What DS9 Re-Launch books are optional?

[jhempel24]

I've read the Avatar Books, and the Section 31 Book, and I've got most of the other DS9 Re-Launch books, but am so behind on reading from Non-Trek Lit that it's scary. I've read the Destiny Trilogy, and I'm slow trudging my way through Singular Destiny (finally)...which may be the fist Trek book I put down and not finish.

I just bought the latest TNG novel as well...I'm one of the few that actually liked all of the TNG Re-launch, including the A Time To... series.

But DS9 has such a huge library, do I really need to read say the Gateway or Left Hand of Destiny books? I'm going to read all of the Mission Gamma books because I was able to find all of them for $12 (total, not each) and I've heard they were really good.

Anyway, hope my rambling makes sense! Thanks!

 

[Stephen!]

The Worlds Of Deep Space Nine books are sort of optional, since they're individual short(ish) stories rather than full length novels. Well, aside from the Dominion one, which sets up events for Warpath.

You've got plenty of time to catch-up since there's not really any new TNG era stuff until the Typhon Pact series which is being released October 2010

 

[Christopher]

But DS9 has such a huge library, do I really need to read say the Gateway or Left Hand of Destiny books?

The Left Hand of Destiny is a sort of sidebar story that hasn't had a major impact on the overall DS9 arc, but Gateways: Demons of Air and Darkness is absolutely essential. It's much more strongly tied to the DS9 arc than to the Gateways arc (which was much looser, basically just that there was a big thing happening everywhere at once and all the individual crews were dealing with it separately). Oh, and its followup story "Horn and Ivory" is essential too. You can find it in the DS9: Twist of Faith trade paperback along with the first four novels in the series.

 

[Thrawn]

Left Hand Of Destiny, Lives Of Dax, and The Never-Ending Sacrifice are all sidebar stories that don't directly affect the main story arcs, though there are references (especially to Lives Of Dax).

Also, I would think skipping Rising Son wouldn't really be a problem; everything that's important in that book is summarized in Unity. But it does look like it might end up referenced in some of the newer books after Soul Key, for a reason that's too spoilery for me to mention here. But if you're really trying to slim down your reading list, it's an option.

Avatar, Section 31, Gateways & followup, Mission: Gamma, Unity, Worlds of DS9, Warpath, Fearful Symmetry, and Soul Key. That's what I would consider necessary.

 

[Steve Roby]

The DS9 relaunch is really not a lot of books - a couple dozen or so. It'd take less time to read them than to read Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time or Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin novels, and it would take a lot less time than reading the Doctor Who New Adventures (61 books) or Eighth Doctor Adventures (73 books).

Do people pop up in the DS9 forum and ask how many episodes they can skip? With very rare exceptions (basically Left Hand of Destiny), the novels are as serialized as the last couple of seasons of the TV series, if not more so. You will be missing important stuff if you skip books. You'll also be missing some really good reading experiences.

 

[ICW]

I would read the entire DS9 relaunch if I were you. Most of them are really great reads, though I wasn't crazy about Fearful Symmetry or The Soul Key but they're passable.

 

[Defcon]

(basically Left Hand of Darkness),

I think you mean The Left Hand of Destiny.

I agree that it really shouldn't be to hard to read the whole series, since there are only 16 books considered to be Core titles of the post finale series and even if you add the supplemental books (The Left Hand of Destiny duology, The Lives Of Dax, A Stitch In Time, The Never-Ending Sacrifice) you are still only talking about roughly 20 books.

 

[Steve Roby]

(basically Left Hand of Darkness),

I think you mean The Left Hand of Destiny.

D'OH!

 

[JD]

The Worlds Of Deep Space Nine books are sort of optional, since they're individual short(ish) stories rather than full length novels. Well, aside from the Dominion one, which sets up events for Warpath.

I would not skip these if I were you. While they might be short, they all tie up or set up storylines that are important for the rest of the series.

 

[jhempel24]

Thanks for all the replays everyone! I appreciate it!

Looks like I'm going to trudge through them all. I have to find

A Stitch In Time (I've always wanted to read this)
Lives of Dax (Half Price Books has it for $7)
Left Hand of Destiny Duology (Half Price has it for $8 total)
Rising Son
Worlds of DS9...I'll have to search eBay for these I think
Fearful Symmetry
Soul Key

I just picked up the 7th Gateways Hardcover Novel for $7, and the Never Ending Sacrifice for $4. And the reason I asked is that it seemed that the Never Ending Sacrifice had encompassed the series, but it looks like that's not the case.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[DigificWriter]

The thing about the DS9 Relaunch is, because of its interconnected nature, there really are very few stories/pieces of it that can be skipped without affecting the overall story arc. What follows is a listing of the material that is considered part of the Relaunch continuity, as well as my observations on whether or not it can be skipped without adversely affecting the overall story:
The Lives of Dax anthology (can be skipped; references are made to certain pieces of it throughout some of the novels, but you don't really have to have read the material referenced to understand what's going on with the characters)
A Stitch In Time (can be skipped; as with The Lives of Dax, it is referenced at several points during the other DS9 Relaunch novels, but has no other significance, and it is not necessary to have read it to understand the overall story of the Relaunch)
N-Vector (can be skipped; its central new character, Tiris Jast, does feature in Avatar, Book 1, but her role in that novel is such that you don't necessarily need to have seen how and why she ended up on the station)
Avatar, Books 1 and 2 (absolutely essential to the overall story)
Section 31: Abyss (absolutely essential to the overall story)
Divided We Fall (can be skipped; I hadn't even heard of this comic book miniseries before now, and, if it were absolutely essential to the overall DS9 Relaunch continuity, it is likely that I would have)
Gateways: Demons of Air and Darkness (absolutely essential to the overall story)
Horn and Ivory (can be skipped; although it's the continuation/conclusion of the story started in Demons of Air and Darkness, and although the events chronicled therein have some bearing on where Kira's character goes in the rest of the Relaunch, it really isn't completely necessary to have read in order to understand/comprehend her development as a character)
Mission Gamma: Twilight (absolutely essential to the overall story)
Mission Gamma: This Grey Spirit (absolutely essential to the overall story)
Mission Gamma: Cathedral (absolutely essential to the overall story)
Mission Gamma: Lesser Evil (absolutely essential to the overall story)
Rising Son (absolutely essential to the overall story)
The Left Hand of Destiny, Books 1 and 2 (can be skipped; I've never actually read these novels, but, from what I know about them, they really have no true bearing on the overall story, given that they are Klingon-centric)
Unity (absolutely essential to the overall story)
Worlds of DS9, Volumes 1 through 4 (absolutely essential to the overall story; I haven't read these myself, but, from what I know about them, they contain several pieces of information that serve as a 'bridge' from the events of Unity to the events of Warpath)
Warpath (absolutely essential to the overall story)
Fearful Symmetry (absolutely essential to the overall story)
The Soul Key (absolutely essential to the overall story)
I'm not sure how essential The Never-Ending Sacrifice actually is to the overall story, given that I haven't read it, so if anyone could tell me, I'd be greatly appreciative.

 

[ICW]

The Never-Ending Sacrifice is not essential to the DS9 relaunch. However, it's one hell of a read.

 

[jhempel24]

Thanks again everyone! I think I'm going to just re-read the series from the beginning. I really forget what happened in Avatar and vaguely remember Section 31 being about the Kahn super soldiers (at least that's how I remember them).

 

[DevilEyes]

Thanks for all the replays everyone! I appreciate it!

Looks like I'm going to trudge through them all. I have to find

A Stitch In Time (I've always wanted to read this)
Lives of Dax (Half Price Books has it for $7)
Left Hand of Destiny Duology (Half Price has it for $8 total)
Rising Son
Worlds of DS9...I'll have to search eBay for these I think
Fearful Symmetry
Soul Key

I just picked up the 7th Gateways Hardcover Novel for $7, and the Never Ending Sacrifice for $4. And the reason I asked is that it seemed that the Never Ending Sacrifice had encompassed the series, but it looks like that's not the case.

Thanks again everyone!

You can order "Worlds of Deep Space Nine" (as well as "Fearful Symmetry" and "The Soul Key") from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Cardassia-And...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262095610&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Worlds-Star...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262095550&sr=1-1

As for the older books that aren't in stock anymore, like "A Stitch in Time" or "Rising Son", I guess you can also get them from Amazon if you can use the option to buy used books from other users (I can't, because I can't use Paypal and it doesn't ship to my country), or http://www.abebooks.com/ (or http://www.abebooks.co.uk/) where you can buy used books from various bookstores, and the payment is simple, by card. Make sure you put "Sort by Lowest Total Price" when you search the database, the prices of paperback books can go from 1$ to insane prices that are higher than a price for a new book would be.

 

[DevilEyes]

The Never-Ending Sacrifice is not essential to the DS9 relaunch. However, it's one hell of a read.

Also true of A Stitch In Time. Essential or not, it is a great book.

 

[Christopher]

Divided We Fall (can be skipped; I hadn't even heard of this comic book miniseries before now, and, if it were absolutely essential to the overall DS9 Relaunch continuity, it is likely that I would have)

Maybe not essential, but I believe it sets up some things that are paid off in WoDS9: Trill: Unjoined.

 

[jhempel24]

Well, I've finished A Singular Destiny....I'm glad I did..it picked up afer about 100 or so pages...and I'm really looking forward to the Typhon Pact.

Now on to the TNG novel and the two Titan Novels and Full Circle...THEN maybe I'll buy that new Voyager book and start on DS9 re-launch.

 

[Thrawn]

Divided We Fall (can be skipped; I hadn't even heard of this comic book miniseries before now, and, if it were absolutely essential to the overall DS9 Relaunch continuity, it is likely that I would have)

Maybe not essential, but I believe it sets up some things that are paid off in WoDS9: Trill: Unjoined.

Is there any way to get it aside from buying the individual issues used?

 

[Turtletrekker]

^Sadly, no (unless you can read German). I picked up my copies from the Mile High Comics website.

 

[Defcon]

Shouldn't they also be included on the Complete Comic Collection DVD?