Customer Reviews

The Fall of Terok Nor (Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Millennium Book 1 of 3)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't as a rule read Star Trek books. Too often I've felt that the slower pace of a novel takes too much action away from what is, after all, an episodic TV series. But Deep Space Nine was different in that it was a highly serialized TV show, and the experience was more like "watching" a long novel, one that took seven years to read.

So, with some trepidation, I picked up the first book of the "Millenium" series, "The Fall of Terok Nor". I read the entire thing in two sittings. For the most part, the book definitely captured the characters and their relationships very well, and the plot (a basic whodunit) moves along at a good clip for a 400-page novel. And the cliffhanger ending, which I won't spoil for you here, makes me thankful that the first and second volumes of the trilogy were published simultaneously.

Covering a time span reaching back before the pilot episode of the show forward to 25 years into Star Trek's future, the novel begins to set up a plot of epic proportions. From Odo's, Quark's, and Garak's "missing memories" from the Day of Withdrawal, to the mysterious Red Orbs, this trilogy begins to link together certain events that actually took place during the show's run in a satisfying way, enriching the already-deep history the TV series established.

While Kira, I felt, was horribly underutilized (she *is* the second in command, after all), the characterizations drawn of Jake Sisko, and especially Dr. Julian Bashir were well done; all the rough edges and shoulder-chips the characters have also come through clearly.

A final confrontation (a running joke about "waste extraction" in the TV series is taken to a gross extreme when the showdown with the bad guys takes place in DS9's sewage treatment facility) runs on a bit too long, and the cast of characters gets a bit unwieldy, but overall this first volume of "Millenium" shows promise for more interesting developments to come. I certainly was surprised I enjoyed the book as much as I did.

I've read a lot of Star Trek novels over the years and while a great many of them have been enjoyable, there's been one trend, of late, that has started to worry me. Namely that a lot of good ideas for one, longer than average Trek novel are being stretched out to make series, so that readers are forced to purchase three or four books instead of one.

Leave it to DS9 to defy the odds and buck the trend. This epic length storyline is just that--epic. And you certainly can't complain about the overall size of the books as the first two are longer than the last DS9 trilogy combined!

But what really works is the story and how well it appears be setting up events for a three book run. It's placed firmly in DS9's sixth season and brings in a lot of players. There are appearances by Kai Winn, Garak and even Gul Dukat as well as a flashback to the time before Starfleet came to DS9. It's fascinating becasue the Reeves-Stevens are given time to set up events and give us some character development along the way, which is always appreciated. The major events involve a new series of Orbs that are rumored to open a new wormhole and Quark's gaining possession of one to sell. As always, there's a murder mystery, but it actually ties in well to the plot to set up events. The novels moves at a crisp pace and the characters are, generally, spot on. It's nice to see Jake get some development, especially as he virtually disappeared in the late goings of season seven...

It will be interested to see if this momentum can keep going over the next books in the series. If it does, this set may go down as one of the best Trek novel series of all time.

Fall of Terok Nor was a good, but not great, first book of the whole Millenium Saga. My main complaint is that not much happens over the course of 400 pages. While what does happen is well thought out and interesting, it takes a long time to happen. Sometimes this is good -- we get interesting views, theories, etc., but sometimes it's the opposite. At times, it seemed the authors needed to prove that they know everything about Star Trek, and have to write in unnecessary detail about things past.

Fortunately, this was pretty good. It's about time that ST writers have done what they should've done long ago -- go above and beyond. It hasn't happened yet in other series, but DS9 finally is beginning to write books that aren't just episodic entries, but add to and enhance the big picture. Books are also getting longer, with more detail and better writing. Keep it up DS9.

As long as it was, this book was a very quick read, and all of the characterisations were quite good. While not the best of the Star Trek books, I am sufficiently motivated to read the other books in the trilogy and play the forthcoming game based upon them, The Fallen.

Judith and Garfield Reeves Stevens have written the best DS9 novel to date. It's references to the Cardassian Day of Withdrawal were haunting. This could never have been done in the TV series. The characters speak just as they would in the show. A rarity in the book series. I hope this launches the literary adventures into new territory. Stories with more emotion and realism.

This book was very entertaining. It was very unpredictable, which is unusual in a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine book. You'll be suprised by the ending. It's almost(but not quite) 2 times larger than the normal 255 page novels that are usually published, so you're getting a good deal, since the price is kept the same. It really makes me miss the show.

"The Fall of Terok Nor" begins with a view of Captain Sisko's function in the wormhole after the end of Deep Space 9 on TV. He is supposed to teach the Prophets the concept of linearity of time. But that fact isn't important - at least in the first book.

The actual story takes place during the 6th season of DS9. Quark is arrested for murder. At the same time, smugglers from all over our galaxy arrive on DS9 to buy a Bajoran artifact, namely a Red Orb of the Prophets. Or is it an Orb of the Pah-Wraith? Or of some third party? Nobody really knows, but still everybody is eager to get the artifact as quickly as possible. Cardassians arrive on the station and claim that the Orbs (there are 3 of them) rightfully belong to them. After some further developments, the Orbs are found. Kai Winn maintains that they are fake. Sisko and his officers prove the opposite by - accidently, I should say - placing the artifacts to close to each other. What happens next, I will not say, but be sure that following events will change Deep Space Nine forever.

Some of the characters playing an important role in the novel we've already known. The crew of DS9, Quark, Garak, Vash(! ) and some other individuals we've seen before several times belong to this category. There are also some characters who appear for the first time: the Bajoran Arla Rees, the Cardassian Terell and some others without so much importance as those two women. Where their importance lies, please find out by yourselves when you read the book! I can say that only the interactions of the people named above are worth buying the novel and reading it from page 1 to the end. The characters aren't the only highlights, though. There are more of them, namely when the story is concerned.

The plot develops in a very curious way. First the novel seems to be a criminal one, then it changes its character and becomes mythological and at last it gains tremendous importance because its subject is the future of the universe itself. Quite interesting how the authors steer the direction of the book! What I also quite liked about it were completely different plots that first seemed to stand for themselves but after some time began to form pieces of a puzzle. Slowly, those pieces converged and built a single picture of a mighty story concerning Deep Space 9 and Bajoran religion.

Last but not least, I offer a list of subjects I especially liked about Millennium Part One: excellent characterizations (you'll need some time to find similar ones in other Trek books), interesting new people, irony (the way the authours dealt with Morn; Jake Sisko's thoughts concerning the difference between reality of his novel and the "reality" aboard the spacestation), philosophical and religious points of view of different characters, charm of the TV series and much more. Of course the book has some negative points as well, but they aren't very important so that I will not tell them. Well, maybe one: I was quite disappointed that the title had not much to do with the contents. The book should have been given a different title!

My advice: If you like reading Trek fiction, this book and its continuations are a must. If you don't, try those three and you will become a Trek reader!

„Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" has been and still is my favorite Trek series of them all. It had the most exciting setting, the most interesting characters, the best acting and, perhaps most important, a continuing storyline that was nothing short of absolutely fascinating. So when it all came to an end last year, for the first time in my life the conclusion of a TV series really got to me. Don't get me wrong, Voyager is a great series, but it's not quite... DS9.

Then word came out that the upcoming novels from Pocket Books were going to expand/continue the story where „What You Leave Behind" left instead of presenting us more „ordinary" stories set sometime in any of DS9's seven seasons. My first thought was: „Well, get the right people to do this and it will turn out perfect. That way there will still be new DS9 stories."

And here it is: „Millennium", the first multi-volume DS9 novel after the demise of the series.

It begins with Sisko, who is dwelling in the Celestial Temple after his plunge into the Fire Caves. It appears the Prophets took him to them in order to learn from him more about the universe, space-time in particular. To that end, Sisko starts to tell them a story which takes place only a few days after the events depicted in „The Sound of Her Voice". It begins as a basic whodunit story, with Quark as the prime suspect in a murder mystery that seems to go back to the day the Cardassians withdrew from DS9. And little by little the authors add something to that mystery, like smugglers, Tears of the Prophets, Bajoran fairy tales, the Prophets and the Pah'wraiths... until it is absolutely clear that what began as a simple investigation is building up to the biggest story in DS9's history.

I will not spoil you any further, you will have to read this awesome book for yourself. The portrayal of every character is spot-on, we meet not only DS9's senior staff, but a lot of the other great recurring characters - like Garak, Winn and Vic - as well. It is full of suspense, action and humor, and the cliffhanger which links it to the next volume (which is set 25 years into DS9's future; well, actually an alternate version of the future) is staggering.

I am anxious to read the next two instalments. This novel truly is a must-have for every DS9 lover.

...from the best of all the Treks--Deep Space Nine. We get all the best characters and they're at their best here. Worf (my favorite character in all the Treks), a human-raised Klingon who's as tough as any, but unlike the Klingons Kirk had to face, is a heluva decent guy. He could intimidate subordinates but he chooses to inspire them and support them. Until Ben Sisko, I thought no one would ever match Picard for dignity. We also see what kind of officer Nog will turn out to be--a support to an aging Picard. It's really ironic how Sisko though he'd be a bad influence on son Jake when they were kids, but he never considered the other side of the coin--how Jake would be a positive influence on Nog (Quark: "You're beginning to think like a hew-mon!"). This is the kind of saga the Reeves-Stevenses would normally do outside the Trek universe, but they chose to put it here. Here's a warning, though. Neither this book (nor its two following volumes) can be read as complete stories--there are cliff-hanger endings on the first two. So you've got to get them all. That's okay--it'll be worth it. If I'm lyin', I'm dyin', know what I mean.

I'm not one for words. All I can say is that this book is A MUST for all going through DS9 withdralls since the Finale. The characterization is dead on and there are little subtle parts of the book that refer to previous episodes--episodes that the hard core fans, such as I, well remember. Little inside jokes about the beloved Morn who never left his barstool, etc. This is a MUST BUY, in my humble opinion.

I purchased the Kindle edition of this book, and returned it almost immediately. It is so ridden with typos that I found it too annoying to read. This may be a fine book, but do not purchase the Kindle edition!