Customer Reviews

The Genesis Wave Book Three (Star Trek The Next Generation)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I normally love all of John Vornholt's books, and really enjoyed the first two Genesis Wave books. I had waited a bit for GW-II to come out on paperback, and was suprised to see there was a third book - so I picked them up together. Genesis Wave - III seems very rushed and superficial. Instead of character and plot development, there are quick explanations of what they are doing (we really don't get into the minds of the characters at all). As I read this book, I kept wondering where this was going and why. When I finished the book, I only wondered "why?".

A completely unnecessary book, comprised mainly of an absurd effort to tie in the Genesis Wave with the Gemworld books by the same author. Don't waste your money.

In this third installment of the Genesis Wave novels the story itself is quite good and well paced. The non-regular TNG characters are the best part of the story. However if you're looking for a great TNG story that features the usual cast, don't bother. While they are included they are not the focus of the story and their characteriztion is more annoying than entertaining.

What do you do when you have written a really great two-book series full of galactic destruction and adventure? If you're John Vornholt, you churn out a third book as a sequel to them (granted, it may very well have been the publisher's idea, but he could always have said no). Genesis Wave: Book 3 is everything that the first two books weren't: boring, plodding, with bad characterization and large stretches where nothing interesting happens. It is not only entirely forgettable, but it's also inconsequential.

The Genesis threat has been neutralized with the help of the Romulans and almost the entirety of Starfleet. However, the problems are not over. While the cleanup begins, the Enterprise discovers that the Genesis Wave has weakened the boundaries between our universe and another one, allowing horrifying creatures to bridge the gap. A massive rip in space does not bode well for the Federation's survival, especially because this isn't the only rift out there. Meanwhile, on a backwater mining planet, a Bajoran Prylar (similar to a lower-level priest or monk) is given what turns out to be a portable Genesis device. Believing it to be the Orb of Life, he is determined to use it for the good of his people, no matter what the true consequences will be. Aided by a Ferengi, a few Bajorans, and an enigmatic Vulcan, this Prylar could very well cause a lot more suffering than he thinks he will cure. But will the Romulans kill anybody they have to in order to get a hold of this final device?

It's almost hard to begin, there is so much wrong with this. First, the characterization is way off. Weird romance passages abound (Vornholt seems to have been bitten by the Christie Golden bug, as he describes many characters as "stunning") and even when the romance angles are a bit more understandable, they are stilted an obvious. One of Crusher's patients falls in love with her, but Crusher is acting like a jealous fishwife because of the way Picard is acting with the Romulan commander on the other ship. Picard's actions are made clear later in the book, but Crusher's are never really explained. In all their years of working together, they have been attracted to each other, but she's never acted this way. This book takes place between Insurrection and Nemesis, and there's no hint in either one of these movies that would allow for Crusher to act like she does in this book. Troi and Riker aren't nearly as bad, but some of their scenes together really grated on my nerves as well. There are times where they don't act like the professionals they are. Even Vornholt's characters are not immune to this. The Romulan commander has a hold on Picard's emotions (I won't say how, for fear of spoiling) but, for some reason, she has a scene where she tells the sleeping Picard that she really loves him. It's never referred to again.

The rest of the book introduces characters that I, for the most part, cared nothing about. The book seems to be a showcase for a new series that never actually started, of "Genesis Warriors," or at least warriors who banded together to fight the Genesis threat. There's the Vulcan priestess, the Romulan who has a secret, the defected Romulan who is a Starfleet admiral's agent, a Ferengi, and a shape-shifter (not a Founder). Sounds like a super-hero team, in a way, even down to them having a strong leader who gives them missions in Admiral Nechayev. My first understanding was that Genesis Force would be their first (and last) adventure, but I recently discovered that Genesis Force takes place concurrently with this three-book series, so that's not true. Even so, it does look like the "premiere issue," even going so far as to really ignore the Enterprise crew for long periods at a time.

Then there's the completely unnecessary references to Vornholt's Gemworld TNG series of books. The characters (especially Troi) keep wondering if the rift is something similar to what happened on Gemworld. It's never definitively answered (and if so, I was so bored I missed it) and even if it was answered, it really had no bearing on the plot. If there's anything I hate more than the overuse of continuity, it's the overuse of *useless* continuity. Vornholt at least doesn't take large portions of the book to explain what happened on Gemworld, but he comes close. Another use of continuity I had to laugh at is what ends up being the Romulan plan (and I shall say no more in fear of spoilage).

Other strangeness abounds as well. The entire Picard plot thread, though clear to the reader before this happens, is revealed to the characters in about two sentences as soon as Nechayev boards the Enterprise in a completely anti-climactic moment that allows them to plan a commando mission on to the Romulan ship.

The best thing I can say about the book is that the atmosphere is pretty well done. The excavation of the lab on Lomar, where all of the dead and dying bodies taken over by the moss creatures in the previous books reside, is quite chilling and oppressive at times, mirroring exactly how it would feel to work in that environment.

Other than a few odd moments here and there (like Lomar), I had to really struggle with this book. It reads very quickly, just like the first two books do, but yet it's also a struggle to get through as you the plot gets more and more outlandish. The worst thing is that this book was *completely* unnecessary! The first two books were so good, but this one almost cheapens them. I say almost, because thankfully this book is not necessary for the enjoyment of those two. It can be completely ignored, and probably should be.

David Roy

I found "The Genesis Wave" Book three to be a bit "over the top" as the far as the whole series goes. Credibly, this story could've been finished in two novels and been done there. I do very much respect what the author, John Vornholt, who is one of Star Trek's premier and most respected authors, was trying to do, but book three ultimately just isn't as satisfying a story as the first two were.

Granted, as is the case with the majority of John Vornholt's novels, the plot setup, execution and pacing were all pretty good; the overall premise just seemed to linger on a bit too long. Although I didn't find the overall story overly thrilling, I did very much like the characters that inhabit this novel and I very much liked how they were used to further the story along. Ultimately though, this entire novel seems to be a "late," if you will, tie in to the "Gemworld" duology which was some of John Vornholt's best writing.

The cover art for this novel is somewhat intriguing but doesn't strike one as being extraordinarily well thought out.

The premise:

Simply stated, the "Genesis Wave" trilogy more or less concluded with the second novel. This third novel takes an entirely different tack as Starfleet, the Romulans and everybody else that had been affected by the genesis wave and its destructive path now find themselves dealing with the consequences of the genesis wave's passing and its loosening of the thin threads between their reality and the reality of another dimension and the inhabitants of that dimension.

What follows from there is a somewhat intriguing tale that doesn't actually spend a lot of time with the normal heroes of a Star Trek The Next Generation novel but rather with several new and old characters. The saving grace of this novel is those characters and how well they were written!

I would recommend this novel to those wishing to complete the trilogy but mostly to those, like myself, who've set the personal goal of reading all of the Star Trek novels, good, bad or otherwise. {ssintrepid}

The first two books in this series were very good. Admittedly, it was unnecessary to write two books when it could have been done as a thick hardcover, but such is life. The first two books were marked by an inventive plot, a well-rounded cast of characters, and a decent conclusion. I read both in hardcover, then bought them in paperback. I didn't get the chance to read this before purchase, so I was caught unawares by this terrible book.

The third book was nowhere near as good as the first two. The plot was derivate, slow, and pointless. The regular characters were noticably out of character, and the characters written for this book were two-dimensional and unsympathetic. Picard especially made me wince, but Yorka was a close second for Least Believable. The ending was possibly one of the least satisfying conclusions I've ever read. It was the first time I was ever tempted to throw a book against a wall. No ending should solve the problem, kill the antagonists, and make everyone in the universe feel good in two pages.

I expected much better from John Vornholt. If you liked The Genesis Wave I and II, then you might also like Gemworld One and Two, by the same author. You might also look for a Deep Space Nine trilogy called Millenium, which is possibly the best Star Trek I have ever read. If you really want to read Book Three out of completeness, check it out from the library, but you'll be disappointed.

ST-TNG: The Genesis Wave Book Three written by John Vornholt is the conclusion to a trilogy called "The Genesis Wave." As this final installment plays out the major characters of a Next Generation book are not the main characters in this book as they are relegated as minor players to give the story cohesion within the Next Generation genre.

We are introducted to new characters such as: Yorka, Cassey, Jaxon, Jeret as this story unfolds, the damage has been done to the alpha quadrant from an attempt by an alien race to transform the alpha quadrant more to its liking. A side affect to this transformation is a rift between two parallel universes causing problems for each. This alien race was looking to survive extinction, but the resulting action now puts the survival of reality to the test.

Yes, as I mentioned, we have Picard, Troi and Admiral Necheyev playing a minor theme, but an important theme nevertheless. As work progresses in the clean up operation, things begin to fall apart on a galactic scale as the walls between our dimension and the one next door. Now, a new threat harbors, a deadly threat where the survival of civilization is a stake.

This book does moves rapidly and suffers from the lack of really good character development, as the narrative is rather straight forward, but it can get confusing at times.

We find out that Spock has a niece named Teska and, of course, there are Romulans sprikled in the mix for spice. I don't know if it's just me, but the story seemed to be rushed and rather shallow, which is why I gave it only three stars. I felt, with a little more time and effort the author could have written a blockbuster conclusion, but all we really got was a whimper. This is mainly due to the superfical character development.

In my honest opinion, this book is a library check-out only.

Genesis Wave I & II were excellent reads. I was a bit hesitant about Genesis Wave III wondering what else could be said but the story and especially the characters quickly put my fears to rest. The story is relatively fast paced. We see Admiral Necheyev in a new light. There are two very engaging Romulan characters introduced and developed during the story. Jarit an assassin and an outlaw Regimol. There is also a niece of Spock Teska who is nicely portrayed. The story is engaging but its the development of and interaction between the characters that make the book a great success. For those interested in the story it basically follows a Bajoran Prylor who thinks a portable Genesis Wave device is a orb and the attempts of the Romulans to get it but as mentioned earlier the story is secondary to the character interaction. I highly recommend this book to every Star Trek fan. I want to see more of the characters introduced and one or two not mentioned

The DS9 series had a practice of showing a humorous, light entertainment episode after two or three very serious ones. I am not sure the author intended it, but he seems to have tried to do that and failed with the third book in his series. The Enterprise crew barely has an impact on the main section of the plot, and the seduction of Picard by a Romulan Commander is way over the top. The problem with side-lining the Enterprise characters is that the author's new characters, with the exception of the Ferengi, aren't very well done or interesting. Also, most of their action is undercover stuff, but it is so badly done and ridiculously written that it just comes off as a farce. There is also a sub-plot featuring a Romulan and a Vulcan that is annoyingly over-emotional, strange as that may sound. The sections featuring Admiral Nechayev as a starship commander are thankfully good but too few. Finally, the book ends with a metaphysical incident that I found really disturbing: our galaxy experiences a moment of total peace and harmony as Genesis kills an alternate, sentient universe. All in all, the entertainment value of this book was quite low, especially compared to its predecessors.

The Genesis Wave: books 1 & 2 were two of the best books I ever read. So naturally, when I heard about book 3 I thought it would be just as good. But it was terrible! It's slow, boring, and off the subject. The Genesis Wave: book 3, seemed to me, to be more about Picard's love affair with a fake Romulan rather than the Genesis wave.

I thought that this book was more along the line of a sequel to John Vornholt's Gemworld series (which was also a very good read). It's like he took the two book series and blended them together.

I don't really recommend this book to anyone. I like John Vornholt, and the way he writes, but this book just isn't worth your time and money.