STAR TREK - DEEP SPACE NINE - MISSION GAMMA - THIS GRAY SPIRIT

POCKET BOOKS

Written by Heather Jarman

Copyright 2002 by Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved.



In This Gray Spirit by Heather Jarman, Cardassian ambassador Natima Lang arrives at the Bajoran space station Deep Space Nine for a hopeful diplomatic mission between the enstranged planets Cardassia and Bajor. While continuing it's exploration mission in the Gamma Quadrant, the starship Defiant has been damaged and is getting repaired by an unusual species - whose biological differences have created a civil war.

It was interesting to see the juxtaposition of the genocidal civil war of the Yrythny, as well as the aftermath of the Cardassian occupation of the world of Bajor. Colonel Kira struggles with trying to help the Cardassian people who had occupied her planet. Having Shar's bond mates pining away for Shar, who is of course stationed on Deep Space Nine as a StarFleet officer, to come back home to them was rather annoying to me. Perhaps I do not really understand Andorian bonding, but I would be able to understand the bonding more if the bonding was more of a physical medical necessity, like the Vulcan Pon-Far, instead of the Andorian bonding being a racial necessity. While I understand Shar wanting to be independent, his not wanting to confront his bond mates - which is basically his family - was both immature and disconcerting to me, with tragic consequences. Shar's developing a relationship with a Yrythny girl in order to search for a cure for both of their peoples was almost infidelity to his family.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

STAR TREK - DEEP SPACE NINE - FEARFUL SYMMETRY

POCKET BOOKS

Written by Olivia Woods

Copyright 2008 by CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

In Fearful Symmetry, the Jem'Hadar Taran'atar, sent by Odo, has attacked Captain Kira Nerys and has fled Deep Space Nine. Apparently he was being controlled by Iliana Ghemor from the Mirror universe. Of course Kira and the Deep Space Nine crew does not trust our universe's Iliana who wants to help Kira. After establishing contact with their counterparts in the Mirror universe, Commander Elias Vaughn and a recently healed Kira travel to the Mirror universe to stop Iliana.

This book actually has two stories. This is what I like to call for this publication branding a media flip-book - where you read the first half of the book, then flip the book over and read the second half of the book, which contains a different story. This is why there is a double cover with the back cover upside-down for the Marketing. Writer Olivia Woods replaced writer Leanna Morrow, hence the different writers on the covers. Actually I was expecting the second half of the book to be the same story told from a different point of view, but that is not the case.

The second half of the book does contain a different story still set in the Deep Space Nine universe. Iliana Ghemor is a Cardassian non-clone look-alike artist-turned-spy for Kira Nerys, so she has become a major character targeting Kira in the books set after the TV series. As a result of her prestigious parents, artist Iliana Ghemor is pursued to be recruited by the covert Cardassian intelligent agency - the Obsidian Order. After her fiance, who served in the military to sustain order as the Cardassians occupy Bajor, gets killed by Bajoran terrorists - Iliana joins the Obsidian Order. After undergoing surgery to make her look even more Bajoran, Iliana's character in the Mirror universe has been made insane by Gul Dukat manipulations and the Iliana in our home universe wants to stop her.

With two universes and several Kira/Ilianas in the stories, I get a little confused as to which universe and characters I am keeping track of, especially in the other books concerning this story.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

STAR TREK - DEEP SPACE NINE - WARPATH

An Original Publication of Pocket Books

Written by David Mack

Copyright 2006 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

In Warpath, Jem'Hadar Taran'atar has attacked Captain Kira Nerys and Lieutenant Ro Laren - and has fled into deep space, taking Ensign Prynn Tenmei hostage. Commander Elias Vaughn goes after Taran'atar and his daughter Prynn while the fate of Kira and Ro hangs in the balance.

It is sad to see Taran'atar return to his Jem'Hadar roots. He was a character I thought was becoming a solid member of the Deep Space Nine new series. David Mack seems to write all the stories that turn Star Trek on it's ear. As the crew of Deep Space Nine deal with Taran'atar's treachery, they do not seem surprised or disappointed as I do that he has gone and done this. Even though Vaughn is doing his duty to get Taran'atar, you could feel the love and agony he has as he searches for his kidnapped daughter and his wanting to free her. I was rather surprised that Taran'atar had kept her alive as long as he had as I suspected he would have used his Jem'Hadar logic and kill her once he got a ship to escape in. Taran'atar's conflicted torment was quite interesting as I think this is the most characterization I have seen of him in the new series.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

STAR TREK: Deep Space Nine - Mission Gamma

An Original Publication of POCKET BOOKS

Written by David R. George III

Copyright 2002 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

STAR TREK is a Registered Trademark of Paramount Pictures.


The Dominion War is over. The U.S.S. Defiant from Deep Space Nine is sent out on a deep space exploratory mission into the Gamma Quadrant. Meanwhile, the planet Bajor is on the verge of joining the Federation.

The first book of a four book series Mission Gama, Twilight is supposed to represent an optimistic future for both exploration of the Gamma Quadrant and for the prosperity of Bajor. However, the Defiant's mission to the Gamma Quadrant goes wrong when a First Contact becomes devastated by energy waves from another planet's star system. Back at Deep Space 9, Colonel Kira feels like she is being heavily scrutinized by Admiral Akaar for her command style of Deep Space 9. As much as the Bajorans want to join the Federation, things will change - and not everyone on Bajor is excited about the change to their home.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Lives of Dax

Pocket Books, A Division of Simon & Shuster, Inc.

Edited by Marco Palmieri

Copyright 1999 by Paramount Pictures

In The Lives of Dax, this anthology of the Deep Space Nine character Dax tells the stories of all the hosts that the Trill symbiont Dax has lived in. With each host's story told by a different author, you get a sense of how different each host in Dax's life was - whether he was a man or a woman. Also, you get timeline of how Dax got involved with Starfleet. It is also curious to see how Dax, through his various hosts, was involved in some way with the other characters in the Star Trek universe and that the host was the dominant character in each incarnation instead of the symbiot Dax. With the framing story of Ezri Dax, you can see how insecure Ezri feels with being herself as compared to the achievement oriented previous hosts of Dax and how she deals with the memory of these hosts.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.