Rating: 
Summary: I read this book in two days.
Review: This book is very engrossing. While it doesn't have the epic feel of the previous Mission Gamma books, that's not really a bad thing. After the emotional turmoil in This Gray Spirit and Cathedral, this book is a breath of fresh air. No sweeping characterizations or descriptions, just a very good plot that keeps you turning the page and wanting more.
Rating: 
Summary: the plot thickens
Review: This is the last of the mission gamma books but only the beginning of some very interesting ramifications and story lines. The book is rather short (266 pages) but is by no means shallow and simple.
Mission Gamma book four ties in excellently with what happened at the end of book three of the Mission Gamma series. What happened at the end of book three was puzzling but now we know why there was an assassination and who did it makes sense as well. The whole plot doesn't stop there however. The assassination and its ramifications could very well lead to a planetary war.
Meanwhile, on the Defiant the crew stumbles on a startling discovery and run into three unexpected visitors two of whom are very well known.
Back on earth, O'brian makes a surprise visit to Joseph Sisko and we meet Benjamen's sister for the first time.
Just one problem I have is that the cover of this book is somewhat misleading. The women in the foreground is Ro Laren Chief of security of Deep Space Nine. Behind Ro to her right is Kassidy Yates, Captiain Sisko's wife who is now living on Bajor. The other black woman behind Ro is unknown. Since she's wearing a Starfleet uniform I'm assuming she's the station's acting counselor who filled Dax's position while she went on the Gamma Mission. The Jemhadar behind this unknown woman is taranatar who is on a mission of peace to observe humanity. With the exception on Ro Lauren, none of these people play a significant part of the story.
Rating: 
Summary: I feel...gypped
Review: This series almost looks comical sitting on my shelf - three massive, uniform tomes followed by this runt. I mean really, the first book was about 500 pages, 2 and 3 were about 400, and now......250. I was really liking that this series was going so deeply into the characters, and was hoping for a conclusion as big as the first few books, which I absolutely adored - 5 stars, easily.Not this one. Plot-wise, this book was definitely up to the standards of the rest of the series so far - a lot happened, most of it was surprising, and there was a lot that I was surprised about for a different reason - just like the rest of the series, a kind of "They LET THE BOOKS DO THAT?" thought; the universe of Star Trek gets altered in almost all of these books, which is unusual. My only complaint here was that the plot taking place in the Gamma Quadrant seemed almost cut short - the denouement happens too fast. Otherwise, this part of the book was excellent. But, in terms of characters.....where were they? Ezri had one scene, Quark had one scene, Bashir had one scene, Taran'atar said 4 things and did nothing, Vaughn was out of character the whole time (even though it was "explained", it still didn't ring true for me), and even the characters that the book focused on didn't get developed much. The Quark/Ro relationship is fascinating...where is it? Taran'atar has had some truly hilarious misadventures adjusting to life on the station. Can we have some more? The thing that has set this series above the rest is its ability to seem REAL - people change, constants are altered, emotions are real, stuff like that. I have been consistently impressed with the depth of character shown in these people, particularly Ezri and Kira, who I never liked until these books. This novel was a serious let-down in that regard - it just felt like a standard, assembly-line Star Trek book of the old days (albeit, a very good one). The only exception in this regard was Sisko's dad, and the people helping him - that all seemed very real. Everything else was disappointing. I just hope that Rising Son and Unity are better (and with S. D. Perry back, they should be!)
Rating:
Summary: If this were Babylon 5, this would be a WHAMWHAMWHAM episode
Review: Wow. Okay, I know most people that love the epic qualities of DS9 also love Babylon 5. That show's creator would often warn fans via the 'net that an upcoming episode would be called a WHAM! episode, where the viewer finds out everything she knows is wrong, but then it's all right again. Worlds live, worlds die, the universe is never the same sort of stuff. Good becomes evil, cats like dogs, two plus two is five sort of stuff. ...P>Hunh unh. The first three books ... well, heck stuff going back to the earliest days of The Next Generation, really ... was all just setting up the dominoes. This book topples them, or starts to. Everything you know is wrong. Black is white. Good is evil, and evil good. Robert Simpson gives us one of the most heart-pounding, action-filled, revelation-studded, plot-thread tying (and KNOTTING) episodes of Deep Space Nine I've ever wat ... uh, read. No contemplative chapters of characters resolving old wounds, or helping complex societies avoid civil wars here. All the emotions ... and there's some deep stuff going on here, folks, especially with the Vaughan family ... are painted in very broad strokes, an abrupt change from the first three books, which took a 'slow burn' approach for the most part. But it works, giving you almost a 'sweeps episode' flavor where many stories get resolved in the midst of incredibly tense action scenes. The incredible (and for many fans of the early days of the show, triumphant) ending to this book leaves the reader in just the right state of mind during the long wait til the next book in the series: salivating, hungering, demanding more of this good, good stuff. What a smash up ending to a series of books I was starting to lose interest in ... but like the TV show it's based on, the DS9 relaunch series of books knows just how to reel you right back in.
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