The Dominion and Ferenginar

Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #3

by Keith R.A. DeCandido, David R. George III

Within every federation and every empire, behind every hero and every villain, there are the worlds that define them. In the aftermath of "Unity" and in the daring tradition of "Spock's World, " "The Final Reflection, " and "A Stitch in Time, " the civilizations most closely tied to "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" can now be experienced as never before...in tales both sweeping and intimate, reflective and prophetic, eerily familiar and utterly alien.FERENGINAR: Quark's profit-driven homeworld is rocked with scandal as shocking allegations involving his brother's first wife, the mother of Nog, threaten to overthrow Rom as Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance. Making matters worse, Quark has been recruited by Rom's political adversaries to join their coup d'etat, with guarantees of all Quark ever dreamed if they succeed in taking his brother down. While Ferenginar's future teeters on the edge, the pregnancy of Rom's current wife, Leeta, takes a difficult turn for both mother and child.

THE DOMINION: Since its defeat in the war for the Alpha Quadrant, the Great Link -- the living totality of the shape-shifting Founders -- has struggled with questions. At its moment of greatest doubt, its fate, and that of the Dominion itself, is tied to Odo's investigation of his kind's true motives for sending a hundred infant changelings out into the galaxy.

As Odo searches for answers and takes a hard look at his past choices, Taran'atar reaches a turning point in his own quest for clarity...one from which there may be no going back.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Fiction, Ebooks, Science Fiction Fantasy, Anthologies

346 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 2005

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both of these are really excellent.

The Ferengi story is everything a fan could want. Tons of fun and mayhem Ferengi style, involving pretty much every Ferengi character to make an appearance on DS9 and then some.

The Dominion story is surprisingly epic in scope, centering on Odo and the Great Link, revealing some fascinating history on the origins of the Founders and their deeply held beliefs as well as some truly shocking developments that should interest any and every DS9 fan. George does a remarkable job portraying Odo's conflicted nature, torn between his ties to the world of the solids and those of his own people, his desire for peace vs his people's deep mistrust of outsiders, and of course his great and long unrequited love for Kira at the heart of it all.

[Crystal Bensley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Quark and Odo stories

[Mayaj · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took me nearly a year to finish. Got through the Quark novella super fast, had a great time, all the Ferengi fam cameos one could want (and a new addition!). But the Odo story... oh, the Odo story.

There's one cool bit where Laas is trying to convince Odo of something and shapeshifts into Kira for emphasis, which is DRAMA. Your ex turned into your other ex? Tea.

But that's about it. It fills in an intentional blank left by the show in that it explicates exactly what went down between Odo and Kira in Dax's closet during her bachelorette party and it's... fine, I guess?

Actually, it's not fine. It's dumb. Odo makes excuses for banging the other founder while Rom was nearly executed, and Kira just sort of lets him foundersplain at her for what seems like hours.... weeks?

There are some actual important plot points that play into the larger arc of the series, so I can't in good conscience recommend skipping it, but if you --like me-- can't always stand Odo, just know that Taran'Atar goes to check out the "female" founder whose orders countermand Odo's, and the Ascendents are god maybe? And there's a big dead anomaly that turns out to be a giant dead founder, and something something I'll be real I was fully skimming at this point, Taran'Atar decides to defy Odo and commandeers a runabout with Vaughn's daughter on it, but first he stabs Ro and Kira!

There. Now you don't have to read it and can do something productive with your time like write Odo/Laas fanfic.

[Elen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ferenginar story was excellent and moved away from gross Jewish stereotypes and towards the Ferengi being people with a statistically higher occurrence of Ron Pauls in their population. Also definitely gets 5/5 because Ro and Quark decided that romance isn't in the cards.

The Dominion side of things was also quite good and the whole thing with Taran'atar was handled a lot better than I thought it would be, given that I had an idea of what was gonna happen. Best of the series!

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the stories about Ferenginar and the Dominion in this book. Especially the latter one, but I'll review them separately since that's easier.


Satisfaction Is Not Guaranteed (Ferenginar), 3 1/2 stars.

I think this story started off okay enough. I have to admit that stories focusing primarily on Ferengis usually aren't among my favorite ones, but I did think that this one had an interesting story to it. Quark, Nog and Ro goes to Ferenginar where chaos ensues due to enemies of Grand Nagus Rom at the same time as his wife Leeta is having a difficult pregnancy. It's one that kept me interested throughout the story. It's about doing some detective work to figure out who did what, it has a little twist at the end and it gives you a good feel of what Ferenginar's like.

Something that got to me a little bit was Nog's mom, Rom's ex wife, and how her life has been. Although we only get to see a glimpse of it, I still can't help but become affected by it and what kind of status women has previously had on this planet. If you've followed Star Trek you'll most likely know all about this, but I'd say that it was just something about this woman's life that got to me and that felt really sad.

I also kind of liked to catch up with how Rom and Leeta were doing, and what's going on on Ferenginar with all the changes that's been taking place. It might not be something that I would read an entire series on, but since this hasn't really been that big of a part of the relaunch series it was actually quite fun to read about. I also think that Rom is such a sweet character with a really big heart.


Olympus Descending (The Dominion), 4 1/2 stars.

I loved this story. There's something about the Dominion that intrigues me. They're such a different species and they have such a distinct and unique history.

Something that I really liked that was brought back from previous novels was the Ascendants. I'm not completely sure what's up with them, but I'm more than curious to find that out and have been ever since they were introduced when Opaka Sulan met one of them in a previous novel. You know how some story lines just gets to you in a deeper way? Well, this one is one of those for me.

This is also a story that really makes the Founders react to something from their history, and it's really interesting to me. We learn why they sent out the 100 changelings. We learn about them believing in a God, which is something that I found to be quite surprising since they themselves is worshiped as Gods by the Vorta and the Jem'Hadar. But spirituality is also something that I find really interesting, so that's why this added to making the story even more appealing to me.

I would say that this story ends up being one of the cornerstones for the Dominion species as a whole and one that you wouldn't want to miss if you're into reading about them.

[Derkanus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:
Satisfaction Is Not Guaranteed
Ambassador Quark's Bar, Grill, Embassy, Gaming House, and Holosuite Arcade is only able to stay in business in the Federation's moneyless economy because his brother, Grand Nagus Rom, made his bar the Ferengi embassy to Bajor--though he also implemented taxes, so profits are stagnant.

Quark gets a visit from a Ferengi named Gash, who forged him provenances to fool a couple Yridians bidding for Grisellan totem icons.

Quark gets a call from Chek at Chek Pharmaceuticals, saying he needs to rent out the embassy in 1 week for 10 businessmen--and that he'll pay 2 bricks of gold-pressed latinum if Quark himself will attend. He sends the contract immediately.

At a meeting of the Economic Congress of Advisors, Rom establishes an investigatory arm for the Ferengi police force, then calls for Congressman Liph to be removed from office for stealing relief funds. Liph resigns before a vote can even be called; however, former FCA Brunt is offered up as his replacement, and even though Rom tries to veto it, the motion passes.

Later, he tells his Moogie, Ishka, about Brunt, and she says they'll have to tell the terrible news to Krax, his first clerk and former Nagus Zek's son. Before he can react, Dr. Orpax calls and tells Rom that Leeta's womb is too small for a Ferengi baby's head, and says she'll need to be kept under constant watch at the hospital.

Chek and the businessmen tell Quark that the nagus needs to go; all the women in the workforce are crippling their profits. Only 1 of them, a Ferengi named Zoid, disagrees, saying the women have boosted the economy. Chek asks Quark to lead their charge against Rom, but Quark says he can't just take their word against his own brother, and he's not visiting Ferenginar to see things first hand. Shortly thereafter, he gets a call from Rom who says Leeta is sick, and that Quark needs to come see his new niece/nephew when they are born. Quark agrees.

Quark wants Ro Laren to come with him, so he says there are lots of people on Ferenginar that want him dead. Ultimately, she agrees to come, but says he could've just asked her.

Nog is also traveling to Ferenginar with Quark, but before he leaves, he goes to Bajor to meet Jake and Rena for dinner. Rena tells Nog about how her grandfather recently passed, and he says maybe he'll stop and visit his mom while on Ferenginar.

Quark, Ro, and Nog meet Rom and Ishka at the Nagal Palace. Rom tells them that Leeta's condition is deteriorating further, and the doctor can't operate unless she gets stronger.

Brunt calls an emergency session of the Economic Congress of Advisors and says Rom has violated a Ferengi contract: he is still married to Nog's mom, Prinadora, and if he breaks the monogamy clause, her dad Dav gets all of Rom's possessions. Brunt intends to use this to become nagus himself.

Rom becomes catatonic and goes to see Leeta. Nog goes to visit his mom. Quark says there's no way Rom did it because he couldn't hurt a fly, and asks Ro to figure out how the contract was faked.

Nog breaks into his grandfather Dav's house through a tunnel in the basement, but find Dav waiting for him with a phaser. He tells Nog that seeing him would upset Prinadora, and makes him go back the way he came.

Ro visits Leeta in the hospital, who is grateful to have a friend visit. However, her trip is cut short when she gets a report saying that Rom's contract appears to be genuine.

Rom's vengeful cousin Gaila goes to Risa and convinces Zek that he needs to go to Ferenginar to get Ishka back, and to stop Rom from ruining his legacy.

Nog tells Ro that investigator Rwogo checked Rom's contract against the archive, and it was a match; however, some research finds that she may be getting paid off by Chek Pharmaceuticals, so Ro says she needs to investigate herself.

Eliminator Leck, hired by Quark, breaks into the Glat Archive at the bottom of the Mayak Swamp to make a copy of Rom's marriage contract.

Ro wrenches the ears of a Ferengi handed Nik to find out that he sold his Chek stock to a Ferengi named Gash.

Nog waits for his grandfather to leave, then breaks into his Moogie's house again. Prinadora is very kind, but completely empty-headed; she barely remembers Nog or Rom, nor does she remember why they divorced. She does remember that her father has been meeting with people and talking about overthrowing the Grand Nagus, and describes them for Nog.

Leeta is in a coma, and the doctor says he'll likely have to operate to remove the baby--and the odds are not in favor of Leeta's survival.

Quark tells Rom that Leck got a copy of his marriage contract and that Brunt's was a fake, made by Gash. Rom says he wasn't sure if it was fake or not; he didn't read it before signing. Quark says he needs to convene an emergency session of congress, but Rom won't leave Leeta's side.

Chek again asks Quark for his support, and Quark tells him no way; Rom might be an idiot, but Brunt would put him out of business. He also tells Chek that he has evidence that Brunt's contract is a fake.

Brunt calls an emergency session of the ECA to vote out Rom, but Quark brings in Gash, fingered by Prinadora to Nog, who confesses that he was paid to forge the contract by the Brunt for Grand Nagus Campaign. Ro also points out that Rom's 2nd marriage was a Bajoran contract, and thus not technically valid on Ferenginar. Rom arrives and says that Ferenginar has become a joke in the galactic community, and that his reforms will still let them earn profit without exploitation.

The committee votes to keep Rom as nagus, then votes to remove Brunt. Rom gleefully tells tells everyone that Leeta and his new baby daughter are just fine. Ironically, Brunt wins the raffle for the time and sex of the birth.

Quark confronts Krax; he says all the evidence leads to him being behind Brunt's campaign. Krax says he planned on revealing the forgery was made by Gash all along, to oust Brunt and strengthen Rom's position as nagus. He also backed Chek's biggest competitor and made a ton of money. Quark tells Leck not to kill him, for now.

Leeta's daughter's name is Bena, after the Emissary. Ishka says she's officially retiring to Risa with Zekkie. Rom says he visited Prinadora, and she really didn't remember him; Dav setup their whole marriage just to steal Rom's possessions.

Back on DS9, Ro tells Quark that things between them aren't going to work out; he's always scheming and hitting on other women. She says she doesn't want him to change, and they agree to be friends--though Quark won't stop trying for more.

Quark's cousin Gaila recruits the disgraced Brunt to help him deal weapons outside the reach of the FCA.

Olympus Descending
Odo returns to the Founder's planet to find a bright light above it; Weyoun says it is a nova just outside the Omarion Nebula. He is frightened by it at first, but decides it's a harbinger of a bright future for his people.

Odo had retrieved Weyoun 8's transcorder implant after Garak killed him, hoping that future Weyoun clones would develop sympathetic tendencies like the 6th iteration. Odo also has a Jem'Hadar servant named Rotan'talag, who is not dependent on ketracel-white. The Founders do not approve of Odo's interest in the solids at first--they concern themselves only with themselves--but eventually come to at least tolerate it.

3 more changelings return to the Founder's planet, among them is Laas, who Odo met before. He brings with him the charred remains of another channeling and demands an explanation for why the Hundred were sent out into the universe.

Taran'atar now requires a few hours of sleep during the week. He resents the Alpha Quadrant and most of it's people, but can't disobey Odo--though he has plans to perhaps rejoin the Dominion soon.

Laas asks Odo why the Founders would send newborn changelings out into the world without any way to protect themselves; just doing it to gain knowledge doesn't make any sense. He also says Odo is only here to convince the Founders to maintain peace with the monoforms, and that he'll just go back to Kira; Odo realizes this is true. Laas says the Founders are his enemy, and that he intends to learn the truth; he walks into the Great Link.

A Founder tells a Vorta named Vannis to go to the planet Sen Ennis to see what she can learn about the Ascendant that crashed there.

Odo joins the Great Link searching for Laas and senses great unease. He finds an ancient channeling with the name Indurane, who conveys his age by swapping between multiple humanoid forms, including Laas's. He says that Odo was not an "infant" when he was sent out as one of the Hundred, but is in fact hundreds of years old. Odo says he doesn't understand, and Indurane tells him that the changelings cannot procreate.

After a brief stopover on the Mjolnir to pickup a new runabout for DS9, Kira and Taran'atar set course for Ananke Alpha, the Federation prison facility housing the Founder leader, at Taran'atar's request. He swears to Kira that he will not attempt to free her, as that would likely result in her death; he merely wants to comfort her after her long isolation.

Indurane tells Odo that their people were created by the Progenitor; after it created the universe, it imbued their people with it's changeable essence, in it's own image. The "infants" were merely sections of the Link that hadn't divided from the whole yet and begun to learn; when they finally did so, they would be considered "newly formed." The Hundred were sent out to search for the Progenitor, to lure it to return. They weren't given knowledge of the universe so as to avoid persecution from the solids, who feared and killed members of the Link. Indurane says the Hundred ultimately prevailed: he looks to the nova in the sky and says the Progenitor has returned.

Odo explains everything to Laas, who thinks that the Progenitor is just a religious belief manifested because the Link is afraid of dying, not historical fact. Odo traces the distribution of the Hundred and finds that they're paths all converge on one star system, the one with the star that just went super nova.

Taran'atar passes through many levels of security at Ananke Alpha and finally comes face to face with the Founder. She asks him why he has come. He tells her of his mission to the Alpha Quadrant given to him by Odo, and says he doesn't understand it; he wants her to give him new orders. She says her sacrifice was for nothing, that Odo will leave the Link and return to Kira, and that the Founders aren't gods--the Progenitor is the one true god. Taran'atar begs her to let him help her in some way, but she dismisses him. He believes he isolation has had a deleterious effect on her.

The Vorta Vannis goes to Sen Ennis and retrieves residual material and DNA from the Ascendant that crashed there.

Laas and Odo seek out Indurane and tell him their findings; he says the Link already knows that the nova is the Progenitor--and they intend to travel to it. Odo and Laas are selected to come along with Indurane and a few others, who take Odo's Jem'Hadar attack ship to the nova.

As Taran'atar leaves the Founder's cell, he uses a new shroud ability he didn't realize he possessed: he casts an image of the Founder in her golden, liquid form into the cell, while she clings to his chest disguised as his clothing. When he gets too far from the cell, his cast fails and the alarms are triggered. He kills the guards and defeats the prison's defenses, even using another new shroud ability to disguise himself as one of the guards. Though greatly injured by phaser fire and the station's defensive radiation, he makes it back to the shuttle where Kira is waiting. She tells him to take the Founder back to her cell; the Founder tells him to kill Kira. He hesitates, but ultimately fires his phaser at Kira, killing her.

Taran'atar awakens on the return trip to DS9, disturbed by his dream of breaking out the Founder and killing Kira. He reflects on the impossible events, like using his shrouding to project remote figures or disguise his appearance. The revelation that the Founders are not gods, and also that he disobeyed Odo, makes him question the meaning of his existence. He decides to return to DS9, but after that, he doesn't know.

Scans near the nova reveal a spherical cap about the size of 20% of a planet, made up of biomimetic cells--though the DNA is different than that of a Founder. Odo thinks it may actually be the Progenitor.

Vannis tells the Viceroy of Rindamil that the Dominion is taking 75% of their food stores for Overne III. He says they can have 20%, so she deploys the Jem'hadar to begin destroying Rindamil. He relents and agrees to 75%, though most of the population will likely not survive the winter.

Back on DS9, Taran'atar confines himself to his quarters, becoming more and more furious that he's failed Odo's mission. He starts to imagine the DS9 crew, then attacks and kills them. He does so much damage to his quarters that an alarm sounds; Ro and Kira call to ask what's going on, but he destroys the panel and storms out.

Odo and the others beam down to the "planet", but there is only dust everywhere. Odo realizes that the dust is actually the biomimetic cells of a single, enormous changeling, perhaps the Progenitor Itself, but It is dead.

The Founders are in such despair, that 3 of them simply launch themselves into space. Weyoun contacts them and says scans show that an isolytic subspace weapon caused the star to go nova, which is what killed the changeling on the planet. He says the warp signature matches the one from Sen Ennis--it was done by the Ascendants.

Kira and Ro run to Taran'atar's quarters, but just outside he attacks them, knocking out Ro and stabbing Kira in the chest, leaving her for dead.

The Founders form giant cyclones that reach into the sky, then beyond. Indurane tells Odo that their sorrow is so great that they're sending themselves out into the universe, as penance for luring the Progenitor to Its death. Some may remain together in small links, but most seek isolation. After Indurane leaves too, Laas asks Odo what will become of the Dominion; he says he and Laas are the Dominion now.

Review: 4 stars. The Ferenginar story was better than I expected, but I still don't love Ferengi stories in general. The Dominon story was more interesting, though the writing of David R. George III annoyed me, as he would often use whole sections of explanatory text over again, usually in the very next chapter.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ferenginar: Satisfaction is not Guaranteed

A generally lighthearted story that still has huge repercussions for the Ferengi. While there are many comical elements to the story, Satisfaction Is Not Guaranteed still treats the Ferengi with respect and dignity in the style of the best Ferengi episodes of Deep Space Nine. Over the course of the series, Quark turned into a truly round and multi-faceted character, and one of my favorites. I enjoyed the look into his beliefs and the choices that have led him to where he is now. The glimpses into the day-to-day life of the average Ferengi citizen was very interesting as well.

A great addition to the Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series, and one that any Quark fan should enjoy immensely.

Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2015/04/W...


The Dominion: Olympus Descending

An excellent story that sets up the next chapter in the Deep Space Nine saga in a very compelling way. There are a lot of hanging threads with regards to the fate of Taran'atar, as well as that of Captain Kira and Lieutenant Ro. I'm also fascinated to see where the story of the Founders goes from here, as the Great Link has fundamentally changed following the events of this story.

An excellent conclusion to the Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series, and a great jumping-off point for where the series will go from here.

Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2015/05/W...

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first story about Ferenginar, as it incorporates all the wacky melodrama and absurd world-building of Ferengi on the show. I think every Ferengi ever mentioned on ds9 shows up in the book at some point. Serious things happen, but everyone involved is so ridiculous nothing's treated all that seriously. Great fun.

The second one about the Dominion brings up a lot of the egregious plot holes and questions that arose from the show, as well as continuing storylines from the relaunch. It was nice to see those questions asked, although the answers provided in this story pretty much all fell flat (the idea that the Founders suddenly have their own god is a silly retcon), and then to top it off the ending felt both unfinished and depressing.

[Shoumik Hassin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 'Worlds of' trilogy was a cool and good idea, though I am dreading the next time Andorian reproduction comes up.

Anyway,

'Satisfaction is not Guaranteed' - Keith RA DeCandido - 3 stars (It's good for a Ferengi novella)

It's a Ferengi novella, but it's charming enough that I didn't skip it once I started.

'Olympus Descending' - David R George III - 3 stars (Read this one)

Frankly, I was dreading this bit. I've never really liked the Dominion changelings as a civilisation. Though we're still harping on the twin loci of religion and reproduction that has marked the DS9 relaunch, I think this is a really good expansion. Odo also gets to reclaim some of the character definition he lost while stuck in that saccharine romance with Kira. Am I slightly worried that DS9 is going to do another war arc? Yes. But this is still decent set up.

[Christian Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, this is by far the best of the “Worlds” miniseries as it relates to DS9.

More interesting than the exposition-heavy “Andor” story and even better written than the “Cardassia” one (I mean it!), this novel includes two stories focused on Ferenginar and The Dominion, and it really shines.

I’m a sucker for Ferengi stories, and this one really shined. While not as good as “The 34th Rule,” it was still enjoyable, melding humor, action, and plot together into a wonderful story.

The Dominion story was perhaps the most serious of all of the “Worlds” stories and featured a conclusion that makes me wonder how the heck the DS9 Relaunch will move forward from here.

Great stories.

[Vic Page]

I didn't finish this book but I did read the summaries. DAMN Olympus Descending is DARK and I for one love that:
- Progenitor is dead
- Ascendants are coming, and the Dominion is turning more vicious in order to build strength before the coming war
- Taran'atar stabs Ro and tries to kill Kira?!
- The old Founder who started the Dominion War escaped?!
I just found the writing to be very difficult to stay engaged with.

[Yvette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the Ferengie world story. It kept me interested in the characters. The Dominion one was good but to drawn out. I lost interest several times. But it ended well.

[Alvaro Zinos-Amaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

4/5 for Ferenginar story

1.5/5 for Dominion tale

Detailed review forthcoming.

[Tara Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining

[Michael Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this one may be the best of the "Worlds of DS9" series.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine overall I suppose.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not a big fan of the Ferengi, so I was kind of glad to finish the first story, though it was well-written.
The second one left me baffled… the ending was like a cliff-hanger and quite sad.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never thought too much of Fereginar. But this story fleshed out more details and was fun.
Odo’s story is sad so be warned

[Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ferenginar : ***
Dominion : *

[Drac · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the Weyoun rating system this is 3/5 stars: Weyoun appears for less than half of the Dominion part of this book. He has a fair amount of lines and some good character insights.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ro Laren and . . . QUARK? Holy . . .

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dominion and Ferenginar is the final volume in the Worlds of Deep Space Nine series, and the only one to focus on worlds completely outside the sphere of Federation influence. Like its predecessors, Andor and Cardassia and Bajor and Trill, D&F consists of two novellas. This volume is penned by two of modern Trek's most popular authors. DeCandido opens the collection with "Satisfaction is Not Guaranteed", a tale of business politics in which a cabal of angry Ferengi attempt to enlist Quark's support in a conspiracy aimed against his brother, Grand Nagus Rom, whose reforms (allowing women to wear clothes and earn profit, mandating an income tax) they despise. Quark is torn between his own contempt for the "New Ferenginar" and family loyalty, but the decision is made somewhat easier when he finds out the cabal is hoping to seat his old enemy Brunt as the new nagus. This is a story interesting and sometimes funny, albiet not remarkable -- the standard for Ferengi stories has been set by The 34th Rule, and that's a book which won't be beat anytime soon.

David R. George follows this with a novella set in the Gamma Quadrant, "Olympus Descending". At the end of Deep Space Nine's series, Odo decided to stay with his people, becoming an exile from his friends in the hopes of teaching the Dominion more peaceful ways. Meanwhile, an elderly Jem'Hedar soldier who Odo sent to the Alpha Quadrant in hopes of reforming, is finding life increasingly difficult to bear. The Federation's vicious enemy has never been fully explored in novel. The length of George's story doesn't allow for a lot of expansion here, and George paints the Founders as largely detatched from the everyday affairs of empire. This is somewhat disappointing, but understandable. Odo's quest to understand his people and his own origins ends with a staggering turn of events, one I'm surprised no one has followed up on. The last great Borg War may have taken precendence, though.

These are both fine stories; "Olympus Descending" is the stronger of the two, helped by its subject matter being more exotic.

[Maurice Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fine installment of Worlds Of Deep Space Nine!

First we traveled to Ferenginar with Quark, Nog and Lieutenant Ro Laren. Nog first got to meet Jake Sisko's new wife Rena (I loved their dinner together- he clowned Jake as only a best friend can) and then hurried back to catch their transport to Ferenginar. Rom asked them to come for two reasons- one, for the impending birth of his child with Leeta and also because former FCA liquidator Brunt, now a member of Rom's finance council, has accused Grand Nagus Rom of breaking a contract- his marriage contract with his first wife Prinadora. With Leeta having a difficult pregnancy, Rom won't leave her side. That leaves Quark, Nog and Ro to get to the bottom of Brunt's accusations. I love how everything came together.

Odo is the only one who could possibly give us a good view of the Founders' homeworld. I enjoyed seeing the Great Link through his experiences. He returned to the Link after extended time back in the Alpha Quadrant with Kira and committed himself to refocusing the Dominion. He wants them less distrustful of "solids" and more willing to reach out to other races in friendship.

Back on Deep Space Nine, Taran'tar (a Jem Hadar elder) remains on assignment there as assigned by Odo, but he's not happy. He gets special permission to visit the imprisoned female changeling (serving a life sentence after the Dominion War), but talking to her doesn't give him any answers.

While the Dominion endures under the guidance of the Vorta, Odo and the other changelings investigate the possibility of there being a Progenitor who created their race and that It might be coming back to find them. I enjoyed seeing Odo's people having such great faith.

Finishing this made me wish for more Worlds Of books, but alas, this ends the series

[Omar Leal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last of the DS9 Worlds series. I enjoyed the entire series and this book was no exception. Especially poignant is Odo/The Founders story, which I thought raised some interesting questions, as well as left one huge cliff hanger at the end. My one complaint would be that story could have been its own novel, as much of the philosophical and emotional fallout were left unexplored. I always enjoyed quark on the series and thought the Ferenginar story to be faithful to the series character. My only other complaint is the sheer confusion concerning star trek novels It has taken several hours of searching to piece together what novel to read next. This is quite unlike the star wars novels which contain a timeline of all novels in each book, and extremely frustrating. Still if you're looking at this book, you're probably already a fan and this review is unlikely to change your feelings one way of another. I will just add, the final part is worth the read and a solid addition to the DS9 story line.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the last installment of the "Worlds of Star Trek Deep Space Nine" series of books. If you've read the previous two, this one follows a similar layout; two mini stories told from the perspective of a main character. The first half is set with Quark on the Farengi homeworld. If you've seen many DS9 episodes, you know that they are often more lighthearted than the standard fare. This is no exeception, though, most of what is talked about is fairly serious. The Farengi portion balances out the dark Dominion section quite well. This second half sets up the story for the next book and provides some interesting insights into how the Dominion operates, why Odo was sent away, and what the Founders exist for. I found the Dominion portion far more compelling than the Farengi, even though the first section had its moments too.

[NullusAnxietus · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third volume in the WODS9 series contains two stories from the Dominion and Ferenginar respectively.

The first story follows the adventures of now Ambassador Quark as he travels home to Ferenginar to help out his brother Rom, now Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance and father-to-be
It was great to see an in-depth story set on the Ferengi homeworld, to see there culture and the fallout from the reforms put in place by former Grand Nagus Zek.

The second story follows Odo and his attempts to change the racist viewpoint of his fellow Founders and the Dominion in general. It also has him delving into the secrets of his origin and the Changeling race as a whole

Both stories were really entertaining. Looking forward to reading more

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volume 3 of The Worlds of Star Trek was not nearly as good as the first two. I did not find the story of Quark on Ferenginar all that interesting, nor was the one about The Dominion. The only part was the section with Taran'atar because it tied into the beginning of Warpath, which was actually a continuing story after The Dominion. Had I realized that I would have waited to read Warpath, since I kept thinking I had missed something when it started out with Kira and Ro mortally wounded right at the beginning.

[Derek Oberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

As geeky Star Trek books go, this entire "Worlds of..." series has been amazing. I really enjoyed all of them. This one has the much dreaded "Ferengi Episode." But this one was okay. It's pretty enjoyable, and there's some chuckles in there. But the Dominion half was very good. This series has seriously taken on a whole lot of storylines in a way that you know they could never do if any Trek were still on the air (not that these are considered strictly "cannon," but whatever).

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two novellas in one book. The first looks at Quark, and Rom. Someone is trying to stop Rom being Grand Nagus. The second looks at Odo and the reason why the 100 changelings were sent out. The Ferengi story is light hearted and really looks at the changes in its society. It's a great character based plot with all the regulars being exemplary. The Odo story, though quite slow going is full of emotional impact. And you really feel sorry for the Founders at the end. A great read.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first story in this book is pretty good. Ferenginar feels believable, the storyline is well suited to the characters, and it gets major bonus points for Ro and Leeta getting to talk. Overall a fun read.

The second story is a bit anticlimactic and a little boring. It has several plot points introduced with little build up. I think mostly this story is supposed to segue into the plot of the next book. The ending, however, was intriguing.