened in this story. Some, that I NEVER thought would ever happen...and I'm truly interested to see where they go from here.

Captain Ro Laren, and all the things she had to contend with, was both satisfying and frustrating.

Kyra Neres and her new life...and how she is still helping Bajor, Starfleet and all the people she worked with at DS9. Never would have thought that she'd go in THIS direction, but it is really well developed. Hmmm?

This was such a fun book to read, and it encourages me to read on in this series.

I will be picking up Book 8th of Typhon Pact (last book in the series), Brinkmanship by Una McCormack (Yay!).

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Caveats to this review: I am a huge trekkie, I've seen all the shows and movies, and I have read quite a few Star Trek novels. However I have not read any other books in this series. I have no idea where this book came from, only that it was in my house. It might have been in a book basket I bid on at a charity auction.

I didn't really enjoy this book, for a few reasons. One is that I thought the characters were not professional enough and were ruled by their emotions. Sisko and the Federation President especially. I thought Sisko was especially mischaracterized, since in the series he is usually in control of his emotions, has excellent work-life boundaries and is a family man. The author does a good job with several other characters, so I have to wonder if either Sisko's personality gradually changed throughout the series, or if compromises were made to move the plot along.

As other reviewers have mentioned this book is really heavy on relationship drama. The relationships in this book are extremely heteronormative, which isn't a criticism, but something to be aware of. There is no Garak content in this book, which I personally was disappointed by. The plot in this book is also really war-heavy, but also pretty low on action. There were a couple of fast paced parts I did enjoy.

All in all if I were recommending a Star Trek novel, this isn't the one I would pick.

[Alvaro Zinos-Amaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.tor.com/2020/08/05/star-t...

[John Keegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Star Trek novel universe experienced a major shift with the “Destiny” trilogy a few years ago, and the subsequent emergence of the Typhon Pact was a bit anticlimactic by comparison. In fact, there was a sense that the post-”Destiny” novels were struggling to find a direction. At the same time, the post-“Deep Space Nine” novel line had come on hard times, with more momentous events taking place in the mega-event novels than the actual DS9 content.

The previous Typhon Pact novel, “Plagues of Night”, resolved several of those problems. Not only did the various political complications of the Typhon Pact and its successful bid to get the Andorians to leave the Federation finally matter, but the lion’s share of the action was centered on Deep Space Nine and the primary characters of its post-finale novel run. More than that, “Plagues of Night” ended with a literal bang, marking a huge and irrevocable change to the Trek status quo.

“Raise the Dawn” takes those stakes and ramps them up even more. If these events are maintained as the “official” novel status quo, this novel essentially marks the conclusion of the DS9 post-series novel arc. Just about every major ongoing story element that began since “Avatar: Book One”, all the way back in 2001, comes to a fitting culmination. (At this point, the only resolved Trek series, for all intent purposes, is the “New Frontier” saga, which is unfortunately stuck in neutral on a cliffhanger.)

The pacing of the novel is fairly relentless, since there are major issues being faced from the galactic to the personal level. The result is a dense read, which could be a bit imposing for anyone hoping for a quick and light slice of Trek. And since there are tons of references to past plot and character details from The Next Generation onward (in other words, roughly 25 years of continuity), some of the implications may not be immediately obvious to casual Star Trek fans.

That said, the back cover blurb alone is enough of an indication to anyone that this is meant to cater to the uber-fans that have kept Star Trek in the forefront of geek culture for half a century, so this should appeal to the target audience. One minor point of contention: the back cover also suggests that this is a Next Generation novel, and while this brings forward the adventures of Picard and the current Enterprise-E crew, this is much more of a Deep Space Nine-based epic.

[John Carter McKnight · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book avoids much of the bizarre recapping that marked its predecessor: still, there's one good book of story across the two volumes. All the storylines from the previous one are developed and tied up nicely, but for one intentional loose end. Well, maybe two: Section 31 is still lurking out there somewhere.

Lots of characters, including a few not in the previous book, get satisfyingly good screen time, nobody's voices are too far off - all in all, it's a pretty satisfactory evening's entertainment, much as I wanted to take a red pen to it in places.

[Aron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! DRG3 has an excellent feel for the characters & between this book & Plagues of Night he has written a highly entertaining Star Trek adventure. This & Plagues were the first DRG3 novels I've read & I was impressed,...they both had everything I love in an ST story which are: Character accuracy, a good sense of continuity with other ST titles, engaging plot, interesting character development, & smoothe writing style that plays like an awesome ST movie in my minds eye. I'm a DRG3 fan now & are looking forward to reading more of his ST stories in the future!

[Jimyanni · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book continues the story of DS9. It is well-written and interesting, but if you haven't read the previous books in the series, I can't recommend it. It doesn't stand on its own but needs to be read as part of a continuing saga. Also, I didn't care for some of the direction that the plot took, but that's a purely subjective thing and no reflection in general on the story.

[Crystal Bensley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhhh what an awesome Deep Space 9 story. Great characters, cool action, who could ask for more!

[Iain Parkes]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13756857

[Edmund Bloxam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another lack of editorial oversight. Another example of one book stretched out to two. Another example of an author not understanding what a plot is, or what tension and resolution is.

Elements of this work. All the pieces are there. But there is no plot. Much of it is just there. Even the central plot element of investigating who blew up the station is just sort of finished.

The depiction of Romulan politics, especially about how a president isn't necessarily in control of everything (thank god) is an interesting concept. Still, 'they got them' is about all that happens there, so...

The author has royally shat on Sisko. He FINALLY gives up on the dumbest character motivation in the history of literature, abandoning everything you love for a vague warning that...you guessed it...is confirmed as being the nothing it always was.

A 'plot' about enabling someone to not grieve by leaving a life support machine on for YEARS...I mean, what the fuck?

And it's this inept charlatan who had the keys for the remainder of the DS9 books. Well, shit. That's my favorite show, my favorite set of characters, and up until this guy, easily the best bunch of continuing threads in the serialised 'litverse'. But he ruined it. And I almost don't want to read any more of his crap.

[Christian Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably my favorite of the “Typhon Pact” stories. Everything comes full circle here: The fall and future of DS9, Sisko and Kasidy, the Romulan-Federation relations. Even to some degree Odo and Kira.

This novel feels to me more of a love letter to 7 seasons of DS9 than anything that has come before. It reads almost as a capstone to the DS9 relaunch, and if it were to have ended here. I would have been a happy man.

It’s a great novel through and through.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel focuses on DS9, Sisko, Picard and the Romulans.

It continues the rollercoaster rise that is Typhon pact with some huge surprises. The reader truly does not know what is going to happen next. Theres also some good character moments.

Do not read this novel without first reading the first 6 in the series. A very good read.

[James Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

A huge improvement over the previous stories and corrects many of those mistakes (looking at you asinine Sisko story line). The author does have a weird way of foreshadowing things and there's an element of the ending that seems a little strange, but overall I liked it.

[Frank Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the writing has improved in this from the previous DRG3 book in the series. Similar to the previous, this one lacks a typical pinnacle event but the story is very interesting and there are many exciting developments.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resolution to Plagues of Night. More Sisko is always a good thing. Ties up a lot of the loose ends left over from the other TP novels.

[Preston Pendergraft · Rating 5 out of 5]

The conclusion to the previous book. Just outstanding.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Read

I'm looking forward to reading how the Typhon Pact arc concludes. I really enjoy the mix of crews in this series.

[Paul Griggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of plot strands wrapped up in epic fashion with new questions asked!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another tie in the the Star Trek universe, this was an entertaining novel that doesn’t add much to the series but was still fun to read.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gosh this was way too bloated for what it was and tried to be.

[Maurice Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW

In Plagues of Night, the Typhon Pact once again tried to get slipstream technology. Without Praetor Gell Kamemmor's knowledge, Tal Shiar Chairwoman Sela and Commander Tomalak conspired with the Breen to steal machinery from the Dominion that would enable them to create their own slipstream drive, load it on the Romulan warbird Eletrix and to sneak it through the wormhole behind a Breen freighter that legally entered the wormhole and was scheduled to return. The Eletrix was assigned to a joint exploration of the Gamma Quadrant with the Enterprise- they faked their own destruction to sneak away and help with the theft. When DS9 detected the warbird, it opened fire, and was joined by two cloaked ships, a Breen warship and a Tzenkethi marauder.

A Typhon Pact operative planted bombs on DS9 to disable it so that the Eletrix could slip through more easily, but the bombs did more damage than expected. The station opened fire on the three ships, as did the Defiant and runabouts from the station. When the dust settled, all three Typhon ships were destroyed along with DS9. The freighter was captured in one piece, but everyone on it was dead except for one: Tomalak.

Captain Ben Sisko is broken by the apparent deaths of his estranged wife Kasidy and daughter Rebecca and relieved when they turn up alive and well. While the Robinson is in for repairs, Sisko is assigned to take the Defiant into the Gamma Quadrant to talk with the Dominion and find out what exactly the Typhon Pact was doing in their territory. Odo assured them that there is no alliance between the Dominion and the Pact, and his investigation uncovers the theft of specialized equipment- and that the Pact stole more of it from a different location.

Praetor Kammemor is desperate to avoid war, and goes to great lengths to convince the Federation that she didn't know of or approve either the theft of slipstream plans from Utopia Planitia or the attack on DS9. She knows what the Federation knows- their best chance of getting to the bottom of things is getting information from the one person who survived the capture of the freighter.

Captain Ro is overseeing the construction of a new space station to replace DS9, and she got the best engineers she could find to take charge: Miles O'Brian and Lieutenant Commander Nog. Between setting up a ground based command center on Bajor to work from and investigating just who planted those bombs on the station, Captain Ro is up to her ears in hard work- and concerned that one or more of her crew is most likely guilty.

I enjoyed all these plotlines coming together, and seeing Praetor Kammemor and President Nan Bacco work together to uncover the Typhon Pact's latest plot before they accomplish their goal. I'm interested to see what the Typhon Pact does next- and how the Federation will counter it.

[Maurice Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deep Space Nine blew up, Kassidy Yates' freighter was destroyed, Captain Sisko collapsed at the sight of it and Typhon Pact ships were in a dogfight with Federation forces. Heck of a way to end Plagues Of Night and start Raise The Dawn.

The Defiant, the Canterbury and the Robinson beat the attack off, with all three Typhon Pact ships destroyed (a Breen warship, a Tzenkethi marauder and the Romulan warbird Eletrix that started the fracas trying to sneak through the wormhole carrying stolen Dominion technology behind a Breen freighter that was allowed to be there). Then came the aftermath.

Needless to say, questions abounded and I loved how everything was handled. There was Federation President Nan Bacco, furious at the thought that Romulan praetor Gell Kammemor was duplicitous in proposing the joint exploration with a Khitomer Accords ship (the Enterprise was chosen). She had to figure out an appropriate response. To war or not to war, that was the question.

There was Praetor Kammemor, furious that some rogue element within her empire committed what the Federation was within their rights to consider an act of war. Praetor Kammemor had to figure out who did this, and once it was done, figure out how to outmaneuver them before they caused a war nobody but them wanted.

There were those rogue elements (Sela and Tomalak) planning the next caper even before the fallout from the destruction of DS9 was fully known, and a Tzenkethi/Breen initiative designed to make yet another try at stealing the necessary Dominion technology to enable them to create quantum slipstream for their vessels.

There was Captain Sisko, no good to the Robinson or to anybody until he learned the fate of his wife and daughter (both alive), yet key in the Federation investigation of what happened. The Defiant captured the Breen freighter Ren Fejyn, the ship that led the Romulan warbird Eletrix through the wormhole, and to their surprise, found crew from the now destroyed Eletrix. The resulting interrogation revealed the Typhon Pact theft from the Dominion, and Sisko was tasked to find out from the Dominion what was taken. He reconnected with Odo for that purpose, and together they found out what was taken and why.

There was Captain Ro Laren, a captain without a command. She saw DS9 destroyed on her watch, and then got to oversee the rebuilding, led by two old friends. After setting up a base on the ground on Bajor, she also had to find out who planted the bombs that destroyed the station and bring him or her to justice.

I enjoyed watching all of these actions taking place and coming to resolution, even as the door was left open for future hijinks by the Typhon Pact.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending of Plagues of Night saw me stand to my feet in shock. Not since the Destiny trilogy has there been such a cliffhanger in Trek literature. Raise the Dawn sees David R. George finish what he began, with brilliant success.

Tensions were high between the Federation and the Typhon Pact before this duology, but however much the leaders of the Federation and Romulan Empire might wish to maintain the peace, other members of the Typhon Pact -- and certain blonde, notoriously villainous elements within the Empireitself -- are more bellicose, and their actions have already led to catastrophe. As the president of the Federation resigns herself to the fact that her heavily fatigued people are in for yet another conflict, the Romulan praetor makes a stunning move, one that confirms that the days of two-dimensional bad guys are over.

Trek literature has steadily been pushing the envelope since the publication of the first Avatar books. George doesn't just overturn the apple cart of the status quo; since Rough Beasts of Empire, he's set it on fire. A few of Trek's characters have been going through the meatgrinder, and while that's been rough going for readers who feel for these characters, Raise the Dawn offers resolution. All of the stresses introduced in the first four Typhon Pact novels have coalesced here, putting our characters through the fire, even as they battle private battles of their own, like Prynn Tenmei's struggle to let her father go, and Sisko's alienation from his family. Raise the Dawn continues to be expansive; like Plagues of Night, its characters are drawn from across the Trek verse, excluding only the Titan and Voyager crews. But George goes even further by playing with prophetic visions of the kind we saw in "Far Beyond the Stars" and "Image in the Sand"; characters seem to be inhabiting multiple planes of existence at the same time, interacting with one another when they can't possibly be doing so, and it's too brilliantly done to be confusing, except in a delighted way.

George's duology is a must read for fans of Trek literature. I have not been this mesmerized or moved since the Destiny series; only Full Circle has even come close.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raise the Dawn continues the Typhon Pact novels, and the miniseries established with Deep Space Nine in the previous book. With the destruction of the station, and its rebirth as seen on the book cover, Bajor and the Federation are facing a crisis with the Typhon Pact. But, what they don't realize is that the governments of some Pact members do not have full control, instead, some actions are being taken without the knowledge of the leaders. What follows is a dense novel filled with political intrigue and excitement.

This was one of the more enjoyable reads in the Typhon Pact line. For me, it was that the book was centered around my favorite series in the Star Trek franchise, Deep Space Nine. Although the crew of the now gone station is a bit different, many of the old guard still remains, Bashir, Nog, Quark, and O'Brian, but some of the more interesting moments happen with crew members no longer tied to the station, Ben, Kira, and Kassidy. Even Odo makes a brief appearance and may possibly have a greater role in the Typhon Pact series.

This was both a joyful read at the end, with Ben and Kassidy, bittersweet with Kira (Whose fate may be a bit of an unknown), and a little sad with Vaughn (We saw his fate coming several books ago). All of these characters undergo a major change at the end of Raise the Dawn, to say nothing about what happens to the wormhole and the new station. I will say that watching the political machinery of the Federation is quite interesting. The President, Nan Bacco, is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters. Oddly enough, the Romulan Praetor Kamemor is also becoming one too.

This was a good read overall. The pace is steady but fast, filled with dense material, but it is still worth a read nonetheless. On a side note, the author mentions that on the Federation seal is two wheat stalks, this makes almost no sense. Traditionally, those were olive branches symbolizing peace or victory; a laurel of olive branches.

[Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I'm relieved that the Typhon Pact series is finally having some payoffs and although the series has had its ups and downs, this 2nd part of David R. George III's tale is certainly one of the high points.

The central theme is trust vs paranoia. The Typhon Pact novels are in fact, a self-fulfilling prophecy. The Pact, feeling threatened that the Federation has technology that they don't, causes them to fear it's use against pact, and this paranoia in turn makes them try to covertly steal and adapt the technology for their own purposes. These machinations, and their results, could then push the Federation towards using the technology against the Pact. Thus justifying the very fears that drove them to steal the technology in the first place.

The cliffhanger from the last book drives the story into some fantastic directions and the author really seems to have fun with it.

Unlike other entries in this series, the book was compelling and believable from a character, political, motivation and action perspective.
The dialogue is spot-on, especially the scenes featuring the UFP President and her counterpart. The journey of a major character coming to an end is not a surprise, but is vital to the story and my earlier frustrations/concerns were fortunately not realised. And, I am so pleased that Sisko is finally put back onto the right track.

The 'end' of the novel leaves us with a seemingly massive reset switch with regard to the last seven years in some respects, and the convenient way some of the characters were positioned does stretch believability (not that I'm complaining too much). Although in some ways does do a disservice to the novel-only characters that have been introduced.