DS9: The Soul Key by Olivia Woods Review Thread (Spoilers!)

[DS9Continuing]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

Yeah, Fearful Symmetry and The Soul Key are basically two halves of the same book, and that's because originally they were one book. It was just split in two to allow the first half to come out without so much of a wait and to flesh out aspects of the second half.

...and at some points even more detail the former books, albeit usually from other people's perspectives....

I really liked that. We saw the same events from three different perspectives, like the conversation over the comm just before Kira beams to alt-Bajor. It's the "three" concept again.

It reminded me of those episodes of Lost where one episode leads you up to one point in the plot from one set of characters' POV, and then the next leads you up to the same point in the plot by a different set of characters' POV, and so on. I realise that people could be annoyed that it doesn't move the plot forward any, but I just quite like it as a literary technique.

 

[DS9Continuing]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

Okay, I just came up with another small issue.

If the paghvaram, the Soul Key, was actually from the MU, how did it get over here however many millenia ago?

After all the build-up, the Soul Key itself didn't seem to actually do much. It wasn't required to open the wormhole. Perhaps its only purpose was to give Iliana and MU-Iliana their shared vision, so that they would both begin their missions that led to them becoming respective Emissaries.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

Okay, I just came up with another small issue.

If the paghvaram, the Soul Key, was actually from the MU, how did it get over here however many millenia ago?

After all the build-up, the Soul Key itself didn't seem to actually do much. It wasn't required to open the wormhole. Perhaps its only purpose was to give Iliana and MU-Iliana their shared vision, so that they would both begin their missions that led to them becoming respective Emissaries.

I think the paghvaram was transferred to our universe through the last remaining orb, before it was destroyed by the Terran Empire. The Prophets at work again.

 

[Man of Steel]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

Well, I got Soul Key for free.

I wasn't sure if I should read it w/o FS first

 

[Marie1]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

Soul Key ties in heavily with Fearful Symmetry. As some others suggested, it could have easily been 1 big book. Read Symmetry first.

I would just skip the whole thing and wait for the new "Typhon Pact" arc in 2010 that will catch DS9 up with the rest of the post-Destiny series.

I sure wish I could recoup the time and $$ that I spent on the past three DS9 books!

You didn't like Warpath?! I thought it was awesome! Hunts, attacks, chases...

 

[JD]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

I'm with you Marie1, Warpath is one of my favorite DS9R books. But that's probably because it focused three of my favorite characters, Taran'atar, Vaughn, and Prynn.

 

[DS9Continuing]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

Okay, I just came up with another small issue.

If the paghvaram, the Soul Key, was actually from the MU, how did it get over here however many millenia ago?

After all the build-up, the Soul Key itself didn't seem to actually do much. It wasn't required to open the wormhole. Perhaps its only purpose was to give Iliana and MU-Iliana their shared vision, so that they would both begin their missions that led to them becoming respective Emissaries.

I think the paghvaram was transferred to our universe through the last remaining orb, before it was destroyed by the Terran Empire. The Prophets at work again.

Yes, I just re-read that part, and you're right, according to alt-Opaka, the Shard of Souls was somehow transferred via the two alt-Orbs of Souls between the two universes. Why is still a matter of conjecture.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

Okay, I just came up with another small issue.

If the paghvaram, the Soul Key, was actually from the MU, how did it get over here however many millenia ago?

After all the build-up, the Soul Key itself didn't seem to actually do much. It wasn't required to open the wormhole. Perhaps its only purpose was to give Iliana and MU-Iliana their shared vision, so that they would both begin their missions that led to them becoming respective Emissaries.

I think the paghvaram was transferred to our universe through the last remaining orb, before it was destroyed by the Terran Empire. The Prophets at work again.

Yes, I just re-read that part, and you're right, according to alt-Opaka, the Shard of Souls was somehow transferred via the two alt-Orbs of Souls between the two universes. Why is still a matter of conjecture.

Because the Kai at the time knew that his Orb of Souls would be destroyed, and perhaps the other shards as well, and the Prophets gave him an inkling of what was to come, so the Shard of Souls needed to be kept somewhere safe, where better than our Bajor, out of reach of the Terran Empire who didn't even know about our universe. The fact that it wasn't MirrorSisko who found it and used it open the MirrorCelestial Temple is purely a galactic error that even the grandiose Prophets could not have foreseen.

 

[Marie1]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

I'm with you Marie1, Warpath is one of my favorite DS9R books. But that's probably because it focused three of my favorite characters, Taran'atar, Vaughn, and Prynn.

I love you!

But yeah, even if someone hated the Iliana arc, Warpath is made of win (to use some skin-crawling Internet terminology).

The different perspective thing was interesting. I wouldn't have died without it, but it was curious- seeing her mind, seeing how much was corrupted, how much was just malice etc.

TSK getting into our universe isn't much of a stretch, given that people seem to whip around between universes, so if the prophets wanted to bring a bracelet...

I do hope that anything about the Ascendants will have a bit more heft, after all, we've been waiting for that as long/longer.

 

[Jono]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

I sure wish I could recoup the time and $$ that I spent on the past three DS9 books!

You and me both.

I'm just glad this whole mirror universe stuff is over.

 

[DS9Continuing]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

The fact that it wasn't MirrorSisko who found it and used it open the MirrorCelestial Temple is purely a galactic error that even the grandiose Prophets could not have foreseen.

Ah, but was it an accident? Is it not possible that the Prophets brought the Shard of Souls to the RU specifically so that Iliana would find it, which led directly to her becoming their Emissary to the Ascendants?

After all, according to Warpath, the Prophets are deliberately bringing the Bajorans, Eavoq and Ascendants into conflict with each other. They sent Opaka and Jake into the GQ precisely so that they would contact the Ascendants and reveal the Eavoq.

All of which means that the Prophets are okay with the death of 300 Bajorans at Sidau, because it's all part of the plan. If Kira ever found that out, I don't think she'd be happy.

 

[Marie1]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

^^ I'd be more concerned about it if it hadn't been 30-5$ stretched out over 3 years or so. I'd have preferred, in retrospect, to have FS/TSK as one book I think, since it would probably have been just 10$. Mostly my complaint is that I'm such a fast reader- but as long as it takes me longer to read a book than 2 hours, I'm happy.

It would be interesting... if Iliana won. Technically, shouldn't she have done so in one universe?

 

[Elias Vaughn]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

So, if it's one Sisko's job to instruct an alternate Sisko about their role as the Emissary, then where was the alternate Sisko that was supposed to teach our Sisko about his role as the Emissary?

Also, the Vaughn thing. As some of you can probably tell, I like Vaughn.

Still, though. 7.5/10. I've read much, much worse.

 

[Marie1]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

So, if it's one Sisko's job to instruct an alternate Sisko about their role as the Emissary, then where was the alternate Sisko that was supposed to teach our Sisko about his role as the Emissary?

As FS indicated, one was not necessary, Sisko did eventually step up to the plate in our universe.

 

[Elias Vaughn]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

Did it? I must have missed that part. Thanks!

 

[Marie1]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

^I think it was in the first part of the book? Within the first say... 3 chapters?

Spoiler: For FS

Sisko meets up in the Temple with a bunch of other Siskos from different uni's and there is a blank space, and they tell him he was supposed to help the other Sisko become Emissary. He says that wasn't obvious, and they tell he he should've kept his eye on the ball. So they tell him how to fix stuff (but they don't tell the reader).

 

[LutherSloan]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

If I remember correctly, the paghvaram came to this universe by the actions of the MU's Kai at the time. He brought it with him to this universe to protect it, got stuck here, and became one of the regular universe Bajor's most important early religious leaders. But he was actually from the MU all along.

 

[Janeway4Prez]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

My Review -

In all, I felt 'The Soul Key' was just okay. Compared to other books in the DS9-Relaunch series, it lacks a certain edge and emotional depth to it. It comes off as very comic-book like; more action than character development, lack of feeling, just not enough depth and a conclusion that lacked excitement.

The Good: This book wraps, for the most part, the Mirror Universe saga that's been played with for the past few years in the books. There are still some unanswered questions brought up by previous books, but 'The Soul Key' sets out to wrap and conclude the Iliana Ghemor arc that began in 'Warpath' and was the center of 'Fearful Symmetry'. Unlike that book, 'The Soul Key' fleshes out the Ghemor characters. We are treated to a host of Mirror Universe DS9 appearances, from O'Brien to a Mirror Universe Vaughn and even Winn and Opaka. In this way, it felt like a real Deep Space Nine story with many familiar characters being woven into the story.

The Bad: The book featured more action than it did character development. The main cast of characters really serve as a back-drop to this novel. Though Captain Kira and Commander Elias Vaughn are the main 'stars' of the novel, really, they aren't given much in terms of development. After waiting so many months for this novel, and years for this plot to be fleshed out, as a reader, I was expecting or wanting more movement in the plot surrounding the main group of characters of the re-launch series. We're only given a few moments that hint at what's in store for Dax; Ro Laren is reduced to nothing more than a cameo appearance. At the conclusion of the book, my reaction wasn't one of real excitement. Instead, it was a shrug and question. That's it? We've been waiting all of these months, these years, for this? The book itself is anti-climatic and seems (ultimately) beneath the quality of a majority of the relaunch novels.

In all, 'The Soul Key' is a quick read that suffers from a simplistic plot execution. If you come in expecting a lot of movement and development of the main group of characters - think again. It appears we'll have to wait another year or two before there's a novel that deals with the main core group. The book is also confusing in that much of the plot builds upon the previous novel and past novellas - all of which were published a year or more ago. It was hard, even having read all of the novels, to recall small plot details and facts. A decent read, not horrible, but confusing at parts and unsatisfying at the end.

 

[Marie1]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

I'm a few pages from the end and it just occurred to me... if this is going where I think it is, have we technically seen the end of the Iliana arc? Not that I have a problem with the way it's rolling...

 

[JD]

Re: The Soul Key Discussion Thread <Spoilers>

I haven't read it yet, but from what I've heard, I'm thinking that instead ending, the Illiana arc is just joining with the Ascendants arc.