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Identical twins Gerda and Idun Asmund lost their human parents early in life and were raised as warriors on the Klingon homeworld. They were taught to face every danger shoulder to shoulder -- regarding each other as the only certainty in a dangerous and uncertain universe. The Asmunds continued to depend on each other as helm officer and navigator on the "Starship Stargazer," peril and adversity forging a bond between them as strong as tritanium.
But that bond is tested when a transporter mishap deposits a mysterious visitor on the Stargazer -- a beautiful woman from another universe who resembles Gerda and Idun as closely as they resemble each other.
As Captain Jean-Luc Picard pits the "Stargazer" against a savage alien species in a gallant attempt to send their visitor home, Gerda comes to suspect the woman of treachery. But she has to wonder -- is she following her Klingon instincts or succumbing to simple jealousy?
Gerda needs to find out -- before Picard and his crew pay for their generosity with their lives.
But that bond is tested when a transporter mishap deposits a mysterious visitor on the Stargazer -- a beautiful woman from another universe who resembles Gerda and Idun as closely as they resemble each other.
As Captain Jean-Luc Picard pits the "Stargazer" against a savage alien species in a gallant attempt to send their visitor home, Gerda comes to suspect the woman of treachery. But she has to wonder -- is she following her Klingon instincts or succumbing to simple jealousy?
Gerda needs to find out -- before Picard and his crew pay for their generosity with their lives.
247 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 29, 2003
24 people are currently reading
262 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 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 10, 2025
Star Trek: TNG: Stargazer 03 Three by Michael Jan Friedman
adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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
4.0 Stars
I really wish that I had read this from cover to cover, instead of allowing myself to be distracted by other books. This story needed my focus and attention.
It was well written. Loved the characters. The additional character that arrives in this story was interesting, and I knew something was up, but I bought into the character...and actually wanted a different arc for the character. Sadly, we got what I was hoping we wouldn't get. It's okay. It's a ME problem, not anything against the story, or writer.
I'm having fun with this series. It's good to see Captain Picard on the Stargazer, cutting his teeth. He's too trusting at the moment. He's getting burned by certain events...and I'm waiting for him to move closer to the Picard that we know in TNG (on the Enterprise).
That is NOT to say...that I don't like Captain Picard currently, but we have grown fond of his intellectual gravitas (drink), and we are currently seeing him make too many mistakes.
Poor AlexanderNikoloas. Definitely not lucky, nor lucky in love. Oof.
Enjoyed the narrative on the planet. Though, the things that were happening on the ship were more fun to read about (at least for me).
I like the crew of the Stargazer.
Okay, on to the next novel in this series, Oblivion.z
adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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
4.0 Stars
I really wish that I had read this from cover to cover, instead of allowing myself to be distracted by other books. This story needed my focus and attention.
It was well written. Loved the characters. The additional character that arrives in this story was interesting, and I knew something was up, but I bought into the character...and actually wanted a different arc for the character. Sadly, we got what I was hoping we wouldn't get. It's okay. It's a ME problem, not anything against the story, or writer.
I'm having fun with this series. It's good to see Captain Picard on the Stargazer, cutting his teeth. He's too trusting at the moment. He's getting burned by certain events...and I'm waiting for him to move closer to the Picard that we know in TNG (on the Enterprise).
That is NOT to say...that I don't like Captain Picard currently, but we have grown fond of his intellectual gravitas (drink), and we are currently seeing him make too many mistakes.
Poor AlexanderNikoloas. Definitely not lucky, nor lucky in love. Oof.
Enjoyed the narrative on the planet. Though, the things that were happening on the ship were more fun to read about (at least for me).
I like the crew of the Stargazer.
Okay, on to the next novel in this series, Oblivion.z
June 18, 2008
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.
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.
August 29, 2010
While studying an anomaly on the border to hostile territory, Lieutenant Asmund's counterpart from another universe is mysteriously beamed aboard the Stargazer. Meanwhile, Vigo attends a weapons conference where the key presenter is Ejanix, his former mentor.
'Three' was pretty good, but I liked the first two books better. (I was amused (and initially confused) by the title since it is also the third book in the series.) There was too much time spent hinting/foreshadowing the plot twists even though they were mostly obvious. On to the next!
'Three' was pretty good, but I liked the first two books better. (I was amused (and initially confused) by the title since it is also the third book in the series.) There was too much time spent hinting/foreshadowing the plot twists even though they were mostly obvious. On to the next!
September 17, 2021
STARGAZER: THREE is the third or fifth book in the Stargazer series depending on whether you count REUNION or THE VALIANT as part of the series. Captain Picard is on the first six months of his journey to becoming the man we know from "Encounter at Far Point" and running into all sorts of issues that come with a lack of experience mixed with a hostile environment. In this case, Picard is sent to examine a stellar anomaly by his obstructive bureaucrat archenemy Admiral McInteer and gets more than he bargained for when a parallel universe version of Gerda Asmund is sent through.
The book makes a statement that she is "not" from the Mirror Universe but I suspected it was a form of misdirection from the beginning. Besides, there was a good deal of humor to be had from the fact the Asmund Twins are far more vicious and aggressive than their counterpart from this new universe. The crew ends up liking her a lot more than the somewhat prickly Twins and this leaves her with free access to the ship.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Vigo chooses to go visit a close friend of his own race during a Starfleet weapons test that quickly turns into a hostage situation. I really enjoyed this part of the book and kind of wish it had been the central focus. I wanted to know more about the Pandrilite political situation, whether the terrorists had cause to work against the Federation, and more details that weren't brought up.
I actually liked this book because it showed Picard making some genuine mistakes with the fake Gerda. He doesn't suspect, until the very end, that she could be a security threat and puts the entire crew at risk for her benefit on simple trust. Its the quality of a Starfleet officer but not necessarily one of a more experienced Captain. Kirk would have had her guarded around the clock and also weighed his crew against returning her home.
In conclusion, this is a pretty good book but I don't think the stories come together. I am always happy to have Asmund stories and this is a good installment that helps with their development. I do think that Gerda's relationship with Greyhorse is way too early for him to be mourning about it 20 years later and not to have developed much more across the entirety of their time together but maybe human-Klingon relationships are different. I also wish the book had gone into more about Vigo's homeworld.
The book makes a statement that she is "not" from the Mirror Universe but I suspected it was a form of misdirection from the beginning. Besides, there was a good deal of humor to be had from the fact the Asmund Twins are far more vicious and aggressive than their counterpart from this new universe. The crew ends up liking her a lot more than the somewhat prickly Twins and this leaves her with free access to the ship.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Vigo chooses to go visit a close friend of his own race during a Starfleet weapons test that quickly turns into a hostage situation. I really enjoyed this part of the book and kind of wish it had been the central focus. I wanted to know more about the Pandrilite political situation, whether the terrorists had cause to work against the Federation, and more details that weren't brought up.
I actually liked this book because it showed Picard making some genuine mistakes with the fake Gerda. He doesn't suspect, until the very end, that she could be a security threat and puts the entire crew at risk for her benefit on simple trust. Its the quality of a Starfleet officer but not necessarily one of a more experienced Captain. Kirk would have had her guarded around the clock and also weighed his crew against returning her home.
In conclusion, this is a pretty good book but I don't think the stories come together. I am always happy to have Asmund stories and this is a good installment that helps with their development. I do think that Gerda's relationship with Greyhorse is way too early for him to be mourning about it 20 years later and not to have developed much more across the entirety of their time together but maybe human-Klingon relationships are different. I also wish the book had gone into more about Vigo's homeworld.
September 28, 2024
Another good entry in the Stargazer series which follows the exploits of young Jean-Luc Picard on the first ship he captained.
The ship accidentally beams aboard a Gerda Idun Asmund aboard after encountering an anomaly in space. This occurs often in Trek tales, but what makes this different is that there are already two Asmunds serving aboard the Stargazer. They are twins. Both women are humans raised by a Klingon family, while this newcomer was raised by humans. She looks exactly like the others. It is quickly theorized that she comes from the Mirror Universe, though she knows nothing of Kirk and what was occurring there with humans dominating the known universe. The crew has to to get her back to the anomaly, which is naturally closing, and lies in the space of a race that does not like to have their borders crossed.
This was a solid story to see how all react to a new Asmund who doesn't live Klingon ideals. Most interesting was the reaction of the twins to their new "sister". My only beef was that the conclusion/reveal went as one would expect, if anyone has been following any earlier Trek exploits. Having been a fan since the 1970's and followed all the films, shows, novels, and comics, this ending was predictable.
The B story follows security officer Vigo as he attends a conference that will be showcasing a new class of phaser. Things naturally go wrong and there are many solid action pieces here. It's a good showcase for Vigo and his character gets some great growth. Though, this tale, too, goes as one would expect. It's not bad, just typical Trek going.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys any Trek exploits. It is entertaining, more so than other novels, but it won't wow you.
The ship accidentally beams aboard a Gerda Idun Asmund aboard after encountering an anomaly in space. This occurs often in Trek tales, but what makes this different is that there are already two Asmunds serving aboard the Stargazer. They are twins. Both women are humans raised by a Klingon family, while this newcomer was raised by humans. She looks exactly like the others. It is quickly theorized that she comes from the Mirror Universe, though she knows nothing of Kirk and what was occurring there with humans dominating the known universe. The crew has to to get her back to the anomaly, which is naturally closing, and lies in the space of a race that does not like to have their borders crossed.
This was a solid story to see how all react to a new Asmund who doesn't live Klingon ideals. Most interesting was the reaction of the twins to their new "sister". My only beef was that the conclusion/reveal went as one would expect, if anyone has been following any earlier Trek exploits. Having been a fan since the 1970's and followed all the films, shows, novels, and comics, this ending was predictable.
The B story follows security officer Vigo as he attends a conference that will be showcasing a new class of phaser. Things naturally go wrong and there are many solid action pieces here. It's a good showcase for Vigo and his character gets some great growth. Though, this tale, too, goes as one would expect. It's not bad, just typical Trek going.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys any Trek exploits. It is entertaining, more so than other novels, but it won't wow you.
November 29, 2025
I feel it's only appropriate to rate this 3 stars but I think it's a little better than that - maybe 3.33. Anyway, I liked the Vigo part of the story but didn't fully buy into his mentor and his betrayal plus the plight of the Pandrilites but I liked how the events played out despite the predictably of it.
As for the stuff on the Stargazer, it was well and good - getting to know the Asmunds more and the rest of the crew. Will the suicidal science officer's mental state ever be addressed? Don't care for mirror universe stuff but this wasn't too bad of an approach other than it being unoriginal for them trying to kidnap the equivalent of someone on the other side that has died. The original ideas of the single twin and how she treats Nikolas I liked though.
I did like the book though so hasn't been a bad book in the series yet, just hoping for a great one.
As for the stuff on the Stargazer, it was well and good - getting to know the Asmunds more and the rest of the crew. Will the suicidal science officer's mental state ever be addressed? Don't care for mirror universe stuff but this wasn't too bad of an approach other than it being unoriginal for them trying to kidnap the equivalent of someone on the other side that has died. The original ideas of the single twin and how she treats Nikolas I liked though.
I did like the book though so hasn't been a bad book in the series yet, just hoping for a great one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2017
Three books into this series (actually 4 because I read Reunion first), and I've kind of got the feel for how they work. It's more and more like reading one episode of Star Trek with a few reoccurring themes. This means I can streamline my reviews:
This episode's tie-in with TOS
The mirror universe from TOS 2.10 Mirror, Mirror.
The defector of the episode is...
It was awesome that...
Picard would risk so much just to give Gerda Idun a chance to get back to her own universe.
It was too bad that...
Jiterica and Ulelo were missing.
And what was that unrelated B-plot
Something about Vigo losing and regaining a friend . There were also some rebels and a special kind of new phaser whose only purpose I could see was to give them one more reason to name the third book in the series Three. It might be the only thing that ties the B-plot to the main one.
This episode's tie-in with TOS
The mirror universe from TOS 2.10 Mirror, Mirror.
The defector of the episode is...
It was awesome that...
Picard would risk so much just to give Gerda Idun a chance to get back to her own universe.
It was too bad that...
Jiterica and Ulelo were missing.
And what was that unrelated B-plot
Something about Vigo losing and regaining a friend . There were also some rebels and a special kind of new phaser whose only purpose I could see was to give them one more reason to name the third book in the series Three. It might be the only thing that ties the B-plot to the main one.
April 2, 2024
Appearances can be deceiving
Identical twin sisters serve on the USS Stargazer, but one day there is a third identical sister. Where did she come from?? THE MIRROR UNIVERSE! Mirror Universe stories are always fun in Star Trek, and I’m glad there are stories of Picard interacting with the Mirror Universe. This book does a really nice job of building on what was established in Mirror, Mirror from The Original Series. It also builds toward the Mirror Universe that we see in Deep Space 9. Another aspect of this book is the daily life of the crew. I’m really enjoying the ongoing stories of the friendships of each crew member and how each new mission impacts each of them.
Identical twin sisters serve on the USS Stargazer, but one day there is a third identical sister. Where did she come from?? THE MIRROR UNIVERSE! Mirror Universe stories are always fun in Star Trek, and I’m glad there are stories of Picard interacting with the Mirror Universe. This book does a really nice job of building on what was established in Mirror, Mirror from The Original Series. It also builds toward the Mirror Universe that we see in Deep Space 9. Another aspect of this book is the daily life of the crew. I’m really enjoying the ongoing stories of the friendships of each crew member and how each new mission impacts each of them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2018
More history-of-Jean-Luc.....
Nice mix of adventure and character development on the Stargazer. A nice interleaved story line that had some good plot points and twists!
Nice mix of adventure and character development on the Stargazer. A nice interleaved story line that had some good plot points and twists!
July 15, 2022
Perfect follow-up of previous books in a series.
April 13, 2023
These are enjoyable stories but they seem to have too many weak plot holes to be brilliant. I'm enjoying the series though and like all the characters.
December 1, 2024
Book 3 of 6 (if you don't count the prequel THE VALIANT - see my review) of the terrific STARGAZER books, starring Jean-Luc Picard BEFORE he was captain of ENTERPRISE. The dual plot and character building are terrific, and the whole series is approaching THE LOST FLEET series by Jack Campbell (see my reviews) as the best sci-fi series I've ever read (and that's saying a lot!).
Three additional comments:
- This novel includes Picard's first utterance of the words "Make it so".
- It also includes something unusual (and unnecessary) for a Star Trek book: a small amount of light sexual content (nothing graphic however)
- For those wanting a bit of background first, it might be helpful to watch the original Star Trek tv series episode "Mirror, Mirror".
Three additional comments:
- This novel includes Picard's first utterance of the words "Make it so".
- It also includes something unusual (and unnecessary) for a Star Trek book: a small amount of light sexual content (nothing graphic however)
- For those wanting a bit of background first, it might be helpful to watch the original Star Trek tv series episode "Mirror, Mirror".
June 21, 2017
I didn't like this one as much as the first two in the series. The A plot was a classic doppelganger story: Oh no! A duplicate created by the transporter/from another universe/built/cloned is here and we're not sure how to handle it or what the moral implications are! This has been handled well occasionally (The original Mirror Universe episode, Thomas Riker) but is usually weak and not very compelling. This one was a bit half-hearted and flat. I hated it until it tied back to the Mirror Universe, at which point I was pretty indifferent to it.
The B plot wasn't great either... the security chief visits his homeworld, where he is forced to handle a minor rebellion. But the rebellion's motivations are poorly fleshed-out and none of the supporting characters are vibrant or interesting.
The prose in this one was passable, and there wasn't anything patently ridiculous in the plot. However, I wasn't enthralled.
The B plot wasn't great either... the security chief visits his homeworld, where he is forced to handle a minor rebellion. But the rebellion's motivations are poorly fleshed-out and none of the supporting characters are vibrant or interesting.
The prose in this one was passable, and there wasn't anything patently ridiculous in the plot. However, I wasn't enthralled.
June 28, 2011
the continuation of the Stargazer series. Again the author works on character devlopment as four more of the mains get filled in making them more real to the reader.
A nice bit of throw back to the original Star Trek series if you rmember the cross univers transporter episode.
Not as good as book two but better then book one in my opinion
Good enough to move on to book four after a change of pace piece.
A nice bit of throw back to the original Star Trek series if you rmember the cross univers transporter episode.
Not as good as book two but better then book one in my opinion
Good enough to move on to book four after a change of pace piece.
March 14, 2016
I was underwhelmed. Now, granted, the only other Stargazer book I've read so far is "The Valiant", but this one did not make me want to go out and find books 1 & 2 of this series. Also, it has very frequent scene jumps, which made it hard for me to get into it properly.
February 27, 2015
Yes, yes, yes.
I am very happy with this one.
Not just Picard.
The Stargazer crew doing what they do well.
Vigo with a great solo story.
The Asmund twins with a tense topic.
The Mirror Universe.
Nice tight work.
It reads like an episode.
I am very happy with this one.
Not just Picard.
The Stargazer crew doing what they do well.
Vigo with a great solo story.
The Asmund twins with a tense topic.
The Mirror Universe.
Nice tight work.
It reads like an episode.
June 23, 2014
interesting story...
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews