GAUNTLET, Book I
PROGENITOR, Book II
Star Trek Stargazer
By Michael Jan Friedman
Pocket Books (Simon & Schuster) - June 2002
ISBN 0743427920 PB (Book 1)
ISBN 0743427947 PB (Book 2)
SF / TV Tie-in

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde, MyShelf.com
Buy US || UK Copy of Gaunlet
Buy US || UK Copy of Progenitor

Following on from the adventures in Star Trek: TNG: The Valiant here is a 28-year-old Captain Picard, struggling with his first captaincy on the USS Stargazer. The youngest person ever to make the rank of captain, he is naturally feeling a bit overwhelmed and is surprised to be sent off on a dangerous mission to apprehend a pirate known as the White Wolf. But why has Admiral McAteer sent him where seasoned captains have failed, and filled his ship with such an odd assortment of crew members? In Progenito,r Picard and other senior crew members accompany the reptilian Chief Engineer Simenon to his homeworld to assist him in a ritual, while the other crew members have to help out a ship in distress in a very dangerous part of space.

One reason why Star Trek goes on from strength to strength, whereas other SF series fall by the wayside is its emphasis on characters, and the humor that ensures that the stories keep that essential human touch in the face of awesome technology and thrilling battles.

These two novels introduce some engaging new characters that I hope we will be reading more about, and finding out what Picard did as a young captain is a great idea to breathe new life into the ever-popular TNG series. Gauntlet lacks excitement and ought to have been longer, as the bulk of the book deals with the captain getting acquainted with the ship and crew, but Progenitor sees the series more into its stride and I liked the balance of the two stories, both of which were gripping. As with all the best Star Trek novels or episodes, the adventures are accompanied by the daily minutiae of life on board a starship: the friendships, problems, jokes and quarrels that make up the crew's day. This is a series that continues to enthrall its readers with adventures and interesting characters.