Customer Reviews

Cathedral (Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Mission Gamma Book 3)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Authors Michael Martin and Andy Mangels have written another intriguing installment in the "Star Trek Deep Space Nine Mission Gamma" series focusing on diplomatic efforts between Cardassia and Bajor to establish a long-lasting peace via a treaty prior to Bajor's admission into the United Federation of Planets. Colonel Kira Nerys and her security chief, Lieutenant Ro Laren, have their hands full as they contend with the unexpected unraveling of Bajoran-Cardassian diplomacy. A Bajoran religious leader soon intervenes, joining forces with his Cardassian counterpart. Meanwhile the USS Defiant stumbles upon an ancient structure in space - a "Cathedral" - which is tapped to multiple dimensions of space and time; a nexus point of a multitude of universes. The away team's brief exposure results in some unexpected, almost dire, consequences for Chief Medical Officer Julian Bashir, Lieutenant Ezri Dax and the Defiant's Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Nog.

While this book doesn't shine the way Book Two (Heather Jarman's THIS GRAY SPIRIT) does, it's still one of the best of the DS9 novels. My biggest problem with it was that I couldn't figure out any possible scientific explanation for the "dimensional regression" caused by the Cathdral/Anathema, although the stories told of Julian's, Ezri's and Nog's past were well done and ultimately triumphant. Even if the latter two were more-or-less reiterations of DS9 shows, we learn more about Dr. Bashir "Jules" than we knew, and the denouement of that story is particularly satisfying.

If you decide to accept some suspicious science, however, the story moves right along, the characterization is top-notch, and I especially liked the authors' understanding of politics -- how do you tell the good guys from the bad guys? can you stop politics from constantly changing? how do you avoid being suckered by plausible protestations of a superficially apparent "good-guy"? A rich and deeply understood Realpolitik was always DS9's greatest strength -- one of reasons why I loved it far more than any other Star Trek series. Genuine DS9 fans will love this book. A warning to others: Don't look for Gene Roddenberry's rather simple-minded Federation that seems to run on stardust and permanent good-will. The Cathedral alien and the Bajoran-Federation-Cardassian conflicts are as confusing, fascinating, and dangerous as today's headlines.

Very well done indeed!

I finished Cathedral over the weekend. Man, this book has a great cliff-hanger. Easily the best ending of the Gamma series. Also, we get to see some familiar faces that we have not seen in a while. This book is worth reading for nostalgia alone, but wait, there's more. The Gamma stuff was very good, and actually, I think the Gamma part of this book was the best of the three so far. This time the conflict was focused on the people we know, instead of some aliens we've never heard of before. It made me care about what was going to happen to Bashir and Dax and Nog. Nicely done. All in all, I think this one was very good. I don't think I have anything negative to say about it at all, actually. The relaunch keeps getting better.

The purpose of my review is not to tell about the story lines because other reviews do this, but my purpose is to say whether or not the book is worth its cover price in my opinion. In this case, yes, if you love DS9 and are up to date in its story-line.

Because I stopped watching the DS9 TV series when the Dominion War started, I came to "Cathedral" as a not-up-to-date fan. Because I was not up to date on the DS9 story, "Cathedral" was very difficult to follow. And, if you don't know anything about the planet Bajor and its struggles, the story is also exceedingly difficult to follow. I really had no clue as to the roles of the people involved in the power struggle.

And of course, an alien race appeared to complicate the story, but for me, their presence didn't add any value to the story. Actually, by the time they showed up, I was annoyed with their interrupting the story that I just finally getting comfortable with.

I wanted to read "Cathedral" because the book's hook was a good one: I wanted to see how the authors handled Dr. Bashir's loss of his bioengineered talents. I think their initial idea was great, but they did not do a terrific job of presenting it. Like another reviewer, I was baffled how the Dr could mentally deteriorate at such an alarming rate but write about it so well in his log. It was not convincing.

Overall, I found the entire story rather difficult to follow.

Be that as it may, if you are a DS9 fan, you might really love the story regardless of the difficulties I encountered. I thought the authors wrote well--I just wasn't very fond of the story. Maybe better luck next time for me.

The other reviewers give reviews of the story lines, so I won't repeat them here. I just wanted to say that I think the story had potential for entertainment, but just not for me--this time. But, you can give it a try if you are a DS9 fan.

This was a great book. I enjoyed the seeing the Dr, Dax and Nog change. It was great to see what the Dr would be without his "gifts". Ezri Dax becaming just Ezri, and Nog regrowing this leg back. I hope I didn't ruin the book for you. Enjoy!

As I have been reading this re-launch, it occurred to me (duh) that my beloved characters are growing and changing - some, perhaps, in ways I would prefer them *not* to - but certainly none of them are at the place they were when we last saw Deep Space Nine on the tube.

I count this as a good thing, whether I agree with the changes or not. And that's the whole point of this effort, I believe: To lengthen and re-shape characters and situations, *not* to have them lie fallow in our memories, but to continue to move forward into events that might not have fit the mold a few years ago.

For one, the idea of Bajor actually becoming part of the Federation was like a pipe dream when the show was airing - a dream not everyone embraced. Now it's a reality, but this brings a new reality to people like Kira, Ro, and Quark, as well - and still, as you would expect, the idea of Bajor being part of the UFP has not been welcomed by everyone.

As for the Defiant's mission in the Gamma Quadrant, I can only say here is where the book's title really hits home. Three (well, four) crewmembers are decidedly changed after being scanned by an alien artifact, and what they must go through to return to their former selves involves leaps of faith and trust that you or I might never dare to attempt.

And throughout this novel are hints and whispers of things to come that tug uneasily at the heartstrings. Too sappy for you? Too bad! You're missing a good series if you're not reading this one.

During the first few seasons of DS9 on television, the Gamma Quadrant was *horribly* underutilized. Here we have Star Trek, this wonderful mythical universe that laid open the galaxy to human and alien explorers, and Deep Space Nine, a part of that rich universe, a remote outpost at the mouth of a galactic Nile River, the Gamma Quadrant wormhole.

The writers during the first few years of the show could only use this premise for "funny alien of the week" stories. Until they started dropping hints about The Dominion, and suddenly, the wormhole and where it led became scary, ominious, dangerous.

I think this illustrates some of the reasons DS9 has always been considered the 'problem' child of Trek mythos. DS9 doesn't really do the 'exploration' thing very well, but it does a fantastic job of putting good people in very bad places, and lets us see how they work things out. Their morals may get a little bruised, but for the most part, the Federation crew of DS9 is committed to exploring the most important part of the galaxy: the quest to find a way to unite sentient beings together in common cause. Cowboy diplomacy at its finest.

So, 3/4 of the way through the "Mission Gamma" series, I find myself rushing through the sections describing the Defiant's current mission of exploration in the Gamma Quadrant. All the *really* fun and meaty stuff is happening back on the station. From Andorians in dire straits, to Cardassians, Bajorans, and Federation members celebrating (finally ... maybe) Bajor's entry into the Federation, these sections of "Cathedral" are alive, snapping and crackling with all the conflict, tense moments, huge cast, interweaving plotlines, and "Oh my god, I can't believe they can do that on STAR TREK" moments I've come to expect and love from DS9.

As such, I found it very difficult to get "into" the experiences Bashir, Nog, and Ezri Dax have as a result with a mysterious alien artifact. The aliens who protect this artifact are one-dimensional, and are there only to provide artificial tension. Bashir's loss of his genetic enhancements reduces him pretty quickly to a gibbering idiot, yet log entries he makes are surprisinly lucid. It all just didn't mesh very well for me, and for the first time I felt the authors entrusted to carry on DS9 into an "eighth season" didn't quite have a full grasp on some of the characters they were writing. It's almost like one author wrote the Gamma Quadrant scenes in the book, and the other wrote the stuff back on the station. Perhaps that is indeed how the book was created, but unfortunately I found it jarring, taking me out of the story several times.

Nevertheless, the incredible drama unfolding on the station, not to mention an absolute STUNNER of an ending, have got me salivating in anticipation over the last entry in the series, "Lesser Evil". The stuff on the station is definitely what has kept me going throughout this series, and it's so good I find myself able to forgive myself for not liking the "exploration" stuff. From one cleric's decision to act in accordance with his faith and not his politics, to a betrayal so shocking I was shaking when I put the book down, the Alpha Quadrant's where the action is at. Originally gave this book three stars, but bumped it up to 4. That cliffhanger, if you're a true fan of DS9, will really leave your jaw hanging.

Deep Space Nine isn't about pedantic droning on and on, it was the official action series. The wild, wild west of Star Trek. Thsi story makes it as boring as TNG where there is minimal damage to all involved. If Vaughn is so secret ops that he can refuse a captaincy, then how come he's not more dangerous, more manipulative. There's got to be a good space between the audacity of Kirk and Calhoun and the supreme balances of Picard and Sisko. DS9 is crawling along. These stories seem shadowy, willowy, like there is a towering giant of past stories of quality hovering over these stories whgich is why they aren't simply weaker but overshadowed. What does the series need? Direction! Maybe one writer holding this series for a year at a time, taking it into directions unexplored before. But the mix and match of timidity is ruining potential characters really breaking out. All of these books have been about characters upset at who they are and DS9 was about people upset by the galaxy around them and who they were becoming.
The series straddles trying to hark back to the past without creating it's own identity. It's time for it to be a book unto itself.

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Mission Gamma: Cathedral Written by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels is the thrid book in a four series and the story continues from where book two left off.

This book is part of the relaunch of "Deep Space Nine" since the television series. Here again, this volume of the relaunch is very well-written the the characters go through a real soul searching. The book has two main themes as we read on... the Defiant is on an exploratory tour of the Gamma Quadrant when they come upon an artifact in their space exploration. We all know the Julian Bashir has been genetically enhanced when he was six years old on Adigeon Prime and has alway wonder what his life would have been like had his parents not had him genetically
altered. As Bashir is going through progressive neurological deggeneration, Dax is becoming an unjoined Trill, and Nog is reverting back to a true Ferengi. The detail of this story is wonderful as all of his unfolds.

The second theme of the book is back on Deep Space Nine with Ro Laren, a failing diplomacy between Bajor and Cardassia, and Vedek Yevir is no longer just a cardboard character. This story is filled with intrigue, tragedy and some true callings, making for one good tale.

"Cathedral" continues with the very richly written narrative of the first two books as this series brings excitement back into Deep Space Nine. "Lesser Evil" is the fourth book in this series and should wrap-up Mission Gamma. "Entrprise: What Price Honor?" will be out soon. See you around the galaxy...

The editors for this book series really missed the mark by having these two guys write this book. You'd think they'd have been overjoyed with the opportunity to expand from the Comic Book genre into a full length novel that propels so eloquently the DS9 story line. Instead, the authors continue the story in a pedantic manner. The characters don't develop in the same arc established by the previous books in the series. And I've guessed the next event in the book before reading it. Absolutely no surprises. These authors never strayed from the comfort of the game room where they have stagnated in the short story format of comics. Would that I could blurt out all of the major story points and spare other potential buyers from the torture.