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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Rebels: Bk.2 (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) by Dafydd Ab Hugh
Book Kai Winn has never divulged what she personally did during the harsh and perilous days of the Occupation. But now, as Cardassian warships fight to reclaim Deep Space Nine, she cannot help recalling those bygone days -- and her own private war against the Cardassian oppressors.
Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 1999
7 people are currently reading
274 people want to read
About the author
Dafydd ab Hugh
31 books46 followersDafydd ab Hugh (born David Friedman) is a U.S. science fiction author.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 19, 2024
It was ok.
Maybe too much happening at once with no real sense of direction, but it has some really good bits between Odo and Quark, and throw a little Chief O'Brien in there and the story is saved.
Maybe too much happening at once with no real sense of direction, but it has some really good bits between Odo and Quark, and throw a little Chief O'Brien in there and the story is saved.
October 25, 2025
Got more of the Kai Winn stuff, but it doesn't feel as interesting as it should be.
December 28, 2022
Rebels, Book 2: The Courageous is watching squirrels.
January 27, 2021
Dafydd ab Hugh continues to write the most peculiar books in the DS9 Pocket Books series. "The Courageous" is Book Two of the Rebels trilogy, which constitutes the final three books of the Pocket Books novels, apart from the seminal "A Stitch in Time," which was later retconned into the DS9 Relaunch.
I'm still in shock that the editors gave the go-ahead for this overarching plot, and then gave it the go-ahead to spread it out into three books! As I stated in my last review, I recently gave Hugh much praise for his well-written DS9 books, and then he decided to end his contribution to the series with these books.
With that being said, the plot is marginally better in this book compared to the last book. As a recap, Kira and Kai Winn are on DS9 defending it from mysterious invaders, while the rest of the crew, including Quark for some reason, are in the Gamma Quadrant on a planet helping to defend the natives from a Cardassian invasion.
There are still many inconsistencies in plot. How did the Cardassians get to this planet (bypassing DS9) without the Federation or Bajorans realizing? Are we really expected to believe that the Federation would just give up DS9 for a time to the Bajorans to see how well they govern, and then continue to keep them locked out of their weapons whilst under siege? Why are all of the characters written so out-of-character?
At least Sisko is blatantly acknowledging that he is violating the Prime Directive in this book as he attempts to knock the planet back to the stone age to fight the Cardassians. In the last book, this went completely unmentioned. Now, it's mentioned, but still happening, and this is something that I don't see Sisko ever doing.
The "A-Plot" involving Kira and Kai Winn is not really interesting, and in fact, rarely goes anywhere. I used "A-Plot" in quotation marks because it is what has been written all over the front and back covers of this book and the last, but maybe makes up 10% of this book. The "B-Plot," or really the main plot of the book, on the planet is interesting in how improbable it is, but is almost too silly and inconsistent to read.
The one shining light in this novel is the narrative aside involving Kai Winn thirty years before the modern story of the novel takes place. Kai Winn is a "Sister" (is that even a Bajoran thing?) in the service of the Cardassians during their occupation. She navigates both political intrigue and resistance efforts. This section is very well-written, and more than anything I've seen in the television show or other books, makes me actually interested in the story of Kai Winn. Hugh should be praised for this subplot, which we now see in book two relates to the modern plot on the planet. It was just hinted at in book two, and I'm sure we'll see its climax and conclusion in the final novel in the trilogy. This subplot is a page-turner, and I think this book would have been much more effective being written about Kai Winn's resistance efforts. I can't believe I just wrote that sentence.
Overall, these books are a struggle to get through, though. I'm very happy there's only one left.
I'm still in shock that the editors gave the go-ahead for this overarching plot, and then gave it the go-ahead to spread it out into three books! As I stated in my last review, I recently gave Hugh much praise for his well-written DS9 books, and then he decided to end his contribution to the series with these books.
With that being said, the plot is marginally better in this book compared to the last book. As a recap, Kira and Kai Winn are on DS9 defending it from mysterious invaders, while the rest of the crew, including Quark for some reason, are in the Gamma Quadrant on a planet helping to defend the natives from a Cardassian invasion.
There are still many inconsistencies in plot. How did the Cardassians get to this planet (bypassing DS9) without the Federation or Bajorans realizing? Are we really expected to believe that the Federation would just give up DS9 for a time to the Bajorans to see how well they govern, and then continue to keep them locked out of their weapons whilst under siege? Why are all of the characters written so out-of-character?
At least Sisko is blatantly acknowledging that he is violating the Prime Directive in this book as he attempts to knock the planet back to the stone age to fight the Cardassians. In the last book, this went completely unmentioned. Now, it's mentioned, but still happening, and this is something that I don't see Sisko ever doing.
The "A-Plot" involving Kira and Kai Winn is not really interesting, and in fact, rarely goes anywhere. I used "A-Plot" in quotation marks because it is what has been written all over the front and back covers of this book and the last, but maybe makes up 10% of this book. The "B-Plot," or really the main plot of the book, on the planet is interesting in how improbable it is, but is almost too silly and inconsistent to read.
The one shining light in this novel is the narrative aside involving Kai Winn thirty years before the modern story of the novel takes place. Kai Winn is a "Sister" (is that even a Bajoran thing?) in the service of the Cardassians during their occupation. She navigates both political intrigue and resistance efforts. This section is very well-written, and more than anything I've seen in the television show or other books, makes me actually interested in the story of Kai Winn. Hugh should be praised for this subplot, which we now see in book two relates to the modern plot on the planet. It was just hinted at in book two, and I'm sure we'll see its climax and conclusion in the final novel in the trilogy. This subplot is a page-turner, and I think this book would have been much more effective being written about Kai Winn's resistance efforts. I can't believe I just wrote that sentence.
Overall, these books are a struggle to get through, though. I'm very happy there's only one left.
June 6, 2017
The second part of this disappointing trilogy is unfortunately no better than the first. Sisko and companions are still down on the weird planet of weirdness trying to teach the extremely annoying natives how to fight back against the Cardassian invaders, Jadzia and Julian are struggling to make their way from a submerged Defiant towards wherever Sisko's group has ended up, and Kira is still fighting off whoever is attacking the station and trying to resist the temptation to strangle Kai Winn. Interspersed with those storylines are a number of flashbacks to what Kai Winn was up to during the Occupation, which a number of people seem to feel was the strongest part of the book, but as Kai Winn is one of those characters whose mere presence and sanctimonious smile inspire homicidal urges in me whenever she steps on screen or on the page, I really didn't care any more about this plotline than any of the others. The story plays fast and loose with canon, the characters are mere caricatures of themselves, the story verges on being completely ridiculous at times, and the writing is mediocre at best (and what is with the overabundance of exclamation marks?). The author has already shown in other DS9 books that he can do much better, so I have no idea what happened here. Or why I'm bothering to read this. Perhaps the "courageous" in the title are meant to refer to the readers brave enough to struggle all the way through the book?
June 5, 2020
Story great execution flawed
This is a great idea. But so much is wrong. Book one was a laughable mess of an inept civilization. Book two is a study in how to destroy everything. But while the story is good the errors are so plentiful you have to wonder if an editor even touched this. The typos are so jarring and so plentiful they ruin the flow of the story. And once again there’s no separation for place or time. One sentence you’re on DS9 and the next on the planet. It destroys the flow. All in all avoid this series if you can. Not worth your time.
This is a great idea. But so much is wrong. Book one was a laughable mess of an inept civilization. Book two is a study in how to destroy everything. But while the story is good the errors are so plentiful you have to wonder if an editor even touched this. The typos are so jarring and so plentiful they ruin the flow of the story. And once again there’s no separation for place or time. One sentence you’re on DS9 and the next on the planet. It destroys the flow. All in all avoid this series if you can. Not worth your time.
January 8, 2022
This just...JUST...gets rounded up to a 2 star rating, primarily because the author is having fun with Sisko, Worf, Quark and Odo. That said, I simply don't understand how this can remain such an...eccentric take...for that read "way off"...on the DS9 universe. I'm not sure I even want to complete this series. I might wait and see if I'm desperate enough to find out what happens. What is it about the first run of DS9 novels that results in only 4 outright successes? Sigh...
November 14, 2019
Winn is not a character I totally wish to know better so that`s the least appealing part of the book but still not sure what`s going to happen next, again. Enjoying the Quark and Odo parts but those are usually fun.
nope
April 5, 2020I had read the first book in the trilogy several years ago and wasn't thrilled with it. But when I found books 2 & 3 in a used book store, I decided to give it another try, and, well, I should have listened to my earlier self. dnf
December 25, 2025
Satisfactory Rebel sequel.
This book was adequately composed and the story proceeded at an energetic pace. I found that I did lose myself in places but I persevered. It was an entertaining and exciting tale.
This book was adequately composed and the story proceeded at an energetic pace. I found that I did lose myself in places but I persevered. It was an entertaining and exciting tale.
April 20, 2020
Moves much more briskly and coherently than book 1. Some good flashbacks and character background on Kai Winn. Pretty good.
December 7, 2020
Book 2 of the DS9 Rebels trilogy is a very quick read, picking up where Book 1 left off.
August 12, 2024
The crew of the defiant deal with a helpful sea serpent. We learn more about Winn's time under Cardassan rule. And Deep Space Nine is overrun.
March 12, 2017
They came. They saw. They rebelled.
May 15, 2013
This is the second book in the Rebel series. I had issues with the first book and those issues continue here.
The basic premise: There are two storylines going on here. In the first, Kai Winn has taken over the station on a trial basis as a prelude to handing it back to the Bajorans, but the station has been attacked by a group of aliens from the Gamma Quadrant. Kira and the Bajoran military are attempting to keep the attackers from taking over. Meanwhile, Sisko and the rest of the Federation crew, along with Odo and Quark, are on a planet littered with technology but with a rather primitive society which has been invaded by a group of Cardassians and their allies. Sisko is attempting to teach the locals how to defend themselves from the Cardassians, essentially turning them into rebels.
Let's start with the good stuff. I liked the plotline with Kai Winn and the station being invaded. In fact, the most riveting part of the book is the flashbacks Winn is having to the Cardassian Occupation and how she helped the Resistance during that time. I wasn't as caught up in the actual attack on the station in the present time, but it was still mildly interesting. This is the storyline I wanted to read about.
However, most of this book was spent on Sisko and defending the planet from the Cardassian invasion. My problem with this plotline is that I just did not believe the society as presented on this planet. I mentioned this in my review of the first book: they start off with no knowledge whatsoever, even though they're surrounded by technology. They don't appear to know how to use a rope. This just doesn't work for me. I can't accept this premise. In this book, we have Sisko and crew trying to bring them up to speed so they can defend themselves against the invaders. But they keep falling back on the tech they already know how to use, and the problem is that the Cardassians are neutralizing that tech before they attack. So Sisko decides that they need to take ALL of the technology away from the locals to bring them back to ground zero and force them to rely on themselves and not their tech. I will admit that this second book was much better in the "believability" department than the first book. So if you ignore that setup in the first book, this was a better story. It still strained credibility to some extent though.
So, one interesting plotline that I wished the author had focused on more, and one that has a faulty premise (in my opinion) but has improved. I'm hoping the third book is better.
The basic premise: There are two storylines going on here. In the first, Kai Winn has taken over the station on a trial basis as a prelude to handing it back to the Bajorans, but the station has been attacked by a group of aliens from the Gamma Quadrant. Kira and the Bajoran military are attempting to keep the attackers from taking over. Meanwhile, Sisko and the rest of the Federation crew, along with Odo and Quark, are on a planet littered with technology but with a rather primitive society which has been invaded by a group of Cardassians and their allies. Sisko is attempting to teach the locals how to defend themselves from the Cardassians, essentially turning them into rebels.
Let's start with the good stuff. I liked the plotline with Kai Winn and the station being invaded. In fact, the most riveting part of the book is the flashbacks Winn is having to the Cardassian Occupation and how she helped the Resistance during that time. I wasn't as caught up in the actual attack on the station in the present time, but it was still mildly interesting. This is the storyline I wanted to read about.
However, most of this book was spent on Sisko and defending the planet from the Cardassian invasion. My problem with this plotline is that I just did not believe the society as presented on this planet. I mentioned this in my review of the first book: they start off with no knowledge whatsoever, even though they're surrounded by technology. They don't appear to know how to use a rope. This just doesn't work for me. I can't accept this premise. In this book, we have Sisko and crew trying to bring them up to speed so they can defend themselves against the invaders. But they keep falling back on the tech they already know how to use, and the problem is that the Cardassians are neutralizing that tech before they attack. So Sisko decides that they need to take ALL of the technology away from the locals to bring them back to ground zero and force them to rely on themselves and not their tech. I will admit that this second book was much better in the "believability" department than the first book. So if you ignore that setup in the first book, this was a better story. It still strained credibility to some extent though.
So, one interesting plotline that I wished the author had focused on more, and one that has a faulty premise (in my opinion) but has improved. I'm hoping the third book is better.
October 17, 2014
Book 2 in the series places nearly all of it's focus on the Kai Winn story line for the first half or 3/4 of the book, which was a good thing. The flawed story line and grossly off-target characters that claimed the focus of the first book have minor roles in this one for the first half of the book.
The 2nd book in the series continues to be difficult to read, due to extremely frequent interjections in nearly every sentence. There was even a few instances of interjections within interjections, which I found laughable. About half way through the author calms down, or focuses his attention, and the book becomes much less annoying to read.
There are also major plot lines and story elements that are grossly flawed ([spoiler]Where Federation officers contradict the spirit of the Prime Directive, or the quite unbelievable circumstance of every animal they run into being on the communication level of intelligence [/spoiler]).
When I usually spend 3 days to 2 weeks to read a Star Trek novel, the plot, characters and writing style left me unwilling to pick this book up. I finally finished it after over a month of picking at it, and thinking each time "what have I gotten myself into?"
The ending of the 2nd book is so off base and unlike anything Star Trek. I assume the author was attempting to build interest in the last book, however the scene was such of an ego trip that it read as some sort of bizarre dream sequence instead.
As with the first of the series, I can't help but think that these 3 books would have had a much better result if they were condensed into 1 book about Kai Winn, and had the other 2 books worth of "main story" completely edited out. I find it interesting that the only thing worth reading was the actual filler part of the story.
The 2nd book in the series continues to be difficult to read, due to extremely frequent interjections in nearly every sentence. There was even a few instances of interjections within interjections, which I found laughable. About half way through the author calms down, or focuses his attention, and the book becomes much less annoying to read.
There are also major plot lines and story elements that are grossly flawed ([spoiler]Where Federation officers contradict the spirit of the Prime Directive, or the quite unbelievable circumstance of every animal they run into being on the communication level of intelligence [/spoiler]).
When I usually spend 3 days to 2 weeks to read a Star Trek novel, the plot, characters and writing style left me unwilling to pick this book up. I finally finished it after over a month of picking at it, and thinking each time "what have I gotten myself into?"
The ending of the 2nd book is so off base and unlike anything Star Trek. I assume the author was attempting to build interest in the last book, however the scene was such of an ego trip that it read as some sort of bizarre dream sequence instead.
As with the first of the series, I can't help but think that these 3 books would have had a much better result if they were condensed into 1 book about Kai Winn, and had the other 2 books worth of "main story" completely edited out. I find it interesting that the only thing worth reading was the actual filler part of the story.
February 13, 2013
The story continues. Sisko and co are trying to save a planet from Cardassians. Dax is in a sunken Defiant. DS9 (Emissary's sancutary) is under attack by aliens. It's a decent enough story, well apart from Kai Winn's story that goes against what was established in the show. Apart from that, a good read.
August 22, 2012
A touch better than its prequel, but still not great space-faring fun. Maybe the final book will redeem the trilogy?
Want to read
September 22, 2012I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11418040
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11418040
November 21, 2017
Solid story. Decent read. =)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews