Terok Nor question: how accessible?

[Thrawn]

I never watched much of Deep Space Nine, but at some point I picked up Avatar and read the timeline it had of the end of DS9 and was like "holy SHIT this sounds like a good story...well, I don't have the episodes, though, might as well pick up from here and read the books", and so I'd read up through Unity by the time I ever got around to watching DS9. When I did, I found that it just didn't have the same appeal to me, because so much of DS9 was the character arcs that I'd already had summarized and buildup to events I already knew. I eventually skipped ahead and watched the outbreak and conclusion of the Dominion War multi-episode chunks, the mirrorverse episodes, and a couple others scattered.

But one thing I really missed most of was the Cardassian / Bajoran backstory and politics. So, I'm curious - would Terok Nor be a good read to fill that stuff in for someone that's never seen the episodes that refer to it, or is the joy of the trilogy in seeing the characters that have already been established do the things we know about, written in new detail? Like, I know of Dukat and Garak by name, and couldn't tell you a damn thing about any other Cardassians, and I certainly don't know any Bajoran backstory aside from Kira. Will the Terok Nor books be enlightening and fascinating, or will I feel like I'm missing something?

 

[Cicero]

I can't recommend the Terok Nor novels (though I'm not representative; I dislike Bajor), but would suggest you read A Stitch In Time by Andrew J. Robinson (the actor who played Garak). It's well-written, excellently accesible (it was a friend of mine's first experience with Star Trek), and the basis for much of the post-series situation of Cardassia in the novels.

 

[JD]

I'd reccommend the Terok Nor books myself. While it is fun to see the stuff we've heard about on the show, I think that the stories in the trilogy are still good enough that they would stand up without the show. And IMO some of the stuff in the books might actually be enough to get you to want to watch some more of the Cardassian and Bajoran episodes. FYI there is a character guide at the backs of the books that does list the characters, and what episodes or books they first appeared in, so if when you're done you do want see more, that give you a good idea of which episodes to watch.

 

[Christopher]

I'd say the first Terok Nor volume is the most accessible to a reader unfamiliar with DS9. It's pretty much a standalone story. The other two volumes are somewhat more directly tied to the series backstory, filling in gaps between flashbacks and such from the show, and so they might not be quite as accessible to the uninitiated.

 

[JD]

Oh you're, I forgot about the fact that they skipped over the stuff we did see in the show.

 

[Rowan Sjet]

I'd say the first Terok Nor volume is the most accessible to a reader unfamiliar with DS9. It's pretty much a standalone story.

It's also, by far, the best of the three.

 

[Trent Roman]

All the books are deeply steeped in Bajoran and Cardassian culture, but because Bajor and to a lesser extent Cardassia were very different cultures back then, a lot of that culture has been created by the novels themselves. As such, I'd say the first book shouldn't be any more of a challenge than an original sci-fi novel. The other two, as Christopher mentioned, are less self-contained and skirt around some of the events in the series; however, I've not seen DS9 since it's first run and had forgotten a fair but, but was nonetheless able to orient myself for most of the books (most of the books do revolve around events other than those shown onscreen, after all). If you're really interested, I'd say the best episodes to find summaries for (or otherwise access the episode...) would be "Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night" (S6) for the second book, and "Necessary Evil" (S2) for the third.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Cicero]

I'd say the first Terok Nor volume is the most accessible to a reader unfamiliar with DS9. It's pretty much a standalone story.

It's also, by far, the best of the three.

I agree.

 

[ATimson]

Will the Terok Nor books be enlightening and fascinating, or will I feel like I'm missing something?

For the last two, you'll feel like you're missing something. (Though I'd argue that's far more the books' fault than yours.)

 

[Thrawn]

All the books are deeply steeped in Bajoran and Cardassian culture, but because Bajor and to a lesser extent Cardassia were very different cultures back then, a lot of that culture has been created by the novels themselves. As such, I'd say the first book shouldn't be any more of a challenge than an original sci-fi novel. The other two, as Christopher mentioned, are less self-contained and skirt around some of the events in the series; however, I've not seen DS9 since it's first run and had forgotten a fair but, but was nonetheless able to orient myself for most of the books (most of the books do revolve around events other than those shown onscreen, after all). If you're really interested, I'd say the best episodes to find summaries for (or otherwise access the episode...) would be "Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night" (S6) for the second book, and "Necessary Evil" (S2) for the third.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

Ooh, thanks - I appreciate that. Are there any other particular episodes that would be good to watch? If I could get a list of several, and then read the books to tie them together, that'd be brilliant. This is one part of DS9 that I've always felt I've missed out on completely that I'd like to know more about.

And A Stitch In Time is already on the list

One last question - The Art Of The Impossible covers almost exactly the gap between Terok Nor 1 and 2 and they all deal with Cardassians; is there any benefit to reading the 4 books chronologically, or is TAOTI different enough that I shouldn't bother?

 

[chris32482]

Terok Nor is also on my "To Read" list. I was wondering, how many characters from the show are in the books? I was trying to think of all the people who could be included and came up with:

Dukat
Garak
Opaka
Quark
Odo
Kira
Ro Laren
Winn
Bereil
Shakar

Are any (or all) of these folks in the books (of course, I know three of them are on the covers)?

 

[Christopher]

Terok Nor is also on my "To Read" list. I was wondering, how many characters from the show are in the books? I was trying to think of all the people who could be included and came up with:

Dukat
Garak
Opaka
Quark
Odo
Kira
Ro Laren
Winn
Bereil
Shakar

Are any (or all) of these folks in the books (of course, I know three of them are on the covers)?

I believe they all appear in the trilogy, but some are more heavily featured than others.

 

[JD]

There are also several other familiar characters that play a fairly significant role.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

If you can get past the slow start Day of the Vipers has...I think you'll be blown away. This is by far the best the DS9 relaunch has had to offer, and it weaves almost everything we know about Bajor and Cardassia into a wonderful tapestry. I would suggest, though, that you read A Stitch in Time first, or do something to familiarize yourself with the Cardassian religion, which was only alluded to once in the series (TNG: "Chain of Command"), but features fairly prominently in this series.

In answer to your question about what characters are present, yes...you'll definitely recognize people, but you may need a list.

If you like reading about Dukat, in particular...well, prepare to get a REALLY good look into just what an evil, conniving bastard he was. Let's just say there are some things in Day of the Vipers that'll just about make your jaw hit the ground. (Thank goodness we get to see some GOOD Cardassians too, after the awfulness that is Dukat!)

 

[chris32482]

If you like reading about Dukat, in particular...well, prepare to get a REALLY good look into just what an evil, conniving bastard he was. Let's just say there are some things in Day of the Vipers that'll just about make your jaw hit the ground. (Thank goodness we get to see some GOOD Cardassians too, after the awfulness that is Dukat!)

That's kind of what happened when I read Fearful Symmetry. Dukat's evilness kind of ascended to the next level in that book.

 

[Trent Roman]

Ooh, thanks - I appreciate that. Are there any other particular episodes that would be good to watch? If I could get a list of several, and then read the books to tie them together, that'd be brilliant. This is one part of DS9 that I've always felt I've missed out on completely that I'd like to know more about.

I think the two I listed, plus "Things Past" (S5), are the only ones that chronologically overlap with the Occupation. Otherwise, "Duet" (S2) can provide background for the second book while "Shakaar" (S3) and "The Darkness and the Light" (S5) might help put faces to some (but not all, because of the expanse of time involved) of the resistance fighters.

One last question - The Art Of The Impossible covers almost exactly the gap between Terok Nor 1 and 2 and they all deal with Cardassians; is there any benefit to reading the 4 books chronologically, or is TAOTI different enough that I shouldn't bother?

As far as I could tell, they're entirely independant of one another, taking place at different locales.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Trent Roman]

If you like reading about Dukat, in particular...well, prepare to get a REALLY good look into just what an evil, conniving bastard he was. Let's just say there are some things in Day of the Vipers that'll just about make your jaw hit the ground. (Thank goodness we get to see some GOOD Cardassians too, after the awfulness that is Dukat!)

Hmm, Dukat evil? One of the things I liked about this trilogy is that it gave a number of leads into Dukat's personality, why he resents the Bajorans, the ideological straightjacket he operates in that prevents him from blaming those truly responsible, his compulsive, psychosis-prefiguring urge to be loved twisted as it is by a Cardassian valuation of predation. Taken with Fearful Symmytry, it paints the portrait of a complex and disturbed individual, much deeper than an already nuanced onscreen portrayal.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

EDIT: Sorry for the double post. Didn't realize this was the same thread I'd posted in earlier.

 

[Thrawn]

Thanks, Trent, for the helpful replies. The collective knowledge of the fanbase around here is extremely convenient at times