Spoilers TP: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by Sho, Jun 17, 2012.

?

Rate Raise the Dawn.

  1. Outstanding

    84 vote(s)
    70.0%
  2. Above Average

    26 vote(s)
    21.7%
  3. Average

    3 vote(s)
    2.5%
  4. Below Average

    3 vote(s)
    2.5%
  5. Poor

    4 vote(s)
    3.3%
  1. Ronald Held

    Ronald Held Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2005
    Location:
    On the USS Sovereign
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    about 20% into it. A large amount of destruction.I would comment further but cannot enable the spoiler button.
     
  2. Sjaddix

    Sjaddix Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2011
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    Yeah DS9 and Bajor are kinda irrelevant now without the wormhole. Although naturally, the wormhole will reopen eventually. Such is the state of serial lit. Although in some way you can say this closes a major chapter for DS9. Show starts with the wormhole opening and this book has it closes. Although, I wonder how the Bajorans will react to this.
     
  3. starri

    starri Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2006
    Location:
    New York, NY
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    Not necessarily. DS9 was the staging ground for the relief efforts to Cardassia after the war, and now that the Cardassians are more closely allied with the Federation, it will probably become an important waypoint between the two.

    And that pre-supposes that an admiral or two won't take up the idea of the Federation reopening the wormhole itself, which, you have to admit, is something an admiral might do.
     
  4. Sjaddix

    Sjaddix Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2011
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    Yeah Sorry really not all that interested in Cardassia Relief Besides that Hardly Compares to being the Gateway to a whole quadrant.
     
  5. Paper Moon

    Paper Moon Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2011
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    WOW. That. Was. Great.

    Honestly, PoN and RtD together are better than Destiny to me. I don't say that to minimize Destiny's excellence, but to emphasize this duology's.

    Spoilers abounding ahead...











    Comments on things I liked:
    -That pagh'tem'far between Kasidy, Sisko and Kira at the end was probably the most confusing thing I have ever read in TrekLit. And it was great. I liked the resolution of the Sisko and Prophets storyline. It's about time, in my view. Oddly enough, the way Kira explained that it was okay for Sisko to be with Kasidy reminded me of the similar revelation about a prophecy in the Harry Potter series.
    -Loved the resolution of Kira's story. While I would be okay if she came back, I appreciate the resolution of the conflict that was her life, and I'd be okay if it were over. She deserves to be at peace.
    -Loved, loved, LOVED the parallelism between Eli rescuing Kay and Elias (?) rescuing Kira. I would like some explanation about Vaughn, but honestly, if I don't get it, that will be okay too. Some things aren't to be explained.
    -Really am okay with DS9's demise. Obviously the authors were telegraphing this, but it did feel like there were no more stories to tell there. For one thing, the character of Quark had no way to grow as long as the station was there. I believe it was Ira Steven Behr who said that Quark was never going to be nagus, or anything, because he was always going to be at his bar.
    -Was glad to see less of the Breen (really glad) and was fine with less Tzenkethi. They're great, but we've seen a lot of them. Was glad to have focus on interesting Romulans.
    -Picard with Tomalak
    -Nog and O'Brien being back and working together
    -no Ezri
    -no one missing Ezri
    -Odo being back

    Agreeing with what other people have said about:
    -Sela; I cheered out loud when I realized who was the prisoner in Ki Baratan
    -Kamemor
    -Quark
    -being sadder about the prospect of losing Vic than about having lost the station
    -Bacco being stupid
    -Sisko reeming out Stinson

    Things I was less keen on:
    -Where is Spock? (someone else mentioned this upthread) Not even a mention? I didn't miss him while reading the book, but in hindsight, I would have appreciated something.
    -The Sarina Douglas subplot; to turn Bashir's "wheels-within-wheels" image on its ear, this story felt like it was spinning its wheels. Of course DRGIII needed to include it, but it just felt like there wasn't enough space in the narrative to make it go places. And while the confusingness of the story was clearly intentional and meaningful, it just didn't quite work for me. And it's somewhat frustrating because I don't think we'll get development on that story for some time.
    -Using the True Way. I know that their continued existence beyond the Dominion War was not DRGIII's call, and I agree that if they survived that war, they would certainly survive at least until 2383, and behave very much as depicted. All that aside, though, I still don't find them particularly interesting, nor particularly believable.

    I'm not sure what to think of the wormhole collapsing. Though it's rich with story potentials, I am saddened by the stories we won't get, at least, not for a while, mainly relating to the Dominion and GQ exploration. On the other hand, it will be nice to be able to focus on the Alpha and Beta Quadrants for a while. And Odo is certainly placed into an interesting position now. Wonder what he will do.

    All in all, this was a fantastic book. I want there to be more DS9 stories and sooner than we will surely get them. And honestly, at this point, I personally don't need/want those story slots to be taken up with Ascendant-only stories. What is ahead seems yet more exciting than what we have left behind.
     
  6. shanejayell

    shanejayell Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2009
    Location:
    BC, Canada
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    Finished. DAMN good book, very very good.

    *madly claps*

    One thing that's annoying me in reader responces is "Bacco being stupid" comments. Do keep in mind that as readers we have MUCH more information than she does. She's making the best calls she can make, and with the information she has they're good calls.

    WE know Kamemor is good hearted, but Bacco DOESN'T. All she knows is she negotiated with her in good faith and got screwed. So I don't have any problems with how she was portrayed.

    My opinion, anyway.
     
  7. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 10, 2005
    Location:
    Confederation of Earth
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    Is the new station still called Deep Space Nine, or does it have a new name?
     
  8. Paper Moon

    Paper Moon Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2011
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    According to the last line of the book,
    it is indeed still called "Deep Space Nine." This despite the station on the cover art being labeled "173".

    I should clarify that I didn't actually think Bacco was being stupid, per se, but was rather using "Bacco being stupid" as a shorthand to stand in for what other people had said here about her behavior. I do think she let her anger get the better of her just a little bit. But just a little bit. Her behavior was entirely understandable and believable, and generally to her credit as a president.

    It was interesting seeing her depicted like this, though. Until now, Bacco has never really had the wool pulled completely over her eyes from what is actually going on. So it was interesting to see her make a (potentially very costly) mistake.

    I do wish we could have seen her reconciliation with Kamemor, though.
     
  9. shanejayell

    shanejayell Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2009
    Location:
    BC, Canada
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    *squints as cover pic*

    Could be Section 173, or Bay !73 or anything else. Doesn't seem to indicate the station name, to me anyway.
     
  10. Paper Moon

    Paper Moon Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2011
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    Excellent point. Thanks. :)
     
  11. DEWLine

    DEWLine Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2003
    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    Looks like Doug Drexler showed us not the new station, but perhaps the construction office overseeing the building of the new station. Am I wrong?
     
  12. DS9forever

    DS9forever Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2007
    Location:
    United Kingdom
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    I know in the past there has been little or no discussion between Pocket Books authors and the artist, so this might be similar.
     
  13. Ronald Held

    Ronald Held Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2005
    Location:
    On the USS Sovereign
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    still at it. ~1/3 through and no clear resolution where this is heading.
     
  14. Clem1029

    Clem1029 Ensign Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2008
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    After reading this a second time, there's a lot to say about this book. Let's start off with the biggest question I have at this point:

    Am I the only one that read this as possibly the 2nd DS9 finale? Sure, we can all think of a ton of stories that can branch from here, but with all of the changes to the original characters (not to mention the station), RtD could easily function as an outstanding series finale. Not sure I 100% believe that, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that thought crossed my mind more than a few times.

    I'm pretty sure the vision at the end indicates clearly that Kira isn't dead. That said, her ending up with the Prophets makes for an intriguing framing device, doesn't it? The first thing I thought of there was the timelessness of the Temple makes for a great way to revisit the stories of the 5 year gap. And yes, I'm one of those people that would love to get those stories too.
     
  15. Mage

    Mage Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2007
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)


    Well, the description of the station at the end of the novels is completely different then what we see on the cover. I'm just guessing they didn't have time/resources to completely design a new station. And I'm glad of it. The station at the cover is just a standard administration station. The new DS9 should be something unique. :)

    In any case, I voted outstanding for not just this, but the duology as a whole.
    To me, things were left in a good enough place that, if DS9 and its crew were to never again be featured in Treklit whatsoever, I'm fine with that (even though I will always be a Niner at heart), but would definatly not mind more of it.

    I'll be a bit vague from now on, so as not to spoil to much, but there will be some spoilers ahead, so be warned!!

    SPOILERS DOWN HERE!!!!

    The conclusion of Sisko's arc was satisfying. I really enjoyed reading his storyline over the last few novels, making it a very emotional journey. The ultimate ending of it all was something I'm very happy with.
    Kira.... wow.... I was so sad at first, and cried out loud. But it's ok, when you think about it. After all that she's been through her entire life, this makes sense. But I can also see why some people might be dissapointed. But who knows what the future holds. The Emissary came back, so perhaps....
    Odo.... Not sure what to think. I find that, perhaps, of all the original DS9 characters, he changed the most. Some of it made sense to me, some of it didn't. But it's been 5 or 6 years since we last some him, and people can change so much in so many years.
    O'Brien, Nog, Bashir, Sarina... I was very happy to see both O'Brien and Nog returning, but both of them being back did feel kinda forced. The entire Bashir/Sarina/L'Haan thing, with Ro knowing about Sarina all the time... Bit forced as well.
    I loved how the entire Romulan situation was resolved. I was so worried for the entire novel that yet again a praetor would be killed off, especially since this one was sort of put into place thanks to the Tzenkethi to make the Romulans a weaker partner in the TP. But I'm really liking Kamemor, and feel that the Empire finally has a change under her rule. And with Tomalak and Sela finally out of the way, perhaps things can finally look up for the Romulan people. That last scene between Kamemor and Sela was spot on, showing in what a fantasy world people like Tomalak and Sela are living, thinking that their struggle for power is actually benefitial for the Empire.
    Vaugh.... I cried. A lot. For a little moment I really thought he would be back... and he was, sort of. But yeah, I cried. He was/is one of my favorite Treklit characters. Luckily, there are plenty of stories of his past that can still be told, so who knows.


    So yeah, I finished this book in two days. Couldn't put it down. To me, it proved again that DRGIII is not only one of the better Treklit authors, who also has a grasp of the DS9 characters. Here's hoping he'll have another change to write them.
     
  16. Mage

    Mage Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2007
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    Dammit, after posted my post, I read what others had to say. And I couldn't agree more!! It's so good to see so many people so enthousiastic about this one!

    Loved it, loved it, loved it!!! I almost want to go and read it again!
     
  17. Snaploud

    Snaploud Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2001
    Location:
    Rhode Island, USA
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    I assume Spock had nothing to add to the drama because his last interactions with Romulus involved sending a message to Bacco. He decided that the reunification movement would be better off without him. It would be nice to know what new venture he's pursuing, but that's probably better decided in another book.
     
  18. Elias Vaughn

    Elias Vaughn Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Aug 5, 2009
    Location:
    The Internet's Biggest Jurati Fan
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    I was really waiting for
    Spock to be announced as the new permanent ambassador to the Typhon Pact
     
  19. Snaploud

    Snaploud Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2001
    Location:
    Rhode Island, USA
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    Response:

    I don't think that would be wise on Spock's part. He would naturally be siding with the Federation on all issues, and opponents to Reunification could use that against the movement.
     
  20. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Re: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by DRGIII Review Thread (Spoilers!)

    Yeah, I wonder what those readers who assume the Typhon Pact storyline is inevitably leading to war will make of this. This was the Cuban Missile Crisis for the UFP and the Pact, bringing them to the very brink of war, yet both sides avoided stepping over that brink and worked together to resolve things peacefully. Although I'm sure those readers will stubbornly insist that Kamemor is an aberration and is sure to be assassinated soon, etc. etc. Never mind that she's successfully purged the Romulan government of those working against her peacemaking agenda and has transcended the Tzenkethi's intended role for her as a weak, easily manipulated leader.


    As someone else mentioned, the novels are under no obligation to acknowledge anything from Countdown (except those elements that were actually in the 2009 film). I just hope that Kamemor is offworld when the supernova wavefront hits. Given that they did have some advance warning, they probably had time to evacuate the government -- though Kamemor's just the type who'd go down with her ship rather than take a seat on the lifeboat that could be used to save someone else.



    He's already a senior chief petty officer -- there's only one higher enlisted rating, master chief petty officer. So by enlisted standards, he's already very near the top. To become an officer, he'd have to go to Starfleet Academy for several years, and that would be a waste of his valuable time. There's no need for everyone to be an officer, since enlisted personnel serve a vital role as well. A master chief is nominally subordinate to any commissioned officer, but in practice has the experience and authority to be considered a senior officer. And O'Brien has always been treated as a senior officer in DS9's crew even as an SCPO.

    Granted, "Master Chief O'Brien" would have a nice ring to it...


    Uhh, they're not. They're labeled Star Trek: Typhon Pact.



    Because the writer or editor wanted Odo to be a regular part of the cast again.


    Not to mention that Bajor has become an important Federation world in its own right. Remember, Sisko's mission from the start, even before the wormhole was discovered, was to facilitate Bajor's recovery and entry into the Federation, because of all the Bajoran people had to offer the UFP as members. The quadrant may have come to Bajor for the wormhole, but they'll stay for everything else that Bajor has come to represent and everything its civilization has to offer.

    Also, Bajor is one of the closest Federation worlds to Tzenkethi and Breen space, good for keeping an eye on the more hostile elements of the Pact, and centrally located to facilitate trade among the Khitomer Accords partners, particularly the Cardassians and Ferengi.

    Anyway, I doubt the wormhole is permanently gone. After all, its inhabitants don't exist in linear time. Their existence is a constant throughout all time, so they certainly can't be destroyed. True, the terminus points of the wormhole exist in linear spacetime and can be altered, but the interior realm and its inhabitants will always be there, and I expect they can recreate the termini at will, even if it takes a while as we perceive it.