Negotiations are underway on Deep Space Nine to determine the fate of Bajor: will they become part of the Federation or not? Someone is definitely voting new as random bombs are set off across the station, effectively stalling, and eventually completely halting, all talks between ambassadors. Between destruction on site and a Cardassian deserter, Major Kira is forced to investigate everyone from Garak, the resident Cardassian, to fellow friends and resistors from the war-torn years of Bajor's recent past. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place . . . Tilton effectively weaves an interesting story which delves into the theory regarding what to do with a military society when the society finally comes to peace. The psychology of a soldier is often one of contradiction. Here we have several generations of Bajorans who have been at war so long that very few, if any, remember what it was like to exist without Cardassians lording over their every move. Now that the Cardassians are gone and the Federation has been invited in to help pick up the pieces, how are these war-children ever to reconcile themselves to living peacefully? And can they ever accept a Cardassian in their presence, including Garak, without reverting to racial prejudice and discrimination? The one problem with the novel is how obvious it is who the sabateur is. The moment the person is introduced to us in the novel, red warning lights flash and in the background one hears, "Danger! Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!" I -hate- knowing who the murderer is in a mystery . . . and there was no mystery here; all we had was a dragging sense of "Get on with it, already." If you're interested in the character of Major Kira and her psychological motivations, or fascinated by the inner-workings of a war-driven society finding peace, then this book will be a means to while away an afternoon. But no deep character development and no surprise ending leave it lacking as a whole.
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Title: Betrayal
Author: Lois Tilton
Review by: Sorsha, The Chosen One
3-31-05
