The Missing (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

I thought this was a fairly good novel. It continues the current plot lines seen in the post-Typhon Pact arc, and follows up on events that were in the "The Fall' series.Very good writing and focus on female leads in the series: Ro, Beverly Crusher, Pulaski and some additional female leads. Odo and other main characters were also in the novel, but it was more focused on the events as experienced by the three women.I was extremely disappointed in what's a very PC thing of white European male bashing that people seem to do; I understand men have been the focus of much of Star Trek, however the readers of this novel, and ESPECIALLY the author, should understand that not only had the three main characters of the book (Ro, Crusher, Pulaski) been brought to life by skilled actresses, but the creators/writers of those characters could also have been *gasp* MEN. The horror!Sure, it could be said that ST hasn't been as racially inclusive as it could be...and as an author, you CAN REMEDY THAT, not beat your reader over the head with that fact. Acknowledge the oversights of the past, and move on from there to build something better.Also, the novel suffers from the deus ex alien-of-the-week syndrome, and re-cooks some storylines from TNG/DS9 regarding POWs (no spoilers) that have been done before. It does mix these up differently, but some of the events seemed out-of-place or not really well described as they could've been.All in all, worth the price of your purchase, especially if you're following the ongoing stories of these characters in the Star Trek universe.

The most important thing you need to know is that this is a very intricate, carefully woven story. It can get a little confusing at times. The storyline centers around DS9, Captain Ro, chief of security Blackmer, acting CMO Beverly Crusher, and a visiting old friend Odo. A newly commissioned science ship called the Athene Donald stops off on its way out to explore, one of the main crew members being Dr. Pulaski.Each chapter begins with an excerpt from Captain Picard's personal log (although he really doesn't appear in the story). It sounds more like a memoir than anything, many chapters talking about first contact situations, and what he talks about foreshadows what happens in each chapter. A new species visits DS9, a ragtag group of aliens called the People of the Open Sky. They arrive complete with an enormous amount of unruly children who quickly overrun the station.Two other sub plots revolve around an intelligence officer named Alden who is traveling with a Tzenkethi named Corazame he escaped their homeworld with, and the other around a Cardassian woman trying to find out what happened to her son who was captured on the Romulan front during the Dominion War. Odo is on the station to help her, he contacts castellan Garak and a lot of behind-the-scenes political maneuvering begins. Alden gets himself invited aboard the Athene Donald as an observer, much to the chagrin of Pulaski.Meanwhile the Athene Donald is accosted by a giant black ship. These people call themselves the Chain and are remarkably similar to the People of the Open Sky. They learn that they are on DS9 and demand they be handed over to them. They are technologically advanced and a notably joyless species, seeming bored with their interactions with the Federation.There is a break-in at Crusher's office, a murder of one of the People, and riots outside the Romulan embassy on DS9. The Tzenkethi Corazame is blamed and then cleared. The real culprit turns out to be a member of the Chain who infiltrated the People. The Cardassian woman is reunited with her son, who had married a Romulan woman and that was supposedly why everything had to be kept hush-hush. The intelligence officer resigns to join the crew of the Athene Donald as a xenolinguist or something. Corazame ends up leaving with the People.This is a good book, entertaining but a bit thorough at times. The book centers a lot on Crusher and Pulaski. Crusher begins by saying that she didn't like Pulaski, particularly for the way she treated Data (like a machine) while she was CMO on the Enterprise, but as they work together to solve the crimes they grow to respect each other. Ro also gets a lot of attention, dealing with her burdens of command. You'll appreciate this book if you like your science fiction more on the science side and less of the bloody space battles.

You know how the Hardy Boys always solved mysteries and as long as there was a little action adventure nobody cared if it all made sense and worked. They used journeymen writers who didn't always get all things Hardy right. Well this book to me is like a Hardy Boys book. There is a "mystery" and a little adventure and interplays and morality etc. I read it because it's part of the current on running series. It seems like the research of the writer, who is a Trek veteran, seemed to be from like the second season of next gen and not after the entirety of the current DS9 next Gen narrative. One glaring point is that Captain Ro never mentions her service as DS9 security chief after Odo when Blackmer is lamenting Odo. How did Pulaski have the time and resources and clout to get the top of the line Star Fleet ship for her mission when she was locked up for her part of Bashir's treason? The thing between about Crusher towards Pulaski is revisionist history, dull, unnecessary to the plot and not interesting. It appeared like the overall narrative was supposed to go in one direction and half way through the book she was given new instructions. The set up for an interplay between Ro and Pulaski is done well but it never happens so I'm guessing the over all narrative arch has changed. The part of the new race stuff is written lazy like something Jeremy Abrams would have done but without the hyper character in all their glory fun. Star Trek shouldn't use a technological contrivance to make up for writing themselves into a corner. Rodenberry explained all his tech and set limits. Rodenberry would have read this book marked it up given it back and with a little bit of work it could have been much better. It's good because it's Trek but it's not real good Trek. There are enough good parts in this book and enough good observations and characters being themselves that its worth it for us DS9 trekies to read, but I don't think this will win any converts who aren't die hard trekies. There are some really good star trek books and some pretty good ones. This one was ok. I'll read the next book in the series because I'm a Star Trek Junkie. If you are a Star Trek Junkie read this book. If not a Star Trek Junkie its ok. There are a lot worse books. I'd rate this one with a Hardy Boys mystery. Una has done better so I'm guessing it's a dip in the arch. I'll see what they do in the next part of the Arch. This book did not advance the narrative established in the fall very much. I suspect they have a big adventure coming but its part of another bigger story and it's not cleared to release yet. I'm guessing we'll see Kira, the Ciscos, Morn and company eventually.

So disappointing!Is this the same Una McCormack who wrote The Never-Ending Sacrifice (which I rate as the best Trek novel, EVER)?My two main issues:1. The lion's share of the novel is about Doctors Pulaski (no!) and Crusher (no, no, no!) - this is not really a DS9 story2. The Missing's main plot is "point of view fiction" at its most obvious and pontificatingMinor spoilers follow.The main storyline (in which our intrepid heroines encounter two different faces of a new civilization) is like getting a lecture from your teenage niece. "Like racism, is like BAD. Like really BAD." We get it Ms McCormack - you like gypsies and socialism. ;)This book is PRFOUNDLY un-subtle, and what I find so bizarre is that McCormack's depictions of Cardassians are always so nuanced and grey - perhaps she should stick to writing about them.Indeed, in The Missing, there is a (very) minor subplot that touches on the Cardassians (and what happened out on the Romulan front). I found this story arc to be fairly interesting, and as always McCormack excels at describing political machinations and motivations. Yet even the subplot is "wrapped up" with an adolescent morality lecture, one that's as delicate as a sledgehammer blow to the head. "Think like I do, Grandma - or you're a nasty bigoted relic".

An entertaining story set around the new Deep Space Nine space station as the post war Romulan and Cardassian interests clash and Captain Ro Laren has to deal with a first contact situation which is being mirrored light years away between the research/exploration vessel Athene Donald and a mysterious highly advanced starship. I really enjoyed how Pulaski was written in this story and her interactions with Crusher and I found myself smiling quite a lot, the mystery created by the first contact situations and the investigations while not overly complex kept me turning the page (so to speak) and while there were plot elements I didn't like (which occur in other parts of the franchise as well) this novel for a fan of Trek and DS9 is well worth reading.I also should mention the personal logs that head up each chapter, very interesting and compelling offering insight into first contact and posing some very valid questions, they added immensely to my enjoyment of the main story.

Una McCormack's contributions to the Star Trek genre go from strength to strength. Intertwined storylines on DS9 and far away work well, Dr Crusher misses Picard - who we do not meet, but whose contributions are thought provoking logs on exploration. Kind enough to keep all the existing characters alive to the end o f the book for next time. Not fine literature perhaps, but well written and, like the best sci-fi, with so many parallels with current affairs. If you enjoyed The Fall and Cold equations, a good read. Thank you

Not one of the better DS9 novels. I liked the bits with Pulaski and how she interacts with everyone. The story does suffer from a 2D Alien of the Month feel. More fleshing out of the alien race would have been good. Stand alone alien threats are a bit boring as you know it will be resolved by the end of the book rather than a continuing threat!

I read this in a few hours here and there before bed on a short holiday nicely written the main characters are well depicted how ever the additional characters just did not seam to come to life for me.Overall not a bad book