DS9 - Where to start?

[tmclough]

JWolf wrote:

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The answer is very simple. The firmware you are using in your Astak EZReader Pocket Pro has a bug. To be honest, it's time for an upgrade. That's a rather serious bug and since Astak is no longer making readers or supporting them, you'll never get it fixed.

Actually, it's a bug in the ebooks--they have margins measured in ems, so whenever you expand the font size, you expand the size of an em, hence you expand the margins. ADE is just following orders.

Also, because most, if not all, of the software (except ADE) in the Astak firmware is open source, there will always be updates/alternatives to the firmware by independent parties, as long as such parties are interested.

If I were to get a new ebook reader, where can I find one that A) reads epubs; B) doesn't have wireless capabilities; C) doesn't have touch screen (i.e., uses tactile buttons); D) doesn't require proprietary software to copy books to the device or update its firmware; E) is available in the US? I have yet to find such a device, or at least one still in production.

[ATimson]

tmclough wrote:

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If I were to get a new ebook reader, where can I find one that A) reads epubs; B) doesn't have wireless capabilities; C) doesn't have touch screen (i.e., uses tactile buttons); D) doesn't require proprietary software to copy books to the device or update its firmware; E) is available in the US? I have yet to find such a device, or at least one still in production.

I understand why most of those are important, but why is wireless a no-no? You can always leave it disabled...

[tmclough]

ATimson wrote:

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I understand why most of those are important, but why is wireless a no-no? You can always leave it disabled...

I suppose that isn't as important, as long as it is always disabled, and no need to register it with the tied-in bookstore; and, ideally, no need to use wireless to upgrade the firmware (instead, just download on your PC, copy it over, and do whatever button routine it takes).

[Thrawn]

Why so adverse to wireless?

[tmclough]

Thrawn wrote:

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Why so adverse to wireless?

Part of it is there is usually (always?) an bookstore tied directly to the device. I know you can buy ebooks from other sources, especially if the reader does ePubs, but I'd rather not have any such direct connection to such a store. Mainly it's the principle of the matter, but it also makes it harder to accidentally buy more books than I can read (not having a tied-in bookstore, that is).

Also, with wireless capabilities often comes (somewhat limited) Internet access, which means being tempted to surf the web rather than read a book, which I do too much of anyway. (On my Nintedo DSi XL, and before that DSi, I spend more time using the browser than any of the many games I own.)

[theblitz]

Back to the original topic:
I started to read Gateways: Demons ....
I was wondering about it being book 4 of 7.
Doesn't that mean I should have read books 1-3 first?

[lvsxy808]

Nope. All six of the main books are six separate crews dealing with six separate parts of the big overarching story. Apart from the big mass holodeck scene, they barely cross over at all. If you're only following the DS9 stories, the TNG entry is not vital. Yes, it's the one that most directly addresses the actual problem facing the galaxy, but that's not really the most interesting part of the whole thing anyway. All you need to know from the TNG book is basically - "Don't worry, Picard's on it."

As for book seven, well that's different. It's a short story collection that brings together the codas from the six main books. The DS9 portion of that is fairly necessary, but I suppose if you really really had to, you could skip it, at least plot-wise, espcially if you don't give a toss about the other five. Character-wise though, it's very much worth it.

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[Christopher]

Ideally one should get the Twist of Faith omnibus trade paperback, which incorporates Avatar Books 1 & 2, Abyss, Demons of Air and Darkness, and "Horn and Ivory" in a single volume.

[JD]

lvsxy808 wrote:

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As for book seven, well that's different. It's a short story collection that brings together the codas from the six main books. The DS9 portion of that is fairly necessary, but I suppose if you really really had to, you could skip it, at least plot-wise, especially if you don't give a toss about the other five. Character-wise though, it's very much worth it.

How it worked out was the novels all ended on a kinda cliffhanger that was then continued on in the last book's stories. Most of them are fairly separate stories, but they all pick up from the cliffhangers and build off of the novels.

[theblitz]

So, I have read the first 3 books of Mission Gamma and am waiting for number 4 to arrive.
Is it "safe" to read The Lives of Dax, Rising Son or Left Hand of Destiny before reading number 4?
I don't want one to ruin the plot from a previous one.

[MiKaTrek]

You could read The Lives of Dax and maybe The Left Hand of Destiny but wait with Rising Son. For more information about the reading order see Memory Beta http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/DS9_Relaunch.