Customer Reviews

War Dragons (Star Trek: The Captain's Table, Book 1)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The first "Star Trek" novel to be told from the first person perspective through the eyes of captains James T. Kirk and Hikaru Sulu is a treat to read. Each character takes turns telling his story and it works rather well. Graf has captured both captains well and getting to hear their takes on things is a real treat. The best part is the first half of Kirk's story that deals with his first days as captain of the Enterprise and the building of the legendary crew as a unit, working together. After that story ends, it's a rather pedestrian affair to stop insterstellar war in the movie era. However, based on the strength of Kirk's narrative in the first half of the novel, I highly recommend it.

The overall value of this book is much less than the sum of its parts.

It is a frame story, in which we get a story told by Captains Kirk and Sulu in the first person, at a tavern called "The Captain's Table".

The story/stories told by Kirk and Sulu is/are marvellous; fast-paced, complex, with excellent characterizations and insightful looks into all of our favorite original series characters. Those internal stories, I would rate five stars without hesitation.

The concept of The Captain's Table, a semi-mystical, alternate-dimensional tavern where all captains of all races and times are welcome, and only captains are welcome, and can enjoy the society of their peers without problems of communication or enmity, is an interesting enough concept; "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon" meets the galactic federation. If the idea were standing alone, I would rate it four stars.

But the idea does not stand alone; it chooses to be wedded to the "Star Trek" universe, to make it more marketable. And unfortunately, it simply doesn't work in the Star Trek universe. As even my eight-year-old can see, when told about the idea, and that captains from the long past sailing ship days are there along with starship captains, "Doesn't that violate the prime directive?"

I would love to see the "Captain's Table" concept continued, but with NEW characters and a NEW background universe. Leave Star Trek out of it; some concepts just don't mix. (You might have some really fine, five-star orange juice, and some excellent four-star chocolate milk, but would you really want to mix them?)

At first, I was not sure how readable this book would be with two captains telling a story from two different perspectives. They take turns alternating between the "distant past"; the beginning of Kirk's five year mission and the "recent past"; Sulu taking command of his own ship. However, the method worked very well. The book was not only readable, but exciting and action packed. Its returns to the "present", the bar where the captains sit and tell their story, were not overused and made good transitions from one part of the story to another.The story never became disjointed. I always like when the books tie up loose ends that the series left open, and this book answered many questions about Kirk's first days of command. This is a must read for all Trek fans and especially the fans of the original series.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first person aspect of the book although the plot did seem to drag on toward the end. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the characters, interaction between two different periods of the "Kirk Era" of Star Trek TOS and feel of the first six movies. While not totally "chronologically" correct, the story and characterizations are intriguing--and that is what is important. It explores aspects of Kirk and Sulu that have not been dealt with before. While the plot was a bit slow toward the end and the antagonists were somewhat confusing--I enjoyed the book. I was particularly impressed with the concept of the Captain's Table and telling of a tale in the first person. Overall, a very solid read. I can hardly wait to read the rest of the series!

I love the concept put forth by this mini-series. It's not often we hear about the other adventures the individual captains had while out exploring the galaxy. The writer captures Kirk's to-the-point style of speech and his action-oriented personality well. Unfortunately, he has to make up for Kirk's lack of wordiness by interjecting Sulu at appropriate points, and consequently, Sulu takes up more than his share of the book. However, seeing Kirk through Sulu's eyes and vice versa *was* a treat. I was fascinated by the story and by its characters (love that plucky little gecko...). Overall, a good read and worth the money.

I enjoyed this book mainly because it contained a detailed, first-person account from James T. Kirk himself. It was also nice to hear from Hikaru Sulu as well, but I've never really been that fascinated with him. My favorite part of the book was reading Kirk's account of working with Spock in the beginning, before they became such close friends. I also liked the large part that Uhura played, and the praise she received from both captains. I didn't care much for the Anjiri and Nykkus, though. They really weren't much of an adversary. Looking forward to the next book in the series, though!

For fans of Captain Kirk & the original Star Trek series & movies- forget this book. I found it excruciating reading, and I couldn't get past the first 50 pages.

The book has a fantastic premise: Captain Kirk is introducing Captain Sulu to a very cool & private bar called The Captain's Table. It's a special bar for commanders, where your first drink is paid for with a story. It's all downhill from there.

The dialog between the characters has nothing to do with the beloved Star Trek folks we know & love. It is stilted & formal sounding. Like someone wrote it who had no idea of the cool personalities & quirks of our favorite Trek captain & crew.

Even worse is Spock's character. Again written in by someone who was clueless on showing us Spock's unique person. Worse still, is the not-so-subtle hinting that Spock has a homosexual 'thing' for Captain Kirk. Bleh! Give me a break. Not that there's anything wrong with gays, but please don't make Spock into one who 'long's for Kirk! Early on in the book, Spock is talking with Kirk after his (Kirks') workout. Then Spock insists, for no good reason, on continuing to talk with Kirk by following him into the shower room. Kirk is of course naked & showering while Spock is still in uniform & watching him all the while.

That was quite enough for me. The book (what little I read of it), was a TOTAL WASTE OF TIME.

War Dragons was a good try from a group of writers who usually hit the mark with their novels, but this one isn't up to their usual standards. For one thing, I agree with the other reviewers that Kirk and Sulu should have had separate books. I also don't think that Sulu is really popular enough to merit his own book, but that's another topic. It took me a while to finish this book. Definitely easy to put down. I've read the first five books in the Captain's Table series, and this one is my least favorite. It's worth reading, but only if you're a real Star Trek fan. And here's a thought: Since Uhura played such a large role in this novel, why not tell the story in her voice?

This was my introduction to Star Trek fiction - and I'm glad it was a good experience.
I'd recommend this first book of The Captain's Table to all original series fans, especially fans of Sulu and Chekov. By the end of the book, it was truly Chekov's story - and details how he was affected by the death of his crew on the Reliant (Wrath of Khan).
There are two separate narratives, in alternating chapters. The first from Kirk's POV, his earlier days on the Enterprise with newly acquired officers Sulu and Uhura (details of her ascension through the ranks on board the Enterprise).
The second narrative is from Sulu's POV, as captain on his first major outing on the Excelsior, with first officer Chekov.
I will say that a good chunk of the story (about 3/4 of the way through) felt unnecessary (maybe 30-50 pgs), but it did pick up again and ended very well.
A little disappointing not to get a clearer picture of what The Captain's Table is - but that is to be expected, as this is the first of a series of 6 books - loosely connected through their relationship to that location.

If they wrote this one today they would have an entry for Enterprise with Archer as Captain. A book seven to this series might make it marketable again. The First book in this series shifts back and forth with Kirk in the classic to modern movie era with Captain Sulu of the Excelsior. I did like the scenes with Chekov recounting his days aboard the Regula station. He was powerless to help the scientists Khan and his men destroyed and he felt a sense of helplessness in this mission.

I have to say the characters weren't perfectly on target. However it was entertaining enough for me to read twice. I read this book in 98 when it was first published and again this week because I never finished the series.

Now on book 2 "Dujonian's Hoard", I'll have to read the other 5 novels. From what I have read in the reviews it looks to be a good series. There is an anthology sequel paperback called Tales from the Captain's Table. It just came out this year and I would like to think there will be more!