Just read Fearful Symmetry & The Soul Key...

[Toefur]

... and I don't really know what to say. I didn't like the whole Mirror Universe thing before going into these books, but I felt that that the inclusion of them with the story that was told worked naturally... but, I didn't really like the story that was told.

I just can't agree with the idea that all these things that happened, some Bajoran town wiped out, Taran'atar turning on Kira... was all because of some Cardassian operative - tenuously linked to the main TV series - was held in a secret prison by Gul Dukat and repeatedly raped for years and years?

And that a few entire books of DS9 - were based around somebody who is Kira but isn't Kira and wants to seek out revenge on all the other Kira's in all the Universes because the real Kira's got to live their lives while Kira-Ghemor got raped by Dukat? It's just so... convoluted and stupid, to me.

It all just seems so completely out of place when compared to the rest of DS9 books.

Anyway, I guess next I'm on to Rough Beasts of Empire which I'm not particularly looking forwards to, even though all of the DS9 books by David R. George have been fantastic so far.

 

[ice]

I used to love the DS9 series but lost interest around the the time of Warpath- the looong delays between books, and hearing about Ghemor in Fearful Symmetry, bored me to tears. I never even finished Warpath.

Rough Beasts of Empire is a different, er, beast altogether though. It's set after Destiny so it's a long time after the DS9 series; it's not even a DS9 story at all, it's a Sisko / Romulan one. I really enjoyed it.

Zero Sum Game is more of a DS9 story, but there's nothing linking it to the DS9 series- even Bashir comments that everyone he knew has left or moved on.

 

[toughlittleship]

I quite like the scene in Fearful Symmetry where Ghemor gets her memory back, yet retains Kira's. She reflects on the Bajoran who was Kira's friend, yet she killed her as Ghemor. I found that quite intriguing.

 

[James Cole]

I read these books last week. The Dukat/Illiana storyline is shocking and it will definitely change the way I view his character the next time I re-watch DS9 on DVD. It seems like a retcon, but it is also totally believable. "Ties of Blood and Water" implies that Dukat knew something about Illiana, and an organisation as efficent as the Obsidion Order would not just have an operative disappear without someone of authority being involved.

The transition from Illiana being in prison to going insane and wanting to wipe out "other" Kiras is a little abrupt. I wish the original concept of Fearful Symmetry could have survived the author change and been all in one book to set up Illiana as Emissary to the Ascendants.

What we have is too much jumping back and forth a la "The Event". I can see why people who read the story over three years and not a week would take issue with it. You basically have to go back to Signs and Omens and fill in the blanks.

Vaughn and Mirror Vaugn and Prynn was perfect. First he had to kill Reiko in front of Prynn, then 'himself' in front of mirror Prynn.