Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Rules Of Accusation - Quark's Scheme To Make Latinum Takes A Funny Turn

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Rules of Accusation by Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdman

A good and dear friend, Eric Cone sent me an instant message telling me that he had just read this book and that he found it hilarious and said that I should give it a look. Science FIction has a tendency to get a bit heavy, and just having read a book with a very grim scenario, I was ready for something on the lighter side.

Quark’s Bar is reopened on the newly rebuilt Deep Space Nine, and as always, the Ferengi bartender is contemplating new schemes to drum up business. Now the bar is not only a place of entertainment and gaming, but it has also become the Ferengi Embassy to Bajor, and quark is the Ambassador, duly appointed by his brother Rom, who was appointed to be the Grand Nagus, the current ruler of the Ferengi people. As far as Quark is concerned, the ambassador cannot function properly until there is a dedication ceremony. Quark sends out invitations to all of the most influential business leaders in the Ferengi Alliance, but the response to his RSVP’s is not what he had hoped. Quark visits with several of the station’s personnel about ideas to boost interest in his party including the station’s commander, Ro Laren. He asks Commander Ro if perhaps he could offer a door prize that would allow contraband to be transported through Federation space on a one time basis. When that fails, he visits with Chief O’Brien who tells Quark about a display of old, first edition classic books that he attended. At first, Quark thinks that no one would care about looking at old books, but perhaps, if he can arrange it, if he put the original Rules of Acquisition, penned by the first Grand Nagus on display, this might be just the hook he needs to get the other Ferengi entrepreneurs in the door.

After making arrangements with his brother, Rom agrees to bring the sacred document to the station for all to see after being locked in a vault for a long time. Quark’s scheme is successful and, on the day of the big event, all of the most influential Ferengi business leaders arrive ready and willing to part with their latinum to get a glimpse of the scroll that is the very foundation of Ferengi commerce and their way of life.

When Quark unveils the scroll, it is soon discovered that it is a fake and is the beginning of a search for the real scroll that takes the reader through many twists that leads our characters on a merry chase that includes an ironic ending to the story that actually started many years before the actual story took place.

Poor Quark, it seems that no matter what he tries to do things always seem to go wrong, but he always seems to manage to land on his feet thanks to the help of others. In this case, his former arch nemesis, Odo is a great deal of help in discovering where the real scroll isn’t, but it is a long time but absent friend who really gets to the bottom of the matter and makes everything right again. Quark doesn’t make a lot of profit on this venture, but all ends well, as it usually does in situations involving the Ferengi.

The authors do a great job in capturing the spirit of a Deep Space Nine story. The characters are all just as they should be, that is as they would be had this been an episode of the television series. The voice is just right and they all behave just as one would expect. The story itself is a lighthearted romp with no one really being in danger, with the exception of their reputations, which are shaky at the best of times where the Ferengi are concerned.

I would recommend this story for any Deep Space Nine fan who is looking for something on the lighter side.

Well, there it is…

Qaplah!

Shadows Of The Fall - A Look at Una McCormack's Star Trek: The Fall: The Crimson Shadow

Star Trek: The Fall: The Crimson Shadow by Una McCormack - 2013

Ask any Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fan who their favorite character was on the television show and see what answer you get.  Some will say Worf, others might say Quark or Odo, and still others might say O’Brien.  But those that I know almost overwhelmingly say Elim Garak.  And that, at least for me, was the major appeal of The Crimson Shadow by Una McCormack.

So who is Garak?  Well, he is the son of the former head of the Obsidian Order (a sort of Cardassian gestapo) and a former operative of that same organization.  Following the occupation of Bajor, he was sent into exile and forced to reside aboard the Federation controlled DS-9 space station in the Bajoran system.  While there, Garak was couched in mystery and intrigue while acting as a “simple tailor” supplying the people of DS-9 with services including uniform alterations, as well as some services more suited to his role as a member of the Order.  But, when the Dominion decided to adopt a scorched earth policy at the end of the Dominion War, Garak repatriated himself and took over the defense of Cardassia following the death of Damar rallying the cardassian people with his battle cry “For Cardassia!”  While Cardassia may have turned her back on Garak, he never turned his back on Cardassia.

The events of The Crimson Shadow take place concurrently with the events of the first book of The Fall series (five books in all), Revelation and Dust.  In that first installment, during a dedication ceremony of the newly Federation built Deep Space Nine, Federation president Nan Bacco is assassinated in front of the station’s personnel and visiting dignitaries from many worlds.  Initially, it is thought that a Bajoran is responsible, but it is soon learned that this is not the case.

It is time for a contingent of Starfleet personnel to be evacuated after helping the Cardassians begin to rebuild their world.  The USS Enterprise is ferrying Ambassador Garak back to Cardassia to attend the ceremonies for that event.   Plans are derailed when a Bajoran Starfleet officer turns up murdered.  An investigation ensues.  Is this murder racially or politically motivated?  Who is responsible?  How does this tie in with the assassination of the Federation president?  Many on Cardassia aren’t happy with the amenable relationship between with the Federation and would be more than happy to see that come to an end so that Cardassia can be, once again, raised to its former level of glory, but others realize that the alpha quadrant of the galaxy is becoming a much smaller place and good relations with the Federation is not only desireable, but quite necessary considering the aftermath of the Dominion War.

If you are looking for a lot of action, The Crimson Shadow is not the place to find it.  No big battles and no explosions.  What you will find is a stupendous story that goes deep into the political workings and maneuverings of the Cardassian government as they try to recover from a war that almost wiped out their entire civilization.  Garak is the main focus of this novel and McCormack did an outstanding job of capturing everything that we have come to expect from that mysterious character; his love for his homeland, his ruthless pursuit of his agenda, his ability to get things done, and his incredible cutting wit.

It is interesting how this story is written.  It never slows down, but at the same time it plods along through the story, and before the reader realizes it, the story is over leaving one wanting more, in a good way.  McCormack's treatment is outstanding.

I highly recommend that fans of Deep Space Nine read The Crimson Shadow, but first you should read the first installment of the series, Revelation and Dust by David R. George III.  Unfortunately, the reviews for Revelation and Dust are mixed with leanings toward the negative; but I thought it was quite good myself and urge readers to give it a chance and decide for yourself.  My review for Revelation and Dust can be found HERE.

Well, there it is…

QaplaH’!

Aliens Among Us - A Review of Dayton Ward's "From History's Shadow"

From History’s Shadow by Dayton Ward (2013)

Way back in April, Dayon Ward announced that his new novel, From History’s Shadow was to be released in July, and that it was available for pre-order.  So, it might not surprise you that I did pre-order.  Little did I realize at the time what a ride I was in for when it finally arrived on my Kindle, as promised on July 30^th.  

The action in the book is ever present, so therefore I am not going to go into a lot of plot details this time.  The plot is pretty well covered on the liner notes.

I liked everything about this story.  While it is a TOS era story, the Enterprise and Crew aren’t as dominant in the story as much as one would expect, but when Kirk and company are involved, it is an intricate part of a much larger story.  

Briefly, the Enterprise is depicted in the year 2268, about a week following the events of the TOS episode Assignment Earth.  The bulk of the story is follows events surrounding Captain Jim Wainwright from the DS-9 episode, "Little Green Men," and spans over twenty years of his life and his involvement with UFO and aliens residing on Earth, and with Project Blue Book.

A race of beings called the Certoss are convinced that if the people of the Earth learn to travel in space, they will cause the destruction of the Certoss.  The Certoss make it their mission to assure that this doesn’t happen by making sure that the people of the Earth get themselves into a nuclear war.  The US is launching a test flight of the Saturn V rocket (from "Assignment Earth"), but this test flight is actually a nuclear weapons platform.  The Certoss know that if they sabotage this rocket, it will trigger a global nuclear war.  The agents of the civilization that trained Gary Seven, as well as the crew of the Enterprise know that the Certoss and the people of Earth will have a good relationship and make have to make it their mission to be sure that the Certoss fail in their mission.  This is the main plot of the story, but there is so much more to the story.  Dayton Ward calls on his knowledge of all  the Trek episodes that are involved with alien presences on Earth.

The Roswell Incident in 1947 was actually a result of Quark, Rom, and Nog accidentally coming to earth of the past while transporting Nog to Starfleet Academy in the "Little Green Men" episode of DS-9.  In that episode, Nog tells General Rex Denning that the Ferengi are planning a full scale invasion of the Earth.  Captain Wainwright, witnesses this as an aid to the general.  Wainwright is transferred to another location soon after and becomes vigilant in monitoring alien activity, never forgetting the Ferengi threat.

Mestral, who arrives on Earth as the result of the accidental crash of a Vulcan surveyship, later decides to remain on Earth to observe.  He becomes fascinated the the people and the culture he learns about in "Carbon Creek", A small mining town in Pennsylvania, and decides that in order to get a complete picture of human culture, must travel and learn.  Eventually, he meets Wainwright, and also travels to the future to meet the Enterprise crew to assist in thwarting the Certoss plans.

Roberta Lincoln, who has begun her training as an agent under Supervisor Gary Seven, is thrust into also assisting the Enterprise crew in convincing the Certoss of their folly. Gary Seven and other agents all work to keep the Certoss at bay, and some lose their lives.

So what Dayton has done in his novel is to bring together a tapestry from the threads of several different stories in Trek lore.  I have seen all of the involved episodes, but never would have imagined how they could have been woven together so neatly.  It really speaks to the genius of the author for him to take all of the canon episodes he called on to make a story that is very coherent and logical, almost as though all of the separate stories were actually meant to be connected.

I should also mention that he calls on two other episodes not mentioned earlier in this review, those being the TOS episode Tomorrow is Yesterday in which Captain Christopher of the USAF is accidentally abducted by the Enterprise, and the Voyager two part Future’s End episodes.

I have read a lot of Star Trek novels, novellas, and short stories, and have to say that this is, in my opinion, one of the best and most enjoyable Trek stories I have ever read.

Well, there it is…

QaplaH’!