The Star Signature Edition series continues with this thrilling adventure featuring Commander Spock, Captain Kirk, and the U.S.S. Enterprise .
From Earth to the edge of our galaxy and beyond, from the early days of warp flight to the latter half of the twenty-fourth century, humankind and its alien partners in the Federation have looked to their heroes to expand the limits of their knowledge. And as each generation's pantheon of heroes has passed on into legend, a new generation has risen to take its place.
So it was with the crew of the S.S. Valiant, the first Earth vessel to cross the galactic barrier. So it was with the crew of the Starship Stargazer and her fledgling commander, Captain Jean-Luc Picard. And so it was with the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D, the flagship of Starfleet, which Picard commanded with wisdom and temperate maturity.
Over the years, Fate has woven the voyages of these three vessels into a vivid skein of treachery and sacrifice, hardship and determination, tragedy and courage—each step of the way demonstrating the immeasurable worth of the flawed but farseeing heroes who commanded them.
Michael Jan Friedman is an author of more than seventy books of fiction and nonfiction, half of which are in the Star Trek universe. Eleven of his titles have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. Friedman has also written for network and cable television and radio, and scripted nearly 200 comic books, including his original DC superhero series, the Darkstars.
This Signature Edition is comprised of two books: Reunion, and The Valiant. Michael Jan Friedman does an excellent job of showing the history and camaraderie of the U.S.S. Stargazer crew because of the continuity he produces throughout the entire book.
The way the book is set up is: -An introduction to the Valiant crew. -Reunion -The Valiant -The aftermath of the original Valiant crew. -"Exclusive Author Interview".
The intro the the Valiant crew was kind of puzzling at first because I thought it was better suited after the Reunion part of the book. However, it is an intense "to-be continued" thriller and the way it is currently set up in the book makes it so the reader wants to finish the book to find out what exactly happens.
In Reunion, the plot develops into a murder mystery in which the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise and the U.S.S. Stargazer are heavily involved. This is the first book to ever feature some aspect about the [former] Stargazer crew and some insight into characters such as Jack Crusher. It was an easy read, but a good one, at that. While the plot may have been a tad bit predictable, it set up a an interesting segue into The Valiant because of the connection Captain Picard shares with the Stargazers.
In The Valiant, the reader will definitely learn more about Stargazers and more about the man Picard used to be, as well as the transcendence of the Valiant crew. It shows how the relationships featured in Reunion were developed, with the exception of a few missing crew members. This "missing" link is a clever way of inducing curiosity for the actual 6-book Stargazer series. I happened to like The Valiant just slightly more than Reunion because it was more action oriented and shows a different Picard than from what we know in the TNG television series. It also dives a bit into TOS, which makes it all the more nostalgic for the Star Trek Fan.
And now, the conclusion: In the aftermath of the Valiant introduction, I was a bit confused as to who exactly the characters were (I'll probably have to read that part again, as I was not focused while reading that bit), but it fits along the "happily ever after" category and seemed to tie almost everything together from The Valiant.
The interview with the author was interesting, to say the least. It didn't start to pick up until maybe about half of the interview when the author reveals more insight into these two books as well as others he has written. All in all, both books were captivating and addicting. I can not wait to dive headfirst into the complete Stargazer series.
A good read to get a first glimpse of Picard's Stargazer days as well to the moment that lead to him inadvertantly being shoved to become the captain of the USS Stargazer. Having the two novels; The Valiant and Reunion, being republished as one full story really made this novel even more wholesome to read... as we're given not just one story of a starfleet crew in a starfleet spaceship but three.
It's a great story about the past that shaped Captain Jean-Luc Picard as we know him in the series.
Two books in one and I loved each. Even though the second novel The Valiant, was a superior novel. The connecting point was Picard, of course, one of my favorite Star Trek characters ever. Loved this and am looking forward to continuing the Stargazer series.