Customer Reviews

Gauntlet (Star Trek: Stargazer, Book 1)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When I first came across the Stargazer series, my first impression is that "Oh no, not another series to follow!". I am also following the new Enterprise series and Capt Calhoun. I am a fan since STTOS, I had initially did not pay much attention to STTNG but after following the series, I feel it is the best of all the ST series so far. Because of this, my impression of Picard and his crew has always been on Enterprise D. Enterprise E did not form much of an impression.

Stargazer to me is a step on a ladder for Picard and did not warrant much attention. After reading this book and the previous one, I am more inclined to follow it a bit more closely.

This story again shows the ingenuity of Picard and his ability to triumph where others have failed. His crew is by far the most interesting (not the most colourful) when compared to Capt Calhoun's and Capt Archer's, at least in my opinion.

Picard was sent to hunt an outlaw. He was sent on a mission where he is expected to fail and take the consequences. A pawn in politics meant to bring down Picard's mentor. How well I can empthatise with his situation!

He triumphed despite uncertainties due to his inexperience. He grows more confindent with each encounter and there are leadership lessons within the story.

The story is fast paced and I went on reading till I complete the story. I am looking forward to the third one.

Prolific Star Trek author Michael Jan Friedman has a definate hit on his hands with Gauntlet. We have a book that is somewhat different from Mike Friedman's usual fare. We have a book whose story is character driven. There are no galaxy saving adventures, just people learning to know each other and trying to do the best that they can. Some succeed whereas others fail just as in real life. The story revolves around Picard being assigned to track down and capture a pirate. In the course of doing this we are introduced to some engaging new characters. Some remain at the end of the book while others are sent packing. The book is quick paced and never gets boring and is almost impossible to put down once you begin reading it. I highly recommend this book.

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.

Great first entry that gives us the background of Picard before the Enterprise and begins to tell us the story of the Stargazer, always wondered what Picard's first command was like since I saw the tng episode the battle with the Stargazer being found, great characters, and great plot, looking forward to the seond entry!

Michael Jan Friedman's new Star Trek Stargazer series promises a lot of potential with this first book. Jean-Luc Picard has only recently received a battlefield promotion to captain. Admiral McAteer, newly assigned to the Star Fleet sector, is out to make a name for himself, and he's also dead-set against accepting Picard as a captain. As an effort to scuttle the young captain's career, McAteer assigns Picard to apprehend the elusive White Wolf, a pirate that seems to be more ghost that flesh and blood. In a further effort to sabotoge Picard's command, McAteer places new crewmembers aboard Stargazer: people that are young and untried, people that have obvious problems that will interfere with the command and performance of the starship and the mission.

A Star Trek author of considerable talent, skill, and experience, Friedman's newest series came from two earlier entries in the adventures of the young Jean-Luc Picard: Star Trek Nex Generation: VALIANT and Double Helix: THE FIRST VIRTUE. The author has also contributed to Star Trek Starfleet Year One, Star Trek the Original Series, Star Trek The Next Generation, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager, as well as several mini-series within the franchise. He also wrote the only Star Trek Next Generation/X-Men crossover. Other novels spawned from comic book properties include a Fantastic Four adventure: THE REDEMPTION OF THE SILVER SURFER, Superman novels, and X-Men novels. There are at least two Justice League novels for young readers coming up, based on the hit cartoon series. He's also a contributor to the Wishbone adventures, displaying a versatility and wide interest.

In GAUNTLET, Friedman really hits his stride. The book reads like a television episode, fast-paced with quick scenes that make the pages seem to turn themselves. Besides the overall problem of dealing with what is admittedly the most wily and elusive pirate plaguing Starfleet at the time, Friedman presents a host of character-based problems. The characters deal with these problems both internally and externally, in true Star Trek tradition. The author is clearly at home dealing with character stretches as he is at detailing battle scenes. This was a exemplary exhibition of an introduction to a great new series, with lots of promise to come.

Although the identity of the White Wolf had to be kept secret, there should have been a little more information on him. Otherwise, the White Wolf and his coterie should have been kept off the stage completely. The ultimate secret of why the White Wolf was in place there seemed to come out of left fied. Also, the resolution of some of the characters, although coming in Book Two from the looks of things, made the read feel like some things were left undone. Still, this is going to be an epic story, so they will probably still get tied up. However, at least a cursory confrontation between Picard and McAteer would have been nice to see.

This book is definitely for the Star Trek fans. Readers will get a brand new ship, a new crew, and a younger version of one of the best Starfleet captains ever to helm a ship. If new readers have hesitated about trying to read one of the other series because so many volumes have been published about the crews of those ships, GAUNTLET is an excellent place to start, a new team in the licensed franchise to root for.

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.

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.

A Pirate called the White Wolf has been causing trouble and Picard; who is a green captain was expected to fail in his mission. With tornados in outer space and all types of unusual phenomena Picard tumbles and falls on his own mistakes in this one. What a great TV series this would make. It has a stucture similar to that of a two hour TV episode. It could easily fall in the yo ho ho pirate in space catergory but fun to read if you are a Star Trek fan.

Paramount is always looking to expand the Star Trek universe. Normally this is do to increase the amount of dollars generated by the franchise. Sometimes the result is not worth the effort -- the Gateways crossover, for example. The multi-part novels which in the past would be compressed into one novel (Gemworld) is also another recent idea to capitalize on the Star Trek phenomenon. On the other hand, some of their ideas are worth the effort. The new Stargazer series written by Michael Jan Friedman, at least early on, seems to be worthwhile.

"Gauntlet" is the first book in the new series that continues from the story told in "The Valiant". This series tells of the early days of Jean Luc Picard as a captain. Being the youngest ever at 28, even younger than James T. Kirk, is part of the intrigue surrounding the character. Basically Picard is thrown into the captain's role before he, and most others, feel he is ready.

Picard is asked to capture a rogue pirate named the White Wolf. The pirate has eluded Starfleet's efforts at capture in the past, so Picard is instructed to succeed where others failed. However, the Admiral has other plans. He wants Picard to fail as a captain, so he sends him on an impossible quest, complete with seven new crew members. Eventually the crew begins to act as a unit and the chase to apprehend the White Wolf begins.

Friedman does a good job of introducing the mulitude of new characters. Some of them are intriguing, whereas others should have been omitted. One of those eventually doesn't make the cut which is fortunate. The story, while half is character development, is effective in helping to create a new area in the Star Trek universe. The ending, as noted before, is a bit quirky in that Picard's decision is not typical Picard. Then again, these are Picard's early days and the Prime Directive, the "rules" that must be followed by Starfleet, is again shown to have its fallacies. Overall, this is one of the better recent Star Trek novels and a great start to the beginning of a new era in the Star Trek universe.

This is far and away one of the best "Star Trek" novels I've ever read. Character development is excellent, and the characters are all so interesting that I didn't find myself missing the crew of the Enterprise-D at all. I did, however, have to dock this book one star for an anti-climatic ending that I felt had Captain Picard behaving in an *extremely* out of character way.