Demons of Air and Darkness is another adventure in the continuing saga of Star Trek: Deep Space 9. After the TV series ended, Pocket Books decided to continue the adventures of the station and some of its crew (other crewmembers had moved on in the final episode). The first two books (Avatar books one and two) were a wonderful beginning. I haven't read Section 31: Abyss yet, but I found this one in the library and decided to check it out. While not being as good as Avatar, it's still up there. It's well written, with just a bit too much Trek continuity for my taste to mar the quality.
Sounds a bit convoluted, doesn't it? Thankfully, Candido does a good job of juggling all of the different storylines. First, I should tell you that this book is actually Book 4 in the Gateways 7-part series that goes through all of the Trek book series. However, you do not need to have read any of the other books to know what's going on. All of the books are designed to stand on their own two feet, and this one does, except that you have to read book 7 to find out what ultimately happens to Kira. That was a bit annoying, since I now have to track that book down. But it is manageable.
Overall, this is another winner in the DS9 series. The characters are well-defined, with all of them getting their moment in the spotlight. The cool thing about a continuing series is that the characterization can be carried through subsequent books, and this one is no exception. Ever since Avatar, we have known that there is some tension between Ensign ch'Thane and his "mother" (for lack of a better term). This storyline is touched upon in this novel as well. Ch'Thane is a very interesting character, and the Andorian race (which ch'Thane is one) is fleshed out from what we have seen in the TV series. Evidently, the race is dying out, and his mother is very upset that he won't come home and start a family on Andor. He is, however, very happy in Starfleet and has no desire to go home. It doesn't make matters any easier that she is on the Federation council. It is all very interestingly done, and I look forward to further exploration of this fascinating species.
The bad thing, of course, about continuing series is that the characterization can be carried through to subsequent books. Thankfully, this doesn't become a problem in this one. The previous book was about Doctor Bashir and involved the Jem'Hadar named Taran'atar. He evidently learned a lot about humans and the Federation in that book, but anything important is summarized in this book, so it's not a problem. He's also an interesting character given a lot to do, especially when he joins Kira in the Delta Quadrant. He ends up getting into the fight of his life. Candido portrays all of this well, including the inner conflict that Taran'atar has during the fight. He is torn between protecting Kira and the joy of conflict. It was nice having the needed information from Abyss given in this one, so you don't have to track down the other one unless you truly want to.
The rest of the characters are excellently done as well. The writers and editors of this series have taken some of the best characters from the TV show, expanded on their characters, and added a host of new characters who you like to read about. The cast is perfectly done, and I can honestly say that there isn't a boring person in the bunch (though Dax comes close). Each person gets some good "screen time" in this novel, with only Ro Laren getting short shrift in the beginning (though she makes up for it in the end). They are all three-dimensional, and play their parts to the hilt.
Candido handles the multiple storylines very well. He cuts away at just the right moments, making all of the disparate stories interesting. You are never reading one section and saying to yourself "I wish he'd leave these losers and go back to Kira" or something like that. The only shortfall in this book is the abundance of continuity references to previous Trek television shows. I suppose that's par for the course in a sub-series of books which is about something that comes out of the TV series (like the Gateways concept is), but it still started to become annoying. There were references to many of the televised episodes, some of them that didn't really need referencing. Gul Macet from one of the Next Generation episodes, is in the book for no real reason, as it could have been any other Cardassian. At times, the book makes the Star Trek universe seem very small, though it's not nearly as bad as some other Trek books.
Still, if that's the only strike against this book, that's saying a lot. I'm really enjoying these post-television Deep Space 9 stories, and I plan on tracking down as many of them as I can. With an interesting cast of characters, intriguing plots and an ongoing storyline, you can't go wrong. Demons of Air and Darkness is yet another winner.
