Badlands

by Susan Wright

Book Overview

Located perilously near the Cardassian border, the turbulent region of space known as the Badlands has been an interstellar hazard to navigation for at least two generations. Many starships have been... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 067103958X
• ISBN13: 9780671039585
• Release Date: December 1999
• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

ok for a star trek book.

The first two sections of the story were wonderful while the final 3rd one was readable even if it was a bit weak. While there are some interesting revelations a lot of the story was just rehashed from episodes of Voyager and DS9. I gave it four stars just because I am a hopeless sucker for star trek, but it is really not worth it.

Fun amongst the plasma storms

Book two of the Badlands Star Trek series by Susan Wright is a much better book then the first one. The Badlands series consists of two books, each with two stories in them. The first has stories with Captain Kirk's Enterprise and Captain Picard's Enterprise. This book has a story for Voyager and the Deep Space Nine crew. This one is quite an improvement in both the writing and the storytelling.The first improvement from the previous book is that the writing seems much better. I don't know if I had just gotten used to it, or if it actually improved, but I didn't get the feeling I was reading a young adult book in this one. The prose seems much improved, which is strange considering the book was probably written at the same time as the first book. Kudos to Wright for the improvement. It really added to my enjoyment of this book.The characterization is also good, if basic. All of the characters we know and love from the two television series are on form in this one, with no major discrepancies as there was in the first book. There are a couple of notable ones. In the Voyager story, Wright adds a great deal of depth to Gul Evek, the Cardassian commander of the ship that gets disabled. He appeared in a couple of episodes of the various Star Trek series, but didn't get a whole lot of characterization. Wright adds a deepness to his character that I found really appealing. He's a poet and the story behind the romance between him and his wife is very good. Wright doesn't dwell on it too much, but when she does it's outstanding. The second piece of characterization I really enjoyed was Commander Dax in the Deep Space Nine story. In the television series she was always a bit flighty, a good and dedicated officer who didn't mind bringing a bit of fun to her job. She was a bit of a flirt as well. In this story, a Romulan officer is trying to drive a wedge between her and Commander Worf, her Klingon lover. Dax goes along with it in her flirtatious way, not realizing what the Romulan is trying to do. When it comes to light, her conversation with Worf is a great addition to her character. It adds some dimension to their romance that wasn't always there in the television series.The plot continues to be intriguing, and when Janeway discovers what is really going on in the Badlands, it all ties together nicely with what's been going on in the first two stories. The book is a quick read and it certainly won't bore you. There's enough conflict between the various crews and the people they're interacting with (the Cardassians for Voyager and the Romulans for Deep Space Nine) to keep things interesting, and when you discover what the Romulans are really after, the tension starts to mount, especially when Sisko and company are outmaneuvered. The series is an intriguing look at an area of space mentioned quite often in the television series, and it was neat to find out more about it.However, that does bring up one of the problems with the book,

Star Trek The Badlands Book Two of Two truly good Trek!

Part 3Star Trek VoyagerPart 3 takes place 2371, just prior to Voyager being torn out of the alpha quadrant to the delta quadrant by the Caretaker. This is another wonderful story giving us a brief back story for several events prior to the events in "The Caretaker." The author takes us there with Chakotay, B'Elanna, Seska and Tuvok as they begin a Maquis operation. Seska, being a Cardassian spy is trying her best to warn Gul Evek about an impending raid. She's desperately hoping to successfully foil the raid and be able to leave the Maquis. Unfortunately for her and Gul Evek, the Maquis raiding force is afflicted with the same type of damage that Captain Kirk's Enterprise and Captain Picard's Enterprise had taken. Chakotay's ship isn't as seriously damaged and Chakotay takes advantage of an unprotected Cardassian station. We follow Chakotay and crew right up to the point their taken by the Caretaker.We catch up with Captain Janeway just as she's taking Voyager away from Deep Space Nine. She's on her way to the Badlands to find the Maquis ship with her Chief of Security, Tuvok aboard. Along the way the Voyager takes a small hit from this mysterious, sub space tetryon radiation. They then receive a distress call from Gul Evek, his ship took the brunt of the damage from the odd beam and he's preparing to abandon ship. Voyager of course picks the Cardassians up so they can rendezvous' with Gul Dukat to transfer the survivors. She puts Gul Evek into a particularly interesting light, where though he's the enemy, you truly feel sorry for him. Just after transferring the survivors, Captain Janeway has the ship in the Badlands searching for the Maquis and then the infamous coherent tetryon beam takes them to the gamma quadrant!This third story in the series is exceptionally well written. A lot of the plot line for this one is seamlessly tied into canon from the episodes. Magnificent story!Part 4Deep Space NinePart 4 takes place in 2373. Captain Sisko has just finished closing off the Maquis base in the Terikof Belt. Odo has just gone through the experience of the baby changeling and its death, the baby consequently giving him his morphing ability back. Bashir has been captured by the Jem'Hadar and there is a changeling in his guise on Deep Space Nine. Odo determines to find out where the baby changeling had been injured by the tetryon radiation that killed it. Through his usually tenacious investigative process he finds out that the baby changeling had been discovered near the Badlands. Given Captain Janeway's discovery three years prior that the Badlands anomaly is in actuality a Romulan Artificial Quantam Singularity (AQS) that was released when the prototype Romulan Warbird was destroyed in part one of this great story, Odo enlists Captain Sisko's aid to track it down and remove the threat. Along the way, we're treated to a young Tal Shiar commander of a Romulan scout ship that itself is sent to capture the AQS and use it for thei

Voyager's Prequal, Sisko's Win... a good Book!

Some of these reviews are just to darn picky! I mean goodness... look, Book 1 was pretty good with the whole " menace " in the Badlands defeating the first Enterprise and then Picard and crew. Book 2 was even better. Why? Because it fills the gap in between critical Voyager and DS9 episodes! Now look, why exactly was Tuvok and the Marqui lost in the Badlands? You'll find out! Remember Odo and the baby changelling that died? Or the Bashir Changelling for half that season? They play a big role in this book as well! Janeway and the ORIGINAL Voyager crew with Commander Cavit and Dr. Bist search for Tuvok and the Marqui crew who was lost within the Badlands after destroying Opek Nor! The Menace as we saw in Book 1, hit the Marqui and the Cardassian vessel with Evek. Janeway and the Voyager assist Evek and his ship and soon she discovers the Menace and its origin which dates back to the days of James T. Kirk. Just as the Menace hits Voyager, the Caretaker does as well and so the Voyager adventure begins. This book explores Paris' lonliness more as well and the crew and Seska and simply everything. Now after that episode where Odo's baby changelling dies and gives Odo back his powers, the Defiant goes into the Badlands to put an end to the AQS in the Badlands. They also assist the Romulans who plan on defeating the Dominion ( heh... good luck! ) This book also explains the Dominion/ Cardassian alliance. So basically, just get the book! Don't let these others turn you off from this book. Give it a chance, I think you'll like it.

Very exciting book!

Good book, but there are two cliffhangars in it: "There was a flash of white light. Then the Selva was gone." It's the same with Voyager. But since I'm a big fan of Deep Space Nine, I liked the Deep Space Nine part better. In it Dax and Worf are romanticaly involved. If I't didn't have those cliffhangers, I'd make it 5 stars.