Echoing what Thrawn first intimated. If you like Plagues I recommend you read the sequel, Raise the Dawn.
I actually knew about the end going in, but the stuff aound it building to that end was pretty awesome, and the end itself was still pretty crazy.
I thought so, even though it took longer for me to finish. Maybe it was so more plot threads that happened at once. I found all the scenes with the guy from the True Way involved with the TP to create artificial wormholes a bit odd. I was certainly satisfied with how the Sisko story arc first introduced in Rough Beasts. The whole Bashir-Sarina story was even more enjoyable, especially with a few still loose ends still left untied. Is Sarina really just pretending to work for Section 31 or is that a cover story? Maybe the fact that they're still together two years after Zero Sum Game is a clue, or maybe it isn't. I have a feeling one can't easily retire from Section 31.
I find it odd that La Forge had to get demoted when the Enterprise A crew had, Captain Kirk, Captain Spock, Captain Scott, Commander Sulu, Commander Chekov and Commander Uhura. Surprised Spock didn’t mention that.
Just finished it. I can sum up the ending as this: It’s a shame to see it go. I hope it doesn’t get replaced with some ghastly monstrosity. I wonder if all this could be avoided if the Fed offered a deal to trade the Slipstream scehamtics for the Phase cloak. On a side note, props to the author for chapter 13. That honestly took me by surprise.
I don't care for the new DS9's design, but it was also designed with a great deal of love, respect, and thoughtfulness by Doug Drexler and Andrew Probert. I think that means something.
I do appreciate that it is meant to be evocative of the original DS9 while still clearly being a Starfleet/Federation design. That said, honestly, no matter how the books try to establish different, I am still picturing the old familiar station. Shiny newness can not win against visual familiarity, and seven seasons of the show firmly established the visuals of DS9.
I like the "Ghastly Monstrosity". They did a pretty good job of combing the original design, with a Starfleet style. I haven't read enough of the books with it to know how much they've taken advantage of it, but I like the fact that it has a lot bigger variety of facilities than the original.
The new DS9 is on the Ships of the Line 2019 calendar front cover, but I would guess that licensing issues will mean it won't be called DS9. I could be wrong, I hope I am.
I just looked at another image from that calendar; the Defiant and the Rio Grande are depicted, I guess they can say it is DS9. Nit pick: Drexler has used the registry of the Shenandoah again; the registry was also incorrect on the cover of A Ceremony of Losses.
That's a placeholder cover. The calendars are always listed first with old images before they release pictures of the real ones, usually from earlier SotL editions, but sometimes from novels (though, in one case, they actually did use cover art from a novel as the real cover of the calendar). The placeholder is, in fact, an early draft of the "Ceremony of Losses" cover. You can see it on Drexler's Facebook page.