Teaser

Against his better judgement, General Martok has been appointed Chancellor of the Klingon Empire. Will he rise to the challenge, or will enemies from within end his reign before it has even begun?

Review

Every now and then, a celebrity gets it into their head to write a novel. There’s no reason they shouldn’t do this. After all, they’re as qualified as anybody else. It’s just that sometimes the weight of their name overrules any actual writing ability. Those celebrities not endowed with sufficient prose skills have two options. Ghost-writers, and collaborators. I don’t know exactly how much of The Left Hand of Destiny can be attributed to each of its authors, but my understanding is that Hertzler came up with the ideas and wrote the first draft, and Lang did most of the actual writing that appears in the final version. Whatever the case, it’s a partnership that largely works.

In spite of the sheer amount of screen time Klingon culture has received over the years, Klingons can broadly be summed up with the words loud and angry. They are the archetypal warrior culture of the Star Trek universe, yelling about honour while being just as duplicitous and sneaky as everybody else. You may have guessed by now that I’m not the biggest fan of Klingon stories, but I have enjoyed this stage of the Deep Space Nine novel relaunch, so had nothing to lose.

As expected, the story is loud and and angry. Filled to the rafters with melodramatic warriors and blood feuds. It’s a little more cinematic than its contemporaries, but that makes for a nice change from the heavily serialised main relaunch novels. The Klingons are as you’d expect from the show, and unsurprisingly the authors have nailed Martok’s character perfectly. Every line of dialogue comes with the feel of Hertzler’s gruff delivery. There isn’t much depth, but the series does a good job of tying together various parts of Klingon history, along with some new material.

Martok aside, there are four central characters who will be familiar to Trek fans. Emperor Kahless has the feel of a major figure no one was ever sure what to do with, so it’s hard to fault his vague role here, but it does serve to build upon the more mythic aspects of The Left Hand of Destiny. Worf’s role as an ambassador is one that I wish we saw more of. Indeed, packing him back to the Enterprise is, I feel, one of the major missteps of the Litverse, largely undoing the character’s growth through DS9. We get glimpses here of his ongoing struggle between loyalties, and this is the role the character suits best. Worf’s son Alexander also plays a key role. Now, saying that this is the best use of Alexander isn’t exactly high praise given how poorly he was utilised on TV, but he really does feel like a fully-fleshed character here.

The final returning character came as a surprise to me, but I will always be grateful for more Ezri Dax. It makes sense that she’s appear, given the history between Jadzia Dax and Worf, and I’m impressed by how well this Dax fits into such a Klingon-heavy story. On that note, I have to give credit to Hertzler and Lang for keeping this as a Klingon story, and having the Federation and Starfleet involvement minimal. It really helps keep the setting large, and avoids making every major event about the same handful of people. Indeed, for all that Worf and Ezri play key roles, this is very much Martok’s story. It’s a new corner of the Trek universe to explore. Even if much of the landscape is familiar, the route taken is new.

This isn’t the sort of Star Trek story I’m used to. There are no ethical debates, no bold exploration. It is, however, a fun and exciting adventure. There’s room in the universe for both things, and it leaves the reader all the better for existing. It won’t go down as a favourite of mine, but it was still an enjoyable reading experience. If you’re a bigger Klingon fan than I am, I can only imagine the fun you’ll have.

Series Stats

• Two Novels
• Set immediately after the end of Deep Space Nine
• Published in 2003