cami5ado's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
tara77's review against another edition
4.0
The first story on Cardassia was a bit slow but the one on Andor was really good.
ehsjaysaunders's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting explorations of a post-war Cardassia and a time of political and cultural upheaval on Andor.
3.5/5 Sometimes feels like a lot of buildup to nothing, or not enough to something, but still nice to explore things this side of the wormhole.
3.5/5 Sometimes feels like a lot of buildup to nothing, or not enough to something, but still nice to explore things this side of the wormhole.
bdplume's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful-I've always wondered about the Andorians, especially.
sailsgoboom's review
4.0
Cardassia -- Completely underwhelming in both story and world-building, although that may be because I can't help but compare it to Una's later works which are my favorite of Trek. The stakes of the bomb threat are high, but not as high as what Cardassia has already gone through with the Dominion War, which results in a "worlds of ds9" story that doesn't shake things up as much as other ones. 2.5/5
Andor -- INCREDIBLE. There's very little about Andor, or Andorian characters, in canon (although this does ignore Enterprise...), and the author uses the full opportunity presented her to create a memorable, thrilling, sensual alien world with its own distinct alien cultural perspectives/practices and mythology. I enjoyed getting to know Prynn apart from any plot involving her dull father, as well as Shar who is the most interesting OC in beta canon so far. Also I appreciated the female characters (in both quantity and quality) and overall female perspective infused throughout -- Star Trek needs more women writers for sure. 5/5
Andor -- INCREDIBLE. There's very little about Andor, or Andorian characters, in canon (although this does ignore Enterprise...), and the author uses the full opportunity presented her to create a memorable, thrilling, sensual alien world with its own distinct alien cultural perspectives/practices and mythology. I enjoyed getting to know Prynn apart from any plot involving her dull father, as well as Shar who is the most interesting OC in beta canon so far. Also I appreciated the female characters (in both quantity and quality) and overall female perspective infused throughout -- Star Trek needs more women writers for sure. 5/5
apostrophen's review
4.0
I bought this for two reasons: One, I really enjoyed Heather Jarman's work on the character of Shar (the Andorian) and wanted to continue his tale in her voice. Two, I needed mind-candy. Bad.
This delivers on both fronts. McCormack's 'Cardassia' story is a bit thin, a straightforward hostage taking, though it has the virtue of including Keiko and Miles O'Brien (who have been missing mostly from the relaunch of DS9 given that they retired to Earth at the end of the series - but Keiko moved to Caradassia to help rebuild its ecology). Also present, of course, is Garak, but I find that without Doctor Bashir, his character just sort of degrades into a base manipulator with no real redeeming qualities. The including of Vedek Yevir, a character introduced earlier in the DS9 relaunch, however, was a stroke of genius, and well appreciated by me.
'Andor' is where this book shines, however. Jarman delivers yet another superb telling of the Andorian four-gendered culture, the fallout thereof, and some really interesting ethical genetic dilemmas that face the people since Shar's discovery a few books back. Shar and Prynn make an interesting couple - without bordering overmuch on the "Will they or won't they?" crap of most romance in Science Fiction. Definitely worthwhile for the relaunch, or DS9 fans of any stripe (of interesting note is that none of the original series characters pop up in 'Andor,' only the newbies to the DS9 station are involved).
High-calorie mind candy.
This delivers on both fronts. McCormack's 'Cardassia' story is a bit thin, a straightforward hostage taking, though it has the virtue of including Keiko and Miles O'Brien (who have been missing mostly from the relaunch of DS9 given that they retired to Earth at the end of the series - but Keiko moved to Caradassia to help rebuild its ecology). Also present, of course, is Garak, but I find that without Doctor Bashir, his character just sort of degrades into a base manipulator with no real redeeming qualities. The including of Vedek Yevir, a character introduced earlier in the DS9 relaunch, however, was a stroke of genius, and well appreciated by me.
'Andor' is where this book shines, however. Jarman delivers yet another superb telling of the Andorian four-gendered culture, the fallout thereof, and some really interesting ethical genetic dilemmas that face the people since Shar's discovery a few books back. Shar and Prynn make an interesting couple - without bordering overmuch on the "Will they or won't they?" crap of most romance in Science Fiction. Definitely worthwhile for the relaunch, or DS9 fans of any stripe (of interesting note is that none of the original series characters pop up in 'Andor,' only the newbies to the DS9 station are involved).
High-calorie mind candy.
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