Gemworld Book Two

Star Trek-The Next Generation: Gemworld Book #2 written by John Vornholt is the conclusion to the 2 part series called Gemworld. Gemworld is a multifariousness of crystaline structures and the book is written with a vivid and colorful descrition of them.The main characters are Lieutenant Reginald Barclay and Captain Jean-Luc Picard in this book as they embark on a hazardous trek to find the causal effect that is dooming Gemworld. As mentioned in the first book there are six sentient races of beings interwoven in the Gemworld, one humanoid the Elaysians and five non-humanoid the Alpusta, Frills, Lipuls, Yilterns, and Gendii. Picard/Barclay try to get the engineers of these races involved in the solution of the problem with Gemworld; but there is a mass murderer afoot... determined to destroy all of Gemworld.This is a well-written book and the plot moves right along, full of action-adventure with mystery and intrigue placed within the story for spice making for a well-told, engrossing, and a desperate quest on a planet in turmoil. I gave it 5 stars for its imagination as well as a well-written story. I wish only one thing and that would be that both of these books could have been incorporated into one longer novel making for a single purchase, but the money gods at pocket books new they could get the TREK reader to buy both. Other than that, Genworld is a good story to add to your TREK library.

Gem World was a truly wonderfull storey, with a very interesting alian planet to save and some marvelous characters plus the added bonus of Mr. Barclay in loooove. It has plenty of twists and turns and keeps you guessing till the end. A must read for star trek fans and sci fi fans.

After reading Gemworld part 1, I had to read part two to see what happens. Boy I was extremely thrilled with what happens. I was intrigued with in this book John Vornholt explained each of the non-Elaysian species that lived on Gemworld. There is one thing that I disliked about both books is that Tangre Bertoran was in my opinion a real HUGE pain in the backside. From The Moment the Away team met him in the first book I knew that he could not be trusted at all! I would recommend this book to any Star Trek Fan. If you read the first book then you would want to read this one to find out what the conclusion is.

This book was truely very good. Of course you wonder why Troi and Barclay or Palzar did not appear on the covers but still, it was good. Unlike the pervious review, I feel as if this book does portray the crew as they appeared 7 years on the Enterprise-D and now E. First of all, Picard actually leaves the ship for an away team! He does his usual negotiation bit with the Gemwolrd aliens but it was his norm. Riker defends the Enterprise as he did in Generations and Insurection. Troi helps out the crew but still does her psychopath bit. Crusher is more of a wall flower in this book, only having a few scenes. I don't want to give away the entire plot but here is why you should buy this book: A) The Enterprise is hijacked. B) The away team may... or may not finish their misson. C) Palzar must choose between duty to Starfleet or her planet D) Someone does not return to the Enterprise when it leaves :) Now have you noticed how most books have Picard and Data saving the day? That does get a bit boring in my opinion. Now finally Troi, who usually takes a back seat in the novels as simply a step in one chapter influence as we often see Dr. Crusher do as well, saves the day! GEEZ... everyone needs to have at least ONE book where they help save the ship! Troi, Barclay, and Palzar with the help of the others truely come to the rescue. Also, this explains the friendship between Troi and Barclay as we see in Voyager's " Pathfinder" and " Life Signs ". I mean... we all know Troi helps everyone she can but why would she leave the Enterprise-E and Riker to go help the annoying Reg Barclay! Simply pick up this book and read it. Its really good :)

When I first saw the cover of this book, I thought it was some cheap "Star Trek" literature with its only function to fill in the gap between January and March. (The book was published in February.) Nevertheless, after some thinking, I bought Gemworld 1 and 2 and read them from the beginning of the first chapter of Book 1 to the last one of Book 2. After maybe page 10 of Book 1 I couldn't put it away anymore. I simply had to read it and look what happens next. The return of Melora Pazlar was really surprising but it added to both books an interesting element that pushed the action forward. Reginald Barcley's presence made the "Star Trek" universe less perfect and, as a result, the characters more like ourselves. The passionate relationship of those remarkable people increased the value of the novel even more.Additionally, I found Gemworld itself a fascinating planet that should have been shown in one of the TV series. Imagine a world without gravity built of cristals with six completely different intelligent species living on it, every one of them unique in its own way, but still cooperating with each other. That picture makes me dream every time I think of it.The only negative point about these books was Vornholt's attitude toward the Enterprise and her senior officers. As far as I can tell, only Deanna Troi played an important role in the novel. The rest, including Captain Picard and Data, appeared on the covers and also in the books themselves, but both didn't act as we expected them to after watching "The Next Generation" for seven years. Barclay, Melora, Troi and Gemworld as the stage of all major events were principal characters of the novel series and they did their job well. All in all I like this book very much and recommend it to everybody who likes reading science-fiction and "Star Trek".