The Never Ending Sacrifice - Review Thread *Spoilers*

[Reanok]

I went to Barnes & Noble and picked up The never ending sacrifice today. I'm trying to hurry and finish reading another book so i can finally to start read this book after finally being waiting for it at long last. I'm really looking forward to reading this one after all the positive reviews about this book.

[Marie1]

DarkHorizon wrote:

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The book ends about 18 months post-Unity (the O'Brien's are in 'their second year on Cardassia Prime', The Lotus Flower (which is two months after Unity) took place 'over a year' ago, and then there's a fair amount of travelling between Earth (a visit there of several weeks), Bajor, and Cardassia which must take up a couple of months). This puts it sometime in early 2378, the (current) latest timeframe for the DS9-R.

So the FAQ's "The Never-Ending Sacrifice (from season 2 to a few months beyond Soul Key (2009))" is about right? The sleeve part about unity scared me, but the latest DS9 PF books didn't span a huge amount of time... I keep forgetting.

[DarkHorizon]

Marie1 wrote:

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So the FAQ's "The Never-Ending Sacrifice (from season 2 to a few months beyond Soul Key (2009))" is about right? The sleeve part about unity scared me, but the latest DS9 PF books didn't span a huge amount of time... I keep forgetting.

Well, the 'present' scenes of TSK are very early 2377 - no later than February, if I figure correctly. So, depending on how much later the Epilogue occurs (which could conceivably be quite some time after), it's around a year after the end of TSK. The statement of "just after" Unity in the Historian's Note is a bit misleading, IMO.

[Ronald Held]

Mine should come by the weekend, and might be finished before it is over.

[Reanok]

I started reading this book this afternoon and I can't put this book down. I like Rugal and it's interesting to see an outsiders view of the events happening on Cardassia. I like Rugal's father Kotan padar.It's a well written story.Una McCormack did an excellent job writing this novel.

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Ever since I saw the DS9 episode (Cardassians) and Kotan Pa'Dar showed up, I thought of something like this:

(voiceover) These are the Pa'Dars...

(photo of a Cardassian family)

(voiceover) and these are the Prokas...

(Bajoran family)

And this is...

(both families together)
CARDASSIAN SOAP!

[Una McCormack]

Icemizer wrote:

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I disliked the character of Rugal quite a bit.

Hi Icemizer! I quite agree with your assessment of Rugal. He is bad-tempered, judgmental, and can have a cruel tongue. On the plus side, I think he is courageous and loyal, and that he softens as he grows up. He's modelled in part on the hero of one of my favourite books, Aquila in The Lantern-Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff. (He also has a rotten time.) Thank you for your comments and I'm glad you enjoyed the book, even if you didn't like the lead much!

[Seven of eleven]

I haven't come to this site in nearly a year and I haven't talked about anything Trek related on here for several more but I absolutely had to log back in to say what an absolutely terrific novel this is.

I started reading it late last night right before bed, planning to stop once I got sleepy. I stopped at four in the morning because that was when I had finished the book.

I have probably read close to a hundred Trek novels and every time I pick one up, my expectations are that it will be an enjoyable and entertaining diversion for the duration of the time that I read it; I do not expect an engrossing novel which makes me emotionally invested in their lives of complex and flawed characters, which makes me think of the contradictory and reciprocal qualities and frailties found within an individual and within society, which makes me view such timeworn topoi such as love and duty in a different light. And yet this is such a book.

If you're looking for a novel that simply advanced the main DS9 story arc or is about managing to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow within the flux capacitor to close the subspace anomaly, you will be disappointed. But if you're looking for a profound and well-written bildungsroman that shows the zeniths and nadirs of human (or Cardassian or Bajoran) nature, Trek related or not, science-fiction or not, I heartily recommend this one and send my thanks to the author for having written it.

[Man of Steel]

Quick question:

When will DS9 catch up to every one else in terms of post Destiny?

[MNM]

^^ The next book, "The Rough Beasts of Empire", out late next year is set in the post-Destiny, Typhon Pact time period.

[Idoliside]

Wonder if we'll find out what happened in the mean time, i can hardly imagine DS9 having about 4-5 uneventfull years...

Captains Log: Nothing interesting has happened in 2 years, im getting suspicious, better set the self destruct just incase...

[Una McCormack]

Seven of eleven: sincerest thanks.

[Reanok]

I just finished Tnes and really thought it was a complex well written story about Rugal and the events unfolding on Cardassia.I also like the fact we get to see other Cardassians who aren't in the military and see what their lives are like I like Penneyel and Rugal's friendship as it unfolds in the book.

[Nerys Ghemor]

I just read it...

Very interesting story! Now, I should begin by saying that my view on things Cardassian can be a bit strange sometimes because I've been working on a Cardassian-centric fanfic for a long time and I must say, I did not realize how strong the feel of "my" Cardassia had become until I read this. Obviously I will refrain from any sharing of that, but it may be that's affecting my views. I also take a different interpretation of the character of Proka Migdal than the one that forms the very backbone of this novel--that said, there is so little time in canon to conclusively form an opinion that I am certainly willing to accept a divergent viewpoint and the consequences thereof for the purposes of reading TNES.

Some have talked about the vignette-like nature of this book. But to me, that kind of fits where I personally think this story may have gotten its inspiration, and where the imagery and the characters kept taking me: Les Miserables. The students in the Torr Sector--I definitely felt like those geleta shops were like the places Marius haunted during the run-up to...a rebellion that ended with disillusionment, just like the Detapa Council's uprising.

The other place where to me, anyway, the Les Mis feeling came on strong (but again, not at all in a bad way) was in the meeting with Tekeny Ghemor. Oh, my goodness--you NAILED the intense grief and kindness both. To me, I get strong shades of the way the older Jean Valjean is acted in the stage version. The feeling of his presence...it was a lot like the same thing that moved me to tears when I saw certain songs performed in Les Mis, with Valjean--particularly things like "Bring Him Home" and the "Finale."

(Here they are for you guys to hear. Ignore the dumb videos in a few cases:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbmVAfYTeKo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czd7JSdg0ms )

Lawrence Pressman really seemed to have brought himself into the role, and I could definitely see your scenes acted by him. And that he became such a rallying figure for the people of Cardassia...I can see it, no doubt. And what a horrible, horrible tragedy that Rejal did not choose him to head the military. So much hinged upon that turning point: one bad choice and it all came down.

And maybe this is fitting, considering that a motif in TNES is a great epic work that means to Cardassian culture what epics like Les Mis are to us. And yet there's one heck of a contrast, too. Les Mis seemed to be very strongly about values like kindness and forgiveness, whereas the Cardassian work...well, I have a sneaking suspicion that it was anything but. There's a certain irony in that, to be sure.

You also really nailed the quiet, gentle strength of Tora Ziyal, and as someone who liked her character, I really appreciated that.

Contrary to what others have said, I thought the "soldier" plot made sense. I actually thought that having Rugal wear a soldier's armor for a time really completed the work of bringing home the point that the Cardassian people...even the military where the sickness was quite strong, there were still decent people.

On that same note, I also appreciated seeing humanity's imperfections, and the sanctimoniousness they can sometimes get--AND that the outright hatred and bigotry are still there. I was SO galled by the treatment of the Cardassian civilians--and this from people who themselves had been herded into internment camps because of THEIR race! I could certainly see where Hulya's fear came from.

Even though it felt a little bit too "neat" at times the way things tied up in the end, with Rugal having his own adopted child of another species (and one that bit a human's hand, at that!), it also made a lot of sense from a literary standpoint, and the reason I ultimately accepted it is that in a way, you've created what one hopes will be the new Cardassian "repetitive epic," one where love is allowed. And I have to say, that makes the title The Never-Ending Sacrifice take on a whole other meaning: that strong, proud, and selfless nature, given in love instead of fear, could be one indomitable force, even more than the might of Central Command and the Obsidian Order combined. And those forces, of course, were destroyed by their own hands just as surely as one obsessive, self-deluded Inspector Javert.

So, to sum up...while sometimes it felt like a trip into an alternate universe given my own take on Cardassia, and while there were a few decisions that at times I didn't quite agree with, in its own right this work stands up VERY well and I found it an extremely rewarding read.

Thank you very much indeed, Ms. McCormack, for a wonderful early birthday present, and I hope this review is acceptable.

[Ronald Held]

I finished reading it. There was nothing wrong about it but the main plot did not hold my attention.