DS9 Relaunch Question

[Mr. Domino]

How essential are Abyss and Demons of Air and Darkness (and, by extension, Horn and Ivory) to the DS9 relaunch? I ask because I'm picking all this stuff up long after the fact now, and I've had a bugger of a time finding these two in decent shape for whatever reason - and haven't seen What Lay Beyond in HC at all. I'm willing to wait if they're really that important, but if they're not, I'd like to move forward, and just come back to them at some point.

 

[ICW]

I'd say their both important (and also damn enjoyable).

You could skip both of them but I would try and hunt them down somewhere. You could purchase the Twist of Faith omnibus that includes Avatar, Abyss, Demons of Air and Darkness, and the Horn and Ivory novella from What Lay Beyond.

http://www.amazon.com/Twist-Faith-Space-Unnumbered-Paperback/dp/1416534156

 

[Mr. Domino]

Yeah, I saw Twist of Faith, but I've already got Avatar, and intend to get everything eventually (i.e. all of the Section 31 and Gateways books), so I wanted to get them in their original versions. Plus, I've never seen the omnibus edition in any stores, and I don't buy online.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I've never seen the omnibus edition in any stores, and I don't buy online.

Then you are destined to go crazy. Buying online is the only way I tracked down some of the rarer books I was willing to pay hundreds for in person, if only I could find them. Online, I've found some ST books for just a few cents plus postage.

It's possible the omnibus is still counted as being "in print" and can therefore be ordered for you from most bookshops. I've certainly seen it in shops up until quite recently. Some bookshops will even buy secondhand books online for you, then sell them to you over the counter. Or ask a friend.

 

[Christopher]

How essential are Abyss and Demons of Air and Darkness (and, by extension, Horn and Ivory) to the DS9 relaunch?

Pretty essential. Despite the way Gateways was packaged, it was a very loose crossover, and its DS9 and NF volumes were far more closely tied to their own respective series than they were to the crossover. (If anything, I always found the Gateways-related stuff in DoA&D to be a distraction from the ongoing DS9 threads that were the primary and far more interesting focus of the novel. And the Gateway serves no purpose in "Horn and Ivory" except as the plot device to set the story in motion.) And that's even more true of the Section 31 miniseries, which wasn't really a crossover at all, just four separate books that all had to do with Section 31.

Pretty much every novel in the DS9 post-finale series is as essential as every other one, except for The Left Hand of Destiny and The Never Ending Sacrifice, which are side stories that never really fed back into the main narrative.

 

[Mr. Domino]

Thanks, everybody, that's what I needed to know. I'd love to take up more space with why I refuse to buy online, but that's a topic for another thread, on another day - and its not like I'll convince anyone anyways.

 

[JD]

Almost every Trek book ever published by Pocket is available as an e-book. So far I've only found 2 novels, Greg Cox's Assignment: Eternity, and one other who's title I've forgotten not available as an e-book. You can download free PC or Mac apps for both Barnes & Noble's Nook books, and Amazon's Kindle books. Honestly, at this point I'd say books are pretty much the best way to get a hold of e-books older than a year or two.

 

[KRAD]

As it happens, Mr. Domino I have one last copy of Demons of Air and Darkness for sale at cover price plus postage. I'll even autograph it.

E-mail me at krad at whysper dot net for details.

(I don't have a copy of What Lay Beyond left, unfortunately...)

 

[Mr. Domino]

Awesome! Done, and thank you for helping to further my addiction.