Rating: 
Summary: The tour de force of Star Trek Deep Space Nine
Review: As I stated in my subject line, this book is the tour de force of Star Trek Deep Space Nine, revisiting the most complicated Star Trek series ever made and tying up loose ends.The anthology consists of 10 short stories which go a little deeper into the story of Deep Space Nine, from 'Emissary' to 'What You Leave Behind', this book fills in all the blanks, all the loose ends (few that there were) from all 7 years of Deep Space Nine. The authors are the 'newer' breed of Trek authors, mainly those that have come through the Strange New Worlds competition and written some of the DS9 relaunch books. If the stories from 'Prophecy and Change' and merely the 'early works' of these authors, then I shudder to think just how brilliant their writing will be when these men and women hit their prime. The stories themselves are mastefully told, and are presented as stories being told by Jake to the young woman that came to see him in 'The Visitor', when Jake is an old man. Each story is great, but the standouts are definitely 'Three Sides to Every Story', 'Foundlings', and 'Chiaroscuro'. Each of these stories are just brilliant, and cover the last 2 seasons of DS9, which was where the series really hit it's peak. My only problem with this book was the last story, the Garak story by Andrew J. Robinson. I throughly enjoyed his previous work about Garak, entitled 'A Stitch in Time', but I did not enjoy his contribution to this book, entitled 'The Calling'. I found the story disjointed and at some points just plain confusing. Robinson made some reference to a play entitled 'The Dream Box' which I have never heard of. I'm guessing that this play is the step between 'A Stitch in Time' and 'The Calling', but I have never seen this play, so 'The Calling' was utterly confusing to me. My only other negative point about this book was concerning a specific plot point. Please be warned, this paragraph contains spoilers. If you wish to avoid them, skip this paragraph. In 'Three Sides to Every Story', Ziyal gives Jake a precious Bajoran earring belonging to her mother, asking Jake to keep is safe for a while. After Ziyal's death, Jake goes to Ziyal's body and considers giving the earring back, but then decides that he should keep it, thus fufilling his promise to Ziyal. This was a wonderful piece of writing, but I think that the author could have gone a step further. The last part of the book is the conclusion of the meeting between Jake and the young woman that comes to see him. I believe that Ziyal's earring should have been mentioned there as still being kept safe by Jake. This would work in two ways, firstly, it would add weight the Jake-Ziyal story by making direct reference to it in the 'objective' sections at either end of the book. Secondly, it would help to reinforce the fact that Jake had an active role in these events. It's a fairly trivial point to be sure, but it was something that I felt should have been included in the story. But that is really a matter of opinion. Overall, if you are a fan of DS9, either casual or serious, then you should buy this book. It's absolutely fantastic.
Rating:
Summary: What a great book!
Review: Having seen all seven seasons of DS9 I was somewhat worried that this book would be a cheap attempt to capitalise on such a wonderful series. How wrong I was! This is without doubt, one of the best Star Trek novels I have ever seen and I have seen a lot. I enjoyed every single story as well as the insight it gave me into every DS9 character. If you are a person who enjoyed DS9, then buy this book. It truly is money well spent.
Rating:
Summary: Read it just for the Garak story! The rest awesome too!
Review: I bought this novel for two reasons.
1) To read the much-anticipated follow up to Garak's life in "A Stitch in Time", and
2) To see how O'Brien and Bashir made up after their fight in "Hippocratic Oath".
I was NOT disappointed. In fact, describing my reactions via a negative does not do justice. IT WAS EUROPHIC!
To be honest I have yet to read the other stories which take place during, not after, the DS9 series. [The stories are almost entirely fill-in-the-blank stories, covering things that were not covered in the show but nonetheless happened to the characters, be they fictional or not.] But if the first two stories I read are any indication this collection of stories is amazing. If the rest suck, it was well worth buying PLAIN and SIMPLY for the Garak story!! I have now also read the Jake-Ziyal story. It is very excellent. The similarities between the two makes one wonder why they never actually DID develop a relationship on the show, since quite obviously they should have! 5 out of 5.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: I just love these anthologies. Lives of Dax was so excellent and this one is even better. My favorites were Ha'Mara, Loved I Not Honor More and Chiaroscuro. Ha'Mara was great because it really showed how Kira got over not liking Sisko when he first came to Bajor. The way the Bajorans looked up to Sisko and how he handled it were really perfect. Loved I Not Honor More is a Quark story. I don't want to spoil it for anybody but it was a perfect Ferengi story. CHiaroscuro was great because not only does it give us a good look inside Ezri Dax's mind but it has Jadzia Dax too and a real Star Trek type space adventure. I liked all the stories but those three were the best. Keep 'em coming!
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable and Rewarding Collection of Stories
Review: In celebration of Deep Space Nine's tenth anniversary Pocket Books newest anthology of stories "Prophecy and Change" takes the reader on a journey back to the characters and events of the series. It is a very pleasurable and mostly rewarding journey. Ten original stories are included in this lengthy collection from authors both familiar and new. Nine of those stories are set during the series, with only the final contribution being set post-finale. Each regular character has a chance to shine in at least one story, and many of the recurring characters as well. As with any type of story anthology the writing styles vary, but each story has one thing in common--each succeeds in capturing the mood and atmosphere of Deep Space Nine. Some of the stories look at events set between episodes; others at changes the characters underwent that were never addressed onscreen and still others at unseen events set during specific episodes. Some stories answer questions others raise new ones. Just as the variety of beings who populated Deep Space Nine contributed to the gratifying experience of watching the series, the variety of stories in this volume make for a full and rich reading experience. Ultimately, each individual who reads this anthology will form his or her own opinions about each story. There will be stories you will probably like or dislike based on your own tastes and preferences. Some may even love them all. I know that sometime in the future I will want to revisit this collection and it will be interesting to see if my favorites during my first read through this volume, "Broken Oaths", "Foundlings", "Face Value", "Ha'mara", "Three Sides to Every Story" and "The Orb of Opportunity" provide the same level of pleasure when read for a second or third time. But that is ultimately what I enjoy most about reading a great anthology--and I believe "Prophecy and Change" fits the description--it stays on the shelf for a period of time but eventually you find yourself wanting to revisit old favorites. Deep Space Nine fans definitely won't want to miss this collection.
Rating:
Summary: Just like old times
Review: Reading this book felt like watching the television show (that's a good thing). Each story was probably about the same length as a TV episode, and had similar formats. Overall it was entertaining. A few of the stories I could have done without, but it was still readable. I would highly recommend this to someone who is feeling nostalgic and misses those old days.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful collection of DS9 short stories
Review: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. To mark the event, Pocket Books produced a short story collection called Prophecy & Change. Using the conceit from the episode "The Visitor," the framing story has an older Jake Sisko visited on a rainy night by a young woman, an aspiring writer. He spends the night regaling her with tales of his time on the station, which these happen to be. Despite the fact that a couple of the stories don't really fit this mold (the Garak story being the most unlikely for Jake to know), it's a nice idea that really works well. I can say that there are no bad stories in this volume, and some very good ones make this an excellent collection. The stories take place along the timeline of the TV series, beginning with a story that takes place days after the series premiere, "The Emissary," and ending with a story set during the post-series novels. Each season is represented except the second, with most of the stories weighted toward the end of the series. While the stories seem to be leaning toward Quark and Odo, each character gets his/her time in the spotlight, which is a nice touch. Sisko and Kira are the most shortchanged, with only the first story, "Ha'Mara" (by Kevin G. Summers) concentrating on them. "Ha'Mara is an effective tale that ties together "The Emissary" and "Past Prologue" and explaining how the relationship between Sisko and Kira mellowed a little bit between the two. Kai Opaka proclaims that Sisko is the emissary from the Prophets. Kira has a lot of trouble believing that some outsider, especially somebody from the Federation could be their savior. They get a lot of time to argue, however, when they and two Bajoran children are trapped in an underground labyrinth by a cave-in. It's a very effective character story for the two of them, and the story is only marred by the heavy-handed characterization of Colonel Day, a Bajoran militia member who would also love to throw the Federation off Bajor and who hopes to use the cave-in as a way to discredit Opaka. A few of the stories explain little continuity bits from the series that never were really explained. Thankfully, these stories move beyond that and are good stories in themselves, or else the book would have serious problems. "The Orb of Opportunity" (by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels) tells us why Nog decided to strike out on his own and eventually join Starfleet. In this story, an orb is being returned to the Bajorans by the Cardassians, but it gets hijacked by a band of Maquis (Federation citizens who are fighting the Cardassians because a treaty put their homeworlds in Cardassian territory). The orb is in a Ferengi lockbox, and only somebody with the ears of a Ferengi can open it. Rom refuses to go along after being browbeaten by his brother Quark, so Kai Winn secretly enlists Nog's help. After having an orb vision of the future, Nog even decides to forego payment in advance to help! He sees an opportunity that he feels he has to take. The story is very touching, with everybody being characterized wonderfully. Winn is the perfect balance between wily manipulator and a Bajoran religious leader who just wants what's best for her people. She's almost sympathetic, but then she does something that just makes you want to shoot her. The book has a nice mixture of old and new writers, which is another plus. The pride and joy of the book, however, is another tale by Andrew J. Robinson, the man who played Garak on the series. The last story in the collection, it details the story of Garak and how he is helping Cardassia heal from the horrors of Dominion occupation, where millions died. Some time has passed, and the Cardassians have been through civil war and massive plague which has wiped out even more of his people. This takes place after A Stitch in Time and a stage play written by Robinson and performed at conventions when Robinson and Alexander Siddig are both there. Robinson writes Garak so well, and the story is only marred by the fact that I felt lost at times when he was referring to the events of the play. He tries to put explanations in there, but it just seemed too much. I think it was a mistake to have it be a direct sequel to something that hardly anybody (relatively speaking) is going to see. Still, Robinson shows that he is a gifted writer as well as actor, making the conflicts interesting even when the reader doesn't quite understand what's going on. As I said earlier, there really isn't a bad story in the bunch. The weakest story is probably the Ezri Dax story, "Chiaroscuro" (by Geoffrey Thorne), which has Ezri going to Pandora station to open a puzzle that Jadzia Dax set so that only another Dax would be able to do it. The story takes place shortly after Ezri boards Deep Space Nine so she's still unsure of herself. I found that the writing didn't grab me and the puzzles that Ezri had to solve just weren't that interesting. Ezri sees a side of Jadzia Dax that she's never seen, but neither have we so we don't really identify with it. It's a young Jadzia, inexperienced and emotional, and ultimately the story just falls flat. Overall, this is a wonderful collection. It's so great that I spent a Sunday morning plowing through it (which I never do) because I couldn't put it down. That's the seal of approval as far as I'm concerned. If you're a Deep Space Nine fan, you owe it to yourself to pick this up right away. And I'm anxiously awaiting Tales from the Dominion War as well. David Roy
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful collection of DS9 short stories
Review: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. To mark the event, Pocket Books produced a short story collection called Prophecy & Change. Using the conceit from the episode "The Visitor," the framing story has an older Jake Sisko visited on a rainy night by a young woman, an aspiring writer. He spends the night regaling her with tales of his time on the station, which these happen to be. Despite the fact that a couple of the stories don't really fit this mold (the Garak story being the most unlikely for Jake to know), it's a nice idea that really works well. I can say that there are no bad stories in this volume, and some very good ones make this an excellent collection. The stories take place along the timeline of the TV series, beginning with a story that takes place days after the series premiere, "The Emissary," and ending with a story set during the post-series novels. Each season is represented except the second, with most of the stories weighted toward the end of the series. While the stories seem to be leaning toward Quark and Odo, each character gets his/her time in the spotlight, which is a nice touch. Sisko and Kira are the most shortchanged, with only the first story, "Ha'Mara" (by Kevin G. Summers) concentrating on them. "Ha'Mara is an effective tale that ties together "The Emissary" and "Past Prologue" and explaining how the relationship between Sisko and Kira mellowed a little bit between the two. Kai Opaka proclaims that Sisko is the emissary from the Prophets. Kira has a lot of trouble believing that some outsider, especially somebody from the Federation could be their savior. They get a lot of time to argue, however, when they and two Bajoran children are trapped in an underground labyrinth by a cave-in. It's a very effective character story for the two of them, and the story is only marred by the heavy-handed characterization of Colonel Day, a Bajoran militia member who would also love to throw the Federation off Bajor and who hopes to use the cave-in as a way to discredit Opaka. A few of the stories explain little continuity bits from the series that never were really explained. Thankfully, these stories move beyond that and are good stories in themselves, or else the book would have serious problems. "The Orb of Opportunity" (by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels) tells us why Nog decided to strike out on his own and eventually join Starfleet. In this story, an orb is being returned to the Bajorans by the Cardassians, but it gets hijacked by a band of Maquis (Federation citizens who are fighting the Cardassians because a treaty put their homeworlds in Cardassian territory). The orb is in a Ferengi lockbox, and only somebody with the ears of a Ferengi can open it. Rom refuses to go along after being browbeaten by his brother Quark, so Kai Winn secretly enlists Nog's help. After having an orb vision of the future, Nog even decides to forego payment in advance to help! He sees an opportunity that he feels he has to take. The story is very touching, with everybody being characterized wonderfully. Winn is the perfect balance between wily manipulator and a Bajoran religious leader who just wants what's best for her people. She's almost sympathetic, but then she does something that just makes you want to shoot her. The book has a nice mixture of old and new writers, which is another plus. The pride and joy of the book, however, is another tale by Andrew J. Robinson, the man who played Garak on the series. The last story in the collection, it details the story of Garak and how he is helping Cardassia heal from the horrors of Dominion occupation, where millions died. Some time has passed, and the Cardassians have been through civil war and massive plague which has wiped out even more of his people. This takes place after A Stitch in Time and a stage play written by Robinson and performed at conventions when Robinson and Alexander Siddig are both there. Robinson writes Garak so well, and the story is only marred by the fact that I felt lost at times when he was referring to the events of the play. He tries to put explanations in there, but it just seemed too much. I think it was a mistake to have it be a direct sequel to something that hardly anybody (relatively speaking) is going to see. Still, Robinson shows that he is a gifted writer as well as actor, making the conflicts interesting even when the reader doesn't quite understand what's going on. As I said earlier, there really isn't a bad story in the bunch. The weakest story is probably the Ezri Dax story, "Chiaroscuro" (by Geoffrey Thorne), which has Ezri going to Pandora station to open a puzzle that Jadzia Dax set so that only another Dax would be able to do it. The story takes place shortly after Ezri boards Deep Space Nine so she's still unsure of herself. I found that the writing didn't grab me and the puzzles that Ezri had to solve just weren't that interesting. Ezri sees a side of Jadzia Dax that she's never seen, but neither have we so we don't really identify with it. It's a young Jadzia, inexperienced and emotional, and ultimately the story just falls flat. Overall, this is a wonderful collection. It's so great that I spent a Sunday morning plowing through it (which I never do) because I couldn't put it down. That's the seal of approval as far as I'm concerned. If you're a Deep Space Nine fan, you owe it to yourself to pick this up right away. And I'm anxiously awaiting Tales from the Dominion War as well. David Roy
Rating:
Summary: DS9: Strengthening The Relaunch
Review: The "Misson: Gamma" series came out and sated appetites. "Rising Son" revealed what Opaka and Jake Sisko endured during the months of the aforementioned "Gamma" saga. And "Unity" still hasn't been released, so what is a fan of the continuing saga to do?
Purchase "Prophecy and Change," of course.
I was anticipating this release, and when I finally finished the last story, Andrew J. Robinson's "The Calling," which furthers Garak's character and has to be the best story of the bunch. I mean, this IS Garak, and as "A Stitch in Time" proved, no one knows the character better than the man behind the mask. I always chuckled at the dark humor behind Garak's oblique statements and rather droll yet bold declarations, and it's like you have an audio loop of Robinson delivering every line.
However, his is not the only story of note. The highlights of this anthology are Terri Osborne's tale of Jake and Ziyal's blossoming friendship during the Dominion's takeover of DS9; Keith R. A. DeCandido's "Broken Oaths" which finally ties the thread of "how and why did O'Brien and Bashir kiss and make up after 'Hippocratic Oath,'" a story that proves DeCandido is one of the best Trek authors to come down the pipeline in a very, very long time; Heather Jarman's "The Devil you Know" which allows us to catch up with T'Rul and empathize with her character, something we never had the opportunity to do in the series; and, finally, Andy Mangels and Michael Martin's tale of Kai Winn and Nog teaming up, the much-hyped story that pays off in the end, a story that explains why Nog had a desire to do something as...altruistic...as join Starfleet.
"Prophecy and Change" works because it gives us a chance to revisit the characters from new standpoints, almost always at pinnacles of their development. The stories are set before, after, and during the series, and all are worth a read.
Excellent anthology. Highly recommend to anyone who casually watched the series or is immersed in the relaunch.
Rating:
Summary: DS9: Strengthening The Relaunch
Review: The "Misson: Gamma" series came out and sated appetites. "Rising Son" revealed what Opaka and Jake Sisko endured during the months of the aforementioned "Gamma" saga. And "Unity" still hasn't been released, so what is a fan of the continuing saga to do?
Purchase "Prophecy and Change," of course.
I was anticipating this release, and when I finally finished the last story, Andrew J. Robinson's "The Calling," which furthers Garak's character and has to be the best story of the bunch. I mean, this IS Garak, and as "A Stitch in Time" proved, no one knows the character better than the man behind the mask. I always chuckled at the dark humor behind Garak's oblique statements and rather droll yet bold declarations, and it's like you have an audio loop of Robinson delivering every line.
However, his is not the only story of note. The highlights of this anthology are Terri Osborne's tale of Jake and Ziyal's blossoming friendship during the Dominion's takeover of DS9; Keith R. A. DeCandido's "Broken Oaths" which finally ties the thread of "how and why did O'Brien and Bashir kiss and make up after 'Hippocratic Oath,'" a story that proves DeCandido is one of the best Trek authors to come down the pipeline in a very, very long time; Heather Jarman's "The Devil you Know" which allows us to catch up with T'Rul and empathize with her character, something we never had the opportunity to do in the series; and, finally, Andy Mangels and Michael Martin's tale of Kai Winn and Nog teaming up, the much-hyped story that pays off in the end, a story that explains why Nog had a desire to do something as...altruistic...as join Starfleet.
"Prophecy and Change" works because it gives us a chance to revisit the characters from new standpoints, almost always at pinnacles of their development. The stories are set before, after, and during the series, and all are worth a read.
Excellent anthology. Highly recommend to anyone who casually watched the series or is immersed in the relaunch.
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