As the fifth installment in the Gateways series, you would expect the Gateways to play a bigger part of the story. While they are present, they really serve as the MacGuffin to a classic Voyager tale.
This book continues the Gateways saga as a part of the Deep Space Nine relaunch (i.e., post-series) storyline. It does one better than the other, but it is still a fantastic book.
This book follows five loosely-connected stories. The connection – a simple DNA test can tell you who your perfect match is.
I love it when a tie-in author understands the assignment. James Swallow always seems to and this book is no exception.
Want to hear my thoughts on this book? Listen to Literary Treks episode 386.
Want to hear my thoughts on this book? Listen to Literary Treks episode 385.
The start of a big Star Trek crossover series of novels always has a big lift. In this case, the author has to take a concept created by two other people, create an original Star Trek story, end on a big cliffhanger, and set the stage for six additional original novels (plus a short story collection). This book does some of it well and other parts… just okay.
If you’re familiar with Pandora’s Box, then you know this Greek myth is about Pandora, the first woman created by the gods, who was given a box by Zeus, with strict instructions never to open it. Apparently all religions see women as complete morons, so of course out of sheer curiosity, she opens it. Hey, you would have done the same! Anyway, she releases all the evils of the world (sickness, death, and suffering), but quickly closes the jar. However, what didn’t escape, what was left in the jar, was hope. I had hope this book would be good. When I opened it, it wasn’t evil that escaped; but what did escape was… a LOT!
“Don’t worry about that chair with a hole in the middle. It’s merely waiting to be reupholstered.” – La Chiffre, Casino Royale (1967 film)
I’m not exactly sure this qualifies as a meet-cute, but it is a beautiful story. Also a little weird that my first romance read is set in the Holocaust…