Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Worlds of Deep Space Nine #1: Cardassia and Andor (1)

Like another reviewer, Ian McLean, I started with ANDOR first- it was great! I found out a lot I never heard before and hope to see more in the future!

"Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" are intended to immerse the reader in the cultures of the chosen planets and allow the reader to experience those societies from a familiar characters point of view. At the same time the Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine advances the post-finale storylines. Both stories in volume one definitely succeeded in doing both of those things in spectacular fashion. Una McCormack transports us to Cardassia in "The Lotus Flower" where Keiko O'Brien has accepted a position to head up an important agricultural renewal project. The recovery and reconstruction efforts are continuing slowly when the O'Brien family, Vedek Yevir and other innocents become pawns in a dangerous political game instigated by those on Cardassia who are opposed to the leadership of Ghemor. Garak, an old hand at playing such games, must call on all of his skills to avert a tragedy that could spell the end of hope of a democratic future for Cardassia.In many respects Una McCormack has the more difficult job in this first volume of Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and she definitely rises to the occasion. Life on Cardassia has been portrayed before, while Andor is another kettle of fish entirely, it's more of a clean slate. McCormack builds on what has already been established about Cardassia and does a wonderful job of allowing the reader to catch glimpses of what Cardassian society had been like before the Dominion War, while at the same time portraying what they are experiencing now.The short chapters really kept the story moving along at a very fast pace and make it seem a bit shorter than it actually was. McCormack does a very good job of illustrating her theme: the idea that major change can be very frightening and that fear can leave people, particularly children, vulnerable to manipulation. She also succeeds in driving home the point that politics can be a very dangerous and cold-blooded game. What I enjoyed the most about "The Lotus Flower" was McCormack's characterization of Garak. It is outstanding. She's got him down cold and I found myself missing the character very much indeed when I finished. There are also several sweet and effective character moments for the O'Brien's. The prose is a pleasure to read and very straight forward. Most of the time the narrative is quite evocative but it's a bit uneven. The Garak scenes were the strongest. You can clearly tell she loves the character and understands him well. There is a whole `men in the shadows' element to the story that allows a sense of mystery and menace to creep in and McCormack does an excellent job of using that to build suspense.In the second story, "Paradigm", Heather Jarman paints a portrait of Andor that you won't soon forget. Shar, Ensign Thirishar ch'Thane, returns home to Andor to face the consequences of his choices but he doesn't travel alone. Ensign Prynn Tenmei and Lieutenant Commander Phillipa Matthias accompany Shar and the trio arrives on And

This book is wonderful!! Kudos to whomever is developing the plot of the DS9 post tv show books. This feels like the beginning of Season 9. Season 8 was all of the books from A Stitch in Time until Unity. Wonderful character development. Engaging stories that grabbed my interest immediately. With all of the mediocre stuff out there today, it's nice to have something that consistently satisfies. Two thumbs up for Ms. McCormack and Ms. Jarman.

I want to keep this short and to the point.I have watched all the 7 seasons of DS9 and found it to be a experience i would never trade.What is so great about this book is that it involves you into the worlds especialy Cardasia one of my favorite worlds in the Star Trek universe. Awesome story the author realy brings out the characters especialy Garek which is a very colorful character.This book is just great worth every penny (especialy if you go to Walmart for $4.80!).If you like Star Trek this book is a buy no doubt about it....go BUY IT! NOW! (So much for short and to the point huh?).

I haven't finished Una McCormack's "Cardassia: The Lotus Flower" yet, but as a diehard Andorian fan, I turned to Heather Jarman's "Andor: Paradigm" first...I'm floating on air. Overall I'm am thrilled and fulfilled by "Paradigm", not only an exciting continuation of "Deep Space Nine" after its so-called "eighth season" (see "Mission: Gamma", "Unity", etc) but this is an Andorian-rich Star Trek story - at last. "Paradigm" drew me in and kept me there. I had a ball; always trying to second guess the action and motivations and being thwarted by Jarman's clever plotting all the way. In "Paradigm", Andorian DS9 crewman Shar returns to his home planet in disgrace. He has disappointed his birth mother (a UFP councillor) and his two surviving bondmates by shirking his responsibilities to start a family. It was almost hypnotic reading at times. The alien atmosphere is captivating. Shar, and two human DS9 characters introduced in this series of novels set after the TV series, are metaphorically moving backward in time (with the reader) as more and more about ancient Andor is revealed. Prynn Tenmei's interest in Ensign Shar was also developed well, even though I wasn't sure it was a good idea when suggested in "Unity", but it was a plot complication that helped to keep me guessing right till the end. Thantis was a particularly great character - she's the "zhavey" (birth mother) of Thriss, Shar's deceased bondmate. We learn quite a bit more about four-partnered Andorian marriages (first mentioned by Data in an episode of TNG). For avid fans, there are some fun cameos: the inclusion of Shran's monument (Enterprise), TOS Andorian chainmail, Therin Park, mention of "The Battle of Betazed" novel - and even the planet Dramia (from TAS).A truly magnificent effort - and I still have the Cardassian story to read.