Doomsday World

Star Trek: The Next Generation #12

by Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, Robert Greenberger

The planet Kirlos -- an artificial world built by a mysterious long-dead race called the Ariantu. Kirlos is now home to many races from both the Federation and the K'vin Hegemony, who have enjoyed years of peaceful co-existence and profitable trade. The planet also hold a wealth of undiscovered archaeological treasures, which the "Enterprise(TM) " and its crew are dispatched to help uncover. Sent to the surface to assist an archaeological team, Geordi, Data, and Worf soon find themselves cut off from the "Enterprise" -- and the prime suspects in a series of terrorist attacks. The three "Enterprise" crewmen are imprisoned, relations between the K'vin and the Federation begin to crumble, and Kirlos' ancient underground machinery awakens from a centuries long dormancy, primed to release the most powerful destructive force ever known.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Star Trek The Next Generation, Fiction, Media Tie In, Fantasy, Space

288 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1990

About the author

Peter Allen David (aka David Peters), often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.

His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.

David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.

David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award, and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.

Reviews

[Elizabeth Perez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whenever a ST novel mentions archaeology I am instantly in, and throw in Michael Jan Friedman and Peter David and I just couldn't wait to start this one. Doomsday World started out strong. It mentioned Earth's history, some of Riker's past with a mission and then suddenly needing the Enterprise elsewhere with some good humor thrown in, but then it just lost something. There were some confusing bits and there was just too much concentration on boring aliens...

First I LOVE Peter David and can't believe I am giving anything he has written under 3 stars but it just fell so flat for me, there were not enough details for me, I really could not visualize what was going on. I thought it might just be me and maybe I was just in a weird place and picked up a short story then continued on and I still felt like I was just reading words. There were so many parts that I couldn't really understand like Gordis relationship with his past professor and how she would get mixed up on who she was quoting, I felt like there had to be some relevance to that comment but I never noticed if there was.

I did really like that Worf showed how well he paid attention to detail and how it helped everyone out, I've always thought Worf was the most underutilized character and wish he has a few moments to shine. So it was worth a full star seeing Worf showcase his knowledge and see more attributes come through. There was also realistic dialogue.

After reading the other reviews I don't think I'd run around telling everyone to avoid it, but I'd personally leave it further down the list.

Also, I will read all these authors again I think they just didn't mesh well.

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dilemma in the Star Trek universe that is solved with violence, in a Federation full of people who make constant references to their faith, their businesses, and their ability and/or inability to make money? What the hell is this? This is Season Three! We're beyond "the accumulation of wealth is no longer the driving force" and "we don't have money in the future"...I just...I don't...but what...oh well...

I liked the Data, Geordi, Worf dynamic that was heavily at play in this story. I keep picking up shades of "Gambit, Parts One and Two" where Worf had to serve as Data's XO temporarily. Although, I do think it's interesting that everyone in the story seems to think Worf would have a problem serving under Data because he is too analytical and wouldn't appeal to this "warrior instinct"...but, Worf is constantly serving under we-just-got-shot-at-I'm-sure-they-didn't-really-mean-it-let's-open-a-channel-and-see-what-they-want-oh-they-just-shot-us-again-but-I'm-sure-it's-all-a-misunderstanding-we-just-need-to-open-a-dialogue-Picard...(whew!) :) Of course, Picard let Worf murder someone in revenge and let him go with a "just make sure it doesn't happen again" warning...

The story was...okay...the antagonists (well, like the background ones) don't really show up until like page 200 and are sort of a non-threat which just gets dismissed and shuffled away with their pointless in-fighting. And it's the usual, both sides keep getting attacked and keep blaming each other, edging closer and closer to war, but it's all being done by a third party trope.

I still don't get why/how this needed four authors!?

[Baumwolle Aus Socken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I see that Trio on the cover, I read. I'm a simple woman.
Star Trek is a usual politics series and takes on ethical dilemmas. There was a whole lot of politics, and not a lot of dilemmas.
The characters were fleshed out in a sense that they reacted in a reasonable sense, then there were others that made me wonder if they just switched out an entire character mid-story.
Consequences were lacking on both sides of the coin, which rarely happens in this universe. There was no perspective change, not a lot of insight. The only well felt sorry was made by Data to Worf, which says something.
It was a good read, the Enterprise crew is always entertaining. The writing style was awesome and you do feel like you are among the stars, venturing planets.

[Justin Hodder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A somewhat predictable, but nonetheless enjoyable, adventure featuring Data, Geordie and Worf.

[Camille · Rating 2 out of 5]

While reading this I complained about a lot of OOC'ness (out of character) going on. Worf is portrayed as basically an animal who wants to kill everyone who looks shady and Geordi is being a baby. At one point he's crying and then he shouts at Data, "Shut up! Just shut up, Data! You think you know every damned thing in the world..."

But I realize the problem. This book was written in 1988, while The Next Generation was just in their first or second season. So the show was still young and the characters weren't exactly the people I fell in love with (they needed a couple seasons to be flushed out a bit more). So I can't blame the writers (this was actually a collaborative effort between four Star Trek authors) too much.

With that said, this novel was just OKAY. Not terribly boring but not that compelling either.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

When four legendary authors team up, the end result should be amazing; while I wouldn't give this book such a lofty superlative, it was great for what it was.

[James Hewkin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreadful. So boring and badly written. Four authors and it seems none of them could spot the problems with this book. I only felt the need to finish it because I’m working my way through all the TNG numbered novels.
It barely qualifies as a Star Trek book at all. Occasionally, the crew of the Enterprise appear and help push the plot forward a little. Like much of the first couple of seasons of TNG, this book shows nothing of the effect of it’s events on the characters we know and care about. Instead it meanders through a lot of tedious politics and power-struggles happening on a world no one would ever want to visit even if it were possible! One other striking oddity about this story is the repeated and relatively in-depth references to finance and economic issues within the planet’s infrastructure. Not something you hear talked about much on a show where money and economics have somehow become a non-issue. The federation occupies a large segment of this world and yet money is still a big deal? Very odd. It took me forever to finish this even though it is a pretty short book. Possibly because I kept repeating the pattern of reading a couple of pages, rolling my eyes in exasperation and then falling asleep. That it is a great cure for insomnia qualifies this rubbish for at least one star!

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this one. The blurb on the back made it sound like it would be interesting, and after all, it's Star Trek: The Next Generation, which is probably my favorite TV series of all time! So I thought I'd enjoy it a lot more than I actually did. I found the plot hard to follow at times.

Also, here's a little nit-picky thing: as a big Trek fan, it annoyed me that the authors decided to have Data use contractions while speaking sometimes. Doomsday World was published in 1990--well after the first-season TNG episode "Datalore" established that Data is unable to use contractions. I was surprised that the book was published without anybody catching that.

I would also like to point out there's a funny sequence where Worf arm-wrestles a pirate. I could definitely imagine that happening on the show, so bonus points for that. Overall, though, I found Doomsday World to be a disappointment, much to my dismay.

[Amelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cool ideas, interesting aliens, great authors, but I just felt it fell flat on this one. I felt like they were telling the whole novel and nothing felt surprising. The ideas in this should have been very surprising and twisty, but I kept being told isn't this shocking?!

[John]

Not a very satisfying ST:TNG book at all (and I have read all the ones written before this, and many written after). This book reads like a "hodgepodge"...a collaborative effort of several authors, which is was. Considering that, it's amazing that it had as much cohesiveness as it did, considering the way it was written.

[The Fizza · Rating 1 out of 5]

.5 of a STAR - I found this book in a box I was donating, one of the books my parents gave me when I was a kid but I never got to. I decided to give it a read before letting it go, unfortunately it was not well written but also it's a early book... double damnation for it.

RECOMMENDATION: Just don't.

[StanSwitek · Rating 1 out of 5]

DID NOT FINISH!!! Reading a Star Trek novel always seems like a good idea for me until I actually get down to it. While there really are some great Trek novels it's like finding a needle in a haystack! An utter bore. This was a collaboration between four writers and they couldn't come up with a story worth a rat's ass.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my 3rd STNG novel and my least favorite. I actually set it down for nearly a year due to having lost interest. I picked it back up yesterday just to go ahead and finish it. It didn’t get interesting until the last few chapters.

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another of those Trek books that would have made a decent episode, but as a book left me underwelmed.

[leanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is ok so far, first ST:TNG book I've read. Not as engaging as the ST:TOS books. Data is comically dry but it's weird trying to experience an android through text only.

[Martijn Hartman-maatman · Rating 2 out of 5]

No matter how many times I tried, I just could not finish this book. Poor characters, poor story. Too bad....

[Reesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars. I came to like this one more than I thought I would. It began scattered and too quickly made the origin of the "mystery" obvious. I thought I'd spend the rest of the book rolling my eyes at our stalwart crew's obliviousness, but just 20 pages later, those closest to the conspiracy figured it out, too. What a relief! All the scattered bits of story eventually came together, as well.

There were, however, several issues that collectively lost a full star-and-a-half for me, including but not limited to: Worf being written as a caricature of himself and played only for laughs; Geordi being ridiculously prone to panic; the writer(s) (who knows which!) making obvious blunders, such as that a VISOR would indicate there was no human body heat in the middle of a building that had just blown up... the, uh, heat of an explosion might interfere with that determination, no?

In addition, there were multiple times when it made absolutely no sense that the crew on the Enterprise wouldn't be communicating with the away team on the planet directly to inform them of developing circumstances. The writers also made a big deal up front of how hot and dry the planet was - to the point that wishing someone "cool days" is a standard farewell - but then it was barely ever mentioned again, nor was it ever made a problem for our crew.

The members of an important species in the book were all pretty much interchangeable, while another important species wasn't explored enough. There also didn't seem to be any reasoning as to why all the Federation members on the planet chose a difficult life of trade and the struggles of capitalism rather than being, you know, Federation members who could pursue their true interests and dreams without having to worry about money. I suppose some people just love to suffer...?

All that said, the prose was easy to read, and I went through the bulk of it in one sitting. I found the relationships - between the ambassadors, between La Forge and an original character, even between Picard and Wesley Crusher - to be believably written. Data seemed to be pretty well understood, even though some details were incorrect (they often were in the early novels).

I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone, but I wouldn't suggest specifically avoiding it, either.

I would suggest, however, that perhaps 4 different authors really aren't needed to write one 276-page novel.

[Ildar K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perusing around an outdoor/indoor bookstore in Ojai valley on the day of my birthday I stumbled on this little gem. Of course I could have spent my money on a fancy coffee table book or something with more intellectual dearth. But im a simple man at heart. A simple man who loves Star Trek: The Next Generation. My deep unending love for the show had yet to expand into the series of books that supplement the show. I was happy to settle on this particular cover for my first. The story centers around Geordi, Worf and Data who find themselves in a dramatic and tense away team mission. The story isnt the best and the writing lacks a certain finesse but overall it was a fun read and I enjoyed it as much as an episode of the show. It was really cool to be able to visual characters as I’ve known them and become the creator of the episode in accordance with the writers’ visions. For an initial foray into the books im quite thrilled with my experience and im excited to read more. I could see myself building a small collection in the future of the best titles.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Enterprise goes to a world shared between the Federation and another empire. Relations are mostly peaceful between the two, thanks to the fact that the two ambassadors, while not anything alike, have developed a friendship. Both ambassadors were done quite well, and even when outside sources conspired to pit them against each other, there was enough left of their unraveling relationship to turn away from slaughter until Data, Geordi, and Worf figured everything out. That's the kind of thing that Star Trek does well I think - the determined practice of soft power, between two old diplomats who like each other more than they should.

High point, though, was Worf's solution to the Doomsday World of the title. I won't give it away, but he was generally excellent here.

[Mark R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

**1/2

Four "Star Trek: the Next Generation" authors got together to combine their talents for this twelfth in the "Next Generation" book series. The "Doomsday World" of the title is a planet occupied by two different species, and is also the site of an ancient race, who left some time ago but could be on the return.

A lot goes on in the book's 275 pages, and I wonder if I wouldn't have enjoyed it more if there were more pages, and we got to know some of these characters--there are a lot--a bit better before the fighting. By the end, I wasn't even doing a great job of discerning which tribe each new character was from, but it seemed like they were all having a hell of a time.

[John Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not great. The book has a lot of named aliens, so many that it becomes at times hard to keep track, and around half the book is told from their points of view focusing on the happenings of their government and planet. I do like the idea of Data being on his first away mission command and Worf and Geordi having to go along with his orders, sometimes begrudgingly, but we don't even get enough of that with all the alien politics going on. I would say if you're on the fence, probably better to skip this one, especially considering the alien races introduced here never return in any other book.

[Joachim Sjöqvist · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean it isn't awful. It definitely is a unique adventure with interesting twists and turns. But Doomsday World is inconsistent, probably a result of having four authors. Many chapters are super slow and you know exactly what is going to happen, that they just act as a bridge to the next real event.

Also too many characters for a novel this size.

It is probably the best "2 star" trek book I've read, but still below average.

And why does so many Star Trek novels spoil and summarize the entire story in the blurb?

[Dae Storm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. The overall conflict of the plot is interesting, though I did guess pretty early on who the "villains"are so to speak, it was still fun getting to the point where it's all revealed. I did enjoy the focus on Geordi, Worf and Data, but it's another book in which Deanna is barely around. I think she's mostly mentioned and doesn't even really have much dialogue at all. It could have been a little better, which is why four stars instead of five, I'm not sure I'd go back and reread anytime soon, but maybe someday.

[Michel Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other reviews I've seen here and there have focused on the fact that it took four writers to write this book. So what? It's no giant novel, but it's still a good story with interesting bit players. The planet's many secrets have fun conclusions, and the characters are well written. I would expect this one would have made a better episode than novel, so try to imagine the visuals. I, for one, would have liked to see the dueling ambassadors again.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole is less than the sum of the parts. It got better near the end, as the pieces of the puzzle came together. But there was no clear vision, and some necessary bits fell out of the mosaic.

"They didn't want to believe the truth.... They wanted to believe whatever was easier...."

Onward. It's a good time in my life to have inherited this series; I'm really appreciating the low demand place on me by these books. :)

[Scott Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting experiment; a collaboration between four writers. For me, it wasn’t entirely successful but it does seem to have paved the way for multi-book collaborations that would be published a few years later.

I feel that by this time in the run of TNG the authors should have had a better grasp on the characterizations. Worf feels especially off. There’s definitely some TOS peeking through here. I think the authors were more familiar with that and so fell back on it.

[Jay Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this story to my liking. A man made world is controlled by the Federation and another group of planets and the native species serves in a subservient manner. An unknown group is creating chaos by terrorist attacks on structures of both ruling bodies. The Enterprise is diverted to another Federation colony by an attack on that planet by an unknown source. There is plenty of action and Data, Worf and Picard shine. This is better than my recent reading in this series.

[SamB · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, pacey read. The foreshadowing is a bit too obvious, and then moves from subtext to just being text - having the reader so far ahead of the characters is a risk, and here it has the result of the characters (unfairly) seeming dim, as well as just being a bit frustrating. That said, I enjoyed the read and zoomed through it. I'm largely reading through the TNG books in order (with a couple of exceptions) and this has been among the better ones - a high 3-star read.

[Aaron Krell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I like: So, what I like about this book is that there is a war brewing on this planet, and the federation officers are the ones that can stop. I also like some of the archeological stuff that they uncover, such as a doomsday weapon that hadn't been used.

What I don't like: The only thing I don't like about the book is when it gets political, like discussing how to handle certain situations.

[Solitudes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book, nice plot, some nice twists now and there, really some good funny jokes and thanks god for an unexpected Monty Python Easter Egg. Lovely and enjoyable book, where Geordi, Worf and Data are the main characters on a Doomsday Planet. Not one of the greatest books so far but still quite a good one.