Customer Reviews

Three (Star Trek: Stargazer, Book 3)

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

 

 

One of the best attributes of this series of novels set on the USS Stargazer with a very young inexperienced new Captain named Jean Luc Picard in command is the engaging and at times quirky crew. Unfortunately in this novel, that doesn't make up for the stories overall shortcomings.

Three has two different plot lines. An `A' story set board the Stargazer involving the twin sisters Gerda and Idun Asmund, the ships helm and navigation officers, and a `B' story involving the Stargazer's Pandrilite weapons officer Vigo. After dropping Vigo off at a research outpost on Wayland Prime, where he is to observe tests on a new type of phaser emitter, Stargazer has been sent to investigate an anomaly that has recently appeared in an area of space claimed by the Balduk, an extremely obnoxious race that is fiercely protective of their territory.

Without warning a transporter beam deposits a mysterious visitor onboard the Stargazer, a woman who appears to be in every way an exact duplicate of the Asmund twins. Determined to return their `guest' to her own universe the Stargazer must face off against the Balduk at extreme risk to the ship and crew. Meanwhile, on Wayland Prime, Vigo finds himself in the middle of a very nasty situation when a group of terrorists take over the facility, aided by one of his oldest friends.

Some readers of this series will probably find Three satisfactory and willing overlook the total predictability of the story. However, I found myself very disappointed that there wasn't much more to the story than already overused plot devises. While not one of the author's better efforts, Three does have a few things going for it.

One positive is the Balduk character Wutor Qiyuntor. The Balduk are a ridged and highly structured society. Through no fault of his own, Wutor has shamed himself in the eyes of his people and seeks redemption. I couldn't help but feel for Wutor and found myself hoping he would be able to recover his former position. As a race the Balduk are at times so preposterous that they are almost comical but the suspense of whether or not Wutor would achieve his goals was one element that kept the story interesting.

The plot moves quickly through the author's use of short scenes. The narrative is kept very simple, almost minimal. There are several amusing sly little references that have a little innocent fun at the expense of Picard and his future experiences on the Enterprise-D that many fans are sure to appreciate.

Picard himself plays only a minor roll in the overall story; the focus is much more on his crew and their reactions to their `visitor'.

Regrettably the positive elements of Three are unable to save it. A quarter of the way in it is glaringly obvious exactly how both plot lines will unfold. You keep hoping you're wrong and something else will happen but the story remains mostly unimaginative. The book reads like an expanded television episode, and disappointingly a mostly unoriginal episode.

Honestly, I don't know what I keep giving Michael Jan Friedman Trek novels a chance--or more importantly my hard earnec cash. I think it's because I remember the simple joy I had reading his early Trek fiction works such as Legacy and Double, Double. I keep picking up his books hoping that the spark will be there again--and time and again I come away feeling disappointed.

Such is the case with Friedman's entry into the on-going Trek novels with the Stargazer series. I wouldn't necessarily say that Friedman's Stargazer books are necessarily bad, but when compared to the stories being told by Peter David in the New Frontier series and the super work done by multiple authors in the DS9 relaunch, the Stargazer series isn't living up to expectations.

I will give Three some credit--it didn't make me want to hurl it against the wall like the past story in this saga did. That is probably damning by faint praise, but it saved the book and my walls a good deal of abuse.

The story is a pretty standard one. A mysterious woman who looks like one of the established set of twins--Gerda and Idun--mysteriously shows up on the Stargazer. Meanwhile, Vigo is meeting with an old mentor to see a new weapon design--that is until terrorists take over the base to try to start a revolution. Honestly, I've got to admit the Vigo plotline never really drew me in. It seemed to be a bit of a distraction from what was really interesting--the stranger from another universe who may or may not have her own agenda. (Of course, she does...and it's so heavy-handed in how it plays out over the course of the book. I will give Friedman credit that he tries to play a red herring in the book but it is so obvious as to be laughable).

Part of the problem with the book is it's too choppy. Friedman doesn't carry on a scene for more than two or three pages and that gets distracting after a while. Also, the ending comes a bit too quickly. It almost seems as if Friedman had a set page limit and tried to force an ending into it rather than allowing it to happen as a function of the plot.

So, why do I keep coming back to the Stargazer series, you ask. Honestly, I am intrigued by the concept of Picard as a young man who might make mistakes. Also, seeing the admiral who hates him so much and the lengths the admiral goes to keep Picard out of the limelight is intriguing.

And I keep hoping to find the type of storytelling that hooked me on Michael Jan Friedman's Trek novels to begin with. This book has moments of it, but they are too few and far between.

The Asmund sisters at twins, and an extra one shows up from another universe! Strange. They have to get her back to her own universe, but maybe she's not what she claims to be? Maybe she is? Maybe they'll save her, get away from the crazy shoot-happy aliens, and make it possible for true love to work out! Except the 'true love' part doesn't work out, and the lovers are broken-hearted because they put duty ahead of their passion. Such is the way of the Star Trek universe!

I thought, as I read through this book, that the author was painting himself into a corner and that I was not going to be able to suspend disbelief sufficiently to buy his conclusion. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the case. The book was well-written, well-paced, and just generally well-done.

Having taken a nice long healthy break from the Stargazer series after the one-two punch disaster of Gauntlet and Progenitor, I decided to try diving in again with Three, the aptly named third novel in the series after The Valiant. Well, I was able to get the book at a bit of a discount, so there was some incentive too.

How does the book fare? It's a mild step up from the previous two books, but still not enough to make it a recommendation. We're vaguely told that tensions are rising in whatever sector the Stargazer is working out of. Since Cardassians are mentioned, we can assume that this is generally towards the "northwest" side of the Federation. Razor-thin character Admiral McAteer makes a mercifully short appearance, keeping his disdain for Picard at a short *sigh* as he dispatches his orders to the young captain before disappearing for the rest of the novel.

Sent to survey an anomaly near Balduk territory, the Stargazer picks up an unexpected guest when an Asmund appears on the transporter pad from the Mirror Universe. Now here's a scene that encapsulates a lot of my problems with the way the series has been written. For roughly a page or two, Picard debates with his transporter chief about who exactly is on the pad. I sat there baffled why this just wasn't cut way down to Picard simply saying, "what does she look like?" Instead, he calls in a second person. It was like we were getting some Trek version of "Who's on first?"

Picard came off as a little too trusting of the new Gerda Idun. In line with the Stargazer predictability, Gerda sees something in the visitor that others don't get and is hence suspicious of her. It is kind of interesting how the Asmund twins aren't even really sure which one she's supposed to be. This plot works in the moments where it offsets the balance that the Asmund twins have established between themselves. Here's a story that really seems to affect the characters. Although I don't know if I bought so much the way the guest affected Ensign Nikolas, who gets bowled over at the slightest thing.

Three suffers from unrelated A and B plots. Tactical officer Vigo heads down to a weapons facility where a new phaser is being tested. Unfortunately, rebels drop in with some inside help and it's up to the Pandrilite to save the day. The thing is, the rebels are Pandrilites too and so we get a bit of insight into the Pandrilite culture, one I don't think is ever mentioned outside of the Stargazer series. While the culture gets some defining, the actual species is only described as big and blue. That really doesn't help much.

Neither story is particularly original or real fascinating, although as I mentioned before, Gerda Idun's affect on the crew and especially the Asmund twins is certainly the highlight of the book. The B-plot at the weapons facility is entirely off the shelf and not very inspired. Reading it was like watching a clock just tick away. The only interesting part is where the minimalist style actually improves a scene where someone is trying to relay a message to Vigo.

Everything about Three just really doesn't work, including what is probably the oddest cover to a Trek novel that I've ever seen. It's not as bad as the previous two novels in the series. I enjoyed the brief peak into the Terran Empire's famed conflict against the Alliance. It's just that this series still has a very long way to go before redemption. I didn't hate it, but I would not recommend it.

Star Trek Stargazer: Three by Michael Jan Friedman is a book that continues the storyline of the Stargazer series of books created by Friedman...The Valliant, Double Helix #6: The First Virtue, Gauntlet, and Progenitor. This series is not only about the Stargazer and her crew but also a very young twenty-eight year old captain... Jean-Luc Picard.

While this book continues the storyline, Picard sort of takes a backseat in this novel as the book fills in the characters of the identical twins Gerda and Idun Asmund. The book contains two storylines as do must of Friedman's works... this could become a little disturbing as you jump from one scene to the next, but Friedman has kept the scenes short and the dialog between the characters simple.

Storyline A is about a mysterious transporter mishap that brings a visitor to the Stargazer... not only just a visitor but an exact duplicate from another universe of one of the Asmund twins called Gerda Idun. As the story progresses Gerda becomes suspicious of the woman and her Klingon senses become heightened as she suspects the worst. Idun befriends Gerda Idun and is upset with her twin which makes for a good bantor between the two and the third Asmund tries to complete her secret agenda.

Storyline B is about Vigo the Pandrilite crew member as he gets to attend a weapons conference in the Mara Zenaya system where they testing the new Type Nine Phaser. As things go this mission should have been a piese of cake, but things go wrong as there is a Pandrilite consperacy trying to change things on Pandril and Vigo and his mentor Ejanix get into the the middle of the fray.

As the storylines interplay with each other you get greater character development and there is a nice recap in the first chapter about who the characters of the Stargazer are. Which is nice since you begin to forget who they are since there are just a handful of books about the Stargazer and her crew.

As Vigo is fighting on the planet, the Stargazer is on its way to explore an anomoly which is on the outskirts of Balduk Star Empire and, of course, the Balduk are not a friendly lot and defend their territory with zeal making for a space battle, but with a typical Picard twist.

All in all, this book is a fast read and has references to Kirk and his exploites with a mirror universe and brings you along a little further in the early career of Jean-Luc Picard. This is a solid Three Star book full of action intrigue but the plots were a little see through as you can figure out what happens as you read on before it happens. A good fast read light read.

Michael Jan Friedman's novels are derivative of the same formula; short sections with little bits of characterization and plot, straightforward "A" and "B" storylines, and satisfactory resolutions. "Reunion," "Progenitor," and "Gauntlet" were outstanding novels, but "Three" comes up short.
The ending is obvious, with the mysterious Gerda Idun--a refugee from a mirror universe (yes, that one; I had that figured out by chapter three, oddly enough)--falling flat. Indeed, the only redeeming quality about the novel is that we get additional insights into Ensign Nikolas and his unrequited love for Idun. Heartbreaking but emotionless, the ending resonates--for a few seconds.
The other story with Vigo is flat; a new phaser design (hence the rather unattractive cover) means a Pandrilite raid on the planet Wayland and the capture of Starfleet forces. Ironic that a planet full of security officers is rendered ineffective by a lowly group of marauders. I laughed at the very idea.
In short, you need to read "Three" if you plan on continuing the storyline. If you're just buying it for a quick read, eh, go either way. I'm reading the whole series, and I enjoyed it, but not enough to pick it up again.

One of the best attributes of this series of novels set on the USS Stargazer with a very young inexperienced new Captain named Jean Luc Picard in command is the engaging and at times quirky crew. Unfortunately in this novel, that doesn't make up for the stories overall shortcomings.

Three has two different plot lines. An `A' story set board the Stargazer involving the twin sisters Gerda and Idun Asmund, the ships helm and navigation officers, and a `B' story involving the Stargazer's Pandrilite weapons officer Vigo. After dropping Vigo off at a research outpost on Wayland Prime, where he is to observe tests on a new type of phaser emitter, Stargazer has been sent to investigate an anomaly that has recently appeared in an area of space claimed by the Balduk, an extremely obnoxious race that is fiercely protective of their territory.

Without warning a transporter beam deposits a mysterious visitor onboard the Stargazer, a woman who appears to be in every way an exact duplicate of the Asmund twins. Determined to return their `guest' to her own universe the Stargazer must face off against the Balduk at extreme risk to the ship and crew. Meanwhile, on Wayland Prime, Vigo finds himself in the middle of a very nasty situation when a group of terrorists take over the facility, aided by one of his oldest friends.

Some readers of this series will probably find Three satisfactory and willing overlook the total predictability of the story. However, I found myself very disappointed that there wasn't much more to the story than already overused plot devises. While not one of the author's better efforts, Three does have a few things going for it.

One positive is the Balduk character Wutor Qiyuntor. The Balduk are a ridged and highly structured society. Through no fault of his own, Wutor has shamed himself in the eyes of his people and seeks redemption. I couldn't help but feel for Wutor and found myself hoping he would be able to recover his former position. As a race the Balduk are at times so preposterous that they are almost comical but the suspense of whether or not Wutor would achieve his goals was one element that kept the story interesting.

The plot moves quickly through the author's use of short scenes. The narrative is kept very simple, almost minimal. There are several amusing sly little references that have a little innocent fun at the expense of Picard and his future experiences on the Enterprise-D that many fans are sure to appreciate.

Picard himself plays only a minor roll in the overall story; the focus is much more on his crew and their reactions to their `visitor'.

Regrettably the positive elements of Three are unable to save it. A quarter of the way in it is glaringly obvious exactly how both plot lines will unfold. You keep hoping you're wrong and something else will happen but the story remains mostly unimaginative. The book reads like an expanded television episode, and disappointingly a mostly unoriginal episode.