A solidly entertaining Trek tie-in novel. Una McCormack writes with more subtlety and attention to characterisation than is found in the vast majority of such works. I do tend to find McCormack's Cardassia a little two-dimensional, its intrigues a little bland, but I really enjoy her take on Garak. In light of this novel's ending and oh, I don't know, pretty much every episode of DS9 starring Garak and Bashir, I'm continue to be bemused as to why the Powers That Be won't just let the two of them make out and have a happily ever after. Still, an enjoyable way to while away a plane ride. ( )

I liked having Pulaski around, the author captured her voice well. ( )

I'd better start by disclaiming that I don't read the Relaunch novels. I tried them and didn't care for them, but picked this one up because I have quite a soft spot for Natima Lang, and because I enjoyed Una McCormack's “The Never Ending Sacrifice”. I have no idea how well this one carries on from previous novels, but I can say that with one exception, I had no problem getting caught up on recent events. Not only did McCormack manage to do that without an infodump (an achievement in itself!) I even found myself beginning to invest in characters like Peter Alden.

It's not a perfect book. Pulaski began to grate after a while (there's quite a few scenes of her being suspicious over, and over, and over again), though I enjoyed seeing a growing, changing Cardassia through her eyes. My biggest complaint is that I found the resolution pretty unsatisfying. Rather than getting a natural resolution to the mystery, the answer seemed to come out of left field and lacked much in the way of substance. Another complicating factor is that a lot of things happen offstage, to the point where I often felt we were checking in on story threads rather than following them. That doesn't do much to develop a sense of urgency or potential catastrophe. Long story short, it seemed to me that “Enigma Tales” was initially intended to be a longer work but ended up undergoing some pretty ruthless cuts.

Yet despite my criticism, I still gave it 4.5 stars, which is a rating I rarely give as it is. Why? I rated in part because Garak is spot on, and a delight to read. I was skeptical about the idea of him as Castellan when I started the book, by the end of it McCormack had not only convinced me it worked, but made me think it was a perfect progression for the character. But mostly I gave it that rating because the writing is so vivid. Cardassia and its ongoing struggles just came to life beautifully, illustrated with images and turns of phrase that took my breath away. Some of them should have come across as cliched, but they were written so beautifully that I was left stunned instead. Una McCormack hasn't made a Relauncher out of me—though to be fair, I don't think anyone can—but the next time she has an entry in the series, I'll come back in. ( )