STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE – THE LEFT HAND OF DESTINY
by J.G. Hertzler and Jeffrey Lang
BOOK 1, Pocket Books MMPB
294 pages, $6.99
BOOK 2, Pocket Books MMPD
330 pages, $6.99
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Written by Bill Williams, edited by Steve Krutzler
Synopsis: After leading the forces of the Klingon Empire to victory in the final assault against the Dominion, Chancellor Martok returns to the Klingon home world to bring the hope of a bright new future for his people. A violent coup wipes out the Klingon governing council and plunges the empire into chaos, rebellion, and civil war. Now a fugitive from his own people, Martok is stripped of everything and begins a journey of self-discovery, from the remains of his childhood home to the plains of the Klingon monastery on Boreth, that will lead him to a quest for the Klingon soul…
Review: I will just come right out and say it at the very beginning of this review: THE LEFT HAND OF DESTINY is highly recommended! I liked this story that much! This is rich with character development, action, and history, as it reveals to us who Chancellor Martok truly is as a leader and as a Klingon.
In preparing for this review, I had to immerse myself once again into the world of DEEP SPACE NINE and detailed character analyses of Martok as seen on the series. It was like getting into Martok’s mind and finding out what makes him tick. The divisions between past and present are wonderfully illustrated and developed throughout the two-book saga, and its success is largely due to the man who knows Martok best: actor and writer J.G. Hertzler.
There is one word that describes Martok best from what we have seen thus far on DEEP SPACE NINE: underdog. Coming from a lowly Klingon province with no family, Martok worked his way up through the ranks in the Empire, faced harsh treatments at the hands of other Klingons around him, persevered in his military career, endured encounters at the hands of the Jem’Hadar, and rose to the occasion every time, making a name for himself in battle with honor and valor, and emerging as the Chancellor of the Klingon Empire. If a man’s work can speak for itself, then it reveals the nature of the man’s dedication and perseverance. Who among us have been underdogs and can relate so well to one who has taken on that role and triumphed over the odds? Martok truly defined the word “leader” on the series.
The underdog mentality permeates Martok’s character through the novels, as J.G. Hertzler takes it one step further by revealing the man behind the chancellor. Together with writer Jeffrey Lang, author of IMMORTAL COIL, Hertzler crafts a story of perseverance and triumph. Right from the first page I found myself rooting for Martok in his attempt to reclaim what is rightfully his.
Book 1 begins with Chancellor Martok’s victorious return to Qo’nos, after the end of the Dominion War, to assume control of the Klingon High Council. But upon their return, Martok witnesses the devastating destruction of the Klingon capital city that has left the High Council and many thousands more dead or wounded. Caught among the injured is Worf’s son Alexander. A Klingon terrorist named Morjod admits responsibility for the attack and lays the blame at Worf’s feet for allegedly engineering Martok’s takeover of the empire in the name of Federation politics. In order to further emphasize his intentions to return the empire to its former glory days, Morjod introduces a breed of caged Klingon animals to track down and eliminate any sympathizers loyal to Martok. Escaping a terrorist attack on Martok’s flagship by Morjod’s forces, Worf transports Martok and his crew to the ruins of the province of Ketha, Martok’s childhood home, where they mount their defense.
As Morjod captures Martok’s wife Sirella for execution in an attempt to force him out into the open, Hertzler and Lang paint a portrait of a young warrior whose origins are in some ways similar to Martok’s: rising up through the ranks and making a name for himself among the more conservative elements of the Klingon Empire. But where Martok achieved his victories through honorable battles, Morjod achieves control through murder, assassinations, and political espionage, leaving Martok a man without an empire to rule. And behind the scenes, one who is pulling Morjod’s strings to keep Martok off the throne of leadership, one with a secret history to Martok who could jeopardize the entire Klingon Empire through the mistakes of Martok’s past…
Book Two begins as Martok, Worf, Worf’s son Alexander, Kahless, and the remnants of Martok’s forces, now joined by Ezri Dax and an unlikely supporter in the form of a Ferengi outcast named Pharh, mount their defense against Morjod’s forces in a valiant attempt to restore Martok to power. A devastating loss to Martok’s forces drives him to the icy plains of the Klingon monastery planet of Boreth, where they make their final stand to determine the future of the Empire. I could go on and on in revealing more tantalizing details of Book 2, but I won’t. This is a story that will absorb readers into the rich tapestry, history, and adventure that unfolds. This is a journey to be experienced.
At the heart of THE LEFT HAND OF DESTINY is Martok’s search for his heart as a Klingon and as a leader. In WILD AT HEART, writer John Eldredge comments that the secret to a man’s soul is in his desire for seeking adventure, knowing inside his heart that he has what it takes to overcome any odds and be the leader he is meant to be. For Martok, this means fighting for both his wife Sirella and for the honor of what he has achieved in his service to the Klingon Empire. Even the cloned emperor Kahless admits to Martok that he has what it takes to truly lead the Klingons into a new era of leadership. In an exciting sequence that recalls the action of STAR WARS: ATTACK OF THE CLONES, GLADIATOR, and Sir Thomas Malory’s LE MORTE D’ARTHUR, Martok mounts a daring rescue of his wife Sirella from execution by Morjod’s forces. For Martok, all that matters is the quest, the journey, to recapture what is rightfully his, to acknowledge and move past the mistakes of his youth, to be once again the warrior that he was meant to be.
If IMMORTAL COIL is “the” Data novel, then THE LEFT HAND OF DESTINY is truly “the” Martok story and rightly takes its place alongside John Ford’s THE FINAL REFLECTION as a perfect examination of the Klingon culture and of the underdog who would become one of the greatest leaders of the Klingon Empire. Let us hope that J.G. Hertzler gets another chance to write an equally successful and entertaining STAR TREK novel. Very highly recommended -- if I could give them a sixth star, I would!
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