The Garak/Bashir Mysteries AU Series

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Star Trek DS9 Fanfiction
Title: The Garak/Bashir Mysteries AU Series
Author(s): JA Ingram and Charlene Vickers
Date(s):
Length:
Genre: slash, AU
Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
External Links: online here

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"The Garak/Bashir Mysteries AU Series" is a Star Trek: DS9 Garak/Bashir series by JA Ingram and Charlene Vickers.

Reactions and Reviews

Why? This is a must-read. I mean it. Even if you don't like AU's, go read it. It'll break your fucking heart several times along the way, but seriously, this fic should be published as a book, because damn... just... I don't have big enough words for it.

It has everything. And I do mean everything. Plot, mystery, romance, sex, fluff, great secondary pairings, lovable OCs, wild twists and turns, unexpected developments that never the less make perfect sense and... just... GOSH!

If you read an excerpt from late in the story, you're going to scream: "NO WAY! The characters would never do that!" But the way this story is written, by the time you get there... you totally believe it and love it! It's long and complicated and will leave you breathless. Read it. [1]

A long, meaty series of stories that have developed into an in-depth AU. All because Garak decided to borrow Bashir's replicator late one night instead of heading to the replimat. Compelling original characters, a solid sense of history, interesting mysteries for Garak and Julian to solve, and a believable, well-drawn AU situation that gives us a real "what could have been" on canon. Some of the possibilities are heartwarming, others are frightening, but all are fascinating. [2]

The problem is, for a story that's best strength is ability to stand up to the mantle of canon, it also withers repeatedly. Aesthetically and thematically, this fic really doesn’t feel like Star Trek. It feels like a military movie. Ben Sisko curses and sexism is still a problem in the 24th century. Everyone’s characterization is off, which is excusable in Garak (imagined as a romantic, deep down) and Bashir (imagined as a cynic, deep down); less excusable for everyone else. I think it was worth the read for the dynamic of an idealistic Garak and a jaded Bashir. I think it's worth the read if you want an interesting take on canon, or a morally ambiguous UFP. The author really plays with the idea that Bashir’s secret made him an easy target for Changeling Infiltration. But I won't be putting this on my re-read list any time soon. [3]

References

  1. ^ Big Fat Garak/Bashir Fanfic Recs list!, January 22, 2010
  2. ^ Favorite Garak/Bashir Story Links, by Mrs260
  3. ^ Ficdb Review by error_cascade. Link is now defunct (due to shutdown of ficdb), with no archived version, but the text was accurately captured.