Customer Reviews

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Terok Nor: Dawn of the Eagles

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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Out of the three Terok Nor books, this is probably the most important to the characters we know and love. Kira and Odo get a great deal of character development, both together and separately. The fact that Kira could grow to trust someone who worked for the Cardassians was never completely explained in the series, but this book builds that solid foundation.

It's also a dark chapter in Cardassia's occupation of Bajor. After Lenaris's victories and the liberation of Gallitep in Night of the Wolves, you might be feeling optimistic. But things have to get worse before they get better, and Cardassia's efforts to tighten its grasp are both fascinating and frightening. Dukat's twisted psyche comes out in full force, as he punishes his Bajoran "children" and expects them to be grateful.

Where the first two books explored time periods we didn't know much about, Dawn of the Eagles has to conform to many episodes of DS9 and TNG which established events during this time. Perry and Dennison flesh out some (Kira's first arrival on Terok Nor) and mention others in passing (Picard's meeting with Keeve Falor). The results of these episode crossovers range from excellent to mediocre, but they can't be avoided.

One thing to be aware of when diving into this book is that there's a lot of plot. Even though the primary focus is on Kira and Odo, there is an abundance of plotlines which pop up. I was disappointed that Lenaris Holem was nowhere to be found, and Miras Vara only gets a few small appearances, but I suppose they might have drawn focus away from the main stars.

I found the last days of the Occupation to be especially exciting. It felt like Perry and Dennison tried very hard to reward the readers who stuck with this series. The question of how the Occupation really ended has been stuck in my head for years, and I'm very satisfied with the answer.

I'd say this book is a must-read for fans of DS9 (as well as the other two Terok Nor books.) Not only is it an exciting read, it also throws a fascinating perspective on the tv series.

As the final book in this amazing trilogy I found it to be a satisfying end. Such a sharp contrast to the beauty and detail that was Bajoran society in the first novel to this broken and struggling culture. These authors have once again taken Star Trek and put it into a great story with amazing writing. Not only was it well written but well researched, taking small characters that were used in one episode and fleshing them out. Interesting to go back and watch the series and find that character who may have had brief moment but took on a major role in these novels. This final book did justice to Odo, Kira and the characters we know and love while using equally engaging characters throughout. If you enjoy a complicated, detailed series that will make you think and feel, these three books are for you. The only disapointment is that it has to end and while the conlusion is satisfying, it will leave you wanting more. Hats off to the authors, wonderful job!

Maybe the task--fifty years of Bajoran and Cardassian history wrapped up in three books of the "Lost Era"--was too tall. Perhaps it couldn't have been done any better. I'm sure the authors gave it their best shot. I know they did their homework, watched their episodes, studied their characters...

But it doesn't mean I'm completely satisfied.

Dawn of the Eagles suffers from the same problem as its predecessors. Like butter scraped over too much bread, the content of this book seems to be spread too thin. Its multitude of story lines covering a wide breadth of Star Trek history makes it extremely hard to keep track of, much less care about, one plot or another. And as a result, the book as a whole just failed to engage me. I kept turning pages, reading about Gul Dukat here, Kira Nerys there, and a Starfleet commander a few flips later, but the way the book bounces between the stories and advances in time periods makes each few pages seem divorced from the rest.

Nonetheless, some very important events happen in Dawn of the Eagles that fans of Deep Space Nine will appreciate. Here, we see Odo and Kira's story take flight and experience the untapped love in their first collaboration. As the end of a saga recounting the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor, this novel also tell of how the Bajorans finally rid their planet of their spoonhead overseers. We also find out how Quark gets on Terok Nor, and the DS9-savvy reader will feel a twinge of acknowledgement when a certain Cardassian operative is exiled to the station.

All in all, I think Dawn of the Eagles is a decent effort, but nothing to get worked up about unless you really, really need to know all the gory details about the backstory to Deep Space Nine.

Worthy praise for a wonderful writer, a fantastic show, and a well conceived triology. The pages examining the fate of Kai Opaka's son were especailly heart wrenching. Highly recommended.

This is the last of the three part series of novels on the bajoran occupation, and I found it a wonderful read. I suggest it to all DS9 fans.

I purchased this book in a brick and mortar store near my home. I'm behind in my reading. As soon as I catch up on reading this novel, I'll be updating my review.

Update: December 7, 2009

I finished reading both "Night of the Wolves" and "Dawn of the Eagles" within the same weekend. Knowing that this story is leading up to the first episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine "Emissary", I halfway knew what to expect. At the same time, I could feel for the loss that the characters experienced...especially Kai Opaka when her son was massacred with his resistance cell in the Kendra Valley. I could sense her deep pain knowing that she had to sacrifice her only son, her only child, to save the nearby villages. By the end of the book, I was so glad that the Cardassians left even though they committed vandalism in their wake. At the same time, knowing what will take place once the Federation arrives, gives hope for Bajor.

Great Star Trek book Perry and Dennison get a lot of credit for tying together so many different story lines between Odo and the first days of his escape from the lab to the arrival of Quark to a cloak and dagger game of various Cardasian factions in favor or opposed to the occupation. This book is an excellent addition to the Star Trek expanded universe.

Let me just say for the record that this book is good but "until the next time" meaning that this is the timeline of events until someone thinks to rewrite it 5 years from now. Star Wars Expanded universe stuff may not make any sense but at least there is an effort to maintain a single timeline.

Overall-I sincerely home that the relauch movie has half the energy drive and heart of this book.

I liked almost everything about this book. Odo's storyline was great about him becoming the chief of security and helping Kira out starting their relationship. All of the storylines were great but they didn't show the Cardassians vacating Bajor which was a great dissapointment. It just ends with a man thinking that Bajor was going to finlly be free becaus they had procurred some weapons and then it jumps to Kira complaining to Odo that she was being assigned to DS9! Talk about a rip off ending!