Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Read
Review: Genesis Wave is one of the best Next Generation Books to come along in a long time. It is fast paced and hard to put down. I must disagree with the first reviewer. There is a minimal amount of "science" in the book and what is there is necessary to the story. The book starts with an old Carol Marcus being kidnapped and then jumps forward 6 months into the future. Leah Brahms is working with her husband on a planet when unexpectedly the genesis wave hits killing everyone but Leah and a fellow scientist who are wearing specially designed environmental suits. They escape the destruction. Later they encounter and save the life of Maltz the Klingon from Star Trek III. Ultimately they are rescued by the Enterprise as it embarks on a mission to stop the genesis wave which is headed toward the heart of the Federation and the Romulan Empire. Admiral Nechavev enlist the aid of the Romulans and Klingons to help in evacuations and protection of planets as the wave devastates everything in its path. I recommend this book to all Star Trek fans and am looking forward to the final book
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read
Review: Genesis Wave is one of the best Next Generation Books to come along in a long time. It is fast paced and hard to put down. I must disagree with the first reviewer. There is a minimal amount of "science" in the book and what is there is necessary to the story. The book starts with an old Carol Marcus being kidnapped and then jumps forward 6 months into the future. Leah Brahms is working with her husband on a planet when unexpectedly the genesis wave hits killing everyone but Leah and a fellow scientist who are wearing specially designed environmental suits. They escape the destruction. Later they encounter and save the life of Maltz the Klingon from Star Trek III. Ultimately they are rescued by the Enterprise as it embarks on a mission to stop the genesis wave which is headed toward the heart of the Federation and the Romulan Empire. Admiral Nechavev enlist the aid of the Romulans and Klingons to help in evacuations and protection of planets as the wave devastates everything in its path. I recommend this book to all Star Trek fans and am looking forward to the final book
Rating: 
Summary: Just another bad serial...
Review: Good Star Trek story. Well written. But.... This story should have been shorter and more conclusive. I know the intent is to have a sequel, but a sequel is usually a second full story following the original. This reads more like a bad serial, one story stretched into two (or more) books just for the sake of money. Like most avid readers, I am looking for 1) a good read 2) a book length that suits the story 3) a story that can stand on its own. Remember, Dune had sequels (some very good) but the main story holds up even if you only read the first book. Sequels have gotten out of hand, so many books are now barely an outline when a sequel is already in the works. Writers are wasting time, paper, reader's money....nuff said.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable Adventure
Review: I can usually count on John Vornholt for a good Star Trek adventure. And he comes through again in this two book offering. Book 1 leaves you hanging and anxious for the conclusion so be sure to have both on hand when you start these satisfying novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Not great, but not bad
Review: I gave this book three stars, mainly due to the fact it is fairly medicore, and would have been two if not for the excellent characterisations of Geordi and Leah Brahms.
The book basically deals with the genesis wave from star trek II and III being enhanced and then unleashed on the Federation after Carol Marcus is abducted.
The actual plot isn't that bad, the wave starts off in the outskirts of the Federation then heads inwards, and after a couple of systems are destroyed, Starfleet responds, realising the wave will eventually threaten Earth as well as a fair chunk of Romulan space.
The writing is fairly solid, I found Picard to be pretty dull in this book, and some of the others were hardly seen or heard, but Crusher did have a nice role, it was good how Vornholt actually had Crusher talking about Wes, we rarely hear Crusher now.
Vornhole really puts some effort into using many of the different races within the Federation, Tellarites, Capellans, Deltans, some of those races are rarely ever seen or heard of. The part of the book I have a serious problem with is the scale of the destruction. The wave wipes out over thirty million people on the first few planets it wipes out, and Starfleet, Picard in particular, just seem to accept that without any sort of grief or sorrow, while the loss of 10 Enterprise crewmembers is a tremendous tragedy, as if death from genocide is some sort of galactic constant and no more needs to be said on it, completely ridiculous. I also don't like the format Vornhole has written the book in (or the format the publishers chose, I don't know which). The font change is okay, but at the beginning of each chapter the format is changed, I prefer the old format with the Starfleet symbol.
I also don't like the technical side of the genesis wave, how can a wave be generated from a simple device have enough power to wipe out and recreate an entire planet? But the biggest problem is the travel factor, the wave starts at the edge of the Federation and moves in, and within a week or so is threatening Earth. That's ridiculous, there would have to be a couple of thousand light years distance there, and waves can't travel faster than the speed of light(physics IS constant).
Like I said before, the book isn't a bad read, but it isn't an exceptionally good read either, think twice before buying it.
Rating:
Summary: Great read, plus great first hardcover for Vornholt!
Review: I loved this book! The excitement never comes to an end, plus so much happens in it that there's a need for a second book. This one starts out with planets being endangered and the Federation coming to the rescue, when possible. You never do find out who the villain is, but I'm sure that's being saved for the next book in April. It was hard to put down for these reasons. This book answers many questions about what happened to Genesis and Carol Marcus after the second "Trek" film as well. Although many critics say that the books contain events that never actually happened, this book in still entertaining. I can't wait until April when the second book is out. My only reservation is that sequels usually don't live up to the original, but we'll see.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Story
Review: I really enjoyed this book. One of the better Trek novels I have read in some time. I particularly enjoyed the use of many familiar, but non-regular trek characters from TNG series and Trek movies. Waiting for part two will be hard as I just have to see how this turns out!
Rating:
Summary: Near The Top of the First 10
Review: I started reading these E-books of the various Star Trek incarnations several weeks ago, and, "Genesis Wave Book #1", is the 10th that I have read. It is the first in a trilogy, but if this beginning is an indication of the next 2 books, the series will rank amongst the best I will have read after completing the first dozen Trek books. I will be reading the next 2 books in the coming week, so if you wish for a complete impression from one reader of the three part story arc you will not have long to wait. Project Genesis will be very familiar to all fans who recall one of the earlier films to feature the original crew of the Enterprise. In addition to familiar faces the movie also included the son of Captain Kirk who played a key role in the development of the Genesis project. The book brings back some characters from the original research team, one who remains in her original form, and two who have yet to be explained by book's end. Like many weapons of Science Fiction or in our own world, science can not leave a project alone no matter what the possible consequences may be. The irony here is that after some 90 years of Genesis being kept at the highest levels of clearance requirements it appears once again, but this time seemingly uncontrolled and doing damage exponentially greater than the original. The chief engineer is an extremely capable Starfleet officer, but as Data humorously reminds him he is inept with women. It could be argued that Data has had more success with carbon-based life forms that Geordi has. And as a side story in this tale Data repeatedly attempts to help his dear friend succeed where he has only failed before. A character that Geordi had once created on the Holodeck and then fell deeply in love with only to be caught with his Holodeck fantasy by the real woman, the real married woman, once again makes an appearance as a critical player in this book and likely in the following two, Dr. Leah Brahms. And she brings with her a Klingon that will be the last Klingon you would expect to see, but does serve to tie this 90 year separation of common Genesis events together. This tale has many of the great aspects that make for a good Trek tale, a visit from the past by both characters that were enjoyable, and an event long since believed dead, and then the forced cooperation of species like those from Romulus, Klingons, and a variety of peoples from the Federation. In the midst of all this is the charismatic figure of Captain Jean Luc Picard who always adds to whatever situation he is in the midst of. And depending on the outcome of this first cliffhanger of book #1, another question is will he remain a Captain? So far so good, and I will keep moving toward the middle with Book #2, and the conclusion of Book #3.
Rating: 
Summary: Comic book-ish
Review: I was fairly disappointed with this whole series. Of course, the Genesis technology that was introduced in The Wrath of Khan was a great story device. I expected that this novel would be very exciting and rich with "historical" detail. In my opinion, the challenge with writing for Star Trek characters is to create an engrossing and exciting story, in spite of the familiarity of the characters and environment. In a way, the villains, story lines, and settings need to be even more vivid and realistic when using our familiar Trek settings. This is especially true when an aspect of Trek history, like the Genesis Wave, is selected for the center of the story. Unfortunately, this book focuses almost excluslively on plot; it neglects the care needed with the characters. All of the regular crew are portrayed in a comic book-like fashion. Their actions and dialog are typical of their characters. Nothing surprising or innovative occurs where the characters are concerned. Geordi, in particular, is dull. He spends most of the time reacting to events and people around him. There are a few decent characters in the book. The klingon Maltz returns from ST3 to play a large part in this story. Also, Leah Brahms has an interesting part to play. But, Dr. Carol Marcus lacks even the depth that she had in her small role in The Wrath of Khan. The foe that Vornholt imagines up to wreak the Genesis wave on the galaxy is entirely new. Of course, to wreak such epic havoc on the galaxy, a strong characterization was called for. This was the most critical aspect of the story that was absent. These adversaries simply were not adequately included in the story. I think that this book was based on an interesting but artificial premise, and the result is a story that feels artificial from beginning to end. For a far better read, try The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh.
Rating:
Summary: Star Trek II meets The Next Generation
Review: I'm a causal Star Trek fan, seen maybe half-a-dozen episodes of the original series, perhaps thirty of `Next Generation' and `Voyager', and at the most three of `Deep Space Nine' (I'm sorry but Star Trek was meant to be set on a spaceSHIP not a space STATION). It's a bit different when it comes to the films. Something about their larger scale and them being full of series-changing moments appeals to me more. I'm always felt `Star Trek II' was the best of the lot. The awesome destructiveness of Genesis torpedo was one of a host of ideas that gave us one of science fiction's masterpieces. I must admit I've always wondered from time to time whatever happened to this technology in the `Next Generation' world. John Vornholt attempts to answer this question in his latest novel `The Genesis Wave'. I listened to the abridged audio version of this book, read by Tim Russ. Generally, I enjoyed this story, through, like reviews have said, it's ending with the 'To be continued, buy the next book in April 2001.' is very irritating. The act of cutting it into two parts smells heavily of a marketing ploy. Through, all in all, this is an interesting listen; some points really don't sound true. (WARNING! Spoilers ahead!) An entire section of Federation space goes missing and it takes Georgi LaForge's message not getting a reply before anyone notices? I don't care if it's a backwater section of space, I live in a backwater section of my state and if we went missing people would notice it a lot quicker than this so-called advanced society. I think Dr. Crusher is a fine officer. She's proven that on innumerable occasions. But why in the heck put her in charge of an abandoned starship? She's a DOCTOR for crying out loud! That just seems really stupid! (Here ends the spoilers) Tim Russ (best known as Tuvok on `Star Trek; Voyager') gives us a fine performance reading, with an impressive ability to use a different but real-sounding voice for each character without having them sound too much alike. The one major problem with him is that his takes on Data and Piccard are very close but just off-sounding enough to remind us we're listening to someone else play their characters each time we hear them. All in all, despite it's problems and the fact that it's abridged (which I normally hate), I liked this and recommend you give it a shot as your next Star Trek fix. (Plus it's a couple bucks cheaper than the actual book)
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