Jackie Bundy and Tom Sharp of the Deep Space Nine Avatar Website Are Proud to Present:
If you ever get an opportunity to see J.G. Hertzler at a Star Trek convention or another event, it soon becomes apparent that what you see is what you get. He is a charming man; warm, intelligent, extremely observant, and at times a little bit silly. (Hey aren’t we all) The man you see on the stage or meet in the autograph line really understands what the fans find so appealing about Star Trek, because he is a fan himself.
Although he has played a wide variety of roles in the Star Trek universe, John Garman Hertzler is perhaps most identified as General Martok, the Deep Space Nine character who is for many fans the personification of a Klingon warrior. Like the character he played for four years on DS9, J.G. Hertzler throws himself into every new project with everything he has, passionately and wholeheartedly. He has a strong code of ethics and values his family dearly.
So, when J.G. was offered the opportunity to pen a couple of novels about Martok for Pocket Books he set to with his usual enthusiasm. Although he had plenty of experience writing screenplays J.G. was not too proud to acknowledge that the prose format is a different animal entirely and so he was really pleased to have be given the opportunity to work with critically acclaimed writer, Jeffrey Lang. “I had read his story in The Lives of Dax anthology, and I also read Abyss and I loved his Jem’Hadar, the way he treated the Jem’Hadar”, said J.G. Between the two, they have produced the two-part story The Left Hand of Destiny, a magnificent and epic heroic saga about Martok’s return to the Klingon Homeworld at the end of the Dominion War. The books have received rave reviews and taken readers by storm.
Over the past few weeks, Mr. Hertzler was kind enough to answer questions sent by fans about the novels and/or some his experiences working on Star Trek. If you have not yet read these two phenomenal books, I will warn you now that the questions and Mr. Hertzler’s answers to those questions do contain spoilers for the novels. Unfortunately, it is not possible to include every answer in this feature but we have included as many as possible and those we thought that others would find the most interesting. In some cases, more than one person asked virtually the same question, and where possible I have tried to acknowledge that. So here we go, as the fans ASK MARTOK.
Roger Oliver asks:
What was your motivation to write a novel?
My motivation came from Simon and Schuster who came to me and asked if I would be interested in writing a novel for the S/T series on Martok and Worf? I accepted and began work. It took four years and then some to get it published, and that my friend is a really big chunk of my life.
Henry Wilson asks:
I'm wondering how it works when an author works with another author on a project? Do you each write certain portions? Each write your own draft and then sit down and hash out what works best for the story? I haven't done any writing since college but I can't imagine what it's like to write with another person. Just curious about how something like that works?
I have been writing screenplays for some time and often I have had a co-writer on those. It works or does not work in all kinds of ways. In the case of LHoD, I had written the entire piece in manuscript form, having worked from the outline that took me about 18 months to develop. Very detailed outline. Painstaking in trying to find the most effective way to reveal the story. Then I crafted two manuscripts from that outline and submitted to S and S. Then 9/11 happened. They got backed-up with all projects in all divisions as New York tried to recover from the tragedy and finally they reviewed my submissions. They asked for substantial revisions in both books but I had already moved on to other projects and did not have the time to dedicate to rewrites within the time frame....that’s when Jeff Lang came aboard.
With my permission and approval, S and S asked Jeff if he would read through all the material then decide if he would want to work on the rewrites within the very short time frame available. I was so glad that he decided to jump in with both feet, otherwise, I might never have been able to get to the rewrites and the books may never have been published. So, thanks to Jeffrey's willingness to work within all those constraints, LHoD was released and has become a big seller. I am very very proud of the work on everybody's parts. Of course, I look forward to another collaboration with Jeffrey in the future, he truly is a terrific writer and I had a great time working with him. He would send chapters and I would edit. Until, finally, it was done. Things got very rushed at the end so we missed some communications but by that time, we were so trusting of each other's choices that we just went with what we had and hoped for the best. Fortunately, that is what we got.
Hope this answers your questions. Collaboration works famously if the writers or artists have similar sensibilities and sometimes not so well if they do not. On the other hand, complimentary sensibilities also work in producing a thoroughly textured work.
Stephanie asks:
Someone once told me that an author must have approval from Paramount about how they choose to use an established character in their story. Did you have to get approval for the choices you made? And was it difficult to get approval for what you choose to do with some of the characters? (I'm thinking of the death of Sirella) Also, was there anything you wanted to do with the story that they said "NO" too?
Simon and Schuster approached me to write the book. Of course, I was delighted not knowing that it would take nearly four years of my life to get from that point to finished books. But since they came to me, I had perhaps a broader permission to use established characters. I received a pretty stiff battle when I suggested taking the life of Sirella. I just felt so very very strongly that the entire reluctant quest had to cost Martok almost everything. Losing Sirella was the only thing that Martok might not be able to face...their love and marriage being so tightly wound around their hearts. I am quite sure Martok would have given anything including rule of Empire and his own life if Sirella could be saved. It was not to be, and Martok had to know immeasurable loss.
However, I would have preferred to save Pharh at the end. I was crazy about him and feel there is another story there...indeed, there may be. To be continued...
Dan Styer asks:
Having read your two books - a fine read, I must say - I am struck by a parallel to classical literature. Martok's bastard son Morjod and his attempted rise to power made me recall the story of Camelot and the dynamic between Arthur and Modred. Was this your intention or just my rabid imagination?
Morte d'Arthur revealed! Indeed, that was the mission...to recapture the feel and flavor of Arthur's immortal story of hope, betrayal, innocence, guilt, loss, awakening, rebirth, sleep and dreams. What dreams may come...that was the task. Morgan le Fey, Nimue, Guenevere, Lancelot, Merlin, Pellinor...they are all there in some form. But what I am most proud of is that the adaptation is indeed that, not a mocking copy of plots, actions and characters...but I think Jeffrey and I succeeded in building the story anew with characters, action and theme unique to the tale and evocative of not only Arthur but of the distant future first imagined by Gene Roddenberry. Thanks for the read and the kind words.
Sam Howell asks:
Where did you draw your description of Borath from? I know it has been mentioned in several episodes but never really described. Did you draw your description of the terrain and climate from your own imagination or did you have a source you based Borath on?
There must have been references some where to the frozen holy planet of Boreth. You know, one of the things about making up things is that, unless one is very careful, one can very easily lose track of what is real (already established) and what one creates. I really cannot remember from where the imagery of Boreth, as a frozen planet, came.
I knew that I wanted the final battle to take place along side a frozen lake that could be melted by the fall of a heavenly body, in this case, Ezri Dax! But somewhere along the line that frozen lake became an entire frozen planet. Wish I could remember but I will have to consult my earliest outlines to see where the climate came from. I think I wanted the priests to be somewhat Nordic in their stoicism and that implied ICE for me.
Susan Booker asks:
The character of Pharh was so wonderful. His friendship with Martok was one of the best parts of the story I thought. But why did you decide to make the character a Ferengi as opposed to a Klingon or some other race?
It may take me some time to remember how Pharh was created. I wanted to find the most unlikely ally possible given the circumstances. A latinum-worshipping Ferengi seemed a likely choice, though once I began to write Pharh, he took over. Literally, he was unstoppable in his likes, dislikes, dreams and nightmares. And Pharh had the same affect on Marco, my editor and Jeffrey, my co-writer...Pharh was unstoppable, irresistible, incorrigible, unpredictable and absolutely uncontrollable. He is just one of those things that happen in the process of making up a story. He appeared and the rest is history. I agree, he and Martok are one of those great teams, Martin and Lewis, Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, Hope and Crosby etc etc....I really really really hated to watch his demise. I do hope there is a way to "re-animate" him. Perhaps I should consult my favorite Vorta, Jeff Combs.
Tom asks:
In DS9 The Left Hand of Destiny, Book Two, Ezri is piloting a shuttle called the Wardrobe. Two other shuttles that the guy was renting out were named the Lion and the Witch. While writing that part, did you really ask your daughter what the shuttles should be named?
Those shuttles names were Jeffrey's. I had originally named Ezri’s shuttle The Tahoe, re: Lady of the Lake, but later the mission altered to crash into the lake so that connection became redundant and so the names could change. And they did. Regarding daughter's input....I cannot remember what I wrote about that and frankly don't remember saying it. But that is not unusual as the years begin to pile up mightily. Life....ha!
(In various interviews J.G. has mentioned that a few of the ideas that found their way into the novels were inspired by playing with his young daughter. For example Martok’s recollection of a childhood rhyme, “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, but a Klingon version of course.)
8-4-7-2 asks:
Was it a hard decision to kill Sirella? She is a great character and I was a bit angry that she died. While I understand the intention to break Martok, I think it went too far. Did you have any doubts about that?
On the contrary. I strongly felt that nothing else would do. Sirella was simply the most important person/thing/belief in Martok's life and to lose her would cost him more than life itself. Her death and his loss is the cost that Martok had to pay to achieve his destiny, notwithstanding whether he wanted to achieve it or not. Everything in life has a cost. I adored Sirella. I hated to sacrifice her for the Empire. But I had no choice if I wanted the story to be as emotionally powerful as possible.
Did you ever think about making the battle on Boreth more mechanized? It was well written and fit with what was seen on TV, but in my opinion it would have been great to see something like a tank battle with infantry among it.
Never considered it. The Klingon way is not, at present, about machines. It is about personal challenge and hand-to-hand combat. I agree that war machines are interesting. That's why the bat’leth is particularly interesting in this arena of futuristic warfare.
If you don’t mind my asking something about the TV show? Is it true that you knocked out a camera guy or someone with a bat’leth in a fight scene because the eye patch decreased your field of vision?
I did not knock anybody out. I merely knocked head over heals while he was running the camera. I would like to see those outtakes. He never really forgave me, but he never really understood that I simply could not see him once he changed his position from the rehearsal of the fight to the actual shooting of the scene. I assumed he was 15 feet away, but he was only about a foot away and hit him square in the breadbasket and camera with my shoulder. It was a great hit! Back to my linebacker days.
Both Tom and 8-4-7-2 asked:
I know it's not related to the books, but something I've been curious about that only you may answer is this - in DS9 'You Are Cordially Invited', there is a scene between you and Avery Brooks. Now, during the scene, you (as the one-eyed Martok) started to reach for the baseball on the desk. Now, it seems that you're acting hesitant to reach out and take it, and seem a bit off when you actually closed your fingers around air while Avery Brooks reached out and plucked it up off the desk.
Now, was that because you didn't have depth perception with only the one eye uncovered, or were you just acting like you didn't have depth perception?
It's funny you should ask. That little moment was one of my favorites on the show. Its really about two actors playing with each other and has little if anything to do with the show. Technically, it could be called "secondary action" in terms of the METHOD...but in this case, it was merely Avery and I having some fun with the world around us. Surely, Martok had never seen a baseball before and may have correctly identified the covering of the call as the hide of some kind of animal...for all he knew it could be Targ. But Martok was very curious about the markings on the ball and the way it was made, meanwhile they were discussing an attack on Cardassia or some such monumental topic, and distracted by a baseball. Sisko may have been afraid Martok might have thought it to be food and taken a bite out of it...or some such action. So, we toyed with each other a bit and that is what we ended up with. Thanks for noticing the by-play. That's the story.
Jonathan Polk asks:
What prompted the deaths of Martok's wife and children? Did you want to strip away all of what Martok held dear? Was the only reason Drex spared so that he could be used in other novels like his appearance in Diplomatic Implausibility?
I have a daughter who will be four in two weeks. It was not until I became a father that I realized just how dear and how vulnerable a child is. She depends on her mother and me for everything as all offspring of every species do. For we humans, and I include humanoids in this thought, nothing is more dear than one's son and/or daughter. At least that is what I feel. So to take that away from Martok along with his beloved Sirella was meant as motivation as well as cost. Shakespeare did the same thing so well when in the Scottish play, he wrote the death scene of McDuff's wife and children and then wrote the scene of McDuff being told about it. Pretty heavy moments. But I never realized how heavy, how powerful until the birth of my daughter.
As for Drex, we simply did not want to add to Martok's loss in that way. Too many deaths, too much loss and in a way, each death, each deprivation becomes lessened some how. Again, just my take on such a thought. For that matter I would have preferred to keep Pharh alive, but was outvoted by the powers that be. As a work for hire, writing a Star Trek novel requires considerable compromise and that is really a pretty good lesson for life in the collaborative world of show business...show and business. I must say though, I would have loved to see another story in the saga of Pharh and Martok. So...there ya go...thanks for reading the books and for the questions.
Robert Thomas asks:
How did you and Mr. Lang come up with the names of the Klingon ships other than Neg'var and Rotarran (which I know are Trek canon) and do they have any meaning?
The names B'Moth and Orantho were names of Klingon ships mentioned in the series. Martok himself also mentioned the Ch’tang. The ships in the books may be recommissioned versions of these ships...that was left largely unresolved. In other cases, Jeffrey or I just searched our own minds for an appropriate name. That is one of the great blessings of writing, you can literally make it up!
The scene where a armored Ezri Dax presents the Sword of Kahless to Martok is reminiscent ( to me at least) of when the Lady of the Lake presented Excalibur to King Arthur. Was that scene inspired by the Arthurian legend or was it coincidence?
The entire saga of LofHD is a transmutation of Morte d'Arthur. Many of the characters could be construed to function as did the major characters in the Arthurian legends. Merlin, Pellinor, Guenevere, Lancelot, Mordred, Nimue, Morgan la Fey, Arthur Pendragon, his father, etc etc. Ezri is definitely the lady in the lake.... perhaps my favorite pay off in the novel.
Was there any other (if any to begin with) legends or mythology that you and Mr. Lang drew inspiration from when working on this book?
We may have included references without deliberately doing so, since mythology and legend creeps into one's psyche...(Note the Greek Goddess of than name)...without one's awareness.
How did you two come up with the Katai?
Just deciding on the name was kind of interesting. Originally, I wanted the name of these mystical Klingon warriors to be the Dahar. An explanation of the title "Dahar Master"...a title that Worf and Kor and a few others had been awarded during the series, but no one had adequately explained to what did it refer. I wanted to answer that question by creating the Dahar, a warrior-priest sect that was formed around the time of the original Hurq invasion of Qo'nos, a sect dedicated to preserving ancient Klingon knowledge and Klingon culture during a time when the entire planet was in danger of being destroyed by these unbeatable alien invaders. But I was overruled by the editors who felt it might not be useful to co-opt the Dahar Master title...perhaps because someone else might have been writing a Klingon story related to the Dahar.... I do not know. But an alternative name for this sect became Katai, which appealed to me and so we went with it.
What do you like most about Martok?
His crankiness. I always admired that quality in Doctor McCoy on the original Star Trek. I was glad to see it develop in Martok.
In the book, Kahless seems to echo sentiments found Sun Tsu's "Art of War". Have you ever read it or took inspiration from it to shape LHOD?
No, I am loathe to say, I have not read it. I should. The thoughts of Kahless are an amalgam of all those who worked on the books, Jeffrey, our editor in chief, Marco Palmieri and myself. Marco offered a great deal of help on everything, but Kahless was perhaps the greatest example of Marco's input.
Adam Turner asks:
During the course of writing the book was there anything about Martok's characterization established in the episodes you wished to alter?
I cannot really suggest that there are things I would have altered. Over the period of time that I was performing Martok on DS9, the writers continued to add levels and colors to Martok's personality. I was very appreciative and thankful for that. It is a rare thing that an actor gets to develop a character over a period of years. That element of time is incredibly useful in adding flavors to one's portrayals...unfortunately, one has only a finite number of years to develop such characterizations...and any actor is very lucky to hit upon a role with which he or she connects so viscerally and successfully that a chord is struck out there among the audience. It is a very nice feeling to have felt that, at least once.
Bill Williams asks:
You had worked on the supplements for the Star Trek IV DVD that was released earlier this year. Do you have any coming projects on future Star Trek DVDs? Will you be involved in the supplemental projects for the eventual Star Trek: Generations DVD? We know through the Star Trek official website that one of the features on the DVD will be the Matt Jeffries tribute documentary. Will there be any other supplements, including the deleted scenes from the film?
I did work on ST4, am currently scheduled to work on ST6, though time constraints may be a problem there, and will not be working on ST7. I did, however, see a rough cut of the Matt Jeffries tribute on the lot last week, a surprise birthday celebration for the wonderful artist. The tribute will be part of the DVD you mentioned and I highly recommend it. Cannot help much with your info on Generations, since I am not involved with that one.
Do you have any plans to write another Martok or Star Trek novel in the future? The quality and the success of Left Hand of Destiny speaks for itself!
Thanks for the kind words on the books. Jeffrey and I greatly appreciate the fan response to our work. For me, the novel was literally the most challenging piece of work that I have ever committed to, and that includes performing on Broadway, leading roles on television, seven screen plays, and command of a nuclear submarine's rescue of a downed pleasure craft off Madagascar. Well, okay I lied about the nuke sub but the books were very challenging.
There is a project in the works with Paramount on another idea. Cannot mention anything just yet but within the year, I will make some announcements if all goes well in the next few weeks.
(Several people all asked about future projects that Mr. Hertzler might have and it would be redundant to print them all but the following answer J.G. provided expands a bit on his answer to Bill and others.)
James Gillespie asks:
Just a quick note to say how much I truly enjoyed the Left Hand of Destiny books. I was not sure how much I was going to like them since I would not normally enjoy a book with just "Klingons" in it. I have to say that you truly fleshed out the characters and the species for me. I loved Pharh and wish he could have stuck around. Do you plan on doing any more novels? Whether they are strictly Klingon or not?
I have plans on all fronts. Time is my enemy. Money is nothing compared to time. In fact, now that I think about it, money measures time, doesn't it? Anyway, thanks for the nice words. Believe me, I am surprised and thrilled over the reception of the books. I was hoping for such a reception but not really expecting it. Such is the attitude developed over a lifetime in the arts.
Specifically, I am pitching an idea to Paramount right now about a book...the subject of which I cannot now talk about...until the infant-idea becomes much stronger and well on the way to development. But yes, I am working on many things, not the least of which is a short film that will be shot in late summer...it is a comedy and will include some of my fellow DS9 actors and some other surprises.
Andrew Hearne asks:
Was there any difference playing Martok and the guy in Enterprise - which did you prefer?
You must understand that Martok is my favorite character in my entire career which spans nearly thirty years at this point. I have played many people over that time, from Petruchio to Shylock, from McMurphy to Macbeth. But I was able to spend almost five years developing Martok and living in his considerable skin...I normally hate watching myself on TV or film, but I really enjoyed watching Martok, which means I must have been doing something right. Kolos is fascinating to me and I have only begun to develop him. For me to represent a Klingon who is not a warrior was no easy task. But in such instances, one must trust to the writing. I cannot play being a warrior or non-warrior, I can only act and react based upon my characters inner voices. In fact, Kolos is a warrior.... for peace. Whatever the reason, Kolos also fascinates me, because it gives me a chance to find the wizard in the man. I think that is where his usefulness to the show and to the crew of the Enterprise is, Kolos finding his own sense of magic and preternatural powers. Just my take. But I do really like Kolos.... and if I get five years to work on him...who knows!?!
Steven Lee asks:
BESIDES General/Chancellor Martok, which Trek character would you like MOST to reprise or revisit?? In either a novel or on screen.
As of this moment, I think Kolos is the one I would most like to see return to Enterprise. I feel pretty strongly that the show needs that character with his age, wisdom and alien-ness as an advisor to Capt. Archer and member of the crew. There are so many many things that go into casting a show, however. Considerations from every possible angle...but if it were up to me today, I would return Kolos to the bridge of the Enterprise now and boldly go where no one has ever gone before. Through the Great Worm Hole of the universe, where ever it is,... find it and Kolos could help with that, being a vast ancient storehouse of knowledge in so many areas, his knowledge might appear to be magic to some less-evolved creatures...think of the possibilities.
On behalf of Tom Sharp and the Deep Space Nine Avatar site, I would like to thank Mr. Hertzler for taking the time out of his very busy life to participate in this little project and especially for giving the fans the opportunity to Ask Martok. Any omissions or errors are entirely mine, and no fault of either Tom or J.G. himself.
- Jackie Bundy
I would just like to add a special thanks to Jackie Bundy for sending me an email that was titled "A slightly larger favor" and had "You can say NO if you want to..." in it, as if I really could.
- Tom Sharp