Warped (Star Trek Deep Space Nine)

Rating:
Summary: DS9 Warped - Poorly written and executed!
Review: As a general rule I do not normally like to completely run an author's work into the ground, so in this case my intent is to be as fair as possible with reference to this title. It was not thoroughly surprising to see "Warped" be the second and final Star Trek novel by KW Jeter, who I know to be a very popular author in other genres. Between this and his first DS9 novel "Bloodletter," an astute fan of the series can quickly catch on that the author just didn't seem to grasp the characters or the overall theme of the series very well.

Although no one but those at Pocket Books can say for certain, I believe that the reason that this was the only hardback Star Trek Deep Space Nine release up until DS9's "Unity," which is due out this year, is because "Warped" did so poorly in sales due to it's slow pace and lack of familiarity to the actual series. I find this to be a sad fact as well, considering the novels that came out later that so richly deserved a hardback release!

The cover art for this novel is standard fare for the time it was published, not exceptionally imaginative.

The premise:

Attempting to capitalize on the outstanding second season trilogy episodes of "The Homecoming," "The Circle" and "The Siege," the author brings into play these aspects, playing on the political strife in the newly formed Bajoran provisional government. A series of murders occurs on the station and Commander Sisko finds himself dealing with a new religious faction that wishes to force the Federation away from Bajor.

Odo soon traces the mysterious murders on the station to a dangerous new form of holosuite technology which has also affected Commander Sisko's son, Jake. Sisko must now deal with this new religious faction and the very real possibility of murder coming his way from any direction, to include his own son.

I've also owned the audio tape for this novel for several years; read by Rene Auberjonois, it can be an "okay" distraction for three hours while driving down the highway. Of course, Rene Auberjonois' reading is excellent for what he was reading.

Overall, the premise to this story is an extraordinarily intriguing one; it's in the execution of the story where it falls flat. I would only recommend this title as a collectors or completist's type find. {ssintrepid}

Rating:
Summary: DS9 Warped - Poorly written and executed!
Review: As a general rule I do not normally like to completely run an author's work into the ground, so in this case my intent is to be as fair as possible with reference to this title. It was not thoroughly surprising to see "Warped" be the second and final Star Trek novel by KW Jeter, who I know to be a very popular author in other genres. Between this and his first DS9 novel "Bloodletter," an astute fan of the series can quickly catch on that the author just didn't seem to grasp the characters or the overall theme of the series very well.

Although no one but those at Pocket Books can say for certain, I believe that the reason that this was the only hardback Star Trek Deep Space Nine release up until DS9's "Unity," which is due out this year, is because "Warped" did so poorly in sales due to it's slow pace and lack of familiarity to the actual series. I find this to be a sad fact as well, considering the novels that came out later that so richly deserved a hardback release!

The cover art for this novel is standard fare for the time it was published, not exceptionally imaginative.

The premise:

Attempting to capitalize on the outstanding second season trilogy episodes of "The Homecoming," "The Circle" and "The Siege," the author brings into play these aspects, playing on the political strife in the newly formed Bajoran provisional government. A series of murders occurs on the station and Commander Sisko finds himself dealing with a new religious faction that wishes to force the Federation away from Bajor.

Odo soon traces the mysterious murders on the station to a dangerous new form of holosuite technology which has also affected Commander Sisko's son, Jake. Sisko must now deal with this new religious faction and the very real possibility of murder coming his way from any direction, to include his own son.

I've also owned the audio tape for this novel for several years; read by Rene Auberjonois, it can be an "okay" distraction for three hours while driving down the highway. Of course, Rene Auberjonois' reading is excellent for what he was reading.

Overall, the premise to this story is an extraordinarily intriguing one; it's in the execution of the story where it falls flat. I would only recommend this title as a collectors or completist's type find. {ssintrepid}

Rating:
Summary: Who are you? And what have you done with the real Sisko?
Review: Believe the title. The reason "Warped" didn't sell very well was that the author fundamentally misread the DS9 characters and feel. If you want to see stronger work from K. W. Jeter, read the Boba Fett books. The same cynical, violent outlook that works so well in that Star Wars story just seems creepy here. It's like all the Star Trek characters you know and care about have been replaced with twisted dopplegangers of themselves.

This is a paranoid book. Corridors are dark and oppressively silent. Much of the action takes place at night. A string of bizarre and violent murders upset the calm of the station. Political unrest stirs Bajor. There is even a ghost! Oh, and somebody's been tinkering with the holosuites, which now twist their users into violent and sociopathic behavior. It's a premise that deserves a stand-alone novel instead of trying to squeeze it into the rubber suit of DS9.

If you like dark books, and can avoid plot holes without mental distress, this is a decently-written story. However, big DS9 fans should avoid this one.

Rating:
Summary: A little warped, but overall not bad
Review: I don't understand why everyone keeps saying that this book is so bad. I picked it up, and couldn't put it down. Sure, it got a little overinvolved with some technological details at points, but it's not bad.

The only reason I will give it only four stars is because the author made one slight mistake. As I am writing a book about Federation starships, the author used both the runabouts Mekong and Ganges. Well, during my research, I learned that the Mekong is the runabout that was assigned to Deep Space 9 after the Ganges was destroyed. Just a little annoyance with me that the author did not research the information first.

Overall, a good pick. I highly recommend you pick it up to read.

Rating:
Summary: A little warped, but overall not bad
Review: I don't understand why everyone keeps saying that this book is so bad. I picked it up, and couldn't put it down. Sure, it got a little overinvolved with some technological details at points, but it's not bad.

The only reason I will give it only four stars is because the author made one slight mistake. As I am writing a book about Federation starships, the author used both the runabouts Mekong and Ganges. Well, during my research, I learned that the Mekong is the runabout that was assigned to Deep Space 9 after the Ganges was destroyed. Just a little annoyance with me that the author did not research the information first.

Overall, a good pick. I highly recommend you pick it up to read.

Rating:
Summary: An Average Star Trek Book
Review: I've a lot of Trek books. Some were very good, some I've wondered how they got published, and some are average. This one is slightly above average. Usual Trek technobabble when characters are discussing the innerworking some gizmo, and some great interaction between favorite pairs of characters, here in the case Odo and Quark. But nothing new really new or exceptional (except for the idea of holosuites that shoot data straight into the user's brain), but on the other hand the characters didn't say or do anything that most Trek fans would find uncharacteristic. If you're a Trek fan, Warped is good way to spend an evening.

Rating:
Summary: Not for everyone.
Review: If you're one of those fans of Deep Space Nine who enjoy that series' tendancy to supply a healthy dollop of psuedo-mysticism along with the usual Star Trek psuedoscience, you'll doubtless love this book. It was well-written, the characters were handled well, the plot moved nicely, and so forth.

If, on the other hand, (like me) you find the credibility granted the Bajoran mysticism and mumbo-jumbo (including Sisko's status as the "Emissary") to be at best minorly irritating, then this is definitely NOT the book for you. The basic concept was just a little too silly for words.

Rating:
Summary: Twisted?
Review: This book is exactly what the cover says... warped. It takes a slightly twisted mind to think up something like this. But if you like scary books, then this is for you. Once I got used to the idea, it wasn't that bad.

Rating:
Summary: Can be summed up in one word: Boring.
Review: This book simply couldn't hold my interest. I just kept putting it down when I tried to read it. The plot was just utterly uninteresting. I don't mind overly wordy books, but I don't like boring ones, and this novel was boring. I would definitely not recommend reading it.