The Never Ending Sacrifice NO SPOILERS, JUST OPINION.

[Emissary of the Prophets]

I know that this book has been out a few months now, but I have been behind in my reading.
What an absolutly wonderful book! I polished this off in a couple of days(work kept getting the way). It takes something special for an author to take a minor character from an early(in my opinion, one of the more forgettable)episodes of DS9 and make him sympathetic and totally engrossing. I really like the fact it showed events from DS9 from a different angle. Well done to Una McCormack and the comissioning editor.

 

[DimesDan]

I own it, but not read it yet, so what exactly happens in it?

 

[David Brennon]

Without spoiling it I'll say this: I have had as much trouble getting through the book as the main character had with the title that inspired this book. That said, I picked it up later and was sucked right in... so overall I see it as a decent read, though the beginning is a little slow.

 

[historypeats]

I was surprised by how thoroughly I enjoyed it. I usually love all things DS9, but I've had trouble with McCormack's work before. Her endings are usually solid, but getting there feels a little like a slog. That's not a problem here; minor characterization quibbles aside, the story felt so lived-in that I had no trouble moving through the book. I recommend it to anyone who hasn't had the chance to read it yet!

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

While there were certain choices made in the plot, and the interpretation of the original episode that I disagreed with, it still made for a good read. The main character can be a bit unsympathetic at times, but one can understand why, at least. Still, give it a try...you may like it!

 

[shanejayell]

I own it, but not read it yet, so what exactly happens in it?

Broadly speaking it's the tale of a Cardassian boy raised on Bajor who is returned to his biological family. From his POV we see many major events on Cardassia, including the Dominion War.

Good book, I liked it.

 

[Reanok]

i thought it was a good novel it starts out slow the first few chapters and slowly builds Momentum and it has alot of backstory to deal with in different seasons of Ds9 and the situation on Cardassia and some very interesting things happen in the book we didn't get to see in the tv series.

 

[Stevil2001]

Best Star Trek novel of 2009, easy.

 

[RogerWaters]

Fantastic book, one of my favorites of the past couple of years. I don't re-read many Star Trek books, but I will re-read this in a couple of years.

 

[Myasishchev]

I'm gonna buy this pretty soon, but I've only read one of McCormack's works before*, and I'm scared stiff that it will be "The Lotus Flower" with 100,000 more words.

*I got sidetracked from "Hollow Men," which I freely admit was much more interesting, but didn't get very far in before I had to return it.

 

[snakespeare]

It found it a great read and it even made my eyes water a few times. It's a great interpretation of Cardassian familial relations and their concept of loyalty. There aren't a lot of DS9 characters in it, but Gul Ducttape shows his ugly head a few times, as does his more attractive daughter. Parts of it reminded me of scenes from Gone With the Wind.

 

[Steve Roby]

I'm gonna buy this pretty soon, but I've only read one of McCormack's works before*, and I'm scared stiff that it will be "The Lotus Flower" with 100,000 more words.

*I got sidetracked from "Hollow Men," which I freely admit was much more interesting, but didn't get very far in before I had to return it.

I wasn't the world's biggest fan of "The Lotus Flower," though it did more to make Keiko a real person than any number of DS9 episodes. But Hollow Men and Never-Ending Sacrifice are both must-read books for DS9 fans, with great characterization and compelling stories.

 

[T'Ressa Dax]

Oh, TNES is very good, you should at least give it a try before deciding all stories by the same author must be alike.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

It found it a great read and it even made my eyes water a few times. It's a great interpretation of Cardassian familial relations and their concept of loyalty. There aren't a lot of DS9 characters in it, but Gul Ducttape shows his ugly head a few times, as does his more attractive daughter. Parts of it reminded me of scenes from Gone With the Wind.

Hmm...I was more reminded of Les Miserables. (Though mind you I've only seen the stage show.)

I'm gonna buy this pretty soon, but I've only read one of McCormack's works before*, and I'm scared stiff that it will be "The Lotus Flower" with 100,000 more words.

*I got sidetracked from "Hollow Men," which I freely admit was much more interesting, but didn't get very far in before I had to return it.

I wasn't the world's biggest fan of "The Lotus Flower," though it did more to make Keiko a real person than any number of DS9 episodes. But Hollow Men and Never-Ending Sacrifice are both must-read books for DS9 fans, with great characterization and compelling stories.

I remember actually liking "The Lotus Flower," personally. And I have to agree with the comment about giving more depth to Keiko--because frankly, she came off horribly in the show.

 

[DevilEyes]

An excellent book, I really enjoyed it. It's mostly a story of Cardassia through the eyes of an outsider, from Rugal's first arrival on Cardassia (season 2 of DS9) to some time after the end of the Dominion War. It's an interesting portrayal of Cardassian society - the political, social and familial structure, including the position of orphans and the poor; you get to see the turmoil and changes after the fall of the Obsidian Order, the Detapa Council 'revolution', Dukat's coup d'etat and the alliance with the Dominion; a part of the book shows the war, and its aftermath from a different point of view (I'm not going to say more not to spoil things).

It found it a great read and it even made my eyes water a few times. It's a great interpretation of Cardassian familial relations and their concept of loyalty. There aren't a lot of DS9 characters in it

Well, Garak, Miles O'Brien and Keiko show up, in addition to Dukat and Ziyal, as does Tekeny Ghemor, and strictly speaking, Rugal himself, Proka Migdal and Kotan Pa'dar are also DS9 characters, although they were just in 1 episode, and the novel interprets and expands on the characterization.

The novel has some great original characters, notably Rugal's grandmother Geleth.

but Gul Ducttape shows his ugly head a few times, as does his more attractive daughter.

Hmmm... let's say that's a matter of taste. (The gul, not the daughter.)

I can't say I can see any similarity with Gone with the Wind, what did remind you of it?

 

[RonG]

I only recently finished TNES, after taking both it and Hollow Men with me on vacation... TNES was quite good - a nice, rich DS9 story.

It basically made me want to read Hollow Men (I bought it when it came out, but for some reason didn't get into it).
Now, though, I finished it as well, and am looking forward to more of Una MacCormack's Trek novels.

 

[rafterman1701]

I loved this book. Really great stuff and fits so well with the Cardassian saga that's started in Terok Nor.

 

[RonG]

I loved this book. Really great stuff and fits so well with the Cardassian saga that's started in Terok Nor.

off-topically, yet wholeheartedly agreed

in fact, I think of the Terok Nor trilogy (as well as of Hollow Men, which features some Cardassian connections to TNES) as part of the DS9-R (some kind of "flashback episodes" in the midst of the main Mirror Universe "season arc")