Review: The Left Hand of Destiny Book 2 (DS9)

The Left Hand of Destiny: Book 2 continues almost exactly where Book 1
left off. Unfortunately, while the quality of the book is still high,
it's marred by some heavy mystical content that overpowers the book
and brings it almost to a standstill at times.

Martok, the new chancellor of the Klingon Empire, has been deposed and
is on the run. The secret behind the usurper has been revealed to be a
woman from Martok's past, a woman who Martok spurned when she tried to
get him to join her and her father in their genetic manipulation
schemes. Using her genetic talents, she has reincarnated the Hur'q,
the bane of the Klingon existence hundreds of years ago. Now that she
and the usurper have gained control of the Empire, what's next? Is
there a more personal slant to all of this?

Ezri Dax goes on personal leave from space station Deep Space 9 in
order to help, and finds herself caught in a the middle of a lot of
Klingon claptrap that she spoke out against earlier. She does her duty
to the Martok family anyway, aiding Worf and the crew of the Rotarran
find an ancient Klingon weapon that will give Martok the power to
wrest control of the Empire back from its thief.

Culminating in a final battle on the monastery planet Boreth, Martok's
victory or defeat will result in major changes to the Empire. Martok
will have to win if he wants to guide the new Empire during its first
baby steps. If he doesn't, the Empire will crumble.

The writing in this book is almost better than the first book, as none
of the mishaps that occurred in the first book present themselves.
There are no continuity errors (whether Trek-related or internal) and
the prose seems to be tightened considerably. The pacing at the start
is very nice. However, when things get to Boreth, the book takes a
major nosedive.

The main problem with the book is the overpowering mysticism. I do not
have any problem with visions, dreams, fantasy figures, etc. There has
always been a small mystic undercurrent in some Trek stories that
doesn't detract from them at all. However, this time it drags the book
to a screeching halt as Martok has yet more visions. I have to admit I
started losing track of things at this point, and just wanted the book
to get moving again. This mainly becomes a problem on Boreth, as I
have no problems with the few times it happens to Martok before.

The mysticism, combined with the seemingly endless battle on the
snow-clad plains makes the last third of the book a real struggle to
get through. Every time it seemed like the battle was going to end,
something else happened to continue it. It got very monotonous very
quickly, and turned me right off. The climax is stunning yet a little
too abrupt. After the monotony of the final sequence, the climax
suddenly happens and then it's over, with just a small epilogue taking
place two months later. While the pacing of earlier sections of the
book is fine, the pacing of the ending really stinks.

All is not lost, however. The fact that the television show is over
gives Hertzler and Lang free reign with most of the characters, and
some surprising fates await them. I liked the fact that, for the most
part, the reader has no idea whether or not danger will be fatal for a
character. It makes the book more suspenseful and it does help make
the final battle a little more palatable. If none of the characters
were in any danger, this sequence would have been even more boring.
What's even better is that the fates of the characters are logical and
believable.

The characterization is still strong and is one of the high points of
the book (and its predecessor). Martok has visibly grown into his role
and he slowly begins to accept that he is what the Empire needs.
Kahless, the cloned Klingon emperor, also comes full circle and
realizes what his place is in Klingon society. Worf, Dax, and Worf's
son Alexander are also in character, and interesting characters to
boot. The characterization of the villains isn't quite as good, but
it's not as bad as the first book, where they were ciphers. There were
a few "I'm so evil" moments, especially for the female villain, but
they weren't too bad. I found the usurper extremely dull, though. He
gets more face-time in the book, but in this case it's a bad thing. He
rarely does anything but rant about his mother or Martok.

Pharh, though, is the breakthrough original character. He grows away
from his Ferengi heritage of commerce and business to become a very
well-rounded character, so much so that Martok comes to respect him as
he never would any other Ferengi. Unfortunately, his is the one fate
that is most predictable, but he's still interesting to read about.
While one would expect Hertzler to have Martok's characterization down
pat (since he played Martok on the show), it's Pharh who shows that
Hertzler is a very talented writer.

It's just the pacing that needs work. If that improves, Hertzler will
continue to be a fine Trek writer (assuming that's what he wants to
do). Still, this opening 2-book series is a wonderful step in the
right direction and shows a lot of promise. I wish I knew who was
responsible for what in the book, because if it's Lang's fault, I'll
apologize to Hertzler. The problems just strike me as "new-writer
syndrome" that will hopefully go away in time. If you're a DS9 fan,
you owe it to yourself to check out these two books. Just try not to
fall asleep getting to the end of the second one.

David Roy