Mission Gamma: Cathedral- B
Well that was quite an opposite from This Grey Spirit. While that one was a slog to get through, Cathedral was a very fast read, with some really interesting storylines and an ending that was quite shocking.
While I liked the Gamma Quadrant story more here than TGS, I still thought there was too much of a TNG/VOY vibe. So the away team experiences something from an alien cathedral that makes them regress to their former selves: Bashir doesn't have his genetic enhancements, Nog gets his leg back, Ezri doesn't need the symbiont anymore, and the Symbiont floating in a container. I think my favorite part of this storyline was what happened when the characters entered the artifact, especially the Symbiont part of it, kind of fighting with the hosts until it realized that it needed Ezri despite their differences. I think this is the first time where the authors tried to tell the story from the point of view of the slug and it kind of worked for me. I also enjoyed the memories of the other characters too, Bashir, Nog, and Ezri. They learn more about themselves, especially Bashir and his moving past the hatred of what was done to his former self. Still, this storyline overall felt kind of paint by numbers, kind of something Voyager would do. I kind of wish these characters emotional journey was explored more than it was too. As for the two warring aliens trying to guard/destroy the artifact, they were kinda unmemorable.
The more interesting stuff happens in the Alpha Quadrent, with the signing of Bajor's entry into the federation. There was so much that happened here: Kira's attainder causing a divide in Bajor's religious community, Yevir going to Cardassia and almost redeeming himself by bringing back the Orbs, and the events leading up to and at the signing ceremony. While Kira wasn't as big in terms of actions in this book as in the last one, I'm glad we finally see consequences of her decision to send out Ohalu's texts on the comnet in Avatar. This was actually the most interesting part of Cathedral.
And then there was the ending. I kind of spoiled myself last week so I knew Shakaar's death was coming, but I was still shocked anyway. So the Trill delegate killed him, which will make for a very interesting reason in the next book. I also wonder what this will do with the Bajor/Cardassian talks, especially with Yevir's announcement of ambassadors being sent to Cardassia and as a sign of good faith, Cardassia returning the 4 orbs. That was a nice payoff, even though I kinda wanted to see Garak more.
Overall, this was much better than This Grey Spirit, but not quite on the level of Twilight. The Bajor stuff is reminding me a lot of Season 2 of DS9, especially the Circle Trilogy, which I loved so I'm really getting a kick out of what is happening here. As for the gamma quadrant, I think I'm ready for Vaughn and crew to finally return home.
