Revelation and Dust
In-Universe: 2385 (with some flashbacks to the previous 2 years)
Published: August 27, 2013
This story is two in one, with the main piece of the story being set around the opening of the New Deep Space Nine. It feels almost like Nintendo is naming these stations, what happened to -A. Same with the Defiant and the end of DS9, but I digress. The second story is Kira's visions while in the wormhole since Raise The Dawn. Speaking of Novellas, I feel like that it almost could have been separated out into its own if not for the crossover at the end. I'll start with my thoughts on this subplot. It was fine, and makes more sense for Kira to envision her time in the wormhole as part of Bajor's past than as Kay Eaton. I feel like a story in the gateways arc was similar to this, describing the early history of Bajor, but I read that 2+ years ago, and it was written 10+ before this one. It's an interesting look into a period of time we know nothing about, but nothing particularly stood out about it, and I felt like it had to do a lot of worldbuilding. I was unclear on the technology level till about halfway through, as early on they mention wooden swords, but it's a while before it's revealed that they are to avoid metal detectors. It's most tense bit was the escape of the teenage girl, but part of me felt like it was going over my head as a metaphor. I feel like going through the cave in the mountain and being trapped in it for a short period was a metaphor, but if it was, it wasn't one that correlated a lot with anything.
Switching back and forth is often a tonal shift with the main story, which I'll get to now. Perhaps that was to put a bit more action in the early bits of the story, but it felt annoying to keep switching instead of going through one story and then the other.
The DS9 dedication arc is sorrowful but hopeful, as the leaders of multiple civilizations, including the Gorn and Romulan dialogue continuing (from cold equations book 2). It felt like a good way to catch new readers up if they were to start reading here, something that I understand to be a necessary evil in these works, while also giving us some catch-up on DS9 events that may have happened offscreen. The groundwork is laid for some dissent on Cardassia.
We also get some of Bacco grieving from, but adjusting to, the loss of Esperanza Pinero, her chief of staff.
At the event itself, after all other leader's speeches have been given, the president is assassinated. There's an easily found clear suspect, the Bajoran First Minister's Chief of staff, but I think it's pretty obvious to the reader that she didn't do it, while it takes a while for DS9 security to find out. The end reveal is that she was effectively drugged with a chip of Tzenkethi design and was framed, and then we get a fakeout of Kira returning from the wormhole, only to be revealed that it's one of the characters from back in Bajor's history from the Kira half of the novel.
I have to say, I'm saddened and disappointed with the death of President Bacco. I could say everything I said about Pinero's death from my previous review, about how it's meant to make us feel sad, but that still doesn't change the fact that she was a compelling and relatable character and I'm sad to see her gone.
Next up is the next "Fall" novel, "The Crimson Shadow" by Una McCormack. I think the only thing I've read from her is her worlds of DS9 book, which I don't remember, and Brinkmanship, which I enjoyed.
In-Universe: 2385 (with some flashbacks to the previous 2 years)
Published: August 27, 2013
This story is two in one, with the main piece of the story being set around the opening of the New Deep Space Nine. It feels almost like Nintendo is naming these stations, what happened to -A. Same with the Defiant and the end of DS9, but I digress. The second story is Kira's visions while in the wormhole since Raise The Dawn. Speaking of Novellas, I feel like that it almost could have been separated out into its own if not for the crossover at the end. I'll start with my thoughts on this subplot. It was fine, and makes more sense for Kira to envision her time in the wormhole as part of Bajor's past than as Kay Eaton. I feel like a story in the gateways arc was similar to this, describing the early history of Bajor, but I read that 2+ years ago, and it was written 10+ before this one. It's an interesting look into a period of time we know nothing about, but nothing particularly stood out about it, and I felt like it had to do a lot of worldbuilding. I was unclear on the technology level till about halfway through, as early on they mention wooden swords, but it's a while before it's revealed that they are to avoid metal detectors. It's most tense bit was the escape of the teenage girl, but part of me felt like it was going over my head as a metaphor. I feel like going through the cave in the mountain and being trapped in it for a short period was a metaphor, but if it was, it wasn't one that correlated a lot with anything.
Switching back and forth is often a tonal shift with the main story, which I'll get to now. Perhaps that was to put a bit more action in the early bits of the story, but it felt annoying to keep switching instead of going through one story and then the other.
The DS9 dedication arc is sorrowful but hopeful, as the leaders of multiple civilizations, including the Gorn and Romulan dialogue continuing (from cold equations book 2). It felt like a good way to catch new readers up if they were to start reading here, something that I understand to be a necessary evil in these works, while also giving us some catch-up on DS9 events that may have happened offscreen. The groundwork is laid for some dissent on Cardassia.
We also get some of Bacco grieving from, but adjusting to, the loss of Esperanza Pinero, her chief of staff.
At the event itself, after all other leader's speeches have been given, the president is assassinated. There's an easily found clear suspect, the Bajoran First Minister's Chief of staff, but I think it's pretty obvious to the reader that she didn't do it, while it takes a while for DS9 security to find out. The end reveal is that she was effectively drugged with a chip of Tzenkethi design and was framed, and then we get a fakeout of Kira returning from the wormhole, only to be revealed that it's one of the characters from back in Bajor's history from the Kira half of the novel.
I have to say, I'm saddened and disappointed with the death of President Bacco. I could say everything I said about Pinero's death from my previous review, about how it's meant to make us feel sad, but that still doesn't change the fact that she was a compelling and relatable character and I'm sad to see her gone.
Next up is the next "Fall" novel, "The Crimson Shadow" by Una McCormack. I think the only thing I've read from her is her worlds of DS9 book, which I don't remember, and Brinkmanship, which I enjoyed.
