294: Pulling the Strings

Hollow Men. Deep Space Nine has always tended towards the darker side of Star Trek, and there is no greater example than the sixth season episode "In the Pale Moonlight." In order to bring the Romulans into the war on the side of the Federation, Sisko enlists the aid of Garak to produce fake evidence of a Dominion invasion plan for Romulus. Of course, things go sideways, and the result is murder. But what was the fallout from these events? In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson discuss the Deep Space Nine novel Hollow Men by Una McCormack. We talk about how the novel follows up on "In the Pale Moonlight," the guilt that Sisko is wrestling with, the enigma of Tomas Roeder, former Starfleet officer turned peace activist, the strange crew of the freighter Ariadne, Odo's suspicions about a theft on the station, how all these storylines tie together in the end, and wrap up with our final thoughts and ratings. In the news segment, we judge Alan Dean Foster's upcoming Trek novel The Unsettling Stars by its cover, and we respond to listener feedback from The Babel Conference for Literary Treks 293: And Then What Happened?. News The Unsettling Stars Cover (00:02:43) Listener Feedback (00:06:08) Feature: Hollow Men Following "In the Pale Moonlight" (00:11:09) Sisko's Guilt (00:17:37) Garak in a Deep, Dark Hole (00:28:40) Tomas Roeder (00:34:45) The Crew of the Ariadne (00:37:50) Suspicious Activities (00:42:58) Putting the Pieces Together (00:49:20) Ratings (01:10:31) Final Thoughts (01:16:18) Hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson Production Bruce Gibson (Editor and Producer) Dan Gunther (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Jeffery Harlan (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)