Rating: 
Summary: Hey, Vulcans Are People Too!
Review: Although I enjoy Star Trek in general, I have only read less than a dozen Star Trek books because I have found most of them rather uninspired and tedious. That's why Spock's World was such a pleasant exception. It has some flaws, for example, the actual storyline could be more interesting and the historical episodes overshadow it. However, the characters are wonderfully lively and Vulcans gain a lot of depth and - dare I say - soul in this book. Duane makes them look like complete persons with history and culture; they don't come across as parodies of humans like in some other Star Trek books. My favorite part was the love story between Sarek and Amanda, which was both funny and touching. I recommend this to any Star Trek fan who is looking for more than phaser fights and aliens of the day.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best Star Trek Novels
Review: Diane Duane is probably the best writer to ever do a Star Trek novel, mostly because she understands literary science fiction, not just the television/movie genre. The two are completely different animals, and most Star Trek fiction fails because of a lack of this basic understanding. Duane doesn't stick to the generally shoddy "canonical" world-constructions, instead she builds effective and believable cultures. The Vulcan and Rihannsu (Romulan) languages she has created are particularly nice, and should really have been picked up by the screenwriters for the more recent Star Trek shows and films. After all, if Klingons can become something more than a ridiculous stereotype, surely the same can happen to the peoples of the Vulcan diaspora. Unfortunately, this novel isn't quite as good as some of Duane's other work. Although the 23rd century Vulcan political issues were mildly interesting, they didn't compare to the historical information in the alternating chapters, and in fact at times seemed just slightly unreasonable. The scenes with Jim Kirk in Ireland were a nice idea, but didn't entirely convince me; I've lived there for extended periods in the past, and speak both the languages of the country. A phrase in the Irish language was grammatically incorrect and used some rather unlikely vocabulary--this is something many English-language writers screw up, but that is no excuse for a lack of research. Those of us who speak minority languages find it rather offensive when writers cobble something together out of a dictionary and don't bother to find someone to check it with. The only reason I've given this five stars is because it's still head and shoulders above the vast majority of Star Trek novels. BTW, a text based messaging system is perfectly reasonable for the Enterprise; contrary to the beliefs of many culturally-deprived techies, literacy is not something which can be substituted for by voice mail or animated icons (like Neal Stephenson's "mediaglyphics"). The crew of the Enterprise are capable, well-educated people, even the common sailors. They are not the drunken, illiterate, whip-ruled "scum of the earth" of a Napoleonic-era man of war. It stands to reason that they would have something like an electronic message board, and it stands to reason that it would be written, as this is the most effective way to hold a semi-civilised discussion among 400+ people who live on three different schedules.
Rating:
Summary: At ;ast, the story on the Vulcans
Review: Duane does it again. In perhaps her most famous Star Trek Novel, Diane Duane captures the elaborate history of the planet Vulcan, and intermingles it with a "cuurent day" story of The Crew of the Enterprise fighting to keep Vulcan in the Federation. It seems that those lovable, logical Vulcans have decided to withdraw from the Federation, and supporting the cause is none other than Sarek himself.
Rating:
Summary: A Vulcan History Guide
Review: For the Vulcan officianados, this book has it all. The history of the Vulcan species and a comprehensive list of all their psionic abilities. The long awaited version that explains the Vulcan's reference to their near-demise.I absolutely loved this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good SF, poor Star Trek
Review: I guess someone has to disagree... Diane Duane is one of the better writers to work on the Trek novels. Her skill as a writer, at creating characters and at creating an intriguing history for an alien world, is hard to miss and is welcome in a series of books that often lacks such skill. However, the characters are not the ones we know from Trek. The Vulcan she creates, where the repression of emotions is replaces by a simple control of them, is a long way from the Vulcan we've seen on TV and in the films. She might be right in not liking the inconsistencies or the oversimplifications of Trek, but we don't read these books for a reinvention of the ideas but for a mere refinement. Whatever world she's writing about, it's not cold, logical Vulcan in the end. Still, you could do worse than this book. Duane is no PAD or Reeves-Stevens & Reeves-Stevens in terms of plot, but few can match her skill with words.
Rating:
Summary: The best Star Trek novel yet written!
Review: I have read about 50 Trek novels, and this is by far the best. Not only is it a compelling story, but great history of Vulcan, and Spock's bloodline. A wonderful read! Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Hey,even speeches can be fun sometimes... :)
Review: I liked the speeches(evident from my review title ;)),and the Enterprize crew interactions - bulletin board and in person.Everything involving McCoy,Kirk, and of course Spock was revealing their inner feelings,and therefore interesting.I liked the scene with Kirk in Ireland in the beginning of the book.The parts about Sarek,Amanda,and Amanda with T'Pau are captivating.And,while it was interesting to read about Surak and the reason Vulcans became logic-driven and in super control of their emotions,the rest of the history part was boring.In any case,it is a good book to read,although you might consider skipping some chapters...
Rating:
Summary: the Vulcan stuff was fun!
Review: I loved all the detail about the history and sociology of Vulcan. The other half of the novel, a rather lame political-intrigue story starring our TOS heroes, wasn't as interesting. Oh yeah, and the book was written in, what, the mid-80s? The author claims the Enterprise has (hold onto yer hats) a BBS!!! LOL! Let this be a lesson to all sci-fi writers: don't assume the stuff that seems so "futuristic" today (Internet, even computers!) is going to be around in 5 years much less a couple centuries!
Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable History of Vulcan & a Tolerable Political Story
Review: I preferred The Wounded Sky to Spock's
World even though I tend to prefer the
political material of the latter to the
adventure material of the former.
The early chapters on Vulcan history
dragged, but the later ones picked up
greatly. This book, on the whole, starts out
slowly, picks up speed, then coasts. The
longwinded speeches both for and against
the departure of Vulcan from the
Federation left me cold.
I really enjoyed some of the early
moments especially where Kirk is in an
Irish pub. This was drawn, no doubt, from
Diane Duane's residence in Ireland. It was
a delightful detail.
I did not buy the concept of the
Enterprise's electronic bulletin board. The
author shows a lack of vision in this
regard. From the notes in the front of the
book, she got the idea from Compuserve
discussion groups. Oddly, in hundreds of
years of further progress in computer
technology, they still use text based
messaging systems. The fact that the
Enterprise has to ration computer memory
for recreational activities is a contrivance.
I'm not sorry I read the story, but it left
me a bit unsatisfied.
Rating:
Summary: Would've been five stars, but . . . .
Review: I read the hardcover novel first, and it is one of the four best Star Trek novels I've ever come across. This book, and _Wounded Sky_, were what first brought my attention to Diane Duane's other work. I was horribly disappointed, then, when I got the audio-cassette version, and they had to cut out so much of the gleefully fun parts! My favorite crystal spider is gone from the audio version. Well, durn and a half, but I suppose I can understand that the production team had *no* idea how to represent that character's unique voice. However, they also cut out several of the plot-building scenes, and too many speeches from the actual debate. They cut out the sense of humor between Sarek and Amanda, when they're travelling with the _Enterprise_ to Vulcan. After a while, I just couldn't bear to listen. Other folks can keep their audio-taped books; I'll stick with the old-fashioned paper.
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