The Gray Spirit: Amazon.ca: Books

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"Nog, what the hell are you reading?" Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

23 Reviews

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
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Average Customer Review

4.0 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)

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1.0 out of 5 stars Easily the worst book I've ever read, Oct 23 2011

By

KL10202 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gray Spirit (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read over 100 Star Trek novels and never felt compelled to criticize a book - ever. But this book, The Gray Spirit, is the worst Star Trek novel I have ever had the misfortune of reading. The first book in this four-part mini series was an amazing packed novel full of interesting plotlines and character development. I couldn't wait to read the second one. Unfortunately the second novel, written by Heather Jarman, is so badly botched that I currently fear to finish the series.

This book is heavy on the character development - yet it seems the author has never watched Star Trek before. The mini-references to TV shows smell of being included as after-thoughts by a conscientious editor trying to fix a mistake book assignment. The characters are completely unbelievable and, in many cases, no care was taken to maintain an accurate representation throughout the novel.

If you've read the first book - you'll recall how that author took great pains to define the relationship between Vaughan and Prynn as strained. In this book, the author writes that Vaughn "throws protocol out the airlock" and "kisses Prynn on the forehead" on the bridge, in front of everyone, after Prynn returns from a mission. There is no followup to this character misstep.

Good authors engage the reader. Mixing stirring content with valuable plot and character development. Page-turning happens because readers want to see conflict resolved and "see what's next". This book has none of those things. I hated reading it.

After I read the first few pages, I turned to the back of the book to read details of the author. The two-line bio stated that this was the author's "first work of professional fiction". It shows.

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3.0 out of 5 stars read it for the sake of keeping up with the series, July 6 2004

By

Haseeb - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gray Spirit (Mass Market Paperback)

I didn't like this installment nearly as much as I liked part one. This book continues the stories on DS9 as well as what's going on with the crew of the defiant exploring the gamma quadrant. I wasn't particularly fond of this one partly because of the writer's style and partly because I think there was too much politics involved. All of what takes place with the defiant crew has to do with the crew trying to act as an intermediary between two alien races. I found it for the most part boring. I felt as if the author could have made the aliens more interesting and the story line less dry. There is some action, but it just doesn't pack too much of a punch.

The DS9 drama I think is the best part of the book. Some interesting things take place on different fronts. Shar's bondmates struggle to deal with problems which largely has to do with him not being there. A delegation of Cardassian and Bajorans push to normalize relations, but things get more complicated before they get better.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Fine Literary Debut For A Star Trek Novel, Dec 26 2003

By

John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Gray Spirit (Mass Market Paperback)

Although Heather Jarman isn't nearly as skillful a writer as either Diane Duane or Peter David, her first novel, "Star Trek Depp Space Nine Mission Gamma: This Gray Spirit" bodes well for her future literary career as well as diehard Star Trek fans. This was an intriguing, occasionally engrossing look, at Deep Space Nine in the aftermath of Captain Sisko's disappearance. Now in command of the Federation starbase, Bajoran Militia Colonel Kira Nerys must contend with a disastrous peace conference between Cardassian and Bajoran diplomats and an unexpected personal tragedy affecting the station's Andorian science officer Ensign Thirishar ch'Thane. Meanwhile Ensign ch'Thane, Lieutenant Ezri Dax, Doctor Julian Bashir and Lieutenant Nog continue in their ongoing exploratory mission to the Gamma Quadrant, aboard USS Defiant, now in command of a Starfleet veteran, Commander Elias Vaughn. Soon they become involved in a tense political conflict between the underclass and rulers of a civilization that holds the balance of power in its corner of the Gamma Quadrant, threatening to become an all out genocidal war.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best in this 4-Book Series
Welcome to the ranks of outstanding sci-fi writers, Ms. Jarman, and I will be looking for your novels from now on. Read more

Published on Aug 10 2003 by Jenny Hanniver

4.0 out of 5 stars Slow and steady
I tried to really sum up this book in my subject line, 'Slow and Steady', because essentially that is how the book is. Read more

Published on May 30 2003 by Elim Garak