Day of the Vipers (Please mark Spoilers!)

[Anthony Sabre]

I'm only into the 3rd chapter so far. I've had to bolster myself emotionally for this, even though I've been wanting a story like it for a long time. Why? Because we all know how this turns out for the Bajorans in the end. I'm really enjoying the lengths the author is going to in the descriptions of Bajor. Even though we've all seen the cutaway scenes and sets of Bajor on DS9, there is no assumption that we know what Bajor looks like.

 

[haubrija]

Ok, I finished the book yesterday but wanted to wait a day to post thoughts on it so I didn't get carried away with effusive praise. But I will anyways.

I absolutely fucking adored this book. It's nothing short of a triumph to me. From the way the plot unflolded, to the charachters I know love dearly, to those last few lines in the book when Mace is reunited with his family (which had me tear up in an airport btw), I just loved every minute of it. It truly is a great book and for that I thank you Mr. Swallow.

Couple of short notes

Does anyone have any idea if Mace is going to be in the next two books at all? I don't think he would be by the way this book ended, but I would love to see more of that guy. Probably my favorite new trek lit charchter of all time.

James - on a side note, I have a book of yours already sitting on my bookshelf but I didn't put the two and two together till I got to the Author section at the back. I'm a huge fan of David Fincher (which probably explains a little of my love for this book, given the dark nature of alot of it) and bought Dark Eye as soon as it came out. Another fine piece of work.

Anyone else who's on the fence about this book, go out and buy it right away. Seriously.

 

[phrog]

Finished it literally two minutes ago... and I have to say...

Fucking brilliant.

Swallow has to be amongst the best Trek authors I've had the pleasure to read, which in the Ds9 line is saying a lot these days.

Darrah Mace is a fantastic, layered character and one of the best original lit characters, hands down. I identified with him and cared about him and his family. I wanted to smack him for making the wrong decisions, but I could understand why he made them. Excellent writing and development. I really hope to see more of him some day...

In fact, all of the original characters (or lightly used characters seen in small doses on the screen) are deep, flawed, real people. I found myself very much moved by their fates.

I also enjoyed very much the use of the Starfleet characters and their moral quandry. Briefly yet poignently, the moral outrage and complete lack of ability to do anything about it really hit home as an outsider myself watching the Bajorans follow fear and oppourtunity to their downfall.

The storyline is tragic, ominous and manages to convey both a large scale cultural manipulation and the destruction of the personal lives of many many characters. I found myself heartbroken over not only the plight of the Bajorans like Mace, but Bennek and the Oralians as well. This is a timely, grand tragedy... and anybody out there who hasn't picked this one up needs to immediately.

Absolutely solid gold reading.

 

[Reanok]

Darrah Mace is a great character a flawed character you cared about him and I have to say I hope we'll see him again in the next book. I have to admit this book grabbed me from the first page when I started reading it and I couldn't put it down.Also the quandry Starfleet faced with their non interference policy shows how bad things on Bajor have really gotten.I hope Garak will appear in the next book.There were some really nasty villians in this book.

 

[EmperorKalan]

Darrah Mace is a great character a flawed character you cared about him and I have to say I hope we'll see him again in the next book. I have to admit this book grabbed me from the first page when I started reading it and I couldn't put it down.Also the quandry Starfleet faced with their non interference policy shows how bad things on Bajor have really gotten.I hope Garak will appear in the next book.There were some really nasty villians in this book.

I think he's already appeared...

Spoiler: Garak

the Obsidian Order operative who acted as an Oralian priest then replaced Mace's priest friend (don't have the book with me to remember his name...Gar?). When he recited the code phrase for the Cardassian trooper near the end, I'm pretty sure part of the phrase was Garak's designation at the training academy (as related in "A Stitch in Time").

 

[bennyrex]

I think he's already appeared...

No way! Oh man! I didn't think of that at all! That would be crazy! Those of you that are more familiar with Garak's backstory/ have read A Stitch in Time more recently than me, does this make sense? Is it possible given what we know about Garak's past? Because if EmperorKalan was right, this book would've completely blindsided me, and I'd be even more impressed.

 

[Reanok]

EmpororKalan Nice catch I didn't realize that it would make a neat connection with A stitch in Time. It's been a long time since I've read it.

 

[EmperorKalan]

I'll have to check for sure. Now I'm thinking I may be wrong. DoV meshes with The Art of the Impossible by making Kell a Legate in 2328, but AotI also has Corbin Entek on his first solo mission that same year, and in Stitch he was Garak's superior at Bamarren. So either my association above is wrong, or some of the details of these novels don't quite mesh. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

 

[Corran Horn]

Darrah Mace is a great character a flawed character you cared about him and I have to say I hope we'll see him again in the next book. I have to admit this book grabbed me from the first page when I started reading it and I couldn't put it down.Also the quandry Starfleet faced with their non interference policy shows how bad things on Bajor have really gotten.I hope Garak will appear in the next book.There were some really nasty villians in this book.

I think he's already appeared...

Spoiler: Garak

the Obsidian Order operative who acted as an Oralian priest then replaced Mace's priest friend (don't have the book with me to remember his name...Gar?). When he recited the code phrase for the Cardassian trooper near the end, I'm pretty sure part of the phrase was Garak's designation at the training academy (as related in "A Stitch in Time").

Wow. That'd be something.

I wish I could do as good a job expressing how much I liked this book as well as others have in this thread. I can't. I'll simply say I thought it was one of the best books I've read in a long time. Great characterization and as the book went on I felt an increasing sense of dread for the Bajoran people. Great work by James Swallow and at this point I wish he'd written the entire trilogy. (but I'm looking forward to them in any case, of course)

 

[lreisser]

I agree. The Orb experience the Cardassian had was so dark. The book is written in a great perspective that you know what's going to happen - the occupation, Terrok Nor, Gul Dukat, etc - that you desperately want to know how. I kept reading and reading wanting to know more. The next two volumes can't get here soon enough.

 

[phrog]

Garak was Ten Lubak.

Spoiler: The agent we're discussing

Five Lubak is the agent we're discussing.

"Lubak Five. Tul One. Karda Nine."

If that's intended to be his designation, it's Alon Ghemor.

And just because nobody has mentioned it... I got a chuckle out of the Star Wars reference towards the end. Anybody else catch it?

 

[EmperorKalan]

Garak was Ten Lubak.

Yeah, I was about to point out my own error, but you've beaten me to it.

 

[phrog]

Still some very interesting implications/storyline possibilities if it's who it appears to be.

 

[Defcon]

And just because nobody has mentioned it... I got a chuckle out of the Star Wars reference towards the end. Anybody else catch it?

It was mentioned:

I'm not done with the book yet and will write more coherent thoughts later but I just wanted to say the star wars reference at the bottom of p 388 had me laughing my ass off. Genius.

I am a slave to my geek nature, I admit it. That's not the only in-joke in the book, either...

Sometimes I wonder if people even read the threads before they say something hasn't been mentioned yet.

 

[James Swallow]

Re: the Garak thing...

Spoiler

It's not him, and it was never meant to be; as pointed out elsewhere, the timeline doesn't match up. Garak's off doing other stuff during this period.
The "Lubak Five, Tul One, Karda Nine" phrase is just a password; 'Lubak', 'Tul' and 'Karda' are Cardassian codewords. I used 'Lubak' in there because I wanted to suggest the idea that Pasir had been trained in the same place as Garak, but not in the same group as him.

 

[EmperorKalan]

Re: the Garak thing...

Yup. Figured that out after realizing I made a wrong turn at Lubakerque.

I knew I should have taken that left...

 

[phrog]

Re: the Garak thing...

Spoiler

It's not him, and it was never meant to be; as pointed out elsewhere, the timeline doesn't match up. Garak's off doing other stuff during this period.
The "Lubak Five, Tul One, Karda Nine" phrase is just a password; 'Lubak', 'Tul' and 'Karda' are Cardassian codewords. I used 'Lubak' in there because I wanted to suggest the idea that Pasir had been trained in the same place as Garak, but not in the same group as him.

Thanks for clearing that up James.

Oh, and thanks for one kick ass book. Please do more Trek lit... Ds9 especially

 

[Stevil2001]

I'm only seventy or so pages in (so I had to skim this thread), but I was amused to note that "kosst" was used as a Bajoran swear word, something I've done in my fan fiction since c. 2000 or so.

 

[gunslinger66]

Not to change the subject but Amazon just delivered Night of the Wolves to my door! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Just read the prologue-- very interesting! I hope this is as great as Vipers.

 

[Reanok]

I ordered Night of the wolves too it should be coming next week. I can't wait to read it.Especially after reading the review at trekmovie.