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Discover Captain Jean Luc Picard's first command aboard the Stargazer in this Star The Next Generation novel.Ensign Andreas Nikolas, heartsick over the loss of his Mirror Universe lover, has resigned his post on Jean-Luc Picard's starship, the Stargazer, to seek a home on the freighter Iktoj'ni. All he wants of his new life is a chance to forget his troubles. And that's what he gets—until the Iktoj'ni is taken over by a monstrous alien with unbelievable powers and a disdain for all forms of life. Without saying why, the alien sends the freighter hurtling toward a part of space inhabited by the Ubarrak, the Federation's deadliest and most xenophobic enemy. And Nikolas, who fears that the incident will start a war, can't convince his captor to turn back. Picard's only hope of stopping the alien menance is Serenity Santana—a woman who once abused his trust in the name of her people's survival. Now she's back, asking for the captain's trust a second time. Picard desperately needs Santana's help in his struggle to save his galaxy. But will she justify his faith in her—or once again twist it to serve her own shadowy ends?
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 31, 2004
24 people are currently reading
246 people want to read
About the author
Michael Jan Friedman
374 books205 followersMichael 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.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 11, 2020
This is a Review of both "Maker" and the entire Stargazer series.
A truly fitting "end" to Michael Jan Friedman's Stargazer series of books. I came into this book with no expectations, the same way that I did with the others in the series, but much like the rest of the books it suffered from the creation of grandiose expectations, both from me and the story itself which was let down in the end by a lacklustre ending & conclusion.
The basic setup of the story introduces us to a being with powers far beyond what we have seen of species short of Nagilum or the Q having killed an entire freighter of people but leaving the previously Starfleet Nikolas alive for some reason. The whole main plot of the book was setting up just how dangerous and powerful the villain was and why he needed to be destroyed only for the author to do it in TWO pages, there was no superweapon to destroy him, no equally powerful deity that arrived to duke it out in a grand battle of the ages, there was just a Starfleet officer with a death wish. In any other book series, I feel that the fake-out of the genetically enhanced super-soldiers not being able to defeat their most difficult villain would have been played for a joke but in the Stargazer books, it's just par for the course.
all of the deaths meant nothing and were for nothing. The only character that we really have any characterisation for is a woman that Nikolas almost sleeps with and even then, more detail is put in to how her body looks than the emotional attachment that we could had for this (one-dimensional) character. All of the deaths in this book and by extension, this series, seemed to have no weight to them because we weren't given the chance to come to like any of the characters that died. The fact that the author had a huge amount of space to kill off characters that we had the chance to know and like but refused to do so showed a lack of faith in the reader to empathise with the material; in fact, one of the only characters that had any sort of dangerous tension was captain Picard but this was entirely pointless due to the fact that we (as viewers of TNG) know that nothing will happen to Picard, he won't lose his command, he won't die, the Stargazer won't be destroyed in combat; This combined with the refusal to give characterisation to anyone besides Picard (who already is an established character with his own personality) just feels like filler to pad the books with. To use an example of poor characterisation I will refer to Ensign Jiterica, who was given very strong characterisation in the first few books about how she would have to overcome difficulty and adversity in an environment that was so different to her natural environment and learn to get along with her fellow crewmembers, then learn to express feelings for a fellow ensign which blossoms into a relationship. In the last book, the characterisation of Jiterica is stripped away as she is given a new containment suit, in which the author goes into (almost too much) detail about how "shapely" it makes her look, not how it makes it easier for her to get around; Then she does something with one of the Mangians that makes Ensign Paris jealous to the extent that he refuses to help her mourn the (pointless & hollow) death of a friend that she had made among the Mangians which she ends up apologising for, and that is the last that we see of her. Michael Jan Friedman managed to both create a superbly interesting character and then reduce that character to a very shapely woman who feels bad that she made her partner (who refuses to tell anyone that they're in a relationship because of how other people would react) feel jealous.
The under characterisation of women in this series continued to bother me more and more as I got into this series. In some places the characterisation started out strong but then declined rapidly but other times the characterisation was barely there at all. Commander Wu was introduced as a second officer who was determined at all costs to progress in her career to obtain her place in a captain's chair but then did a full 180 because she felt a stronger desire to be a mother hen to two ensigns and take them under her wing, by the end of the stargazer books, she is barely mentioned and all but disappears in the story, taking a backseat to more important points like: Ensign Paris getting jealous, the fact that Picard had sex with one of the Mangians in the past, and someone desperately trying to get themselves killed. Emily Bender was introduced as a Starfleet officer who knew Dikembe Ulelo in the academy and is attracted to him, that is basically all of her characterisation. Gerda and Idun Asmund are twin sisters who were raised by Klingon parents and they live their lives much as Klingons would, Gerda gets into a relationship with Doctor Greyhorse and that becomes her characterisation, a secret relationship with Greyhorse. Most, if not all of the women in these books are reduced to lovers for their male counterparts or objects of sexuality. Rick Berman would be proud >:(
Despite my criticism of the series, there were things that I really enjoyed about the books but the same thing that I will give praise to is also one of the greatest criticisms that I can levy against the work. I am referring to the set-ups of the stories. The last book "Maker" exemplifies this problem perfectly. We are introduced to the Uber-powerful Brakmatin, whose powers can easily surpass a fleet of Ubarrek warships, introducing and setting up this villain was engaging and interesting to me, but in the back of my mind I knew that the payoff would disappoint me as much, if not more, as the set-up, because an Uber-powerful villain should not be defeated in two pages by something that the reader has no way of possibly knowing about. This is the same problem that I had with most of the stories in the series with the exceptions being the independent stories that had no mega-villain that they had to overcome, but there had to be a twist in every one of these stories, a twist that was solved in the space of a few pages (I.E. Picard's friend was planning to betray the federation, Gerda Idun was really trying to kidnap someone, Et Cetera) as if Friedman was trying to outsmart his own source material and "keep the reader on their toes". This was My main problem with the previous book in the series "Enigma" also. The mystery of communications chief Ulelo sending out packets of information to an unknown power culminating in the revelation that he was actually a member of a different species who wanted information about Starfleet ships, but after several ships were disabled with little to no effort and no one was killed, these aliens just wanted their informant back. Why didn't they know what ship he was on? Why didn't they wage war against the federation? why not just ask for him back? this twist ended up ruining a perfectly good set-up for some "gotcha" moment where Friedman faked out the reader.
During the whole series, there has been a distinct lack of tension or danger. The only dangerous tension that seems to exist in the books happens to Picard, who we know will be safe and retain his Captaincy. The problem with writing a series of prequel books is that you can't and shouldn't make the stakes too high, you can't have the tension be the possibility of a war with a more powerful foe that we have never seen before or after because then you make a plot hole in the source material ("wait, there was a huge war between the Federation and the D'prayl? Wait, who are the D'prayl again and why was it never mentioned in TNG?" - You, after reading this) so you should keep to telling the smaller, self-contained stories, like "Three" which had a beginning and end which was completely self contained, took beats from previous Star Trek canon, while keeping the stakes in a small enough scope to make it serious but not a huge threat to the entire Federation. My problem was that there could have been stakes that worked within the stories; In "Three" Chief engineer Simenon was almost kidnapped and taken into the mirror universe, and the tension there felt real, we didn't know anything of Simenon before the Stargazer, so having him be taken or killed could have made for an engaging plot point, whereas Picard being almost killed by Brakmatin was fake tension because if he had died, there would be no TNG, there would be no more Picard. More time and writing was put into Picard's competency hearing (which we already knew the outcome of) than the actual fight and defeat of Brakmatin. Friedman Seemed reluctant to take any risks or make any big decisions out of fear of the books disappointing readers but the lack of risk or payoff, in my opinion, is exactly what ruined these stories. I read all of these books but almost every story disappointed me greatly exactly due to all of my reason, but also because I was almost tricked every time into believing that the story would have a satisfying conclusion.
The sex scenes in this book are some of the more disappointing that I've read, Ensign Paris and Jiterica have a somewhat interesting sex scene, but we don't even get to read about Picard boning down, it's reduced to less than a sentence "and then it was more" in the most infuriating sex scene I've read in recent history. It seemed that M.J Friedman seemed genuinely ashamed to write any sort of sexual content into his book but felt the need to put it in there. He's okay with sexualising every female character but to have them actually having sex is too much, I guess.
TL;DR: The Stargazer series will disappoint you with it's big setups and lacklustre payoffs while tickling your fancy with female characterisation which ends up being either sexualisation or being a "well behaved" woman, Don't read this book series if you value your time and yourself as a Star Trek fan. The collection is a series of delicious appetisers followed by the most disappointing spaghetti you've ever eaten.
A truly fitting "end" to Michael Jan Friedman's Stargazer series of books. I came into this book with no expectations, the same way that I did with the others in the series, but much like the rest of the books it suffered from the creation of grandiose expectations, both from me and the story itself which was let down in the end by a lacklustre ending & conclusion.
The basic setup of the story introduces us to a being with powers far beyond what we have seen of species short of Nagilum or the Q having killed an entire freighter of people but leaving the previously Starfleet Nikolas alive for some reason. The whole main plot of the book was setting up just how dangerous and powerful the villain was and why he needed to be destroyed only for the author to do it in TWO pages, there was no superweapon to destroy him, no equally powerful deity that arrived to duke it out in a grand battle of the ages, there was just a Starfleet officer with a death wish. In any other book series, I feel that the fake-out of the genetically enhanced super-soldiers not being able to defeat their most difficult villain would have been played for a joke but in the Stargazer books, it's just par for the course.
all of the deaths meant nothing and were for nothing. The only character that we really have any characterisation for is a woman that Nikolas almost sleeps with and even then, more detail is put in to how her body looks than the emotional attachment that we could had for this (one-dimensional) character. All of the deaths in this book and by extension, this series, seemed to have no weight to them because we weren't given the chance to come to like any of the characters that died. The fact that the author had a huge amount of space to kill off characters that we had the chance to know and like but refused to do so showed a lack of faith in the reader to empathise with the material; in fact, one of the only characters that had any sort of dangerous tension was captain Picard but this was entirely pointless due to the fact that we (as viewers of TNG) know that nothing will happen to Picard, he won't lose his command, he won't die, the Stargazer won't be destroyed in combat; This combined with the refusal to give characterisation to anyone besides Picard (who already is an established character with his own personality) just feels like filler to pad the books with. To use an example of poor characterisation I will refer to Ensign Jiterica, who was given very strong characterisation in the first few books about how she would have to overcome difficulty and adversity in an environment that was so different to her natural environment and learn to get along with her fellow crewmembers, then learn to express feelings for a fellow ensign which blossoms into a relationship. In the last book, the characterisation of Jiterica is stripped away as she is given a new containment suit, in which the author goes into (almost too much) detail about how "shapely" it makes her look, not how it makes it easier for her to get around; Then she does something with one of the Mangians that makes Ensign Paris jealous to the extent that he refuses to help her mourn the (pointless & hollow) death of a friend that she had made among the Mangians which she ends up apologising for, and that is the last that we see of her. Michael Jan Friedman managed to both create a superbly interesting character and then reduce that character to a very shapely woman who feels bad that she made her partner (who refuses to tell anyone that they're in a relationship because of how other people would react) feel jealous.
The under characterisation of women in this series continued to bother me more and more as I got into this series. In some places the characterisation started out strong but then declined rapidly but other times the characterisation was barely there at all. Commander Wu was introduced as a second officer who was determined at all costs to progress in her career to obtain her place in a captain's chair but then did a full 180 because she felt a stronger desire to be a mother hen to two ensigns and take them under her wing, by the end of the stargazer books, she is barely mentioned and all but disappears in the story, taking a backseat to more important points like: Ensign Paris getting jealous, the fact that Picard had sex with one of the Mangians in the past, and someone desperately trying to get themselves killed. Emily Bender was introduced as a Starfleet officer who knew Dikembe Ulelo in the academy and is attracted to him, that is basically all of her characterisation. Gerda and Idun Asmund are twin sisters who were raised by Klingon parents and they live their lives much as Klingons would, Gerda gets into a relationship with Doctor Greyhorse and that becomes her characterisation, a secret relationship with Greyhorse. Most, if not all of the women in these books are reduced to lovers for their male counterparts or objects of sexuality. Rick Berman would be proud >:(
Despite my criticism of the series, there were things that I really enjoyed about the books but the same thing that I will give praise to is also one of the greatest criticisms that I can levy against the work. I am referring to the set-ups of the stories. The last book "Maker" exemplifies this problem perfectly. We are introduced to the Uber-powerful Brakmatin, whose powers can easily surpass a fleet of Ubarrek warships, introducing and setting up this villain was engaging and interesting to me, but in the back of my mind I knew that the payoff would disappoint me as much, if not more, as the set-up, because an Uber-powerful villain should not be defeated in two pages by something that the reader has no way of possibly knowing about. This is the same problem that I had with most of the stories in the series with the exceptions being the independent stories that had no mega-villain that they had to overcome, but there had to be a twist in every one of these stories, a twist that was solved in the space of a few pages (I.E. Picard's friend was planning to betray the federation, Gerda Idun was really trying to kidnap someone, Et Cetera) as if Friedman was trying to outsmart his own source material and "keep the reader on their toes". This was My main problem with the previous book in the series "Enigma" also. The mystery of communications chief Ulelo sending out packets of information to an unknown power culminating in the revelation that he was actually a member of a different species who wanted information about Starfleet ships, but after several ships were disabled with little to no effort and no one was killed, these aliens just wanted their informant back. Why didn't they know what ship he was on? Why didn't they wage war against the federation? why not just ask for him back? this twist ended up ruining a perfectly good set-up for some "gotcha" moment where Friedman faked out the reader.
During the whole series, there has been a distinct lack of tension or danger. The only dangerous tension that seems to exist in the books happens to Picard, who we know will be safe and retain his Captaincy. The problem with writing a series of prequel books is that you can't and shouldn't make the stakes too high, you can't have the tension be the possibility of a war with a more powerful foe that we have never seen before or after because then you make a plot hole in the source material ("wait, there was a huge war between the Federation and the D'prayl? Wait, who are the D'prayl again and why was it never mentioned in TNG?" - You, after reading this) so you should keep to telling the smaller, self-contained stories, like "Three" which had a beginning and end which was completely self contained, took beats from previous Star Trek canon, while keeping the stakes in a small enough scope to make it serious but not a huge threat to the entire Federation. My problem was that there could have been stakes that worked within the stories; In "Three" Chief engineer Simenon was almost kidnapped and taken into the mirror universe, and the tension there felt real, we didn't know anything of Simenon before the Stargazer, so having him be taken or killed could have made for an engaging plot point, whereas Picard being almost killed by Brakmatin was fake tension because if he had died, there would be no TNG, there would be no more Picard. More time and writing was put into Picard's competency hearing (which we already knew the outcome of) than the actual fight and defeat of Brakmatin. Friedman Seemed reluctant to take any risks or make any big decisions out of fear of the books disappointing readers but the lack of risk or payoff, in my opinion, is exactly what ruined these stories. I read all of these books but almost every story disappointed me greatly exactly due to all of my reason, but also because I was almost tricked every time into believing that the story would have a satisfying conclusion.
The sex scenes in this book are some of the more disappointing that I've read, Ensign Paris and Jiterica have a somewhat interesting sex scene, but we don't even get to read about Picard boning down, it's reduced to less than a sentence "and then it was more" in the most infuriating sex scene I've read in recent history. It seemed that M.J Friedman seemed genuinely ashamed to write any sort of sexual content into his book but felt the need to put it in there. He's okay with sexualising every female character but to have them actually having sex is too much, I guess.
TL;DR: The Stargazer series will disappoint you with it's big setups and lacklustre payoffs while tickling your fancy with female characterisation which ends up being either sexualisation or being a "well behaved" woman, Don't read this book series if you value your time and yourself as a Star Trek fan. The collection is a series of delicious appetisers followed by the most disappointing spaghetti you've ever eaten.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2025
Star Trek: TNG: Stargazer 6 Maker by Michael Jan Friedman
challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense
Medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus? Yes
3.75 Stars
Is Captain Jean Luc Picard worthy of the (center) seat at this moment in his career. That's the backdrop for this story.
We love him for the man that he's become, and he isn't THAT man, right now. He's more trusting and more naive. That's not the arguement. The case is...whether he obeyed the protocols that have been put in place? or did he go on instinct (and fly by the seat of his pants)...like Captain James T. Kirk did? I don't think I'd ever thought of Captain Picard...being like Captain Kirk. Hmmm?
There were portions of this book that I hated. The tired thing about the admirals in Starfleet. If there are SO many horrible admirals (self-absorbed egomaniacs), then how has the Federation grown and succeeded?
Loved the B and C storylines, and am sad to know that this series is over. I wish there were more stories in this time period. Please write more (thank you).
I hear that there is ONE more book that goes through some of what I want to read...so I will be picking that book up (poste haste) and reading it, soon.0
challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense
Medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus? Yes
3.75 Stars
Is Captain Jean Luc Picard worthy of the (center) seat at this moment in his career. That's the backdrop for this story.
We love him for the man that he's become, and he isn't THAT man, right now. He's more trusting and more naive. That's not the arguement. The case is...whether he obeyed the protocols that have been put in place? or did he go on instinct (and fly by the seat of his pants)...like Captain James T. Kirk did? I don't think I'd ever thought of Captain Picard...being like Captain Kirk. Hmmm?
There were portions of this book that I hated. The tired thing about the admirals in Starfleet. If there are SO many horrible admirals (self-absorbed egomaniacs), then how has the Federation grown and succeeded?
Loved the B and C storylines, and am sad to know that this series is over. I wish there were more stories in this time period. Please write more (thank you).
I hear that there is ONE more book that goes through some of what I want to read...so I will be picking that book up (poste haste) and reading it, soon.0
July 11, 2011
and so ends the series. This one was all right. A flashback/recreation from an original episode from the Kirk days.
Was hoping for a bit more as a conclusion to Picards beginnings but he got the girl (briefly) and of course as we all new his career is saved and Enterprise awaits.
All in all i enjoyed the series - it was a good break from my usual hack and slash fantasy readings.
Was hoping for a bit more as a conclusion to Picards beginnings but he got the girl (briefly) and of course as we all new his career is saved and Enterprise awaits.
All in all i enjoyed the series - it was a good break from my usual hack and slash fantasy readings.
September 27, 2021
THE MAKER is the final installment of the Stargazer series for Star Trek, following the first command of Captain Jean Luc Picard during his late twenties. I really enjoy these kind of serialized offshoots of the main Star Trek universe in Trek Lit. Indeed, I am kind of sad that this is only a six book series (seven if you count Valiant). The book "Reunion" serves as a decent coda for it and should probably be read after rather than before the series.
This installment deals with the fact Captain Picard has been called for a competence hearing. His archenemy, Admiral MacInteer, wants to remove him from command for no other reason than petty spite. He specifically cites the events of the aforementioned Valiant as a sign of his incompetence. There's actually a few questionable acts that Picard made in the series up to this point like his trust of a Mirror Universe doppelganger, missing an infiltrator, and letting a pirate go but none of these are brought up at the trial.
I was kind of hoping that the trial would play a bigger role in this book than it did. Instead, it is only the last part of the book. The majority of the book is devoted to chasing down an insanely powerful psychic that has been imbued with Gary Mitchell-esque powers. Said psychic has also taken former crew member Andreas Nikolas hostage.
I can't say this is my favorite of the Stargazer plots as the villain is fairly one-dimensional and a kind of supervillain that wants to engage in conquest as well as genocide. I feel it's a far less interesting sort of villain compared to, say, Tain from Oblivion or even the White Wolf. I also love "Where No Man Has Gone Before" but I feel like that particular well was already emptied by Valiant. I also didn't feel much progress was made with Picard's relationship with Serenity Santana. I really wish we'd gotten a Betazoid on the crew to deal with her duplicity.
Despite this, I will say the scenes with Nikolas dealing with the insane god that he is forced to placate while under the power of are really well-written. Brakmaktin resurrects his love interest, the Mirror Universe Gerda, and plays with Nikolas' emotions as a display of power. These scenes are quite interesting and show why Nikolas might cooperate with an obvious lunatic demigod like his captor.
In conclusion, we all know how Picard's trial is going to end. There's no way he's going to lose command of the Stargazer or be kicked out of Starfleet. Still, I would have liked to see more legal twists and turns as well as call backs to previous books. The Stargazer series could have been a dozen more books and not worn out its welcome with me.
This installment deals with the fact Captain Picard has been called for a competence hearing. His archenemy, Admiral MacInteer, wants to remove him from command for no other reason than petty spite. He specifically cites the events of the aforementioned Valiant as a sign of his incompetence. There's actually a few questionable acts that Picard made in the series up to this point like his trust of a Mirror Universe doppelganger, missing an infiltrator, and letting a pirate go but none of these are brought up at the trial.
I was kind of hoping that the trial would play a bigger role in this book than it did. Instead, it is only the last part of the book. The majority of the book is devoted to chasing down an insanely powerful psychic that has been imbued with Gary Mitchell-esque powers. Said psychic has also taken former crew member Andreas Nikolas hostage.
I can't say this is my favorite of the Stargazer plots as the villain is fairly one-dimensional and a kind of supervillain that wants to engage in conquest as well as genocide. I feel it's a far less interesting sort of villain compared to, say, Tain from Oblivion or even the White Wolf. I also love "Where No Man Has Gone Before" but I feel like that particular well was already emptied by Valiant. I also didn't feel much progress was made with Picard's relationship with Serenity Santana. I really wish we'd gotten a Betazoid on the crew to deal with her duplicity.
Despite this, I will say the scenes with Nikolas dealing with the insane god that he is forced to placate while under the power of are really well-written. Brakmaktin resurrects his love interest, the Mirror Universe Gerda, and plays with Nikolas' emotions as a display of power. These scenes are quite interesting and show why Nikolas might cooperate with an obvious lunatic demigod like his captor.
In conclusion, we all know how Picard's trial is going to end. There's no way he's going to lose command of the Stargazer or be kicked out of Starfleet. Still, I would have liked to see more legal twists and turns as well as call backs to previous books. The Stargazer series could have been a dozen more books and not worn out its welcome with me.
November 1, 2024
Continuing the untold exploits of Captain Picard upon the Stargazer, Jean-Luc is forced to attend a hearing to determine if he shall remain in command of his ship. However (there's always a "However"), before he can attend said hearing he is contacted by the Nuyyad, a species he encountered and fought back as they attempted to attack and conquer the Federation. They need his help because one of their warring factions has gained powers similar to Gary Mitchell (from the classing "Where No Man Has Gone Before" from classic Trek). They know this individual must be destroyed before he takes over the galaxy.
This is a solid premise and Friedman delivers the good. There's some expected friction between both sides as they in pursuit of their prey, and there's consider story with the creature and the lone human it has kept alive, who happens to be a former crewmember of the Stargazer.
Plenty of action, heavy decisions, and a last minute decision in Picard's hearing to keep readers turning pages. A solid, enjoyable read for any Star Trek fan. Recommended.
This is a solid premise and Friedman delivers the good. There's some expected friction between both sides as they in pursuit of their prey, and there's consider story with the creature and the lone human it has kept alive, who happens to be a former crewmember of the Stargazer.
Plenty of action, heavy decisions, and a last minute decision in Picard's hearing to keep readers turning pages. A solid, enjoyable read for any Star Trek fan. Recommended.
January 22, 2018
This episode's tie-in with TOS
We're going all the way back to the Valiant, so that means tie-in with TOS S1E3 "Where No Man Has Gone Before."
The defector of the episode is...
At long last, a Friedman novel without a defector.
It was awesome that...
uhm... uhm...
It was too bad that...
none of the choices made by Nikolas really matter. Even Picard can do very little to help his own case.
Uhm... excuse me... isn't it implausible that...
one admiral would be such a dick.
And what was that unrelated B-plot?
so many...
We're going all the way back to the Valiant, so that means tie-in with TOS S1E3 "Where No Man Has Gone Before."
The defector of the episode is...
At long last, a Friedman novel without a defector.
It was awesome that...
uhm... uhm...
It was too bad that...
none of the choices made by Nikolas really matter. Even Picard can do very little to help his own case.
Uhm... excuse me... isn't it implausible that...
one admiral would be such a dick.
And what was that unrelated B-plot?
so many...
March 10, 2019
I think this is the last book in the series. A lot of threads are wrapped up in this one, such as the final show down between Picard and his greatest critic in a competency hearing. The bulk of the story is original but the hearing was more "Matlock" (anyone remember that show) or Law and Order than Starfleet.
Here are several over used tropes:
1. The surprise witness for Picard, especially one who has no reason to support him.
2. The attempt for "court packing" and the surprising verdict.
3. The surprising coda for the villain who isn't quite dead, but no way for him to return in the next book.
It's hard to write more suspense since we know Picard continues to have a storied career. He survives others prejudiced, incompetent, or corrupt Starfleet admirals.
Here are several over used tropes:
1. The surprise witness for Picard, especially one who has no reason to support him.
2. The attempt for "court packing" and the surprising verdict.
3. The surprising coda for the villain who isn't quite dead, but no way for him to return in the next book.
It's hard to write more suspense since we know Picard continues to have a storied career. He survives others prejudiced, incompetent, or corrupt Starfleet admirals.
December 20, 2025
I think this book really expects the events of The Valiant to be fresh in one's mind and... it wasn't for me. This seems to be a sequel to that book with all the fluff of the books in between to add context to the other characters in the book. Nikolas's story was a little meandering but at least it ended well. Speaking of endings, that's where the strength of this one lies as the Admiral after Picard's neck and his plot since book 1 in this series finally resolves with a predictable outcome other than how it got there. However the main story was its whole other thing and I wasn't a big fan of it. Anyway this one is closer to 4 stars than what I am saying here but I appreciated that it ended well.
June 14, 2018
Good book
It is an insight into the making of the great captain picard,. Well wrote and enjoyable. Where is another baby book
It is an insight into the making of the great captain picard,. Well wrote and enjoyable. Where is another baby book
August 5, 2018
ENTERTAINING!!!
December 11, 2019
Decent read. Very enjoyable. =)
July 31, 2022
Interesting culmination of the whole series. Unfortunately the theme from “Where no man has gone before” did not fit me well.
May 2, 2023
Enjoyable but far too predictable.
May 7, 2024
The grand finale!
Maker was an enjoyable read, and had lots of good callbacks to The Valiant, but I can’t help but feel a little dissatisfied that the adventures of the Stargazer end here. I had expected the series to cover much more than just Picard’s first year as captain, and I still have lots of questions. Where is Jack Crusher? What was Crusher and Picard’s friendship like? How is Morgen as an officer? I know some of these questions are answered in flashbacks in Reunion, but I had really expected to have those answers given more detail in the series.
Again, on its own merits, Maker is a really solid Star Trek novel that gives good closure to the Stargazer series. In the grand scheme of the Lost Era, I really wish there had been more exploration of Picard during this time period. (I am aware of the Double Helix book, but I’m honestly not that interested in the series)
Maker was an enjoyable read, and had lots of good callbacks to The Valiant, but I can’t help but feel a little dissatisfied that the adventures of the Stargazer end here. I had expected the series to cover much more than just Picard’s first year as captain, and I still have lots of questions. Where is Jack Crusher? What was Crusher and Picard’s friendship like? How is Morgen as an officer? I know some of these questions are answered in flashbacks in Reunion, but I had really expected to have those answers given more detail in the series.
Again, on its own merits, Maker is a really solid Star Trek novel that gives good closure to the Stargazer series. In the grand scheme of the Lost Era, I really wish there had been more exploration of Picard during this time period. (I am aware of the Double Helix book, but I’m honestly not that interested in the series)
August 21, 2025
Whenever Hollywood is looking for another Star Trek tv series, this would make a good one. This is the final book in the short STARGAZER series, all about Jean-Luc Picard's first starship command (prior to his captaincy of ENTERPRISE, for all my non-Trekker friends out there). I liked the way this story was related to the original series episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before", but I thought it still might have been a bit too lengthy. My main objection to an otherwise good ST tale was the two passages of graphic violence which, thankfully, I have not encountered in any other ST novels I've read. Overall I have enjoyed the series and will miss 1st officer Ben Zoma, Dr. Greyhorse, Engineer Simenon, Security Chief Obal, the Idun sisters, and other crew members I have come to know. Science officer Kastiigan, however, gets the award for the best quote: " I am a Kandilkari. We do not prize our lives above those of our colleagues". That's Star Fleet at its best.
November 5, 2011
This is a well-written, well-paced action story which is not particularly novel or original, which is an enjoyable read but is of little true value. If you have enjoyed the first 5 books of this sub-series detailing the early years of Captain Picard on the Stargazer, you will probably enjoy this one, but I wouldn't read it if you haven't read and enjoyed its predecessors. If you haven't read them, then you will find this book somewhat confusing as it refers back to events from previous books rather heavily; if you haven't enjoyed them, there is no reason to think that your reaction to this book will be any different.
March 30, 2016
One could probably look at the seven (counting The Valiant) book series of the Stargazer series as the first season of a Star Trek show, in which case Maker was a decent season finale. Certainly all the books linked into each other, and this one did a nice job of tying up the loose ends. I was disappointed not to see Jack Crusher make an appearance in the series, but this was a neat look at Picard's first year as a Starfleet captain and his challenges at becoming one so young and quite inexperienced.
November 7, 2010
A powerful alien hijacks a freighter, with Nikolas aboard, and steers it into Ubarrak space. Serenity Santana (from a prior book, the Valient) crosses the Galactic Barrier to hunt him down. Meanwhile, Captain Picard's competency hearing is looming.
This is the last book in the Stargazer series. I think the series just lost steam. I *loved* the first few, but the last few were meh.
This is the last book in the Stargazer series. I think the series just lost steam. I *loved* the first few, but the last few were meh.
February 18, 2015
I enjoyed this book, but it felt a bit rushed at the end. I do believe it was a decent end to the series...
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