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Star Trek: The Next Generation

The Genesis Wave: Book 2 of 3

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Like an unstoppable cosmic storm, the dreaded Genesis Wave sweeps across the Alpha Quadrant, transforming planets on a molecular level and threatening entire civilizations with extinction.
To combat the rushing terror of the wave, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Starship Enterprise have been forced into a tense alliance with the Klingon and Romulan Empires, both of which crave the forbidden secrets of the Genesis technology for themselves. Now the finest minds of three civilizations must race against time to find some way to halt the deadly wave before yet another world is transformed into something alien and unrecognizable....
The bestselling saga continues!

293 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 2001

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446 people want to read

About the author

John Vornholt

106 books99 followers
John Vornholt also writes as Caroline Goode.

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5 stars
163 (24%)
4 stars
224 (33%)
3 stars
221 (32%)
2 stars
50 (7%)
1 star
15 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
Profile Image for Frank Davis.
1,093 reviews49 followers
June 3, 2021
Book 2 immediately rushes into the drama right where we left off. Over the first few chapters our characters split into various response teams and we begin to meet and face up to those who are responsible, eventually even turning their own strengths against them.

The situation with Dr. Marcus remains somewhat mysterious although in moments of clarity she begins to realise that she has been deluded. The link between these delusions and those being experienced by others in the story is gradually revealed but things take a rather bizarre turn when the moss-people arrive. This had me recalling pictures of the plant-man-thing from the original Quatermass Experiment and I loved the classic scifi feel.

"I'm a barber, not a security officer". Everybody's favourite Bolian, Mot shines brightly in this story, playing a role every bit as important as maintaining hairstyles but possibly a little more heroic than what he is used to.

The Klingons are written well and aren't just bruisers, they're out on a mission and fulfilling an important piece of the story.

There are some big wins in book 2 but the threat remains and may even be increasing.
Profile Image for Daniel Kukwa.
4,740 reviews122 followers
August 23, 2016
In the grand tradition of "The Next Generation's" televised two-parters, this story's conclusion isn't as satisfying as part one. It's still an easy read, and the plot continues to barrel ahead at warp speed, but it devotes less time to character development, and it continues to demonstrate a slightly askew grasp of the TNG crew. The author also doesn't seem that familiar with the ferocious capabilities of a Defiant-class vessel, or what an angry Klingon warrior would do at the helm of such a magnificent warship; we can classify this as very much of a missed opportunity. Luckily, Leah Brahms and her merry band of Klingons are still on hand to spark some wit & excitement, and the novel actually concludes with a massive bang. "The Genesis Wave-Book Two" just feels like an epic that starts to run out of gas before its time.
53 reviews4 followers
March 31, 2019
Part two of The Genesis Wave continues to deal with the fallout of the rampaging protomatter force which is wreaking havoc in the Alpha Quadrant, however a split narrative in the book slows the pace somewhat and makes for a less enjoyable follow up to the first installment.

As Geordi, Delores, Mot and a few hundred thousand Bolians struggle to adapt to the radically transformed planet Myrmidon, Leah Brahms and her motley crew attempt to strike a blow at the source of the Genesis Wave before it can be unleashed again.

John Vornholt's split of the narrative in this book between the fallout from the Genesis Wave on Myrmidon and Leah Brahms' revenge mission to Lomar was always going to be tricky balance to strike. Each story has a very different pace and doesn't directly impact on the other. As a result, I felt like I was reading two different books on occasion, so much so that my initial read through stalled completely and 8 months went by before I attempted the series again from scratch.

The Myrmidon storyline is downright harrowing, but Vornholt's decision to chronicle the fallout through the eyes of Geordi and Enterprise's Bolian barber Mot leads to some rather clunky characterisations which aren't effective at communicating the sense of horror required. Mot is a two-dimensional character who I have little empathy with, and so the sequences focusing on him fighting the moss-creatures from around the sanctuary left me wanting. I had slightly more time for Geordi's experiences as he struggled to keep the Bolian troupe together. The scenes of him being duped by Delores in her moss-controlled state were rather terrifying despite my misgivings about the nature of the enemy. However at its core, the Myrmidon storyline is one which goes nowhere. It is a planet of fire and death: condemned by Starfleet's inability to foresee the presence of the parasitic moss creatures after the Genesis Wave had passed, and the wanton destruction that they could bring about. No matter how hard the author tries to advance the plot here, each chapter brought with it a creeping sense of futility: Myrmidon is doomed.

The moss-creature takeover plot set on the Enterprise was thankfully brief, but I did get a kick out of seeing Troi save the day. Having her confront her own Imzadi was a brutal twist of the knife, especially after the horrors she witness in Book 1. Vornholt slips into unfortunate Indiana Jones clichés at time, having Troi barrel down Jefferies Tubes and plant bombs under the bridge, but it's still a lot of fun to read. There are quite a few inconsistencies as to just how much control the moss-creatures can assert on their hosts, and I confess to getting lost in the exact nature of the enemy here. Is it a moss? A fungus? A parasite? The non-specificity of the threat makes it very hard to visualise and understand from the reader's perspective.

Leah Brahms and Maltz's revenge crusade covers most of the latter half of the book, split between a drawn-out mission to the mining colony of Protus and a subsequent voyage to barren and grey planet Lomar. The Protus mission dragged for me - and often felt like I was reading extraneous filler. As Brahms is drugged by human rogue Colin Crayford, her Klingon allies must rescue her. The resulting pandemonium they cause is a lot of fun to read, but did little in advancing any plots. This whole section left me waiting for Vornholt to hurry up and get to Lomar already. Just before they do, Maltz and Brahms pick up "Herbert", who is so blatently not who he says he is that I audibly groaned reading his dialogue. A totally disposable character.

Set the scene: LOMAR. A grey, barren planet with strange vegetation and tar pools. Yet all is not as it seems! The Lomar chapters were a whole lot more interesting to read than the preceding scenes on Protus. The aliens' facility is simultaneously fascinating and terrifying - reminiscent of the alien corpse ship in Enterprise's "Fight or Flight". Vornholt excels at his descriptive prose here, and as momentum picks up I found myself enjoying it more and more.

The final chapters hurtle by far too quickly for my liking, leaving an unbalanced feel to the book. As Maltz sets on a collision course to confront Carol Marcus and the moss creatures, I was left thinking "surely things aren't going to be wrapped up in Book 2?" Yet that, on initial inspection, appears to be what's happened. It's a wholly unfulfilling end, as we get no direct answers from the aliens, and no grand confrontation. It didn't leave me satisfied, especially on account of the amount of destruction and death wrought in Book 1. I understand there's a third book in the series, so it remains to be seen if Vornholt gives us a bolder endcap to this saga.

All in all, an unbalanced affair for Book 2. Still a whole lot of fun, but sandwiched between a LOT of filler.

40 reviews1 follower
July 21, 2024
The first book had problems but it had some potential. Unfortunately, it only gets worse. There are so many problems that I can't list them all here. While the writing itself isn't bad, the author didn't know the lore or the characters. Here are three separate parts describing Leah Brahms:

Leah Brahms lifted her blue eyes

[Leah's] brown eyes were moist from tears

When [Leah] turned to gaze at him with those beautiful hazel eyes

Did the writer have any idea who this character was? Clearly not. He didn't even know what color her eyes were. Put simply, she was an engineer - a deeply technical and studious person like Geordi.


Then we have Carol Marcus...


The Next Generation cast are pushed aside for secondary characters, which might not be bad if they were properly developed. They were not. Primary and secondary characters make stupid decisions and act out-of-character.



Also, the book is really about Leah Brahms, Dolores Linton, Carol Marcus and Admiral Nechayev. Hmm. I wonder why the author chose these four characters to lead every part of the story?

There are also multiple problems with the enemy. I'll mention two.


Then there are some moments that are simply dumb and contrived.


Not recommended to Star Trek fans or readers in general.
Profile Image for Jess.
485 reviews2 followers
July 18, 2020
Okay, this book doesn't have a lot of the annoying turning half the main characters in the annoying (but slightly justifiable) man children. That's a plus. Most of the plot makes sense. Another plus. But it fall apart for three simple reasons.


First, you can't really call it a TNG book. Leah Brahms (a recurring regular), Maltz (a one shot TOS character) and quite a number of original books only characters take over story. Some of that is so they can die horrible. Which as I've said in previous Trek book reviews is a thing the licensing agreements never let them do.

It's not that Star Trek books about original characters can't be good. (See Peter David's New Frontier series or the Starfleet Corp of Engineers.) But this is just kind of awful.

While it was well written at the time, getting to the end of the book something becomes very, very apparent. At least two of the subplots were added in the second draft. They weren't added for story reasons. They weren't added to improve the ending. They were added to turn what had been originally advertised as a two book series into a three book one. (To make matters worse, that one got a direct sequel because even that left things unfinished.)

It is a real shame. Since, if we hadn't had that add plot and it was just these two books... well... it might been somewhat readable. It is okay not to know who your bad guy is. Leave the resolution for a book a long way down the road. Or let some other novelist pick them up a year or two later.

But nope. But I'm a glutton for punishment so I will get to the third book.
Profile Image for Happy Scrappy Hero Pup.
69 reviews
January 10, 2025
Meh. It’s not badly written, per se, but the story is derivative. If you’re a completionist and have read all the other TNG novels, or you just love watching Geordi pine over a married woman whose husband conveniently just died as a plot device, while in a battle to save the Earth, then read this book; otherwise, skip it.

Just like in Book One, Vornholt writes Geordi as a man with creepy obsessions and lack of focus in a major crisis under a time crunch. Geordi is one of my favorite characters, and Vornholt writes him poorly, imo. This Geordi-Leah thing should’ve just been dropped, imo. I hate it for Geordi, but it is what it was…and should have been left at that.

I have the paperback and audible book. Tim Russ does a great job narrating this subpar book!!! In my opinion, the best way to ‘read’ this book is listening to Tim Russ.
12 reviews
January 9, 2022
Much better than the first in the series. Picks up right where the 1st left off.
The only complaints are that the ending wraps up too quickly with no real answers and "seems" to be the end. But with two further books, we know that isn't true. Also, Geordi should not still be such a milquetoast. By the end of the TV series and the films that followed he wasn't the shy guy he was when he created the leah hologram to help solve a problem.
The book also skipped around a lot, so not as well structured as a lot of other trek books I've read. Hopefully, when I finish the 3rd book I'll feel better about things. Vornholt does a decent job but he is certainly no Harlan Ellison or Diane Carey.
Profile Image for Lance.
129 reviews
April 23, 2023
Following right on the heels of book 1, this book, part 2 of a 3-part series that really should be one book - was a successful second attempt at reading for pleasure for a change.

How was it? As with the first book, I enjoyed it.

In book two, Admiral Alynna Nechayev joins the cast of minor characters by making an appearance, and nearly pays for it with her life. It took about 2.5 hours to listen to the book.

The book came to a natural conclusion that I thought was the end of the series. However, I just discovered a third! Since I'm back to reading a weighty novel dealing with poverty in the richest country in the world, I'll use book 3 to cool off the reactor meltdown occurring in my brain by the time I'm done.
Profile Image for Peter Rydén.
262 reviews
May 27, 2021
Efter en något knagglig och spretig start i bok 1 blir denna bok en mycket bra sammanfattning där alla trådar binds samman till en mycket snygg helhet. Har lite svårt för Picards karaktärbeskrivning, men övriga känns äkta och i linje med de karaktärer vi känner från TV-serierna. Klingonerna älskar jag i denna bok - de är engagerade och krigiska i sina ansträngningar att kämpa för att rädda så många som möjligt.

Underbart slut på denna trilogi, nej vänta - det är ju inte det! Boken känns helt avslutande så därför undrar jag hur nästa bok kommer att bli.
Profile Image for John Szalasny.
234 reviews
December 3, 2017
The second book of the series continues in a somewhat straight forward Star Trek plot formula - writing's not bad, the action keeps you turning the pages, but it's not quite a 4 star review. The positive for me with this book is that I read it as opposed to listening to Tim Russ for the 1st book. His narration is too monotone, and so, in reading this book, the characters had more life to them.

This is not a sci-fi classic, but a worthwhile read for Star Trek fans.
Profile Image for Printable Tire.
831 reviews134 followers
October 9, 2018
Listened to an abridged audio of this at the gym, read by that famous monotonous, Tuvok. Never read or listened to part one, and I don't plan to. As mentioned by others, the Enterprise crew seem slightly off and vaguely written sexist (Data telling Geordi he's been away from women too long, Riker seduced by a sensual spore-version of Troi), but they're hardly in it anyway, as most time is spent with Leah Brahms and other adventurers, who all seem a little more fit for the Star Wars universe.
Profile Image for Lois Merritt.
406 reviews39 followers
February 18, 2019
It was interesting - it was interesting on how it ended with Carol Marcus and Maltz from Star Trek III... but it ultimately just ended. The ending was just basically right on top of you and wrapped up out of nowhere. Do not know if this is a symptom of yet another abridged Trek novel or that's how the full book actually is. While there were still some loose ends, I really have no idea why there is a part three to this, but still checked that one out anyway.
Profile Image for Ann Feutz.
734 reviews4 followers
December 2, 2017
This was a good continuation of book one and a fun foray into sci-fi. I especially loved the scenes with Mot the Barber and Leah Brahms and her rag-tag crew of Klingons. I am a bit surprised that there is a book 3 because book 2 kinda seems to wrap things up well. I'm curious to see what's going to happen.
Profile Image for Eric Evans.
582 reviews7 followers
October 9, 2017
Kind of lackluster. Seemed like it should have been included in the first book or third book. We get to see some character development from our favorite barber. A deeper look at Laforge's feelings. I wasn't much into this at all.
Profile Image for Darrin Snider.
49 reviews2 followers
August 3, 2018
Part Two did not disappoint, sure it's predictable in places, but this merely reinforces that the author captured the best spirit of Next Gen storytelling. A thoroughly-enjoyable page-turner. Can't wait for Book 3.
Profile Image for Rob.
1,419 reviews
May 23, 2019
This was a very fast paced, not wanting to stop reading, sort of Star Trek Thriller, with tons of death and destruction, I enjoyed it very much. This was a Good Read.
(Same review as book 1 because it really should have been one big book, (To be continued) my butt.
Profile Image for William Stewart.
24 reviews
April 26, 2023
This book is a continuation of the first book in the trilogy, and is basically the big bad guy reveal part of it. See my review of that for the most part. Its a fun little TNG book free of any major flaws.
70 reviews
April 28, 2024
Good Character Interaction

Great character development but the story became muddled in multiple plot lines. Still the author shows his strength in developing characters and showing their reactions to other characters. The ending was a little too abrupt for me.
Profile Image for Anna.
228 reviews45 followers
December 29, 2017
Still reads like a poorly written fan fic. Not sure what the third book will be since this one wrapped up most of the first.
Profile Image for Aaron Eichler.
761 reviews
July 24, 2023
Fantastic conclusion to the plant enemy, but there is a third book, so there must be someone new.
Profile Image for Steven Shinder.
Author 5 books20 followers
February 19, 2024
I really do feel like things were added and stretched beyond what could have just been one standalone book.
Profile Image for Craig.
538 reviews2 followers
January 22, 2024
Probably more of a 3.5. Not as frantic seeming as the first book so despite the fact that the wave is heading towards Earth, it's not as much of a panic. I liked the story on the Bolian world and discovering more of whom the villain is although it got redundant to how they all found out about it. Didn't care for the Brahms story this time around though which was too bad but it went away for many chapters but then returned and went in an odd direction. The Romulan angle was fun though. Unfortunately not as solid as the first but I enjoyed it.
Profile Image for Shane Amazon.
171 reviews5 followers
October 5, 2013
This second installment of the Genesis Wave starts out with all the bells and whistles usually found at the climatic end of a stand alone edition. The first half is filled with excitement and intrigue as the team from the Enterprise and citizens of Mr. Mots' home-world fight tooth and nail against their fungal enemy. Saving themselves for the time being the story continues on to tie up some of the loose ends that evolved over the first book. Although the tale is well told and does a good job capturing the reader the ending left me non-to-happy. Given so many story arcs spread over 500 and some pages the conclusion felt rushed and empty. With there being so much rehashed events from previous shows, movies and books the whole two part Genesis Wave didn't truly offer anything to advance the Star Trek universe. A good story and a decent read but a epic tale this was not.
Profile Image for Luca Mauri.
60 reviews1 follower
December 26, 2013
Again a very good book in the Genesis Wave series. A good continuation of the previous one and a good conceived sci-fi book overall.
I must anyway complain about the very simplistic and anti-climatic way the Wave is stopped, the Romulans are dealt with and the whole story is put to rest.
While there are others novels in the series, this one actually serve as the closure of the first half, but it ultimately fails in properly conclude the begin of the story.
Profile Image for Jeremy.
70 reviews1 follower
February 26, 2009
In this second book of a three part series, the Genesis Wave is now overtaking planets and killing thousands of people. I found this book as just a bridge to the final book. It has some graphic and exciting situations with the onset of the wave overtaking life. Hopefully, the third book will conclude with a grand finale.
Profile Image for Marcello Tarot.
297 reviews17 followers
April 21, 2015
Il potenziale la storia ce l'aveva, ma tra intermezzi che si dilungano troppo (ci sono intere parti da saltare!!), il finale quasi deus ex machina, spiegazioni raffazzonate in fondo per cercare di capire qualcosa sulla nemesi principale di un libro doppio... BLEAGH! Non gli do 1 stella perché alcuni punti felici, per amor di onestà lo dico, ci sono.
Profile Image for Stephen.
445 reviews1 follower
November 26, 2011
Moss monsters and Leah Brahms running around with Klingons...this book makes me not even want to read the third part because this was so poorly written. The climax isn't even very climactic. I don't recommend anyone read this series.
Profile Image for Angela.
2,594 reviews71 followers
July 22, 2013
The 2nd book in the series. The Wave is getting nearer to Earth and the culprits are revealed. A very good, epic storyline but NB you do need to have read the first one to follow it. It is very readable and feels like a film. All characters act how you would expect them to. A good read.
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