From School Library Journal

YA-Responding to an emergency medical call from a Vulcan archeological team digging on the desolate planet Iconia, the Enterprise arrives to find them murdered. Picard comes into possession of a powerful, ancient artifact, the Ko N'Ya. He and the crew of the Enterprise become caught up in the battle to possess this ruby gem, which leaves behind it a trail of blood as red as the devil's heart itself. In this tale of power and greed, aliens and humans alike are tempted by the endless power of the jewel. Carter has woven several individual story lines into a complex, textured, well-written plot and peopled it with three-dimensional characters. While the novel stands on its own, fans of ST:TNG will find it a rich reading experience.
John Lawson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

The Devil's Heart -- a legendary object of unsurpassed power and mystery. Worlds that believe in magic consider it Darkness's mightiest talisman; worlds of science consider it a lost artifact of some ancient and forgotten race. Some say the Heart enables its possessor to control people's minds and to amass wealth enough for a dozen lifetimes, while others thing it capable of raising the dead, perhaps even changing the flow of time itself. But to all, the location of this fabled object has remained a mystery -- until now.

An isolated archaeological outpost has suddenly stopped responding to repeated requests for information. Sent to discover why, the U.S.S. Enterprise™ crew finds a devastated outpost and a dying scientist, whose last worlds fall on disbelieving ears: the Devil's Heart has been found.

Now, as the quest for the Heart unfolds, Captain Jean-Luc Picard discovers the awful truth behind all the legends and age-old secrets: Whoever holds the Devil's Heart possesses power beyond imagining...