Before I read "The Soul Key". . . *spoilers for Fearful Symmetry"*

[chris32482]

Hey everyone, it's been a while since I posted on here. I'm getting ready to delve back into Star Trek literature after having taken a long time off. A few years ago I got totally addicted and read the complete DS9 relaunch and the Post-Nemesis TNG relaunch up through "Destiny" in the span of about 8 or 9 months.

Now, I'm looking forward to reading a lot of the stuff that's been published in the last couple years, especially the Typhon Pact series. But first I want to finish up the DS9 relaunch with "The Soul Key". However, it's been so long since I read "Fearful Symmetry" that I have forgotten a lot about the storyline (I have a terrible memory and the story was confusing enough to begin with).

If I remember correctly, the real Iliana Ghemor had escaped from the prison where Dukat had hid her away and she had somehow gotten into the mirror universe where she killed the mirror Kira and took her place, right? Would someone be so kind as to refresh my memory on some of the other story threads and parts of the main plot that I've probably forgotten? I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[DS9forever]

The Soul Key actually explains a lot of the backstory to Iliana that had been featured in Fragments and Omens, Warpath and Fearful Symmetry. I think you'll only need to remember the basics about Fearful Symmetry when you begin The Soul Key.

 

[chris32482]

Awesome, thanks.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

If I remember correctly, the real Iliana Ghemor had escaped from the prison where Dukat had hid her away and she had somehow gotten into the mirror universe where she killed the mirror Kira and took her place, right?

Yep.

Or, as it has been fancifully called, "Crisis on Infinite Kiras".

 

[DS9Continuing]

If I remember correctly, the real Iliana Ghemor had escaped from the prison where Dukat had hid her away and she had somehow gotten into the mirror universe where she killed the mirror Kira and took her place, right? Would someone be so kind as to refresh my memory on some of the other story threads and parts of the main plot that I've probably forgotten? I would greatly appreciate it.

You have it right as regards Iliana. The station-bound storyline involved the alternate Iliana (aka the Cardassian Woman from Warpath) being on the station and being interrogated by Kira and Dax. Major Cenn was also interrogating the mercenaries captured on Harkoum. Via all of this we discovered what Iliana's plan actually is - to become the Emissary to Mirror Bajor.

There is also a storyline where a distrustful and paranoid Kira relieves Vaughn of duty over his handling of the Taran'atar business. This leaves space for Sisko to swoop in and recruit Vaughn for a secret mission. The book ends with Kira and Vaughn transporting over to Mirror Bajor in an effort to stop Iliana.

.

 

[toughlittleship]

I like the structure (ie the fact that they move forward and back in time to tell an arc) and the story of those books, although I can see why some didn't like them. The continuity is a little confusing if you haven't read the previous novels.

I'm looking forward to David Mack's Rise Like Lions, to see how it figures in the aftermath of The Soul Key in the mirror universe.