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Title: The Battle of Betazed (Star Trek: The Next Generation) by Susan Kearney, Charlotte Douglas ISBN: 0-7434-3434-X Publisher: Star Trek Pub. Date: 01 April, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.95 (21 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: betazed must be freed no matter the cost
Comment: the war against the dominion and the cardassians is not going well for starfleet. betazeid has been captured and the dominion
force is builing a new space station with betazeids as slave labor. when starfleet sends ships to liberate betazeid they are
utterly destroyed before they even get close to the system. with
this defeat starfleet gets a message from the betazeid resistance
movement on betazeid that is headed by none other than laxanda
troi herself. the plan they want implemented can mean freedom
for their homeworld but may leave the betazoids scared emotionlly
permanently. what is freedom worth? will they risk their very
way of life for their freedom? deanna troi is caught in the middle of this very ethical decision and what she and the crew
of the enterprise do is well worth reading. this is one of the
best star trek the next generation books that i have read and i
highly reccomend it to all fans especially if you are a deanna
fan.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Newer, Stronger Deanna Troi
Comment: Deanna Troi is the heart and soul of this book, set before the final conquest and retreat of the Dominion, as Deanna is faced with a true moral dilemma: she can perhaps save her homeworld of Betazed from the Dominion/Cardassian conquerors, but the method she must use is morally repugnant to her. Making things worse, she has not heard from her mother, the indomitable Lwaxana, or her two-year-old brother Barin, who are trapped on the planet, since the invasion. The mysterious Commander Elias Vaughn, who has appeared in several other TNG & DSN books, has provided her with this chance to save the Betazed and possibly the Federation, as the withdrawal of Dominion/Cardassian control from Betazed would remove them from a position of proximity to other Federation worlds. Deanna, along with Vaughn, Data, and Dr. Crusher, form a commando troop to carry out the mission on Betazed, while Riker, Geordi, and Miles O'Brien, have a mission of their own on the Cardassian space station orbiting Betazed. Worf joins O'Brien in a welcome return to TNG from DSN. This is an exciting book and, as a Deanna Troi fan from day 1, a book I highly recommend. Even someone who does not enjoy the "science" in "science fiction" can follow this plot easily. Buy it; you'll like it.
Rating: 3
Summary: Battle Misses Potential
Comment: I'm almost embarassed to admit that what first attracted me to this Star Trek tie-in was the cover. I've never been a big fan of Deanna Troi, especially in her turquoise dress days, but when she shifted to a uniform and actual Starfleet responsibilities, I kinda warmed to her character. The cover, depicting Troi, armed and ready, above a trio of Jem 'Hadar, with a swirling blue star background, caught my eye one day when I was browsing at the bookstore. I hadn't bought a Trek book in years -- the last one was The Captain's Daughter by Peter David, one of the better Trek authors (although Imzadi II still leaves me bitter) -- because of the decreasing quality and my own detachment to the series... so I was understandably reluctant to shell out good dollars. I kept looking for The Battle for Betazed at my local bookstore, but then I received it as a gift... and the book languished on my shelf until I pulled it down recently and thought, "Start reading... if you hate, it goes in the bin next to Chosen."
The Battle for Betazed is set during the Dominion War, a time when shapeshifting beings and their hearty, genetically created army have invaded Federation space. In this particlar story, they've conquered the peace-loving Betazoids, a telepathic culture devoted to harmony. While horrific experiments occur on the new space station, built by the Dominion's allies, the Cardassians, the Betazoid resistence seeks Starfleets help to bring a dangerous serial killer back to their homeworld. Why? Because he can kill with a mere thought, and he could teach others how and then they might defeat the Dominion on their planet.
As with most Trek books, this is not the sole plot. There are two others, both complimentary to the primary story. Commander Riker leads a strike team into the heart of the space station, intent to destroy it from within, while Captain Picard commands the Enterprise and a few other starships to distract the enemy ships. Some Deep Space 9 characters appear including Worf, commander of the Defiant, and Chief O'Brien, whose intimate knowledge of Cardassian space stations (DS9) makes him an ideal participant in the raid. Troi's mother returns as well, but in a much more subdued role as resistence leader and it was nice to envision a calmer, darker Lwaxana. There are some new characters including a steely Starfleet special ops expert, a ruthless Cardassian commander, and Tevren, the killer himself... none of these characters are, thankfully, Mary Sues.
The writing, by Charlotte Douglass and Susan Kearney, is rather plain and somewhat expositive at times. There's not much in the way of character development that doesn't occur in a sort of passive sense. I was frequently distracted by Trek background material, inserted obviously to familiarize non-Next Gen readers with the setting and its characters. If a reader is picking up this book, chances are s/he's already aware that Riker and Troi were once a serious item or that LaForge has optical implants. Far better to invest writing effort and creativity in the emotional sides of these characters and breathe life into their actions. Admittedly, there's not much depth in Star Trek unless one injects it into the writing or performances, but it's no excuse for avoiding the potential.
Having said that, however, the book does not completely fail its promise. The story itself is intriguing and offered bare hints at what the authors could have done to create a rich, conflicting situation. The novel could have easily doubled in length without much effort, focusing deeply on primary characters, particularly Troi, who once interned at the prison where the killer has been kept for 17 years. The potential for a creepy Lector-Starling interaction was ripe for exposure, but the authors barely touched on the relationship, Troi's later reaction to Tevren's role in the war, or what happens once she's face to face with him again. The authors occasionally touch on the Riker-Troi dynamic, which would have further enriched the psychological plot.
I suppose I'm expecting too much of a Trek novel. After reading The Battle for Betazed, I picked up Immortal Coil, a Data-centric novel that also caught my eye because of its cover, and already I'm impressed with the detail and quality of writing. This is not to say that I'm going to start reading Trek novels again or rebuild my fannish collection. The few books I have left, now in storage, are novels that I truly enjoyed and hope to read again... I'm not sure where The Battle for Betazed falls. I almost feel as if it should be rewritten -- properly as a stand-alone, non-Trek world, and then I'd probably keep it.
The Battle for Betazed is a harmless read for a lazy, rainy afternoon. I read it quickly without worrying about missing stuff and the story was compelling enough to retain my attention for the two days it took (between work and home obligations) to finish.
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Title: Immortal Coil (Star Trek The Next Generation) by Jeffrey Lang ISBN: 0743405927 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Homecoming, Book 1 (Star Trek: Voyager) by Christie Golden ISBN: 074346754X Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: A Time to Be Born (Star Trek The Next Generation) by John Vornholt ISBN: 0743467655 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: A Time to Die (Star Trek The Next Generation) by John Vornholt ISBN: 0743467663 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Lives of Dax (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) by Marco Palmieri ISBN: 0743456823 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 31 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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