Rating: 
Summary: Should be a movie!!!
Review: "The Genesis Wave" is a great story that re-introduces us to the Genesis project from Star Trek II as well as the movie characters of Klingon Warrior Maltz and Dr. Carol Marcus. Good to find out what happened to both characters after the events of Wrath of Khan. This movie depics adventure, mystery, as well as little bit of romance and emotions. Also the story shows some of our Next Generation Characters in some different light. We see Dr. Crusher ,being emotional over her son Wesley and Troi being a little more aggressive with her duties and peers. This was a great story that ,in my mind would have made a great Next Generation film.
Rating: 
Summary: Far short of expectations
Review: "The Genesis Wave" is one of those books that attempts to answer a question that Trek fans have wondered about for a while--whatever happened to Project Genesis after it's use and the political ramifications depicted in Star Treks II-IV. I'd like to say that this novel went a long way toward answering all of the questions that have been raised in mind over the years, but it doesn't. When they first started out, Trek hardcovers were those books that were "event" novels--such as the classics "Spock's World," "Federation" "Imazadi" or "Q Squared." And while there have been recent examples of a great Trek hardcover--"Vulcan's Heart"--they've gotten a bit more sporadic in quality. In fact, in recent years, it seems as if Pocket has put some novels into hardcover simply for the fact that they can make a bit more money off a hardcover than a paperback. Such is the case with the Genesis Wave. I guess the idea of a sweeping book means that you must include a ton of characters from all the series and maybe, hopefully, answer a few continuity questions. Peter David is the master of this. John Vornholt is not. His inclusion of Leah Brahams in the plot has potential and hopefully we'll see it come to fruition in part two, but based on what I've read here, there's not much hope of that. Next, you've got the extreme stretch of willing suspension of disbelief by still having Carol Marcus around. Certainly the lengths Starfleet goes through to keep her secret and to insure the Genesis technology doesn't fall into the wrong hands is intriguing. However, her inclusion falls flat and takes away from the novel. My main problem is there is so much crammed into the novel that none of the disparaging, interesting plot threads gets enough time for any depth. Certainly the page count isn't high in the book and I found myself wishing it was bit more so we could get some depth to the characters. The TNG walks and talks like out of the show, but it never goes beyond that. Maybe I've been spoiled having read two Peter David books and currently working on Ms. Duane's superb classic Trek books. However, the cliffhanger for this book left me not wondering what's happening next but sort of dreading the next part. It doesn't have the impact that any of the New Earth or New Frontier cliffhangers had on me--namely that I wanted the next book and I wanted it now. It's a shame how far the Trek hardcovers have fallen.
Rating: 
Summary: A wave of terror sweeps across the galaxy
Review: An intense page turner, this book is the first of three about a terrible menace, the Genisis Wave. It's creator has been kidnapped, and six months later the wave is unleashed. On the first planet in it's path, Leah Braums is testing a new experimental radiation suit.....she is inside when the wave passes over the planet, changing everything around her and killing billions of people in an instant. She makes a mission to swiftly move before it's path, telling someone who will listen to save lives. She is found by the Enterprise, after picking up a few survivors, one who has information about what they're up against. Soon after, they race the clock, and must share this secret information with the Romulans and Klingons who all pull in to help with the rescue efforts, although thier intentions aren't entirely benevolant. This first book leaves you hanging only minutes before the Genisis wave hits the planet, with Starfleet personell, including Geordi LaFordge, on the planet with some special shelters based on the ratiaion suit design. To add to some mystery, another vessel, which Dr. Crusher has taken command of begins behaving erratically, going against orders. I'm glad I had the second book on hand right then! This is a thoroughly enjoyable read, and a well thought out story, however, I don't really care for the three book delivery method, a giant novel would have been better.
Rating:
Summary: A wave of terror sweeps across the galaxy
Review: An intense page turner, this book is the first of three about a terrible menace, the Genisis Wave. It's creator has been kidnapped, and six months later the wave is unleashed. On the first planet in it's path, Leah Braums is testing a new experimental radiation suit.....she is inside when the wave passes over the planet, changing everything around her and killing billions of people in an instant. She makes a mission to swiftly move before it's path, telling someone who will listen to save lives. She is found by the Enterprise, after picking up a few survivors, one who has information about what they're up against. Soon after, they race the clock, and must share this secret information with the Romulans and Klingons who all pull in to help with the rescue efforts, although thier intentions aren't entirely benevolant. This first book leaves you hanging only minutes before the Genisis wave hits the planet, with Starfleet personell, including Geordi LaFordge, on the planet with some special shelters based on the ratiaion suit design. To add to some mystery, another vessel, which Dr. Crusher has taken command of begins behaving erratically, going against orders. I'm glad I had the second book on hand right then! This is a thoroughly enjoyable read, and a well thought out story, however, I don't really care for the three book delivery method, a giant novel would have been better.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting concept, but could be one book
Review: An interesting concept: bringing the threat of the Genesis Device from "Star Trek II" (the best of the movies) into "modern-day" Next Generation continuity. Vornholt has certainly done his homework: the characterization is decent and dialogue is authentic (he has a great handle on Geordi La Forge's unease around women), and it's to his credit that Deanna Troi has a scene in which she saves the day, a nice contrast to the usual role for Troi ("look hot and state the obvious"). I was especially impressed with the re-introduction of Maltz, the surviving Klingon from "Star Trek III": his dialogue is sharp, witty, and sounds perfectly authentic, and his dismay at being a forgotten member of Klingon society is a nice subplot. In the end, however, the book isn't compelling enough for me to want to wait the six months until the second volume, due out in April 2001. The plot is remarkably static, consisting of several destructions of inhabited planets by the fast-moving Genesis Wave. By the time the Wave threatens the Bolian homeworld, I was a touch bored: it was a case of "been there, done that" that made the climax much less dramatic. A ridiculous scene where Riker and Data are trampled by panicking natives did more to inspire giggles in me than shock or concern. Further, a well-researched full chapter Starfleet "report" on the Genesis device stops the action dead, and runs over the same ground that could have been covered with more interest and less numbing detail in an Enterprise strategy meeting. Finally, the "to be continued" aspect is frustrating and makes me feel like I've paid for half a novel. I know I have praised other continued Trek novels (Shatner's novels, the Excalibur series, the "Belle Terre" books), but I didn't feel as if I got a full novel here, and the six-month wait for the conclusion almost guarantees that by the time Book Two comes out, I won't be interested anymore. In short, interesting concept, some good characterization, but there's nothing here that couldn't have, in my opinion, been done in one single, tighter volume.
Rating:
Summary: When "let there be light!" has a negative effect...
Review: As a Star Trek books fan, I'm not one who likes books that dwell needlessly on series continuity. I picked up the Genesis Wave books, by John Vornholt, because they looked interesting and they are another link from the Original Series (TOS) to the Next Generation (TNG). I was hoping that it wouldn't be wallowing in continuity, and surprisingly, it doesn't. Instead, we get a rollicking adventure (if you can call a book where millions, perhaps billions, of people die as "rollicking") that creates another tie to the old series but yet does something fresh. Just a little bit of character whining detracts from an otherwise quite enjoyable book.
Vornholt does a wonderful job of giving us just enough continuity to explain what's happening without going into excessive explanations about the whole thing. I always wondered what had happened to the device after the Star Trek III movie, as it's never referenced again. Sure, the planet was unstable and blew up, but that's it? Vornholt takes what happened in the movies and extrapolates, giving us a horrifying force that is able to wipe out entire planets. There is one chapter that is a report on the Genesis Device, from four different sources as Starfleet examines the ramifications of the entire project. This gives enough background information for those who haven't seen the movies, but also gives additional information that even those who have seen it don't have, keeping it interesting. Otherwise, the continuity references are kept to a minimum, which I loved.
The body count grows quite quickly, but it's abstract enough that it doesn't get overwhelming. On the other hand, we do see, first-hand, the effects of the Wave, as Leah Brahms (the love of Geordi LaForge's life, though she doesn't know that) weathers it in a specially modified environmental suit that she was experimenting with for other reasons. The descriptions of this can get a little graphic, but only in a PG-13 way.
Vornholt also balances the personal and the cosmic pretty well, giving the reader a lot of character moments interspersed with the Wave itself. Counselor Troi finds herself stuck on a planet taking readings of the Wave (in a modification of Brahms' suit) and also seeing it first-hand. Riker has to do a last-minute rescue of Troi on another planet just before the Wave hits. LaForge pines for Leah, as well as finding himself increasingly attracted to a geologist on board, Dolores Linton. In fact, Geordi became the only annoying part of the book, as he was constantly thinking about Brahms, whining that she didn't know how he felt. Or, later, wanting to tell her but unable to because her husband had just been killed by the Wave and she was after revenge. Very human, but also annoying to read.
One wonderful addition to the book is Maltz, the only Klingon to survive the events of Star Trek III. It's now 90 years later and he's an embittered drunk. He's never been able to live down what happened to him, being captured by Kirk & Company. He's lived on the idea of vengeance against Carol Marcus since then, but when Leah meets him, he's just a drunk on an out-of-the-way Tellarite colony. However, he recognizes Leah's description of the Genesis effect, and hitches a ride with her. He becomes one of the more delightful characters, filled with gusto and energy, willing to follow Leah to the ends of the galaxy because he knows she feels the same way he does about the whole thing. He gives a light edge to the whole thing, balancing out the enormous devastation in the book. Of course, I had a hard time picturing John Larroquette playing him, but it *has* been 90 years. Even better, Vornholt again gives us just enough information to know that *something* happened back then with Jim Kirk, but he doesn't spend two pages explaining the plot of Star Trek III.
The rest of the characters are also well done, even if they don't stand out as exceptional. I loved the relationship between Picard and Admiral Nechayev, mirroring perfectly what we saw in the series. They exasperate each other some times, but both know that the other is good at his/her job and there is a great deal of respect there as well. Riker & Troi are also handled well, given their relationship at the end of the movie Insurrection. Good points all around for Vornholt on this basis.
The plot seems simple at first, but Vornholt adds just enough intrigue to make it even better. Ostensibly, the plot is just to stop the Wave and find out who is using it. But little side-plots, some having to do with the main one and some tangents, are scattered all over, giving the book a lot more depth than it may seem to deserve. The tension is palpable, and the twists and turns are interesting and not *that* predictable. It moves at a steady pace, which also makes for a quick read. It's hard to put down.
Vornholt, as an author, frustrates me sometimes. He's either hit or miss for me. His books in the Time to... series were really iffy, but this one is great. Well worth a read for the Trek fan, and even a not bad one for the non-Trek one.
David Roy
Rating:
Summary: It Was Great
Review: Book 1 and book 2 of the Genesis Wave was about the best Next Generation books I've ever read. The author, John Vornholt did a wonderful job mixing the old generation with the new. All the old charaters were there. Dr. Carol Marcus, Kirk's old flame, Leah Brahms, Picard and cast. Carol Marcus is duded into setting off the Genesis Wave and it destroys an entire solar system. Leah Brahms and Geordi work closely together to figure out how to disengage the wave. The two books keep you at the edge of your seat. Book III, was not very good and I recommend not reading it. It pretty much had nothing to do with book I and 2.
Rating:
Summary: Genesis is back
Review: Fans familiar with the Star Trek movies will recognize the title of the book from events in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. This book takes the Genesis Device to a whole new level. Someone has stolen the Genesis Device technology, and weaponized it! Along with the technology that was stolen Dr. Marcus is also taken from her secret Federation facility for unknown reasons. Terror reigns on the scale that no one ever dreamed, not just planetary but against entire solar systems. It seems that the Genesis Device works flawlessly, but who started it? And why? This book is thoroughly enjoyable and a blast to read. It ties in story lines from the original Star Trek and the Next Generation seamlessly.
Rating:
Summary: Genesis is back
Review: Fans familiar with the Star Trek movies will recognize the title of the book from events in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. This book takes the Genesis Device to a whole new level. Someone has stolen the Genesis Device technology, and weaponized it! Along with the technology that was stolen Dr. Marcus is also taken from her secret Federation facility for unknown reasons. Terror reigns on the scale that no one ever dreamed, not just planetary but against entire solar systems. It seems that the Genesis Device works flawlessly, but who started it? And why? This book is thoroughly enjoyable and a blast to read. It ties in story lines from the original Star Trek and the Next Generation seamlessly.
Rating:
Summary: STNG The Genesis Wave I - Thoroughly captivating!
Review: For quite some time now I've been looking forward to getting to John Vornholt's first hardback Star Trek novels, the "Genesis Wave" series and if this first novel is any example of what the whole series is going to be like, that anticipation has been greatly satisfied. I can say with utter certainty that out of all of John Vornholt's great trek tales, this by far has been his best and most complete story. Complete, to a point that is, considering that this is but the first in a trilogy. This first title in the "Genesis Wave" trilogy sets an even higher standard for author John Vornholt with respect to his normally great plot setup and pacing. Book one is nothing short of a spectacular, thrilling, intriguing and enthralling ride as John Vornholt sets up the "impossible" crisis for our heroes to deal with. Along with great pacing and plot setup another standard feature to a Vornholt novel is his visualizations. Few authors, if any, in the Star Trek genre can describe the surrounding scenery as well as he does and it greatly enhances his stories. Many authors in the Star Trek fiction genre attempt to bring guest characters into their stories and use them well, with this novel, John Vornholt has not only used those characters from shows and movies past but he has deeply engrained them into this story and given them a whole new life, which serves very well in making this novel that much better. The cover art for "The Genesis Wave" book one is among the tops for the time in which this novel was published. The premise: During the events depicted in Star Trek II "The Wrath of Kahn" and Star Trek III "The Search for Spock," Captain Kirk and crew dealt with the genesis device which was created by his former lover and mother of his child, Dr. Carol Marcus. Since the conclusion of those events, Starfleet has kept Dr. Marcus hidden away for fear that her knowledge of this ultimate weapon may slip into the wrong hands. After approximately ninety years of seclusion, she's been found and six months later the first of many planets is hit with the genesis wave, which is seemingly all but unstoppable. Now, it is up to not only our heroes, Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise, they'll need help from some rather interesting guest characters that we've met in previous movies and episodes... I highly recommend this first title in the "Genesis Wave" trilogy as you will most certainly neither be disappointed nor able to put the book down until you've finished and are able to move on the second and third books. One can only hope that the second and third novels are half as good as this first one. {ssintrepid}
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