DS9: The Soul Key review
Well, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be but it really wasn't all that great either. Certainly better than Fearful Symmetry though. The thing with FS was that I had anticipated it for so long and had such high expectations for it and all of that fell unceremoniously flat. The story didn't go the direction I had been hoping but the way the story was told was what really got to me. It was boring and kind of confusing and I was just sort of "whaaat?" afterward. So that's why I wasn't exactly leaping with enthusiasm over The Soul Key.
But it turned out okay, the story wasn't so much as bad this time as it was the writing. I just don't like the author's writing style, it's awful. Not Barbara Hambly *shudders* sort of awful but fanfiction.net sort of awful. It just annoys me, I think I've come to expect quality writing from certain fandoms and after books by the likes of S.D. Perry (my favorite DS9 author), David R. George III & Keith R.A. DeCandido these just didn't measure up in my mind.
One thing that realllllly annoyed me in TSK was the way the Defiant was referred to. Defiant is a noun, the is an article and they neeeeed to go together. They crave it, they love it and it makes them sad when they're not together. And it makes me annoyed. Like for instance these, only two of many examples that I could have chosen (quoted directly from the book):
Defiant dived on approach, corkscrewing as she passed below the Negh'Var's command pod, putting her ventral hull toward that of her adversary.
OR
Rahim turned to look at Dax with eyes like deflector dishes. "It's Defiant!"
Seeee, the the neeeeds to be there. Seriously! Maybe I'm wrong and need to relearn some grammar rules but anyone can see that just doesn't even sound right. Negh'Var got a the before it... why didn't Defiant? *rages*
Anyway, enough complaining about the writing and I'll also not go on about how the cover art leaves much to be desired but rather get to the meat and potatoes of it...
Quick time-line of events going back from Warpath:
Taran'atar (the Jem'Hadar sent to live on the station by Odo) viciously attacks Kira & Ro leaving them both near death as he escapes the station en route to the mirror universe seemingly under the control of Intendant Kira. But he's really being manipulated and mind-controlled by Iliana Ghemor who has gone insane after having been altered to look and have the memories of Kira and held captive by Dukat until the final battle during the Dominion War.
Iliana learns of the mirror universe and mind-controls Taran'atar into killing Intendant Kira so that she can take her place and eventually discover the wormhole and become emissary in the mirror universe. Also struggling with her identity and who she really is, she vows to kill every Kira in every universe because she believes she is the only one who should be able to wear that face and have that name.
Meanwhile, the Iliana Ghemor of the mirror universe discovers what's happening and tries to help the real Kira & Co. stop Insane!Illiana/Kira from carrying out her plans.
Okay, so there's three Kira's and this is how I keep them separated:
Kira = the real Kira
Insane!Illiana/Kira = Illiana from our universe, gone insane
Alt!Illiana/Kira = Illiana from the mirror universe, not insane
Confusing, no?
Alright, so after half the book basically recapped the books before it (which I really didn't mind, it has been a couple years lol) Kira & Elias Vaughn (Kira's first officer) go to the MU to find and stop Insane!Illiana/Kira. Taran'atar, with the help of dead!Intendant Kira's Vulcan handmaiden was able to break the mind-control that Insane!Illiana/Kira had over him and helps Kira & Vaughn escape after they were captured.
But Kira, Insane!Illiana/Kira & Alt!Illiana/Kira fall into the wormhole and have a chat with the Prophets. Kira already knows she's their "Hand" (after previously having an encounter with them while nearly dieing at the hands of Taran'atar) and that it is she who will be the one to stand in defense of the Temple against the Ascendants. (The Ascendants being a race of religious zealots intent on destroying anyone and everyone who don't see things their way basically. Especially those who worship the Prophets like the Bajorans & Eav'oq.) Insane!Illiana/Kira pleads for her life back to which she's told she is to be their "Fire" and is whisked away. Alt!Illiana/Kira is told that she is to be their "Voice" and finally accepts (what she has known all along) her role - that she is to be the emissary in place of Sisko who was killed and is now Cardassian in appearance again. Kira is beamed back to the Defiant and everyone goes home. Later an Ascendant meets a Cardassian calling herself "The Fire".
Random thoughts:
- I didn't realize that Alt!Illiana/Kira looked like Kira until the end of TSK. I assumed she was still her Cardassian self (I also don't remember a reference stating she looked like Kira) because in the mirror universe, why would there have been a need for the Obsidian Order to have her altered and be a sleeper agent on Bajor? I would have thought at that time Bajor was already an ally of the Klingon-Cardassian alliance though the need/desire for inside information might have been the reason.
- Winn Adami and Jaro Essa, alive and married in the MU made me chuckle.
- Sisko tricks Elias Vaughn into going to the MU where Elias puts his other self out of his dying misery and later punches Sisko in the face for it. Oops.
- What I really liked was the bit at the end when Kira gave Taran'atar the choice of what to do with his life and let him go. (Taran'atar chooses to return to the Gamma Quadrant to be punished for his weaknesses when he intercepts a distress call and makes a decision to investigate it.) I really liked their conversation and that Kira set him free, not just free from the station but free to make his own decisions and choices for his life.
I've always liked Taran'atar and the relationship he had with Kira which was built upon the mutual trust they both had in Odo so I found this particular part, especially after what he had done to Kira & Ro to be quite significant. As for Ro, Taran'atar left her a note apologizing which was in itself I find to be quite interesting. A Jem'Hadar soldier apologizing or feeling remorse for something he had done. Interesting indeed.
- I'm very interested in what's going to happen with the Ascendants which is the storyline I thought was going to continue in FS. I guess it is being continued now that the two Illiana's have been sorted and established as a part of that. It was just sort of confusing getting to that point lol.
David Mack did a fantastic job with Warpath describing what was going on in our universe, the MU and in Kira's visions of ancient Bajor while with the Prophets. Olivia Woods doesn't do such a good job with things like that and it makes my brain hurt.
Still, the book wasn't that bad and reading it has made me remember just how much I miss this show and these characters. The next book The Never Ending Sacrifice is supposed to be about Rugal, the orphaned Cardassian who was raised by Bajorans. Though it doesn't sound like it'll have much to do with this storyline. There's also a set of four books slated after that called The Typhon Pact but I'm not sure what that's all about either. From what little I've read it about it, it looks like it will be continuing on after the Destiny series. Not sure when the next DS9 book along this storyline is to be :/
Wow, that all sort of got away from me didn't it? Kudos to anyone who reads it all for sure! LOL.