197: You've Been Macked

Enigma Tales: Una McCormack. Garak has gone from spy to revolutionary to ambassador to castellan of the Cardassian Union in just a few short years. In that time, Cardassia has changed immensely. But the people of Cardassia still share a lot of guilt, and ghosts of the past may be rising again to ruin the lives of some of Cardassia's finest. Now, it is up to Dr. Kate Pulaski to discover the truth before it is too late! In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson are joined by New York Times bestselling author Una McCormack to talk about her new novel, DS9: Enigma Tales. We discuss the plot, the characters, some historical touchstones that the story parallels, the nature of Cardassian enigma tales, the state of Dr. Bashir, and wrap up with Una's upcoming projects and where you can find her online. Please note: the first part of the feature is spoiler-free, and we get into spoilers for the second half. In the news segment, we have a link to a short supplemental to Dayton Ward's Klingon Travel Guide: "7 Common Offworlder Questions Klingons Are Tired of Hearing." News Something Different (00:02:28) Questions about the Klingon Travel Guide (00:03:36) Feature: Una McCormack Special Guest (00:06:06) Una and Garak (00:06:41) The Plot (00:08:03) Character Rundown (00:11:11) Married to Each Other (00:23:26) Historical Touchstones (00:26:52) A Funny Book (00:32:09) Garak's Relationships (00:38:21) Leading Cardassia (00:39:41) Enigma Tales (00:42:01) The State of Bashir (00:46:56) What's Next for Una (00:52:29) Final Thoughts (00:55:59) Hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson Guest Una McCormack Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Associate Producer) Bruce Gibson (Associate Producer)