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Before he commanded the Starship Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard was the captain of the deep space exploration vessel, the "U.S.S. Stargazer," on an incredible twenty-two year voyage. Now Picard is reunited with his old crew for the first time in over a decade, on a mission to see his former first officer installed as ruler of the Daa'Vit Empire. The reunion turns deadly when a ruthless assassin begins eliminating the "U.S.S. Stargazer" crew one by one. Picard's present and former shipmates must join forces to solve the mystery of the Captain's past, before the killer strikes again.
343 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1991
About the author
Michael Jan Friedman
382 books202 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 - 30 of 79 reviews
May 31, 2016
This is a great novel indeed!
Since on the TV series of Star Trek: The Next Generation was mentioned the previous command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, the fans started to fantasize about those days in the past of Picard when he was the commanding officer of the USS Stargazer.
Nowadays there is even a whole spin-off book series of that era and even on other novels, one has been able to get moments of those days in the past of the career of Jean-Luc Picard.
But all that started here, on this very novel.
Reunion really allow to the reader to get a experience of those days due a commemorative reunion of the old crew of Picard aboard of the USS Enterprise-D.
Only for that it was already quite interesting.
However the story gets even better since it turns into a mystery detective novel!
Since one by one, each member of the old crew is getting killed!
Something almost inconceivable onboard of a Federation starship!
Now, Picard has to work with his own current crew but along with the former crew that they want to find the culprit too, but how can you trust in them?
The murderer has to be one of them. And how Picard can even embrace such awful fact?
That former crew were people that he trusted with his own life when he was in command of the Stargazer.
Picard is right in the middle of two crews, the best ones that he ever had the honor to command, having to balance the rising stress in both of those crews in the desperate hunt of a hidden killer.
The success of this very novel was, without a doubt, the trigger for the other books that chronicle the adventures of Picard on his former commanding post.
Since on the TV series of Star Trek: The Next Generation was mentioned the previous command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, the fans started to fantasize about those days in the past of Picard when he was the commanding officer of the USS Stargazer.
Nowadays there is even a whole spin-off book series of that era and even on other novels, one has been able to get moments of those days in the past of the career of Jean-Luc Picard.
But all that started here, on this very novel.
Reunion really allow to the reader to get a experience of those days due a commemorative reunion of the old crew of Picard aboard of the USS Enterprise-D.
Only for that it was already quite interesting.
However the story gets even better since it turns into a mystery detective novel!
Since one by one, each member of the old crew is getting killed!
Something almost inconceivable onboard of a Federation starship!
Now, Picard has to work with his own current crew but along with the former crew that they want to find the culprit too, but how can you trust in them?
The murderer has to be one of them. And how Picard can even embrace such awful fact?
That former crew were people that he trusted with his own life when he was in command of the Stargazer.
Picard is right in the middle of two crews, the best ones that he ever had the honor to command, having to balance the rising stress in both of those crews in the desperate hunt of a hidden killer.
The success of this very novel was, without a doubt, the trigger for the other books that chronicle the adventures of Picard on his former commanding post.
July 10, 2024
In which Data’s positronic pathways “conk out” over another idiosyncratic human linguistic gem!
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, lovingly crafted his character, and re-created the atmosphere of Victorian London in which he solved his mysteries. So, when an author chooses to extend the Holmes canon in any fashion, it is inevitable that Conan Doyle’s work is the standard against which it will be judged. So it is with Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek creation and the star-studded cast of actors – Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn, et al – who made the characters come to life on both the big and the small screens. If the reader of any book that purports to be in The Next Generation universe doesn’t bring these actors, their foibles, their mannerisms, their strengths, their weaknesses, and their very manner of thinking to the mind of a Star Trek TNG fan, then that book can be written off as a failure.
For my money, REUNION succeeds in spades and is most definitely not that failure. I could easily picture myself back in front of the tube watching what has to qualify as one of my all-time favourite television programs.
PLOT #1: Picard’s former first officer is returning to his home planet to be installed as the ruler of the Daa’Vit empire. The political protocol of the “coronation” calls for the incoming emperor to be accompanied by an “honour guard” of trusted friends. But, as many of the officer’s of Picard’s first starship, the USS Stargazer, are re-united on the Enterprise for the trip to Daa’Vit, that erstwhile reunion turns deadly. One of those friends is obviously an assassin with a rather more violent agenda in mind. Readers are treated to a typical Star Trek soft sci-fi plot line (that, in literary terms, is a high tech sci-fi locked room mystery) showcasing dialogue, character, and personality driven action and decision-making – Data’s cocked head and puzzled blinking as he attempts to decipher the meaning of Geordi Laforge’s use of the idiom, “conk out”; Worf’s Klingon-based perceptions of duty and honour and his over-the-top notions of challenging himself with extreme “exercise” on the holodeck; Beverly Crusher’s continued mourning over the death of her husband, Jack; Number One’s innate attraction to the fairer sex (well, there HAD to be a replacement for Captain Kirk when William Shatner went into retirement … right?). In short, there is no question that REUNION could be seen as a screenplay for a television TNG episode without a single change being necessary.
PLOT #2: The hard sci-fi complement to PLOT #1. While the murder mystery unfolds inside the Enterprise, outside the ship there is a definite problem. The Enterprise is a caught in a sub-space slip-stream and despite Mr LaForge’s best engineering solutions to prod the engines into propelling the Enterprise out of the grip of the relentless current, the Enterprise ultimately finds itself driven beyond the Neutral Zone and deep into Romulan space. Oh, oh … and now Picard, looking down the barrels of fully-charged disruptors, is having a less than friendly, terse chat with the irate captain of a threatening Romulan War Bird. Diplomacy, of course, is the tactic of first resort, but prospects are not looking good!
I'm the first to admit that it's unlikely that anyone but a Trekkie will derive much enjoyment from REUNION, but THIS Trekkie enjoyed it to the extent of a 5-star rating and I expect it will make it to my Top Ten Favourites list for 2022. Definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, lovingly crafted his character, and re-created the atmosphere of Victorian London in which he solved his mysteries. So, when an author chooses to extend the Holmes canon in any fashion, it is inevitable that Conan Doyle’s work is the standard against which it will be judged. So it is with Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek creation and the star-studded cast of actors – Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn, et al – who made the characters come to life on both the big and the small screens. If the reader of any book that purports to be in The Next Generation universe doesn’t bring these actors, their foibles, their mannerisms, their strengths, their weaknesses, and their very manner of thinking to the mind of a Star Trek TNG fan, then that book can be written off as a failure.
For my money, REUNION succeeds in spades and is most definitely not that failure. I could easily picture myself back in front of the tube watching what has to qualify as one of my all-time favourite television programs.
PLOT #1: Picard’s former first officer is returning to his home planet to be installed as the ruler of the Daa’Vit empire. The political protocol of the “coronation” calls for the incoming emperor to be accompanied by an “honour guard” of trusted friends. But, as many of the officer’s of Picard’s first starship, the USS Stargazer, are re-united on the Enterprise for the trip to Daa’Vit, that erstwhile reunion turns deadly. One of those friends is obviously an assassin with a rather more violent agenda in mind. Readers are treated to a typical Star Trek soft sci-fi plot line (that, in literary terms, is a high tech sci-fi locked room mystery) showcasing dialogue, character, and personality driven action and decision-making – Data’s cocked head and puzzled blinking as he attempts to decipher the meaning of Geordi Laforge’s use of the idiom, “conk out”; Worf’s Klingon-based perceptions of duty and honour and his over-the-top notions of challenging himself with extreme “exercise” on the holodeck; Beverly Crusher’s continued mourning over the death of her husband, Jack; Number One’s innate attraction to the fairer sex (well, there HAD to be a replacement for Captain Kirk when William Shatner went into retirement … right?). In short, there is no question that REUNION could be seen as a screenplay for a television TNG episode without a single change being necessary.
PLOT #2: The hard sci-fi complement to PLOT #1. While the murder mystery unfolds inside the Enterprise, outside the ship there is a definite problem. The Enterprise is a caught in a sub-space slip-stream and despite Mr LaForge’s best engineering solutions to prod the engines into propelling the Enterprise out of the grip of the relentless current, the Enterprise ultimately finds itself driven beyond the Neutral Zone and deep into Romulan space. Oh, oh … and now Picard, looking down the barrels of fully-charged disruptors, is having a less than friendly, terse chat with the irate captain of a threatening Romulan War Bird. Diplomacy, of course, is the tactic of first resort, but prospects are not looking good!
I'm the first to admit that it's unlikely that anyone but a Trekkie will derive much enjoyment from REUNION, but THIS Trekkie enjoyed it to the extent of a 5-star rating and I expect it will make it to my Top Ten Favourites list for 2022. Definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
July 20, 2021
This is a a fairly well executed locked-room type mystery aboard the Enterprise, with Picard's former officers from his first command on the Stargazer on board for transport to a leadership succession ceremony on the Daa'vit home world. The would be killer apparently has few compunctions about inflicting collateral damage. By seeming coincidence the Enterprise encounters a slipstream spatial anomaly that threatens to dump them, defenseless, inside the Romulan neutral zone. Other than adding some general tension to the atmosphere this plot thread remains, strangely, unconnected to the main story. Anyhow, the story offers some interesting glimpses at the life of Jack Crusher, Dr. Crusher's husband who was killed in the line of duty aboard the Stargazer, as well as the circumstances surrounding his death.
August 17, 2014
It was great to visit all of the regulars from the Star Trek Next Generation crew again. Captain Picard, Riker, Troi, Dr. Crusher, Data, Wesley, La Forge, O'Brian, and Worf. Oh, and Guinan, I almost forgot her.
It was even better, getting to meet some of the crew members from the Stargazer, Captain Picard's old ship. I did not realize that he had been the captain of that ship for twenty-two years, before he became Captain of the Enterprise.
The Stargazer crew are aboard the Enterprise to serve as an Honor Guard for Morgen as he becomes ruler of the Daa'Vit homeworld. There is only one problem. Someone is trying to kill the former Stargazer crew members. Another is a minor issue with the ship. It gets caught up in a subspace phenomenon, a slipstreem that is carrying the ship along at warp nine point nine five, which is equal to five thousand ninety-four times the speed of light. And they NEED to get out. They cannot be late for the ceremony on Daa'V.
Okay - what else can I tell. Hmmm. Jean-Luc keeps seeing the ghost of the long dead Jack Crusher. The Daa'Vit and Klingons are hereditary enemies and Worf is worried about meeting Morgen. They do meet, and both are almost killed in a holodeck acident. Dr. Crusher doesn't want to meet the old crew members of the Captain's because she does not want to drag up and re-live old memories of Jack. Wesley gets a lesson in skimming rocks from a Gnalish. I don't know what that is, except he is old and gray and scaley and he has a tail, and I liked him a lot. Riker falls for Caldwallader, the former communications officer of the Stargazer, now 2nd officer of the Lexington, Pug Joseph, the former security chief, is an alcoholic and has never advanced in rank. He has a horrible secret that he finally brings himself to tell. There are a couple of other unforgettable characters, but I cannot give it away.
Oh, and Romulans, there are Romulans too! Enjoy...
It was even better, getting to meet some of the crew members from the Stargazer, Captain Picard's old ship. I did not realize that he had been the captain of that ship for twenty-two years, before he became Captain of the Enterprise.
The Stargazer crew are aboard the Enterprise to serve as an Honor Guard for Morgen as he becomes ruler of the Daa'Vit homeworld. There is only one problem. Someone is trying to kill the former Stargazer crew members. Another is a minor issue with the ship. It gets caught up in a subspace phenomenon, a slipstreem that is carrying the ship along at warp nine point nine five, which is equal to five thousand ninety-four times the speed of light. And they NEED to get out. They cannot be late for the ceremony on Daa'V.
Okay - what else can I tell. Hmmm. Jean-Luc keeps seeing the ghost of the long dead Jack Crusher. The Daa'Vit and Klingons are hereditary enemies and Worf is worried about meeting Morgen. They do meet, and both are almost killed in a holodeck acident. Dr. Crusher doesn't want to meet the old crew members of the Captain's because she does not want to drag up and re-live old memories of Jack. Wesley gets a lesson in skimming rocks from a Gnalish. I don't know what that is, except he is old and gray and scaley and he has a tail, and I liked him a lot. Riker falls for Caldwallader, the former communications officer of the Stargazer, now 2nd officer of the Lexington, Pug Joseph, the former security chief, is an alcoholic and has never advanced in rank. He has a horrible secret that he finally brings himself to tell. There are a couple of other unforgettable characters, but I cannot give it away.
Oh, and Romulans, there are Romulans too! Enjoy...
August 25, 2016
Lo and behold a good Star Trek tale with..wait for it...NO time traveling! Instead we get a story that would have made a great episode of STNG.
Captain Picard, before captaining the Enterprise, was in charge of the USS Stargazer. Now Captain Morgen, formerly Ensign Morgen under Capt. Picard, is leaving Starfleet to become the Titular head of the Daa'vit federation. Tradition requires that the reining head be accompanied by an honor guard of close friends. So Cap. Morgen brings along some of his officers from the Stargazer to Enterprise for the journey to Daa'vit territory. We meet old friends of Picard such as Dr. Greyhorse; Commander Asmund; Prof. Simenon; Capt. Ben Zoma; Chief Johnson and Commander Cadawallder. The other interesting history is that these were crew members when Jack Crusher, Dr. Crusher's husband, died on the Stargazer mission.
As they take off for Daa'vit space it turns out someone is trying to murder Capt. Morgen. But the question is who? As if that weren't enough the Enterprise is caught in a slipstream that is carrying them into Romulan space. The rest of the story is one part about the murder, one part about the slipstream and the rest is spent filling in the history of these officers from the Stargazer and their connection to Picard.
I won't say any more to not give away any spoilers. This was an entertaining and well written story. It isn't ground breaking but it does what it does well- and that is tell an entertaining story of the Starship Enterprise. The asides about Klingon honor; the Daa'vit/Klingon relationship; the demise about Jack Crusher all serve to make this a very interesting tale for Star Trek fans.
I most certainly enjoyed it and would highly recommend this to any Star Trek fan.
Captain Picard, before captaining the Enterprise, was in charge of the USS Stargazer. Now Captain Morgen, formerly Ensign Morgen under Capt. Picard, is leaving Starfleet to become the Titular head of the Daa'vit federation. Tradition requires that the reining head be accompanied by an honor guard of close friends. So Cap. Morgen brings along some of his officers from the Stargazer to Enterprise for the journey to Daa'vit territory. We meet old friends of Picard such as Dr. Greyhorse; Commander Asmund; Prof. Simenon; Capt. Ben Zoma; Chief Johnson and Commander Cadawallder. The other interesting history is that these were crew members when Jack Crusher, Dr. Crusher's husband, died on the Stargazer mission.
As they take off for Daa'vit space it turns out someone is trying to murder Capt. Morgen. But the question is who? As if that weren't enough the Enterprise is caught in a slipstream that is carrying them into Romulan space. The rest of the story is one part about the murder, one part about the slipstream and the rest is spent filling in the history of these officers from the Stargazer and their connection to Picard.
I won't say any more to not give away any spoilers. This was an entertaining and well written story. It isn't ground breaking but it does what it does well- and that is tell an entertaining story of the Starship Enterprise. The asides about Klingon honor; the Daa'vit/Klingon relationship; the demise about Jack Crusher all serve to make this a very interesting tale for Star Trek fans.
I most certainly enjoyed it and would highly recommend this to any Star Trek fan.
August 2, 2015
A fairly solid entry in the TNG novel universe, having the feel of a season 4 episode of TNG. Some great character work with the Stargazer crew makes me want to pick up the Stargazer series of novels by Michael Jan Friedman, a series that hadn't really interested me before. It would be interesting to see these people back in their heyday, before the events of this novel. Has anyone out there read the Stargazer series? What did you think? Let me know, and I may add them to my list to review in the future.
Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2015/08/r...
Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2015/08/r...
May 6, 2022
One of Captain Picard's former officers from the Stargazer is the heir-apparent to the throne of some distant Federation ally (also an imperial warrior race-rival of the Klingons), and he is being brought home to assume his throne with an escort of other Stargazer officers who all gather onboard the Enterprise for transport.
It wasn't a bad story, I mean, I gave it four-stars...and it felt Star Trek-y enough...now, I've never had an SO pass on me - especially in such a tragic fashion - but I almost feel that Dr. Crusher's like 10-year plus grief cycle is almost too much. She can't even bring herself to socialize with these former Stargazer crew because it would just be too painful.
Also, they must have brought up the fact that the computer's sensors were unreliable in locating people at least four times...because it only ever tracks their communicators, and all one has to do is take it off and leave it somewhere and they are untraceable...and then later when Worf is tracking down a murder suspect (yes, this is part whodunnit murder mystery) he solely relies on the computer to track the person, but they, of course, left their communicator somewhere...and he finds it...shocker!
Now - my other nitpick about this was that this suspect was in the brig for some time before they escaped...so, do prisoners get issued communicators? I wouldn't think they'd let them keep their normal communicator on them after tossing them in the brig.
There's also a B plot...the Enterprise gets stuck in some sort of super-fast subspace slipstream that drags them along and they can't escape it...it kind of adds a ticking clock element (although there already is one because the coronation is approaching)...it just seemed like needless drama to give Geordi and Wesley something to do.
This is one of the "big" TNG novels, clocking in at about 100 pages more than the usual...'cause I guess it's an "event" and not just a normal episode...it's a two-parter? :) And, I think that was really just to incorporate the tacked-on B plot.
If you like Star Trek, I'd give it a read (I mean, I did).
It wasn't a bad story, I mean, I gave it four-stars...and it felt Star Trek-y enough...now, I've never had an SO pass on me - especially in such a tragic fashion - but I almost feel that Dr. Crusher's like 10-year plus grief cycle is almost too much. She can't even bring herself to socialize with these former Stargazer crew because it would just be too painful.
Also, they must have brought up the fact that the computer's sensors were unreliable in locating people at least four times...because it only ever tracks their communicators, and all one has to do is take it off and leave it somewhere and they are untraceable...and then later when Worf is tracking down a murder suspect (yes, this is part whodunnit murder mystery) he solely relies on the computer to track the person, but they, of course, left their communicator somewhere...and he finds it...shocker!
Now - my other nitpick about this was that this suspect was in the brig for some time before they escaped...so, do prisoners get issued communicators? I wouldn't think they'd let them keep their normal communicator on them after tossing them in the brig.
There's also a B plot...the Enterprise gets stuck in some sort of super-fast subspace slipstream that drags them along and they can't escape it...it kind of adds a ticking clock element (although there already is one because the coronation is approaching)...it just seemed like needless drama to give Geordi and Wesley something to do.
This is one of the "big" TNG novels, clocking in at about 100 pages more than the usual...'cause I guess it's an "event" and not just a normal episode...it's a two-parter? :) And, I think that was really just to incorporate the tacked-on B plot.
If you like Star Trek, I'd give it a read (I mean, I did).
November 10, 2017
This was my first Star Trek novel.
I can't remember the last time I read something like it.
It was light and easy reading. I enjoyed it.
It's a murder mystery on Picard's Enterprise.
The storytelling is proficient, especially the pacing.
There was one gimicky scene, but I don't know that I hate it.
It wasn't quite like watching an episode of TNG, nor was it like watching a movie. It was somewhere in between. It was like watching a four episode arc.
I met a bunch of new characters, and I'm kind of curious about them. So I think I'm going to go straight into the next Stargazer novel.
I can't remember the last time I read something like it.
It was light and easy reading. I enjoyed it.
It's a murder mystery on Picard's Enterprise.
The storytelling is proficient, especially the pacing.
There was one gimicky scene, but I don't know that I hate it.
It wasn't quite like watching an episode of TNG, nor was it like watching a movie. It was somewhere in between. It was like watching a four episode arc.
I met a bunch of new characters, and I'm kind of curious about them. So I think I'm going to go straight into the next Stargazer novel.
September 2, 2021
REUNION is a TNG novel that deals with a time period that was only hinted at on the series. Basically, before Captain Picard was captain of the Enterprise he was the captain of the U.S.S. Stargazer. This is the ship where Wesley's father Jack served (and died) as well as Captain Picard facing down the Ferengi for the first time in "The Battle of Maxia."
Reunion gathers the undeveloped crew of that event and introduces a "who dunnit" as one of the crew seems determined to polish the rest of them off when they all come to the Enterprise for a diplomatic event starring one of their former crew mates (but not Picard). It is also the basis for the STARGAZER series that would eventually be developed from these characters.
I enjoyed the novel but I feel like the Stargazer crew lacks a bit of definition compared to some of my other favorite characters. Still, some of them are quite interesting and are dealing with problems you don't normally see among Roddenberry humans like depression and alcoholism. We also get a human raised among Klingons as sort of an inverse Worf.
I recommend this book but will state that the mystery drags along a bit too long with all of the Enterprise's bells and whistles. You'd think they'd have some CSI advantages that we don't.
Reunion gathers the undeveloped crew of that event and introduces a "who dunnit" as one of the crew seems determined to polish the rest of them off when they all come to the Enterprise for a diplomatic event starring one of their former crew mates (but not Picard). It is also the basis for the STARGAZER series that would eventually be developed from these characters.
I enjoyed the novel but I feel like the Stargazer crew lacks a bit of definition compared to some of my other favorite characters. Still, some of them are quite interesting and are dealing with problems you don't normally see among Roddenberry humans like depression and alcoholism. We also get a human raised among Klingons as sort of an inverse Worf.
I recommend this book but will state that the mystery drags along a bit too long with all of the Enterprise's bells and whistles. You'd think they'd have some CSI advantages that we don't.
January 19, 2024
Loved getting to read background stories about Jack Crusher and Picard. It was a fun “whodunit” mystery story
March 30, 2022
It's been too long since I've read a Star Trek novel that I actually, genuinely loved reading. I can definitely see myself re-reading this; it's got that cozy Enterprise feel combined with a mystery and action, unknown phenomenon that endanger the ship, and of course that near-campy writing you always get from Star Trek novels. I adore 'bottle episodes', so to speak - it's definitely in my Top 3 favourite tropes of all time - and I also love stories that are very character based. We get a lot of plot here, but we also spend a significant amount of time getting to know the old Stargazer crew, how they interact with each other, and who they are now. This was just a perfect recipe for me and I'm glad it came together so nicely.
As always with these books (not known for their iron-clad logic and pristine editing) there were a few times I quibbled with the plot or a decision with an eye roll and a smile, but it's all in good fun, so who really cares? For the most part I found most things true to actual Trek characterization (including of course Riker's compulsive dating and the grown-ass men drooling at attractive women - that's your first officer, Captain!). Few if any spelling/grammar errors, though, which is not standard and was much appreciated.
Final thoughts: the Stargazer characters were pretty impressively fleshed out, considering, and the mystery wasn't actually obvious (at least to me). The Worf storyline with the Daa'Vit, even though I predicted the end from miles away, was great. Worf had a lot of good stuff in this book. Meeting all these people who knew Picard before the Enterprise brought different dynamics, which was interesting. Learning more about Jack and his death was also interesting.
There was a lot going on here between the Daa'Vit Coronation, murder, warp stream chaos, interpersonal hijinks, and old memories with old emotions, but it was juggled well and it's a lot of fun. I've read several Star Trek novels now, and I'd recommend this one to anyone who enjoys them.
As always with these books (not known for their iron-clad logic and pristine editing) there were a few times I quibbled with the plot or a decision with an eye roll and a smile, but it's all in good fun, so who really cares? For the most part I found most things true to actual Trek characterization (including of course Riker's compulsive dating and the grown-ass men drooling at attractive women - that's your first officer, Captain!). Few if any spelling/grammar errors, though, which is not standard and was much appreciated.
Final thoughts: the Stargazer characters were pretty impressively fleshed out, considering, and the mystery wasn't actually obvious (at least to me). The Worf storyline with the Daa'Vit, even though I predicted the end from miles away, was great. Worf had a lot of good stuff in this book. Meeting all these people who knew Picard before the Enterprise brought different dynamics, which was interesting. Learning more about Jack and his death was also interesting.
There was a lot going on here between the Daa'Vit Coronation, murder, warp stream chaos, interpersonal hijinks, and old memories with old emotions, but it was juggled well and it's a lot of fun. I've read several Star Trek novels now, and I'd recommend this one to anyone who enjoys them.
November 18, 2020
Actually this should have been two and a half stars, but I didn’t have that option and I kept wishing I liked this better than I did. But there was too much going on, too much history (by that I do not mean official Trek lore) and the immediate danger was too tightly concentrated on the “guest stars” of the book. The story was a reunion of sorts of Picard’s old crew from the USS Stargazer on the occasion of Picard’s protege, then ensign-now Captain Morgen of the planet Daav (person and planet introduced in this book) leaving Starfleet to go rule his homeworld because he was basically its crown prince. And that’s just the beginning.
To gain ascendency to the throne Morgen is required to show up with an honor guard of which he requested the Stargazer survivors to form, despite not having any real contact with for years. After a few introductory scenes and the honor guard is finally assembled upon the Enterprise, it seems that Morgen is for some reason the target of an assassin. And not for the first time in his life, as it is revealed that as an ensign aboard Stargazer, he was—for reasons to complex to go into now—was the intended victim of one Lt Gerda Asmund, a fellow bridge officer and twin sister to Cmdr Idun Asmund, who is now currently aboard Enterprise serving as part of Morgan’s honor guard...whew!! It doesn’t stop there as there are others of the Stargazer crews have their own secrets and an unnecessary subspace anomaly decides to show its ugly head, taking over a third of the book and lead to a thorny skirmish with a classic alien foe...Too much, too much, too much stuff to process, leaving me not caring about the murder or a lot of anything else.
To gain ascendency to the throne Morgen is required to show up with an honor guard of which he requested the Stargazer survivors to form, despite not having any real contact with for years. After a few introductory scenes and the honor guard is finally assembled upon the Enterprise, it seems that Morgen is for some reason the target of an assassin. And not for the first time in his life, as it is revealed that as an ensign aboard Stargazer, he was—for reasons to complex to go into now—was the intended victim of one Lt Gerda Asmund, a fellow bridge officer and twin sister to Cmdr Idun Asmund, who is now currently aboard Enterprise serving as part of Morgan’s honor guard...whew!! It doesn’t stop there as there are others of the Stargazer crews have their own secrets and an unnecessary subspace anomaly decides to show its ugly head, taking over a third of the book and lead to a thorny skirmish with a classic alien foe...Too much, too much, too much stuff to process, leaving me not caring about the murder or a lot of anything else.
December 15, 2020
This is for the audiobook—the listener gets to hang out with Gates McFadden for a couple hours! I enjoyed this—it was like listening to an episode. I loved McFadden’s reading— skilled interpretation of the text with such fun voices for the characters. The story has a few things going on—but the plot revolves around a murder mystery. I liked seeing the pieces come together. Friedman also packs in a few emotional moments that I felt were moving. Solid audiobook!
May 14, 2017
This book takes place during the time when Captain Picard still had his Next Generation crew serving with him, before the TV series ended and well before the events in the movies, that scattered his crew to various new assignment.
Captain Picard welcomes several members of his former crew from the Stargazer on board to celebrate the elevation of Captain Morgen (who was an ensign under Picard on the Stargazer) to ruler of his people, the Daa'vit. Unfortunately, one of them harbors a years old grudge, and systematically attacks the others, with the intention of killing all of them for a perceived slight twenty years ago.
It was interesting trying to figure out which one was the murderer; it's never who you think it is. I also enjoyed seeing Picard's former crew sharing their memories of their time serving with him, particularly their memories of the late Jack Crusher. We finally learned the story behind his tragic death.
Overall, this was a great read. Anyone who enjoyed the Next Generation tv show will enjoy this.
Captain Picard welcomes several members of his former crew from the Stargazer on board to celebrate the elevation of Captain Morgen (who was an ensign under Picard on the Stargazer) to ruler of his people, the Daa'vit. Unfortunately, one of them harbors a years old grudge, and systematically attacks the others, with the intention of killing all of them for a perceived slight twenty years ago.
It was interesting trying to figure out which one was the murderer; it's never who you think it is. I also enjoyed seeing Picard's former crew sharing their memories of their time serving with him, particularly their memories of the late Jack Crusher. We finally learned the story behind his tragic death.
Overall, this was a great read. Anyone who enjoyed the Next Generation tv show will enjoy this.
January 9, 2017
A fun little space opera/whodunit.
May 6, 2018
Yawn. I tried. Couldn’t finish.
July 27, 2018
I suppose I could see this novel making up the plot of a decent TNG episode- Captain Jean-Luc Picard's old chums from the U.S.S. Stargazer, his first command, get back together on the Enterprise for a good old-fashioned reunion. Actually, it's because one of his former crew, a certain Captain Morgen, is about to become a monarch on his home planet of Daa'Vit. BUT, someone is out to kill him, and makes several attempts not only on his life but other Stargazer crew members as well. Columbo meets Star Trek!
Of course, there are more than a few oddities in the book; Friedman, one of the more prolific writers of Star Trek novels, often doesn't seem to have as good a technical grasp of Trek tech as he probably should. The eventual would-be assassin, who I won't reveal here, managed to throw the ship into a "slipstream" (quite a coincidence that I read this after so many post-Nemesis novels which use Voyager's quantum slipstream; perhaps this influenced it?) that takes the ship to something like Warp 9.95, which is supposed to be the fastest any ship has ever traveled. Really? I have a hard time believing that NO one ever built something to go that fast before this novel takes place. Furthermore, the Enterprise just happens to break a speed record thanks to a saboteur who- and this is a bit of a spoiler- isn't even an engineer? There is also the bit about the investigation into who the assassin could be. The suspect is automatically assumed to be one of the Stargazer personnel. Worf, Picard, and everyone else don't even entertain the notion that someone ELSE on the ship MIGHT have a reason?
But perhaps I am being too nitpicky. It seems that this novel was intended to be just a good Sunday afternoon distraction, and it serves that purpose well. It's decently entertaining, and has just enough juice to keep the pages turning, shallow character treatment notwithstanding. It does have important implications on the Treklit universe overall, though; it fills in the gaps concerning the canonical death of Jack Crusher (Beverly's husband) and introduces Stargazer characters that show up in later novels (all of which seem to be Friedman novels, interestingly).
Not bad; not particularly awesome either, but worth a read.
Of course, there are more than a few oddities in the book; Friedman, one of the more prolific writers of Star Trek novels, often doesn't seem to have as good a technical grasp of Trek tech as he probably should. The eventual would-be assassin, who I won't reveal here, managed to throw the ship into a "slipstream" (quite a coincidence that I read this after so many post-Nemesis novels which use Voyager's quantum slipstream; perhaps this influenced it?) that takes the ship to something like Warp 9.95, which is supposed to be the fastest any ship has ever traveled. Really? I have a hard time believing that NO one ever built something to go that fast before this novel takes place. Furthermore, the Enterprise just happens to break a speed record thanks to a saboteur who- and this is a bit of a spoiler- isn't even an engineer? There is also the bit about the investigation into who the assassin could be. The suspect is automatically assumed to be one of the Stargazer personnel. Worf, Picard, and everyone else don't even entertain the notion that someone ELSE on the ship MIGHT have a reason?
But perhaps I am being too nitpicky. It seems that this novel was intended to be just a good Sunday afternoon distraction, and it serves that purpose well. It's decently entertaining, and has just enough juice to keep the pages turning, shallow character treatment notwithstanding. It does have important implications on the Treklit universe overall, though; it fills in the gaps concerning the canonical death of Jack Crusher (Beverly's husband) and introduces Stargazer characters that show up in later novels (all of which seem to be Friedman novels, interestingly).
Not bad; not particularly awesome either, but worth a read.
February 19, 2022
I can't go over 3 stars because this looks like a tie-in, feels like a tie-in, reads like a tie-in. It helps that I do like a good tie-in novel though and this sortof straddles the line correctly between being super-fun and super-disposable.
It helps that we're introduced to an entirely new crew and cast of characters, so we don't have to dwell too much on the same old cast we know and love too-well, and it allows Friedman to create his own little arc and set of dilemmas. My gripe would be that there's not really enough space to explore the crew in much detail, give the regular crew things to do, and fit in an exciting plot-driven storyline in such a short book ... but when you're reading a book like this it's the effort that counts and creates goodwill enough that I was really getting quite into it. -
The main storyline is something of a detective-thriller. Someone is attacking people on the Enterprise. We know it's one of the new people onboard - Picard's old crewmates from the Stargazer, they're here because the old Captain Morgen needs olde trusted friends to accompany him on his journey to Daav, since he's becoming prince of the Daa'Vit people. Or something - Oh and the Daa'V people don't get along with Klingons. To be fair, who the f**k would get along with the Klingons, since being psycho seems to be in their DNA? Oh, and there's a half Klingon who is the twin sister of someone who previously tried to kill Morgen many years ago so naturally suspicion falls upon her. Is she still a vengeful Klingon monster or has she truly gotten over that natural grudge? Read the book to find out!
The mystery element is a little perfunctory but it's fast paced. What I particularly liked is how Friedman threw another couple of classic Trekian elements at the wall to keep it spicey, and whilst neither will win prizes in originality stakes, the whole thing just feels fun. It almost outstays its welcome in the last couple of chapters but there are nice revelations all the way.
Recommended light reading for Star Trek TNG fans.
It helps that we're introduced to an entirely new crew and cast of characters, so we don't have to dwell too much on the same old cast we know and love too-well, and it allows Friedman to create his own little arc and set of dilemmas. My gripe would be that there's not really enough space to explore the crew in much detail, give the regular crew things to do, and fit in an exciting plot-driven storyline in such a short book ... but when you're reading a book like this it's the effort that counts and creates goodwill enough that I was really getting quite into it. -
The main storyline is something of a detective-thriller. Someone is attacking people on the Enterprise. We know it's one of the new people onboard - Picard's old crewmates from the Stargazer, they're here because the old Captain Morgen needs olde trusted friends to accompany him on his journey to Daav, since he's becoming prince of the Daa'Vit people. Or something - Oh and the Daa'V people don't get along with Klingons. To be fair, who the f**k would get along with the Klingons, since being psycho seems to be in their DNA? Oh, and there's a half Klingon who is the twin sister of someone who previously tried to kill Morgen many years ago so naturally suspicion falls upon her. Is she still a vengeful Klingon monster or has she truly gotten over that natural grudge? Read the book to find out!
The mystery element is a little perfunctory but it's fast paced. What I particularly liked is how Friedman threw another couple of classic Trekian elements at the wall to keep it spicey, and whilst neither will win prizes in originality stakes, the whole thing just feels fun. It almost outstays its welcome in the last couple of chapters but there are nice revelations all the way.
Recommended light reading for Star Trek TNG fans.
July 24, 2019
Really loved this one. Read it out of order as I read ST: TNG: The Valiant first, by mistake. Even teared up at the end by Pug's big speech. The Stargazer crew is awesome. Really enjoyed learning more about Pug, Ben Zoma, Jack Crusher, and the others. This novel has a few plots going on but it's mainly a murder mystery that plays fair with the reader. I guessed wrong as to the whodunit culprit. Great read nonetheless.
Would be a good choice to read if you have not read any Star Trek fiction. This was the very first Star Trek: The Next Generation book to be published in hardcover and it made the national bestseller lists at the time including the NYT Bestseller List. Lead to a long string of Star Trek: TNG hardcover bestsellers. Reunion is the first in a series about Picard's first command aboard the Stargazer, a deep-space exploratory science vessel. However, as you might guess by the title the crew of the Stargazer reunites on board the Enterprise in this adventure. The following Stargazer series of books are set in Picard's past on the Stargazer. All are written by Michael Jan Friedman.
Would be a good choice to read if you have not read any Star Trek fiction. This was the very first Star Trek: The Next Generation book to be published in hardcover and it made the national bestseller lists at the time including the NYT Bestseller List. Lead to a long string of Star Trek: TNG hardcover bestsellers. Reunion is the first in a series about Picard's first command aboard the Stargazer, a deep-space exploratory science vessel. However, as you might guess by the title the crew of the Stargazer reunites on board the Enterprise in this adventure. The following Stargazer series of books are set in Picard's past on the Stargazer. All are written by Michael Jan Friedman.
May 16, 2017
A solid-enough murder mystery set in space. It's a little unfocused, since the author seems to be trying to give everyone something to do instead. The subplot of the Enterprise being stuck in some kind of fast-moving anomaly and a confrontation with the Romulans feels half-baked, like it was added to pad out the page-count and give the story more sense of danger but mostly it's just a distraction from the murder mystery. The book might better have been served by actual flashbacks to Picard's time on the Stargazer, since it makes off-hand references to so many adventures but never explores them. Still, it understands its characters and the Stargazer crew feels fully-formed on arrival, which is an impressive feat for a series that often fumbles its guest characters in favor of the series mains.
April 9, 2018
A book filled with lots of interesting characters in a book that is way too slow. Back in the 90's there would be the usual numbered books at around 250(ish) pages then every so often a giant novel which was usually between 300 and 400 pages. Reunion is a giant novel that could have been 100 pages shorter is what I guess I'm saying?
There are good things about the book such as meeting some of the surviving members from Picards first ship the Stargazer. I know there are several books set in this era that I'd love to delve into some day. MJF also got the voices of the season 4 era TNG quite well.
However just like the last Trek murder mystery novel, I guessed the killer. just under halfway through I guessed and it was who I thought it was. The last 70ish pages save this one from two stars. Recommended for the more die hard Trek lit reader.
There are good things about the book such as meeting some of the surviving members from Picards first ship the Stargazer. I know there are several books set in this era that I'd love to delve into some day. MJF also got the voices of the season 4 era TNG quite well.
However just like the last Trek murder mystery novel, I guessed the killer. just under halfway through I guessed and it was who I thought it was. The last 70ish pages save this one from two stars. Recommended for the more die hard Trek lit reader.
December 18, 2023
The comm grid thing was so dumb! It had big "Han Solo's name" energy. Apparently, every room on the Enterprise has a comms grid in the ceiling, which is why you sometimes see characters look up when they answer calls on the show, but that's just a tell for the audience and they don't even do it all the time. Plus, if there was a comms grid in the ceiling, it's advanced enough to pick up the speakers voice from any position in the room and looking directly at it like it's a directional microphone does nothing.
I know it's such a petty nitpick to remove a star for, but it was such a distraction coming up multiple times to explain something that wasn't even close to an issue that needed explaining.
I know it's such a petty nitpick to remove a star for, but it was such a distraction coming up multiple times to explain something that wasn't even close to an issue that needed explaining.
January 11, 2020
I may have made a mistake. While this book was written prior to MJF’s Stargazer series, I read those first. I enjoyed them immensely.
I even read Christopher L. Bennett’s The Buried Age before I read this. While I find MJF writing easy to follow and enjoy, I think I invested a lot in the crew of the Stargazer to see it end they way it did.
After reading this and thinking back on the Stargazer books, I see the threads that were put together to lead to Reunion. It does not make it any easier to witness what happens to them in this book.
It is a fine take of Picard’s two crews coming together.
I even read Christopher L. Bennett’s The Buried Age before I read this. While I find MJF writing easy to follow and enjoy, I think I invested a lot in the crew of the Stargazer to see it end they way it did.
After reading this and thinking back on the Stargazer books, I see the threads that were put together to lead to Reunion. It does not make it any easier to witness what happens to them in this book.
It is a fine take of Picard’s two crews coming together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2023
A cute who-done-it with magical physics and beaucoup technobabble. I liked learning more about Jack Crusher's backstory. There wasn't much substance to it, but it was entertaining. I confess I like the erudite philosophical quandaries and extreme ethical conundrums better than the action sequences, photon torpedo battles, and holodeck shenanigans. My years of studying Victorian literature have ruined me for trite or tidy storylines. That said, I absolutely can't stand the jaded, "edgy" crap they call science fiction in 2023. TweeNG is still where it's at for me 100%.
September 28, 2017
This was an interesting read because so little happened story-wise but you got to know these characters from Picard's past from the Stargazer. As it was ANOTHER murder mystery (or close to) in the TNG novels I was a little underwhelmed that way but I did enjoy it - just not one of my favourites. I would give 3.5 if I could because I feel it needs to be little bit more but I don't REALLY like it.
July 31, 2018
Well, this one was significantly better than the first two TNG novels I read (Vendetta and Boogeymen). The characters are generally pretty on-model, and the dialogue is fairly true to the show. The plot is a serviceable mystery focusing on a group of guest characters - Picard's old shipmates from the Stargazer. None of them make a huge impression, but they are all very competently drawn and individualized. In all, it was nothing amazing, but it was a solid Next Generation story.
November 6, 2017
Reunion is an entertaining and fast paced, murder-mystery-detective novel involving the crew of Captain Picard's old ship, the Stargazer, and his current crew on the Enterprise. Friedman manages to capture the personalities of well known and new characters fairly well and write an entertaining story at the same time. We also learn how Jack Crusher actually died.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Rating: 3.5 stars
June 11, 2019
This was interesting to listen to - the mystery behind who was trying to kill the Stargazer crew was okay, but the most interesting part was learning about the former members of Picard's crew in general. We only ever heard about the ship, and Jack Crusher of course, but the rest, not so much. The takes on them were varied and believable.
February 9, 2020
My favourite of the Stargazer books by MJF that I have read. The Stargazer crew seem more grounded in this book (written first but set later) and I loved the whodunnit storyline. I felt the side story involving the slipstream accident was shoehorned in to give the book a science fiction element to it and expand the page count - it could have easily have been excised.
July 27, 2022
The sexist lecherism is driving me nuts. And I wish there had been chronology or world-building notes... but it turns out that the referential allusions weren't to anything canon anyway... so confused. Not liking this one.
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It did get better. All the nits are available to pick, like characters sometimes doing things out of character, and too much focus on new(ish) characters, and too much high drama. But it was fine.
Onward!
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It did get better. All the nits are available to pick, like characters sometimes doing things out of character, and too much focus on new(ish) characters, and too much high drama. But it was fine.
Onward!
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