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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
A Stitch in Time - 5/5
The insidiousness of fascism, and of capitalism, is how it becomes every part of you, how it co-opts your mind and your actions until all you are, all you can ever be, is encapsulated by its tenets: a never-ending sacrifice to rotting corruption that sees you as little more than a replaceable part in an ever-grinding machine. It ties you to it with ideals that are antithetical to its own existence, be they family or duty or purity, that the biggest cogs in the machinery refuse to meet themselves but who will gladly discard those that do not fit perfectly without a care, turning the land to desert as the faceless machine burns away all it can to make way for greater accumulations of wealth and power.
Throughout his time on the show Deep Space Nine Garak has constantly struggled with his relationship to the machinery of fascism. He was, once, an integral component of the machine, an anti-viral agent who ensured the machine's components were never infected by the ideals of the Federation, or by those homegrown heresies that lurk at the fringes of Cardassian society to corrupt wayward citizens of the Union. But by the time of the show he was isolated, apart from his species and abandoned on Deep Space Nine to live under Federation law. This book explores both why that is the case but, more importantly, how throughout his life Garak has struggled with Cardassian society, how he flowed from the diseased heart of Cardassia out to it's fringes through the clogging arteries and veins that feed it's power.
That journey, that never-ending sacrifice which makes up his life, is central to the book. 3 narrative strands make up the book, one detailing Garak's life leading up to season 1 of DS9, the second focusing on Garak a few weeks before his return to Cardassia in the show's 7th season, and the last on Garak picking through the ravages of Cardassia post-war. Throughout we see his struggles with the ideals of Cardassia, his rise in the ranks of the secret service, the anger at Federation smugness and arrogance at their own perceived righteousness and moral surety, and how he deals with it all crumbling away in the book's 3rd plot thread.
There's also, at least in my reading, a very strong undercurrent that acknowledges Garak's queerness. Whilst all the explicit romances and sexual attraction involving Garak here are with women there are many points when he is interacting with men that read, to me, like repressed attraction, as if he is struggling with his romantic or sexual feelings for these men and does not know how to express them, or does not have the tools to in the society he finds himself in. I am aware that Andrew Robinson played Garak as attracted to Doctor Julian Bashir in the show, and that later books in this Star Trek Lit-Verse continuity make Garak's bisexuality explicit, so I feel fairly confident that it may well have at least been on Robinson's mind when writing this book.
Another recurring thread is Garak's joy of gardening, inherited from the man he thought was his father, and the growing of the temperamental Edosian orchid. It's one of many sustained bits of metaphor and symbolism that's maintained throughout the book and serves as a beautiful representation of Garak's escape from the hold that Cardassia's fascism has over him, that he must nurture and maintain it at all times, a constant vigil so it can grow big and strong beyond the confines of Cardassian society. As much as it may seem impossible, that the systems around us are here forever and are unalterable, another world is possible with one's own never-ending sacrifice.
The insidiousness of fascism, and of capitalism, is how it becomes every part of you, how it co-opts your mind and your actions until all you are, all you can ever be, is encapsulated by its tenets: a never-ending sacrifice to rotting corruption that sees you as little more than a replaceable part in an ever-grinding machine. It ties you to it with ideals that are antithetical to its own existence, be they family or duty or purity, that the biggest cogs in the machinery refuse to meet themselves but who will gladly discard those that do not fit perfectly without a care, turning the land to desert as the faceless machine burns away all it can to make way for greater accumulations of wealth and power.
Throughout his time on the show Deep Space Nine Garak has constantly struggled with his relationship to the machinery of fascism. He was, once, an integral component of the machine, an anti-viral agent who ensured the machine's components were never infected by the ideals of the Federation, or by those homegrown heresies that lurk at the fringes of Cardassian society to corrupt wayward citizens of the Union. But by the time of the show he was isolated, apart from his species and abandoned on Deep Space Nine to live under Federation law. This book explores both why that is the case but, more importantly, how throughout his life Garak has struggled with Cardassian society, how he flowed from the diseased heart of Cardassia out to it's fringes through the clogging arteries and veins that feed it's power.
That journey, that never-ending sacrifice which makes up his life, is central to the book. 3 narrative strands make up the book, one detailing Garak's life leading up to season 1 of DS9, the second focusing on Garak a few weeks before his return to Cardassia in the show's 7th season, and the last on Garak picking through the ravages of Cardassia post-war. Throughout we see his struggles with the ideals of Cardassia, his rise in the ranks of the secret service, the anger at Federation smugness and arrogance at their own perceived righteousness and moral surety, and how he deals with it all crumbling away in the book's 3rd plot thread.
There's also, at least in my reading, a very strong undercurrent that acknowledges Garak's queerness. Whilst all the explicit romances and sexual attraction involving Garak here are with women there are many points when he is interacting with men that read, to me, like repressed attraction, as if he is struggling with his romantic or sexual feelings for these men and does not know how to express them, or does not have the tools to in the society he finds himself in. I am aware that Andrew Robinson played Garak as attracted to Doctor Julian Bashir in the show, and that later books in this Star Trek Lit-Verse continuity make Garak's bisexuality explicit, so I feel fairly confident that it may well have at least been on Robinson's mind when writing this book.
Another recurring thread is Garak's joy of gardening, inherited from the man he thought was his father, and the growing of the temperamental Edosian orchid. It's one of many sustained bits of metaphor and symbolism that's maintained throughout the book and serves as a beautiful representation of Garak's escape from the hold that Cardassia's fascism has over him, that he must nurture and maintain it at all times, a constant vigil so it can grow big and strong beyond the confines of Cardassian society. As much as it may seem impossible, that the systems around us are here forever and are unalterable, another world is possible with one's own never-ending sacrifice.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Characters: 8/10
Yes, Garak is deliciously complex and probably the only man who could assassinate someone and hem your trousers in the same breath. But the book treats him like the only three-dimensional being in the quadrant. Everyone else—Tain, Enabran, Mila—mostly exists to orbit Garak’s gravity. They're interesting, but they rarely feel like they have lives outside his angst spiral. Bashir especially gets flattened into “well-meaning friend prop,” and Dukat is practically chewing scenery with no real depth added. Still compelling, just a little too Garak-and-friends for my taste.
Yes, Garak is deliciously complex and probably the only man who could assassinate someone and hem your trousers in the same breath. But the book treats him like the only three-dimensional being in the quadrant. Everyone else—Tain, Enabran, Mila—mostly exists to orbit Garak’s gravity. They're interesting, but they rarely feel like they have lives outside his angst spiral. Bashir especially gets flattened into “well-meaning friend prop,” and Dukat is practically chewing scenery with no real depth added. Still compelling, just a little too Garak-and-friends for my taste.
Atmosphere/Setting: 7/10
Yes, Cardassia is grim and crumbling, but at a certain point, I got tired of all the shadows dancing on ruins and echoes of past sins metaphors. I get it. It’s bleak. The world-building sometimes felt more like a stage for monologue therapy than an actual society. There were scenes that worked, especially in the flashbacks to Obsidian Order training, but I needed a little more texture and a little less grayscale melodrama.
Yes, Cardassia is grim and crumbling, but at a certain point, I got tired of all the shadows dancing on ruins and echoes of past sins metaphors. I get it. It’s bleak. The world-building sometimes felt more like a stage for monologue therapy than an actual society. There were scenes that worked, especially in the flashbacks to Obsidian Order training, but I needed a little more texture and a little less grayscale melodrama.
Writing Style: 9/10
Robinson clearly went full method actor here and tried to become Garak, which is both impressive and occasionally exhausting. The prose is sharp, clever, and soaked in irony—but also veers into “look how clever I am” territory more than once. The epistolary format (journal entries) gives us deep access to Garak’s mind, but sometimes that mind is just a spiral staircase of self-loathing and overanalysis. Gorgeous, but dense. If you like your internal monologues with a side of existential crisis, it’s catnip. Otherwise? A bit heavy.
Robinson clearly went full method actor here and tried to become Garak, which is both impressive and occasionally exhausting. The prose is sharp, clever, and soaked in irony—but also veers into “look how clever I am” territory more than once. The epistolary format (journal entries) gives us deep access to Garak’s mind, but sometimes that mind is just a spiral staircase of self-loathing and overanalysis. Gorgeous, but dense. If you like your internal monologues with a side of existential crisis, it’s catnip. Otherwise? A bit heavy.
Plot: 6/10
Here’s where the seams show. The plot is basically Garak writing in his diary and taking emotional inventory like he’s prepping for Cardassian therapy—which, let’s face it, probably involves needles. The flashbacks to his training and early career are the meat here, but the “present-day” thread barely qualifies as a story. It’s contemplative, not propulsive. I kept asking myself, “Where is this going?” and the answer was usually “nowhere quickly.” Deep, yes. Narrative momentum? Not so much.
Here’s where the seams show. The plot is basically Garak writing in his diary and taking emotional inventory like he’s prepping for Cardassian therapy—which, let’s face it, probably involves needles. The flashbacks to his training and early career are the meat here, but the “present-day” thread barely qualifies as a story. It’s contemplative, not propulsive. I kept asking myself, “Where is this going?” and the answer was usually “nowhere quickly.” Deep, yes. Narrative momentum? Not so much.
Intrigue: 7/10
The early chapters hooked me, but somewhere in the middle I started checking how many pages were left. The suspense is almost entirely emotional, and if I weren’t already deeply invested in Garak from the show, I’m not sure this would have held me. The tension is slow-cooked, which I can appreciate, but there were moments where I felt like I was watching someone think instead of reading a story. Occasionally gripping, occasionally glazed-over-eyes territory.
The early chapters hooked me, but somewhere in the middle I started checking how many pages were left. The suspense is almost entirely emotional, and if I weren’t already deeply invested in Garak from the show, I’m not sure this would have held me. The tension is slow-cooked, which I can appreciate, but there were moments where I felt like I was watching someone think instead of reading a story. Occasionally gripping, occasionally glazed-over-eyes territory.
Logic/Relationships: 9/10
This part mostly held up. Garak’s motives are a funhouse mirror of trauma, pride, and daddy issues, and that all tracked. The political rules of Cardassian society and the Obsidian Order were tight—no complaints there. But the emotional relationships, while intense, sometimes leaned too hard into tragic mystique. I wanted more interaction, not just internal rumination. Mila’s presence, for example, felt more symbolic than real. It’s all smart, but occasionally too “conceptual.”
This part mostly held up. Garak’s motives are a funhouse mirror of trauma, pride, and daddy issues, and that all tracked. The political rules of Cardassian society and the Obsidian Order were tight—no complaints there. But the emotional relationships, while intense, sometimes leaned too hard into tragic mystique. I wanted more interaction, not just internal rumination. Mila’s presence, for example, felt more symbolic than real. It’s all smart, but occasionally too “conceptual.”
Enjoyment: 7/10
I enjoyed it, but in the way I enjoy rewatching Hamlet—brilliant, broody, and exhausting. It’s not a fun ride; it’s a spiral into a deeply damaged man’s psyche. If that’s what you’re after, fantastic. But if you’re looking for a gripping story with balance, tension, and momentum, this isn’t it. I finished it satisfied—but also kind of relieved. Would I recommend it? Yes—but only to folks already obsessed with Garak or emotionally prepared to live inside the mind of a moral contortionist.
I enjoyed it, but in the way I enjoy rewatching Hamlet—brilliant, broody, and exhausting. It’s not a fun ride; it’s a spiral into a deeply damaged man’s psyche. If that’s what you’re after, fantastic. But if you’re looking for a gripping story with balance, tension, and momentum, this isn’t it. I finished it satisfied—but also kind of relieved. Would I recommend it? Yes—but only to folks already obsessed with Garak or emotionally prepared to live inside the mind of a moral contortionist.
Final Verdict: 53/70
A Stitch in Time is an ambitious character deep-dive with literary flair, but it's also a slow, dense, Garak-centric therapy session masquerading as a novel. Brilliant, but uneven. A must-read for DS9 fans, but not the flawless masterpiece it pretends to be.
A Stitch in Time is an ambitious character deep-dive with literary flair, but it's also a slow, dense, Garak-centric therapy session masquerading as a novel. Brilliant, but uneven. A must-read for DS9 fans, but not the flawless masterpiece it pretends to be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Torture, Murder, War
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Grief, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Classism
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
The book explores deeply traumatic experiences from Garak’s past—childhood indoctrination, violent training under the Obsidian Order, the collapse of Cardassia, and personal betrayals. The psychological toll of war, displacement, and abuse is front and center. None of the violence is gratuitous, but it’s emotionally intense and sometimes deeply unsettling. If you’re looking for a light read or something cozy, this is absolutely not it. But if you're ready to unpack the moral wreckage of one of Star Trek’s most layered characters? Dive in.
I immensely enjoyed this due to my love of trek and ds9 specifically (and for the fact that the audiobook was written and read by the actor himself), but it did lack a sort of je ne sais quoi which I think was mainly due to the fact that Garak’s character is best when he is put into conversions/situations with other ds9 characters, especially Bashir. His slyness, his humor, his cleverness really comes to light in the few scenes that do take place on the station. The whole part about Garak’s teenage-hood in the spy school just also went on for way too long.
Basically tldr: not gay enough tbh
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
That book was way better than it had any right to be.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was so great to get to know Garak a little more. It's a glimpse behind the scenes on Deep Space 9 but also quite a journey into his past and what happened after the last episode. Now I know he and 'Bashir' read dialogues during lockdown and I must find and watch them! Also, I want to point out that Andrew Eobinson is a delightful writer. It was such a pleasure!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was expecting something enjoyable, as I enjoy most Trek pulp-ish novels, but instead I was confronted with something incredible that stands on its own as an amazing work of science fiction.
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes