Prophecy and Change (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) (Paperback)

As with any type of story anthology the writing styles vary, but each story has one thing in common--each succeeds in capturing the mood and atmosphere of Deep Space Nine. Some of the stories look at events set between episodes; others at changes the characters underwent that were never addressed onscreen and still others at unseen events set during specific episodes. Some stories answer questions others raise new ones. Just as the variety of beings who populated Deep Space Nine contributed to the gratifying experience of watching the series, the variety of stories in this volume make for a full and rich reading experience.

Ultimately, each individual who reads this anthology will form his or her own opinions about each story. There will be stories you will probably like or dislike based on your own tastes and preferences. Some may even love them all. I know that sometime in the future I will want to revisit this collection and it will be interesting to see if my favorites during my first read through this volume, "Broken Oaths", "Foundlings", "Face Value", "Ha'mara", "Three Sides to Every Story" and "The Orb of Opportunity" provide the same level of pleasure when read for a second or third time. But that is ultimately what I enjoy most about reading a great anthology--and I believe "Prophecy and Change" fits the description--it stays on the shelf for a period of time but eventually you find yourself wanting to revisit old favorites. Deep Space Nine fans definitely won't want to miss this collection.

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The anthology consists of 10 short stories which go a little deeper into the story of Deep Space Nine, from 'Emissary' to 'What You Leave Behind', this book fills in all the blanks, all the loose ends (few that there were) from all 7 years of Deep Space Nine.

The authors are the 'newer' breed of Trek authors, mainly those that have come through the Strange New Worlds competition and written some of the DS9 relaunch books. If the stories from 'Prophecy and Change' and merely the 'early works' of these authors, then I shudder to think just how brilliant their writing will be when these men and women hit their prime.

The stories themselves are mastefully told, and are presented as stories being told by Jake to the young woman that came to see him in 'The Visitor', when Jake is an old man.

Each story is great, but the standouts are definitely 'Three Sides to Every Story', 'Foundlings', and 'Chiaroscuro'. Each of these stories are just brilliant, and cover the last 2 seasons of DS9, which was where the series really hit it's peak.

My only problem with this book was the last story, the Garak story by Andrew J. Robinson. I throughly enjoyed his previous work about Garak, entitled 'A Stitch in Time', but I did not enjoy his contribution to this book, entitled 'The Calling'. I found the story disjointed and at some points just plain confusing. Robinson made some reference to a play entitled 'The Dream Box' which I have never heard of. I'm guessing that this play is the step between 'A Stitch in Time' and 'The Calling', but I have never seen this play, so 'The Calling' was utterly confusing to me.

My only other negative point about this book was concerning a specific plot point. Please be warned, this paragraph contains spoilers. If you wish to avoid them, skip this paragraph. In 'Three Sides to Every Story', Ziyal gives Jake a precious Bajoran earring belonging to her mother, asking Jake to keep is safe for a while. After Ziyal's death, Jake goes to Ziyal's body and considers giving the earring back, but then decides that he should keep it, thus fufilling his promise to Ziyal. This was a wonderful piece of writing, but I think that the author could have gone a step further. The last part of the book is the conclusion of the meeting between Jake and the young woman that comes to see him. I believe that Ziyal's earring should have been mentioned there as still being kept safe by Jake. This would work in two ways, firstly, it would add weight the Jake-Ziyal story by making direct reference to it in the 'objective' sections at either end of the book. Secondly, it would help to reinforce the fact that Jake had an active role in these events. It's a fairly trivial point to be sure, but it was something that I felt should have been included in the story. But that is really a matter of opinion.

Overall, if you are a fan of DS9, either casual or serious, then you should buy this book. It's absolutely fantastic.

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