The Wire: In Discussion - Especially the Lies

In association with Star Trek Club Stoke, this time we're digging into Deep Space Nine's second season instalment, The Wire.

This episode focuses on Garak, the Cardassian tailor and possible spy and his unlikely friendship with Doctor Bashir. Garak suffers debilitating pain, which he initially tries to hide until he eventually collapses. Bashir discovers he has been fitted with a device by the Cardassians which is degrading his nervous system (presumably, this is the ‘wire’). Is this some kind of punishment?

As Bashir seeks further information, Garak tells various tales of his fall from favour in the eyes of Obsidian Order overseer Enabran Tain. This in turn caused his exile to Deep Space Nine although each of the explanations turns out to be false and subsequently replaced by new lies as Garak becomes increasingly hostile and deranged. Did he betray his friend Elim or did Elim betray him? Did he murder Bajoran children or save them?

Garak's nuances and frailties would only be covered again through his claustrophobia in In Purgatory's Shadow and this instalment gives Deep Space Nine fans a rare chance to see the chinks in the armour of the most secretive man on the station. You have to wonder if there would be a point at which he would give up anything he was asked but we never quite reach that point. Ironically it's a device implanted to create euphoria and counter torture that has the potential to end Garak's life.

Bashir has to be strong enough to navigate the lies and hostility, eventually tracking down the now retired Tain who seems to retain a fondness for Garak and gives Bashir the information he needs. The episode ends with a now recovered Garak joining Bashir for lunch, telling him that all his stories were true; ‘especially the lies’.

From the outset this appears to be an episode to explore, after two years, the background of Garak even if it all turns out (or doesn't) to be lies. With the benefit of hindsight and a further five years of stories, do we ever really get to a finite answer on this episode? Do we really ever know why he was exiled from his homeworld? Simply, no. The nearest we probably get is his reunion with a dying Tain in By Inferno's Light but that only confirms that Garak might be Tain's biological son as it's not firmly set out in the dialogue, only inferred.

What The Wire actually turns out to be is a coming of age story for Bashir. Initially seen as young and naive especially back in Emissary and any away missions thereafter (note to The Storyteller, Battle Lines...) but here in the latter half of season two there's definite change in the character noticeably from Armageddon Game and here. The arrogant self-belief that he has all the answers has long since dissipated, replaced with a wiser, more open Julian Bashir who, in this case looks as though he might be beaten in a scenario where the patient is a "close friend". 

The discussion on the episode suggested this made him a match for Garak however it may be that by the end of the story he is seen as having more potential than the Cardassian initially believed. Julian has to see past the lies and try and discover what actually happened and how Garak ended up in this state. The weird thing is that by the end titles we're no clearer on anything apart from two things; Garak's first name is Elim and secondly that you can't trust a word that comes out of his mouth. 

It was also suggested that Garak’s cryptic references to his ‘friend’ Elim could support the fan rumours that the Garak character is either gay or bisexual. Indeed, it was pointed out that he had been the one to initiate the relationship with Bashir back in Past Prologue and continues it to the conclusion of the show although nothing is ever made of this directly on screen.

The Wire is a definitive moment in the relationship of the doctor and the tailor, cementing their unusual friendship and exploring both in a new and unexpected way that looks at the way in which they are seen from the outside - and are not quite the same individuals by the end. It's also the first time we get to hear about the Obsidian Order (much more on them over the next few years) plus we're introduced to The Never-Ending Sacrifice and Meditations on a Crimson Shadow - two of the finest pieces of Cardassian literature written.

Thanks to Alan Boughey for his assistance in this discussion summary of The Wire.

Tying Up Those Threads: Section 31: Control

Ahead of the rise of Picard in January, I've managed to cram in some reading and that's included the rather brilliant Control.

Section 31 have played a huge part in the franchise since the late 1990's. Entwined with the Dominion War in Deep Space Nine we thought we had explored some of their origins with Enterprise, were a little befuddled when they turned up in the Kelvin Universe for Into Darkness and have stamped a firm foothold in the second season of newbie Discovery.

Lo, the novel series likewise has paved a dark path thanks to the dealings of one Julian Bashir especially in the last couple of years since his involvement with curing the Andorian people and then working as a double agent to get to the heart of the organisation through The Fall and then Section 31: Disavowed.

Now we've reached an impasse and Control finally takes us to the very beating heart of Section 31 in the 24th Century and also back to the very spark of its origins in the 22nd Century.

Not to give too much away but this is a must read in every sense and I kind of kicked myself for not having read it a lot sooner. Section 31: Control slips the story back into key Federation moments from the foundation of the galactic organisation and how it became a key component of the Alpha Quadrant.

David Mack is an unquestionable master of the Star Trek literary universe penning many of the finest instalments of the franchise but my god has he ramped it up again. What it doesn't feel like is that the stories are being over stretched and with the impending Picard and Discovery time jumping there's a palatable feeling that we are reaching the end of a journey - and that's very real in another sense that we will no doubt touch on in a future post.

Control maxes out on its tying of loose ends with the return of Sarina Douglas plus assistance from the resurrected super-Data and his daughter Lal in finally attempting to shut down the secretive/disruptive organisation.

The action here is brilliantly free-flowing and by keeping the story to a minimal amount of characters we aren't lumbered with anything excessive. I would warn that you will need to have a decent knowledge of the existing literary Star Trek universe to get a good hold on events. The paralleling of the 22nd and 24th Century stories does help to remove some of the potential confusion but there's a lot of "inside" Star Trek information you'll probably need to be at least aware of to truly appreciate the impact made by Section 31 and not just inside the Federation.

Considering how the onscreen Star Trek universe is about to take onboard a big jump and the return of Jean-Luc, it does feel that the literary series is beginning to tie up some of its more ongoing loose ends as well as perhaps explain some of the bigger TV elements of the franchise which fans have been asking about for many years, especially the increasingly popular Section 31.

Mack's characters too continue to be believable with Bashir a far cry from the stuttering youngster of Emissary and a fair distance away from the more arrogant "superman" of the latter Deep Space Nine years. His experiences since then as part of the books series has had a great impact on him as has his relationship with Sarina turning Bashir into even more of a torchbearer for the upkeep of Federation standards. 

Nor is he vehemently against Section 31; his visible distrust of the organisation seen on screen has become more channelled and focused to resemble a more tangible plan but one he will sacrifice all to complete.

Data on the other hand continues to be something of a mystery. His rebirth in the android body used by Noonien Soong to escape following his critical assault by Lore in Brothers has been a bone of contention with me for nearly six years. It was one of the first stories I read (the Cold Equations trilogy) back in 2013 with Data's resurrection seeming to be an unavoidable part of the Star Trek story whether we wanted it to happen or not.

Here he and Lal are more human than ever and almost unrecognisable from their TV personas. Lal is perhaps excused since her appearance was limited to one 45 minute story but Data's journey to become more human is more complete than ever with him distinctly different to the being we knew. For me, however this character is written he is not "that" Data. For better or worse the original wasn't brought back exactly the same instead with some significant character trait leaps which even now are fairly jarring.

Section 31: Control however must be viewed in the bigger scheme of things and perhaps not have as much drawn from it to parallel to upcoming franchise events. Whether I'm a fan of Human Data or not, this is one of those Star Trek novels that you have to get hold of and is well worth a read. While Deep Space Nine: Gamma might have taken a long while to get through, this was a page turner without doubt. 

One more winner from David Mack. Looking forward to seeing how his upcoming work from the franchise pans out!

Section 31: Control is available now from Simon and Schuster priced £7.99 

What's been your favourite part of the novels story? What do you think will happen going forward into 2020?

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Actions and Reactions: Deep Space Nine: Season Four

The Visitor, Hard Time, Broken Link - just three of the golden episodes that graced the fourth year of the increasingly impressive space station series.

By this point when I first watched the show I was absolutely questionning how I could ever have considered turning it off back in the "dark" days of season one. Then someone reminds me about Move Along Home and I nod, sadly.

But lo, the crew were too late and the Founders were everywhere - or so Odo declared at the end of The Adversary. Odd thing is that they're so damn good at hiding we barely see them all season as just about everything else steps into play.

It's impossible to discuss season four without talking about Worf - which is why I dedicated an entire post to that thread a while ago - and while I can now slip out of that stranglehold, it has to be said that Deep Space Nine would have been an incredibly different show if it wasn't for his arrival post-Generations. The tone changes, the lights are darker and there's a little bit more growling going on as soon as he steps into Quark's and lays out Martok's son, Drex (and we never saw him again did we...?). There's no escaping that Deep Space Nine is the show which shows up the faults in the universe and instead of paving over them it decides that making those faults a bit more obvious is the answer. Hey, they confront a lot and a lot gets resolved.

Opening with the unpresidented double-length The Way of the Warrior, it was a season that meant to cement the show in our consciousnesses, even if they did initially rely on a certain Klingon to do that job. The premiere was and still is a thrill ride every step of the way and the closing battle scene demonstrated that the game had been stepped up. The episode is one of the best and most gripping and one of only two book adaptations that I own, the other being the pamphlet thick Trials and Tribble-ations. No other season opener packs as much in or attempts to set as much in place as The Way of the Warrior and nor does any after it try to.

But it's best not to dwell or laud over Worf's transfer because this is a season which ensured that every single one of the regular cast excelled - and some in ways that we didn't expect. He does take centre stage for The Sword of Kahless but gets slightly upstaged by the mesmerizing John Colicos as Kor in his second of three appearances and again in Sons of Mogh which brought back brother Kurn and Rules of Engagement.  The Visitor for one covers that perfectly. Coming straight after the season opening The Way of the Warrior no-one expected the tour de force that oozes from every line and shot of this beautiful episode. I've watched this more times than it's been repeated on TV and each time I love it a bit more. For me this is better than The Inner Light, more gut-wrenching than The City on the Edge of Forever and Tony Todd hits every emotional button in his arsenal to make this one of my top ten Deep Space Nine episodes of all time. 

Back in the day it was all about those fascinating glimpses into the future - Morn at the bar, Dax and Bashir married - but as I reach the middle of my thirties with children of my own it resonates in a very different way. Not that I expect to be sucked out of time and revisit my son every few years for ten minutes, but I do value family a lot more than I ever did before. For me The Visitor will always be one of the best.

As for Jake, Cirroc Lofton gets both this episode and later, The Muse to have a stretch of his acting wings. Both are a decent weight and steer clear of the more light-hearted occasions we might have seen him in before. I was never that keen on The Muse in the 90's because there's no big action beat and nothing significant to the overall arc happens (unless you count that Jake writes Ansolom which was mentioned in The Visitor) and now I do see it as a character piece to give Jake a bit more maneuverability after the earlier episode's success. I like The Muse now because Lofton and Meg Foster seem to work well and having carried these, Nor the Battle to the Strong in season five would really raise my admiration for Lofton's abilities on the show which made him a more rounded and able character than Welsey ever was in The Next Generation. The same can be said for his partner in crime, Nog, whose arc potentially is a mirror to Worf's early years in the fleet as the only Klingon. On the flip of that I actually utterly hate The Muse because Lwaxana is back and if there's one Troi I really detest....

While Lofton got to expand the role, Bashir appeared more constrained, attempting to cure both the Jem'Hadar of ketracelwhite addiction in Hippocratic Oath and then a mystery Blight (also linked to the Dominion) in The Quickening. While I could say that it limited the doctor I find both of these brilliant episodes. Namely with the former because it failed to pacify the Jem'Hadar which The Next Generation had done with the Borg in I, Borg and Voyager would attempt with Species 8472 in In the Flesh. 

Addicted or not they were born to fight. Hippocratic Oath does add to the Jem'Hadar backstory significantly and on this viewing it refreshed a bit of Jem'eral knowledge (jeez...pun out) as well as giving me an "ah" moment when the O'Brien/Bashir ruckus happens towards the end. It's a big tick box because even after four years of their relationship flourishing Deep Space Nine could still remind you that not everything is always sweetness and joy. Things happen and people do have different attitudes and not every week can we skip merrily back to the station. 

Probably the big winner for Siddig this year was the brilliantly entertaining Our Man Bashir. Genius and one of those episodes alongside Far Beyond the Stars which let the cast stretch their acting legs a little. Total nonsense but magnificent from start to finish and certainly a lighter moment ahead of the Earth-centric mid-season two-parter. Brooks chews it up as Doctor Noah and Garak's role as the sidekick and some of his words of wisdom are perfect as the spy gets to play his role once more.

Kira of course ended the season pregnant with the O'Brien's child in Body Parts to hide Visitor's real life pregnancy and that would play a part in her onscreen appearances the following year. In season four we have more material which seeks to change her mind about the Cardassians, in both Indiscretion and Return to Grace both eyeing up her relationship with the ever-changing Gul Dukat. The introduction of his half-Bajoran daughter, Ziyal wasn't that necessary but her flourishing friendship with Kira and Garak in later stories again forces the major into a position where she has to examine her opinions of the former occupiers of Bajor. Being Dukat though it's never straight-forward and both these stories add dimensions onto the already multi-layered villain of the series. 

Kira's tales for this season don't give her much more room to go except on that Bajor vs Cardassia line which she's been dragging along for four years. Luckily, again, season five would rectify that to some extents. That's not to say that Kira wasn't key to the season; far from it as Visitor is one of the best actors in the show but you do feel her role was cut down to allow Worf more screentime since he does her job for Starfleet.

An example of that is Worf's new position as alternative commander of the Defiant when Sisko is away (Paradise Lost) which would have been assigned to Kira a year earlier. It does make more sense for a Starfleet officer to command a Starfleet vessel but his appearance in the series makes it more evident at this time that Worf and Kira are effectively playing the same part. That two-parter throws a lot of questions in the air and also means that the later Section 31 make a lot of sense. Starfleet admirals are reknowned for being a bit mental right back to the days of Kirk and neither are conspiracies anything new after, well, Conspiracy but knowing about the ever-creeping shadow of the Dominion makes you forget all those possibilities. Earth is a realistic target and to be fair you do realise how much of a sitting target it might well be. Robert Foxworth's Admiral Leyton  isn't the typical slightly unhinged senior officer we might have expected and his argument even seems fairly reasonable especially when you look at what the Breen accomplish in season seven's Penumbra. Deep Space Nine always excelled at instilling a wave of paranoia over its viewers in these darker Dominion days and the Homefront/Paradise Lost duo are are shining example I enjoy year on year. Barely set on the station itself, it's a Sisko story which adds weight to the occasionally sidelined captain and also looks at the bigger picture surrounding the imminent threat from the Changelings and their brethren from the Gamma Quadrant. A great double-header though and not even a season-closer.

Talking of Kira, season four was the last time before Enterprise's In a Mirror, Darkly, that we got a decent Mirror Universe episode. Both Resurrection and the final season's The Emperor's New Cloak were tedious, dull episodes which offered much and gave nothing in return. The Mirror Universe in the first three Deep Space Nine takes are great, fun and totally indulgent with Garak sucking up to Regent Worf here and the alternative Kira playing everyone like a fiddle where she can. 

The problem after here is that the ideas seem to dry up and giving us a Mirror Bareil and later allowing the Ferengi across the dimensional threshold were two unforgivable errors of judgement. Given that Little Green Men, The Bar Association and Body Parts are decent Ferengi episodes which mix humour with enjoyable plots and a point, making them into bumbling cross-universe sales merchants was a step too far in my opinion. Here the Mirror Universe is a real threat; there's danger, anyone could end up dead (and does). Maybe they just ran out of good people to kill off?

The quality of the season does dip a little and my thoughts on that have remained the same since '96 as Crossfire (another Bajoran Kira episode),The Bar Association, Assession and Rules of Engagement are average but none that I would speedily revisit. They are still a cut above average The Next Generation and good Voyager and if they were in the first couple of years of this show would have been seen as early classics. The Bar Association does have a welcome return for Leeta but it's drippy Ferengi stuff which I find difficult (but not impossible) to handle. I saw Rules of Engagement originally on a first cut VHS with all the running times still on the screen and marvelled at the clever talk-to-camera techniques used as part of the evidence against Worf. It's a fresh way of telling courtroom drama in Star Trek as it's been pretty standard if you look back at The Original Series' Court Martial, The Menagerie or The Next Generation's The Measure of a Man or The Drumhead all of which are variations on that theme. I admire that these asides do make it different and memorable but not in the same category as others that surround it in the year such as the subsequent and brilliant Hard Time.

The much vaunted annual hit-O'Brien-when-he's-down episode is the best of the lot; more cerebral than Whispers, more twisted than Visionary and probably Colm Meaney's top Deep Space Nine performance ever. O'Brien is utterly taken apart, lives another lifetime in minutes and becomes a different man by the end of the story. Bitterly though he's absolutely fine the following week as if nothing had ever happened (two episodes actually as the next one is in the Mirror Universe). I would have liked to have seen this resonate a bit further down the season but the relationship between Ichar and Miles is believable to the core and the brutal finale and the lifetime of punishment it in turn would provide is heart-crushing.

But what of the captain, what of Sisko? It is a Ben-lite season oddly with only For the Cause marking out his niche in the fourth year. Yes, he's around all the time and The Visitor is big on the Family Sisko but this late season entry is key to the character's development as I noted in another post recently. This starts a key arc and the descent of Sisko into his deepest darkest emotions which will travel through the troubles of For the Uniform and emerge kicking and screaming in In the Pale Moonlight. I never thought much of the Kasidy/Eddington/Sisko interwoven story however on this run through I realised just how important and damn good this one is. It jumped a lot of places in my favourites list. The duplicitousness of virtually all involved is delicious.

Which leaves only a couple of episodes to digest - To the Death introduces one of the greatest recurring characters ever in the form of Jeffrey Combs slippery and silver-tongued Weyoun who we thought would never turn up again but was so awesome he did and meant that the Vorta ended up being clones to cope with the issue (clever clever) and is one of those rare episodes where action takes presidence over everything else from the off. Add in a bit of Deep Space Nine destruction with one of the pylons getting blown up and it has a lot of memorable if simplistic high points plus the return of the long-dead Iconians and their rather useful gateways. It's a personal guilty pleasure episode and nice of the rebel Jem'Hadar to wear different coloured uniforms to distinguish themselves.

And finally. Broken Link. In the deep space tradition it's full of ongoing threads and repercussions playing to every strength of the show and once more ticking every box possible - and adding a couple in. I admit I do look forward with enthusiastic hunger for the season finales of Deep Space Nine. There are massive highs in the mid-season but you can't beat one of their not-a-cliffhanger cliffhangers which every season from The Jem'Hadar through to The Tears of the Prophets does with aplomb.

Odo, like Sisko got a quiet season but that "No Changeling has ever harmed another..." bit from The Adversary was never going away. The Dominion have skipped in and out of season four just as they managed in season three but their stamp is all over Broken Link more than it was the previous season closer. Broken Link is not a massive action packed, explosive jaw-dropper and much more character focused, more explorative of cause and effect than anything else. It reminds us that there is no getting away from events which has been the big winner in the trail of Deep Space Nine. For me it's not the best season finale in the seven years of the show but it still leaves you with a shiver, with a terrible fear that it's going to get worse and that, once more, nothing will be the same again...which can't be possible...again...can it?

Season four is again a step forward for the show and I can't fault it's efforts. The arcs are more rounded and you can see that there is payoff. No good deed goes unpunished here and everything has a consequence. Deep Space Nine never stepped away from showing its characters in a varied light. Here in season four that's most evident and maybe Worf's arrival just pushed some more dirt under those already grubby nails. No-one comes out of year four looking like a saint even though they may have entered the year decidedly on the more honest side of life. Season four sees a lot of information set in place, as subtle a buildup as the previous year but this time there is an sense of imminence to proceedings. Seeing little of the Dominion works in the opposite manner as every conversation leans towards them, by leaving them out they are felt even more.

Worf's arrival too might have seemed convoluted at the beginning but as the year grew on it became clear he was a better fit for the conflict-rife Deep Space Nine than the polished corridors of the USS Enterprise. He might take the occasional trip back but here Worf's links to the Empire could be explored much more deeply and the introduction of Martok as a semi-regular in the following year would have an even bigger effect on the Klingon as would his relationship with Dax. This does mark the mid-point of the show however as I've pointed out before it feels as though it's a fresh start, a stronger start with much more idea of where events will lead - the year felt like it was the first with a full roadmap from day one.

Now let's talk season five to see if that gets edged any further.

How did you rate the fourth year of Deep Space Nine? Was it the best, average or failed to deliver?

The Fall: A Ceremony Of Losses - Mack is Back

I like to say I have a linear mind, I like to know the beginning before the middle, or even the end. I even went back to watching Deep Space Nine in anticipation of reading this.

I have read series books from the end, or even the middle, previously. You can always tell proficient writers from experienced writers by reading non-linear – truly experienced writers have the ability to draw you in from any point in their story, even half-way through a particular book. This is especially true when writing about characters you already know, or have grown up getting to know.

Such is the case with this book – A Ceremony of Losses. I had no idea what to expect, nor what to write about, it being my first review. So let me start, at the beginning, of the middle...and be warned I might drop some of those pesky SPOILERS in along the way.

Perseverance is the key to this story's start. For someone starting on this book, David Mack does a admirable job of filling in the blanks. Not so much to believe you know all the previous stories, but enough to make you want to explore the detail of them – a tricky balance to achieve, to be sure.

The negative here being that with so many Andorian names, references, titles and terms to grasp so early on, you actually have to be Andorian just to make it through the first chapter without a headache, or the literacy version of brain-freeze.

memory-beta.wikia.com

As a newcomer to the non-canon series of novels, I have to admit, a little catch up was necessary in order to put the novel into perspective. For example; the new Deep Space Nine space station, a new 'Frontier Class' station. Another addition is the USS Aventine; a rather impressive new Vesta class starship equipped with slipstream technology. I was however unaware of precisely how much I'd missed ...

Mack's use of characters – Dr Bashir, to name one of many old faces, is done well. Capturing Julian's childish demeanour whilst keeping his suppressed ego has been done remarkably well. This should come as no surprise to those who know the author though, as history recalls, he did have a writing hand in two interesting Deep Space Nine episodes - season four's Starship Down and season seven's It's Only a Paper Moon. 

I did have a puzzling moment with one Captain Ezri Dax, I first picked up on it from +Clive Burrell's review. I struggled to see how Dax has gone from a jittery councillor, to a commanding, confident captain, without a massive personality change. I do not wish to dwell on this though, as after catching up a little background reading (no spoilers), Ezri's character actually has gone through an extreme makeover.

Beyond the old faces, there are some very well defined characters alongside and supporting. With moderate access to certain characters' features and a background or two, it serves to understand them, but not emphasise them. One who I'm sure will catch your attention, and who has already been made known to us of the 'TV series only' bunch - Sarina Douglas (Deep Space Nine - Statistical Probabilities, Chrysalis). I'm sorry, a little spoiler alert here... Again, another person who has undergone a huge transformation. Here we had a reclusive, socio-phobic person - turned Section 31 super spy! It's the Trek version of 007 starting off in the loony bin, asking for his medication to be 'shaken, no stirred'...

Away from familiar faces, and for spoilers sake I won't dwell on this, but if you're looking for clues to forthcoming installments - pay close attention to Admiral Akaar, especially towards the end. I won't say much but I would say it is definitely David Mack's clear nod to the starting of book four.

The plot, without giving too much information away, centers around a major upheaval in the Federation, contemplating the extinction of the Andorians. The politics within this story can at times, make for tough reading. Again, perseverance is the key here. If you were after a book to 'settle in bed' with - this is not it. There is too much detail and too many (multi-layer) political plots to grasp. Try speed reading through this and I guarantee you'll spend twice as long having to reread the last paragraph, only to forget what happened previously. Or, as my colleague eloquently put; a "Thinking Man's Star Trek". After looking over book one's review, plus a few group discussions, it does seem that this is going to a common theme along the entire series. They all give you the impression you're in way over your head, that you don't have the attention span of a nuclear physicist and you're going to be brutally brow-beaten for not having so.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not condemning the detail throughout the whole book; most is quite relevant and informative. I especially like the build up near the end; everything balancing on a whim, an entire species hanging in the balance, a beautifully described orbital action scene. I was quite gratified at that moment to find I had, for the first time in the book, suspended all of my other senses, just temporarily until I was confident it had passed.

Only one terrible grievance remains from this whole experience - but it's as big as Bajor itself. As I mentioned before, the plot focuses around the Andorians and their cessation from the Federation. After this, the Federation interim President has declared an embargo of Andor. No food, medicine, commerce or communication to or from the Federation. 

To be quite frank - I just cannot see this. I understand that from a story perspective, it is a key plot line and there are the political aspects that give it cause, but the Federation is by nature a peacekeeping force. I just can't imagine the democratic processes allowing for such an action, even with a despotic President at the helm. There are too many allies and political elements within the Federation that would resist such a move. It is as if David Mack has thrown much politics into this, but failed to grasp the true nature of Federation politics.

That being said, if you can overlook this flaw (if it is indeed one at all for you), the rest of this book is very well thought out, structured and written. Yes, there are some moments that really test you, but you are rewarded for your persistence at the end. Pros and cons considered, here's my conclusion:

The story as a whole is actually quite riveting - a medical mystery, wrapped up in political turmoil, lightly sprinkled with well played espionage, finished with a good side helping of action.

I'll be having a ceremony of loss if I don't read them all, but I won't stand on ceremony over this – until I've read them all. Is it fundamentally flawed? Too political? Perhaps, but also perhaps that's just me, and I'd happily read it again. In fact, I intend to. Whilst I'm doing that - you decide!

Next up in The Fall we have The Poisoned Chalice. Time to head back aboard the USS Titan.

Image by Tobias Richter

A Ceremony of Losses is available now from Simon and Schuster priced £6.99; ISBN 9781476722245.

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Deep Space Nine @21

You can also view our articles on Emissary and the first season of Deep Space Nine right now by clicking on the links. What are your thoughts 21 years on? Is it just as good, worse or better than ever?

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Ezri: The Killer Counsellor

So there we were at SKoST Towers, drumming our fingers on the oak desk in Clive's 25th floor penthouse, trying to decide what we could do to mark Nicole de Boer's birthday when we came up with this.

So for the first time we're going head to head, human against human (debatable in both cases) to discuss the wonders of Mark's third love after wife and child. So; was Ezri Dax a pretty decent counsellor or, as Clive suggests, was she just a horrific psychological bomb waiting to go off?

For - Mark

We certainly had a good debate over Ezri/Nicole. I confess to a certain defensiveness over 'my little Ezri', to such an extent that we nearly went from throwing opinions... to throwing objects back and forth!

My esteemed colleague makes some very good points (below), a very solid argument. However, let me point out the flaw in his logic – she did make it.

Whilst Ezri Dax (nee Tegan) certainly was jittery from day one, I wouldn't have thought she was much worse than that. In retrospect, I think she handled eight lifetimes being thrust upon her quite well given the circumstances! They could have done much worse, like putting the Dax symbiote into Deanna Troi? She'd have crashed Deep Space Nine... and I'm not even sure how that's possible!

In fact, she made it to such an extent, that the non-cannon authors thought well enough to develop her even further. It's almost as if they knew what I knew. I'd always had a thought of what the character could have become, if Nicole was given more than just one season to define her character. Let's face it, even Kate Mulgrew required more than a single season to develop Janeway's persona.

Speaking of Nicole, I could imagine there was a heated exchange between her and her agent, when she was told of her next 'assignment'. "So let me get this straight, you want me to effectively replace a well-loved but recently deceased main character, becoming her but not quite, maintain a very weak facade amongst so many strong, established characters, AND develop this character in ONE season?"

To her credit, she did it, brilliantly.

My only gripe with this would be that bringing Dax back was risky to begin with, not to poke too many holes, but there are clear rules for Trills and interaction with their past lives, and here we have a newly joined Dax, effectively resuming her old life (with a few twists of course).

Oh, we could go on having our war of words, throwing dictionaries at each other. But the simple fact remains... If the fans didn't want Ezri there, she wouldn't be there. If they wanted Jadzia back, they'd have done it (Micheal Shanks/Daniel Jackson, Stargate SG1?). This is the lovely convenient thing with sci-fi – anything is possible.

As much as I hate to end my argument with a non-Trek reference, I shall hand you over to my counter, as he will likely de-construct all of my comments in great detail, with references, and pictures, and possibly a slideshow with bullet-points, graphs marking the point in time my argument became invalid! Be kind Clive!

Against - Clive

Nahhhh. She was a liability from the second she inherited the symbiont and that's the truth isn't it? That's just all flouncy stuff, Mark!

Let's look at this more objectively. Ezri (sadly) happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time to receive the Dax symbiont. Instead of getting her back to Trill, the psychological damage just keeps coming - and for a counsellor you'd think she would have some understanding of this but alas...No.

Not only does she turn up to see a less than happy Sisko in New Orleans but then goes off on a cross-galactic adventure with him. This in turn results in her being back on the front lines at Deep Space Nine with her last host's ex-husband. None of that can be good for your mental stability surely? Add into that the point that her first "patient" is former spy/assassin/devious gent Garak who is always game for a challenge and it's as though her card is marked from Image in the Sand. Garak was never going to be easy to handle with the intricate web of deceit and slight of hand especially for such a young, inexperienced and messed up individual.

If Starfleet were genuinely concerned for their officers would this be a good move? That's a lot of change for anyone to go through - but killer counsellor? OK - let's just think about what we've got here.

You're placing a fairly inexperienced officer into a war zone after a life-changing "operation" and even better, with people that knew her previous incarnation including still-mourning husband Worf. As time progresses I really do fear for her patients especially when we have one installment which hands her a kick-ass phaser rifle as part of a murder investigation. Now for those people in the counselling profession I don't think this would be allowed? Aren't all the situations she's being placed in just going to help tip the scales of sanity? Handing her loaded weapons and trying to understand a killer must be the last thing that anyone should be suggesting here!

As if that wasn't enough she ended up in even more intense action at AR-558 confronting the Jem'Hadar face on rather than from the security of the Defiant or Deep Space Nine. Ok so if we're comparing counsellors then she's definitely more of a tough nut than Deanna Troi and has avoided doing serious damage to any starships however the learning curve is more like a straight vertical line as Starfleet Medical effectively washed their hands of the situation once the joining process had been completed. So much for help in the advanced 24th Century.

This makes her an extremely complex character which is fantastic to watch but at what point was she going to go all Falling Down? Best ask a counsellor to - oh - good point. After that she attempts to help Nog recuperate but that falls flat - now with all the memories, emotions and the like flowing through her surely that role of counsellor is a bit redundant as she can't deal with her own challenges? Let's just remember that when Troi lost her Betazoid abilities in The Loss she became quite ineffective for a while.

Oh - and so we don't forget how about having some "interaction" with your previous host's husband to play on the mind - and then get it together with the doctor that Jadzia turned down?  Some of it was probably involuntary emotions left over from the last host but I certainly would be choosing someone else if I needed some personal guidance. In some ways Ezri seriously puts others and herself in danger while acting

In my own defence I'd like to add that I liked Ezri and de Boer and there had to be a way of continuing with the Dax character but at times it did seem strained. In the expanded universe we know that Ezri eventually makes it to captain the USS Aventine so it sort of works out but here on Deep Space Nine she's totally out of her depth and I don't think she's every quite right. Yes, it makes her a little quirky and multi-layered like a confused regenerating Doctor (Who) but from a health and safety point of view it's not too far akin to handing Garak a phaser rifle on Empok Nor...

So that's our viewpoints - what do you think? Was Ezri just a time bomb waiting to go off (and would had we seen an eighth season) or was she in control of it all? Drop your comments below!

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The Fall: Revelation and Dust - Previously on Deep Space Nine

Oh my god, is this a breath of fresh air after the Enterprise novel. The Fall kicks off in style - a style I hope it maintains for this five book run.

I've said it before and I'll say it again now; I missed a whole chunk of non-canon fiction in the last few years but have managed to catch up thanks in no small part to Memory Beta and the works of authors such as David R George III and David Mack.

The opening move of this series ensures you won't be left in the dark for very long. I had a whole heap of questions from page one; where's the old Deep Space Nine? Why is Sisko back? Ro is commanding what? Ezri's a CAPTAIN?! Kira's dead?!

Ok, the last one's not strictly true but Revelations and Dust manages to get new readers up to speed as well as giving that refresh to anyone who's not been out this far for a while. Remember that it's been 2012 since we saw any deep space action with the slew of The Next Generation and The Original Series novels in particular which have packed out 2013. 

So onwards we go and while there's not much in the way of Hollywood-style action, David R George appears to have aimed for a much more solid character piece which echoes something of the focus of his last Star Trek effort, Allegiance in Exile which we reviewed back in March. That same style is here and while we're not looking at the world from the eyes of Kirk and Sulu we are seeing events unfold from, mainly, a quartet of characters; Captain Ro, Captain Sisko, Vedek Kira and Captain Ezri Dax. As one of my erstwhile colleagues has also noted the transformation of Ezri from reluctant host to Starfleet super-captain is amazing and still doesn't hold that true in my mind although the author of this book cannot be held to account on that front. Nor am I massively convinced by Ro's Starfleet-court-martial-Starfleet-Maquis-Starfleet career jumping but hey, that's all in the past so let's move on.

Then there's an entire thread that seems unattached to some degree dealing with a land-based story of freedom fighters which is linked with the "missing" Kira. Now that's a line which takes some reading to find out what it's all about. It seems a random segment to keep returning to and did lose me a little however as with everything there is a purpose. Stick with it.

Kira does indeed feature from page one and her story is almost a separate piece to the rest of the book, placing us back into events both seen and unseen that took place during the initial discovery of the wormhole and first contact with the Prophets. Action from Emissary is replayed word for word but David R George III also weaves in some new bits which make perfect sense and could easily have been lost scenes. I'd go as far to say that while it's a nice twist on past events and keeps us grounded with the Prophets even though the wormhole is gone, Nerys actually has the least to do here, being stuck in one place for a fairly long time...and also seemingly not involved in any way - but there is a point and a payoff to it and no doubt will be continued within the quintet of novels

While there is a lot here which is about looking to the future and also about rebuilding, it's definitely acting as a bridge to the rest of the series; it's a beginning, a beginning and a beginning all rolled into one; most certainly as it should be. Revelation and Dust heavily emphasises the loss that occurred in the destruction of the first Deep Space Nine and never really revels in the commissioning of the second. While you can see the grandiose is there, the assembled heads of empires in attendance, each of the main viewpoint characters are in some way facing a difficulty, making this less than a celebratory occasion. Whether it be family, relationships or assignments, there are a lot of demons to be confronted although David R George III seems to keep them concealed within the psyche of each player, no doubt to be unuravelled and revealed as we go through The Fall. 

In relation to the rest of the series there are one or two line drops in there which are signposting the stories we are due; the first however does take a sizable 200 plus pages to appear and nods to Picard and that starship of his - guess we know where he'll be going in Book Two then! How the rest of the show will intertwine is going to be fascinating as this isn't Cold Equations and a single author - there are five different styles and personalities combined here to cover the events of a window in Star Trek time. I'm guessing there will be numerous cross-references and I'm 99.9% certain these will be essential to hold the reader. David R George III probably gets the hardest job setting out the plan but it's done exceptionally well.

For a fair chunk of Revelation and Dust I didn't know where the heck this was going. I was pointed one way, directed another, introduced to X, spent a bit of time in Y but then I had to pause when the "moment" came because I wasn't quite expecting it nor was I expected it to be at that point in the story. It's all about understanding the relationships and the nature of our characters here and as with his previous effort, David R George III has captured them as we remember them from the TV series. There is a little wisening here and there but we can still see the childishness and exuberance of Bashir especially when he's paired with O'Brien or Ezri's awkwardness when she meets the doctor for the first time in a few years. 

I'm glad in a way that Sisko is back because it wouldn't be Deep Space Nine without him but he seems to be a different man since his time with the Prophets. His Emissarial role is almost insignficant and Ben's place is firmly as a starship captain and nothing more. There is almost a calm about the character that we only saw maybe in the early evolution of the role. I actually found Sisko's parts here among the most enjoyable alongside Ro's preparations for the commissioning. Oddly, while he does share a good portion of the narrative pre-commissioning, his story, for once is not the main focus of the show but a part which forms the whole. I don't doubt it will all be significant but at the moment this is one series which is playing its cards close to its chest.

That goes in particular when discussing the Romulans, the Gorn and the Cardassians to some extent. For thoose of you who have been following the series through Destiny, Typhon Pact and Cold Equations you'll be glad to know that the hissing Gorn imperator is back - must be one of my favourite literary Star Trek creations thus far and means there is a good deal of continuity being retained which adds a factor of "belivability" to proceedings if only to point out that there is a level of acceptance for all that has gone before.

With Odo's return/enforced Alpha Quadrant exile I might even hasten to add the even more mysterious and reclusive Founders into that mix - but that's just me thinking out loud and because the author has managed to drop an awful lot of stones into the pool. There are a lot of splashes and ripples and something tells me that a few of them might, just might, be attempts to take the reader off the main scent so we can be hit with the big guns over the course of the next four tales. 

Yes, it does seem a bit of a fluky excuse to have all the main characters including Kasidy, Nog, Rom and Martok all back in the same place (I waited for Odo to turn up and wasn't disappointed by his returning no-nonsense character) but could we do Deep Space Nine new or old without them? I'd argue not. Sadly though Martok gets almost nothing to say while Rom manages to at least get a typically nervy speech at the dedication ceremony. They could have done with a bit more page time but then I would note that having anything more would have detracted from the story.

There does however seem to be a more personal feel to some points here. As I was reading the section where Dax and Bashir view the memorial to the original station I couldn't help but think about the tragedy of 9/11. The perseverance of those who survived to push on in life; the rebuilding and refusal to be stopped are all here but so is the anguish and mourning that will always be present. Perhaps it's best in that respect that this is a more sombre and retrospective start to the series. It could have easily have fired off a volley of quantum torpedoes and set sail for the sea of high octane action but with this slower, more "talky" start I think David R George III establishes that this is going to be a more "diplomatic" series delivering a few classic twists and turns along the way.

Let's close this off with a bit of personal opinion. As I said back at the start it's a breath of fresh air after the last Enterprise novel but then I've become a fan of this author since Allegiance of Exile. This is definitely slower in pace. Don't expect action all over the shop and use your time here to get to know the characters once again. It's Thinking Man's Star Trek; you do wonder where it's heading for a long time but I would thoroughly recommend sticking with it to the end because you will be rewarded. 

One thing that is made clear here is the significance of the 60 day arc in which this set of stories is placed. I had wondered what the relevance of that was when I saw the press releases. It won't be an over-riding factor in the plots of the upcoming novels but does act as a point to tie them all together subtly. If this is the quality we can expect from The Fall then this could well be one of the strongest Star Trek novel series there has been to date.

Next up we'll have the review of Book Two, The Crimson Shadow....Picard and crew are back for the first time since Cold Equations! We're a little bit excited about that you know....