Ah, the mother Horta is sorta stolen from Bajor. Yep, that looks just as weird in words as it sounded in my head.

The plot starts with the kidnapping of the Mother Horta who is journeying to Bajor to see if the Cardassians left any minerals at all in the mines. She also has her unhatched eggs with her. They make it to DS9, but soon after they hatch, and all hell breaks loose on DS9 'cause the babies have no Mom and the Bajorans have changed their minds and don't want the HOrta on or under their sacred ground.

What I really liked about the novel was when we got to see everything through the Horta's point of view. Plus, I loved the Horta's in general (and wish there were more Star Trek books with them as Main characters as well). As for the regular DS9 characters I couldn't stadn how Bashir was portrayed. Yes, I get that he's young, but he's also supposed to be a Starfleet officer and then he suddenly goes from naive doctor to warrior superhero? Really?

Kira's characterization was also very one dimensional. And as usual there wasn't enough Dax, though I liked that they had a bigger role for O'Brien, Kieko and their daughter Molly. But I Think the baby Hortas stole the book for sure. ( )

Great Ensemble Piece

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was as if I were watching a long lost TV episode of DS9 itself. Often that's not the case with the novelisation of a TV show, however here the characters and their interactions are true to the way they are seen on screen, and the dialogue is believable, including the language they each use. The story is tightly plotted and well thought out, and the authors don't skimp on descriptive passages just because the readers already know and love the show. It was great to see a story line including non-humanoid aliens too, and they were so well written that you could really feel for the poor Horta. An excellent read, one of the best TV-tie-in books I think I know. ( )

This is one of my favorite DS9 books of all time. The characters are very well written and it is wonderful to be able to include the Horta in that as well. The story is well thought out, even if the whole "Send x to Bajor or a Bajoran moon to get what you can from what's left" idea is a little overused in the novels of this season. You really get the feeling of watching an episode as you go through the pages and by the end you find yourself really feeling as if you'd seen it on screen. Good balance of the ensemble, too. ( )

Whee, Horta babies! I enjoy ananthropomorphic aliens, and am always pleased to see Hortas given a major and sentient role. Also, this is the first DS9 novel I've read, so perhaps my surprised delight in the stars' characterisations is unwarranted. Every major character seemed to get plenty of "screen" time (with the exception of Sisko), and a few of our favourite minor ones (Garek, Morn, Rom, Molly, DS9 Computer) appeared as well. Silly, silly title. ( )