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 - STARGAZER: OBLIVION

POCKET BOOKS

Written by Michael Jan Friedman

Copyright 2003 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

In Stargazer: Oblivion, USS Stargazer Captain Jean-Luc Picard is on an undercover operation to meet with a defector on a planet in Ubarrak space - when the meeting goes wrong and Picard is accused of terrorism. While in jail, Picard meets someone who will help him - Guinan.

This is the first time Picard meets Guinan. Picard appreciates her talents, like freeing them from jail, while Guinan keeps the secret of them meeting before - as well as holding in the pain she has from being released from the Nexus. The chief of security takes it personally when Picard and Guinan escape from jail and leads the manhunt for them. With the Cardassians searching for Picard and the defector, their running from the law leads them on quite a hunt.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.



















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Star Trek - The Lost Era - The Art of the Impossible

POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Shuster, Inc.

Written by Keith R.A. DeCandido

Copyright 2003 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.



Star Trek's The Art of the Impossible a Lost Era book written by Keith R.A. DeCandido, is set between the Klingons and the Cardassians as they both try to be the aggressive victors in the campaign to develop a planet.

With the initial discovery of a lost Klingon colony fleet ship which crash-landed on a resource rich planet, the Klingons and the Cardassians use the discovery as a means of exploiting their political agendas. Ambassador Curzon Dax uses his influence to have both races use their abilities to develop the planet. Whoever is the most resourceful in developing the planet the most according to the Organian Peace Treaty gets to keep it.

While the Klingons seem like Klingons with their rich culture, I did not get any real feeling of what the Cardassians as a race are really like. Even with the Cardassians' sinister intelligence organization The Obsidian Order, the Cardassians are very ordinary. You do get a glimpse of Worf as a child and an insight into his real family - just before Worf's rescue by his human father at the destroyed Khitomer base, and why Worf was separated from his brother. These were rather touching scenes to me.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

Star Trek: The Lost Era - Well of Souls

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

Written by Ilsa J. Bick

Copyright 2003 by Paramount Pictures

Well of Souls is set during the little known time of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-C. Little known Captain Rachel Garrett must deal with both her rogue First Officer Samir al-Halak as well as dealing with Garrett's estranged family as they all deal with searching for an archaeological find on an ancient Cardassian planet that Garrett's son found.

It is interesting to get to know a little bit more about the Enterprise's woman captain, Captain Rachel Garrett and the crew of the Enterprise C as I think the only reference to all of them is the TV episode "Yesterday's Enterprise." Garrett and the crew add to the history of the Enterprise. The most interesting part of the story is of the new First Officer al-Halak dealing with a dark family secret of his, as well as al-Halak's history with Starfleet Intelligence - and the tragic circumstances that happens with both. As a result of which, Captain Garett is closed minded toward her new First Officer al-Halak.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.