Best Deep Space Nine numbered novel?

[DS9forever]

Hi there! This is my first post on the Trekbbs and since I'm a huge fan of the novels (especially the DS9 relaunch) I thought I would post here first.

I've been adding information on the various numbered DS9 novels to Memory Beta, which has definitely refired my interest in the numbered DS9 novels.

My question is, which ones are your favorites? Are there any you think are underrated?

 

[Geoff]

I wouldn't say that they're underrated, but The 34th Rule and A Stitch In Time are two tremendous novels from the DS9 "numbered" series.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

A Stitch in Time is hands down the best numbered Deep Space Nine book. Absolutely brilliant.

 

[Larki_Toran]

Geoff said:
I wouldn't say that they're underrated, but The 34th Rule and A Stitch In Time are two tremendous novels from the DS9 "numbered" series.

A couldn't agree more. Those two books are perfect.

 

[Smiley]

The Siege, Fallen Heroes, and Saratoga are also quite good.

 

[KRAD]

There will, I'm sure, be much love in this thread for The 34th Rule, A Stitch in Time, and Fallen Heroes, and it will be well earned.

However, one underrated numbered DS9 book I would like to give props to is Devil in the Sky by Greg Cox & John Gregory Betancourt. The premise is a bunch of baby Hortas get loose on DS9 and start eating the station. It's a fun read.

(I have a particular fondness for this book because I was in on its genesis. John and I were working together at the time for Byron Preiss, him as Senior Editor, me as Associate Editor, and Greg and I were friends going back a couple of years as well, so I got to hear a lot about the book as it was being written. )

 

[JD]

Just out of curiosity are The Seige and Fallen Heroes consitant with the later parts of the series? The only reason I ask is because alot of the earlier books like them (they are apparently #2 and 5 respectively) tend to be contradicted as the series goes on.

 

[Christopher]

No, they're not consistent. The Siege contains one particularly enormous continuity glitch:

Spoiler

the destruction of the Rio Grande!

And Fallen Heroes, though a superb novel, features a lot of minor inconsistencies with the series, such as giving the station a 28-hour day instead of 26 (and timing is actually central to the plot) and describing the Ops turbolift as being behind a door rather than rising out of the floor. They're both very good books, but not consistent with canon.

 

[Smiley]

JD said:
Just out of curiosity are The Seige and Fallen Heroes consitant with the later parts of the series? The only reason I ask is because alot of the earlier books like them (they are apparently #2 and 5 respectively) tend to be contradicted as the series goes on.

As Christopher pointed out, they are not 100% consistent with later canon elements. However, the amount of mental revision needed to make them work with the rest of DS9 is minimal. It's not even close to the Federation/First Contact/Strangers from the Sky conundrum.

 

[JD]

That really not to bad then for early books. I know sometimes in the first few books the characterizations can be totally off, and they can have contradictory information about the characters.

 

[Bryan316]

Fallen Heroes is pretty cool, and is slightly less violent than a tame David Mack novel.

I liked Saratoga, since it was the DS9 version of the TNG novel Reunion.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Bryan316 said:
I liked Saratoga, since it was the DS9 version of the TNG novel Reunion.

See, now the fact that Saratoga was a DS9 version of Reunion was my whole problem with it. I read the back cover copy, and realized that I've already read this book, and by the same author.

 

[toughlittleship]

Aside from some of those already mentioned I also liked Betancourt's The Heart of the Warrior, Vornholt's Antimatter and Nathan Archer's Valhalla. Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch's DS9 novels are good too, The Long Night especially.

Edit - I forgot Time's Enemy, the best of the Invasion! miniseries.

 

[DS9forever]

Thanks for the replies! I really liked Heart of the Warrior as well, and was pleased when the author said it was his best novel in Voyages of Imagination. :thumbsup:

 

[toughlittleship]

You can tie The 34th Rule into the DS9 relaunch as well, as the book that Kira owned was mentioned in Twilight and Shakaar's assistant Sirsy appears in This Gray Spirit as well. :thumbsup:

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

If anybody even thinks of mentioning The Laertian Gamble, I fear for their sanity.

That being said: There is one DS9 novel, I can't remember which, that has one scene I absolutely love 'cos it's so hilarious. A Cardassian Gul, out in the field (I think he's on his ship), is talking to these bureaucrats back home. He has all these really hilarious arguments with them. And when they sign off, he just goes off on 'em: "Goodbye. Many goodbyes. Burning goodbyes. May you DIE of goodbyes." :guffawa:

 

[Greg Cox]

Keith, thanks for the kind words about DEVIL IN THE SKY. That was my very Trek novel. Boy, does that seem like a long time ago!

And, to give credit where credit is due, it was our editor, John Ordover, who came up with the basic idea of the book. "Hey, Greg, how would you like to write a book about baby Hortas eating DS9?"

 

[DS9forever]

Memory Beta has a fantastic article on Devil in the Sky:

http://startrek.wikia.com/wiki/Devil_in_the_Sky

 

[mrs260]

I enjoy the idea that wee Hortas try to eat DS9, and I just found out that B&N online takes Paypal, so I bought Devil in the Sky. (In an order that ended up being almost $100. This does not bode well for my bank account.)

 

[JWolf]

Fallen Heroes by Dafydd ab Hugh is a great novel. I suggest anyone who has not yet read it give it a read.