Avatar Book One [Mass Market Paperback]

The book starts with a recap of important events from pre-DS9 (ie Occupation of Bajor, Orbs) to the finale where Odo, Worf (and Martok), Garak, O'Brien, Rom AND Sisko have all left DS9. I must say at first I wondered how a show (book, whatever) could proceed with a) Kira in charge; b) only Ezri, Bashir, Kira, Jake and Nog and Quark (who is spot on perfect btw) left from the original cast (oh and Yates). But surprisingly it works very well. The main reason for this is the introduction of some new characters. However, I deeply missed the interplays with Worf and especially Garak. And without O'Brien, Bashir is demeaned to the position of the relationship character with Ezri...

The best part about the book I found is the solid character development for the new characters, but also Ezri and to some degree Kira (though she's still arrogant).

Andorian Ensign ch'Thane is probably the most refreshing character. To delve into a new race is great fun, and Book 2 offers a lot more intrigue (and I'm assuming the Gamma books).

Elias Vaughn. This guy rocks, I can't wait to read more about him. This 101 year old Starfleet veteran is going through a change of mindset and his introspection is fascinating.

Lt. Ro Laren. She's there to take over Odo's position (which is funny cuz Kira loves Odo but dislikes Ro). Ro's arrivial bugged me for several reasons. Understand I think it is brilliant to have her on DS9, but she's very poorly introduced. First, the information in the two Avatar books contradicts the Dominion War books and totally discredits all the awesome work she did with Picard during that time.. which WOULD have made sense as to why she was instated on DS9. Instead, some lame excuse about terrorist attacks against Dominion is given, and despite the Federation's (or Starfleet's) qualms about Ro and requests NOT to let her on DS9, Bajor goes against their wishes (which *should* harm their chances at Federation membership but surprise, doesn't) and puts her there anyways, for no real reason. But ignoring that, Ro has always been one of those characters you just love to get more of, and she's her typical rebellious self here, and it's grand!

The Plot is very good. I especially like the idea surrounding the Jem'Hadar soldier. Jake loves his father as much as he did in "The Visitor", yet it seemed obvious to me that from his first reading of the Prophecy that he had probably misinterpretated it. If the author thought she was being sneaky, she was wrong. It was quite clear that Jake was being naive... or was he?

The attack on the station is quite wonderful, and provides the bulk of the action. The murder investigation is nowhere as indepth as that from the Millenium trilogy.
The religious talk is nowhere as deep as that from the Millenium trilogy, but is still interesting. It really picks up more in Book 2 where Ro loses it. It is good to see why Ro opposes the Bajoran faith (which IS well explained).

Also, don't let the cover fool you, this is a DS9 book, not a TNG book. Though Picard is in this book, he and the TNG crew do little, though Book 2 is a different story.

Overall this book is a good read! I definetely had some problems with it, but once I forgave them reading it became quite interesting. I definetely wanted to read Book 2 right after (which I am doing) and am sure it will lead me to read all the Gamma books and subsequent Perry novels. All in all a good start for Season 8 of DS9!

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There are other sub-plots which may or may not be connected to the Enterprise's discovery such as:

A strange Jemhadar soldier shows up on the station claiming to be on a mission of peace.

An ancient Bajoran tablet is found which contains a ground-breaking prophesy (Avatar).

Other than those aforementioned plots, the book is mostly character driven. Bashir, Ezri, Nog, Jake, Quark and others are still on the station but there are a few new interesting characters such as Shar. Shar is an Andorian and I think it's neat how they have sensory antennas on their heads. Shar (a member of Starfleet) plays a significant part in making a frightening discovery on board DS9 where his antennas come in handy.

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This is book one of a series and The Next Generation plays the minor role in this first installment. I believe this will change dramatically in book two due to a discovery that the Enterprise makes on an old Cardassian Freighter that requires a trip to the space station DS9. The one character that I always wondered what happened to plays a key role in this book and I would guess in many others that have preceded this volume. Ro Laren was always one of my favorite enigmatic characters from TNG series, and after she betrayed Captain Picard's trust and fled I was always curious as to what happened to her. Her back story is explained in broad strokes, but at the time of this book she is now in a position of authority on DS9. Nothing about her personality has become any smoother, but it appears as though there may finally be an opportunity for her to find someplace where she will no longer feel suspect, feel the outsider.

Prior to taking on any more new DS9 material I will have to go well back and reach a point where I can appreciate these stories without only having a brief historical overview for a crutch. This book seemed well done and I believe that to the extent it failed it was solely due to my lack of knowledge.

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