Title: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Mission: Gamma This Gray Spirit, Book Two of Four
Author: Heather Jarman
ISBN: 0-7434-4562-7
Reveiew by Jacqueline Bundy
This Gray Spirit has you grinning before the end of the third page and leaves you sighing with contentment at the end. And in between comes the good stuff. Heather Jarman has produced a story that is both tension filled and charming. It is an impressive debut for this talented new author.
The second title of four in the Mission: Gamma saga, This Gray Spirit is shorter than the first novel at almost 400 pages. But length has nothing to do with a good story and the page count is more than sufficient for Ms. Jarman to tell a very captivating tale. I will warn you now that this review does contain spoilers for the first Mission: Gamma title Twilight.
As the Defiant continues its exploration of the Gamma Quadrant the ship suddenly finds itself in serious trouble. They have unintentionally passed through an extremely unusual weapon, a kind of snare in space that attacks the ships power sources. When a nearby vessel offers aid, Commander Vaughn has few reasonable alternatives and must rely on the kindness of strangers. When they arrive on the home world of their benefactors, the Yrythny, the crew of the Defiant finds an extremely troubled society.
Meanwhile, on Deep Space Nine, the preparations for Bajor’s admission to the Federation are continuing when a Cardassian delegation pays an unexpected visit. Led by Ambassador Natima Lang the timing of the visit is not ideal politically for the Bajoran government, or personally for Quark who has been pursuing a relationship with Ro Lauren. To complicate matters further one of Ensign ch’Thane’s bond mates has begun to unravel.
As the story unfolds in the both the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants This Gray Spirit is filled with little touches that elevate the novel from excellent to outstanding and keep the narrative from becoming too heavy and dark. The crew of the Defiant passing around the Klingon bodice ripper “Burning Hearts of Qo’nos!” is the first example that comes to mind. Humor, especially subtle humor, in a novel can be tricky to pull off, but Heather Jarman manages quite skillfully to do so.
The characterizations for the most part are excellent, but there are moments when it’s just a bit off. One or two of the scenes seem stilted. The new character of Commander Matthias as station counselor is a wonderful addition to the already large ‘cast’ of regular and recurring characters that populate the post-finale novels.
Overall tone of the story compliments book one very nicely and despite being penned by different authors both stories flow together very well. This Gray Spirit enchants and beguiles the reader with an interesting and fast moving plot that leaves you wanting more. Based on what I’ve read of Mission: Gamma so far, I for one can’t wait.
Other Reviews by Jackie 'MsFerengi'Bundy
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