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Publisher:Pocket
Books (Simon & Schuster) |
Release
Date: August 2003 |
ISBN:
0743465016 |
Awards:
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Format
Reviewed: Hardback |
Buy
it at Amazon US
|| UK |
Read
an Excerpt |
Genre:
SF/TV Tie-in |
Reviewed:
2003 |
Reviewer:
Rachel A Hyde |
Reviewer
Notes: |
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Genesis
Force
Star
Trek The Next Generation
By John
Vornholt
Although
it doesn't say so anywhere in the book, this is book four of the
Genesis Wave series (the other three books have all been
reviewed on this site). If you are racking your brains to try and
remember what happened 18 months after the last book's publication
then think of the Genesis Wave from the film, sweeping across
the galaxy, altering planets beyond all recognition. Before it was
stopped, it swept towards the planet of Aluwna and did its usual
thing, and this is the story of what happened. Aluwnans set great
store by their genetics, and only certain individuals are fit to
rule. They are a very traditional people, but their impending doom
is going to shake things up irrevocably and see a child from the
gutter raised up high and an imprisoned scientist holding everybody's
lives in the balance.
One of the great things about any
TV tie-in books is that you can read about the sort of large-scale
action that would not be possible on the small screen. The world
of Aluwna is well realized and this tale is exciting enough, although
it suffers from a lack of originality when compared to the other
three books in the set. If you already know about the moss creatures,
then they are no surprise when they appear here and you can be forgiven
for wondering why you are being told the same tale twice. I did
wonder that perhaps the fate of Aluwna could have been slightly
different, or perhaps the planet could have been threatened by another
menace and not been part of the Genesis series at all as maybe a
trilogy was enough. But when I was reading it, I was caught up in
the struggle and eagerly devoured the tale as setback after setback
caused me to wonder if the race was truly doomed. As with the other
books in this series, I have read Star Trek stories with more plot
strands and complex character relationships, but if you want a straightforward
and stirring adventure story this certainly fits the bill--moss
creatures, illusions and all.
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