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Rating: 
Summary: bland, hackneyed, and disjointed
Review: A little over a year after the disappearance of Capt. Kirk, as seen in Generations, Spock, now in command of the science vessel Intrepid II, receives a call for help from his friend David Rabin, commander of the Federation colony on the desert planet Obsidian, within sneezing distance of the Romulan Neutral Zone. David is convinced the Romulans are engaging in corrupt business activities there. The investigation brings back memories of Spock's childhood, when he and David were forced to find their way home in the Vulcan desert after attending Spock's violently disrupted coming of age ceremony. What I enjoy most about this book is the insight it brings to Spock's character development. We find out for the first time what it might really have been that would make Spock decide to defy his father's wishes and join Starfleet rather than the Vulcan Science Academy. I am reminded of similar circumstances in my own life.
Rating: 
Summary: A must for Spock fans!
Review: If you are even remotely a Spock fan, or even just a Vulcan enthusiast, then this is one of those books you simply must have and read. For it will test not only Captain Spock's "path" while doing pretty much the same for Captain David Rabin. This book is as great a sci-fi as: "Stranger in a Strange Land", "I,Robot", "Starship Troopers", "Childhood's End", "2001", "2010", "Advent of the Corps", and many more.
Rating:
Summary: A must for Spock fans!
Review: If you are even remotely a Spock fan, or even just a Vulcan enthusiast, then this is one of those books you simply must have and read. For it will test not only Captain Spock's "path" while doing pretty much the same for Captain David Rabin. This book is as great a sci-fi as: "Stranger in a Strange Land", "I,Robot", "Starship Troopers", "Childhood's End", "2001", "2010", "Advent of the Corps", and many more.
Rating:
Summary: Just Wonderful!
Review: It has been a long time since I have enjoyed a science fiction book as much as I enjoyed this one! The authors did a wonderful job in their portraits of Spock and his father. The storyline/plot was also very engaging. I could not put the book down. And please note that I give this book very high praise when I say how much I loved this 'science fiction book'. This book ranks with the best sci-fi I have read - Star Trek or any other science fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: Some nice characterisations but slow placed.
Review: Some nice characterisations but it was slow and boring in places. I really tried to like Vulcan's Forge by first time Trek authors: Josepha Sherman and, Susan Shwartz but I had to force myself to finish it. It had some decent new characters in it, some good action set pieces. Commander Uhuru's captaining of the USS Intrepid against a Klingon star-ship in Spock's absence is a good example. But the narrative was dry and long winded and it meandered a fair bit. The obviously Jewish Captain David Rabin is an interesting enough character; he was sufficently different from Kirk to not make him seem like a pale imitation but enough like him to make comparisons. (His dry sense of humour for one.) The lethargic desert scenes on Obsidian and Vulcan just made me thirsty for some real Trek action, space battles and Kirk and the Enterprise crew saving the Universe. This book may have filled out some gaps in Spock's personal history and shed some more light on Vulcan culture; but it wasn't my cup of tea. Spock fans will love it though.
Rating: 
Summary: Star Trek: Vulcan's Forge
Review: Star Trek: Vulcan's Forge written by Josepha Sherman and Susan Shwartz is a book that has a primary goalof filling in some of the holes in the life of Spock. The book takes us from a time period just over a year when Captain James T. Kirk was lost in the Nexus string after saving the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-B from sure destruction. But, that is not all as we go back further in Spock's life. We go back to when Spock was a teenager... his friends and one certain Captain David Rabin. As an attempted coup was being played out on Vulcan these two became very close. The people of Vulcan would not have been who the are now if the coup succeded. Later David Rubin was assigned to a planet much like Vulcan... harsh, desert, and hot. Sabotage is the foe on this planet and Rabin with Spock's help trry to get to the bottom of this unknown force. The destiny of this planet is a stake. These are just some of the stories that are recalled while Spock was reflecting on his youthful adventures. The dialog is true to the characters and their development is apparent and the authors work the story. This is a fast read and a very engaging narrative making you read ill the end. This is a book with a dramatic tale and to know Spock this is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Who says a Star Trek book can't be well written?
Review: This book is highly enjoyable, well written and comes in the chronology at a painful time - just after Kirk's "death". Some people will nit-pick the details, or the addition of new characters, but on the whole this is an excellent piece of science fiction writing that can stand on its own outside the Star Trek genre. I really enjoyed this book. Always knew Uhura had it in her. When does she get her own ship? Why do we have to have a definitive Spock book anyway? He has evolved over time: science officer, first officer, captain, diplomat, ambassador, idealist working for unification. This spans an important gap in Spock's life and I can't wait to find out more. Don't feel ashamed to recommend this one to your non-Trekker friends. It's just a smashing good read!
Rating:
Summary: Good book, but must every Jew be a comedian?
Review: This book was hailed in Jewish circles as the first Star Trek novel with a Jewish character. That's not exactly true, as I have demonstrated in my Trekmania list of "Star Trek novels with (maybe) Jewish characters." But it is the first novel with a MAJOR character who is Jewish. True, Captain David Rabin never actually SAYS he's Jewish, but on page 1 he is described as a man "of Earth Israeli descent" who grew up in the Negev, and he has Hebrew inscriptions on his walls. So nu --what else can he be? There are other broad hints, too, such as the use of "Shalom" as a greeting, and a discussion about "Never again" to explain why Israelis are not pacifists.
Overall, I liked the book, but there were a few things that really annoyed me, which is why I docked it a star. First of all was Rabin's constant wisecracking. Why, oh why, does every Jewish character have to be a comedian? For Jews to have "a good sense of humor" is as stereotyped as blacks having "a sense of rhythm." (This problem is not limited to this book. Whenever I mention my own research into Jewish themes in Star Trek, people invariably laugh. Would they laugh if I were researching African or Asian characters in Trekdom?)
My second annoyance was the idea that Spock had learned how to to "deadpan" jokes from Rabin in his youth. I have never seen Spock as a jokester. True, there is humor in the scripts, but this is from the POV of the audience, not Spock himself. We might laugh at Spock's literal interpretations of idioms and metaphors, but it is out of character for a Vulcan to be actually cracking jokes -- especially a young half-Vulcan who is trying so hard to fit into the Vulcan way.
Lastly, I found the constant references to "Lawrence of Arabia" rather strained. I realize this was an attempt to include Arabs along with the Israelis, but surely there is a better way to do this that by citing old movies. Would people in the 23rd century really pick up on obscure references such as "Aqaba by land"? And how do Arab readers feel about using a movie to define their culture? I would certainly be offended if a writer used "Fiddler on the Roof" to define Judaism.
In spite of these nits, I did enjoy the story. It provided some interesting background about why Spock chose to go into Starfleet, and some good conversations about war and peace. The characters were well-developed and the writing was excellent, especially for a first Trek novel. I look forward to reading more collaborative books by these two authors.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent first Trek novel by these authors!
Review: Vulcan's Forge, was very deserving of a Star Trek hardback. They don't just put any of the trek stories in hardback. Vulcan's Forge is set approximately a year after what happened to Captain Kirk in Star Trek Generations. Captain Spock is now in command of the Intrepid II, which from what I gathered is one those very small Oberth class science ships. He receives a distress call from a childhood friend, who is now Captain Rabin, who is in charge of a Federation outpost on a planet called Obsidian. The star for the system obsidian is in, is giving off lethal radiation, which is, in effect, killing the inhabitants of the planet. On top of that, there are several cases of what seems to be sabotage against the Federations efforts to improve the lives of the inhabitants of this protectorate world. The Intrepid II arrives, Captain Spock, Doctor McCoy and several crew members beam down to the planet to meet with Captain Rabin. What follows is a two fold story where, Captain Spock is remembering the incident of his early adulthood that brought him to the decision to turn away from the Vulcan Science Academy and instead go to the Starfleet Academy. At the same time we have the present day where he and his childhood friend Captain Rabin is dealing with the very same villain they dealt with as early adults.
Vulcan's Forge is clearly, in my opinion, one of the best Star Trek novels written to date. The follow up, Vulcan's Heart is just as good a story. I even purchased the audio tape, which excellent for any three hours I have to spend on the highway. If you've not read this one, get it and read it, you will enjoy this one very much.
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