The shortlist for the Unreality-SF.net TV tie-in of the year has been posted, and splendidly The Never-Ending Sacrifice has made the list.
The full list is:
Being Human: The Road by Simon Guerrier (novel)
Farscape: D’Argo’s Lament by Keith R.A. DeCandido & Neal Edwards (comic book)
Doctor Who: The Angel of Scutari by Paul Sutton (audio)
Doctor Who: The Final Chapter by Russell T. Davies & Benjamin Cook (nonfiction book)
Doctor Who: Prisoner of the Daleks by Trevor Baxendale (novel)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Never-Ending Sacrifice by Una McCormack (novel)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Losing the Peace by William Leisner (novel)
Star Trek: Vanguard: Precipice by David Mack (novel)
Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon by Keith R.A. DeCandido (novel)
Torchwood: In the Shadows by Joseph Lidster (audio)
Voting open till next Sunday, the 14th. Go and vote!
My mother passed away in April. While wrapping up her financial affairs and clearing her former home of all her possessions, I stumbled across a plastic grocery bag filled with Star Trek books. In curiously questioning her roommate, it turns out that she had been obtaining these books from neighborhood garage sales and she’d intended to give them to me as a birthday gift. I was touched, of course, and began sorting through them. Being an avid Star Trek fan, I’d already purchased most of them on my own but there was one book there that I’d been unable to find when it came out: “The Never-Ending Sacrifice.”
I’ve long cherished “A Stitch in Time” (of which you are probably familiar) as one of my favorite Trek novels, even though I highly disliked the Cardassian race during their stint on Deep Space Nine. They’d largely seemed one dimensional to me for most of the series’ run and while Damar’s rebellion added an interesting twist, it did little to ensnare me into caring about them as a race. Like “A Stitch in Time,” your novel served to beautifully expand upon the Cardassians, transforming them into a race I grew to care about. I’ve hungered for post-Dominion War Cardassia stories and while I enjoyed “Lotus Flower,” “The Never Ending Sacrifice” was truly exceptional to me.
Your book was a retreat during a time when I needed an escape from grief. In a way, reading about Rugal forging a new life on Ithic and taking charge of his destiny helped me to focus on getting through things one day at a time. That helped me a lot and while that kind of effect was most likely not one you’d envisioned for people when writing, I am grateful all the same.
While I am quite late to the party on giving praise for your book, I just wanted to thank you for your labors and express truly heartfelt love for your writing. I wish you the best of luck in future endeavors.
- Brad