Stitch in Time ("Star Trek: Deep Space Nine") (Mass Market Paperback)

As the author is Andrew Robinson the actor who played Garak in the series you know that you are going to get a real insight into the character.

What I like best about this book is that it starts from the end of the Dominion War, when over 1 billion cardassians were killed. It chronicoles the difficulties of trying to rebuild a world, and the irony of havong a former treaitor be an architect of the rebirth. We also learn a great deal about Cardassia and its inner working which have never been explored. But more than that we read about the very real peron, his loves and his fears. We learn about How proud Garak was to be a Cardassian and how hard he fell when his exile began. A nice touch is the humour that the author brings to the book, it is not dry and unreadable but filled with lovely light touches and humour that jumps right off the page.

It is the humour and the light touch which makes the book so enjoyable. It is written in the styyle of the first person, making it almost like reading Garak's personal log. This style makes the story seem more real to the reader, after all Garak is known for his subtle manipulation of the truth and is a master of the arts of espoinage and double-dealing.

Garak has also been an unknown entity aboard DS9 but this book reveals all and makes you understand him. A triumph, and the pages will whizz through your hands as you cannot stop wanting to read more. I guarantee that you will read this book in one night and the story is so well written that you will be able to read it again and again without becoming bored. Few books stand up to that type of reading. Buy this book now, you will NOT regret it.

The best aspect of Robinson's autobiographical account of Garak is the study of Cardassian expression. He seems to address everything about this topic from freedom of choice to total inhibition, and the character interactions across two different narrative timelines (aboard DS9 and during his teenage years on Cardassia) intelligently illustrate the multiple facets of Cardassian nature.

A third narrative timeline sets the book in motion, which is Garak's letter to Dr. Bashir in the horrific aftermath of Cardassia Prime's 'holocaust'. However, the real treat of this book is Garak's life as he grew up on Cardassia. The story not only adds tremendous depth to the character Garak but is an intelligent account of Cardassian behaviour and society, and (in the sections set aboard DS0) its contrast with other species.

Anyone who particularly loved Garak's dialogue sparring in the earlier series of the television series will love this book. Its character interactions are as covered in meaning as Garak is covered in layers. If Haruki Murakami ever wrote a Star Trek novel, this is what it would be like.