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Demons of Air and Darkness (Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Gateways, Book 4)
by Keith R. A. DeCandido
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Star Trek (2001-09-01)
ISBN: 0743418522
EAN: 9780743418522
Dewy Decimal #: 813.54
Mass Market Paperback: 292 pages
Release Date: 2001-08-28
SKU: BX036-070325016
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Clean and shiny. Very minor wear, near new. Spine uncreased, pgs crisp, clean, tight, unmarked. No remainder mark.
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Editorial Reviews
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Book Description
Once they moved from world to world in a single step, through innumerable doors that spanned the galaxy. They were masters of space, and to those who feared them, they were demons of air and darkness. But long ago they left their empire and their miraculous technology behind. Now someone has found the key to it, and all those doors have been flung open.
GATEWAYS
DEMONS OF AIR AND DARKNESS
A world near Deep Space 9, threatened with destruction from the distant Delta Quadrant, becomes the focus of a massive rescue effort as Colonel Kira Nerys, her crew, and some unexpected allies fight to avert disaster on a planetary scale. Meanwhile, as Lieutenant Nog and Ensign Thirishar ch'Thane search for a way to shut down the spatial portals forever, Quark becomes involved in a dangerous game that could determine, once and for all, who will control the Gateways.
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Download Description
Once they moved from world to world in a single step, through innumerable doors that spanned the galaxy. They were masters of space, and to those who feared them, they were demons of air and darkness. But long ago they left their empire and their miraculous technology behind. Now someone has found the key to it, and all those doors have been þung open. GATEWAYS DEMONS OF AIR AND DARKNESS A world near Deep Space 9™, threatened with destruction from the distant Delta Quadrant, becomes the focus of a massive rescue effort as Colonel Kira Nerys, her crew, and some unexpected allies Þght to avert disaster on a planetary scale. Meanwhile, as Lieutenant Nog and Ensign Thirishar ch'Thane search for a way to shut down the spatial portals forever, Quark becomes involved in a dangerous game that could determine, once and for all, who will control the Gateways.
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Customer Reviews
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Perfectly tolerable post-series DS9 offering.
Rating  (3)
Date: 2006-06-26
Fine action, good suspense, good (but not great) characterization, nothing much deeper than that, and the book suffers from being a middle book in a couple of different ongoing sequences, so if you haven't kept up with ALL of the preceding "Trek" books, you'll be coming in in mid-plot on several subplots. Nothing that can't be pieced together with a bit of general Star Trek background and a bit of intuition or insight, and if one really WANTS to read this as a stand-alone, it isn't impossible to simply assume that there are things going on in the backstory that we aren't told (although, lacking an ending, it definitely can't be read as a true stand-alone unless one doesn't mind not finding out what happens to the major character, but that was a danger coming in; this entire series is like that.)
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A Nice Plot, But The Writing Should Have Been Better
Rating (3)
Date: 2004-10-11
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
The previous reviews did excellent jobs in covering the plot of this novel. I want to point out some things about the writing, though.
DeCandido is a good Star Trek writer. But he falls into the same trap that many other (and more mediocre) Trek novelists fall into -- making the characters little more than 20th century people living in the 23rd/24th centuries.
Trek novelists can produce great works -- witness Andrew Robinson's great "A Stitch In Time," or some of Diane Carey's books. They are true to the Trek universe without taking shortcuts in writing.
In "Demons," DeCandido takes the easy way out in writing much of the character's speech. For example, three pages in, the Malon, about whom little has been written or seen in previous Trek incarnations, and about whom much new thought could be given, speak like they are just a bunch of current-day (20th century) humans. Would they really say "dam*it?" And couldn't DeCandido come up with anything more novel than that?
Would an Orion slavegirl say "harebrained scheme?" Would she even know what a "hare" is?
Would a Starship captain refer to her ship as "wicked efficient?" She would if she grew up where I grew up, south of Boston, in the late 20th century. But I doubt that she did.
These are just three top-of-mind examples. Listen. The book was okay -- nothing spectacular, just typical Trek "these 12 characters that you all know and love are going to save the universe -- yes, the universe -- yet again." It's written like an extended DS:9 episode. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
I just wish that DeCandido -- and other many Trek authors -- would put a little more thought into how the characters speak in the books, and not try to make them little more than a bunch of 20th century stereotypes. The Trek novel universe would be better for it.
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victory is life
Rating  (5)
Date: 2004-04-16
1 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
The main plot revolves around a story to save an entire population of a planet from destruction due to theta radiation poisoning. The entire planet must be evacuated and its inhabitants must be treated. This places an enormous strain on DS9 and Starfleet. The theta radiation came from a Malon freighter that got into a firefight with a Hirogen starship. Coincidentaly, the gateways were activated recently which caused the deadly theta radiation to be dispersed into different areas. Another problem with the gateways is that they drain energy from planets, so they must be shut down somehow. Meanwhile, Quark is up to his usual self. He just can't seem to stay out of trouble, or is it that trouble aways seems to find him? One of the other plots revolve around Quark negotiating with the Iconians on behalf of the Orion Syndicate. The Iconians control the gateways and are in the process of auctioning them off. Negotiating with the Iconians on behalf of the Orions however is the least of Quark's problems. There aren't any dull moments in this entire book. Every chapter keeps our attention to the very end and encourages us to read other books in the series.
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Excellent DS9 Relaunch book furthers each character.
Rating (5)
Date: 2004-02-15
Wow! What a book! deCandido is my new favorite DS9 author. This book took me under two days to read because it was so amazingly written and developed. I then got the sequel "Horn and Ivory" and read that immediately.This story is excellently written. I had no problems visualizing any of it. The way the novel is broken down by chapter into different settings is ideal. The characterization once again is spot on perfect. I especially loved Quark's typical scheming role in everything... and how about that lovely Dabo girl of his, she was quite a surprise to me! I really enjoyed the simplicity of the plot. There is some great continuity with the Orion Malic first seen in "Abyss" proposing a deal to Quark. Turns out Quark is the negotiator for the Orion Syndicate. The Iconian gateways are opening throughout the galaxy, and radioactive refuse from the Delta Quadrant finds its way to a human colony of 3 million inhabitants. Thus, Starfleet and the Bajoran fleet set out on a rescue mission. Europa Nova, the colony, is where the bulk of the action is, and I must say I was very impressed with the storytelling. Never before had I read of such a complex evacuation. Seeing a Federation evac was just awesome! I never thought it could be so exciting, but I found it very captivating. What I loved about this book is how every character has something to do which is fitting to their character. Kira takes command of the rescue mission. Vaughnýha! ch'Thane and Nog (who have taken over for Jadzia and O'Brien) are trying to scientifically deduce info about the Gateways. Bashir does an excellent job as the doctor. Ezri stays behind on DS9 to command it (she dropped her Blue for Red a few books ago and is starting to come into the command role more and more). And then there's Taran'atar who accompanies Kira. I love this Jem'Hadar so much! What a great idea for a new character. So what's bad? Lacking info about the Iconians is explained in the other Gateway books. Itýs recommended to read all of them so that you have a solid conclusion. But, as a stand-alone DS9 Relaunch novel I found the few holes that are apparent are not that big to deter from the overall strength of this book. This book can be read without having read the other Gateway books. Kiraýs conclusion lies in the seventh Gateway book, "What Lay Beyond". Those reading my review will now have the opportunity to buy the paperback version rather than succumb to the evil Ferengi scheme of getting the hardcover. What did I like? Wow! Thereýs a lot!
-Ro and Quark's relationship is just super! Itýs reminiscent of Odo and Quark, yet different enough to be fun in a unique way. I highly enjoy their interplay... Ro is like a sexy yet stern version of Odo. She's just as on top of things as Odo was, and lets Quark know she's on to his schemes...yet she has a soft spot for his Ferengi charm and cuz he saved her life. Gaila makes an important appearance, tying up questions about his past. [It also explains what happened to the warring factions in a previous episode.] I love how Quark is still the same Ferengi. He even ponders the question as to whether he's just soft in his heart or whether he's been corrupted by Federation ideas... a question I always wondered about him myself!
-It's great to see Kira really becoming familiar with command. "Horn and Ivory" really sets in stone her command desires and her determination to do a good job.
-ch'Thane and Nog both have influential parents and their interplay is wonderful to watch. It's great to see Nog has found a new friend (Starfleet too!) during Jake's continued absence. We also learn more about ch'Thane's family role.
-Seeing Ezri in command of DS9 and personally dealing with some trivial problems of refugees was wonderful.
-The Starfleet relief effort for a non-Federation world was just awesome to witness. I loved all of it. The president of Europa Nova was great too.
-Setting up Quark's for a holo-meeting for Starfleet was cool. We get brief encounters with Picard and Calloun.
-Gul Macet! His resemblance to Dukat is well explained and caused me to laugh at how well the writers skirted the fact that the same actor played Dukat and Macet.
- Quarkýs typical scheming. Best parts!
-Kira's insights. She gets almost nostalgic for the days of the Resistance (a theme that dominates the "Horn and Ivory" sequel). More and more I'm surprised by how much I love her character. She's completely grown on me since her angry first season.
-A new continuing character is brought on, an Orion female slave named Treir!
-Vaughn and the hostage situation. Classic. Love that guy.
-The Hirogen are in the book, and it's awesome! You get to go inside the mind of this Hunter and that's a reason why I love DeCandido. You get insights into all the characters.
-Taran'atar. Getting inside HIS head was brilliant. Learning more about his beliefs via his relation to the Founders is great. Him and Kira make an interesting team.
-GARAK!!! whoooooa! His very brief appearance is something to clap for! The single best part of the book, which is reason to buy it alone, is the confrontation between Taran'atar and the Hirogen hunter. Wow! Classic! I could completely visualize the scene with all the fumes in the air and bodies lying around as they fought each other. Great scene. What impressed me most about the DS9 Relaunch books is how they manage to continue the development of past characters, while at the same time being accessible as stand alone books. This book is such an achievement. One does not need to read the previous books to like this one, but it is highly recommended. This book also tempts one to buy the other coinciding Gateway novels.
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What if you could go anywhere in the galaxy with one step?
Rating (5)
Date: 2003-01-18
3 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
Demons of Air and Darkness is another adventure in the continuing saga of Star Trek: Deep Space 9. After the TV series ended, Pocket Books decided to continue the adventures of the station and some of its crew (other crewmembers had moved on in the final episode). The first two books (Avatar books one and two) were a wonderful beginning. I haven't read Section 31: Abyss yet, but I found this one in the library and decided to check it out. While not being as good as Avatar, it's still up there. It's well written, with just a bit too much Trek continuity for my taste to mar the quality.
Sounds a bit convoluted, doesn't it? Thankfully, Candido does a good job of juggling all of the different storylines. First, I should tell you that this book is actually Book 4 in the Gateways 7-part series that goes through all of the Trek book series. However, you do not need to have read any of the other books to know what's going on. All of the books are designed to stand on their own two feet, and this one does, except that you have to read book 7 to find out what ultimately happens to Kira. That was a bit annoying, since I now have to track that book down. But it is manageable.
Overall, this is another winner in the DS9 series. The characters are well-defined, with all of them getting their moment in the spotlight. The cool thing about a continuing series is that the characterization can be carried through subsequent books, and this one is no exception. Ever since Avatar, we have known that there is some tension between Ensign ch'Thane and his "mother" (for lack of a better term). This storyline is touched upon in this novel as well. Ch'Thane is a very interesting character, and the Andorian race (which ch'Thane is one) is fleshed out from what we have seen in the TV series. Evidently, the race is dying out, and his mother is very upset that he won't come home and start a family on Andor. He is, however, very happy in Starfleet and has no desire to go home. It doesn't make matters any easier that she is on the Federation council. It is all very interestingly done, and I look forward to further exploration of this fascinating species.
The bad thing, of course, about continuing series is that the characterization can be carried through to subsequent books. Thankfully, this doesn't become a problem in this one. The previous book was about Doctor Bashir and involved the Jem'Hadar named Taran'atar. He evidently learned a lot about humans and the Federation in that book, but anything important is summarized in this book, so it's not a problem. He's also an interesting character given a lot to do, especially when he joins Kira in the Delta Quadrant. He ends up getting into the fight of his life. Candido portrays all of this well, including the inner conflict that Taran'atar has during the fight. He is torn between protecting Kira and the joy of conflict. It was nice having the needed information from Abyss given in this one, so you don't have to track down the other one unless you truly want to.
The rest of the characters are excellently done as well. The writers and editors of this series have taken some of the best characters from the TV show, expanded on their characters, and added a host of new characters who you like to read about. The cast is perfectly done, and I can honestly say that there isn't a boring person in the bunch (though Dax comes close). Each person gets some good "screen time" in this novel, with only Ro Laren getting short shrift in the beginning (though she makes up for it in the end). They are all three-dimensional, and play their parts to the hilt.
Candido handles the multiple storylines very well. He cuts away at just the right moments, making all of the disparate stories interesting. You are never reading one section and saying to yourself "I wish he'd leave these losers and go back to Kira" or something like that. The only shortfall in this book is the abundance of continuity references to previous Trek television shows. I suppose that's par for the course in a sub-series of books which is about something that comes out of the TV series (like the Gateways concept is), but it still started to become annoying. There were references to many of the televised episodes, some of them that didn't really need referencing. Gul Macet from one of the Next Generation episodes, is in the book for no real reason, as it could have been any other Cardassian. At times, the book makes the Star Trek universe seem very small, though it's not nearly as bad as some other Trek books.
Still, if that's the only strike against this book, that's saying a lot. I'm really enjoying these post-television Deep Space 9 stories, and I plan on tracking down as many of them as I can. With an interesting cast of characters, intriguing plots and an ongoing storyline, you can't go wrong. Demons of Air and Darkness is yet another winner.
David Roy
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