Publication Date:November 1, 2002 Availability:Usually ships in 1-2 business days Shipping:Expedited shipping available Shipping:International shipping available Condition:Select standard mail but book will be mailed FIRST CLASS at no extra cost.
Product Description A four-book odyssey of space exploration, political intrigue, religious schism, deadly conspiracies and startling revelations, this is Deep Space Nine at its best. Following the shocking death of a recurring Deep Space Nine character from the television series, the space station erupts into chaos as a tenuous political alliance -- established at great cost after years of bitter conflict -- unravels in the midst of the hunt for the killer. Elsewhere, the commander of the Starship Defiant faces the ghosts of his past as he makes a dangerous attempt to set right the tragedy that years ago cost him the love of his life.
Excellent story.November 30, 2008 James Yanni(Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo. USA) Probably the best in the "Mission Gamma" four-book series, this book does a very good job of tying up some loose ends from the previous three, and if it doesn't quite tie up all the loose ends from all of the subplots, it does an acceptable job of it, leaving just enough open to keep the ongoing story open.
Some spoilersMarch 3, 2006 Stargazer_1682 I thought the story was good and certainly advanced much of the stories going on. The only problem with it, was it seemed rushed. When I picked this book up at the library, the first thing I noticed was how thin it was compared to all the others in the re-launch; or even most Star Trek books in general, for that matter. Some books can be said to just be spinning their wheels just to fill the pages; but this one, I think, could have stood a little more time developing and expanding on some of the stories. In particular, the Defiant encountering the Borg, could have been more of an issue. I found the fact that the only Borg still alive, even if only barely, was Prynn's mother a bit contrived. When Vaughn admitted that it was too much of a coincidence, and was going to confront whoever was behind it; I thought there was going to be a more richer plot twist than him confronting his daughter and her admitting to having been looking for her and her unique transponder all these years. I would have thought it better if it turned out to be more insidious and that the Borg wanted the Defiant to find her; however that plot would have played out. I found the paresite story interesting, especially it's connection to Trill. I always wonder what brainchild on their planet actually experimented with putting a cave dwelling slug (for all intents and purposes) into their abdomen, only to discover it was a merging of minds. Now I kind of wonder if the paresites taking over a host might have been a precursor and how all of that might have played out. In retrospect, alot of it adds up; especially Dax's sequence near the end of Cathedral and it's big scary monster. But there seemed to me, the execution and reveal of that tidbit was off somehow. Maybe the fact that it was used more as a shocking twist than a information disseminated through out the books. Peppering more and more, (at least, more than they did) might have made that aspect of the story better, somehow. Still enjoyed it and the whole series though. I guess I'm just dissappointed this particular book ended so quickly.
the plot thickensFebruary 16, 2005 Haseeb(Tempe, AZ United States) This is the last of the mission gamma books but only the beginning of some very interesting ramifications and story lines. The book is rather short (266 pages) but is by no means shallow and simple.
Mission Gamma book four ties in excellently with what happened at the end of book three of the Mission Gamma series. What happened at the end of book three was puzzling but now we know why there was an assassination and who did it makes sense as well. The whole plot doesn't stop there however. The assassination and its ramifications could very well lead to a planetary war.
Meanwhile, on the Defiant the crew stumbles on a startling discovery and run into three unexpected visitors two of whom are very well known.
Back on earth, O'brian makes a surprise visit to Joseph Sisko and we meet Benjamen's sister for the first time.
Just one problem I have is that the cover of this book is somewhat misleading. The women in the foreground is Ro Laren Chief of security of Deep Space Nine. Behind Ro to her right is Kassidy Yates, Captiain Sisko's wife who is now living on Bajor. The other black woman behind Ro is unknown. Since she's wearing a Starfleet uniform I'm assuming she's the station's acting counselor who filled Dax's position while she went on the Gamma Mission. The Jemhadar behind this unknown woman is taranatar who is on a mission of peace to observe humanity. With the exception on Ro Lauren, none of these people play a significant part of the story.
The Mission Gamma series ends...oh, did it really end?August 27, 2004 David Roy(Vancouver, BC) 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Robert Simpson's Lesser Evil brings Deep Space Nine's "Mission Gamma" miniseries to a close, in a sense, but unfortunately it's more like a placeholder for the hardcover Unity then it is a culmination of the story itself. The book is incredibly short (the previous three books clocked in at over 400 pages while Lesser Evil is a measly 266. It continues the Bajoran political story and has a minor story that ties the entire Gamma Quadrant story together in a rather perfunctory fashion. I was mildly disappointed with it.
Simpson packs a lot into a very tiny package, and I think it suffers for it a bit. The Borg storyline feels incredibly simple, and while I enjoyed reading about Vaughn and his daughter's reaction to what they find, it all seemed to end almost as soon as it began. The situation down on the planet where they find the Borg is over quickly and it seems like it was there only to set up the conclusion of the book that leads into Rising Son. It's certainly not that interesting by itself. The only thing that saves this story at all is the strong characterization of Vaughn and finding out more about why he came to Deep Space Nine and the orb vision that sparked his decision. While we have known that the conflict with his daughter was because of what happened to his wife, we never knew exactly what did happen to her. That was neat to see. I just think it called for a bit more story than we actually received.
Once again, the Bajoran story is the highlight of the book. We finally learn the secret behind what's been happening for the last three books, and it's a doozy. Of course, as I've said, I already knew it, but I didn't know the details. When I discovered them, it was still a bit of a shock. The sequence where Kira has to try and regain control of the ship is riveting, and it's full of even more twists and turns. In hindsight, one of the twists is obvious, but I admit that I was fooled. Unfortunately, the climax of this story (or should I say this part of the story, since it does continue in Unity) reads very much like the concluding scene of the episode that introduced this villain (and I won't say which one as that will, obviously reveal who it is). It would have been nice to see a little more originality. Thankfully, Simpson nails Kira's characterization, and he also does a good job with the crew of the Gryphon. Kira shows the battle smarts that got her through the Occupation when she has to come up with a way to keep the other ships on her side from firing on them. It makes wonderful use of continuity and it's little dashes like this that give me hope for the Star Trek books.
The main problem with the book is that it just seems to be treading water waiting for the first hardcover of the new Deep Space Nine series. At the end of Cathedral, the whole Joseph Sisko problem was introduced, and this story spends a lot of time with him as he's slowly coming to terms with what's happened to his son and grandson. It brings back some familiar faces, which is nice, and the story is very sweet. The characterization of Joseph is great, as is the characterization of the guests. So while it gave me a pleasurable feeling, I couldn't help the feeling that it was all just included to get Joseph to Deep Space Nine for Unity.
Thus, the "Mission Gamma" series comes to an end, not with a blast, but with a "to be continued." However, the series itself can still be judged, as the Gamma Quadrant portion of the story is over. Ultimately, I found the Gamma Quadrant stories to be weaker in all four books. Some of that may be my interest in Bajoran politics taking precedence, but I think part of it is also my feeling that the stories just weren't that substantial. I realize that the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant was to be more of an exploration of the characters who went on the mission, but does that mean that we couldn't be given any interesting external elements? The only interesting species were the Yrythny in This Gray Spirit, and we weren't given any good characters within that species to really make us sit up and take notice.
The series itself was quite good, just not as good as it could have been, saved by the Bajoran political angle. Unfortunately, Lesser Evil ends the series on a bit of a fizzle, forcing us to look to the intriguing Unity to bring it out of its doldrums.
David Roy
Good Conclusion to ST: DS9 Mission Gamma seriesDecember 29, 2003 John Kwok(New York, NY USA) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
After being hooked by the second and third installments in this series, I was determined to read "Lesser Evil", the concluding installment. Although it is not nearly as densely written as the previous books, it does have its own share of surprises. Commander Elias Vaughn and the crew of USS Defiant stumble upon the wreckage of a Dominion warship and its pursuer, bringing back unexpected memories of a disastrous mission led by Vaughn years before. Colonel Kira Nerys resumes her Starfleet commission, joining forces with Starfleet in search of a cloaked ship and a Trill assassin heading back to his homeworld. Or does he? The search leads to the discovery of a conspiracy first unmasked by Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise years before. And Lieutenant Ro Laren must come to grips with the assassination of one of Bajor's most important politicians during the ceremony celebrating Bajor's admission into the United Federation of Planets. Last, but not least, in a surprising conclusion, one of the major characters from "Star Trek Deep Space Nine" returns, bringing with him an exiled Bajoran religious leader.
