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)

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

Star Trek books usually are McDonalds for the mind, they are great while you are in the middle of them, but once it is gone that's it. Every once in a while a book will come out of the fold and grab me. This is one of those books. This story is filled with a disaster of galactic proportions, promising to threaten not only the Federation, but the Romulan Empire as well.
Carol Marcus is kiddnapped, and six months later the Genesis wave begins to tear through an entire sector of the Federation. Leah Brahms is the only survivor on a planet remade by the wave and barely escapes the system's destruction with another person from her science station. On her way to inform the Federation, she runs into an old friend of ours, (no I'm not telling). Eventually running into the Geordi and the crew of the Enterprise E.
The story is well crafted, the suspense keeps building, all the way til the final page....then you have to wait til April to finish the story. But as long as the second book is as good as the first I will be happy to wait.

For those of you who have not yet tried the "New Frontiers" series, I highly recommend it. Peter David is the master of combining wit, characterization and a true Trekker's knowledge of Star Trek errata into entertaining tales of Gene Roddenberry's legendary universe.

This latest volume of the "Star Trek: New Frontiers" series is a solid, if not spectacular, part of this latest addition to the Star Trek firmament. Continuing the story of Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the crew of the USS Excalibur directly following the events of the rest of the volumes in the series, the book does little to advance any sense of characterization or general plot. But considering how well Peter David has written each character up to this point, this is quite acceptable. The pace is quick, the Captain makes Jim Kirk look like a by-the-book desk jockey, and the inter-species romance is... interesting to say the least.

If nothing else, the offer for the Captain Calhoun action figure should make this book a worthwhile purchase.

lwk

Peter David is an excellent author, the best Star Trek author I've found. He is one of the few who can tell a dramatic, action-packed story without losing his sense of humor, as was done in some of the best episodes in the original Star Trek series ("Trouble With Tribbles", "A Piece of the Action", "Shore Leave") and has only rarely been seen since. I've enjoyed this series so far, and the characters in it (which is, perhaps, the most important thing in a book or a series). But there are a couple of caveats for those considering the series:

First is the one that actually bothers me a bit: I don't really care for the fact that the storyline continues from one book to the next; granted, the last two books in the series have been better about this than the first four, in that they have legitimately been complete stories in and of themselves. But I find that I prefer stand-alone stories for the most part. If you don't share this preference, you may find this a strength rather than a weakness.

Second is the caveat that does NOT bother me, but might well bother some people: while he never becomes EXTREMELY graphic, certainly never tasteless, Peter David's characters have always been a bit more obviously sexually active than we usually see in Star Trek; not that there was ever any doubt about Kirk, but even in his case, it was generally just hinted at, and that was even more true in "Next Generation". Granted, "DS9" and "Voyager" went a little farther in that direction, (remember the opening scene of "What You Leave Behind", the final episode of DS9, with Bashir and Ezre Dax naked in bed together?) but the constraints of network television still kept things a bit more restrained than David feels any inclination to. Certainly, most Star Trek novels follow the precedent set in the shows, and are much more circumscribed about showing what their characters do behind closed doors than he is. I enjoy this, but it does mean that people who do NOT enjoy this sort of thing can be unpleasantly surprised to see so much sexuality in a place that they wouldn't ordinarily expect it.

As to this book specifically, I found the story to be the best of the series so far. But really, I can't recommend it to anyone who hasn't read the previous books, so my recommendation is simply: start with Book One (House of Cards); if you like it, keep reading. If you don't, you've no need to read this one.

One of the great things about this series, in my opinion, is that the author Peter David is not hindered by the guidelines that apply to the stand alone books or for that matter the miniseries that seem to be popping up every couple of months. I've noticed that other reviewers have complained about the sex scenes in the books. Oh well, it adds some flavor and character to the series. Part of Gene Roddenberry's ethos about Star Trek was that he didn't want too much interplay between the main characters like this; the current producers have stuck with that as well. With one exception, Deep Space Nine. Look at how that turned out, DS9 was a wonderful show that showed the darker side of life in the twenty fourth century, and for its last two to three years it was almost serialized in that shows lead from one to another as opposed to the stand alones. That same style is what makes New Frontier what it is, a great series. The continuous building of characters and plot is absolutely great! As you read through these books and then peruse the ones you've read, you can see that the author, while telling the current story, is setting up either the next story directly or indirectly setting up a future story.

In "Fire on High," we have a strange woman who has mysteriously destroyed all life on the planet she's on. There are some wonderful Commander Shelby scenes, ones you wouldn't have figured the character capable of. We meet and more or less welcome to the crew Morgan Lefler, Ensign Lefler's mother. There is the continuing storyline between Selar, Burgoyne 172 and McHenry. A baby "Great Bird of the Galaxy" is growing in the warp core. Everybody seems to be going to the half Romulan, half Vulcan, Soleta for romantic advice, which by itself is very funny. There are a great many more things here that I do not wish to spoil for everybody.

Suffice it to say, Peter David has written another great installment to the New Frontier series, in "Fire on High!"

War Dragons was a good try from a group of writers who usually hit the mark with their novels, but this one isn't up to their usual standards. For one thing, I agree with the other reviewers that Kirk and Sulu should have had separate books. I also don't think that Sulu is really popular enough to merit his own book, but that's another topic. It took me a while to finish this book. Definitely easy to put down. I've read the first five books in the Captain's Table series, and this one is my least favorite. It's worth reading, but only if you're a real Star Trek fan. And here's a thought: Since Uhura played such a large role in this novel, why not tell the story in her voice?

The first "Star Trek" novel to be told from the first person perspective through the eyes of captains James T. Kirk and Hikaru Sulu is a treat to read. Each character takes turns telling his story and it works rather well. Graf has captured both captains well and getting to hear their takes on things is a real treat. The best part is the first half of Kirk's story that deals with his first days as captain of the Enterprise and the building of the legendary crew as a unit, working together. After that story ends, it's a rather pedestrian affair to stop insterstellar war in the movie era. However, based on the strength of Kirk's narrative in the first half of the novel, I highly recommend it.

At first, I was not sure how readable this book would be with two captains telling a story from two different perspectives. They take turns alternating between the "distant past"; the beginning of Kirk's five year mission and the "recent past"; Sulu taking command of his own ship. However, the method worked very well. The book was not only readable, but exciting and action packed. Its returns to the "present", the bar where the captains sit and tell their story, were not overused and made good transitions from one part of the story to another.The story never became disjointed. I always like when the books tie up loose ends that the series left open, and this book answered many questions about Kirk's first days of command. This is a must read for all Trek fans and especially the fans of the original series.

There was a theme for awhile in the books series about the Cardassians always beign behidn some nefrious plot, kind of like 1940's films constantly casting Nazi's as the enemy. Because they had been the enemy but looked at as a whole, it did tend to wear after a while. This one in particular did not advance further, staying within the static bubble of a mission that changes nothing. The stauts quo must be maintained at the end. Also the introduction of the Defiant ship did open up the tv series and the books as well.
This book is fun but only passable.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Valhalla written by Nathan Archer is a book abouthow Sisko can keep a strange alien ship with the potential to destroy Deep Space Nine out of the Cardassian hands.

A strange ship comes through the worm hole next to Deep Space Nine with its crew dead from the Gamma Quadrant. But this ship isn't your ordinary ship, but has a sentience about it as it takes over Deep Space Nine. Now Commander Benjamin Sisko has to keep this alien technology out of the Cardassian hands. This book harkens back to an early Deep Space Nine time when the storylines were simpler. Here Sisko has Major Kira's jingoism, the Bajorians, and the Cardassians paying visits to Deep Space Nine with the threat of reoccupation.

The book was rather slow to start with, keeping the read mildly occupied. But, as you read on the book, gets more intersting and hammers home Sisko's will to have order. The storyline was simple but well executed and well-written. I was a fast and enjoyable read with out all of the Sisko myth that is found in the subsequent books.

I agree with the previous reviewer, this is indeed a hackening back to better days. This book is set before the Dominion Wars and before the show became mired in the Sisko myth.

Overall-Basically a simple story of Cardie invasion of the station and how the cast mainly Odo leads the efforts to get them off agian. So, not exactly a wonderful book but it is still of worthwile one.

Death of Princes is two stories, both rather mediocre on thier own, and even more mediocre mixed together. When two stories are together as in this book, it's nice to at least have the book edited in an every-other-chapter format, unfourtunatly, there is no telling where the book will flip from one story to the next.

There are also several inconsistancies. In the begining of the book, a refrence is made to one planet, and the fact that the low gravity and *thick* atmosphere make it easier for the bird decended inhabitants to fly. However, when an away team beams down, refrence is made to the uncomfortable moment in adjusting to the *thin* atmosphere, as if one were stepping out onto a mountaintop.

In order to move the plot along, the author convieniently forgets about technology avalible, such as transporters and communicators, at key moments. Technical plausibility consistant with the show and technology does not exist in this book.

As others have noted, Dianna Troi is not Dianna Troi at all....I'm not sure who took her body over, but she speaks and acts totally unlike herself, as do many of the charachters. Riker and Barclay even *gloat* at the evil bad guys towards the end of the book. In both stories the 'bad guys' are just too illogical, or too evil to be belivable.
There are far better books out there in the TNG series to read.

I really like this book. The two stories were balanced really well, and I enjoyed the crime/mystery scenario surrounding the plague storyline. Buy it ... if you like Star Trek books with lots of character interaction, dealing with alien races and a story line that keeps you guessing. Don't buy it ... if you like lots of action, space battles and things getting blown up.

The Death of Princes written by John Peel is a surprise as you get two totally different adventures wrapped up in one book, amazing. Each adventure is complete as one deal with a plague involving Picard, Crusher, Data, Worf, and Geordi; while the other deals with the prime directive featuring Riker, Deanna, and Barclay.

This book was a real treat as you get two totally different adventures, concise, with adventure and riveting the reader with compelling tales all contained in one book. We have some interesting aliens on Buran, who resemble birds, and are threatened to extinction as Beverly Crusher tries to find a cure for the plague, but nothing comes without a price, thus the Buran are turning away the Enterprise crew's help.

The other story involving the prime directive deals with a prewarp society on Iomides as a Federation observer trys to get involved with the locals and prevernt an assination... thus this could change the outcome of this worlds future as Riker et.al. try to sort this out.

The ending to each story is very compelling and you be compelled to finish. This is a very well written book and each story stands on its own.

Having survived their encounter with the Great Bird of the Galaxy, which destroyed the Tholian throne world, the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur discovers that Captain Mackenzie Calhoun is being proclaimed on the planet Zondar to be their long awaited savior. "Martyr," Book Five in the Star Trek: New Frontier series shows that writer Peter David considers in to be exactly that: a series. Unlike the other Star Trek series this is not a collection of writers with various visions, writing isolated tales, but a series more like its television cousins. What this means is that if you did not read the first four books you are not going to be able to enjoy the ride here. The other news is that the story does not end here, but is, in the best of all storytelling traditions, to be continued.

"Martyr" provocatively sets the stage with a pair of flashbacks. The first goes back 500 years to the time when the great prophet Zondar predicted the arrival of the savior who would end the planet's bloodbath. We know these are more than mere prophecies because they are inspired by a strange alien device. The chapter also starts a debate on what you say and do when you know the future that is continued throughout the story. The other flashback only takes us back 19 years earlier when Captain Calhoun was still a warlord on his home planet, and a widow makes a formal request that he father a child. When we come up to speed we find that word of Excalibur's exploits is sweeping through the neighboring planetary systems. The planet Zondar has made a formal request for Calhoun to visit their planet, where they await the arrival of their savior. Meanwhile, Dr. Selar, in the throes of Pon Farr, has come to the logical decision that the person who should father her child is Calhoun. Needless to say, Elizabeth Shelby, First Officer and former lover of the ever-popular Calhoun, is not crazy about either situation.

Although this book starts off being about the power of prophecy and biological sex drives, the man topic on the table is religious fervor. While some proclaim Calhoun to be their savior, the Redeemers have decided he needs to die as a blasphemer. The subtext in terms of our contemporary society is patently obvious although David is not on any time of specific soapbox in this novel.

Captain Calhoun is a fascinating character (who owes his ancestry to Quintin Stone from David's Next Generation novel "A Rock and a Hard Place"), but he takes pretty much of a back seat in this particular story, which makes sense since David is interested in developing a complete roster of characters. Unfettered by the inherent restrictions of the Star Trek television series, David is able to make much better use of non-terran species in the composition of the New Frontier crew. Chief Engineer Burgoyne one-seventy-two is a Hermat, which means s/he is both man and woman, and David never has to worry about how the make-up department is supposed to carry that off any more than he worries about an actor having to endure the suffocating costume needed to play Ensign Janos the Murgato. Of course, M'k'n'zy of Calhoun is only a humanoid and not an earthling, so it all works out just fine. In "Martyr" we start to get a better feel for the supporting cast. Starting from Ground Zero in the Star Trek universe is difficult, but Peter David is off to a solid start.

The big-wigs at "Star Trek: Voyager" should drop everything and hire Peter David now. David accomplished in five books of the "New Frontier" series what the "Voyager" staff is still trying to do: chronicle the adventures of a free-wheeling crew with an unconventional captain in a distant region of space, and do it with enough character depth and Trek flavor to make fans want to come back for more.

"Martyr" displays the best and worst of Peter David, with the best coming out on top this time around. Yes, David lays the sex and innuendo way too thick for a single book, the idea of a sentient Mugato security guard grates on this Trek fan's nerves, and the plot itself is not exactly groundbreaking material. However, even with these drawbacks, the story can still succeed if the presentation is good enough. In this regard, David rarely disappoints.

And he doesn't this time. With "Martyr", David manages to flesh out all his regular charcters to some degree, especially the two characters I was most worried about. He finally made Burgoyne 172 more than a sex-craving curiousity, and Soleta got a chance to shine as well. And, like all the "New Frontier" books before, Captain Calhoun continues to stand out as a conflicted man who inspires both frustration and admiration--often at the same time. I find myself hanging on the Calhoun scenes just to see what the man does next. So, sex aside, the characters work.

And the plot? Well, the plot fares less well, mostly because it is familiar ground, and the actions of the aliens involved are telegraphed well in advance. However, David makes the most out of it. He makes the character of Ramed just tortured enough hold one's attention, sets up the Redeemers as a possible recurring threat (possibly a quite interesting one), and leaves the fate of Zondar an open question.

Plus, Peter David manages to infuse a Trekkian-style flavor in the ending. He is one of the few Trek novelists (perhaps the only one) who goes beyond the action and adventure and tries to convey a message with it, be it a character's self-discovery or the folly of a culture's short-sightedness. This is something that even the Trek television writers have pulling off nowadays.

Is "Martyr" Peter David's best work? No. Is it still a good read? Definitely. Is it better than most of the other Trek novels being cranked out these days? Absolutely. There is just as much to like in "Martyr" as there is to dislike, but in my case the stuff I liked won out. Looking forward to "Fire On High"...

After reading each book in the series, decided I really liked the story and character development in this book. The characters have feeling, depth, and comedy tastefully entwined. When are the next books coming out? For a 51 year old grandmother this is an excellent series. If they don't take away from the characters, this would also make a fantastic tv series or a few good movies. The handling of the romance issues are wonderful; after all, let's get real, what mixed group of people would go gallivanting out in space for up to five years with no romance? None! This is really must read Star Trek for the fans. Star Trek Voyager and Deep Space Nine got so boring I couldn't stay with those series, but will stay with this series if it stays as hip as the first 6 books in the series. Publish more! The Plots and action are excellent, too!

This is any ok graphic novel. If they would have finished this Dark Empire series directly after the first one then it would have been better. I feel that the story is to drawn out. Even though the plot is cool etc. it makes me think about Vader. He sacraficed himself in Return of the Jedi to save his son and killed the Emperor. It is kind of sad to know that that was for nothing and the Emperor could enter a clone as soon as he died. It also drops the whole purpose of the Star Wars trilogy and Prequels. Anakin Skywalker is the chosen one. He gos through a lot but if you think about it he comes through in the end and destroys not only the Emperor but the Empire. This desregards that and ruins Lucas' purpose for the movies.

OK, your reading the novels and you wonder why Wedge is driving a large recycler in the opening of a book. Then you read references to the Clone Emperor or resurrected emperor and that Luke once went to the dark side and came back. Dark Empire is where those things happen.

It is a pretty good story with above average art work. Some of the art is stunning! It was this comic that got me interested in the art of DAVE DORMAN. DAVE IS AMAZING!

Palpatine gets cloned and has a new super weapon. Luke goes to the dark side to stop the Emperor. Coruscant gets blasted (or is it corresaunt now). Leia, undertrained as she is goes to rescue her brother. The two are never more powerful again.

After surviving and defeating the resurrected emperor, Leia and luke go back to their old selves in future novels ie: Leia is only barely competitent, and Luke is distracted almost to the point of incompetitence at times (one of my big grips in some books).

This is the first of 3 comics on this thread. You can skip the other two, but this one is worthwhile. For an additional treat, do a search of "dave dorman art" and check out where-ever he is. You'll like what you find.

This comic series was totally awesome.
Well that's in terms of the story.
I especially liked the part when Han becomes
enraged for putting Leia in danger in front
of Palpatine. And the dissapearing act Luke did,
that was awesome!!!...
I did'nt really like the drawings especially
the ones of the cloned emperor-terrible!
But the story was tyte!

This book has high points and low points, but the latter, unfortunately, far exceed the former. Which is a shame because Boba Fett has the potential to be such an interesting character and should fit right into the comic book forum. The art in this book was not horrible, but the color scheme -- the same unnatural conglomeration of greens and yellows and reds used in the Dark Empire series, is dull, ugly, and silly. The characters, especially the Hutts, are portrayed as nothing more than morons, and the action (what action?), is slow, pointless and uninteresting.

There are a few little bits of neat dialogue and interesting character insights into the galaxy's most feared bounty hunter, but, just to give you a general idea, it took me three or four tries before I could actually force myself to read this one through to the end. A part of this is because, even though this book is long, it isn't as unified a series as most of the others, and each of the three issues represented here are 48 pages, so they start seeming long and drawn out in their own right.

If you absolutely love Boba Fett, don't buy this one...it'll ruin him for you. If you, however, fancy yourself a Star Wars collector, then I guess this is a necessary addition to your bookshelf. And to end -- a chronological note. This book is officially supposed to take place after Fett's exploits in Dark Empire I & II.

Nothing to notable here. The plot was overall quite shaky, with an inconsistent mix of humor and action. Cam Kenndey's art is its usual.... uniqueness. Like it or not, it will take some getting used to.

The stories are odd and at times rather ludicrous. Overall, if you want some nice Boba Fett/bounty hunter action, look for 'Enemy of the Empire' and the 'Shadows of the Empire' comic.

Boba fett didn`t die in the pit of carcoon. He escaped after finding out about the inteligent life form inside the salaac. That`s why he was able to be written about in this extreme comic book. Action is kept up through the intire book. It prooves Boba Fett`s skill and power. I love the literature that is used by all of the main people. Boba fett`s calm atmosphere makes his killings seem athentic to his personality. YOU GOTTA READ THIS BOOK!

I picked this one up thinking it might be an interesting insight as to what Vulcan children go through in their learning to suppress emotions. But what I found was something that was very droll and droned on. I always buy my Star Trek books, but this one was so disappointing, I sold it after I forced myself to finish it. The concept though was a fairly good one.

It's a bit floppy. It doesn't deserve four or five stars. The concept of having Spock babysitting a Vulcan child in this story is a bit dull.

Only two reasons this book deserves three stars because 1) I loved the way how the author treats pardek's character. Too bad it's not the focus of the story. 2) I like the part about tribbles. It's humorous.

This one wasn't too bad. I enjoyed most of it, though it did have some twist and turn about it. I enjoyed the trek through the forest as Spock and his niece eluded the assassins sent to kill them. But I didn't like the ending all that much. The author should have done more with that. Not the best Trek book, but certainly not the worst.

Nobody should expect 24th century jurisprudence to be the same as that in the early 21st, but the "courtroom drama" of Contamination is a farce. Vornholt tries to excuse an apparent ignorance of the law by saying that Federation law is "Solomon-like" - simple and without mumbo-jumbo. Fair enough. But then he describes procedures that no rational law-maker would have tolerated:

1. Data as defense lawyer. Data represents the accused, even though once the trial is concluded he will have to testify as a victim against the accused for another (although related) crime. Any modern attorney who participated in such a conflict of interest would be disbarred. Well, okay, this is *Data*, so maybe we can forgive this. But not:

2. Worf as prosecutor. Where's the JAG corp when you need it? As lead investigator, Worf has no business acting as prosecutor; he is a fact witness and a lawyer may not act as both counsel and witness; he is supposed to be a disinterested advocate.

3. Compelling defendant to testify. One would have thought that the right to not be compelled to testify would be sacrosanct in the enlightened Federation, yet the judge twice calls the defendant to the stand, once at Worf's prompting. (Worf: I'd like to know where he got the phaser. Judge: Yeah, me, too. Take the stand!)

4. Wesley giving his opinion on the defendant's guilt. A witness is not, and should not be, allowed to opine on the ultimate issue in a case. That is for the fact-finder (judge or jury) alone. Wesley's opinion is completely irrelevant and would never have seen the light of day in a true courtroom (and not just because it's Wesley, either!).

And so on. In "Measure of a Man" we were told that Riker and Picard had to act as attorneys solely because there were none around; it was an emergency measure only. Here, we are given no such excuse. Modern Navy ships have a JAG officer on board; why doesn't the Enterprise?

And yet, despite all of that, I found Contamination to be an enjoyable read. Nothing gripping or moving, but a good read to help while away a few hours. Exactly what one should expect from a Star Trek novel.

Star Trek - The Next Generation: Contamination written by John Vornholt is for all intents and purposes is a murder-mystery that occurs on the Starship Enterprise.

This is a classic Worf and Deanna Troi book as Captain Jean-Luc Picard assigns Worf to investigate a murder on the Enterprise of a prominant research scientist, Lynn Costa. As the book goes into detail, we the reader get a better look into the ship's science labs and we are exposed to betrayal, madness and down right deceit as Worf investigates. We get to see Worf's investigative skills emerge as all parties are guilty until a confession is beaten out of them... but of course Captain Picard wants Worf to use more refined skills and we get to see how good Worf can be.

I enjoyed this book, but I must say, that the true murderer was revealed too early on in the book and it made for an anticlimatic ending. Too bad the author couldn't of hidden the identiy for a little while longer.

Other than that the book was a very good read and it warrants a 5 stars for the mystery, intrigue, and for excellent charter developmet of Worf.

I listened to the audio cassette recording of John Vornholt's book and I enjoyed it and was really impressed with Michael Dorn's audio reading, I have listened to many audio recordings in many dfferent generes, Scince Fiction, Romance, Classic Literature, mystery and Supsense etc, but out of all of the ones that I have listened to I was most impressed with his reading, as usual he was great as Worf the character he played but he did a great job with all the other voices too, I especially liked his voice for Emil Costa, I also liked the sound effects they used in this audio and though maybe it wasn't the most challenging mystery I really did enjoy it and I would reccomend this audio cassette recording to any fan of Michael Dorn! This is a keeper!