Mission Gamma Book One: Twilight (Mass Market Paperback)

Although like the series in general, this book is mostly character driven, it still has all of the elements of a good sci fi novel. Stumbling upon strange new worlds and beings, making new discoveries and learning of infinite possibilities beyond the realm of what we experience every day is the stuff of good science fiction. This book has all of that

The Mission Gamma part 1 revolves around three main plots which are:

Vaughn and a crew from DS9 go on a mission of exploration into the Gamma quadrant.

The crew stumbles upon two new worlds and three different kinds of alien species. One of these species communicates by changing epidermal colors and patterns. The other two species are not not of corporeal form and live in a different realm. Not much is known about them (or it) other than something called the thoughtscape is the most prominent part of its existence and has the ability to establish communion with others rather then to communicate.

Quark's relationship with Ro (security officer)

A Romance develops between the two. I was a bit skeptical that anything would come of it at first and did not like the idea. As I read more about their relationship however, I've become more interested in seeing how far it would go.

Elias Vaughn's relationship with his daughter

Before this story a was puzzled as the way Prynn resented her father. This story clarifies everything nicely

Bajor's future as it moves closer to joining the United Federation of Planets and how this may effect Ro and Quark's future as well.

Quark is concerned that when the federation takes over the station, he will be out of a job because the Federation is essentially a moneyless organization. Ro is concerned because she and starfleet don't have good relations. So what will be her new place on a federation controlled space station (assuming she is even allowed to stay)?

While new relations are forged, others face an uncertain future, and some explore uncharted territory in the Gamma Quadrant; Taranatar continues to explore and observe humanity on the space station. Some parts involving Taranatar are very funny. A Jemhadar would be the last I would think to be in a holosuite studying partial differential equations. That's the beauty to this entire genre, just when you think you've read it all you find something that takes you by surprise. Star Trek is so full of surprises.

I also would like to add that the writer (David R. George III) is one of the best I've read so far. The character development is superp and he brings things together well with no inconsistentcies while writing a relatively complex plot.

Now that the series is over and the books have taken over the grand <b>Deep Space Nine</b> story, it's time to open up the exploration again. Twilight, by David R. George III, is the beginning of a four-part story which details this. It's a huge novel with a very large story to tell, one which it tells effectively for the most part. However, it's a bit bloated with so much information, and George's occasionally heavy prose and repetition make this problem worse. Still, it's a great read for any DS9 fan.

I have never seen a 500 page Trek novel before, but George has a lot of ground to cover. I'm glad to say that he doesn't waste much of it, though the book could have been trimmed a bit here and there. George's style is very workmanlike and enjoyable. One thing it is not is boring. However, he does repeat himself at times, seemingly to emphasize points that he thinks the reader should definitely remember. Kira's attainder against practicing her religion gets mentioned many times. Other times, repetition is not the problem, but heavy-handed prose is. George allows his characters to get very introspective, but sometimes he goes a bit too far, with pages going by with nothing but a character thinking. I really loved the book, but I found it dragging at times because of this.

The main place where this happens is on the planet where the pulse originated. George does a wonderful job examining his characters, especially Vaughn. Vaughn has a lot of soul-searching to do. His relationship with his daughter is non-existent, as she blames him for her mother's death and for abandoning her afterward in his own guilt. He has always dreamed of exploring, but most of his career has been spent fighting various menaces. He has a lot of regrets in his past, and he ends up reliving a lot of them on the planet. While this was fascinating stuff, it began to get tedious as the pages roll by. Sometimes, I just wanted Vaughn to shut up and get on with it. There are some passages for Dax like this as well, and each character has just a bit too much introspection for my taste. The book just feels a bit bloated because of this.

George captures the other characters wonderfully, getting to the heart of the various conflicts between them. The ongoing tension between ch'Thane and his family is beautifully drawn, finally extracting a promise that he never wanted to make to his fellow Andorians. Ro and Quark tap dance around their feelings, making a wonderful contrast with Quark's relationship with Odo in the series. Kira, and Kassidy are both equally well-done. Taran'atar, the Jem'Hadar warrior who has been assigned by Odo to observe the Alpha Quadrant and learn something, has some wonderful scenes as he moves out of the Operations area and tries to observe the rest of the station. The only characters who are given short shrift are Bashir and Nog (who does get a wonderful scene with Taran'atar), but that's to be expected. George has already tried to pack the book full. However, if the book had to be this big, it would have been nice to chop some of the bloat and give it to these two.

Twilight is a wonderful beginning to the "Mission: Gamma" series, and a wonderful addition to the Deep Space Nine mythos. I'm loving the continuation of the television series, and there hasn't been a bad book yet. I'm hoping the other three books in the series are just as good, if not better.

David Roy

This book starts off fast. It jumps right into the action, continuing from the last novel. Seems the Jarada got peeved...and Defiant's gotta run away. It sets up (rather, continues) the relationship problem between Vaughn and Prynn, probably the strongest focus of this novel.
This book is excellently split into two main parts: DS9 and the Gamma Quadrant exploration. We get to see what happens on DS9 as it's being considered for Federation membership, with brief visits to Kassidy on Bajor. We get to see the Defiant seeking out new civilizations and aiding them. The author should be credited with inventing a brilliant, unique, new peaceful alien race that uses their body colour as language. Truly Trek! Seeing the problem that arises and the typical Starfleet teamwork to attempt to resolve the problem is more classic Trekness. This most definitely felt like I was watching a Trek episode (episodes, actually, given the length of the book) unfold before me wee eyes.

I liked how this book summarized events that had happened in the other Relaunch novels and also touched upon past DS9 episodes. It's done in a way that a new to DS9 reader could pick up and understand most of what's happening.

I like how there seems to be a trend of developing subplots throughout the relaunch novels. There's always what's happening on DS9. Then there's Quark's (always classic!). There's security and Ro. Nog and engineering. Taran'atar and Kira. Shar and his obligations. Vaughn and self-discovery; Vaughn and Prynn. Bajor and Kassidy. And there's Bashir and Ezri's relationship and Ezri's command desires. Noticeably absent from the first 200+ pages of this novel are Dax and Bashir. That pissed the heck out of me because it's great reading about their ongoing relationship and the problems resulting from it, as well as them defining themselves. At over 500 pages (small print) this book had little to offer on them, though headway is indeed made. Dax dealing with the 'difficulties' of command is excellent. Bashir and Dax fans will want to make sure to read "Abyss" first though.

I love how Quark's character continues to develop. His genuine feelings for Ro make him an even more interesting character, and the fact that he and Ro share a huge problem if Bajor joins the Federation makes their bond even more believable and enjoyable. Ro and Quark's flirting is quite humorous and I will delve into further books to see where it goes. I find NO problems with their relationship, rather I see it flowing naturally from their personalities and current situation.
Once again we see Kira in charge doing a good job, being her typical self. Taran'atar does nothing typically cool in this novel (unfortunately), though the way his character develops is necessary and actually quite intriguing. I especially enjoyed his and Quark's conversation.
Treir, the Orion from the Gateway novel, is a good addition to Quark's and the 'reforms' she institutes is interesting. She's definitely a strong, independent former slave girl. wha?
Probably the two most important plots deal with Shar and his bondmates and Vaughn and Prynn's relationship. In both cases we learn what's fully behind the tension. In one case, it looks to be partially resolved.

Criticisms?
Though the writing is visual, there are often slow parts. I would finish reading an exciting bit on DS9 only to want to read more, when instead I'd be stuck reading 50 pages of boring walking before getting back to what I wanted. Also, the author repeats things read just pages ago. I wondered if he just thought his readers stupid and prone to attention-gaps, or if he felt the book simply had so much to it that he better reiterate important points. However, there is one part of the book that imparts a déjà vu sensation that is done quite lovely. But the other repetition got to me, slowing down the book's pacing. Aside from these slow spots, the novel is excellent, but due to them this is a 4 rating, not 5.

Overall an excellent DS9 relaunch novel, yet seeing as it is book 1 of 4, it does not end on a cliffhanger. It is essentially a self-contained work. Picking up book 2 is not necessary to enjoy this... but of course how could one resist after reading what's begun in this novel?