DS9: The Never Ending Sacrifice

[altariel]

Pocket Books announced their upcoming Star Trek schedule at Shore Leave last weekend, and if you scroll right down that page to September 2009, you'll see my name attached to a forthcoming DS9 novel called The Never Ending Sacrifice: "Continuation of the post-TV DS9 saga with emphasis on the Cardassians."

The Never Ending Sacrifice is the title of a book that Garak called "the finest Cardassian novel ever written". I'd better not disappoint.

In the meantime, you can read me coming across as grumpy in an interview with SFX about franchise fiction and shared universes.

Comments

[stultiloquentia.livejournal.com]

Ooh. My roommate has been doing her best to lure me into DS9, but as per usual, I suspect I'll eventually be lured in via the kitchen door -- i.e. by fan writers such as you. Awesome interview, IMO.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's such a great show! The earlier seasons have a reputation for being slow and talky, but that's the kind of thing I like. It's the darkest Trek, more world-weary, less idealistic - or, perhaps, less naively idealistic. It thinks very hard about religion and colonialism and war, and while doesn't always get it right, it does try.

Received wisdom is that it doesn't take off until season 4 (when Worf comes over from TNG). While it's true that that's when the story arc really starts to gather pace, I think the earlier seasons contain some real gems. Those seasons focus on the situation on Bajor, after the end of the Cardassian occupation, as it tries to put itself together again.

Because there's much more story arc than in the other Trek series, DS9 is also able to develop strong narratives for the characters: not just the main crew, but for some of the recurring characters, who have some great stories (sufficiently detailed to intrigue the fan writer, but sufficiently sketchy that she can get her into teeth into them!)

If you want a list of episodes to try, let me know and I'll do a top ten, or something like that.