#ds9 warchild

[thisloveforyourmom]

local twink baffled that no one else finds his crush as intriguing and sexy as he does

[youngpettyqueen]

shoutout to Warchild for confirming that Julian will indeed work himself to the point of collapse we love to see it

[defconprime]

Cover for DS9 novel "Warchild." Art by Keith Birdsong, 1994.

[youngpettyqueen]

finished Warchild today!! thoughts below the cut

tldr: loved this book a LOT

this book was GREAT for Julian character exploration. he's my favourite little guy, lets get that out of the way first- Julian is amazing in this book, and I love love LOOOOOOVE Esther Friesner's take on him and how she wrote him. this book is set between s1 and s2, so this is Julian in the early days of his character development, still so young and desperate to prove himself, overflowing with emotion and passion, and UGH its all so fucking good. he's grappling with self-doubt and insecurity, while at the same time also doing some of his best work as a doctor, fuelled by desperation and the need to do whatever he can to help. he works himself to the bone until he literally faints. he gets so angry on behalf of the suffering children and he doesnt give a flying fuck who he's talking to when he unleashes about it. he cries over losing a child he had a bond with, Belem, actually CRIES- something I dont think we ever see from him in the series. the raw emotional vulnerability from Julian in this book is just. so good. god. I could write an essay. his brief romance with Jalika is bittersweet, and while it is a bit shoehorned in, imo, it does showcase how Julian falls hard and fast and with reckless abandon. fantastic depiction of the character, fantastic exploration of him as a doctor, seriously I cant praise this book enough for so wonderfully capturing Julian's character in every single way

also of note. this book was written prior to Doctor Bashir, I Presume? even airing, coming out in 1994, and yet we still get some fantastic implications about Julian's family. his internal narration of his family is derisive and he avoids thinking about them, and he thinks a bit about how he was raised in higher society among politicians. also also, there's a specific bit where he mentions how his parents boasted about him only enjoying "the finest dining" as a child, and it was a cover for him just being a picky eater. considering what would be revealed later, about Julian being neurodivergent and/or disabled, I found that to be an interesting note

Julian rambling out of the way, my absolute favourite thing about this book is its depiction of Bajor. this book truly doesnt hold back in depicting just how dire the situation is on Bajor. we're still in the early days of Bajor being liberated, and it isnt a pretty picture. Friesner strikes a beautiful balance between the unflinching, raw depictions of the refugee camps, the desolation, the dying children, and the brutal, honest depiction of the government and its failings. this book follows DS9's example of depicting characters who did what they had to do in sympathetic lights wonderfully, and you find yourself sympathizing with people who do terrible things because they've been driven to such a breaking point. the failures of Bajor's provisional government are truly highlighted, garnering more sympathy for the people in these camps, the people who aren't getting the help they so desperately need. it makes no attempts to sugarcoat or soften anything, forcing every non-Bajoran character's eyes wide open at the same time it does the readers. its a POWERFUL book in that regard, and I found it deeply compelling and difficult to put down

another highlight for me is the Kira and Sisko dynamic. this is still early days for them, and they butt heads constantly. the trust they come to develop isnt quite there yet, and Kira isnt afraid to let Sisko know exactly what she thinks, and she isnt afraid to do so as bluntly as she sees fit. in the same vein, I love the dynamic between Sisko and Bajor here. its strained, uncomfortable, Sisko cant seem to ever do anything right because every choice he makes makes somebody angry. Sisko really just cant catch a break in this one. he's either dealing with Bajoran representatives who are never pleased, or he's trying to track down Julian who's gone AWOL, or he's dealing with Quark. he truly cannot win

Kira's scenes in this novel are FASCINATING also, as they explore her faith and where it clashes with her duty. we see so many facets of her character- the hotheaded rebel fighter, the major, the soft and gentle motherly figure, the proud warrior. I love that shes fully in support of Julian going AWOL and backs him up. I love that later shes conflicted about it because she believes so wholly in the prophecy and the Nekor that she wants him back to be able to cure her. I wish we got more of her in the novel, I especially wish we got more from her POV, I think it would've really benefitted the story and the furthering of character relationships. still, im satisfied with what we got

Jadzia gets some great time to shine as a scientist in this one. I love the teamwork between her and Julian, and the emphasis placed on what a great team they make. theres a very cute scene where he makes a big breakthrough and grabs her and dances around with her and its like, one of my favourite things ive ever read. but she seriously gets to shine so much in her work in this one, there would've been no vaccine without her, and she does everything she can to further her research and her work. shes working herself to the bone as well, even if shes better at dealing with it, and her lifetimes of experience really get to take centre stage. wish we had some more of her, like I do with Kira, but also like with Kira, im satisfied with what we got

the original characters in this novel are great. Belem was devastating, the various Vedeks and representatives made me grind my teeth, and Cedara and Dejana were just. so fucking good. Cedara and Dejana felt so REAL, they were so interesting to read, heartbreaking and hilarious all at once, and so so charming. I saw the reveal with Cedara coming, and I loved it. I could read a whole series about her, a wild child with far too much placed on her shoulders, desperate to protect her little sister and her home. I like to think her and Julian keep in touch, and they visit each other, and he helps her out on her path to becoming a healer. then theres Jalika, who I did enjoy, but definitely felt the weakest of the introduced characters. I wish we got more time with her, and I wish there was more exploration of her beyond being the kind and gentle healer. we get a brief glimpse of her being quite capable of being deadly, and fierce, but only the brief glimpse. still, she was compelling, and her and Julian's brief romance had an ending that packed a surprising punch considering how short it was. really felt for both of them with that one

overall, this book was a solid read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I'd highly recommend it to anyone wanting more content about Bajor, and anybody who wants a really good Julian-centric story that pushes him to points we dont get to see him pushed to in the series. its a devastating read at times, but also hilarious- seriously, theres a scene with a hologram of Dukat dancing ballet in a pink tutu. what more can I say

[youngpettyqueen]

So I read Revenant because im a jadzia lover & you hyped it up & I really enjoyed it! (If only she was given a plotline with that much agency in the show ugh)

What other ds9 books have you read? Could you elaborate on why you liked the ones you liked if you haven't already? Looking for more recs!

IM SO HAPPY YOU LIKED REVENANT I fucking love Revenant so MUCH it should be required reading for every Jadzia fan its sooooooooooo fucking good

of the DS9 books ive read... A Stitch in Time, Vengeance, Warchild, Bloodletter, The Heart of the Warrior, and The Laertian Gamble. im also almost finished The Big Game. of those, I would highly recommend-

A Stitch in Time: I could say so much about this book, its definitely my fav of the ones ive read so far. an incredibly well-written history of Garak, written by Garak himself, what more could you ask for? this book is a must-read for all Garak fans. its beautiful, its heartbreaking, its fucking hilarious, some scenes are genuinely haunting, its just SUCH a good book

Vengeance: I am the #1 fan of this book ok. Vengeance is solidly written with some of the best character writing for the DS9 cast ive seen so far in the books ive read. the plot is good, the characters are great, pretty much everyone gets time to shine, and we get to explore some really good under-utilized dynamics while we're at it. also, fucking hilarious. laughed out loud so many times. this book reads like a really good 2 part episode, and I cannot recommend it enough

Warchild: want a good Julian story that lets him be angry and upset and cry? want to see Julian at peak defiance and rage? want to get a deep dive into Bajor post-Occupation that is heartbreaking and all too real and at times even hard to stomach? boy, do I have a book for you. this one isnt super highly rated which is a TRAGEDY cause I really enjoyed it

Bloodletter: lets hear it for a good KIRA CENTRIC STORY which has some INSANE stuff going on in it. I love Bloodletter its dark, its tense, its got some INSANE side quest stuff, and best of all its Kira centric and really dives into her and her psyche early on in the show. again, not a super highly rated book, but a really good read imo

those are the ones I would recommend of the ones ive read!! hope this is helpful in your search for more DS9 books to read <3

[youngpettyqueen]

You convinced me to look up at least a summary of the DS9 novel "Warchild" and *on my God* does it sound incredible in terms of portraying how ridiculously dedicated and amazing a doctor Julian is??? Being told to freaking rest after days awake, but instead going to help give patients baths???

I LOVE WARCHILD SO MUCH like of course I’m biased towards Julian but Warchild is also just such a great Star Trek story I love it so much. I highly recommend it both as a Julian story and as a really really good Bajor story that holds nothing back. It’s seriously underrated among the DS9 books imo

[youngpettyqueen]

with Warchild and The Price of the Phoenix done, that means ill be continuing on down my to-read stack and picking out 2 more books to read

Warchild im following up with Bloodletter, which is my work book. I bring a book with me to work, because in the mornings I often have periods where I have to sit and do nothing, and I dont want to go on my phone because I dont want to set that example for my students, so ive taken to bringing a book with me to work to be my work book. Warchild was my work book, so Bloodletter is its successor. because I want these books to be work books, and not on my phone, I therefore choose a different book to read at home

The Price of the Phoenix was a physical book as well, I had originally intended for it to be my work book, but once I realized I wanted to be underlining and all that I decided to keep it at home. the only other physical novel I have in my to-read stack is the novelization of The Motion Picture, so ill save that just in case I somehow read the entirety of Bloodletter in the remaining 2 weeks of the school year. doubtful, but not impossible

so my to-read stack consists of-

The Heart of the Warrior

The 34th Rule

Fallen Heroes

The Big Game

The Laertian Gamble

which are all DS9 books because im very predictable. im thinking of going in order of purchase and doing The Heart of the Warrior first, but we shall see

[defconprime]

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - "Warchild" Bashir tries to cure a plague while a religious prophet type child is precocious and whatnot but it's all very boring. RATING: 24% (Where to place: Between the first and second seasons of DS9.)