Over two decades ago Pocket Books released Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: A Stitch in Time, a novel focused on the character of Elim Garak, and written by the man who played Garak, Andrew Robinson. The book set after the events of the series was very popular, but it never got an audiobook adaptation, until now.
Andrew Robinson reads A Stitch in Time
After being rumored, Simon & Schuster has officially announced the audiobook for A Stitch in Time. And to make it even more special, the unabridged audiobook is read by Robinson himself. It will be released on August 1st and you can pre-order it now.
Here is a summary of the original book:
For nearly a decade Garak has longed for just one thing—to go home. Exiled on a space station, surrounded by aliens who loathe and distrust him, going back to Cardassia has been Garak’s one dream. Now, finally, he is home. But home is a world whose landscape is filled with death and destruction. Desperation and dust are constant companions and luxury is a glass of clean water and a warm place to sleep.
Ironically, it is a letter from one of the aliens on that space station, Dr. Julian Bashir, that inspires Garak to look at the fabric of his life. Elim Garak has been a student, a gardener, a spy, an exile, a tailor, even a liberator. It is a life that was charted by the forces of Cardassian society with very little understanding of the person, and even less compassion.
But it is the tailor that understands who Elim Garak was, and what he could be. It is the tailor who sees the ruined fabric of Cardassia, and who knows how to bring this ravaged society back together. This is strange, because a tailor is the one thing Garak never wanted to be. But it is the tailor whom both Cardassia and Elim Garak need. It is the tailor who can put the pieces together, who can take a stitch in time.
Now that book will come to life, read by Robinson, who tells startrek.com “Narrating the book for the audio version and revisiting Garak and his story was a true labor of love. It made me realize just how much I miss the rascal (but not the make-up!). I hope that people, including those who have read the book, enjoy listening to Garak’s remarkable journey as much as I enjoyed taking it again.”
Cover for new audiobook
The book began as a personal diary kept by the actor to help inform his performance as Garak. In a 2020 interview with TrekMovie.com Robinson explained his process:
In the beginning, that diary of mine was just for me. It was only because I started going to conventions and I got so tired of people asking me how long it took to put on my makeup and answering questions, which was okay but not terribly interesting or edifying for the fans. It was only then that I started reading excerpts from the diary and people dug it. Then it just grew as I did more and more of a character, I fell in love with this character. I really did, I fell in love with the idea of Garak.
It was a tool for actors to do a biography. You know where your character came from what his education was and know what happened to him, so that you have that as a subtext. But I also fell in love with the idea of creating Garak’s world and the world of Cardassians. Because at the time, there was nothing about Cardassia on the show. So I had, I had free rein.
Original paperback cover
The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: A Stitch in Time audiobook will be available on August 1st, 2023 as a digital download and via Audible.
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It is definitely on my wish list. I love DS9 and really miss those stories. What a great opportunity to revisit that world!
I had lunch and interviewed Robinson in the 90s for a Trek related project (I wrote for Star Trek Communicator magazine). While we never published the interview, he did give me tickets to his one man stage performance as Jesus that was riveting, conflicted and intense. This guy is a hell of an actor and I’m sure a great writer.
You’re very lucky to have had that chance. Brilliant actor and I’m sure a great conversationalist. Did you feel like Dr. Bashir having lunch with Garak? Ok that was stupid but couldn’t help myself.
Defo a character i want to see on ST:Legacy; and not just that ro laren nod, but garak was so intense and special…
NO – because the idiots would probably kill him off for a few seconds of drama (like they did with Ro Laren) UNFORGIVABLE!!
Did he actually write it, or is it ghost written? I’m looking at you, Shatner!
iirc he did
He did. IIRC, it’s based on the extensive character diary he kept of Garak during DS9’s run.
nice!
I just started to read the eBook. I’ll wait until the audio version comes out to finish it. This is one book that should be read by the author.
Anyone knows if the sequel was ever written even as a treatment only?
Didn’t know about a sequel but i’d be all in for it, as it is the only new TREK novel I’ve enjoyed (massive understatement) this century, having read it at least a dozen times — have gone through four physical copies and also have it on kindle, since finding physical is hard (goes for a couple hundred bucks used, though I got my last two at thrift shops for less than two bucks.)
Just read that Frederick Forrest died … along with Andy and Tim Thomerson, he also read for TMP as Decker. Always thought any of those three could have done much better (more textured) in the role as opposed to Collins, though only Thomerson would have had the ‘hero’ look. Supposedly Wise wanted to go with somebody else before reading Collins and Jon Povill talked him out of it, saying the actor would sound whiney on film, and I’m thinking that was almost certainly Robinson, going by his Scorpio in DIRTY HARRY.
Really a shame, as TMP could have stood to build up the Kirk/Decker thing in any way that took it beyond what little was on the page.
Yes and no.
Robinson and Alexander Siddig wrote a sequel to the book as a stage play that they would perform at cons and Trek events called “The Dream Box” (or “The Nexus”, depending on the version). It was never published for mass consumption, however a copy of the script *has* found it’s way onto the internet over the past couple years and is obtainable. It’s a REALLY great play, and I can only imagine how good it was when both Robinson and Siddig performed it live.
It’s worth looking for and reading if you can find it.
YESSSSSSS!!! Admittedly this is the only Star Trek novel I’ve read but I loved it. I’m SO thrilled it’ll be on audio narrated by Garak himself. I can’t wait!
So good to see the finest Trek novel of all time still getting recognition 23 years after its original release.
As DS9 being my favorite show, I’m always happy to see any promotion it gets all these years later. And this one is a little bittersweet to re-release a 20 year old novel in audio form by the original actor.
It proves while our beloved franchise seems to have constant starts and stops in the last 20 years (to say the least), it always endures in one form or another.