37: Commander Is the Sweet Spot

Demons of Air and Darkness. The two-part Avatar kicked off the relaunch of Deep Space Nine in the novels and, along with Abyss, introduced new faces and moved familiar ones beyond "What You Leave Behind." In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing and Christopher Jones continue their look at the DS9 relaunch with the fourth book, Demons of Air and Darkness. Unlike the first three novels, this instalment doubles as DS9's entry in the seven-part Gateways series rather than being purely the next chapter in the relaunch. As such, Keith R. A. DeCandido had to balance the tone between the special series and the continuation of Deep Space Nine. How well did that work? We find out as we discuss the concept, the Iconian gateways, the spiritual questions with which Kira and Taran'atar are faced, the growth of Ezri, and more.   Plus, in our news segment we find out that there's more to come for the resurrected Data and we review the first issue of IDW's new Khan series.