World Famous Comics: Gauntlet (Star Trek: Stargazer, Book 1)
Gauntlet (Star Trek: Stargazer, Book 1)
By: Michael Jan Friedman Publisher: Star Trek Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Star Trek Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 288 Publication Date: May 01, 2002
Product Description: Captain Jean Luc Picard accepts a courageous mission which he soon finds could be a deadly trap. Jean-Luc Picard has been called to a meeting of starship captains to discuss how to deal with the raider known as White Wolf, who has been preying on Federation cargo ships. Someone has to go after this terrorist: someone with nerve, guile -- and experience. At the tender age of 28, Picard is the youngest man ever to sit in the command chair of a Starfleet vessel, and seems an unlikely choice for such a dangerous mission. The reason why his name has been put forward becomes all too clear, however: somehow he has acquired an enemy in high places. No sooner does he accept the mission than he discovers it is a trap set by no less a person than the leader of the Federation -- a man who appears to resent the rising star of the young Jean-Luc. Nevertheless, determined to prove himself, Picard perseveres and takes the motley crew assigned to him on what turns out to be a treacherous and spectacular adventure.
Not bad. Not a bad read, if a bit predicatable in spots and a bit implausible where it isn't predicatable; we're supposed to accept that the "White Wolf" isn't really so bad, although he was prepared to destroy Picard and his crew if they hadn't gotten the upper hand on him, and that a Starfleet captain would fire on a fellow captain and his ship to defend someone rather than attempting to discuss the matter like a reasonable being? And that Picard would have simply accepted these actions once their rationale was explained? I think not; these are dangerous games they're playing, and somebody could have gotten hurt. I can't believe that Picard would have gone along with them so readily.
Great Read Michael Jan Freidman is one of the best Star Trek authors. I devoured this book in one day. Great story, action and character development made this one of his best. I can't wait to read the whole Stargazer series.
Great Trek Novel/Series This is the first book of the Stargazer series, but the series actually got a start by M. J. Friedman in ST:TNG Valiant. That was the first one I read. Afterwards I started on this series and found each one was just as good and on par with one another, my favorites being Valiant and Gauntlet. Gauntlet in particular does start off slow, but after the events of Valiant has some serious groundwork to lay. This crew is very young and still trying to find itself. They deal with many new crewman as well as newfound promotions in the best way that they can, and eventually reach a certain cohesivness by the end of Progenitor. I suggest this series to anyone looking to stray from the mainstream of trekdom and indulge in the enigmatic story of the unproven but able crew of the U.S.S Stargazer.
Even Younger Than Captain Kirk I recently read the book that described the first mission ever commanded by the Captain that will always come to mind first, Captain James T. Kirk, and his starship The Enterprise. Even though I have been a fan of the various television series and the movies that have followed, the book I mention was the first Star Trek novel I had ever read. The author was familiar to me as she had written for the Star Wars series, and the decision to try Star Trek in book form was a rewarding one.
Several generations later an even younger Captain would take the helm of his first starship, a captain who would also one day command a newer Enterprise, but before he did, his first command would be The Stargazer. Captain Jean Luc Picard may be even more familiar to people who came to Star Trek during its renaissance as opposed to the original series in the 1960's, or the almost continuous availability of the original in syndication.
Both captains were very young and both came to their commands through tragedy of varying degrees at very young ages, which made their ability to command all the more of a trial. Their first missions could not have been more different, the former involving one of the legendary, "First Contacts", and this one of Captain Picard's involving the theme of, "everything is not what it seems", a task riddled with deceptions, and a crew that is far from ideal, and intentionally structured that way.
Familiar themes like The Prime Directive are here, as well as a very young captain who would go on to become a legend just like his predecessor in the first Enterprise. There are a variety of life-forms that are new, and one that requires a containment suit to function that is as interesting as any being to appear in the television series or the films.
I should note I read this in an E-Book format, a method of accessing books that I have used previously when that was the only form that was offered. I now have a LCD screen that is much easier on the eyes for extended reading, so going through this 275 page book in the Microsoft E-Reader format was no more difficult than a traditional book. The one obvious constraint was that I remain in front of the screen. E-Books can be an excellent value, and with the new formats of hardware appearing it will no longer be required that you sit at your computer, simply taking the screen with you is all that will be needed. There is also a PDA version that can be downloaded for these books, and of course laptops go wherever cords or batteries allow.
I have already ordered the next in this series, and again in E-Book form. I think they are a great way to economically enjoy books, and I will happily trade mobility of the written word for not having to venture outside in the frigid weather, or wait for UPS to bring the traditional format to my door. I am not prepared to make the switch without exception. It is not yet possible, and even if it were I still want the traditional book the vast majority of the time. But E-Books have a place, and if you have yet to try one, I suggest that you do.
The Worst Star Trek Novel I've Ever Read According to the author the crew of the Stargazer are racist, liars, gullible, and plain stupid. The actual story doesn't begin until three-quarters of the way through the book. In the meantime we are exposed to the crew of the ship and their harrowing adventures, such as deciding whether to eat tuna salad or salmon.
One character is a xeno-racist, but apparently so are many others since they laugh at the antics of the racist.
The entire book is cardboard characters and mindless scenes. One of my favorite authors, Ben Bova, wrote a book about writing Science Fiction. In that book he states that an author needs to begin a story with some conflict to catch the readers attention. This book waits until chapter 16 to do anything. The only reason I kept reading is because I lost [money] on it.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
