Spoilers DS9: The Missing by Una McCormack Review Thread
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I don't see where you are coming from. As Riker said the ship drops out of warp just long enough to start the transporter beam, and as we saw in the episode the ship jumps into warp before the beam is finalized, and besides Troi, even Worf confirmed that they were stuck in the wall for a brief second. I always got the feeling that the people being energized were at the end of a "bungee cord" to where they could've been dragged anywhere on the planet (or even off it) before the transport was complete.
I enjoyed this for what it was - a quieter tale.
I can't say the People or the Chain were all that great, but what made it work was the DS9 gang being more back together than they have been in ages. Odo's conversations with Garak were a particular delight and the story used the continuity of both books and TV to build an interesting plot around the missing prisoners.
I enjoyed Picard's chapter intros too.
Pulaski I can't say I care much about, came across as Bacco but without the charisma. The rest of the Athene Donald crew I was more intrigued by.
I can't say the People or the Chain were all that great, but what made it work was the DS9 gang being more back together than they have been in ages. Odo's conversations with Garak were a particular delight and the story used the continuity of both books and TV to build an interesting plot around the missing prisoners.
I enjoyed Picard's chapter intros too.
Pulaski I can't say I care much about, came across as Bacco but without the charisma. The rest of the Athene Donald crew I was more intrigued by.
Just finished it and liked it.
It is good to see Odo back, but I hope he does not return as Security Chief as I have come to like Blackmer. Actually out of the new DS9 crew, Stinson is the only character I would not miss if he left.
Only have one question - does this mean Pulaski has either retired or taken a leave of absence from Starfleet to join the Athene Donald crew?
It is good to see Odo back, but I hope he does not return as Security Chief as I have come to like Blackmer. Actually out of the new DS9 crew, Stinson is the only character I would not miss if he left.
Only have one question - does this mean Pulaski has either retired or taken a leave of absence from Starfleet to join the Athene Donald crew?
Sacraments of Fire and Ascendance are supposed to feature Sisko with Deep Space 9. Given that Kira last appeared in David R. George III's Revelation and Dust and thus will probably appear in his next novels, I hope he and Kira can resume their relationship.
I loved this book! As others have said, the quieter tone of this tale was a nice change of pace from some of the bigger, galaxy-shattering events. It very much felt like a "day-in-the-life" story.
I'm going to disagree with some other commenters and say that I very much enjoyed the slightly different writing style. I did notice that something felt a little off, but it didn't annoy me. Instead, I was intrigued by it as I tried to figure out what was different. I normally don't like "off-screen" events that are then recapped, but in this book, it really seemed to work for me.
My only real complaint about this was the fact that Dr. Crusher left DS9 at the end of the book. Obviously, she was always going to end up back on the Enterprise, but a few more stories about her time on DS9 would have been a nice change of pace. But, I'm not necessarily blaming the author for that. It's entirely possible that was an editorial decision.
Overall, I thought this book was outstanding!
I'm going to disagree with some other commenters and say that I very much enjoyed the slightly different writing style. I did notice that something felt a little off, but it didn't annoy me. Instead, I was intrigued by it as I tried to figure out what was different. I normally don't like "off-screen" events that are then recapped, but in this book, it really seemed to work for me.
My only real complaint about this was the fact that Dr. Crusher left DS9 at the end of the book. Obviously, she was always going to end up back on the Enterprise, but a few more stories about her time on DS9 would have been a nice change of pace. But, I'm not necessarily blaming the author for that. It's entirely possible that was an editorial decision.
Overall, I thought this book was outstanding!
I've just finished this not less than a hour ago and my first impression gel with what most others have had to say, namely that it was a finely crafted bit of light reading.
It was well seasoned with a pinch of Cardassia and plain and simple Garaks ever so sweet moments enlivened the book mainly due to his interaction with Odo. (also, was I the only one to be charmed by the overenthusiastic responses of his Excellency Quark every time he saw or talked about the Constable
)
The subplot about the POWs was well done and the twist was nicely heartwarming, although I should have seen it coming since there was a similar TNG episode.
Those Romulans are big softies really...
There are, however, a couple of sore notes, or rather things about the missing that annoyed me somewhat and I'm not talking about Dr Pulaski.
Firstly, the little things. How the whole cast seems (to me) to treat Commander Alden as a despicable villain for being an officer in Starfleet Intelligence almost by rote and it appears to be a way for certain characters to show their moral superiority, even Odo who served during the Occupation and was quite happy to spy on the inhabitants of the old DS9.
Also, a Romulan lecturing Cardassians on freedom and civil rights?
The one huge issue that I found with the missing and something that took me out of the story was....
The Tzenkethi.
I was going to go on a huge rant about just why this was so but I didn't want to come all Cardassian so I'll be brief. The problem that I have with the Tzenkethi is that they have suddenly become these beings of pure beauty, grace and effortless power that one cannot simply hope to understand or even argue with. When there is a scene where a roomful of scientists moan in dismay when a Tzenkethi leaves a mess hall and Ro lauren seriously discusses the idea that a Tzenkethi could be capable of magic and that these guys need to be...well, sucked up to there is only one observation to make.
You've got Elves and you know what you cannot do with elves?
I can see what is being done with this, a chance to give flesh and colour( pun most definitely intended) to a culture known just for savage border attacks and almost burying Garak alive and somethings it is well realized but now it seems that there is now this perfect race of beings that cannot be competed with.
The above is solely my own not so humble opinion and I could be reading it wrong but sometimes I am prone to turning into one of Pratchett or Tolkien's Dwarfs when ever I see elves...
It was well seasoned with a pinch of Cardassia and plain and simple Garaks ever so sweet moments enlivened the book mainly due to his interaction with Odo. (also, was I the only one to be charmed by the overenthusiastic responses of his Excellency Quark every time he saw or talked about the Constable
)The subplot about the POWs was well done and the twist was nicely heartwarming, although I should have seen it coming since there was a similar TNG episode.
Those Romulans are big softies really...
There are, however, a couple of sore notes, or rather things about the missing that annoyed me somewhat and I'm not talking about Dr Pulaski.
Firstly, the little things. How the whole cast seems (to me) to treat Commander Alden as a despicable villain for being an officer in Starfleet Intelligence almost by rote and it appears to be a way for certain characters to show their moral superiority, even Odo who served during the Occupation and was quite happy to spy on the inhabitants of the old DS9.
Also, a Romulan lecturing Cardassians on freedom and civil rights?
The one huge issue that I found with the missing and something that took me out of the story was....
The Tzenkethi.
I was going to go on a huge rant about just why this was so but I didn't want to come all Cardassian so I'll be brief. The problem that I have with the Tzenkethi is that they have suddenly become these beings of pure beauty, grace and effortless power that one cannot simply hope to understand or even argue with. When there is a scene where a roomful of scientists moan in dismay when a Tzenkethi leaves a mess hall and Ro lauren seriously discusses the idea that a Tzenkethi could be capable of magic and that these guys need to be...well, sucked up to there is only one observation to make.
You've got Elves and you know what you cannot do with elves?
I can see what is being done with this, a chance to give flesh and colour( pun most definitely intended) to a culture known just for savage border attacks and almost burying Garak alive and somethings it is well realized but now it seems that there is now this perfect race of beings that cannot be competed with.
The above is solely my own not so humble opinion and I could be reading it wrong but sometimes I am prone to turning into one of Pratchett or Tolkien's Dwarfs when ever I see elves...
Thor Damar! Hello again. 
Heh, I assume that reaction is the point. People and societies are often blind to - or wilfully ignorant of - their own natures while condemning and exaggerating similar flaws in others. Having a Romulan disgustedly lecture Cardassians on their historic tendency to fear the government and be cowed by it is a nice moment of unknowing hypocrisy and aggressive cultural blindness, if not nationalistic posturing. Self-awareness takes a backseat to other matters of identity. Plus, it's easier for many to see the demon in others than in oneself. Romulans daren't attack the state, but they can attack the Cardassians for being what they can't admit to being themselves...
There was a similar moment in Myriad Universes: Places of Exile, in which a Vorta disgustedly condemned the Voth for being rigid in their doctrine and brutal in enforcing it, which is, supposedly everything the Dominion stands to oppose...
You never liked the Tzenkethi, for much the same reason that you're not fond of the Minbari - elves just grind on your nerves.
Also, a Romulan lecturing Cardassians on freedom and civil rights?
Heh, I assume that reaction is the point. People and societies are often blind to - or wilfully ignorant of - their own natures while condemning and exaggerating similar flaws in others. Having a Romulan disgustedly lecture Cardassians on their historic tendency to fear the government and be cowed by it is a nice moment of unknowing hypocrisy and aggressive cultural blindness, if not nationalistic posturing.
Self-awareness takes a backseat to other matters of identity. Plus, it's easier for many to see the demon in others than in oneself. Romulans daren't attack the state, but they can attack the Cardassians for being what they can't admit to being themselves...There was a similar moment in Myriad Universes: Places of Exile, in which a Vorta disgustedly condemned the Voth for being rigid in their doctrine and brutal in enforcing it, which is, supposedly everything the Dominion stands to oppose...
You never liked the Tzenkethi, for much the same reason that you're not fond of the Minbari - elves just grind on your nerves.
As I recall, the last time we saw Kira she was in Bajor's past, having exchanged places with Altek Dans. That's the storyline that I was really hoping The Missing would've picked up on.
Didn't you read the ending of Revelation and Dust?
She left the Celestial Temple dimension and appeared in a cargo bay, meeting Taran'atar.
I think A Time for War, A Time for Peace established that she'd left the fleet to pursue a civilian career.
Review
As some posters above have noted, The Missing is a somewhat quieter tale when compared to the more recent stories that have taken us to DS9 (The Fall, etc.). And thank goodness for that, it's long overdue. Somehow The Missing feels as the first story of a new era for DS9, with the new station and the new, post-Destiny, status quo. It took me a while to warm to the story, but once it gets going, it's a treat.
While I wasn't that certain that either Alden or Corazame were characters that needed to be revisited, I do very much like the insight we get into Federation-Tzenkethi relations through both them and Metiger. It's all baby steps, but we're finally getting back into an era of tentative peace following the rise of the Typhon Pact and yay for that! The Tzenkethi continue to be a very engaging species to read about, even if their society is structured around a system we'd likely abhor. (They're like onions and ogres: they have layers.) I found Corazame's simple statement that her life on Ab-Tzenketh might have seemed like slavery, but that she was still content in it, quite powerful, much like Pulaski's defense of Metiger to Alden only to be confronted with his being right about her in the end. The resolution to Metiger's status was not something I expected, but a very welcome one.
Still, where the novel really shines is the Romulan/Cardassian plot on DS9, because that is where we finally get to see day-to-day life on the new station. It's not surprising to see that Ro and Odo get on well, and how this worried Blackmer. I liked how we get to see a lot of what Odo's life is like these days, and the bond he formed with Corazame. Likewise, I appreciated the feel of Ro's command style, more personable than Kira's but with the same consequences-be-damned approach to defending what she believes is right.
It's funny how much like true DS9 this book felt, with the major PoV characters largely originating in TNG and most of the established DS9'ers as supporting cast only. A solid "above average" from me.
While I wasn't that certain that either Alden or Corazame were characters that needed to be revisited, I do very much like the insight we get into Federation-Tzenkethi relations through both them and Metiger. It's all baby steps, but we're finally getting back into an era of tentative peace following the rise of the Typhon Pact and yay for that! The Tzenkethi continue to be a very engaging species to read about, even if their society is structured around a system we'd likely abhor. (They're like onions and ogres: they have layers.) I found Corazame's simple statement that her life on Ab-Tzenketh might have seemed like slavery, but that she was still content in it, quite powerful, much like Pulaski's defense of Metiger to Alden only to be confronted with his being right about her in the end. The resolution to Metiger's status was not something I expected, but a very welcome one.
Still, where the novel really shines is the Romulan/Cardassian plot on DS9, because that is where we finally get to see day-to-day life on the new station. It's not surprising to see that Ro and Odo get on well, and how this worried Blackmer. I liked how we get to see a lot of what Odo's life is like these days, and the bond he formed with Corazame. Likewise, I appreciated the feel of Ro's command style, more personable than Kira's but with the same consequences-be-damned approach to defending what she believes is right.
It's funny how much like true DS9 this book felt, with the major PoV characters largely originating in TNG and most of the established DS9'ers as supporting cast only. A solid "above average" from me.
Shortly after Peaceable Kingdoms (and so after the first two), right alongside Takedown.
Shortly after Peaceable Kingdoms (and so after the first two), right alongside Takedown.
Thanks, I've got a touch of continuity/reading order OCD
Does anyone ever worry that Laas has been running the Dominion alone for several years now?
Constantly.
It does seem rather irresponsible of Odo. I suspect he assumes that Laas will get bored/disgusted and stop speaking to the solid members of the Dominion entirely, and they can all start finding their own way.I'm also concerned about Weyoun. We left him waiting on the other side of the wormhole. Sometimes I imagine him still sitting there, Fry's dog-style.
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