Customer Reviews
Star Trek Book in Better Than Average Shock - By: Sam, 25 Sep 2006 
When reading Star Trek tie in novels I often find myself drifting towards images of a sausage factory. Like sausages, Star Trek book are churned out using the unwanted offal & flotsam from the show leaving you with something that will fill you up but leave a nasty aftertaste in your mouth. However, every now & again, one of these books transcends the trend & stands out as a good book in its own right. In most cases the name Peter David is attached to the book but in this case, step forward Andrew Robinson.
It was not until half way through reading 'A Stitch in Time' that I realised that Robinson is the actor who played Garak in DS9. This book looks at Garak's upbringing, how he became a Tailor & what he is doing after the series ended. The book is very well written & the first 2/3rds in particular are gripping. Robinson writes about Garak's childhood reallly well & show that he has close links to the character.
The book does lose its way somewhat towards the end when we hit Garak's adult life as the settings are not as interesting as in his earlier years. But the way in which Robinson paints a informative & rich alien world means that I would recommend this book, not only to Star Trek fans, but also sci-fi fans in general.
Informed, intelligent, and intricately crafted. - By: , 21 Mar 2003 Fans of Garak should enjoy this book, although some open-mindedness may be required for some of the interactions detailed between Garak & other residents aboard DS9 as they (initiallly) seem slightly out of character with Andrew Robinson's portrayal of Garak in the television series. Given half a chance, however, you can slip into this book very easily & the character interactions become the crux of the entire novel. This is because the book is less about plot & more about Cardassian nature.
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, & the character interactions across two different narrative timelines (aboard DS9 & 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 & society, & (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.
The real Garak and his REAL life before and after DS9 - By: Perfectbub, 13 Feb 2002 
Wow! Wow! Wow! This book is truly wonderful & solves one of the long-standing mysteries of DS9. Who exactly is Garak?
From the first page to the last this book delights & dazzles. We finallly learn the circumstances which led the Cardassian tailor to be marooned on DS(. We learn of his childhood & his recruitment into the shadowy Obsidian order. But more than that, through the clever narrative style we also learn the innermost thoughts of Garak.
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, & the irony of havong a former treaitor be an architect of the rebirth. We also learn a great deal about Cardassia & its inner working which have never been explored. But more than that we read about the very real peron, his loves & his fears. We learn about How proud Garak was to be a Cardassian & 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 & unreadable but filled with lovely light touches & humour that jumps right off the page.
It is the humour & 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 alll Garak is known for his subtle manipulation of the truth & is a master of the arts of espoinage & double-dealing.
Garak has also been an unknown entity aboard DS9 but this book reveals alll & makes you understand him. A triumph, & 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 & the story is so well written that you will be able to read it again & again without becoming bored. Few books stand up to that type of reading. Buy this book now, you will NOT regret it.
Garak lives on!! - By: , 22 Nov 2001 Exceeded expectations, by far. It was a wonderful book, one of those that you're reallly sad to finish. Garak is my alll time favourite TV character so I was a bit dubious about how Andy Robinson would portray him, after alll he's just the actor not the writer. But he reallly knows his character that's for sure, it tied up so many loose ends, brought together lots of pieces of information from the series. It was VERY well researched. Not only that it was a very entertaining read, I'm sure that even those who aren't particularly Garak fans will enjoy this book.
It started at the end of the war & interchanged between Garak's experience of Cardassia trying to rebuild itself & his history. You reallly get a lot of insight into the character & Cardassian culture. There's just one more thing to say - read it!! I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
A unique book exploring Garak's past and possible future - By: Susan Flower, 19 Oct 2001 The TV tie-in books I enjoy most are those that give extra depth to the characters that you see on screen & this book certainly did that. This book not only relates key events in Garak's life but gives you real insight into him as a person. It left me reallly wanting to rewatch some of the episodes of DS9 involving him.
My one criticism of the book would be that it jumps around too much between different time frames, the bulk of the story is Garak's life from childhood onwards, but this is mixed in with the current day (i.e. after the end of season 7), bits from mid-way in season 6 & few other odd bits. I did find it a little irritating as I got interested in one part, to find the narrative lead elsewhere,
That said this is an excellent book & I'd reccomend it to any DS9 fans.
