Customer Reviews

Saratooga

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

 

 

Can one plagerize oneself? "Hmmm. I'm Michael Jan Friedman, my deadline looms, and I do not have a book ready, and if I don't, I'll have to give up my author advance. Hmmm. Let's turn my PC on. Drag up the find/change menu. Hmmm. Keep 'Reunion' theme. Change 'Picard' to 'Sisko'. Hmmm. Change 'Enterprise' to 'Saratoga'. Lookin' good. Change 'murderer' to 'saboteur'. Eureka!" Needless to say, the similarities to this book and the author's own "Reunion" are just too numerous to mention. The retreaded plot was bad enough, but even judged on its own merits, this novel is very weak with gaping holes in the plot. The silly motive for the sabotage was ridiculous, as was the entire counsellor subplot. Does the author expect us to believe that a female crewperson -- and a counsellor, mind you -- would fall in love with Benjamin Sisko -- let alone anyone -- on sight, without even knowing that person, to the extent that she would deliberately let his wife die in order to have a shot at him? This is just plain silly. I was very disappointed with this book.Especially as the author is capable of so much more.

For several years now I've been reading and enjoying Star Trek novels and have always found novels written by Michael Jan Friedman, Star Trek's most prolific author, to be among the best. Unfortunately, "Saratoga" cannot be counted among those as the plot and the pacing of this novel frequently drifts. What makes it worse is that the premise of the story is an extremely interesting one when considering it deals with some of Captain Benjamin Sisko's past along with the current timeline.

If this is the only Star Trek novel you've ever read by Michael Jan Friedman, who is one of Star Trek's premier authors, I urge you to not take this one as the definitive example of his writing as the majority of his novels are superior in every aspect conceivable, making them highly enjoyable reads in this genre!

The cover art for this title is unfortunately the same standard fare as the majority of those novels released at the same time as this one.

The premise:

Tasked with escorting the surviving members of his former USS Saratoga crew aboard the Defiant to an important ceremony, Captain Sisko finds himself dealing with the painful memories of the loss of his wife during the Borg attack at Wolf 359 and the possibility of sabotage aboard the Defiant by one of those same former crew members...

Overall, I would recommend this novel as it part of the line of Star Trek Deep Space Nine series, albeit a stand alone story, and the majority of these novels are well worth the read and this novel does have its place in the series. {ssintrepid}

I'd say this book is packed with suspense and humor. The point is I'm glad we finally get to seea great book about Sisko's personal history and that of Saratoga. I'm even gladder Friedman picked the job.

This is a perfectly serviceable, reasonably well-written Deep Space Nine novel, with only minor plot flaws but nothing in particular to set it apart as a special or "must read" addition to the genre.

Again the books were trying to find themselves. Though the Defiant gave the characters more mobility in a plot sense, this revisiting of Sisko's past didn't necessarily suggest perfection. It takes time to develop a new concept for characters that are being fixed in the public consciousness. This book tried to bring in some of Sisko's past, the past being an area thatthe book writer's can explore without fear of destroying some precious future episode. And though theres a heavy feeling of mourning, it's also nice to see how Sisko interacts with another crew.

I usually rate ST: DS9 books pretty highly, but this one is an exception. The only reason I gave this book any stars at all is because I cannot submit this review without starring it. Here's why I feel this way:

You would think that Mr. Friedman had never seen any episodes of Deep Space Nine. The characterizations of characters I feel I know personally are bloody awful. You would not recognize Jadzia Dax, Captain Benjamin Sisko, Major Kira, or any of the other characters from his characterizations of them. For example, Mr. Friedman has turned Jadzia Dax into a giggling, immature, bubble-gum-snapping, almost Valley-Girl speaking high-school chick. His portrayal of Captain Sisko is even worse. It makes me wonder if he hates the show.

The actual story is very thin/flimsy. If you can get past the rotten depictions of the main characters, the story grabs your interest for about half of the book then fizzles out. And that, fellow readers, is generous.

Speaking of thin, this book is very short and the lines of text are spaced far apart, no doubt to make the book appear have more pages than it would if the book was printed like all the other DS9/ST books I've read and own, and to make it appear to be longer than it actually is...or maybe that's just the copy I bought, I don't know.

I have never, ever said this in any review I have ever written on Amazon.com (but there is a first time for everything): This book [is bad]! ...

Not a bad Star Trek book, though I think DS9 deserves more serious treatment and more maturity in tone and storytelling. What (almost) ruined it for me was the cavalcade of silly proofreading/editing mistakes that made it seemed tossed together and amateurish. DS9 deserves better, but this simple, light tale is recommended for younger, less sophisticated readers.

While Star Trek: Deep Space Nine undoubtedly had the best characterization of any of the Star Trek series, Sisko's past was never really mentioned. Although we saw him on the Saratoga in "Emissary" and he was mentioned as serving on the USS Livingston in "Invasive Procedures" and the USS Okinawa during the Tzenkethi War (wasn't there supposed to be a novel about that?), this novel was the first to mention in detail events from Sisko's time on the Saratoga and the people he served with. The novel moves along well and has a good "B" plot with Odo posing as Quark to save a Bajoran city. Some of the new characters are quite interesting, especially Barnes and Lopez.

This is one of my favorite Star Trek: Deep Space Nine books. I liked this book because it continues with events that were first seen in the pilot episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The subject of the book made for a good story. It was suspenseful and exciting and it kept me interested throught the whole story. I like these Star Trek books because they acccurately describe the characters and events in these books with great detail. I think that the author of this book wrote a very exciting and suspenseful story. It was also very entertaining. I really enjoyed reading this book. I think that it's really worth reading.

Saratoga," contrary to many reviews, wasn't a repeat of "Reunion",MJF last entry in the series. For those of you who didn't see the first episode of DS9, the Saratoga was Sisko's last command as first officer. Before the Borg assimilated the starship, some of the crew escaped. Unfortunately for Ben Sisko, he lost his wife Jennifer.

The best scenes of the novel were the B story. Quark was sick and couldn't attend the negotiation so Odo (morphed as Quark) had to do so. The comedy in this tale far surpasses the murder mystery that is resolved by the end of the novel. If it wasn't for the Quark aspect of the book, it would be more or less a run of the mill story. Why can't the publishers create a tales from the Promenade anthology? It would transend the idea that all good novels only come from the ranks of Starfleet!