Just finished the book. Enjoyed it thoroughly. I'm writing a couple of thoughts without having read a single post of the rest of the thread, so forgive me if I cover points already covered. I just wanted to get my thoughts down without having them confused with other people's thoughts.
Anyway, great book. I think it made a creative yet sensible choice to explain the slight wibble in whether the Occupation lasted for 50 or 60 years, and how the established fact that Cardassia first claimed to be a friend could be. I loved the character of Darrah, a really good grass-roots character to pin the reader on, as we see this low-level functionary react to all the planet-changing things going on around him.
I had a quibble with the use of the Oralians. I had been under the impression, and would have preferred to remain so, that the Oralian Way was lost aeons ago, along with the first Hebitian civilisation, and that religion of any sort was utterly foreign to the Cardassian mindset. So I was slightly troubled to see them play such a large part in societal events within the last century. I realise that these were basically the last gasp, and that mollifies me somewhat. And that indeed, the vast majority of Cardassian society is blind to faith. I also realise it was the correct way to explain the "friends" thing I mentioned earlier - using the Oralians is basically the best way to make a connection with the Bajorans quickly - and that mollifies me more. Still, it seemed slightly wurblish.
Also, while it was nice to see so many familiar "faces," I was a touch troubled to see so many familiar faces, if you know what I mean. All of these characters, like Dukat, Kell, Nechayev, Jaro, Proka, Keeve and so on, were presumably already adults with the experience and age to have reached their current positions. Let's say, all in their late 20s - early 30s, minimum. That means that 60 years later, during TNG and DS9 (where they all appeared in canon), those characters must have been in their late 80s - early 90s. And that just seems wrong to me.
Yes, we know that humans live longer than now, and that other races do too, but is still seems iffy. For example, Jaro Essa and Li Tarka (Li Nalas' father) are presented as contemporaries. Yet when the two meet in "The Circle," they look the same age. If anything, Li Nalas looks older (and yes, I know he had a hard life, but still). And Benjamin Sisko, presumably late 30s - early 40s in "Emissary," is the nemesis of a man twice his age?
I also had intended to rant on the phenomenon of the in media res opening, which seems to be a popular fashion these days. A scene to begin the book which actually takes place in the middle or towards the end of the story, to make the reader think, "Ooh, what could possibly happen to make things get to such a bad state?" It happened in Sword of Damocles and Unjoined to name two that immediately come to mind, and in neither did I feel it was necessary or useful. I thought the same of this one. It's a prequel; we don't need to be shown the tragedy that is to come so that a pall will fall over supposedly happy scenes. We already know - we watched the show.
But then, about half way through the book, I began to figure out the real purpose of that scene, which is to mislead the reader. Something completely different is happening in that scene from what it first appears. So I'll let you off in this case. Although as I say, I had it figured out far in advance of the actual reveal.
Anyway, I shall now go and read the rest of the thread. Thanks! Looking forward to the rest.
ETA: The comparison to The Art of the Impossible is apt. This book has the same kind of "This is galactic history happening right here, folks" feel to it.
Thanks to that I now have an image of Dukat walking through a screaming crowd yelling that out.
