I read Sacraments of Fire and Ascendance in the past year. Some parts are satisfying, and the books held my interest well enough. Overall, though, I'd have to say it's about a three stars out of five conclusion. There are some good stories told after Unity, but that is the best ending to the story started in the Avatar duology.
DS9 Relaunch Appreciation
- Thread starter Arpy
- Start date
Yeah, I really liked what they did on the DS9 relaunch.
It was also interesting to read at the same time as Star Wars' New Jedi Order, which set that book line on the road to stories that always burnt down whatever their predecessor did.
The DS9 Relaunch, for me, took more calculated risks, with an eye towards sustainability.
It was also an intriguing demonstration of hiw continuity without canon status can work very, very well.
It was also interesting to read at the same time as Star Wars' New Jedi Order, which set that book line on the road to stories that always burnt down whatever their predecessor did.
The DS9 Relaunch, for me, took more calculated risks, with an eye towards sustainability.
It was also an intriguing demonstration of hiw continuity without canon status can work very, very well.
I’m close to the end of Avatar Book 2, and my appreciation has just jumped up another couple notches.
I started reading science fiction when I was, maybe, 10. I was looking for more of what I got from watching Star Trek as a 6 year old (because that’s how old I was when Trek premiered) but Star Trek was dead, and I wouldn’t even see reruns in the TV market I lived in for another couple years.
Some time later, I learned there was a name for that thing I got from Trek. It”s called Sense of Wonder. It’s when it feels like my brain is going into overdrive because of the implications of what I’m watching or reading. Today I realize it’s an emotion called Elevation, a peculiar cocktail of brain chemicals triggered by, well, I don’t know exactly what. But it’s the same sensation I used to get from the religion of my upbringing (before I discovered the foundational myths of that religion were all lies) or the sensation I get from certain music.
As a jaded old man, my ability to access Elevation, to access Sense of Wonder, has dimmed. Maybe I keep watching new Star Trek in the hopeless hope that I might feel Sense of Wonder again. A hope almost never realized.
But S.D. Perry has managed to make me feel Sense of Wonder several times over the course of the Avatar duology. It impressed when I read the just-published paperbacks 25 years ago, and it’s entirely possible it impresses me even more today. It’s quite brilliant.
I started reading science fiction when I was, maybe, 10. I was looking for more of what I got from watching Star Trek as a 6 year old (because that’s how old I was when Trek premiered) but Star Trek was dead, and I wouldn’t even see reruns in the TV market I lived in for another couple years.
Some time later, I learned there was a name for that thing I got from Trek. It”s called Sense of Wonder. It’s when it feels like my brain is going into overdrive because of the implications of what I’m watching or reading. Today I realize it’s an emotion called Elevation, a peculiar cocktail of brain chemicals triggered by, well, I don’t know exactly what. But it’s the same sensation I used to get from the religion of my upbringing (before I discovered the foundational myths of that religion were all lies) or the sensation I get from certain music.
As a jaded old man, my ability to access Elevation, to access Sense of Wonder, has dimmed. Maybe I keep watching new Star Trek in the hopeless hope that I might feel Sense of Wonder again. A hope almost never realized.
But S.D. Perry has managed to make me feel Sense of Wonder several times over the course of the Avatar duology. It impressed when I read the just-published paperbacks 25 years ago, and it’s entirely possible it impresses me even more today. It’s quite brilliant.
Coda may be depressing overall, but the DS9 book in it is fantastic, IMO. Watching these characters fight until the end like heroes is such a great way to go out. Unofficially, I look at the Coda trilogy as season 10 of DS9.
Avatar-Unity: Season 8
Rest of the books: Season 9
Coda: Season 10.
I really didn't agree with a lot of the changes that were made after the time jump, especially what they did with Sisko and Kira. They also got rid of a lot of the earlier books best characters and replaced them with a bunch of characters who made no real impact on me.
I think the thing that really pissed me off about what they did with Sisko was that Avery Brooks specifically requested that they ended the show with the line about Sisko coming back because he didn't want Sisko the leave his family forever, and then the books went and had him leave his family. I know they didn't have to stick what Brooks wanted, and I understand what David R. George III was trying to do with that storyline, but I still think it was a huge mistake.
And I know Kira was always religious, but I just never really saw as the type to go full on Vedek.
The only good change the post time jump books made was promoting Ro to Captain.
I think the thing that really pissed me off about what they did with Sisko was that Avery Brooks specifically requested that they ended the show with the line about Sisko coming back because he didn't want Sisko the leave his family forever, and then the books went and had him leave his family. I know they didn't have to stick what Brooks wanted, and I understand what David R. George III was trying to do with that storyline, but I still think it was a huge mistake.
And I know Kira was always religious, but I just never really saw as the type to go full on Vedek.
The only good change the post time jump books made was promoting Ro to Captain.
