Wrath of the Prophets

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #20

by Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, Robert Greenberger

When a fatal disease spreads over Bajor, threatening the entire
planet with extinction, Captain Sisko must accept aid from an
unexpected source: Ro Laren, Starfleet officer turned Maquis
renegade. Major Kira and Ro reluctantly join forces to track the
alien plague to its source -- even as the disease claims new
victims on "Deep Space Nine" itself. Dr. Bashir struggles
to find a cure, but the secret of the virulent invader may hide
deep in the shadows of Dax's past.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Fiction, Media Tie In, Space, Science Fiction Fantasy

274 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1997

About the author

aka David Peters

Peter Allen David, often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.

Reviews

[Mayaj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did I need Kira and Ro Laren joining forces to unearth corruption in the Bajoran government? Maybe, a little. Did I need them being captured by Orions and briefly sold into slavery? Nope. Not even a little bit.

Did I need Quark and Sisko going on a buddy-cop adventure as undercover pirates? Arguably, yes. Did I need Sisko to inexplicably be the most bigoted version of himself, down to implicitly threatening Quark with a baseball bat he just accepted as a bribe? NAH AHH.

Other things I didn't need:

1. Sitcom dad Miles O'Brien and Keiko learning her lesson about being a more dutiful wife and mother.

2. All. The. Racism.

This was very weird -- the book was clearly meant to be set sometime between seasons 3 and 4, but everyone's characterization was all over the place. Sisko's full Ferengi-hater, Odo is unfamiliar with rules of acquisition, Rom's trying to take over the bar... but also Nog is inexplicably already away at Star Fleet Academy? And it's been at least 4 years since the episode where Varis Sul the Bajoran community leader is 15 years old, because we make a Point of explaining that she's 19 now, so writing a story where she gets sold into sexual slavery is actually like really cool, guys? Calm down? She's 19?!

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deadly plague is spreading across Bajor which appears to have originated from materials obtained via the black market. While Dr. Bashir struggles to find a cure, two unlikely teams attempt to track down the origins of the contaminated material that brought the disease: Sisko and Quark head to a den of criminals and profiteers in search of information, while Kira investigates down on Bajor with the unexpected (and not entirely appreciated) aid of none other than Ro Laren, the former Starfleet officer turned Maquis, who has turned up to help.

With an interesting plot and good characterisations, this was one of the better DS9 novels. I never cared much for Ro, but I did rather enjoy seeing her call Kira out on some of her arrogant self-righteous bullshit and the two of them ended up making a surprisingly good team.

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bajorans clash!


This book is a tie-in prose novel of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”.


CANON OR NOT CANON

Always there is a gray area about the tie-in novels in a franchise if those are canon or not, since at best what they do is writing stories that basically don’t contradict anything showed in the films or TV series, however, the problem arises when after being written the novel, something is developed in the films or TV series and it’s impossible to keep valid what was written in the tie-in novel.
And even there is the situation when they make canon prose novels (or comics) and something written there complicates the continuity of some past tie-in novel.

AND believe it or not, it can also happen that a new film or TV series leaves some prose canon works, giving back the continuity of a past tie-in novel.

Hard to follow, right?

Well, there is the case of this very tie-in novel, due the situation of using a major guest character to Ro Laren (first introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation, as a Starfleet officer and later she decides to join the Maquis, a rebel group against the Cardassians) that the initial plans were that the character will pass to then incoming Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and serving as first officer of the space station, but Michelle Forbes (the actress who portrayed the character) didn’t accept the offer and then the character of Kira Nerys was created to substitute her.

But the temptation of having Ro Laren in DS9 was quite a lot and this tie-in novel appears and everything goes well, until the “Relaunch” novels (DS9 novels then accepted as CANON in the future after the ending of the TV series, and there, they eventually put Ro Laren (again a Starfleet officer and now a captain) as commanding officer of DS9, but then it was stated that it was the first time that Ro Laren and Kira Nerys meet, therefore leaving this very novel as totally non-canon…

…BUT!!!…

…in Star Trek: Lower Decks was established that Kira Nerys is still commanding officer of DS9 and in Star Trek: Picard was established that Ro Laren is again a Starfleet officer, so the Relaunch novels were changed to be considered an alternate universe and THIS VERY NOVEL return to the merry gray area of tie-in novels that they aren’t totally canon but nothing there contradicts it… once again.


DESPERATE TIMES MADE UNUSUAL ALLIANCES

Bajor is attacked with a contagious plague that Bajorans soon enough started to call “The Wrath of the Prophets” and Kai Winn ask for help to Captain Sisko and the crew of DS9.

Then, while Dr. Bashir is quite busy trying to find a cure, a couple of unusual alliances are forged to find clues to the origin of the plague (that it was established that came to Bajor through infected generic matter to be used in tampered replicators)…

…Captain Sisko uneasly joins Quark to go to Orion space aboard the Defiant and find the illegal vendor who provides the matter and replicators…

…while Kira Nerys reluctanly joins forces with Ro Laren, on the surface of Bajor through old mates of Kira during the Cardassian occupation, to find the clues of whom bought the so-called compromised matter and tampered replicators which originates the deadly plague on Bajor.

Initially the plague was only affecting Bajorans but Morn (the usual client at Quark’s) is presenting the illness, provoking a new level of threat, one, not only Bajorans are susceptible to the virus, and two, DS9 isn’t quaratined anymore to the plague, leaving no place safe to go.

Ro Laren is one of my favorite Star Trek characters, therefore it was a really cool reading!

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a mysterious and deadly plague errupts on Bajor, the crew of DS9 has to pursue every lead it can in search of a cure. Whilst Captain Sisko and Quark travel to meet Orion pirates, Major Kira is forced to work with the Maquis renegade Ro Laren to root out corruption on Bajor itself.

When I got to the end of this book, I was a bit nonplussed by how the various plotlines completely failed to come together and instead just seem to all end simultaneously. I had been reading them with the expectation that the power fluctuations being investigated by O'Brien would turn out to be part of some plot by the Orion pirates or would feed into the corruption on Bajor somehow, but none of the stories actually seemed to interact with the others in an significant way.
It was a bit confusing at first, until I gave some thought to the fact that this book was written by three different authors. It then immediately became clear that each one had written one of the plotlines but the three of them hadn't done so with the thought of this being a single narrative in mind. It's understandable, but it totally ruins the majority of this book.

That said, there is one of these plotlines that is so good in itself that it saves the book as a whole from being a total waste of time.
Honestly, the ideas introduced in the storyline with Kira and Ro Laren were worth their own separate book. As well as the tension between the former-freedom fighter and the current outlaw/terrorist, there's some brilliant drama to be found in Kira meeting old resistance contacts only to learn they're all mired in corruption and have fallen far from heroism which Kira remembers them for. Add to that the subtle politics of a fledgling government torn between justice, corruption and the power of the religious sect, and you've the makings of a genuinely engaging and intelligent novel.

Sadly, as mentioned, it's dragged down by several other subplots that are both boring and, ultimately, pointless (particularly O'Brien's subplot which turn out to amount to 'thing needs fixing, so maintenance team fixes it').

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *

[Christian Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

So it took me almost exactly two weeks to read this fairly short book, when I've been reading these every few days for the past couple months. I guess that's what happens when you are buying a new house, selling your old one, trying to get moved in before Christmas... oh, and Cyberpunk 2077 comes out after nearly 8 years in development. I digress.

This was a really fun read. Throughout the entire novel, I felt as if I had perhaps read it before, or if it reminded me of some episode of DS9 that I just don't remember, but I was getting serious deja vu whilst reading. Finally, we got to see Major Kira and Ro Laren together (I assume, before we see them again for the first time during the DS9 relaunch books... these aren't canon, are they?). It was fun to see their hostility and, ultimately, comradery toward each other. It was also nice to see a minor supporting character from an early DS9 episode make a substantial appearance.

There was some creepy stuff in this novel, namely an underground slave trade on Bajor that split up families for who knows what nefarious purposes. My favorite part of the book was probably Sisko's and Quark's little detour into Orion space.

Overall, it took me too long to get through it, but I think it's a testament that I enjoyed reading it that I finished. I would recommend.

[Jean Wetmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main thing that's memorable is that it puts duos you might not think of to work together and in the process find a new respect and admiration for each of each other. Sisko and Quark, Dax has Miles O'Brien looking out for her and the most interesting, Ro Laren comes to the station and has to work with Major Kira to expose corruption in the Bajoran government. I had a little problem with Kira and Ro coming to respect each other after hating the very idea of each other for much of the book.Yes they saved each others lives but the animosity between the two (mainly Kira toward Ro, though Ro didn't care much for Kira either) was too deep to just be washed away so quickly and easily. To my mind, a hatred of a person or group doesn't just end that quickly or easily. It's a gradual process slowly coming to see that one's ideas are not consistent with reality, the ideas shirting slowly and with great reluctance on the part one who has these feelings. Other than that switch at the end, I really liked the story. The subtly of Dax's preoccupation leading to a very realistic conclusion of why she was preoccupied was interesting though sightly longer than I would have preferred, the interplay between Quark and Sisko was a lot of fun. Not amazing but well worth the read.

[Nathan]

Disappointing, unfortunately, given that it's teamed up Maquis Ro and Major Kira. Unfortunately most of their material felt very manufactured and not true to the characters. As for the plot -- also disappointing, and the threat just kind of ends without real repercussions. And apparently they just needed some basic chelation, and Bashir never thought of that? Okay. There's also a completely pointless subplot about O'Brien and some power spikes on the station that works its way to a lesson that was completely unnecessary for the character. The situation on Bajor also felt untrue to what we've seen in the series. Long story short, there was a lot of potential here: interesting characters put together, interesting political and cultural stuff that could have been interesting, high stakes for some of the characters, but it just kind of meanders for a bit and then stops.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a hard time putting this one down. I wished there wasn't so much the O'Brien story as I wanted more of the Kira/Ro story. It was fun seeming them interact and although Ro didn't seem EXACTLY like Ro she was close enough and the authors portrayed her well. Peter David's humour was there throughout and the story went in a direction I did not expect. I don't fully understand the solution to the virus so I am guessing I just missed something with Dax and if/when I read this again in the future I will see if there was a connection there that just went right over my head. Other than that this was a great DS9 novel and would have fit right in on that show.

[Frank Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great DS9 story. The teaming up of Laren and Nerys is really a perfect match. I'm not a big fan of either character on the screen but they really were a match waiting to happen and I enjoyed reading their shared adventure.

The plot for this was pretty good but I thought it ended poorly. The "Oh.. hang on. I've known all along how to fix this" was quite a bit of a let down.

The characters were all on point and there were several really nice moments in this one.

[John Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It feels like the book was written by some dudes who watched a handful of episodes from the first two seasons. Characterization is either broad (O’Brien is WIFEGUY, Sisko is NOT PICARD, Kira is ANGRYALLTHETIME) or nonexistent (there are some characters named Bashir and Odo who have some lines that could be spoken by anyone).
Also the Defiant comes across like a slightly larger runabout that only needs to be manned by Sisko and Quark.

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even if the authors' notes didn't specify that the book had been split into parts for each author, it'd be readily apparent for any reader familiar with the authors. Some of the scenes obviously written by Peter David sparkle, but the rest of the book is...largely just there. There are jarring oddities (eg. dodgy biology, the Defiant being run by Quark and Sisko on their own) and abrupt ends to the main story threads. Worth it for a few gems early on, but otherwise a forgettable Trek book.

[nx74defiant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good DS9 book. It is an inside joke when Ro states she could have been Kira. Ro was the original plan for the Bjoran 2nd in command of the station.
The cover artist did a bad job on Ro's face.

[Jonathan Lee B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wrath of the Prophets is a waterslide.

[Kosar7480 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A plague on Bajor. Ro meets Kira. Interesting since Ro was supposed to be the first officer of DS9 during planning for the show. That being said, their interactions only accounted for about a third of the book. The other regular characters compose the rest of the book. Not a bad book by any means, but would have liked to see the entire focus be on the Ro-Kira storyline.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An epidemic is sweeping Bajor, a pestilence born of faulty replicators smuggled in by a young woman desperate to feed her village. Placed under quarantine, the planet's peril is so intense that even renegade Ro Laren emerges from hiding to help transport food there. On Deep Space Nine, Julian Bashir works to find a cure, but every breakthrough is immediately reversed. This is a virus with a deep bench of tricks. In the hopes of expediting matters, two teams are sent into shady markets to find the source of the replicators and demand some answers. While Sisko, Odo, and Quark examine a smugglers' hub in space, Major Kira grudgingly accepts the company of Ro Laren on Bajor.

Putting Ro and Kira together is a recipe for fun. Orginally, DS9 was written to include Ro Laren, but Michelle Forbes didn't want to commit. Another feisty Bajoran was invented to take her place, Kira. But despite being cut from very similar cloth, Ro and Kira are not bosom buddies. As hot-headed and willful officers, they butt heads repeatedly. Ro's appearance is not welcome by anyone: she deserted Bajor during the occupation to join Starfleet, then went AWOL after Starfleet began pushing around settlers to fulfill the Federation's foreign policy commitments. Of course, Ro Laren eventually does make it to Deep Space Nine, in the relaunch -- as the station security chief. The authors are aware of Kira and Ro's linked origin, even having Ro muse that had things been different, they might have switched places. Despite their similarities -- their combativeness, their independence -- the two women are different in substantial ways here. Ro is a cynic, disheartened by Starfleet's bullying of innocents in regards to the Maquis. Kira isn't naive, but she's idealistic: she believes in her fellow Bajorans, and when she realizes how corrupt Bajor's provisional government is, how even her wartime allies prove to be positively venal, she suffers a crisis of faith made worse by Ro's attitude. Eventually, through much argument and mortal peril, Ro and Kira become the other's comrade-in-arms, and by the book's end they're standing back to back making fiery speeches at Bajor's congress. Attagirl, Ro, you did learn something from Picard.

There are other plot points -- the chief is worried about his family on Bajor whom he never sees, Dax is mysteriously incompetent, being distracted by a previous host's experience with a similar plague -- and the multitude of angles the story is being chased down probably owes to the fact that there are three authors, all of whom needed something to do. But really, twenty years after this book's publication the only reason to read it is for the combination of Ro and Kira.

[Joshua Palmatier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished this book yesterday. Here, a plague has bene unleashed on Bajor, brought on by contaminated material smuggled in by a woman attempting to keep the people in her town from starving. As the disease spreads across the planet--even jumping to Deep Space Nine--Kira, Sisko, and the rest of the crew, including the Maquis rebel Ro Laren (from Next Generation fame), attempt to trace the origins of the contaminated material in hopes of finding a clue about a cure. Bashir, of course, attempts to find a cure himself, while aspects of the tragedy dredge up some harsh past-life memories in Dax.

The story is interesting and kept me involved, although there weren't really any serious twists along the way. It's a fairly straightforward storyline, easy to follow. The most interesting aspects of the story were the commentaries on government and how corrupted the Bajor officials are who seize control after the Cardassians left. The fact that such individuals would seize control, and the corruption would run rampant, feeding a healthy smuggling enterprise, is totally believable. The plague simply brought all of these issues to light, and gave Bajorans the opportunity to take control and begin dismantling the criminal ring. All of these social aspects are brought out more in the second half of the novel, and were what made the novel work for me. The first half had a few rough spots (writing-wise), but nothing significant.

I enjoyed the book. A good addition to the Deep Space Nine storyline.

[Shane Amazon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A horrifying plaque has struck Bajor, but this plaque is not from natural sources, rather a byproduct of technology and one woman's need to feed her people. But as the number of the infected grow a small communities problem grows into a global pandemic, and then a universal threat. As the planets leaders turn to the Prophets for answers, it is up to the DS9 crew to find the cure.

The main bulk of the book is broken into three sections. Miles, Bashir, and Dax are left aboard the station to find a way to cure the outbreak. Sisko and Quark head out in the Defiant to hunt down the source of the tainted replicators that made the Bajorans fall ill. And Kira and Ro Laren head to Bajor to track down those in the Bajoran government who may have played a part in the disease.

With three authors, the book can feel a little rushed and choppy in part, but for the most part, the book is well written and reads quickly. I found that the book lacks a certain amount of depth both in character and in story. Some things like Sisko and Quark heading out alone in the Defiant seems unlikely, and the need for Ro to be in this story seems forced.

But in the end the book was entertaining. It has a little bit of that bloody knuckle approach usually reserved for TOS books. I did like the story surrounding Ro and Kira as it progressed the Ro story soom. Perhaps this one shouldn't be on the top of your to-read list but it shouldn't be near the bottom either.

[Dianah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hokey smokes! I was a little leery of this book because I am no fan of Ro Laren. On the plus side, the tagline on the book is “Can Ro Laren save Bajor from a deadly plague?” which, I hope, signified a nice role for our man Bashir. All worries were forgotten by the time I finished the prologue and found myself completely wrapped up in the story.

The interactions between Ro and Kira – priceless! Kira channeled my dislike of Ro, to my surprise, I even found myself admitting Ro had her good points. Another pleasant surprise – the perfect characterization of Sisko which included one of the best written, most believable fight scenes in Star Trek history. Fabulous!

My only minor complaints would be with the plague resolution and the lack of Bashir scenes after I got my hopes up, but I find it preferable to other possible resolutions or to out of character Bashir scenes.

Wrath of the Prophets is an entertaining tale well told with some excellent lines and solid themes. I’d say it is 92% good and the best DS9 book in the series thus far (#20).

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revisiting this book, in which she who had been planned to be the lead female Bajoran of *DS9* meets she who took her place, was interesting in light of how these two characters and the relationship between them are portrayed in the post-series books. I think I like Ro in this book a little bit more than the Ro of the post-series books, and I'm not sure why. Her rough edges are a little more...purposeful in this book perhaps, but I'm not sure that statement adequately captures the difference I perceived.

The bit with Dax's recovered memories felt a bit like a pile-on, and the continual power glitches bit could have been used to greater effect, but it's red herring quality made it feel rather contrived and even worn out: Oh look, something broke on the station at a conveniently inconvenient time *again*, and poor put-upon family-man O'Brien must *again* sacrifice quality time w/ the fam to fix stuff. Funny, in later seasons, he never seemed too keen on spending time with the fam unless such angst was required for plot purposes.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm irritated that this novel isn't as good as it COULD have been. You have Peter David as part of the writing team, a novel set during a great period of DS9, and a very entertaining and exciting plot, complete with long-sought fanboy-drool-worthy team up. Unfortunately, the characterization seems either too bland OR too much like early DS9. The end of season three/beginning of season four features a crew full of strong friendships...not surprising, considering what they've been through. But everything here feels clunky...even more so when there ARE flashes of brilliance. An easy, enjoyable...and highly frustrating read.

[Tomislav · Rating 3 out of 5]

The primarly novelty in this TV spin-off novel was that it put Starfleet Major Kira Nerys and Maquis renegade Ro Laren into peril together on Bajor, with plenty of action. However, the biology of the plague on Bajor was nothing more than a thin plot device, causing me to consider again the unlikely assumptions of intelligent life in the Star Trek universe. The involvement of spiritual leader Kai Winn was also quite thin, missing an opportunity to develop some depth in Bajoran society. In the end, I found this an entertaining episode, but nothing more.

[RumBelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite DS9 novelizations mostly because I love the characters of Kira and Ro. When a virus hits Bajor, Ro returns to do what she can to help. As it turns out, her and Kira get stranded on the planet and have to work together to survive and find the cause of the plague. It's great to see two characters at odds with each other work through a tough situation. It makes for especially good reading when both are right and strong in their beliefs.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting DS9 book, fast paced, decent plot. A little dragged out at times, but enjoyable. I liked seeing Ro involved, post TNG, and her interactions with Kira were written well. After finishing this book, i really wished Ro would have been a lead or at least a reoccurring character on DS9….Ooh well...

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, a really good author co-wrote it. However, the first part was good, the rest was just forgettable. The plot was decent, a plague threatens to wipe out life on Bajor. It just was not as good as normal books.

[Lupine Smile · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many plot lines and an extremely drawn out ending. I really had to force my way through this one.

[Cary Spratt · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I've read a lot (and own a lot) of TOS and TNG books, this is my first DS9 book. It is basically 3 different storylines (Kira & Ro on Bajor, Sisko & Quark on the Defiant, and Dax & O'Brien on DS9) written by three different authors and then smushed together into one book. That being said, the pacing was good and all three storylines commingled pretty well. There were occasional moments that felt a bit forced or awkward, but for the most part, an enjoyable read.