Rating: 
Summary: My Advice: Read Something Else
Review: I recently read through Dominion War 2 and 4. As I write this, it is 9/1/01, so I've had plenty of time for the episodes to churn through my head... I couldn't believe much of what I was reading. I remember enjoying most of the Diane Carey books I've read, including her novelizations, but this one was, shall we say, less than enjoyable. The necessary condensation of the episodes is frustrating at times, many of the best scenes being removed, but I expected that with 6 1/2 hours of TV being adapted into a little over 500 pages. But much of the writing makes me wonder if Diane Carey really watched the show. The characters just don't sync up with what we see on-screen. Here Sisko is not the same captain who read the names of every casualty in the war. He his cold, caring only about his immediate goals and ignoring the deaths of hundreds or thousands. (Admittedly, much of the relevant on-screen character development came AFTER the novel was written.) The "Tex" character (a less-than-subtle allusion to Chuck Norris) seems completely out of place, and serves as a ridiculous deus ex machina to allow O'Brien to escape the Jem'Hadar. But not before he outruns a dozen Jem'Hadar shooting at him... on foot... with an injured knee. In both of these novels (and "What You Leave Behind") the Jem'Hadar are treated as slow and stupid, and Carey repeatedly insists that they were bred for space combat, and clumsy on land. This attitude also makes the complex characters in "Rocks and Shoals" seem out of place.In the end, I often found myslef wondering if the author was confusing the Jem'Hadar and the Borg. (Why *does* she incessantly refer to the Jem'Hadar as white? She did the same thing in her novelization of WYLB.) Also the scale of the war frequently seems diminished from what we encounter on the show. Even the novel covers are symptomatic of this, showing only two ships on each cover. Don't get me wrong: The novel isn't horrifyingly bad. Despite my many qualms, I got through it rather painlessly. But it was a strain to see so much inconsistency. Spelling and logical mistakes abound as well. The Jem'Hadar are mispelled EVERY SINGLE TIME in book 2. NOVEL-ONLY SPOILER: The Centaur is chased by three Jem'Hadar ships: One breaks off, one is destroyed (by throwing a rope at it, no less [in a way that admittedly SOUNDS good, but when broken down, just wouldn't work]), and the Centaur gets home safe. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHER SHIP??? Please, save yourself an exercise in frustration and just find something else to read.
Rating: 
Summary: DEEP SPACE NINE FANS READ THIS BOOK!!!
Review: I'm surprised by the low ratings some of the other reviewers have given Books 2 and 4. I was a skeptic about reading a novelization of the series, I thought it would be a boring rehash of events, but Carey's wonderful and imaginative writing won me over. There's plenty of new material not covered in the episodes to make these books interesting and well worth reading! Typically I prefer TNG books, but I think the DS9 Dominion War books are more informative and fun to read than the 2 TNG ones. Please don't let the negative reviews keep you from buying this book, you'll be missing out on a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Carey could've done better
Review: My favorite Trek writer is Diane Carey. I've read a few of her TNG books. But Dominion War Book 2 wasn't the best she's done. I didn't enjoy this novel as much as DW Book 1 and 3 by John Vornholt. Maybe it's the fact that I don't like DS9 as much as TNG, or maybe it's because it was a novelization. Novelizations are okay, but real imagination comes out in original novels.Better luck next time, Carey!
Rating:
Summary: Retells TV shows, but still interesting
Review: One thing I didn't know when I set out to read this book was that it retold the stories of several episodes, however some were told from points of view not seen in the show. I found those quirks interesting, but I was looking for an original story when I sat down to read it. Overall, it was an interesting read.
Rating:
Summary: Location Shift
Review: Regardless of the photo this review appears under, these comments are for, "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Dominion War #2: Call To Arms". I mention this as some reviews are appearing under books they do not describe. Book #1 was centered primarily on the players of The Next Generation as well as reuniting some long absent but familiar characters. The groups were split to pursue a variety of missions and overall the book was very good. This second installment shifts to Deep Space 9, but shifts again to the players of that space station as they too disperse to pursue their own missions against The Dominion. And also like their counterparts in the first book the traditional Starfleet rules and conduct begin to be bent and disposed of as senior officers decide there are so few of them left that they must either request, coerce, or even take control when the admirals at the rear do little more than send Starfleet Armadas out to be disposed of to limp back to port as barely functioning trash. And those that do come back are a small fraction of those that set out. All of these books present smaller storylines that can often be of great interest and this book is no exception. Both Captain Cisco and Commander Worf are dealing with sons that are no longer children, Cisco with a son that has made a decision to go off on his own to a very hazardous situation, and Alexander who now serves on the same ship as his father. The issues each father deals with are different, but we learn more about each of them, especially Worf. Worf's Captain also plays a key role as a grandfatherly type of Klingon, if you can imagine such a being for a moment. The Dominion and its presumed destruction is not going to come at the hands of a single familiar captain or ship, and this second book lays the groundwork for the variety of individuals and races that will make alliances out of choice or necessity as the situation requires. Like other books that fall in the middle of a multiple book cycle this is not as strong as the first, but I rate it just as highly as book #1. I think these have to be judged as a series, and in that light The Dominion War is well worth reading. I have completed the first two and am now well in to #3. These books will not disappoint Star Trek Fans.
Rating:
Summary: novelization of 6th season episodes
Review: Starting with the occupation of Terrok Nor (Deep Space 9), this book just breezes through the highlights of the whole season. There is very little in here that was not on our tv screens, and there was little need for me to spend the money. I expected an original story set during the Dominion conflict like book one. I was dissappointed!
Rating: 
Summary: Goes beyond being a novelization
Review: The book grabs and makes you feel like the episodes of the show, and it doesn;t feel at any way a novelization, i love how it went in to detail about the emotional states of the crew, and the seemlessly blending of episodes i really like this book, i stay compelled to read all the way through , even though i have seen the episodes on tv , and still the writers has twists that go in between the episodes youll have to read to find out. ...
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money on the TNG books!!!!!!!!
Review: The two TNG books in this series were pathetic, so I dearly hoped that the Deep Space 9 books would be better. Boy was I right!!!! Not only does this tell the story of how the Federation were fighting to re-claim DS9, but it also gives information that wasn't seen in the shows. The Dominion War doesn't fit in with TNG's sugar-coated universe, so don't even think of buying those!!!! Buy this one!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Not fabulous but still good
Review: This almost excellent book starts out great, but after about halfway it starts getting boring. Most of it takes place on a planet with Jem'Hadar, and even though the author tried to make it interesting, it somehow just drags on and on, especially since the reader KNOWS that Sisko & co will survive anyway. The beginning, though, really deserves credit, because it gives the book a real atmosphere of gloom and inevitability about the Federation's defeat in the Dominion War. Despite the shortcomings of the second half, I would still wholeheartedly recommend this book to any Star Trek reader, Deep Space Nine fan or not. Compared with other three Dominion War books, I'd say it is on par if not higher than most of the others.
Rating:
Summary: Great!!!
Review: This book captures the excitement of the episodes leading up to the retaking of DS9 in " operation return." Following Sisko's fleet maneuvers and Kira's resistance cell on the station, this book is as exciting as the three books in the series which have come before!
|
