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Spoilers TNG, DS9, and VOY - Where is a Good Place to Start?

For example, the chapter I read talked about the story of Audrid Dax going, with her husband on a mission to study the comet and encountering one of the parasites there. This was some awesome detail about who the parasites were, how close they were to the Trill Symbionts, and the cover ups involved (Referencing Equilibrium and how Trill is known to cover things up). It was just really gripping because we could never have stuff like this on a series. This relaunch is doing a great job developing not just Ezri but just Trill and the Symbionts in general that I am starting to think my next book will be The Lives of Dax, just because it's been so compelling. They also even referenced Christopher Pike, bringing 23rd and 24th century trek together.
We get a full account of this story in Lives of Dax, so you'll probably enjoy that.
 
Well I finished The Lotus Flower. I enjoyed the story but something about it just seemed off. Maybe it was the short length, so I going to say the story is a B-. Up next is the other half of the book Paradigm. I will give my thoughts of the whole book when I finish it, but right now this book feels like one of the anthologies of short stories. Maybe that is the most important takeaway.
 
What I remember feeling most about The Lotus Flower was that the story just seemed... small. I think it's the shortest book in the WoDS9 series, and it certainly couldn't have been stretched out any further, but that's not really what I mean. I mean that the events of the story just seem like small events, not the massive world-changing events that happen in some other stories, but just kind of inconsequential.

I'm not saying that's a bad thing - obviously we need some variety in the flavour of the stories - and it certainly gave us some in-depth exploration of the society and the characters. It's kind of a microcosm of what's going on at large. Plus a wacky team-up of Garak, Macet, O'Brien and Yevir is certainly pleasantly unexpected. (rot13: Cyhf vg gheaf bhg gb or gur rknpg fnzr fgbel nf gur Sreratv obbx yngre va gur frevrf.)

.
 
What I remember feeling most about The Lotus Flower was that the story just seemed... small. I think it's the shortest book in the WoDS9 series, and it certainly couldn't have been stretched out any further, but that's not really what I mean. I mean that the events of the story just seem like small events, not the massive world-changing events that happen in some other stories, but just kind of inconsequential.

I'm not saying that's a bad thing - obviously we need some variety in the flavour of the stories - and it certainly gave us some in-depth exploration of the society and the characters. It's kind of a microcosm of what's going on at large. Plus a wacky team-up of Garak, Macet, O'Brien and Yevir is certainly pleasantly unexpected. (rot13: Cyhf vg gheaf bhg gb or gur rknpg fnzr fgbel nf gur Sreratv obbx yngre va gur frevrf.)

.

This sums it up. I was wondering if the ending was a set up for something later, guess time and more books will tell.
 
Well I am one chapter in with the Andor story. So far it is keeping my attention, also glad to see the station counselor again... was wondering if she would ever turn up again.
 
Well I am one chapter in with the Andor story. So far it is keeping my attention, also glad to see the station counselor again... was wondering if she would ever turn up again.

Phillipa Matthias makes herself scarce after that. I like her, too.
 
Well, it took 8 months, a number of interruptions, and some motivation to get it done before the end of the year, and I finally finished it.

Unity - A

When I started this thread, I was craving more 24th century Star Trek. That was the era I grew up in, and considering new Trek is hard to find these days, I figured I should dive into the books. To be honest, finishing Unity tonight made me very emotional.

This was such a well written book. It felt like the entire relaunch (Season 8) came together and we got a really nice conclusion to this "era" of DS9 Novels.

The Parasite plot was really well done. This book did a beautiful job taking an alien species that was a two off from TNG (Hinted in Coming of Age and expanded in Conspiracy) and really fleshed them out. The terror and fear the parasites represent was well told in this book, either through Ezri's story of a previous host who saw her lover become infected with one, or the two security personnel who got affected. Also loved it's conclusion.

However, this book, like a lot of the DS9 relaunch was about the characters and the journeys they've struggled with. You have Vaughn, who was probably the most perfect written character in this book, who is so broken over what happened to his wife that the Orb experience he faces (Loved them bringing back Benny Russell and using this as a way to get Benjamin back) was really similar to Sisko's first orb experience. Benny was speaking the truth when he said it was all about the process and to let it go.

The rest of the characters had great plots too. Kira continues to impress me in the novels and I'm so glad the Attainder plot is done. This book showcased how important Rising Son was with Opaka being back, and Odo as Wex was a surprise.

If I had a criticism, I would say things went a little too fast. Couple examples included: Sisko returning from the temple moment should have been bigger than it was (And it was very subtle too, even being told from the Parasitic mother's perspective), and no dialog between Kira, Opaka, and Yevir to get Kira her earring back (Which would have been a great scene at the ceremony). Also, I was confused by the part of the book talking about the Jem'Hadar vanishing during Sacrifice of Angels. Was there supposed to be more to it than that, and I must of missed the connection.

Overall, I loved Unity and I loved Season 8. I almost feel like if someone asked me what my favorite season of DS9 is, I should say Season 8. I have to admit, I almost choked up at the end where Sisko gives Kira a glance, saying "We did it" and Kira smiles saying, "Yes, we did". It took 22 years, but I can finally say I got a DS9 ending I was hoping for. Well done S.D. Perry.
 
Lovely review! DS9 Season 8 paved the way for a lot of what was to come, but it also really stands out on its own if you knew the numbered novels only.
 
Lovely review! DS9 Season 8 paved the way for a lot of what was to come, but it also really stands out on its own if you knew the numbered novels only.

Not sure what you mean by the numbered novels but yeah. I even now consider it a part of my personal continuity.
 
Not sure what you mean by the numbered novels but yeah. I even now consider it a part of my personal continuity.

Up until 2002 or so, Trek novels were numbered; the DS9 relaunch kicked in around the same time that Pocket Books dropped the book numbers, so it's usually used as a way of describing the pre-relaunch era.
 
Up until 2002 or so, Trek novels were numbered; the DS9 relaunch kicked in around the same time that Pocket Books dropped the book numbers, so it's usually used as a way of describing the pre-relaunch era.

That makes sense. It seems like the trek lit universe has changed drastically over the years and because books are so interconnected, it's really not necessary to have numbers anymore.
 
Up until 2002 or so, Trek novels were numbered; the DS9 relaunch kicked in around the same time that Pocket Books dropped the book numbers, so it's usually used as a way of describing the pre-relaunch era.

Well the numbered DS9 books even include a relaunch title amongst them (#27) that was added retro-actively to the Season 8 books.
 
Hey all,

I haven't really read Trek books since I finished unity, even though I did buy the first Worlds of DS9 Book. I was just curious though, I want to read some Kirsten Bayer and was wondering if her first book (I think that's full circle) is where I can start and bypass Homecoming/Further Shore. I might get to those eventually but hearing how great of an author she is and that she's going to be writing for the new series, I'm really curious for myself.
 
Hey all,

I haven't really read Trek books since I finished unity, even though I did buy the first Worlds of DS9 Book. I was just curious though, I want to read some Kirsten Bayer and was wondering if her first book (I think that's full circle) is where I can start and bypass Homecoming/Further Shore. I might get to those eventually but hearing how great of an author she is and that she's going to be writing for the new series, I'm really curious for myself.
That should work, I think she explains most things from the previous novels. Side Note. You might want to read Before Dishonor and Destiny before the Beyer novels to avoid spoilers.
 
That should work, I think she explains most things from the previous novels. Side Note. You might want to read Before Dishonor and Destiny before the Beyer novels to avoid spoilers.

Cool. There is so much out there to read it can get a little overwhelming, but considering the news this last week and how people are excited about this news, I do want to read her work to learn what to expect.
 
And keep in mind that when Jinn suggests you should read Before Dishonor and Destiny before Full circle to avoid spoilers, that's bot simply because there's the possibilty of a few small things being spoiled. The main events of those four novels (which are major) will be totally and completly spoiled in Full Circle. Those events are integral to the plot of Full Circle.

Just so you know what you're getting into.
 
And keep in mind that when Jinn suggests you should read Before Dishonor and Destiny before Full circle to avoid spoilers, that's bot simply because there's the possibilty of a few small things being spoiled. The main events of those four novels (which are major) will be totally and completly spoiled in Full Circle. Those events are integral to the plot of Full Circle.

Just so you know what you're getting into.

Maybe I'll take my chances on spoilers. I'm starting to think maybe spoilers in Novels work differently than Spoilers in TV shows. Also, I was looking at the chart and just to get to the author is reading like 5 other books. Not sure if I really wanted to do that, even though I understand what you're saying.
 
Yeah, the flowchart isn't "you have to read this before you read this", it's meant more to be "after you read this, the next thing in the story progression is this". It's meant to help guide where to go next, not warn you about what you have to read first. Most any Trek novel that follows up on another will tell you everything you need to know about what happened before, either explicitly or through context.
 
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