REVIEWED: The ‘DS9 Illustrated Handbook’ from Hero Collector

DS9 Illustrated Handbook
DS9 Illustrated Handbook

Friends, let me be the first to tell you that the new Star Trek: Deep Space Nine book from Hero Collector and Eaglemoss is wonderful. No other way to say it. Beautifully illustrated, incredibly well-researched and all written from an in-universe point of view. I must recommend the DS9 Illustrated Handbook to all Trek fans who are into DS9, and especially for those new fans who are getting into the series.

The DS9 Illustrated Handbook is fully illustrated revealing details about the station’s defensive capabilities and more.
The DS9 Illustrated Handbook is fully illustrated revealing details about the station’s defensive capabilities and more.

Edited by Simon Hugo and Ben Robinson, the DS9 Illustrated Handbook gives all of the details a fan could possibly want to know about the former Cardassian ore processing station.

There is so much to the station, including the history, the technology, the unusual alien architecture and more that the producers of the series just barely touched on. An off-hand comment by Kira about the pylons or O’Brien futzing about relays or coils was as much as we got. This book fills in all the gaps.

The DS9 Illustrated Handbook is divided into three parts. The first portion is dedicated the Deep Space Nine station itself. Readers can learn about the station’s operational history, holding cells, and the turbolift network. Even Morn got his own couple of pages.

Who can forget or overlook the incredible Morn, and all of his contributions to DS9? The book covers all of them.
Who can forget or overlook the incredible Morn, and all of his contributions to DS9? The book covers all of them.

Are you interested in how exactly the EPS Network worked, or perhaps how to play the game of Dabo? There are sections on both, and much more.

The second part of the book covers the runabouts. Readers can explore the interior and exterior of those hearty vessels.

The last section of the DS9 Illustrated Handbook is dedicated to everyone’s favorite “tough little ship” — the U.S.S. Defiant. Is it a coincidence that most fans say DS9 started getting “good” on the third season, which was the same time that Defiant and its missions started? We think it’s not a coincidence…

Ahhhh... the Defiant. You’ll spend a lot of time getting to know all this ship’s details.
Ahhhh… the Defiant. You’ll spend a lot of time getting to know all this ship’s details.

You’ll get the entire backstory of why Starfleet created the ship, which Sisko said was “over gunned and over powered” for a vessel of its size. You’ll also get complete schematics and layout drawings of the ship, revealing every last detail.

Throughout the book, stills from the episodes are featured, and they are always in a spot to help illustrate something. You’ll find yourself saying “I remember that episode!” as you flip through the pages for the first time.

The DS9 Illustrated Handbook tops out at 200 pages, all filled with great details and notes from that wonderful show. I highly recommend grabbing a copy of the DS9 Illustrated Handbook. It’s so much fun to read and look through, and would be just perfect for when in-person conventions resume. I would love to see Nana Visitor autographing a bunch of pages in my copy.

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