Books: Star Trek Deep Space Nine Re-launch

I'm about to make a plug for some books I really enjoy reading, something I tend to do when I know I've got an audience who like Star Trek, especially Deep Space Nine. So if you're not a DS9 fan or if you've heard me mention these books again, feel free to skip this post. But if you're interested in fun, humorous, and well written stories that maintain continuity, then read on...


I don't know what your experience with Star Trek books, but if you're like me you've read more than one and formed your own opinions of them. For me I read them a lot after TNG first aired, but eventually gave up on most of them. Surprisingly, one of the few books I read after I gave up on most of the other books, was "Ashes of Eden" which was "written" by William Shatner (with help from Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens). This was followed up by Shatner's (or as I like to think... the Reeves-Stevens') books such as "The Return" and "Avenger" among others. Part of what I liked about these books was that there was a continuity between them, as well as the fact that they used a lot of established Trek plots and characters in an interesting way. But even then, the books were linked to themselves only and had no connections in any of the other Trek books.

Then in 2001 I read the "Avatar" duology and realized that Pocket Books was finally getting it. Here was the beginning of a Trek book series that had continuity and was based on the TV show, continuing the story as if it was the 8th season. Then came "Abyss" and the characters were developed even further. Characters from the show were properly developed and they seemed like the characters from the show, not a different character with the same name. Next came "Demons of Air and Darkness" which was a part of PB's crossover among their Trek books, "Gateways." Characters from the DS9 book were shown to be in the same meeting as Captain Calhoun and Captain Shelby from the New Frontier books and the entire storyline wrapped up with characters from TNG, New Frontier, and DS9 books interacting.

Meaning, of course, that the characters featured in the DS9 books were "established." In addition, one character, Commander Vaughn (the 100 year old former Starfleet Intelligence officer) was a major character in the TNG book "The Battle for Betazed" which took place during the Dominion War.

The latest Trek books has been the 4-issue mini-series "Mission Gamma" and the Jake Sisko story "Rising Son." All five of these books served to further the story and set up the 10th Anniversary book "Unity" which is the next book in the series, due out in November.

Currently characters from the DS9 re-launch can be found in the Star Trek: The Lost Years books, specifically Admiral Akaar (who first appeared in the book in the Mission Gamma storyline and was also seen in the TOS episode "Friday's Child") who appeared in the first Lost Years book, "The Sundered" featuring Sulu on the Excelsior. Vaughn appeared in the second book, "Serpents Among the Ruins," which features a story about the Enterprise-B 17 years after it's maiden voyage (as seen in "Generations").

In addition to these books, there are three additional books that came out before the re-launch, but are referenced in the later books and they are "The 34th Rule," "The Lives of Dax," and "A Stitch in Time."

All of these books (well I haven't read "Battle for Betazed") are very well written and in addition they have everything I wanted the earlier Trek books to have.

And what's more, they also answer a lot of fanboy questions, that fans have been asking for years.

Go read them!