The Battle of Betazed

Star Trek: The Next Generation

by Charlotte Douglas, Susan Kearney (Draft Writer)

In the darkest hours of the Dominion War, as the Federation's downfall seemed ever more certain, Jem'Hadar and Cardassian forces conquered Betazed, the homeworld of Deanna Troi. Their victory sent shock waves through the Alpha Quadrant, and put the Dominion within striking distance of Vulcan, Andor, Tellar -- and possibly Earth itself.

To secure their position in the very heart of the Federation, the Cardassians begin constructing the space station Sentok Nor in orbit of Betazed. The station is to serve as both the seat of the Dominion occupation and the site of horrific experiments by Cardassia's foremost exobiologist, the infamous Dr. Crell Moset.

With Starfleet's forces spread too thinky in the ongoing struggle to retake Betazed outright, the U.S.S. Enterprise along with some old and new friends, is deployed to carry out a dangerous and desperate plan. But no matter what the outcome, the consequences could alter Betazed irrevocably, forcing Deanna Troi to choose between her world's survival and its very soul.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Star Trek The Next Generation, Fiction, Ebooks, Science Fiction Fantasy, Media Tie In

263 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS has loved a good story since she learned to read at the age of three. After years of teaching that love of books to her students, she now enjoys creating stories of her own. Often her books are set in one of her three favorite places—Montana, where she and her husband spent their honeymoon; the mountains of North Carolina, where she has a summer home; or Florida, near the Gulf of Mexico on Florida’s west coast, where she’s lived most of her life.

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never been a big Troi fan, but this story was excellent. It zips right along and is full of action while presenting one hell of a moral dilemma involving a choice between the lesser of two incredibly horrifying evils that threaten Betazed in equally disturbing ways and demand unimaginable sacrifice. The Dominion and Cardassians will think twice about attacking the next planet full of telepathic pacifists. The two antagonists, a Cardassian reminiscent of Nazi butcher Josef Mengele and a Betazoid reminiscent of psychopathic serial killer Hannibal Lecter, leave quite a chilling impression.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not as well-versed in Star Trek as most longtime fans, so, I had a bit of trouble understanding this one. However, I did find it to be well-written, and enjoyable...to a degree.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An effortless read I inhaled in just a couple of hours. It's a rip-roaring adventure that never forgets it's also a war story, and pays for the thrills with tragic consequences. It's an exercise in fanwank continuity-hole plugging that works superbly, and it also brings to the table its own unique contribution to Betazoid culture. The main cast is pitch-perfect, the DS9 guest stars are used appropriately, and if the Betazed resistance scenes are slightly dull, it is more than made up for by the rest of the novel. By far the best TNG prose contribution to the Dominion War.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book isn't a challenging or long read. The writing isn't fantastic, either. It is good, just not fantastic. However, I give it high marks for exploring a part of the Dominion War that was only mentioned on screen. In DS9, the writers wanted to suggest that the war was going badly for the Federation by saying that a major member-planet had been taken by the Dominion. They chose Betazed.

This book follows up on this idea with Deanna Troi and the Enterprise recruited for a special mission by Starfleet in an attempt to liberate Betazed from Dominion control. The book includes cameos by the Defiant, Worf and O'Brien from DS9 and really ties in well with a lot of the events and story elements of the Dominion War as seen on the show. It bothered me when watching the show that we never heard what the Enterprise was doing during the war. This and some of the other Pocket Books fill in that bit.

I particularly like the ethical dilemma the story presents Deanna and other characters in the story. Is victory worth any cost? Like the best episodes of DS9, the characters have to balance the needs of the war against their high ideals and the fun in the story is finding out which one wins out this time.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covered an interesting gap -- when TNG had transitioned to the movies, but when DS9 was still airing, and the Dominion War was in full swing. In fact, I had a slight amount of trouble based on how far back I had to pull my knowledge of the characters to make sense of some scenes, but it was certainly interesting to see aspects of the war that were not depicted in DS9. The climax was a little too cliched for me, but the resolution was a lovely touch.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Star Trek: The Next Generation meets Hannbal Lecter. Has some nice bursts of action and gives an interesting exploration of Deanna Troi, but a bit blurry at points. This is NOT for the casual Star Trek fan but someone who has seen every single episode of ST:TNG and at least half of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Oh, and you better see the movies, too.



The big disappointment was that the Hannibal Lecter character barely does anything after a huge build-up. Interesting that there is no mention of Hannibal Lecter even though some scenes and dialogue are lifted directly from The Silence of the Lambs. Does Robert Harris know about this book? He probably does and doesn't care.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A satisfying read that does a good job of picking up a tantalizing thread from DS9. As soon as the capture of Betazed was mentioned on the show, and it became clear it wouldn't be addressed in the remainder of the series, I had hoped that some enterprising writers would let us know how it turned out. Thankfully, the writing team of Douglas and Kearney has done a stand up job of delivering that story. Some fascinating moral questions are raised, giving us a novel worthy of being Trek.

Full review: https://www.treklit.com/2023/12/the-battle-of-betazed.html

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read my first Star Trek novel on a beach in St. John a while back. A once-waterlogged TOS hardcover, it was the only thing remotely interesting at the hotel library. I've forgotten the title, but it featured Kirk eavesdropping on the Enterprise's shipwide "electronic bulletin board" (yeah, it didn't age well), and Spock deriving the equations governing weather patterns over England by peering down on the clouds from orbit. Fun times.

Anyway, now I've read my second Star Trek novel on a beach. My brother loaned me this novel, and it was on the top of my stack, so off to the Gulf Coast it went. He admitted it wasn't the best ST novel he'd read, but that it did stand by itself. So I was not setting my expectations high.

Turns out it was a good book to take to the beach, since I was basically exhausted by the time I got to it each night, and was in no shape to parse complicated plots or convoluted character chemistries. In short, it was as predictable and easy as a TNG episode. If this was the authors' goal, they succeeded.

But now I know why I have shied away from reading Star Trek fiction, Star Wars fiction, and fan fiction in general. You can't do much with the stock characters and situations, but you have to feature them for the imprimatur. That leaves little room for new characters or situations, most of which get assigned red shirts, or tidily wrapped up by book's end. Readers unfamiliar with TNG might be frustrated with the plot holes in this story, but then I doubt the authors are writing for Trek virgins.

More on the plot. Most every detail is mentioned for:

* The purpose of being useful in some convenient deus ex later on.
* The purpose of name dropping from the canon to appease the fanbase ("Ooh, look they mention Garak!").
* Homage to what must be the mother of all TNG novels, Imzadi (was it just me, or did not Riker and Troi, with their every imminent death sequence mutter this word, breathlessly?).
* Satisfying the authors' fascination with unpronounceable/unmemorable names for the native flora of Betazed.

Take your pick.

Now, as I told my brother, please don't take this as an insult, nor as my verdict on all such fiction (after all, I may end up someday reading Michael Stackpole's many Star Wars novels, and/or David Brin's TNG graphic novel Star Trek: The Next Generation: Forgiveness), but I'm going to have to give The Battle of Betazed...

1 dose of beta carotene for lulling me to sleep on my vacation, for which I am very grateful.

P.S.: Thanks to the novel list at the back of this book, I thought for sure I'd recognize the name of the first ST novel I read. No such luck here. Props for whoever figures this out!

[Jenna Tassi · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the episode of Deep Space Nine where they mentioned the downfall of Betazed, but no other information was provided, I quickly looked up where I could get more... How could they leave such a key Federation planet out, when I'm sure multiple episodes could have been written? A quick search and I found what I needed right here.

The story mostly follows Deanna Troi as she goes on a mission to find the last hope of the Betazed resistance against the Dominion, with the help of the crew of the Enterprise and a few other familar faces...

Sentok Nor is the new Cardassian station in orbit of Betazed. It is housed by Gul Lemec and Dr. Crell Moset, who is engaged with some horrific experiments on live subjects. It is the job of The Enterprise to lead the attack to hopefully free the people of Betazed.

This well written novel completely captures how some familar characters think and act, I could really feel the pain and grief of Deanna and others.
The chapters would end at just the right time to keep me guessing about what my favorites would do next and how they would overcome each obstacle. Not even mid way through, I was gripped.

If you're at all curious as to what happened to the people of Betazed during the Dominion War, read this.

[Donny Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've wanted to read this book for a long, long time and I finally did. The Battle of Betazed overviews a significant event during the Federation's war with the Dominion, which the TV shows sadly keep on the back burner. The plot progression feels like a classic episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, though, at times, it feels slightly rushed (particularly toward the end). Despite that, it did not detract from my enjoyment of the novel. Each character gets their moment - the main characters especially have their development/growth. If you're a fan of Deanna Troi and her mother, this book is a must-read. I typically don't re-read books, but I may consider this one.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasantly surprised how good this was! Good pacing and characterization - I love the focus on Deanna and Lwaxana and everything Betazed. I had been worried about Vaughn as I resent him in DS9 relaunch, but he's relatively unobtrusive in this context.

[Jim Arrowood · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Deep Space Nine episode, In the Pale Moonlight (Season 6, Episode 19), Captain Benjamin Sisko mentions several happenings during the Dominion War, including the fall of Betazed. As far as the television episodes are concerned, the reference in Pale Moonlight is all we get on what had happened to the home world of Deanna Troi.

In The Battle of Betazed, authors Charlotte Douglas and Susan Kearney, tell the tale of the liberation of the planet under siege by Cardassian and Dominion forces. I love when a reference in the television episodes is picked up by authors and fleshed out in a book. Here, readers are treated to a TNG story with a lot of characters we know while introducing new characters we see for the first time. It is also fun to see familiar characters perform when they are forced out of their comfort zones, which is the case in this story.

I found Battle securely seated in the Star Trek universe. As I read, the story unfolded, as one might expect, with some fascinating twists along the way. It is an entertaining story from the start and the action doesn't let up until the end. It is well worth the time to read.

The Battle of Betazed is told with stories from three points of view. First are the happenings on the planet Betazed itself, focusing on Lwaxana Troi and a group of refugees/resistance fighters who struggle for survival. Next, on the planet Darona (the 6th planet in the Betazed system) lives a mass-murderer who can kill with his thoughts. Finally, Cardassian scientist Crell Moset conducts research on Sentok-Nor, a space station in orbit around the planet Betazed.

Betazed is occupied by fifty thousand Jem'Hadar troops who oppress the population. They are brutal in their administration of the population. With the planet blockaded, food and medicine supplies are becoming less by the day. Lwaxana Troi is the leader of a group of refugees who have taken shelter in a cave undetectable to the Jem'Hadar. Children are falling victim to Rigelian Fever because of a shortage of the drug Reytalyn. In a desperate attempt, a messenger is sent to ask for help from the Federation. The messenger is killed, but the message is received. The USS Enterprise is charged with the mission of liberating Betazed.

Hent Tevren is serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane on Darona. With the help of Commander Vaughn, Deanna Troi is charged with breaking Tevren out of the prison and taken to Betazed to teach other telepaths how to use his malevolent psionic talent for murder against the Jem'Hadar. Deanna worries how doing this will forever change the people of her planet from the nonviolent race they are.

Nor class space station, Sentok-Nor, orbits the planet Betazed. Commanding officer Gul Lemec does his best to maintain and support the occupation of the planet. He is also constantly clashing with Dr. Moset, a scientist who found the cure for a deadly disease. He is considered a monster by the people of Bajor for killing their people to find that cure. Only he really understands what the nature of his research is, but considering his history, the cost will be astronomically high.

These three story threads weave together into a tapestry that is very satisfying and will be appreciated by Trek afficionados.

Most of the characters in this story behave as one might expect. The authors do a fine job capturing the nuances of Picard, Riker, and the rest. The most notable changes are Deanna Troi and her mother Lwaxana. Deanna has been raised to reject violence to solve problems. When the existence of her people is threatened, she has to accept that meeting violence with violence is the only way to save the society on her home planet. There comes a point in the story where she must take command and make decisions contrary to her nature as a Betazoid. She is forced to set aside her principals to achieve her goal which takes as much courage as it does to carry out acts of necessary violence against a foe whose very nature is violence. Deanna is well written, and readers should find her character dynamic and compelling.

When we see Lwaxana in the television series, she is mostly something of a free spirit full of joviality. It is fun watching her pick on Picard, chase after her next husband, and interact with characters that may find her a little hard charging. But in this story, she is also forced to step out of character and become a leader. According to the authors, she is emaciated because of the food shortage and worry. She is also forced into making distasteful decisions to ensure the survival of her people, but she accepts the task. Gone is the joviality we are used to, but only for a while.

Two of the principal antagonists of Battle are Dr. Moset and Tevren.

In the Voyager episode, Nothing Human (Season 5, Episode 8), the Doctor calls on a holographic representation of a Cardassian doctor who is notorious for infecting thousands of Bajoran citizens with a disease to find the cure for the same disease for his own people. On the space station Sentok-Nor, Moset, considered a hero by the Cardassians, is conducting research for the Dominion. In the mind of this megalomaniacal doctor, nothing matters but his research. Anyone who dies under his watch is nothing more than a means to an end. He doesn't see himself as evil, which makes matters even worse. He believes he is justified no matter who is hurt.

Deanna encounters Tevren early in her career as a psychologist as an intern to the maximum-security facility on Darona. During that time, she found him to be evasive and condescending. Later, when she has to encounter him again, she learns just how irredeemable he is. Through most of the book, he is only referred to by name and why he is needed to help liberate Betazed. What Deanna doesn't know is just how deeply she will be affected by being in proximity to this person.

The predominant theme in Battle of Betazed I found was how people may have to step away from the things they believe in to achieve a goal, no matter how uncomfortable it may be. With this story, the people of Betazed, a normally peaceful people opposed to the taking of life, find they may have to kill the Jem'Hadar soldiers just to survive. The Jem'Hadar are genetically engineered to take life without thought or remorse. The Betazoid people are left with little choice if they want to remain a coherent society. While they seem willing to do this, they also wonder what the consequences may be once the crisis is averted.

As I read this book, I had a feeling I had read some of this before. I knew I had never read this particular story before, even so, I knew some of what I was reading was related to something I had read in the past. What I found was I read a story with a similar flavor from Keith DeCandido. In the collection Tales of the Dominion War, there is a short story penned by Keith titled The Ceremony of Innocence is Drowned featuring several of the same characters in The Battle of Betazed.

At any rate, I deeply enjoyed this book and recommend it for readers who enjoy Trek lore and are looking for something they may have overlooked. It is a well-written roller coaster ride resolving a question posed in the Deep Space Nine television series. The characters we do not know are well developed and we understand their motivations for being involved. The three elements of the story are woven together and come to a fine conclusion with a plot twist I found unexpected.

[John Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Feels like a standard star trek adventure with a bit higher stakes and more death, except for Deanna Troi's role in the story, which is the most interesting but sadly the most disappointing part. Deanna's whole mission, to save a serial killer that she has a history with and learn what he knows, doesn't really go anywhere. The serial killer himself has very little page space, because even when he is working alongside the heroes, it keeps cutting to show what Riker and Picard are doing instead for whole chapters at a time. And once they finally learn what he knows and argue about it a little, the book and it's titular battle wrap up really quickly and anticlimacticly with minimal involvement from the enterprise crew. Also the book ends with a tease that Deanna will be forever changed by what happened here (one that feels very reminiscent of a certain DS9 episode) but as far as I know, no future book ever follows up on it. So ultimately, this feels like a book full of wasted potential, one that the publishers felt they had to write because of its obvious importance in canon, but could have been a lot better in various ways, like if it actually gave the supposed main character of the book more to do.

[Matt Piechocinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I typically only go for books of proven authors (like Peter David, Weis/Hickman) when reading "series" books. But, I'm not gonna lie, the Dominion are awesome, and I've always preferred them as antagonists to the Federation than say the Borg, which seem the automatic go tos. So, why wouldn't I read how they conquered Betazed? Anyways, Douglas and Kearney did a marvelous job with this little ditty, and weaved the two big components of any good Trek story, action and moral quandary, into an exciting tapestry.

[Rory · Rating 2 out of 5]

After experiencing the weirdness of The Entropy Effect I stumbled on another story that takes a significant departure from the usual stuff. What grabbed my attention (aside from Troi holding a rifle on the cover) was its placing in the heart of the Dominion War. I always had speculations once Betazed fell to them in the midst of DS9 but I had particularly mixed feelings about this story.


It starts off well, the cold open had plenty of action and the mission set up with the inclusion of Starfleet Intelligence was a smart move. Troi is a character I'm not keen on but I appreciate that she is given a lot to do, however this does come at the expense of her story, which was the weakest aspect for me. The largest part of this has to do with the Hannibal Lecter-esque character that is a Betazoid prisoner who has perfected the art of psychokinesis to the point of being able to inflict physical pain and death. There are moments that deliberately echo Starling and Lecter's dialogue in Silence of the Lambs but it feels so at odds with the rest of the book, and not much time is given to explore the ramifications of his gift because their role is quite brief.


We also get the appearance of a regular Litverse character, Elias Vaughn, so this is my first exposure to him but I feel like I know who he is a bit better after reading this - before that he was just a name I'd heard like some kind of urban legend - not to mention it's quite impressive that he is a centenarian heading into battle.



There are three other main storylines happening such as Starfleet going after a new Cardassian base with Picard & Worf leading the primary assault and Betazed civillians reacting to the fallout. My favourite parts featured O'Brien, Riker and LaForge storming a Cardassian base because it felt more urgent and the chemistry was on point.


It was readable enough that I could get into it, and quite short as well which is also a plus, but the pacing did affect my enjoyment because quick events happen though less attention is given to certain plotpoints than I would have required. There's a few easter eggs but they were spread out a bit so that it didn't distract from the book, which I greatly appreciate. It was a nice detour but not a favourite.

[Erick M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to read this book! All things related to the Dominion War and DS9 is appealing to me and this was a wonderful experience.

The story is handled very dynamically, presenting from the prologue an interesting war story to follow and that you can't put down until the end. The story has everything you would like in a conflict like this: space battles, an interesting moral dilemma, intense action, the Dominion's point of view and a very close look to the crew relations. Being a Betazed story, it was impossible for Deanna and Lwaxana Troi not to have a main role and they really feel very close to her characters at all times. The anguish of saving their planet and the price to pay for this are expressed in a phenomenal way. I like that, despite the story having a clear goal, they managed to give it a final twist and present an intelligent solution to the conflict, one that involves the unity and strength of the entire planet to free themselves.

Although it may not seem so on the surface, this is also a love story and Riker has a prominent role in it, creating sweet and beautiful moments that really make you love how much they are connected. It is noticeable that the authors are mainly writers of romantic novels. That definitely works for me!

My only negative point would be that Hent Tevren, the betazed murderer and the main objective of the mission, is a really boring character. I've seen some reviews that compare him to Hannibal Lecter and put him in this "elegant villain vibe" and I wish that were the case, because he really doesn't have anything that makes him memorable, apart from having an interesting power (whose origin isn't explored enough).

In general, I will only say that this book should have been the third TNG movie instead of Insurrection.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave up reading STTNG books decades ago but when I came across this one with Deanna holding a phaser rifle I had to buy it! I was quite surprised when I finished it to read that one of the authors taught creative writing because while Deanna was the central character in this she had absolutely no agency. Not everyone may be familiar with the concept of agency, so let me give a rouch explanation, agency is when a woman has control of her own actions, and takes actions that effect things. In terms of a story her actions drive the plot, and have consequences for the story and the other characters. This was a book in which Deanna had no agency at all.

First of all the plot was a bit strange, Betazed was captured by the Dominion, and under it's control. They decided the only way to be able to defeat the attackers was to get this one mass murdering Betazoid out of prison and get him to teach them how to kill with their minds (because unlike every other oppressed people everywhere they had no access to anything else that could kill their occupiers). So Deanna was sent on a mission to help free him. (while conflicted)

Bad enough, but then it gets worse as Riker and O'Brien go on a mission where they are able to beam aboard the space station and blow it up, while there discovering that one of the Doctors has been experimenting on telepaths, and find the secrets that end up saving the planet!

Not only is Deanna's story kinda dumb, but it has NO effect on the outcome of liberation effort. She's totally redundant in her own story. Which is very disappointing.

The only nice thing was they were able to capture the characters quite well, and the dialogue sounded like them speaking. But really quite disappointing apart from that.

[Patrick Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking place during the war with the Dominion, the book follows how the Federation world of Betazed was retaken from their invaders. It was good, but took too long to get going.

Betazed has fallen to the Dominion and the Federation's resources are stretched thin. They need a miracle to free the world. The solution is found in a Betazed serial killer, who kills with his mind. It's revealed that Deanna Troi's first job was working at the institution that housed this killer. If she could return to Betazed and learn how he killed people she could teach to others and they could rid their world of the Dominion.

However, this is a major moral conflict for Deanna and the people of Betazed: once they have mentally learned how to do this, they will have the ability to murder anyone with a thought. They are a peaceful people, should they stoop to the level of their enemies to kill them? This is the first third of the novel. I expect there to be moralizing in a Star Trek novel, more so than in an episode or film, but it went on way too long. Also adding to my displeasure was who was in charge of the resistance on Betazed. Yes, it fits that character's personality, but ability-wise there is no possible way of this occurring. I just couldn't go there, even though I love that character.

Once on the planet, things improve, especially when there is a major plot twist with the serial killer. The ending of the novel was a little incredulous, but it allowed the characters to go forward into new adventures without being hampered by this book's events.

A good read for fans of Trek and the Dominion War, though there are moments that give one pause.

[Josh Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Actual review of this book: first two paragraphs.
* Gushing explanation of what I find so compelling about Star Trek lit, final paragraph :)

Another fun Star Trek book. I've found most Star Trek books go down fast and smooth and this was no exception. I enjoyed revisiting a favorite character, Lawxana Troy, and seeing her portrayed in a more "bad-ass" role than usual (I always knew she was a bad-ass at heart!)

The main tension with the telepathic serial killer was well done. I felt the same dread that Troi did, wondering if the writers were going to "ruin" a corner of Star Trek with grim-darkness.

One of the great aspects of these books is they aren't tied to the Star Trek canon. This means the writers have the leeway to do some crazy things with the characters and you're never quite sure if things will turn out alright in the end, unlike in the TV shows. This non-adherence to canon allows the books to give me the same feeling of tension and wondering where the story will go that I got when watching the shows during release, particularly DS9. The writers have the freedom to surprise, subvert, and shake up the status quo. I'm having a very good time reading these books, in fact, the best time I've had reading "just for fun" fiction since I was a child. Probably because of the nostalgic pull and the delighted feeling these books give me of finding "new episodes" of shows I love. I've watched all of Star Trek at least twice, and much of it 4 or 5 times, so finding these new adventures in book form is delightful. My familiarity with the shows is such that I can "see" everything as I read. For me, it really is like watching a new episode.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This light book is a quick and easy read. It's enjoyable enough but lacks any kind of depth and certainly attempts to tell a story with more emotional punch than it actually manages (which is ironic,
considering the resistance's final tactic here). Characters are a bit all over the place and don't maintain much consistency - in particular, Vaughn changes personality depending on the scene and Lwaxana Troi didn't ever feel like the character portrayed on screen by Majel Barret.

There's also a clear attempt to create a rip-off version of Hannibal Lector who is not menacing for a second and doesn't add to the story in any meaningful way. The entire plot surrounding him seems like it could have gone in a far more sensible direction.

But it manages to also be exciting and moves with a good pace making it difficult to get bored. There's also a nice mini-crossover with some DS9 characters. It just reads more like fan fiction than a professional novel. The book ends extremely suddenly and we don't get to experience the big event that happens at the end, rather just being told about it after it's over.

[Gracemary Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's definitely not perfect, but I've yet to find a Trek story in any medium that doesn't entertain me. This one was no exception. As other reviews have mentioned, this is clearly a Silence of the Lambs derivative plot. I didn't mind seeing Deanna as Clarice even if the Betazoid murderer they cast as the Hannibal stand-in wasn't the most captivating. I do think the set off to the main action took a bit longer than necessary, but that's a feature of most Trek novels I've read. The Jem'hadar weren't the most fleshed-out of Trek species to begin with, but their portrayal here still felt a little flat. Interesting ethical dilemma presented though!

Is it really a Deanna Troi story if her chocolate obsession isn't mentioned? The number of times the characters referenced Deanna's sweet tooth was almost enough to be irritating, but it ended up just coming off as funny to me.

I know gratuitous name drops make some roll their eyes but I couldn't help from smiling when O'Brien mentioned Garak. :,)

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great tale of the Enterprise during the Dominion War and probably more of what the Dominion War books should have been. Deanna here is obviously the center focus and the authors did a great job of laying out the stakes for her and her people. Not only the issue of liberating her planet but also guarding their souls and the implications of what their plan could produce. I liked the inclusion of Vaughn here as we see a glimpse of what he was up to during the Dominion War and also bringing on some DS9 chaps.

The story itself was fun and engaging and I admit a soft spot for the Sabre class so having three of them in the story was a delight for me.

Great action, great story and great characterizations. Only issue for some would be the knowledge of characters and events within the TNG era as the book doesn't spend any or much time bringing you up to speed. Which was not a problem for me.

[Csaba Rusznyák · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparantly I needed a reminder why I almost never read tie in fictions to movies/tv shows - most (like 99%) of them are not good. This one interested me because I am currently rewatching DS9, and thought it would be interesting to read about the occupation of Betazed (which is only mentioned in the show) and about what the Enterprise was doing during the war.

The story is not necesserily bad - at least until the pretty interesting main moral dilemma is resolved by the writers the most cowardly way possible (maybe they should have studied DS9 episode In the Pale Moonlight about morally grey areas during wartime). Meanwhile, the character bits are simply copypasted from TNG episodes, and the writing... the writing is god awful. Depressingly styleless, dreadfully bland - I was not expecting from a Star Trek tie-in novel to pull a Cormac McCarthy, but jesus christ how can anybody write THIS BORING.

Well... at least it was short.

[Harry Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brisk, action packed read describing the occupation of Counsellor Troi's homeworld and the battle to set it free. The Dominion's capture of Betazed was mentioned in DS9 to provide extra gravitas to the situation (but not too much; amusingly the writers of that show didn't want Earth or Vulcan to be captured because the audience would care about it too much).

Some interesting dilemmas are presented when a serial killer becomes involved and evil experiments are uncovered, but these tantalising twists don't really go anywhere. As it's Star Trek you can't let the bad guys win, but in this instances it's a bit of shame that the story couldn't go to really dark places.

Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the whizz-bang of 'untold tale' of the Dominion War, told from the perspective of the Enterprise E.

[Star Trek Novels and Comics · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you like Star Trek Novels that should be Movies? Check

Do you like Space battles and Lazer gun fights? Check

Do you like Star Trek at War during the Dominion War ? Check

Do you like knowing what the Enterprise was doing during the Dominion War ? Check

Do you like an Action packed Story? Because I highly recommend the excellent Star Trek Novel

The Battle of Betazed.

Its actually better than the 2 Enterprise tales in the Dominon War Series, and better than the short stories in the Dominion War anthology for the Happenings of our favorite Next Generation Crew.

I ate this novel in 2 - 3 days of reading. I just love this novel and it is my top 10 of fun Star Trek Novels. Even if they are at WAR with the Dominion!

[Peter Rydén · Rating 4 out of 5]

Det här är ingen bok för den lättstressade, för det händer saker hela tiden och det är många trådar att försöka hålla i. Jag lyckades dock med det och måste villigt erkänna att även om jag normalt tycker sådant är för rörigt så gillade jag denna bok skarpt. Spänningen hålls i hela tiden och det blir inga meningslösa mellanspel som inte leder någon vart. Vi får se mer av Betazed och sådant är ju alltid spännande, men vi får också lära känna Deanna Troi lite mer och får se hur betazoiderna fungerar på det telepatiska planet.

Boken rekommenderas varmt. Boken anknyter något i sitt slut till början på Spirit Walk #1: Old Wounds.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first of my Star Trek books that I've finished in a while. I've been stuck on mysteries for the last little while, and I finally decided to also dedicate some time to my Star Trek novel collection.

I love Betazoids, Betazed, and the whole Troi family, so I knew that I was going to enjoy this one. I liked having the chance to see Lwaxana in action, and I loved that the reader is reminded that she is also one of the strongest Betazoids on Betazed.

I loved seeing Deanna in action, too, as more than just the ship's counselor.

I really enjoyed this novel, and I recommend it for those who are Troi fans!

[Burns Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun Next Generation adventure!
It might seem strange that I call a Dominion War story fun, but this book was just a delightful read. It was short and simple, with pretty much just one plot. It dives really deep into Deanna Troi’s character, and I quite enjoyed this character exploration. This book asks some interesting moral questions about war that definitely left me thinking.
Battle of Betazed delivers much better than the Dominion War duology on being an Enterprise E story since the ship is actually present for significant events. 
For any Trek fans looking for a short read, I’d definitely recommend this one.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book takes place after the DS9 season 6 finale, so watch that first if you don’t want a certain death spoiled. Set during the Dominion War and prior to Star Trek: Insurrection, this poses the question of how Troi would react to the Jem’Hadar invading her homeworld. There’s also a character who is a serial killer with telepathic abilities (and telekinesis also comes into play later), but not as much is done with him as I expected. And I feel like more could’ve been done with Troi as well. The book started with promise, but it ended up being just aight.

[Dusty · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Star Trek novel that takes place during the Dominion Wars. With her home planet occupied by hostile forces, Deanna Troi is enlisted to break her world’s most despised psychic murderer free to be used as a weapon against invading forces. The book has a great premise and is written pretty well for the most part, but there is a chunk of chapters about 2/3 of the way in (maybe about six chapters?) where no reactions, decisions, or plans make sense. Aside from that, it’s a good read if you are familiar with Next Gen and Deep Space 9.