Review: Avatar (DS9)

The only disappointment I had with the Deep Space Nine TV series was
with the way they ended it. It was a bit anti-climactic, the final
episode wasn't well-written, but it also left me really wishing that
we could see where the characters would go from there. Thus, I was
overjoyed when I saw that Pocket Books was going to continue the Deep
Space Nine story, starting with the two book series called Avatar, by
S.D. Perry. Was it worth the wait? Was it worthy of the Deep Space
Nine name?

To quote a famous 60s persona stuck in the 90s, "YEAH, BABY!"

Avatar contains a wonderful mix of the characters fans love along with
a selection of new characters that have a lot of potential. Perry has
come up with a very plausible way for the story to continue, that
contains action, intrigue, romance, and personal strife. Probably the
best portrayed, though, is Colonel Kira. Kira was one of my favourites
on the TV show, and it's a testament to Perry's writing that I could
hear Nana Visitor speaking the lines and going through the conflicts
that the story puts her through. Kira is so well-rounded (though it
does help that the TV show provided a wonderful springboard for this),
and Perry paints the angles and the gray areas of the character
marvelously. When Kira has to go through a crisis of faith, with the
prophecy making her choose between her religious beliefs and what's
best for the people of Bajor, I could feel the tension radiating off
of the page.

The rest of the returning characters succeed admirably as well. Dr.
Bashir and Ezri Dax continue the relationship that they formed during
the last season of the TV, but they find that interspecies romance
isn't always what it's cracked up to be. Nog, the young Ferengi ensign
who matured greatly during his fighting in the war, especially when he
lost his leg in battle, has become the new Chief of Operations on the
station. He's still dealing with the emotional trauma of the war, and
it doesn't help when a Jem'Hadar warrior from the Dominion beams on
board and claims to be there on a peace mission. All of the characters
are very true to their characterization from the series, but Perry
expands on that as well. All of them seem real, but they show the
ability to grow in interesting ways. I look forward to more character
growth in the rest of the series.

The new characters are just as good. I found Ro Laren the most
intriguing. She's now the new security chief on the station. She
brings a real emotional conflict with her, trying to decide where she
belongs, and whether or not she belongs among her fellow Bajorans. She
doesn't have the same faith in the Prophets that her people do, and
this often puts her into conflict with Kira. I found that Ro's
character really stood out in this one, and I think she'll quickly
become my favourite of the new bunch. She'll always have a slight chip
on her shoulder, which will bring her into some conflict with the rest
of her compatriots. It should be interesting to see how her
relationship with Kira develops, especially after what happens at the
end of the book.

I found the Vaughn character slightly annoying, just because he seemed
almost too perfect. He's 101 years old, only a Commander but yet
seeming to have the ear of all the higher-ups in Starfleet. He doesn't
really come across as haughty; he's actually more philosophical than
anything else. However, he just seems to know everything. Hopefully
his character will be a little subtler in subsequent books. Ensign
Shar, the Andorian technical officer, is also given a nice character
hook, but not much is done with it. I think that will be done more in
future books as well. What we are given, though, is very nice.

I've said a lot about the characters, mainly because I think they are
very important to any Star Trek series, whether it's a book series or
TV series. But how is the plot? I'm pleased to say that Perry hits a
home run with that as well. It's the perfect continuation from the TV
series, yet completely understandable to anybody picking this up with
no knowledge of the series. It even has a complete timeline of the TV
series at the beginning of Book 1, which is a tremendous help to new
readers as well as forgetful older readers as well. Perry blends the
plots very well, all of them interacting at points, but having their
own resolution. There's no contrived "one size fits all" solution to
everything.

In fact, not everything is completely resolved, and the book actually
ends on an emotional cliffhanger, which I found pleasing. It really
brought the feel of the TV series back to the books, as if this is a
true continuation, Season 8 if you will. Character arcs don't end in
the same book where they begin. The book is self-contained plot-wise,
but things aren't necessarily rosy when the book ends. I found this a
really nice touch.

There are no gaping plot holes, and everything leads naturally into
each other. There are no contrived situations either. Perry writes
with ease, and her prose is very good for this kind of book. It's not
literature, but it doesn't aspire to be. Instead, it aspires to be a
great Star Trek novel, and in that it succeeds admirably. Between the
two books, you get over 500 pages of action-adventure, interesting
characters and lots of drama. What more could you ask for?

Dave Roy (originally posted on Amazon.com)