Rating: 
Summary: DS9 #17 The Heart of the Warrior - Good but not great!
Review: 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}
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