Teaser

The Dominion War is over, and Captain Benjamin Sisko has joined the Prophets outside of regular spacetime. Those left behind must adapt to the challenges of this new age. But not everyone is willing to let the past die, and war is never over for long . . .

Review

2001 was a strange time to be a Star Trek fan. Deep Space Nine had ended a few years previously, and now Voyager was at an end. The upcoming Star Trek Nemesis promised to wrap up the voyages of Picard and his crew, but for the latter shows there was nothing but dead air. The new kid on the block was Enterprise, taking place two hundred years before the era fans had come to know and love. The question on everyone’s lips was simple: What happens next? Well for DS9, the answer was as simple as it was ambitious. The story continues, but in books rather than on screen. It was a tactic that had been a resounding success for Star Wars only a decade previously. Sure you’d never pull in the mass audiences that TV offered, but would fans pay to read about the continued adventures of their beloved characters? The answer was yes.

Avatar, originally published in two volumes and later collected in an omnibus named Twist of Faith, was the a milestone for Star trek literature. For the first time, it carried the story forward rather than simply adding episodes. Such was the success of S. D> Perry’s novels that they, and the multi-author series that ran through to Unity two years later, are known in some quarters as the unofficial Season 8. In this modern age of expanded universes and cross-pollinating franchises, it’s hard to get your head around just how ground-breaking these novels were. Even after the untimely demise of Enterprise, these novels kept the franchise alive through the wilderness years. Multiple books in the same canon saw publication every month. A rate that most can only dream of. Yet though they were rushed into print, and though Trek fans would have bought into just about anything that hinted towards more adventures beyond the final frontier, the reason these books became such a success is simple. They’re really good.

Avatar picks up three months after the end of Deep Space Nine, and essentially serves as a pilot episode for all that follows. As such, there’s not really a central plot. It’s all about setting up future events. We have the discovery of a prophecy that suggests Sisko will soon return, though at a cost. We have the potential of a rnewed war between Federation and Dominion. We have murder and mystery on the station. We have the new crew of DS9, including TV’s Ro Laren and the Andorian Shar, coming to grips with the new status quo. Then there are those familiar faces heading on new trajectories, be it Nog embracing Starfeet life, Jake searching for his father, or Ezri Dax questioning her career choices. There’s even a supporting role for the cast of The Next Generation. All these characters are true to the depictions we’ve seen on screen, and even the Ro/Quark romance is not as unconvincing as I found it in later books. Ezri in particular has a great arc of self-discovery, and knowing where it ends only makes it better. Once again I bemoan the fact that Dax all but disappeared from later relaunch novels.

The downside of all this occurring in two slim volumes is that there’s not much in the way of resolution. This two-parter is really just the prelude to the next dozen or so books. But taken in that context, it does everything it needs to do, and then some. Every character has something to do, and the plotlines complement each other nicely. It’s that rare blend of old and new that truly works. If you’re a Deep Spade Nine fan and have never encountered the Litverse before, then this is the perfect place to start.

Series Stats

• Two books, totalling 518 pages
• Published in 2001 by Pocket Books
• Part of the Deep Space Nine Relaunch series