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Peace talks test the morality and resolve of two longtime enemies, the Bajorans and the Cardassians. But when politics and diplomacy fail, a strange alliance of alien religions offers unexpected hope for lasting peace.
Meanwhile, a mysterious ancient artifact challenges the crew of the Defiant by 'restoring' crewmembers who have survived life-altering transformations, propelling them into personal journeys of self-discovery during a dangerous military confrontation. PLUS this volume sees the shocking death of a recurring character from the TV series.
376 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2002
26 people are currently reading
495 people want to read
About the author
Michael A. Martin
93 books54 followersMichael A. Martin's solo short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He has also coauthored (with Andy Mangels) several Star Trek comics for Marvel and Wildstorm and numerous Star Trek novels and eBooks, including the USA Today bestseller Titan: Book One: Taking Wing; Titan: Book Two: The Red King; the Sy Fy Genre Award-winning Star Trek: Worlds of Deep Space 9 Book Two: Trill -- Unjoined; Star Trek: The Lost Era 2298 -- The Sundered; Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Mission: Gamma: Vol. Three: Cathedral; Star Trek: The Next Generation: Section 31 -- Rogue; Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers #30 and #31 ("Ishtar Rising" Books 1 and 2); stories in the Prophecy and Change, Tales of the Dominion War, and Tales from the Captain's Table anthologies; and three novels based on the Roswell television series. His most recent novels include Enterprise: The Romulan War and Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many.
His work has also been published by Atlas Editions (in their Star Trek Universe subscription card series), Star Trek Monthly, Dreamwatch, Grolier Books, Visible Ink Press, The Oregonian, and Gareth Stevens, Inc., for whom he has penned several World Almanac Library of the States nonfiction books for young readers. He lives with his wife, Jenny, and their two sons in Portland, Oregon.
His work has also been published by Atlas Editions (in their Star Trek Universe subscription card series), Star Trek Monthly, Dreamwatch, Grolier Books, Visible Ink Press, The Oregonian, and Gareth Stevens, Inc., for whom he has penned several World Almanac Library of the States nonfiction books for young readers. He lives with his wife, Jenny, and their two sons in Portland, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
January 11, 2022
This was a bit of a mixed bag. Love the continued Bajoran political drama, the larger issues and more personal stories of those being left behind by the Federation: Kira, Ro, and Quark's difficulties specifically... but my god, the extent to which I could not muster a single shit to give about the Gamma Quadrant. Like, I was worried about Nog, and the Flowers For Julian bullshit rubbed me in all the wrong ways, but overall just kinda bored the fuck out of me.
Also Morn is on the cover? But he's not part of the story? I want my fucking money back?
Also Morn is on the cover? But he's not part of the story? I want my fucking money back?
January 22, 2016
I cannot believe how awesome the DS9 relaunch has been! Ends on a cliffhanger but wow the two stories in this novel are both great!
November 22, 2018
"Regarding the alien object," Bashir continued, looking in Ezri's direction as he spoke, "all we really know is that an intelligent and perhaps extinct species built it more than five hundred million years ago for some purpose which remains obscure. We also know that this structure possesses certain higher-dimensional characteristics that we don't fully understand. We really don't have any other information - except for the alien text file we downloaded from one of the thing's internal computers."
3 1/2 stars. I really liked this novel. I mean, just the mention of other dimensions and parallel universes and things like that gets me going. I would even go so far as to say that it is one of my favorite sub genres within science fiction.
In the beginning of the novel Julian, Ezri and Nog, during an away mission on the shuttle Sagan, discover this mysterious cathedral that's only partially visible from their dimension. This becomes vital when they're later on starting to change in ways that will change their lives into something that might be who they would have been in an alternate reality. Into who they might have been had their lives taken a different direction. Which is a part of parallel universes that I really enjoy exploring and reminds me a little bit of novels like Dark Matter and Echoes, although this novel is also very different if you consider the cathedral and the consequences for the away team. But still.
The aliens we meet in the middle of all of this are interesting. Interesting and different. Think insectoids and some communications difficulties. For one, the Defiant crew can't make out if what they're saying is cathedral or anathema. Which kind of makes a huge difference.
Back home in the Alpha Quadrant there's not exactly a lack of things going on either. Bajor joining the Federation is coming up, for one. What I found the most interesting, though, was Vedek Yevir and this search for truth of his that kind of started off a little bit in the last novel. I think I could say that I got to see him in another light here, and not "just" as that Vedek who was a big part in getting Kira Attainted.
We also have the Ohalu that many Bajorans have started to believe in and who takes up more and more space in what's going on. I enjoyed reading about how this part of the Bajoran faith is in comparison to the more orthodox beliefs. One thing that's interesting concerning this is how Bajor for such a long time has ever really had one mainstream faith, which albeit not everyone believes in, and now we have this new faction within it that's taking off. It's not like with the Pah Wraith cult that a few believed in, but here we have a larger group of people joining and even Vedeks, too. As I'm sure I've mentioned in previous reviews, I enjoy the spiritual part of DS9, so I have a soft spot for these kind of stories and I'm looking forward to see where all of this is going.
June 3, 2022
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Cathedral is the third book in the Mission Gamma Series. It was written by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels, and was released by Pocket Books at Simon and Schuster in October 2002.
This book felt very mediocre in some areas, particularly the DS9 storyline. In other areas, such as the Defiant storyline, the story really shined. The disparity between the two really makes the book difficult to rate.
The Defiant storyline was superbly done, perhaps some of the best Star Trek I’ve read. I absolutely loved the moral quandary that Bashir, Ezri, and Nog were in when they faced the artifact. Two of them are incredibly injured by the artifact, but one of them is actually helped by the artifact. Should they give up the advantages that Nog receives in order to help Ezri and Julian? Or should they keep their situation the way it is? When do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few? It is an excellent question that is explored beautifully. My favorite character is Julian Bashir, and he really shines here.
The storyline of DS9 was fairly boring. I personally love the Quark-Ro Laren dynamic, but they didn’t have near enough attention in this book. Instead, there is a lot of attention put on the Bajoran-Cardassian plot, specifically from the Bajoran religious side. Sometimes religious discussions in Star Trek are well written, while other times it can be boring and feel preachy. Here, it wasn’t preachy at all, but it was just plain boring to the reader.
Probably some of the best work in the book came with the difficulties felt by the rest of the Defiant crew. They lose three of their best officers in one fell swoop and it becomes incredibly difficult for them to recover. We see Elias Vaughn have to react, which is really well written.
My criticism of the entire series remains that the authors did not work closely enough together and as a result the books feel disconnected with a thin veil of connection. I wonder if the editor simply added in paragraphs that would tie the books together, because this felt very much like a standalone. I know later series fix this issue, but it was not done well here.
Overall, I don’t have as much to say about this book, other than some plotlines were excellent and some were fairly boring. As a whole, its far from the worst Trek book I’ve read, but its not a favorite of mine. 2.5 out of 5.
This book felt very mediocre in some areas, particularly the DS9 storyline. In other areas, such as the Defiant storyline, the story really shined. The disparity between the two really makes the book difficult to rate.
The Defiant storyline was superbly done, perhaps some of the best Star Trek I’ve read. I absolutely loved the moral quandary that Bashir, Ezri, and Nog were in when they faced the artifact. Two of them are incredibly injured by the artifact, but one of them is actually helped by the artifact. Should they give up the advantages that Nog receives in order to help Ezri and Julian? Or should they keep their situation the way it is? When do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few? It is an excellent question that is explored beautifully. My favorite character is Julian Bashir, and he really shines here.
The storyline of DS9 was fairly boring. I personally love the Quark-Ro Laren dynamic, but they didn’t have near enough attention in this book. Instead, there is a lot of attention put on the Bajoran-Cardassian plot, specifically from the Bajoran religious side. Sometimes religious discussions in Star Trek are well written, while other times it can be boring and feel preachy. Here, it wasn’t preachy at all, but it was just plain boring to the reader.
Probably some of the best work in the book came with the difficulties felt by the rest of the Defiant crew. They lose three of their best officers in one fell swoop and it becomes incredibly difficult for them to recover. We see Elias Vaughn have to react, which is really well written.
My criticism of the entire series remains that the authors did not work closely enough together and as a result the books feel disconnected with a thin veil of connection. I wonder if the editor simply added in paragraphs that would tie the books together, because this felt very much like a standalone. I know later series fix this issue, but it was not done well here.
Overall, I don’t have as much to say about this book, other than some plotlines were excellent and some were fairly boring. As a whole, its far from the worst Trek book I’ve read, but its not a favorite of mine. 2.5 out of 5.
December 30, 2021
If you just want the review of the story because you’re up to date on all of the other books that follow the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine TV series, then skip ahead. However this book will make a lot more sense for those who aren’t up to date if they consider the following.
The book literally follows a number of others that continue after the series ends, so it may help you to remember the events in these episodes as most of the novels are not stand alone stories and they all feature the new crew introduced in ‘Avatar’.
Star Trek: The next Generation -
Series 4
Episode 21 - Drumhead (We meet Simon Tarses, a half Romulan Medical Officer who has been transferred to Deep Space Nine)
Series 5
Episode 3- Ensign Ro (Ro Laren is introduced to the Trek universe)
Series 7
Episode 24- Pre-emptive Strike (Ro joins the Marquis)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine -
Series 7
Episode 24 - The Dogs Of War (Rom becomes the Grand Nagus and leaves with Leeta for Ferenginar)
Episode 25 - What You Leave Behind (Sisko leaves to be with the Prophets/Worf is appointed Federation Ambassador to Qo’nos/Odo goes to live with the Founders/Chief O’Brien and Keiko move back to Earth to teach at the Academy/The end of the war with the Dominion and Nog’s promotion to Lieutenant, while Garak stays on Cardassia to help rebuild after the war and Kai Winn and Dukat are dealt with by the Pah Wraiths).
As a result of all these changes a new crew is introduced in the following books-
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Avatar (1&2) - (Commander Vaughan and the Jem Hadar, Taran ‘atar are brought in and we meet Prynn, Vaughn’s estranged daughter and Shar, an Andorian. We also find out that Ro Laren has been brought in as Security Chief having survived the Maquis liquidation by the Dominion. Ezri also decides to transfer to command from sciences and Jake ventures in to the Wormhole looking for his Dad. Kira becomes attainted by the Vedeks and may no longer pray in the temples, Etc).
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Section 31) Abyss - (We learn that Jake is struggling in the Wormhole and Bashir goes on a mission for Section 31 with Ro and Taran ‘Atar).
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Gateways) Demons Of Air And Darkness & What Lay Beyond - Kira and Taran ‘Atar are lost in the Delta Quadrant whilst helping to evacuate a planet in the Alpha Quadrant & Kira spends time in her cultures historical past as a result of the Gateway. It is not really necessary to read any of the other books in the Gateways serial.
The Jaradans from the Star Trek: The Next Generation, Series 1 Episode 11 - The Big Goodbye are featured in this volume and at the beginning of Mission Gamma - Twilight.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Rising Son - (This story runs alongside the Gateways and Mission Gamma stories, but doesn’t seem to affect them, however if you’ve read the others, you might want to find out what happens to Jake?)
Star Trek: S.C.E - Indistinguishable From Magic (Nog teams up with Scotty - I haven’t read it yet, but it doesn’t seem to affect things too much here)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Mission Gamma (1) Twilight – Vaughan takes a crew including Ezri, Nog, Prynn and Shar in to the Gamma quadrant. Ezri loses a crew member for the first time in her command role. We also learn what has caused the estrangement between Vaughan and Prynn. Shar is also having some issues with his Ambassador Mother and the mates that have been selected for him.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Mission Gamma (2) This Gray Spirit - Vaughan and Ezri separate to assist a planet in trouble in order to assist themselves, but there’s political upset and the Prime Directive to take into account.
Kira prepares for a big event on the station and Shar’s Mother and Family start to become a problem for Ro and the new Counsellor.
The Cardassians make an effort to bring about peace with Bajor.
**Please see my reviews for these individual books for other episodes that are necessary to remember certain elements from the series.
On top of these you may want to refresh yourself on these TV episodes too, as elements are featured in Mission Gamma – Cathedral -
Star Trek: The Next Generation -
Series 4
Episode 12 - Wounded (Gul Macet, who looks suspiciously like Gul Dukat, works with Picard to stop Ben Maxwell from a murderous rampage. He has been quite prominent in the Mission Gamma series representing Cardassia).
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine -
Series 2
Episode 4 - Invasive Procedures (A Trill named Verad holds the crew hostage to steal the Dax symbiont from Jadzia)
Series 3
Episode 4 - Equilibrium (Jadzia finds that the Dax symbiont has also been host to a psychotic named Joran Belar)
Episode 24 - Shakaar (The First Minister is a key figure in this book. We also meet Lenaris Holem)
Episode 25 - Facets (Dax goes through a ritual to meet her past selves embodied in her friends)
Series 4
Episode 10 - Homefront (Sisko visits his Father who looks like he must be related to Admiral Cartwright from Kirk’s time - He has a chapter here that seems to be setting something up)
Series 5
Episode 10 - Rapture (The lost city of B’hala is found by Sisko. He also blesses Mika and tells Yevir to become a Vedek)
Episode 16 - Dr Bashir, I Presume (It is revealed that Julian’s intelligence has been genetically enhanced. He is also measured up to be the new Holographic Doctor)
Series 6
Episode 9 - Statistical Probabilities (Bashir works with other Genetically Enhanced humans)
Episode 21 - The Reckoning (We are introduced to the Pah Wraiths)
Episode 26 - Tears Of The Prophets (Jadzia Dax’ last appearance)
Series 7
Episode 1 - Image In The Sand (Ezri appears for the first time)
Episode 5 - Chrysalis (Julian works with Sarina to bring her out of her shell, a side effect of her genetic engineering)
Episode 8 - The Siege Of AR-558 (Nog loses his leg as a result of a fight with the Jem Hadar)
Episode 9 - Covenant (We are introduced to members of the Pah Wraith cult including Mika, they are lead by Gul Dukat)
Episode 10 - It’s Only A Paper Moon (Nog returns to the station unhappy with his new artificial leg)
Episode 11 - Prodigal Daughter (Ezri returns home to her family)
Review:
This book has a storyline heavily featuring Ezri and the Dax symbiont, Julian’s enhanced abilities and Nog’s war wound.
It is an interesting concept and is done with the same aplomb and finesse that most Star Trek writers seem to use in order to make it as much like the series we love as possible.
I would like to have seen more of the inside of the artefact, but the story was generally enjoyable.
At one point things are seen from the symbionts perspective and I appreciate that as something new. I also like the fact that the bit part characters are getting expanded on board the Defiant. We get the best of both worlds as we see a Starfleet exploration as well as the events still happening on the station in one story. This is consistent throughout the Mission Gamma books, which gives these other characters a chance to shine, much as Nog, Rom and others grew on the TV show itself. My one criticism is that some of them seem to be doing the wrong jobs on the bridge. They have their titles for a reason, so why is the pilot checking sensors when the scientist is sat right there? That sort of thing.
I’m looking forward to wrapping up the ‘Mission Gamma’ series with book 4 to catch me up to the end of ‘Rising Son’ which is when I realised I’d missed an entire series of books snd had to backtrack to find out what had been happening. This is why I felt it necessary to write this overly long review, but hopefully it will save other readers hours on IMDB and Google.
The book literally follows a number of others that continue after the series ends, so it may help you to remember the events in these episodes as most of the novels are not stand alone stories and they all feature the new crew introduced in ‘Avatar’.
Star Trek: The next Generation -
Series 4
Episode 21 - Drumhead (We meet Simon Tarses, a half Romulan Medical Officer who has been transferred to Deep Space Nine)
Series 5
Episode 3- Ensign Ro (Ro Laren is introduced to the Trek universe)
Series 7
Episode 24- Pre-emptive Strike (Ro joins the Marquis)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine -
Series 7
Episode 24 - The Dogs Of War (Rom becomes the Grand Nagus and leaves with Leeta for Ferenginar)
Episode 25 - What You Leave Behind (Sisko leaves to be with the Prophets/Worf is appointed Federation Ambassador to Qo’nos/Odo goes to live with the Founders/Chief O’Brien and Keiko move back to Earth to teach at the Academy/The end of the war with the Dominion and Nog’s promotion to Lieutenant, while Garak stays on Cardassia to help rebuild after the war and Kai Winn and Dukat are dealt with by the Pah Wraiths).
As a result of all these changes a new crew is introduced in the following books-
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Avatar (1&2) - (Commander Vaughan and the Jem Hadar, Taran ‘atar are brought in and we meet Prynn, Vaughn’s estranged daughter and Shar, an Andorian. We also find out that Ro Laren has been brought in as Security Chief having survived the Maquis liquidation by the Dominion. Ezri also decides to transfer to command from sciences and Jake ventures in to the Wormhole looking for his Dad. Kira becomes attainted by the Vedeks and may no longer pray in the temples, Etc).
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Section 31) Abyss - (We learn that Jake is struggling in the Wormhole and Bashir goes on a mission for Section 31 with Ro and Taran ‘Atar).
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Gateways) Demons Of Air And Darkness & What Lay Beyond - Kira and Taran ‘Atar are lost in the Delta Quadrant whilst helping to evacuate a planet in the Alpha Quadrant & Kira spends time in her cultures historical past as a result of the Gateway. It is not really necessary to read any of the other books in the Gateways serial.
The Jaradans from the Star Trek: The Next Generation, Series 1 Episode 11 - The Big Goodbye are featured in this volume and at the beginning of Mission Gamma - Twilight.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Rising Son - (This story runs alongside the Gateways and Mission Gamma stories, but doesn’t seem to affect them, however if you’ve read the others, you might want to find out what happens to Jake?)
Star Trek: S.C.E - Indistinguishable From Magic (Nog teams up with Scotty - I haven’t read it yet, but it doesn’t seem to affect things too much here)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Mission Gamma (1) Twilight – Vaughan takes a crew including Ezri, Nog, Prynn and Shar in to the Gamma quadrant. Ezri loses a crew member for the first time in her command role. We also learn what has caused the estrangement between Vaughan and Prynn. Shar is also having some issues with his Ambassador Mother and the mates that have been selected for him.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Mission Gamma (2) This Gray Spirit - Vaughan and Ezri separate to assist a planet in trouble in order to assist themselves, but there’s political upset and the Prime Directive to take into account.
Kira prepares for a big event on the station and Shar’s Mother and Family start to become a problem for Ro and the new Counsellor.
The Cardassians make an effort to bring about peace with Bajor.
**Please see my reviews for these individual books for other episodes that are necessary to remember certain elements from the series.
On top of these you may want to refresh yourself on these TV episodes too, as elements are featured in Mission Gamma – Cathedral -
Star Trek: The Next Generation -
Series 4
Episode 12 - Wounded (Gul Macet, who looks suspiciously like Gul Dukat, works with Picard to stop Ben Maxwell from a murderous rampage. He has been quite prominent in the Mission Gamma series representing Cardassia).
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine -
Series 2
Episode 4 - Invasive Procedures (A Trill named Verad holds the crew hostage to steal the Dax symbiont from Jadzia)
Series 3
Episode 4 - Equilibrium (Jadzia finds that the Dax symbiont has also been host to a psychotic named Joran Belar)
Episode 24 - Shakaar (The First Minister is a key figure in this book. We also meet Lenaris Holem)
Episode 25 - Facets (Dax goes through a ritual to meet her past selves embodied in her friends)
Series 4
Episode 10 - Homefront (Sisko visits his Father who looks like he must be related to Admiral Cartwright from Kirk’s time - He has a chapter here that seems to be setting something up)
Series 5
Episode 10 - Rapture (The lost city of B’hala is found by Sisko. He also blesses Mika and tells Yevir to become a Vedek)
Episode 16 - Dr Bashir, I Presume (It is revealed that Julian’s intelligence has been genetically enhanced. He is also measured up to be the new Holographic Doctor)
Series 6
Episode 9 - Statistical Probabilities (Bashir works with other Genetically Enhanced humans)
Episode 21 - The Reckoning (We are introduced to the Pah Wraiths)
Episode 26 - Tears Of The Prophets (Jadzia Dax’ last appearance)
Series 7
Episode 1 - Image In The Sand (Ezri appears for the first time)
Episode 5 - Chrysalis (Julian works with Sarina to bring her out of her shell, a side effect of her genetic engineering)
Episode 8 - The Siege Of AR-558 (Nog loses his leg as a result of a fight with the Jem Hadar)
Episode 9 - Covenant (We are introduced to members of the Pah Wraith cult including Mika, they are lead by Gul Dukat)
Episode 10 - It’s Only A Paper Moon (Nog returns to the station unhappy with his new artificial leg)
Episode 11 - Prodigal Daughter (Ezri returns home to her family)
Review:
This book has a storyline heavily featuring Ezri and the Dax symbiont, Julian’s enhanced abilities and Nog’s war wound.
It is an interesting concept and is done with the same aplomb and finesse that most Star Trek writers seem to use in order to make it as much like the series we love as possible.
I would like to have seen more of the inside of the artefact, but the story was generally enjoyable.
At one point things are seen from the symbionts perspective and I appreciate that as something new. I also like the fact that the bit part characters are getting expanded on board the Defiant. We get the best of both worlds as we see a Starfleet exploration as well as the events still happening on the station in one story. This is consistent throughout the Mission Gamma books, which gives these other characters a chance to shine, much as Nog, Rom and others grew on the TV show itself. My one criticism is that some of them seem to be doing the wrong jobs on the bridge. They have their titles for a reason, so why is the pilot checking sensors when the scientist is sat right there? That sort of thing.
I’m looking forward to wrapping up the ‘Mission Gamma’ series with book 4 to catch me up to the end of ‘Rising Son’ which is when I realised I’d missed an entire series of books snd had to backtrack to find out what had been happening. This is why I felt it necessary to write this overly long review, but hopefully it will save other readers hours on IMDB and Google.
September 21, 2017
Andy Mangels and Michael Martin pair up for the third installment in DS9's relaunch series quartet, "Mission Gamma". Cathedral carries on directly from the events of Book 2 as Shar is left to deal with the effects of Thriss' suicide... thankfully, Cathedral is Andorian Drama Lite, instead tackling everything from arguments of faith vs science to deadly political machinations.
As the Defiant approaches the half-way point of its Gamma Quadrant expedition, Vaughn and the crew encounter two warring species: the Nyazen and the D'Naali. Right in the center of their feud: a mysterious trans-dimensional construct known both as the "Cathedral" and the "Anathema", depending on which translation you pick. After the Cathedral causes Bashir, Nog and Ezri all to undergo life-threatening medical "reversions", the crew must race to unlock its secrets. Meanwhile, as Bajor prepares for the Federation entry signing ceremony, religious and political upheaval cause chaos.
Finally. A book in this series where I wasn't constantly waiting to get back to the Alpha Quadrant parts to discover the latest installment of political swordplay. The Gamma Quadrant's plotline involving the Cathedral is both gripping and emotionally wrought. What a unique prospect: a device which "tumbles" through dimensions, only ever giving its audience a glimpse of its full extent. The authors have truly come up with a clever concept here, and despite its use as a plot catalyst to "unravel" our away team, I loved the mystery and intrigue it served to generate. Likewise, our D'Naali visitor Sacajawea is enigmatic and alien enough to keep me guessing as to his intentions through most of the novel.
Despite the intriguing aliens and mysterious trans-dimensional constructs, the GQ plot is essentially a character study. Bashir’s descent into normalcy is both tragic and fascinating, although the authors' attempts to cloud this in some mystery early on in the book don't completely succeed. I couldn't help but be touched at some of the scenes, especially as a Dax-less Ezri must console Julian while still allowing him his dignity, despite his clearly fragile state. I almost felt as if I was reading about a person with Alzheimers or Dementia as they struggle to hold on to their core selves. The final revelation, that Julian could still have lived a very fulfilled life as the non-genetically enhanced Jules is both poignant and awfully sad. Here's a boy who, through no fault of his own, has been pushed into undergoing genetic resequencing to be "better". However when all is considered, what does better actually mean? It's a brave question for the authors to ask and I really enjoyed the ethical implications that were thrown up in its wake.
Likewise with Ezri. This is the second book in a row where we've had huge amounts of backstory and development layered over the Ezri character - and it REALLY works. Early on in the relaunch series I lamented about Ezri being a somewhat annoying add on to Bashir. How things have changed. Her uncertainty is no longer an annoyance; if anything, it's an asset. Such self-reflection and soul searching is something that most of us rarely get the opportunity to do, yet Ezri plunges to the depths of her very being to determine what it means to be Dax. This is a character who is finally arriving at peace with herself: she's not perfect, she's still unsure, but that's OK. And I have to say I enjoyed the result. There's also a nice throwback to "The Lives of Dax" where we were introduced to a malicious species similar to the Trill symbionts, and I'm hopeful that this will be picked up in future novels.
Back to the Alpha Quadrant. I did enjoy the widening schism between different religious factions on Bajor and how it impacts the Kira character. She's been thrust center stage in one of her peoples' most profound religious crises in living memory, and things are clearly coming to a boil. While the followers of Ohalu may seem benign, their beliefs are clearly a threat for Bajor's orthodoxy. Yet right now, I'm led to side with their cause: they are happy to champion the rights of Kira to worship the Prophets and have her attainder removed, despite the fact that it goes against their beliefs. True enlightenment? The verdict is still out on that.
Yevir is a confusing piece of this puzzle. After previously showing traits of the previous Kai, Winn Adami, he's almost done a complete 180 this time around, courting favour with the Cardassian Oralian Way (a nice hark back to "A Stitch in Time") to spur on peace between the two species after political talks stalled. I'm still trying to figure out where on the spectrum of good vs evil he stands, if there even is such a thing in this new intriguing (Bajoran) world order.
I can't sign off on this review without mentioning the two shocking departures at the end. Joseph Sisko, in the space of one of the shortest chapters of the book, becomes a truly tragic figure. Mourning the loss of both son and grandson, his character is reintroduced only to presumably meet a desperately sad end. Unnecessary? Perhaps. At this point I'm really not sure where the relaunch is going with any of the Sisko family line.
And Shakaar. Not completely unexpected... although I'm left wondering what on Earth is going on with that silver box he is often hinted at concealing. Am I imagining things? I was assuming that the writers have something bigger planned for his character, although after the final act I'm not so sure...
All in all, a terrific read, and while not perfect, I'm inclined to award five stars for the sheer technical brilliance with which both plots are executed.
As the Defiant approaches the half-way point of its Gamma Quadrant expedition, Vaughn and the crew encounter two warring species: the Nyazen and the D'Naali. Right in the center of their feud: a mysterious trans-dimensional construct known both as the "Cathedral" and the "Anathema", depending on which translation you pick. After the Cathedral causes Bashir, Nog and Ezri all to undergo life-threatening medical "reversions", the crew must race to unlock its secrets. Meanwhile, as Bajor prepares for the Federation entry signing ceremony, religious and political upheaval cause chaos.
Finally. A book in this series where I wasn't constantly waiting to get back to the Alpha Quadrant parts to discover the latest installment of political swordplay. The Gamma Quadrant's plotline involving the Cathedral is both gripping and emotionally wrought. What a unique prospect: a device which "tumbles" through dimensions, only ever giving its audience a glimpse of its full extent. The authors have truly come up with a clever concept here, and despite its use as a plot catalyst to "unravel" our away team, I loved the mystery and intrigue it served to generate. Likewise, our D'Naali visitor Sacajawea is enigmatic and alien enough to keep me guessing as to his intentions through most of the novel.
Despite the intriguing aliens and mysterious trans-dimensional constructs, the GQ plot is essentially a character study. Bashir’s descent into normalcy is both tragic and fascinating, although the authors' attempts to cloud this in some mystery early on in the book don't completely succeed. I couldn't help but be touched at some of the scenes, especially as a Dax-less Ezri must console Julian while still allowing him his dignity, despite his clearly fragile state. I almost felt as if I was reading about a person with Alzheimers or Dementia as they struggle to hold on to their core selves. The final revelation, that Julian could still have lived a very fulfilled life as the non-genetically enhanced Jules is both poignant and awfully sad. Here's a boy who, through no fault of his own, has been pushed into undergoing genetic resequencing to be "better". However when all is considered, what does better actually mean? It's a brave question for the authors to ask and I really enjoyed the ethical implications that were thrown up in its wake.
Likewise with Ezri. This is the second book in a row where we've had huge amounts of backstory and development layered over the Ezri character - and it REALLY works. Early on in the relaunch series I lamented about Ezri being a somewhat annoying add on to Bashir. How things have changed. Her uncertainty is no longer an annoyance; if anything, it's an asset. Such self-reflection and soul searching is something that most of us rarely get the opportunity to do, yet Ezri plunges to the depths of her very being to determine what it means to be Dax. This is a character who is finally arriving at peace with herself: she's not perfect, she's still unsure, but that's OK. And I have to say I enjoyed the result. There's also a nice throwback to "The Lives of Dax" where we were introduced to a malicious species similar to the Trill symbionts, and I'm hopeful that this will be picked up in future novels.
Back to the Alpha Quadrant. I did enjoy the widening schism between different religious factions on Bajor and how it impacts the Kira character. She's been thrust center stage in one of her peoples' most profound religious crises in living memory, and things are clearly coming to a boil. While the followers of Ohalu may seem benign, their beliefs are clearly a threat for Bajor's orthodoxy. Yet right now, I'm led to side with their cause: they are happy to champion the rights of Kira to worship the Prophets and have her attainder removed, despite the fact that it goes against their beliefs. True enlightenment? The verdict is still out on that.
Yevir is a confusing piece of this puzzle. After previously showing traits of the previous Kai, Winn Adami, he's almost done a complete 180 this time around, courting favour with the Cardassian Oralian Way (a nice hark back to "A Stitch in Time") to spur on peace between the two species after political talks stalled. I'm still trying to figure out where on the spectrum of good vs evil he stands, if there even is such a thing in this new intriguing (Bajoran) world order.
I can't sign off on this review without mentioning the two shocking departures at the end. Joseph Sisko, in the space of one of the shortest chapters of the book, becomes a truly tragic figure. Mourning the loss of both son and grandson, his character is reintroduced only to presumably meet a desperately sad end. Unnecessary? Perhaps. At this point I'm really not sure where the relaunch is going with any of the Sisko family line.
And Shakaar. Not completely unexpected... although I'm left wondering what on Earth is going on with that silver box he is often hinted at concealing. Am I imagining things? I was assuming that the writers have something bigger planned for his character, although after the final act I'm not so sure...
All in all, a terrific read, and while not perfect, I'm inclined to award five stars for the sheer technical brilliance with which both plots are executed.
May 12, 2023
This is the best of Mission Gamma books so far, in that it manages to juggle multiple epic plot lines, yet simultaneously focus on deep & intimate character details. I zoomed through this volume: it was an enjoyable, effortless read.
October 10, 2023
Summary: Ro investigates Thriss's death. Dr. Tarses finds that a hypospray of arithrazine, used to treat theta-radiation exposure, is the cause of death. Councillor zh’Thane tells them to leave, and to consider their quarters off-limits. Ro tries to offer condolences, and Anichent attacks her, though he backs off immediately.
The Defiant encounters a large ship attacking a much smaller ship. Only the smaller ship replies to hails, but it's crew consists of insectile creatures chittering in a language that the universal translator can't translate. When the larger ship attacks the Defiant as well, they traget its weapons systems and it flees. Vaughn starts beaming aboard some of the wounded creatures for treatment, which freaks them out even more. Dr. Bashir is on a survey aboard the shuttlecraft Sagan, but it can't be reached.
Kira returns to DS9 after her 2 week trip to visit Kassidy on Bajor. She is accosted by 2 hooded Bajorans, who thank her for releasing the Ohalu books; they say that she has revealed to them a destiny long obscured by those in power.
Ezri, Bashir, and Nog are in the shuttlecraft Sagan trying to determine the source of some dimensional distortions in system GQ-12475's Oort cloud when an enormous alien cathedral appears before them, phasing in and out of multiple dimensions at once. Nog says it's over half a billion years old. They try hailing it, and are surprised that after a minute it sends them a huge datafile. Before they can translate it, an arm extends from the cathedral and the shuttle is nearly swatted by it, but they just manage to escape. Once the dimensional distortion is gone, they get a message from the Defiant saying they need Bashir to treat some wounded aliens on board.
Cerin Mika, a former member of the Pah-wraith cult whom Gul Dukat once impregnated and tried to kill, has since become a peace advocate because of her bi-racial child. She tells Yevir that she's the niece of Vedek Solis, who is currently his biggest rival for kai, and an advocate for the Ohalu texts. She says she too is a member of Ohalu's truthseekers sect, and asks Yevir to lift Kira's Attainder, which he refuses. After seeing her child, he realizes why he's so drawn to the B'hala statue that Kassidy gave him: it has the facial features of both Cardassians and Bajorans. Yevir books passage to DS9 and comes up with a radical plan.
Bashir manages to triage most of the wounded aliens, but 3 of them couldn't be saved. He names them "kukalakas" after his stuffed bear. He realizes they're having trouble breathing because they're used to lower gravity, so he lowers it--but then accidentally knocks a floating exoscalpel into one of the aliens. They manage to save the patient (again), but Bashir wonders if the cathedral had some sort of effect on him. Nog also develops a severe itch in his artificial leg, that turns into screaming pain later on. Ezri feels mildly ill, then violently so.
Ro visits Shar's quarters to talk to his bondmates, as she needs to finish the report on Thriss's death, but they won't let her in; they're still grieving 2 weeks later. Ro, worried about whether Anichent is even still alive, uses a security override to enter, infuriating Dizhei; Ro finds that she's drugged him. Dizhei says it's to stop him from killing himself; their despair goes beyond the loss of a mate and into the possible end of their species. Ro apologies and leaves without filing her report.
Macet abruptly asks Kira to let the Trager depart from DS9 a few days earlier; she reluctantly agrees. Aboard the Trager, Vedek Yevir tells Macet to get the ship under way and that he'll explain ihs purpose there once they've gone.
Bashir rushes Ezri to sickbay; her isoboramine levels are falling steadily, and she's experiencing neural trama. Nothing he tries on her seems to help, and Bashir continues to experience more confusion himself. Shortly thereafter, Nog and Shar are beamed in with medical emergencies as well. Bashir has to remove Nog's artificial leg; his body rejected it, and is growing a new leg in its place. Bashir has some ensigns construct a medical transport pod suitable to host the Dax symbiont, and prepares her for surgery.
Bashir says goodbye to Ezri, and starts surgery. He extracts the symbiont, then accidentally injects it with isoboramine, instead of boramine, poisoning it. Julian searches his mind-cathedral for the antidote, and finds everything in disarray; though an old school rival, Dr. Lense, gives him the answer just in time. He kisses Ezri goodbye, and she wakes up, recovering rapidly instead of dying. Bashir passes out.
While pounding down root beer floats, Taran'atar tells Quark he wants to reserve holodeck time to talk to Vic, curious about how he saved Nog's life. The Trill diplomatic aide Hiziki Gard flirts openly with Ro, to Quark's chagrin. Sure declines a dinner invite, since she has plans with Quark, but finds herself thinking of him afterwards.
Shar and some other scientists show the alien aboard some hieroglyphs from the recovered texts in order to train the universal translator, and it it yells and cowers at a glyph seeming to represent the cathedral they encountered, calling it a cathedral/anathema.
Bashir and all the others from the shuttle are found to have the same quantum resonance pattern after passing through the interdimensional flux. Bashir is experiencing neurological degeneration, regressing to his state from before he was genetically enhanced.
The translators pick up enough to learn that the aliens are called the D'Naali. They say they are indebted for the help, and Vaughn asks if they can have a guide to continue mapping the Oort cloud. They agree to let Ryek’ekbalabiozan’voslu stay aboard--Sacagawea, as the crew have taken to calling him. They immediately head back to the cathedral, and scans reveal a hollow area inside. Before they can beam in however, they detect 13 ships approaching, of the type that attacked the D'Naali. The Nyazen ships setup a blockade, and tell Vaughn that he's defiling the cathedral. They also say that the D'Naali are their enemy, and begin firing on the Defiant.
Taran'atar visits Vic in the holodeck, but also finds Akaar there. Akaar tells him that he killed hundreds of thousands of Jem'Hadar during the war, Taran'atar is not intimidated, though he did no fighting in the Alpha Quadrant during the war. They have a discussion about faith, and Taran'atar seems to be starting to understand the concept.
Macet takes Yevir to Lakarian City on Cardassia, where they her with Cleric Eshoka of the underground religion Oralian Way. Yevir says they just broke peace before Bajor joins the Federation, and casts aside his earring and robes and offers his hand; shocked, Eshoka accepts. Unsure what the next steps are, Garak reveals himself and says he may have a solution.
The Nyazen attack and force the Defiant to retreat, but they don't pursue. Vaughn tells Nog to work on a way to beam a team into the cathedral without alerting them. Vaughn almost calls Ezri Lt. Dax, and she starts to wonder if she should now go by Ensign Tigan instead. She also thinks he should remove her as XO.
Nog confesses to Shar that he isn't exactly in a hurry to solve the mystery of the cathedral, as it likely means he'll lose his regrown leg. Shar finally confers that Thriss has killed herself.
On their date in the holodeck, Vic tells Quark and Ro that with Bajor's impending entrance into the Federation, they need to leave and go into business together.
General Lenaris tells Kira to join the Ohalavaru with him to get Vedek Solis elected. She says she's caused enough division amongst her people, but can tell Lenaris isn't going to let it drop.
The translated text reveals that the cathedral used to reside on an inhabited planet, but the artifact destroyed the planet. Its progenitor species were likely ancestral to the D’Naali and Nyazen, the artifcat built to mine energy from other universes. Sacagawea immediately surmises that they need inside the cathedral, and can tell by sight that Nog, Ezri, and Bashir have been "misaligned" by it; Shar says their quantum resonance patterns are becoming incompatible with the signature of their universe. Sacagawea says if they enter the cathedral--quickly--they can be restored.
Vedek Solis address the Assembly, imploring them to rescind the Attainder on Kira; they call for a vote, but it still fails. Mika tells Solis that she owes Kira her life, and the time to take act is now.
Ezri asks Vaughn to relieve her of duty, but he denies her request, saying that it was Ezri who graduated Starfleet Academy and enrolled in command training, not Dax; and also, that it would be a blow to morale on the ship. She gratefully returns to duty.
Nog proposes a solution to get into the temple by using self-replicating transporter relays that the Nyazen won't be able to easily detect because of the Oort cloud. It's risky, but during the meeting those impacted by the cathedral blink out of existence briefly, and they realize they have little choice but to act now. Julian records in his log later that he was in the other reality for much longer than the others, and was surprised to find he was quite happy there, with a wife and kids.
Garak takes Macet, Yevir, and Ekosha to a secret Obsidian Order facility in the highly irradiated Cardassia City.
The away team manages to beam aboard the cathedral without having their matter scattered across space, but the Nyazen immediately detect the transporter signal and interpret it as an energy weapon. They chase the Defiant out of the system, causing it to lose the transporter lock.
I'm the Bajoran shrine on DS9, a dozen plus Ohalavaru throw down their earrings and take up silent protest for Kira. The Orthodox Bajorans start to threaten violence, but Kira herself tells the demonstrators they're being taken into custody. Afterwards, she learns these demonstrations occurred in every province on Bajor. Ro tries to convince Kira that she did the right thing by giving her people a choice. She also tells her that she's resigning once Bajor enters into the Federation. Kira flips her desk and has a breakdown.
In the cathedral, Ezri is faced with an alternate life where her brothers died and she takes over the books for the family mining business. She eventually realizes that isn't where she's supposed to be, and decides to stick with Starfleet. She signals for the Defiant to beam her back, having aligned her worldlines.
Nog finds himself back on AR-558. Taran'atar cuts off his leg, then throws down a comm badge that Nog uses to signal the Defiant.
Dax is back in the pools of Mak'ala, though he's afraid of monsters with razor sharp teeth. He encounters all his past hosts, who convince him to join back with Ezri, against his wishes, lest his nightmare of millions of dead bodies come true.
On the morning of the Bajoran ceremony, Macet and Yevir return to DS9 unannounced on the Trager.
Julian finds himself back on Adigeon Prime, reliving his past, but with an Alice in Wonderland theme. He finds young Jules about to undergo his genetic enhancement procedure and rescues him, which should have prevented him from becoming smart again, but he finds all his acuity has returned. Jules tells him that now he's resolved his issues with his younger self. He is admiring his fully restored mind palace when he is beamed back to the Defiant.
Yevir addresses a crowd on the promenade. He says the Cardassian and Bajoran governments have failed to unite their people, so the respective religious sects of both peoples decided to work outside the government to make it happen. He then reveals that on their trip to the Cardassian city, they recovered the 4 lost Tears of the Prophets: the Orbs of Truth, Destiny, Souls, and Unity. Afterwards, Ambassador Lang contacts Asarem about restarting negotiations, but Shakaar shrugs it off, saying the Federation can handle it.
A fleet of D'Naali ships arrives and drives off the Nyazen attackers. They have an organ that allows subspace telepathy, and they were communicating with Sacagawea the whole time he was aboard. They want transporter technology so they can destroy the cathedral; when Vaughn refuses, saying it would upset the balance between the D'Naali and Nyazen, they threaten to take it by force. Vaughn has Sacagawea beamed back aboard their ship and they make a run for the cathedral.
When Vaughn explains the situation to the Nyazen commander, he agrees to let them beam their people back, while they engage in a fire fight with the D'Naali. With the help of the Defiant, the D'Naali quickly retreat; however, the transporters are knocked offline, and the Nyazen quickly turn on them again. Shar suggests using the Sagan's teleporters, and they beam back all of the away team. Nog's leg is gone again, and Ezri and Dax are near death. Bashir immediately preps for surgery.
Joseph Sisko has been in bad shape since his son and grandson disappeared. He ran out of heart medicine and didn't bother to get it refilled. A member of the kitchen staff finds him sprawled out on the ground in the garden.
As Shakaar is about to sign the Federation ceremonial parchment, Hiziki Gard throws a concealed blade at Shakaar's neck, nearly severing his head clean off. He smiles at Ro and beams away. Shakaar is dead.
Review: Book 3 was a bit overlong and dragged a bit, but overall it was enjoyable. I really popped for the return of Garak, even if his role was small, and the assassination of Shakaar was somewhat shocking--even though you just knew it wasn't going to go off without a hitch. Really seemed like a middle story though--wrapping up what happened in the previous book while setting the stage for what happens in the next one.
The Defiant encounters a large ship attacking a much smaller ship. Only the smaller ship replies to hails, but it's crew consists of insectile creatures chittering in a language that the universal translator can't translate. When the larger ship attacks the Defiant as well, they traget its weapons systems and it flees. Vaughn starts beaming aboard some of the wounded creatures for treatment, which freaks them out even more. Dr. Bashir is on a survey aboard the shuttlecraft Sagan, but it can't be reached.
Kira returns to DS9 after her 2 week trip to visit Kassidy on Bajor. She is accosted by 2 hooded Bajorans, who thank her for releasing the Ohalu books; they say that she has revealed to them a destiny long obscured by those in power.
Ezri, Bashir, and Nog are in the shuttlecraft Sagan trying to determine the source of some dimensional distortions in system GQ-12475's Oort cloud when an enormous alien cathedral appears before them, phasing in and out of multiple dimensions at once. Nog says it's over half a billion years old. They try hailing it, and are surprised that after a minute it sends them a huge datafile. Before they can translate it, an arm extends from the cathedral and the shuttle is nearly swatted by it, but they just manage to escape. Once the dimensional distortion is gone, they get a message from the Defiant saying they need Bashir to treat some wounded aliens on board.
Cerin Mika, a former member of the Pah-wraith cult whom Gul Dukat once impregnated and tried to kill, has since become a peace advocate because of her bi-racial child. She tells Yevir that she's the niece of Vedek Solis, who is currently his biggest rival for kai, and an advocate for the Ohalu texts. She says she too is a member of Ohalu's truthseekers sect, and asks Yevir to lift Kira's Attainder, which he refuses. After seeing her child, he realizes why he's so drawn to the B'hala statue that Kassidy gave him: it has the facial features of both Cardassians and Bajorans. Yevir books passage to DS9 and comes up with a radical plan.
Bashir manages to triage most of the wounded aliens, but 3 of them couldn't be saved. He names them "kukalakas" after his stuffed bear. He realizes they're having trouble breathing because they're used to lower gravity, so he lowers it--but then accidentally knocks a floating exoscalpel into one of the aliens. They manage to save the patient (again), but Bashir wonders if the cathedral had some sort of effect on him. Nog also develops a severe itch in his artificial leg, that turns into screaming pain later on. Ezri feels mildly ill, then violently so.
Ro visits Shar's quarters to talk to his bondmates, as she needs to finish the report on Thriss's death, but they won't let her in; they're still grieving 2 weeks later. Ro, worried about whether Anichent is even still alive, uses a security override to enter, infuriating Dizhei; Ro finds that she's drugged him. Dizhei says it's to stop him from killing himself; their despair goes beyond the loss of a mate and into the possible end of their species. Ro apologies and leaves without filing her report.
Macet abruptly asks Kira to let the Trager depart from DS9 a few days earlier; she reluctantly agrees. Aboard the Trager, Vedek Yevir tells Macet to get the ship under way and that he'll explain ihs purpose there once they've gone.
Bashir rushes Ezri to sickbay; her isoboramine levels are falling steadily, and she's experiencing neural trama. Nothing he tries on her seems to help, and Bashir continues to experience more confusion himself. Shortly thereafter, Nog and Shar are beamed in with medical emergencies as well. Bashir has to remove Nog's artificial leg; his body rejected it, and is growing a new leg in its place. Bashir has some ensigns construct a medical transport pod suitable to host the Dax symbiont, and prepares her for surgery.
Bashir says goodbye to Ezri, and starts surgery. He extracts the symbiont, then accidentally injects it with isoboramine, instead of boramine, poisoning it. Julian searches his mind-cathedral for the antidote, and finds everything in disarray; though an old school rival, Dr. Lense, gives him the answer just in time. He kisses Ezri goodbye, and she wakes up, recovering rapidly instead of dying. Bashir passes out.
While pounding down root beer floats, Taran'atar tells Quark he wants to reserve holodeck time to talk to Vic, curious about how he saved Nog's life. The Trill diplomatic aide Hiziki Gard flirts openly with Ro, to Quark's chagrin. Sure declines a dinner invite, since she has plans with Quark, but finds herself thinking of him afterwards.
Shar and some other scientists show the alien aboard some hieroglyphs from the recovered texts in order to train the universal translator, and it it yells and cowers at a glyph seeming to represent the cathedral they encountered, calling it a cathedral/anathema.
Bashir and all the others from the shuttle are found to have the same quantum resonance pattern after passing through the interdimensional flux. Bashir is experiencing neurological degeneration, regressing to his state from before he was genetically enhanced.
The translators pick up enough to learn that the aliens are called the D'Naali. They say they are indebted for the help, and Vaughn asks if they can have a guide to continue mapping the Oort cloud. They agree to let Ryek’ekbalabiozan’voslu stay aboard--Sacagawea, as the crew have taken to calling him. They immediately head back to the cathedral, and scans reveal a hollow area inside. Before they can beam in however, they detect 13 ships approaching, of the type that attacked the D'Naali. The Nyazen ships setup a blockade, and tell Vaughn that he's defiling the cathedral. They also say that the D'Naali are their enemy, and begin firing on the Defiant.
Taran'atar visits Vic in the holodeck, but also finds Akaar there. Akaar tells him that he killed hundreds of thousands of Jem'Hadar during the war, Taran'atar is not intimidated, though he did no fighting in the Alpha Quadrant during the war. They have a discussion about faith, and Taran'atar seems to be starting to understand the concept.
Macet takes Yevir to Lakarian City on Cardassia, where they her with Cleric Eshoka of the underground religion Oralian Way. Yevir says they just broke peace before Bajor joins the Federation, and casts aside his earring and robes and offers his hand; shocked, Eshoka accepts. Unsure what the next steps are, Garak reveals himself and says he may have a solution.
The Nyazen attack and force the Defiant to retreat, but they don't pursue. Vaughn tells Nog to work on a way to beam a team into the cathedral without alerting them. Vaughn almost calls Ezri Lt. Dax, and she starts to wonder if she should now go by Ensign Tigan instead. She also thinks he should remove her as XO.
Nog confesses to Shar that he isn't exactly in a hurry to solve the mystery of the cathedral, as it likely means he'll lose his regrown leg. Shar finally confers that Thriss has killed herself.
On their date in the holodeck, Vic tells Quark and Ro that with Bajor's impending entrance into the Federation, they need to leave and go into business together.
General Lenaris tells Kira to join the Ohalavaru with him to get Vedek Solis elected. She says she's caused enough division amongst her people, but can tell Lenaris isn't going to let it drop.
The translated text reveals that the cathedral used to reside on an inhabited planet, but the artifact destroyed the planet. Its progenitor species were likely ancestral to the D’Naali and Nyazen, the artifcat built to mine energy from other universes. Sacagawea immediately surmises that they need inside the cathedral, and can tell by sight that Nog, Ezri, and Bashir have been "misaligned" by it; Shar says their quantum resonance patterns are becoming incompatible with the signature of their universe. Sacagawea says if they enter the cathedral--quickly--they can be restored.
Vedek Solis address the Assembly, imploring them to rescind the Attainder on Kira; they call for a vote, but it still fails. Mika tells Solis that she owes Kira her life, and the time to take act is now.
Ezri asks Vaughn to relieve her of duty, but he denies her request, saying that it was Ezri who graduated Starfleet Academy and enrolled in command training, not Dax; and also, that it would be a blow to morale on the ship. She gratefully returns to duty.
Nog proposes a solution to get into the temple by using self-replicating transporter relays that the Nyazen won't be able to easily detect because of the Oort cloud. It's risky, but during the meeting those impacted by the cathedral blink out of existence briefly, and they realize they have little choice but to act now. Julian records in his log later that he was in the other reality for much longer than the others, and was surprised to find he was quite happy there, with a wife and kids.
Garak takes Macet, Yevir, and Ekosha to a secret Obsidian Order facility in the highly irradiated Cardassia City.
The away team manages to beam aboard the cathedral without having their matter scattered across space, but the Nyazen immediately detect the transporter signal and interpret it as an energy weapon. They chase the Defiant out of the system, causing it to lose the transporter lock.
I'm the Bajoran shrine on DS9, a dozen plus Ohalavaru throw down their earrings and take up silent protest for Kira. The Orthodox Bajorans start to threaten violence, but Kira herself tells the demonstrators they're being taken into custody. Afterwards, she learns these demonstrations occurred in every province on Bajor. Ro tries to convince Kira that she did the right thing by giving her people a choice. She also tells her that she's resigning once Bajor enters into the Federation. Kira flips her desk and has a breakdown.
In the cathedral, Ezri is faced with an alternate life where her brothers died and she takes over the books for the family mining business. She eventually realizes that isn't where she's supposed to be, and decides to stick with Starfleet. She signals for the Defiant to beam her back, having aligned her worldlines.
Nog finds himself back on AR-558. Taran'atar cuts off his leg, then throws down a comm badge that Nog uses to signal the Defiant.
Dax is back in the pools of Mak'ala, though he's afraid of monsters with razor sharp teeth. He encounters all his past hosts, who convince him to join back with Ezri, against his wishes, lest his nightmare of millions of dead bodies come true.
On the morning of the Bajoran ceremony, Macet and Yevir return to DS9 unannounced on the Trager.
Julian finds himself back on Adigeon Prime, reliving his past, but with an Alice in Wonderland theme. He finds young Jules about to undergo his genetic enhancement procedure and rescues him, which should have prevented him from becoming smart again, but he finds all his acuity has returned. Jules tells him that now he's resolved his issues with his younger self. He is admiring his fully restored mind palace when he is beamed back to the Defiant.
Yevir addresses a crowd on the promenade. He says the Cardassian and Bajoran governments have failed to unite their people, so the respective religious sects of both peoples decided to work outside the government to make it happen. He then reveals that on their trip to the Cardassian city, they recovered the 4 lost Tears of the Prophets: the Orbs of Truth, Destiny, Souls, and Unity. Afterwards, Ambassador Lang contacts Asarem about restarting negotiations, but Shakaar shrugs it off, saying the Federation can handle it.
A fleet of D'Naali ships arrives and drives off the Nyazen attackers. They have an organ that allows subspace telepathy, and they were communicating with Sacagawea the whole time he was aboard. They want transporter technology so they can destroy the cathedral; when Vaughn refuses, saying it would upset the balance between the D'Naali and Nyazen, they threaten to take it by force. Vaughn has Sacagawea beamed back aboard their ship and they make a run for the cathedral.
When Vaughn explains the situation to the Nyazen commander, he agrees to let them beam their people back, while they engage in a fire fight with the D'Naali. With the help of the Defiant, the D'Naali quickly retreat; however, the transporters are knocked offline, and the Nyazen quickly turn on them again. Shar suggests using the Sagan's teleporters, and they beam back all of the away team. Nog's leg is gone again, and Ezri and Dax are near death. Bashir immediately preps for surgery.
Joseph Sisko has been in bad shape since his son and grandson disappeared. He ran out of heart medicine and didn't bother to get it refilled. A member of the kitchen staff finds him sprawled out on the ground in the garden.
As Shakaar is about to sign the Federation ceremonial parchment, Hiziki Gard throws a concealed blade at Shakaar's neck, nearly severing his head clean off. He smiles at Ro and beams away. Shakaar is dead.
Review: Book 3 was a bit overlong and dragged a bit, but overall it was enjoyable. I really popped for the return of Garak, even if his role was small, and the assassination of Shakaar was somewhat shocking--even though you just knew it wasn't going to go off without a hitch. Really seemed like a middle story though--wrapping up what happened in the previous book while setting the stage for what happens in the next one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2023
2023 reads, #52-55. It's summer, which means I'm tearing through a bunch of summer reads these days, purposely easier reads that are often also called "beach and airport novels," which I've been deliberately doing for the last several years now as a nostalgic homage to my '70s childhood, when I would participate in my public library's summer reading challenge and tear through a bunch of easy reads in exactly this same spirit. And man, it doesn't get much more summery and easy than Star Trek novels, which longtime readers will remember is something fairly new to my life that I've gone back and forth about many times, regarding their relative cheesiness versus the relative enjoyment I get out of their cheesiness.
Thankfully I've had a chance to steer towards the higher end of these 800+ books, by concentrating on an astounding 100-book series called the "Relaunch Novels" that one can realistically call "semi-canon" books, in that soon after the end of the television run of the highly serialized Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Simon & Schuster asked for and remarkably received from Paramount permission to do a series of DS9 books that actually maintain a consistency to character and plot developments from one book to the next. This allows major characters to die and never come back, or new complications to be added to their milieu that are still there 20 books later, essentially turning these books into an unofficial "eighth season" of the show (or I suppose more like an unofficial eighth through twelfth seasons by this point, although the run was officially finally ended in 2021 with the three-book "Coda," so that the running storyline wouldn't clash with the just-released new TV show Star Trek: Picard).
That's amazing, because usually non-canon genre novels (no matter what TV or movie series you're talking about, whether Star Trek or Star Wars, Buffy or Supernatural) are deliberately meant to be disposable, meaning that they have to be written in a way so that you can pick up any random one at any random time at any random yard sale without needing to know even a single thing about what came before in the book series and what came after; that essentially traps most non-canon genre novels in amber like a fossil, where nothing of importance or permanence ever happens to the characters or their situations, which is a huge aspect of why so many people look at non-canon genre novels with disdain. So I'm glad to be reading these Relaunch novels, and was especially excited to get to the books I just recently completed, the four-book miniseries "Mission Gamma" that tells one big unified story over the course of 1,600 freaking pages, which I read right in a freaking row over the last six freaking weeks of my life without taking even a slight freaking pause between each of them, aaaaahhhhhhhh yiiiiiiiiisssss.
That's the best way to approach these four novels, to just read them all in a row without stopping, because they're all thematically connected through a fascinating turn of events: basically, now that the Dominion War is over, Starfleet decides to convert the DS9 warship Defiant into a science and exploration vehicle like the Enterprise, and then sends a collection of our cast members out through the wormhole and into the Gamma Quadrant to do the Federation's first-ever outreach to "new civilizations" and "strange new worlds" in this vastly distant section of the Milky Way Galaxy, one that's suddenly now within a moment's reach because of this cosmic hiccup known as the wormhole that played such a large role on the original television show. And that's basically why I wanted to do one long write-up for all four of these novels as well, because they're essentially like watching four episodes in a row of the TV show, with a familiar formula that doesn't really change from one to the next (basically -- discover new civilization, something about new civilization gets all fucked up, crew spends the rest of the book trying to fix the fuckup).
There isn't a lot to say about each individual "crisis of the week" here, but collectively they were exactly what I wanted from a summer reading project like this -- something exciting yet intelligent, something well-written but not too complex, something I can read on my front porch on a summer Sunday and perhaps fall asleep in the middle of but don't need to feel guilty about doing. That said, easily the most interesting crisis of the week here is in book #3, Cathedral, in which the Defiant crew stumbles across a doomsday weapon from a highly advanced civilization that destroyed itself more than half a billion years ago, basically a "quantum bomb" that takes any living creature that gets close to it and then tries to mesh that creature with the untold trillions of other versions of that creature that exist in the infinite alternative realities of the quantum multiverse, essentially the entire climax of Everything Everywhere All At Once but compressed down into a millisecond.
But don't worry, we still keep checking in on things back at the station during these four novels too! Among those developments is one of the more intriguing ones I've seen so far in these Relaunch novels, which is basically that it's looking more and more likely that there's going to be a Protestant Reformation soon on the deeply religious planet Bajor which serves as the space station's "home base" both on the show and in these books. In an earlier novel, series regular Kira Nerys had an opportunity to release a recently discovered holy book to the general population of her home planet, after their religious elite tried to hide the book's existence because of it seemingly teaching moral lessons that don't jibe with the traditional ethical rules their religion teaches. That essentially has started turning Nerys in the last couple of books into a sort of Martin Luther figure among her people; and one of the major "domestic" developments of this four-book series is a growing amount of Bajorans actually starting a brand-new sect of their religion, which may or may not eventually turn into a bloody civil war just like the real Protestant Reformation did in Europe back in the 1500s.
I have to admit, I've been eating this stuff up with a spoon, along with such other developments as the growing unlikely romance between slimy bar owner Quark and tough-as-fuck Bajoran security specialist Ro Lauren (an interesting addition to the novel series, in that in real life, Michelle Forbes' Ro from The Next Generation was actually meant to fill the role Kira eventually did on Deep Space Nine, but then the actress got cold feet right before making the seven-year commitment), or the growing embrace of humanity by the rogue Jem'Hadar named Taran'atar who now lives on the station, a race that was barely explored during the original TV run (they were essentially the Dominion's hired muscle) and that the novel authors are doing a great job expanding and complexifying here in the books. I'm finding this all very satisfying, and right now these books continue to deliver exactly what I want from them; so I'm looking highly forward to launching myself into yet more of them later this year, starting next with SD Perry's Rising Son, in which we FINALLY learn what Ben Sisko's son Jake has been doing the entire time he's been plunged into the wormhole in an attempt to track down his missing, ethereal father, which happened way back like six books ago. This is actually considered by many to be in the top 10 Star Trek novels in quality out of all 800 of them, so I suspect I'll be getting to this one soon!
Thankfully I've had a chance to steer towards the higher end of these 800+ books, by concentrating on an astounding 100-book series called the "Relaunch Novels" that one can realistically call "semi-canon" books, in that soon after the end of the television run of the highly serialized Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Simon & Schuster asked for and remarkably received from Paramount permission to do a series of DS9 books that actually maintain a consistency to character and plot developments from one book to the next. This allows major characters to die and never come back, or new complications to be added to their milieu that are still there 20 books later, essentially turning these books into an unofficial "eighth season" of the show (or I suppose more like an unofficial eighth through twelfth seasons by this point, although the run was officially finally ended in 2021 with the three-book "Coda," so that the running storyline wouldn't clash with the just-released new TV show Star Trek: Picard).
That's amazing, because usually non-canon genre novels (no matter what TV or movie series you're talking about, whether Star Trek or Star Wars, Buffy or Supernatural) are deliberately meant to be disposable, meaning that they have to be written in a way so that you can pick up any random one at any random time at any random yard sale without needing to know even a single thing about what came before in the book series and what came after; that essentially traps most non-canon genre novels in amber like a fossil, where nothing of importance or permanence ever happens to the characters or their situations, which is a huge aspect of why so many people look at non-canon genre novels with disdain. So I'm glad to be reading these Relaunch novels, and was especially excited to get to the books I just recently completed, the four-book miniseries "Mission Gamma" that tells one big unified story over the course of 1,600 freaking pages, which I read right in a freaking row over the last six freaking weeks of my life without taking even a slight freaking pause between each of them, aaaaahhhhhhhh yiiiiiiiiisssss.
That's the best way to approach these four novels, to just read them all in a row without stopping, because they're all thematically connected through a fascinating turn of events: basically, now that the Dominion War is over, Starfleet decides to convert the DS9 warship Defiant into a science and exploration vehicle like the Enterprise, and then sends a collection of our cast members out through the wormhole and into the Gamma Quadrant to do the Federation's first-ever outreach to "new civilizations" and "strange new worlds" in this vastly distant section of the Milky Way Galaxy, one that's suddenly now within a moment's reach because of this cosmic hiccup known as the wormhole that played such a large role on the original television show. And that's basically why I wanted to do one long write-up for all four of these novels as well, because they're essentially like watching four episodes in a row of the TV show, with a familiar formula that doesn't really change from one to the next (basically -- discover new civilization, something about new civilization gets all fucked up, crew spends the rest of the book trying to fix the fuckup).
There isn't a lot to say about each individual "crisis of the week" here, but collectively they were exactly what I wanted from a summer reading project like this -- something exciting yet intelligent, something well-written but not too complex, something I can read on my front porch on a summer Sunday and perhaps fall asleep in the middle of but don't need to feel guilty about doing. That said, easily the most interesting crisis of the week here is in book #3, Cathedral, in which the Defiant crew stumbles across a doomsday weapon from a highly advanced civilization that destroyed itself more than half a billion years ago, basically a "quantum bomb" that takes any living creature that gets close to it and then tries to mesh that creature with the untold trillions of other versions of that creature that exist in the infinite alternative realities of the quantum multiverse, essentially the entire climax of Everything Everywhere All At Once but compressed down into a millisecond.
But don't worry, we still keep checking in on things back at the station during these four novels too! Among those developments is one of the more intriguing ones I've seen so far in these Relaunch novels, which is basically that it's looking more and more likely that there's going to be a Protestant Reformation soon on the deeply religious planet Bajor which serves as the space station's "home base" both on the show and in these books. In an earlier novel, series regular Kira Nerys had an opportunity to release a recently discovered holy book to the general population of her home planet, after their religious elite tried to hide the book's existence because of it seemingly teaching moral lessons that don't jibe with the traditional ethical rules their religion teaches. That essentially has started turning Nerys in the last couple of books into a sort of Martin Luther figure among her people; and one of the major "domestic" developments of this four-book series is a growing amount of Bajorans actually starting a brand-new sect of their religion, which may or may not eventually turn into a bloody civil war just like the real Protestant Reformation did in Europe back in the 1500s.
I have to admit, I've been eating this stuff up with a spoon, along with such other developments as the growing unlikely romance between slimy bar owner Quark and tough-as-fuck Bajoran security specialist Ro Lauren (an interesting addition to the novel series, in that in real life, Michelle Forbes' Ro from The Next Generation was actually meant to fill the role Kira eventually did on Deep Space Nine, but then the actress got cold feet right before making the seven-year commitment), or the growing embrace of humanity by the rogue Jem'Hadar named Taran'atar who now lives on the station, a race that was barely explored during the original TV run (they were essentially the Dominion's hired muscle) and that the novel authors are doing a great job expanding and complexifying here in the books. I'm finding this all very satisfying, and right now these books continue to deliver exactly what I want from them; so I'm looking highly forward to launching myself into yet more of them later this year, starting next with SD Perry's Rising Son, in which we FINALLY learn what Ben Sisko's son Jake has been doing the entire time he's been plunged into the wormhole in an attempt to track down his missing, ethereal father, which happened way back like six books ago. This is actually considered by many to be in the top 10 Star Trek novels in quality out of all 800 of them, so I suspect I'll be getting to this one soon!
February 7, 2021
This book is several warp factors ahead of Twilight and This Gray Spirit in terms of pacing and intrigue. It really is a page turner, unlike Twilight. In terms of sci-fi concepts, it feels almost Voyager-esque and had almost an “It’s a Wonderful Life” kind of vibe. Everything happening on DS9 and elsewhere leading up to Bajor’s acceptance to the Federation results in quite a few twists and surprises. Ultimately, Yevir has a strong, borderline redemptive arc that makes him more likeable over the course of the novel. The last few chapters of the novel are the most shocking and I plan on starting “Lesser Evil” immediately.
June 29, 2017
This one has my favorite Gamma quadrant plot so far -- a strange alien mystery and character-driven. The station plot was more like a bridge to set up the final book, but still full of intrigue as it is.
July 6, 2024
Star Trek: DS9 - Post-Nemesis: Mission Gamma: Cathedral by Michael A. Martin, Andy Mangels
Challenging, dark, emotional, hopeful, inspiring, mysterious, reflective, sad, and tense.
Medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5 Stars
By far, the best book in this arc of Mission Gamma.
The storyline of Kira Nerys and her Attainment from being able to follow the Bajoran religion anymore. Ugh. Her struggles with this, and how she navigates the political world on Bajor, but still being able to command Deep Space Nine (perfectly). She's such a powerful character, and I love it, every time she's mentioned on the page. One of my favourite characters. Honourable and strong, a true warrior for the truth of Bajor.
Love the Jem'Hadar soldier/representative, Taran'atar. His growth during these three books has been amazing. Getting an "inside look" (through POV narratives), allows the reader to understand and empathize with him and his race...just a bit more.
The story within this book was an interesting one. 🤔 The weighing of exploration, but also not getting into fights (siding with one group over another). The idea of not being able to talk to the other species, was good, too. Having to build upon their own knowledge and fight their own prejudices, to get to communication. Such a great story. Also, the idea of misunderstanding, and betrayal. Juicy stuff.
The three people that the book focused on the most, especially the ones in the Gamma Quadrant were Julian Bashir, Ezri Dax and Nog. All three of their narratives were powerful and SO good to experience. Each one of them had such "inner turmoil", that as the reader...we had to decide, are we "for" or "against" this POV character, and their choices. Often, during this book...I struggled with their choices, but more so...their inner thoughts and damaging views about themselves.
Commander Vaughn is a great character, and loved how he lead this mission so well, allowing his crew to do their jobs, but also to prod them to be their best selves (even when they themselves were doubting).
Loved how it all "worked" out. Cannot wait for Book Four of Mission Gamma: Lesser Evil.
Challenging, dark, emotional, hopeful, inspiring, mysterious, reflective, sad, and tense.
Medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5 Stars
By far, the best book in this arc of Mission Gamma.
The storyline of Kira Nerys and her Attainment from being able to follow the Bajoran religion anymore. Ugh. Her struggles with this, and how she navigates the political world on Bajor, but still being able to command Deep Space Nine (perfectly). She's such a powerful character, and I love it, every time she's mentioned on the page. One of my favourite characters. Honourable and strong, a true warrior for the truth of Bajor.
Love the Jem'Hadar soldier/representative, Taran'atar. His growth during these three books has been amazing. Getting an "inside look" (through POV narratives), allows the reader to understand and empathize with him and his race...just a bit more.
The story within this book was an interesting one. 🤔 The weighing of exploration, but also not getting into fights (siding with one group over another). The idea of not being able to talk to the other species, was good, too. Having to build upon their own knowledge and fight their own prejudices, to get to communication. Such a great story. Also, the idea of misunderstanding, and betrayal. Juicy stuff.
The three people that the book focused on the most, especially the ones in the Gamma Quadrant were Julian Bashir, Ezri Dax and Nog. All three of their narratives were powerful and SO good to experience. Each one of them had such "inner turmoil", that as the reader...we had to decide, are we "for" or "against" this POV character, and their choices. Often, during this book...I struggled with their choices, but more so...their inner thoughts and damaging views about themselves.
Commander Vaughn is a great character, and loved how he lead this mission so well, allowing his crew to do their jobs, but also to prod them to be their best selves (even when they themselves were doubting).
Loved how it all "worked" out. Cannot wait for Book Four of Mission Gamma: Lesser Evil.
March 6, 2024
DS9: Mission Gamma #3: Catherdal by Andy Mangels and Micheal A. Martin
This was a decent book. But it wasn’t as good as the previous volume. First off, the Gamma Quadrant stuff was very interesting as it served as an exploration for Nog, Ezri and Julian. Three pivotal events in their lives were changed as a result as the artifact known as the Cathedral. For Nog, it’s never losing his leg at the Battle of AR-558 and never joining Starfleet, Ezri it’s never joining with the Dax symbiont and for Julian, it’s never being genetically modified. The real star of this book is the latter and it's great to see such themes explored and what Jules could have been like.
Turns out he would have been a normal bloke with a family and still retains his intelligence. It would have been interesting to see how other characters would have been affected by the Cathedral. One of the biggest criticisms I have though is the lack of exploration of the Gamma Quadrant. I know it's impossible given how this isn’t a TV show but I wish we could see more of it.
The Alpha Quadrant stuff wasn't as strong as the previous book but it was still pretty good. We are finally getting to see the fallout of Kira’s decision from Avatar and how it’s affecting Bajor as a whole. I’m relived a bit they didn’t focus much on Shar and his bond mates. I found it really dragged down the previous two books and I was tired of reading the same thing over and over again about them. Also the Garak cameo made me squeal and Yevir returning all the Orbs was really cool and just left me with a happy feeling. The ending of the book was also one hell of a cliffhanger. I look forward to the last book.
7.5/10
This was a decent book. But it wasn’t as good as the previous volume. First off, the Gamma Quadrant stuff was very interesting as it served as an exploration for Nog, Ezri and Julian. Three pivotal events in their lives were changed as a result as the artifact known as the Cathedral. For Nog, it’s never losing his leg at the Battle of AR-558 and never joining Starfleet, Ezri it’s never joining with the Dax symbiont and for Julian, it’s never being genetically modified. The real star of this book is the latter and it's great to see such themes explored and what Jules could have been like.
Turns out he would have been a normal bloke with a family and still retains his intelligence. It would have been interesting to see how other characters would have been affected by the Cathedral. One of the biggest criticisms I have though is the lack of exploration of the Gamma Quadrant. I know it's impossible given how this isn’t a TV show but I wish we could see more of it.
The Alpha Quadrant stuff wasn't as strong as the previous book but it was still pretty good. We are finally getting to see the fallout of Kira’s decision from Avatar and how it’s affecting Bajor as a whole. I’m relived a bit they didn’t focus much on Shar and his bond mates. I found it really dragged down the previous two books and I was tired of reading the same thing over and over again about them. Also the Garak cameo made me squeal and Yevir returning all the Orbs was really cool and just left me with a happy feeling. The ending of the book was also one hell of a cliffhanger. I look forward to the last book.
7.5/10
September 27, 2021
Pleasantly surprised by this book! While the first two “Gamma” books have been middling, in my opinion, this one was top notch.
In the Gamma Quadrant, we see Ezri (and by extension, Dax), Nog, and Bashir struggle with a mysterious entity cleverly referred to by the alien species guarding/attacking it as a cathedral/anathema, or at least the translation software says so.
While Ezri and Bashir struggle with their loss of personhood, Nog has the opposite and actually sees the return of his missing leg. He obviously has mixed feelings about returning to the cathedral/anathema to correct the problem. It’s a great story that probably gets deeper into Julian Bashir’s psyche than I’ve ever seen in the show or books.
On DS9, we see Kira, Quark, and Ro prepare for the arrival of the Federation as Bajor plans to officially join. Kira continues to struggle with her Attainder, Ro and Quark continue to develop, and Ro also struggles with her place in the militia. Taran’atar also has some appearances, and there is a particularly fun scene between him and Vic.
My favorite part, however, was a return to Cardassia and the reappearance of Elim Garak, melding deftly to what was established in “A Stitch in Time.”
It was a fun and enjoyable book. It was well-written, and carried the plot forward remarkably!
In the Gamma Quadrant, we see Ezri (and by extension, Dax), Nog, and Bashir struggle with a mysterious entity cleverly referred to by the alien species guarding/attacking it as a cathedral/anathema, or at least the translation software says so.
While Ezri and Bashir struggle with their loss of personhood, Nog has the opposite and actually sees the return of his missing leg. He obviously has mixed feelings about returning to the cathedral/anathema to correct the problem. It’s a great story that probably gets deeper into Julian Bashir’s psyche than I’ve ever seen in the show or books.
On DS9, we see Kira, Quark, and Ro prepare for the arrival of the Federation as Bajor plans to officially join. Kira continues to struggle with her Attainder, Ro and Quark continue to develop, and Ro also struggles with her place in the militia. Taran’atar also has some appearances, and there is a particularly fun scene between him and Vic.
My favorite part, however, was a return to Cardassia and the reappearance of Elim Garak, melding deftly to what was established in “A Stitch in Time.”
It was a fun and enjoyable book. It was well-written, and carried the plot forward remarkably!
January 18, 2025
Well I wasn't completely won over by this book until near the end when the crew reflected on their experiences which felt so inherently TOS that I couldn't help but love and appreciate it. The focus on this novel really wants to stick with the Gamma Quadrant stuff and that is often interrupted by a quick DS9/Alpha Quadrant moment before getting back to the "good stuff" of where the narrative wants to keep its focus. The dilemma of what Ezri, Dax, Bashir and Nog had to go through was an interesting question and although I could already tell what was going on it seemed a bit of a cop out for the explanation of what was actually happening to them and a question of tampering with the biological nature of beings could have been put on the table instead of a simpler sci-fi reasoning. I liked the Alpha Quadrant events and I think the prior two books kept a good balance of both sides but this one just didn't have time for that. Ha ha! Anyway, in the end I liked it more than I expected after a rougher start so good for Martin and Mangels!
February 25, 2026
This is a slightly better book than Mission Gamma #2, so probably rates about 3.5 stars. The book is told in alternating chapters (perhaps divided between the two authors?) between events on Deep Space Nine and aboard the Defiant, exploring the Gamma Quadrant on the other side of the wormhole near DS9. The two plotlines do not intersect at all. The main DS9 plotline involves a lot of political/religious negotiations as Bajor is petitioning to join the Federation of Planets. It's not as dull as in the previous book, but still not too exciting. There are a few more interesting subplots that try to add characterization to various protagonists. The Defiant plotline is more interesting, as Bashir, Ezri Dax, and Rom encounter some weird aliens while two other alien fleets take target practice on the Defiant.
Despite some of these reservations, it's still nice to revisit favorite characters in what reads like a hypothetical DS9 eighth season. Authors Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels do a good job of capturing the voices of the DS9 actors.
Despite some of these reservations, it's still nice to revisit favorite characters in what reads like a hypothetical DS9 eighth season. Authors Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels do a good job of capturing the voices of the DS9 actors.
December 12, 2022
Okay, there's a lot to process in this book.
The core thread across the titles is Bajor's impending entry into the Federation and how that's affecting their neighbors and the situation on the ground. And I love how this was told through a number of ways including how the likes of Ro and Quark aren't looking forward to Federation Rule or even how Kira is still trying to balance the will of the First Minister versus her own moral compass of sorts.
The Gamma Quadrant adventure is very rich on its own but doesn't necessarily tie back to events back home. The story becomes a good exploration of Nog, Bashier, and Ezri Dax and their respective traumas and challenges. But yeah, it could have been a standalone story and not part of this series - unless the personal development they managed her ends up connecting to other things later on.
One more book to go!
The core thread across the titles is Bajor's impending entry into the Federation and how that's affecting their neighbors and the situation on the ground. And I love how this was told through a number of ways including how the likes of Ro and Quark aren't looking forward to Federation Rule or even how Kira is still trying to balance the will of the First Minister versus her own moral compass of sorts.
The Gamma Quadrant adventure is very rich on its own but doesn't necessarily tie back to events back home. The story becomes a good exploration of Nog, Bashier, and Ezri Dax and their respective traumas and challenges. But yeah, it could have been a standalone story and not part of this series - unless the personal development they managed her ends up connecting to other things later on.
One more book to go!
October 30, 2024
I really wish I could have read this installment not so piecemeal but I've been busy. Book 3 seems to have a balance of story & action that 1 & 2 lacked. I really liked the idea that some things are just what they are & not to assume the worst will happen but to confront the possibility, that is not to fight against it. Play the cards you've been dealt & don't waste energy. At least that's how I read it. The very last few paragraphs were definitely a genuine surprise & shock. While the authors shared out the focus on all the characters the fact they spent a little more time on Dr. Bashir was the tether that kept me interested during my intermittent reading. The discordant music also of the ice bodies, the descriptiveness of which made me feel I could hear it going on in the background the whole time like some ambient black metal album, set the stage well.
January 12, 2025
I really liked the themes. The bits on DS9 were very compelling. The bits in the Gamma Quadrant were also very good EXCEPT for the titular Cathedral. We just weren't given enough about it.
Ultimately, the Cathedral itself was a bit of a nothingburger and pulled this book down from "I really liked it" to just "I liked it."
Ideas that caught my interest:
Bashier: children with disabilities, acceptance, disappointment, Alzheimer's, and self-worth.
"You obviously don't love me the way I am now."
Ezri: imposter syndrome, leadership, identity.
Kira/Bajor: justice, reconciliation, accountability, minority religious groups, non-violent protest
Ultimately, the Cathedral itself was a bit of a nothingburger and pulled this book down from "I really liked it" to just "I liked it."
Ideas that caught my interest:
Bashier: children with disabilities, acceptance, disappointment, Alzheimer's, and self-worth.
"You obviously don't love me the way I am now."
Ezri: imposter syndrome, leadership, identity.
Kira/Bajor: justice, reconciliation, accountability, minority religious groups, non-violent protest
March 5, 2022
I really loved this character study for both Julian and Nog. And in addition to that there's a lot of cool action, diplomatic intrigue & religious politicking going on back on the station for Kira to struggle through (which of course she does, because she is Kira and she is awesome).
I still think Ezri needs some work before she stops being slightly annoying to me, and also the DS9 relauch leaves out a little of that soocially awkward, nerdy + annoying side of Julian that I obviously adore. But on a whole it is fantastic and I can't wait for more. The ending made me GASP.
I still think Ezri needs some work before she stops being slightly annoying to me, and also the DS9 relauch leaves out a little of that soocially awkward, nerdy + annoying side of Julian that I obviously adore. But on a whole it is fantastic and I can't wait for more. The ending made me GASP.
May 27, 2021
En underbar bok för alla Bashir-älskare. Han och Ezri Dax börjar återgå till ett ursprungligt hälsotillstånd, vilket medför att doktorn förlorar sina genetiska förstärkningar och Ezri börjar frigöra sig från hennes symbiont. Samtidigt börjar Nogs ben att växa ut igen, vilket han självklart är glad för. Det är intressant att se bandet mellan dem och framför allt att få en chans att se hur de skulle ha varit utan de förändringar som på olika sätt skett i deras liv.
April 15, 2022
After the let down in narrative, structure, etc. of the 2nd book this was a breath of fresh air.
The story continues as Vaughn and the crew of the Defiant explore the gamma quadrant, while Kira and those on DS9 deal with the pending entry of Bajor into the Federation.
A much more enjoyable read with good characterizations, new races that you can envision, and problems that have interesting solutions.
Also there is a twist ending that I'm sure no one saw coming.
The story continues as Vaughn and the crew of the Defiant explore the gamma quadrant, while Kira and those on DS9 deal with the pending entry of Bajor into the Federation.
A much more enjoyable read with good characterizations, new races that you can envision, and problems that have interesting solutions.
Also there is a twist ending that I'm sure no one saw coming.
September 10, 2024
It was feeling a bit shaky in the previous novel (This Gray Spirit) with a lot of time spent on less interesting nuance, but this novel saves this short series by trimming off the expositional fat and keeping up the pace. The cliffhanger ending was fantastic and I’ve been jittery waiting until I can move on to the next one.
September 21, 2017
Meh. Compared with how the other two books so far in this series have been, this one wasn't that great. The solution to the problem the crew of the Defiant run into was abundantly obvious right from the get go. It did, however, end with a cliffhanger. I hope that the 4th book is better.
January 26, 2018
A fine continuation of an amazing series. Far superior to most Star Trek novelizations. Looking forward to see how book four wraps this up.
February 27, 2018
Excellent
Highly recommended if you enjoy the world of Deep Space Nine. Beloved characters are alive and complicated in the novel.
Highly recommended if you enjoy the world of Deep Space Nine. Beloved characters are alive and complicated in the novel.
March 19, 2019
I’m reading all four parts. The first two books were good but dragged. This one moved along much easier.
October 16, 2021
Another really fun DS9 relaunch book. If you liked the previous ones, you'll like this one too. My only real complaint is it ends on a major cliffhanger, so be ready to read the next one
July 2, 2023
I don't know what it says about me that I was more invested whenever this book focused on Quark nd Ro.
July 8, 2023
Love Bashir, what a nerd. Ezri is also just a better Dax. Vic Fontaine VIP. Still side-eying the actual plot on DS9.
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