SF Book Review: "The never-ending sacrifice" by Una McCormack

The real novel "The never-ending sacrifice" by Una McCormack, published on Earth in 2009, is named after a Star Trek universe classic Cardassian book with the same title from the  society in the "Deep Space Nine" star trek series.

It fills in more of the backstory of the Cardassian people and specifically of characters from the 25th episode of Deep Space Nine, "Cardassians" (Season two, episode five).

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 Arc ᯓ★ on X: "Yeah I read some pretty niche literature https://t.co/D78t9v9Rz2" / X)

In "Cardassians," the character Elim Garak, (who is a former Cardassian spy now very loosely allied to the Federation) sees a Cardassian boy on DS9 and decides to introduce himself, but the boy, who has been raised as a Bajoran and encouraged to hate and fear members of his own biological race, is terrified and bites Garak on the hand.

Without wanting to spoil either story, let's just say it turns out that the boy, who is called Rugal Pa'Dar, and the real Cardassian parents from whom he was stolen, and the loving Bajoran foster-parents who have been raising him in the belief that he had been abandoned or orphaned, are all victims of a very murky political plot.

In the book "The never-ending sacrifice," Una McCormack follows the subsequent history of Rugal Pa'Dar, and in the past provides some more backstory both for Elim Garak and for Cardassian society.

Reluctantly returned to Cardassia as a teenager, Rugal becomes a firsthand witness to the collapse of Cardassian power—first under Klingon occupation, then through the empire’s catastrophic alliance with the Dominion, a partnership that ends in devastation and near-genocide.

As Cardassia fractures and its people struggle to survive the consequences of disastrous decisions made for them by leaders like Gul Dukat, Rugal has a particular perspective on the arrogance, moral compromises, and blind spots that led to ruin.

In the midst of these failures, Rugal finds that the Cardassian spirit, and his own divided identity, are even more complex than he imagined.

It is a well-written and very moving book which may help the reader with an interest in such tings to understand the Cardassian characters from Deep Space Nine and indeed one or two other Star Trek stories.

You can order the book from Amazon at

Star Trek DS9: The Never Ending Sacrifice eBook by Una McCormack, Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

Professor X