Customer Reviews

The Heart of the Warrior (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, No 17)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series was different from many other series in that storylines continued over several episodes. While this allowed the story to be expanded into much greater detail, it also meant that multiple plotlines were often simultaneously followed. While this is acceptable and even sensible in a series, it can be a problem in a book. In this case it is a problem.
After great effort, a peace conference has been scheduled between the Cardassians, the Federation, the Maquis group of guerrilla fighters and the Valtusians. Just getting these sides to a conference is a major achievement and Commander Cisco and the officers of Deep Space Nine (DS9) are having great difficulties in managing all of the security problems. A Bajoran group is also on DS9 and is staging major protests. It is their contention that Gul Mekkar, the leader of the Cardassian delegation, is the perpetrator of war crimes during the Carassian occupation of Bajor.
In the second major plotline, Odo, Worf and Kira are on an undercover mission into Dominion controlled space. They are to make contact with a man who supposedly has information on the drug that the Founders use to control the Jem'Hadar warriors. This mission takes them deep into Dominion territory and they ultimately end up stowing away on a Dominion ship. Since Quark, Bashir and O'Brien are also major characters, there are aspects of the story that involve their actions.
The two major plotlines are just too much for one book and the events where Kira and Worf stowaway on the Dominion ships are absurd. As other episodes have demonstrated, the ubiquitous computer involvement in the running of a ship would mean that an intruder aboard a ship would be easily and immediately detected. This would have been a better story if the peace conference had been the only major theme and the background and context more thoroughly explored. A reader unfamiliar with the series would be left puzzled by some of the references.

A good concept for a story that doesn't develop well enough to be thsi short of a book. Basically they spend most of their time hidden and then escape in the nick of time. I wished that this book would've been better, it had the potential to be greater and unfortunately the ideas didn't always live up to the promise of what I think the writers wanted them to.

This is a perfectly acceptable story in the genre of Star Trek DS9, but it has nothing to recommend it above the general run of such stories. It is competently written, but is really just "another DS9 story". If you enjoy DS9, it will be a fun read, but even so, within a week you'll have trouble remembering any details; it just isn't very memorable.

As you have read above, Mr. Betancourt considers this to be a fine example of Star Trek fiction. Having Worf join DS9 was the biggest event in DS9 for several years, and truly gave the show another dimension.

The Heart of the Warrior is an introduction to the new environment of DS9 with Worf. The story itself has a concise plot line that involves only a few of the characters. Heart is very similar to some of the Star Trek episodes which focus on a particular character, Thus, Heart will be acceptable to most Star Trek readers.

This is one of the Star Trek novels which I've read many times. Worf is one of my favorite characters and John G. Betancourt handles him quite well. The Dominion was still largely unexplored at the time, except for the basics--Jem'Hadar are overly aggressive and worship the Founders. This is a great addition to the Dominion War backstory.

What better title could an author have for the first original Star Trek Deep Space Nine novel with the character of Lieutenant Commander Worf? That being said, this book does leave a lot to be desired if you, the reader, have watched the entire saga that is Star Trek Deep Space Nine. When sitting down to read this book, one has to take the time to consider the time in which it was written and published which was well before the series as a whole thoroughly explored the Dominion and its makeup, from the Founders to the Vorta and ultimately the Jem'Hadar.

Take heart in the fact that John G. Betancourt, who is an excellent author in the Star Trek genre, did not have the benefit of two to three seasons' worth of canon to work with but only a small amount of Dominion "facts" and a lot of speculation.

For making the first attempt at an original DS9 story including Worf and tackling a novel dealing primarily with the Dominion and a mission in the Gamma Quadrant, I found the overall premise to be a good one, rife with the potential to be a superior story but that potential was ultimately unrealized. Where this novel tripped was in the execution of the plot and the characterizations which I spoke about above. Given those considerations, the pacing of the novel suffered some as well, detracting from the experience.

The cover art for the novel is a bit better than the standard fare for the time in which this novel was published.

The premise:

While Captain Sisko and the rest of the crew deal with a crucial peace conference on Deep Space Nine Major Kira and Worf embark on a mission deep in the Gamma Quadrant to find the secret of the Ketracel White that the Founders use to control the Jem'Hadar.

What follows from there is an interesting but ultimately unsatisfying story that is contradicted in many ways by the series, which is too bad considering the effort that the author put into this novel. I would still recommend this novel for the basic story behind it if not for the characterizations and the "suppositions" about the Dominion. {ssintrepid}

I really liked this book. It has everything from Changlings to Jem'Hadar to religious riots. However, Jem'Hadar don't sleep and Changelings don't have names. If you can ignore this you will have a lot of fun reading it, though.

I will not say "If you a true fan, don't read this book", or anything like that, but, to me this book seemed like a rehash of the old "Oh, Sisko's sending a team to destroy a Jem'Hadar base or get a secret weapon to defeat the Dominion." Overall,this novel is pointless. I'll wait (and hope) for a DS9 book by J.M. Dillard where Kai Winn gets possessed by a Pah-wraith, and runs amuck on DS9 (serve her right, too, for dabbling with Pah-wraith occultism).

I HAVE READ APP. 50 OR 60 TREK BOOKS AND THIS BOOK IS PROBABLY THE BEST BOOK OF ALL OF THEM. I LOOK FOR BETANCOURT'S BOOKS WHEN I GO SHOPPING. THANKS TO THE AUTHOR FOR SUCH A GOOD BOOK

The book starts out fairly good, but then once they go off into the gamma quadrant and meet the Jem'Hadar warship, it sucks. The Jem'Hadar act nothing like they do in the show, and neither do the changelings. The changelings talk about the weather and other cultures, and they take Odo to an outpost where changelings are just walking around. And worse, the Jem'Hadar are hunting down something on their ship for sport, wearing something you'd see in Hawaii. Don't buy this book!!!!! I set it on fire after reading it.