World Famous Comics: Olivia Woods Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Fearful Symmetry (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Olivia Woods Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Fearful Symmetry (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
By: Olivia Woods Publisher: Star Trek Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Star Trek Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 320 Publication Date: June 24, 2008
Product Description: In our universe, a Cardassian sleeper agent--Iliana Ghemor--was once surgically altered to resemble and replace resistance fighter Kira Nerys, future Starfleet captain and hero of the planet Bajor's liberation. That plan never reached fruition, and the fate of the agent remained unknown...until now.
Robbed of the past sixteen years, Iliana Ghemor is back with a vengeance. Over a decade and a half of imprisonment and abuse by her former masters has brought her to the brink of madness, sustained only by the twisted belief that she is, in fact, the real Kira Nerys. She has already made one near-successful attempt on the real Kira's life, but instead of assuming the identity of the woman she was intended to replace, Ghemor has set her sights on the most unexpected target of all: Kira's other double, the malicious Intendent, Bajor's iron-fisted ruler in the alternate reality commonly known as the "Mirror Universe." But far more is unfolding in the Mirror Universe than Ghemor realizes, and the heroes of Deep Space Nine somehow must stop the false Kira without derailing the delicate flow of history that must unfold if both universes, and countless others, are to survive.
Parallel stories set in both universes reflect and build upon each other in this Two-in-One "Flip Book," the continuation of both the ongoing DS9 saga as well as the Mirror Universe line of books.
Wasted time and money I'm sorry, but I would have to agree with some other readers on the fact that this book was a waste. I dislike cliff hangers, and I dislike them more when nothing is resolved in the next book. The background of the two characters could have been summed up in a few pages. There was no forward motion. I'm left in the same spot I was after Warpath. Just skip this one and wait til next year. You won't miss anything.
Cool Book My husband wanted this book, so I looked for it, ordered it, and got it within the week. The covers looks amazing. He hasn't started reading it yet, but I know he can't wait.
Solid Story The good - I really enjoyed the writing. I'm not familiar with Olivia Woods, but I thought she had a pretty good handle on the characters and the story flowed fairly well.
Part one followed up nicely on the events in Warpath, but as others have noted, the story is much too short. I wanted more.
Part two follows Iliana Ghemor's journey from artist to member of the Obsidian Order to Kira's replacement. This part of the book has a major hurdle to overcome, because as other reviewers have noted, most of us want more of the main story, not Iliana's origin. So it was hard to start this side without a negative attitude, but the more I got into the story, the more I enjoyed it. It's a good look at the cruelty of Dukat and why Iliana wasn't subsituted for Kira (although that is actually also answered in the first part, but explored in more detail here). It's also a good behind the scenes look at Cardassian policies and politics.
The Bad: It's been a long wait to only get 130 pages or so of the main story. And according to the psiphiboards, it will be a long wait until we get the follow up novels "The Soul Key" and "The Never-Ending Sacrifice," which won't come out until August and September 2009.
Overall: Short, but good, and a must read if you're a fan of the DS9 novels.
Aptly titled Years after Kira's surgical alteration by the Obsidian Order to resemble Iliana Ghemor, the implications of that mission resurface as Iliana is back, but there are two identities conflicting in her. Likewise, Kira's Mirror universe counterpart is dead thanks to Iliana, and the Mirror Iliana has crossed over to stop her. The undercover mission that Iliana was initiated, but something went tragically wrong. Something that only becomes apparent after reading Fearful Symmetry.
It was worth the wait and far too compelling at times to put down.
Plenty to offer In my opinion, the negative reviews this book is getting are based solely on the fact that it didn't give people what they wanted. They expected Fearful Symmetry to continue the action of Warpath, to provide confrontation and lots of plot twists. I can see why they're disappointed, but I also think there's a ton of great stuff going on with this book. Keep an open mind, and you'll enjoy it.
Where Warpath was all about action and drama, Fearful Symmetry slows down and really lets the characters shine. Sisko's scene at the beginning of side 1 gives the purpose in a nutshell: to look at the possibilities and paths things might take. All of the characters get their screen time, even the minor ones. Olivia Woods has them all down pat, and does an excellent job of making you want to know what happens to them next. I'm sad that I have to wait another year for The Soul Key and The Never Ending Sacrifice (August and September 2009), but now I want to read them more than ever.
As for Iliana's story, yes, it's brutal. But it's not graphic...Woods doesn't get into detail for the brutal parts. What she does achieve, however, is to make Iliana Ghemor into a deep, sympathetic villain. I almost find myself rooting for her after reading her story. And the way the two sides of the flipbook intersect is brilliant. Just make sure you read side 1 first.
I would give the book five stars if it were longer. If Pocketbooks were serious about keeping these stories going, they should get them out more often. Otherwise, they're going to lose readers who are tired of waiting.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
