Rating: 
Summary: Vulcan's Heart even better than Vulcan's Forge
Review: I finally finished Vulcan's Heart last night. It took me longer to read than I thought. Largely because the more I read the more I didn't want the story to end. When I first heard of the book after reading Vulcan's Forge I was excited because I enjoyed VF so much. Then after hearing that Spock would marry Saavik my enthusiasm waned somewhat. It didn't seem to make much sense to me. I must say though as I began reading I became hooked entirely. When I came to the end of chapter 14 I was sold completely. When Spock sent her away I just wanted to yell no go with her! What a wonderful novel. So full of everything. Action, familiar characters, intrigue, honor, politics, and passion. WOW! The way Josepha and Susan blended characters from the original series, next generation and Captain Garrett and crew was amazing. I don't know how they do it. Who does what, who writes what, it doesn't matter, they have struck gold. I found a book far superior to Vulcan's Forge. This was the first Star Trek hardcover book I have ever bought. If they continue writing though it won't be my last. I enjoyed this story so much I have to admit that if I had to choose between Sarek or this book it would be a hard choice to make! I can see why it took so long to write, well worth the wait. Thanks Josepha and Susan for such a terrific book. Here's hoping this is just the begining of Spock's journeys.
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Summary: A grand, sweeping story that's among the best of the novels.
Review: _Vulcan's Heart_ is, quite simply, among the best that the Star Trek novels have to offer. It is a combination of grand events and individual characters that captures the Star Trek Universe in an involving, fascinating tale that is sure to hold the interest of any reader._Vulcan's Heart_ combines elements from "Classic Trek", "The Next Generation", and even the authors' previous novel, _Vulcan's Forge_. The tale is set in that largely-unknown time between the original series and TNG, and explores the evolving relationship between Ambassador Spock and Commander Saavik, set against the backdrop of intrigue, Romulan politics, and the heroic death of a starship called Enterprise in an effort to save a Klingon colony. Characters are key here, because it is through them that we see both the grand events and the personal situations. What's nice is that all the characters are so well handled, from Spock and Saavik to the crews of the starships Stargazer and Enterprise to the key players in the Romulan government. Each major character must make choices, many which are in no way easy, and the way each character responds to his or her choices is handled very well. Susan Shwartz and Josepha Sherman have truly done their homework, and display both a comprehensive knowledge of Star Trek and a happy talent for combining the many elements of their story to create an enthralling whole. It is truly a wonderful book, a worthy sequel to its predecessor, and I strongly recommend it to anyone who loves a great novel.
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Summary: Live long and prosper Mr. and Mrs. Spock
Review: I am really happy to have - finally - read this book.
After a long time laying beside my pile - I finally came to read it.
I had first some troubles as I could not read in one session but had to pause by and by but then came THE night of the READ! And - HEY - I can only admit : EXCELLENT READ!! No more words necessary - let stars speak! Very good storytelling and yes - I enjoyed to find Spock "falling in love again" - this time really in "real-time" (refering to two earlier novels) I hope the authors will return to this time - "Spocks Son....??!" sometime in the near future.
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Summary: An Exception to the Cookie-Cutter Rule
Review: From THE NEW YORK SUNDAY POST (August 1, 1999) Science Fiction reviewed by Todd Seavey "Half the science-fiction books out there these days seem to be cookie-cutter volumes in an ongoing series. And it's usually best to avoid these assembly-line products, but VULCAN'S HEART, by Josepha Sherman and Susan Shwartz, is an exception. "A new entry in the massive line of STAR TREK novels, it links scattered elements of the series' mythos into a new story that answers some old questions for views of the show and movies. "The book begins with Spock's wedding, revealing the bride as none other than Saavik, the half-Vulcan, half-Romulan lieutenant from STAR TREK moves II-IV. Attending the wedding is a young Captain [sic] Picard who encounters the bride and groom again decades later when they're despatched to the Romulan Star Empire on a secret peace mission. "There are lots of fan-pleasing moments: we see Spock confirming for the first time that the Vulcans and Romulans are two halves of the same race, and revisit an attractive Romulan commander from a 1968 episode. We even see the starship ENTERPRISE-C in its final battle. "Sherman and Shwartz smoothly connect the dots between bits of the STAR TREK universe that have always deserved closer attention. This book should be a great relief to fans now that STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE 9 has gone off the air."
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Summary: Galaxy of intrigue and suspense
Review: This is a very, very good novel. You are not likely to read better science fiction any time soon. My all time favorite Star Trek novel is SPOCK'S WORLD, and this book is about as good. VULCAN'S HEART takes place in a time long after Spock's Starfleet days, and he is now an ambassador. He, and Saavik to follow, undertake undercover missions to the Romulan planet of Romulus, and the action is intense from that point on. Character development and plot is excellent. In this book, Spock is undergoing Pon Farr, the Vulcan mating process they undergo every few decades. Pon Farr is emotional, not logical, and Spock is caught up in it deeply. Can a Vulcan experience love, and admit to it? Spock would normally say: indeed not. But this is Pon Farr. Read the book to find the answers.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for Vulcan fans
Review: A wonderful follow up to "Vulcan's Forge" by the same authors. I would not call this a true "sequel" because it is a self contained story, with some characters carried over from the previous book. An exciting and gripping story of Vulcan mating rituals, and a Romulan coupe. This story give the background as to why Spock has such a strong desire for reunification of the Vulcan and Romulan races. This story brings together many elements from the episodes of ST "Amok Time", ST "The Enterprise Incident", STNG "Yesterday's Enterprise" and an STNG novel "Reunion" by Michael Jan Friedman . The authors really did their homework on this one. Great continuity. I especially like the way the authors dealt with the story line around STNG "Yesterday's Enterprise", giving the events that showed how the Enterprise-C became involved in the conflict between the Romulans and Klingons at Narendra III, their valiant attempt to defend the Klingon Outpost, and its ultimate destruction by the Romulans. Also, the detail was given as to how Tasha Yar came to be the mother of Sela as reveled in the STNG ep. "Redemption II". As to the elements of the STNG novel "Reunion" by Michael Jan Friedman, in short, the novel was about the reunion the command staff and crew of Capt. Picard's first command aboard the USS Stargazer. The characters' background and personalities were developed in that novel, and then were reintroduced here in this novel as a small but important part of the story that took place on the USS Stargazer. This is where the authors' work impressed me. Most authors of ST novels attempt to keep continuity with the various series and movies, however, few of them attempt to keep continuity with other novels from other authors. I felt the extra effort on the part of the authors was worth mentioning. This has to rank right up there with "Sarek" as one of my favorite ST books. I highly recommend it! It was difficult to put down.
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Summary: Wonderful book!
Review: This novel moves along the characters of Spock and Saavik into a wonderful new direction instead of stagnating them as they were last seen on the screen. Blended in well are old favorites such as the Romulan Commander in the Enterprise Incident and a younger Jean-Luc Picard who had remarked in the TV show that he had attended Ambassador Spock's wedding. Also further developed are events such as Enterprise-C's lone defense of the Klingon Post, Naridian III. I couldn't put the book down. It's the best Star Trek read I've had in a while. I hope the authors are planning a third book in this line which started with Vulcan's Forge.
Rating:
Summary: One of Star Trek's best reads!
Review: To say the very least, Star Trek Vulcan's Heart is one of the best Star Trek novels to date! We have a betrothal between Ambassador Spock and Commander Saavik. Attended by a great many dignitaries and a young Lieutenant Picard. Shoot forward in time, and Spock is well into his research into unification. Spock receives a communiqué from Commander Charbonek, (the unnamed Romulan to whom he more or less seduced while he and Captain Kirk stole the Romulan cloaking device in the TOS episode). She warns him of trouble in the empire and is seeking his assistance. What entails after that is clearly one of the best Star Trek novels you'll ever read. It includes, the Romulan Emperor; the Romulan Praetor; Ruinek from Vulcan's Forge; Captain Picard in charge of the USS Stargazer; the Enterprise C commanded by Captain Garrett; the previously unwritten story about Lieutenant Tasha Yar and what happened to her after the events of "Yesterday's Enterprise; and a great many other people and tie ins that I'll leave to you the reader. Hopefully we will be seeing a whole lot more novels by this writing team. Thank you very much to the authors for this. The audio book is extremely well done as well, read by Tim Russ (Lt. Tuvok).
Rating: 
Summary: Very sub-par Trek book
Review: Vulcan's Heart suffers from two major maladies that sink the quality of the book to great lows. One of these problems is a typical result of being a Star Trek book, and the other one isn't. First, the book literally wallows in Star Trek continuity. It is possible to understand and enjoy the story without knowing everything there is to know about Star Trek history, which is a good thing. However, if you are familiar with the history, you find yourself constantly rolling your eyes at how much the authors try to tie together. Let's see: you have the marriage of Spock and Saavik (who was introduced in the Star Trek II movie), you have the Romulan Commander from the Original Series episode "The Enterprise Incident," you have a young Jean-Luc Picard from the Next Generation series (for no apparent reason other than "proving" his televised statement that he was "at the ambassador's son's wedding), you have the Enterprise C and it's battle with the Romulans at Narendra III (from the Next Generation episode "Yesterday's Enterprise") which also brings Tasha Yar (from the Next Generation series) into play as well. Throw in a couple of bit characters that have appeared in previous Next Generation episodes, too. I'm surprised that the Trek equivalent of the Kitchen Sink wasn't in there as well. It's just too much, the book feels overloaded. Some desperate fans might love to see all of this stuff tied together, but this Trek fan doesn't think that everything in the televised Trek universe should be tied together into a neat little bow. That fault is really only noticeable to the Trek fan, and may slip under the radar if you don't know about it, though you may get an impression that something's wrong. The second fault, however, is universal: the writing is horrible. I don't know what happened to Sherman & Schwartz, because Vulcan's Forge (their first Trek book) was fabulous. Maybe I was a different reader at the time and didn't notice the prose, but I remember loving it. This one, however, is atrocious. First, there is the overuse of exclamation marks. It's bad enough to have characters often end their statements with exclamation marks (which these characters do), but the narrative also does. Often. Sorry, ladies, but the story isn't that exciting. You can't thrill me any more by trying to artificially pump it up. Secondly, there is the constant repetition. Spock and Saavik are constantly thinking about how they have to fight off what's affecting them in order to continue their mission. Constantly. All the time. Every other paragraph. Get the picture? Sherman & Schwartz are always reminding us of what their characters are going through, even when they just did at the top of the previous page. Some may find this adds to the tension. Will Spock succumb to his ills? Will Saavik jump off the balcony rather than give in? After the third or fourth time, I didn't care. I wished they would, actually. To me, this doesn't add to the tension, it adds to the tedium. As mentioned before, Picard serves no real purpose. He could have been any other Starfleet captain. The only reason he's there is because it would be neat, I think. Even his characterization is such that he could be any other captain. In fact, the characterization of almost everybody is off a bit. Spock and Saavik have a bit of an excuse, given what they're going through. But most of the rest of the characters don't. Uhura, while being the competent officer we all know, hasn't aged very well. The Romulans that are introduced are fairly one-note, though there are a couple of exceptions. The Praetor is your typical insane "villain that must be stopped." The exceptions are what bring this novel up to a 2-star book. While I didn't like the fact that they were in the book, the crew of the Enterprise C was wonderfully done. It made me really wish they would do a TV series about this ship. Rachel Garrett is a great captain, and it's completely understandable that the crew follows her into this situation. The foreboding atmosphere is wonderfully done, with the crew preparing for what they feel is a suicide mission. They do it without complaint, knowing that they're going in to save lives. Very satisfying. The second exception is Ambassador Sarek, Spock's father. Sherman & Schwartz capture perfectly the subtleties that hide within Sarek. He's the perfect example of the "Vulcans do have emotions, they just hide them" philosophy. He allows himself a small smile in private. He can be slightly sarcastic or even make a small joke. He's serene and calm, no matter what is going on. He's wonderfully compassionate. The love he has for his son and his new daughter-in-law is very apparent, and he almost loses control even in public. But he's able to right himself. I've always liked Sarek, and the authors do a great job with him. However, it is not enough to save the book. It's tedious, forcing the reader to slog through the writing to get to the good parts, of which there aren't enough. If you must read this book, then check it out from the library. If you read and enjoyed Vulcan's Forge, you don't have to read this one. First of all, it's not much of a continuation (it continues the character of one of the Romulans from that book). Secondly, it might destroy your lovely memories of that book. I know it did mine.
Rating:
Summary: Vulcan and Spock Afficiendos Will Delight
Review: For all Star Trek and/or Spock and/or Vulcan enthusiasts this book is a must read. Provides delightful new detail on the planet Vulcan and it's traditions, including the ever-intriguing pon farr. Great Sarek info. And if this isn't enough, the story is great. In the Star Trek genre I give it 5 stars (this isn't classical lit but what fun). Kudos to Sherman and Shwartz who also wrote Vulcan's Forge. More, more . . .
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