The Valiant

Star Trek: The Next Generation

by Michael Jan Friedman

Three hundred years ago, the S.S. Valiant was destroyed during an ill-fated attempt to cross the legendary Galactic Barrier. Starfleet had always assumed that the Valiant had perished with all hands aboard, until a pair of unusual humanoids arrive at Starbase 209, claiming to be the descendants of a handful of Valiant survivors who found refuge on an M-Class planet beyond the Barrier.

Even more shocking, the visitors warn that a hostile alien species, the Nuyyad, are preparing to invade our galaxy. Uncertain of how much of the strangers' story to believe, Starfleet orders the U.S.S. Stargazer to investigate at once.

Lieutenant Commander Jean-Luc Picard is second officer on the Stargazer. A young man who has yet to command a vessel of his own, he soon develops a special bond with one of the visitors, a strikingly beautiful woman who has inherited mysterious psychic abilities from her alleged Starfleet ancestors. But can Picard truly trust her?

His doubts deepen when the Stargazer is ambushed by Nuyyad warships, leaving the captain dead and the first officer incapacitated. Picard suddenly finds himself in command -- and facing immediate danger. Trapped on the wrong side of the Barrier, cut off from Starfleet, he must now rely on questionable allies and a crew uncertain of his abilities. And not only the Stargazer, but perhaps the entire Federation, may depend on the decisions he must make.

The Valiant is a gripping saga that explores an untold chapter in the life of Jean-Luc Picard -- and reveals the making of a captain!

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Star Trek The Next Generation, Ebooks, Audiobook, Science Fiction Fantasy

279 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Michael Jan Friedman is an author of more than seventy books of fiction and nonfiction, half of which are in the Star Trek universe. Eleven of his titles have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. Friedman has also written for network and cable television and radio, and scripted nearly 200 comic books, including his original DC superhero series, the Darkstars.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Friedman is not among my favorite Star Trek authors, and books like this are why.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those who want to enjoy the entire story of the U.S.S Stargazer. my recommended reading order is STAR TREK: TNG: REUNION, STAR TREK: TNG: THE VALIANT, and then the Stargazer series proper. Either that or reading Valiant first then the Stargazer series then Reunion as a grand finale of the series. I actually read Reunion first then some of the Stargazer series before realizing The Valiant was set before it. Confused yet? Well, that's just Trek Lit continuity for ya.

The premise of the book is a sequel to "Where No Man Has Gone Before" where Kirk fought Gary Mitchell with the power of a big giant rock. Apparently, the U.S.S Valiant, which had it's own omnipotent psychic problems, had survivors and some of them come to Starfleet with news of a dangerous threat to the Federation. Lt. Commander Picard, 2nd officer on the Stargazer, is thrust into a position where he must make a number of hard decisions to determine how to deal with this.

Essentially, the premise of the book is a long-standing fan analysis of the original episode that I've thought about myself. Basically, was Gary Mitchell driven mad and made evil by his powers or was it because he could sense that his fellow crew members were plotting against him? The Enterprise crew react with uncharacteristic fear, suspicion, and hatred at the evolution of a crewmate. Was it the power that made him mad or knowledge that they were turning against him? How much was the character flaws of Both? Neither?

It's interesting to tackle that question in the context of TNG with a psychic on the bridge and a being with incredible learning capacities like Data. Picard is far more accepting of the psychics in their midst than the others but they're also not as terrifyingly powerful as Mitchell either. They're also not entirely on the level either. It also has the aliens from "By Any Other Name" (the one who turns people into dice-like objects and crush them) but I wasn't a big fan of their presence, Galactic Barrier reference or not.

The book is really about the power of trust and how its lack can be a toxic force. Its interesting to examine this in the context of the book because, really, the Valiant descendants and others give ample reason not to be trusted. We also have the crew refusing to trust their acting captain, even to the point of mutiny (which would make them the second mutineers in Starfleet timeline-wise unless we count Kirk stealing the Enterprise in STIII according to the DISCO revelations).

I felt the villains of the book were underdone because we never get to speak with them and they are about as nuanced as Space Orcs from what we know of them. There's more than enough intrigue on the ship, though, and really enjoyed that. I did think that the author overused "The 2nd Officer" to describe Picard, though, when most people would have just used his name. Either way, I enjoyed watching Picard rise to the occasion as acting captain.

[Rob Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read that flows at a quick pace, The Valiant tells the story of Captain Jean Luc Picard's first command of the USS Stargazer. At a mere 279 pages and with plenty of characters, the book could have benefited from a longer length to flesh out the action and some of the plotlines.
I became particularly annoyed by the author's penchant for describing Picard as 'the second officer' on pretty much every page, especially after he takes command of the ship so isn't technically the second officer any more.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've tended to blow hot & cold on Michael Jan Friedan's writing in the past...but this is easily the best of all his "Star Trek" novels that I've read to date. The tale of Jean-Luc Picard's rise to command the Stargazer is an exercise in crisp, concise, exciting, emotional storytelling in the best "Star Trek" tradition. This is a novel I practically inhaled -- a rollicking adventure from start to finish.

[Mårten Ericson · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is no way this book has an average on 4. And that's comming from a Star Trek fan. This is a 2.5 book. It's not bad but the language is simple, there are no descriptions what so ever and the plot is neither intriguing nor very dense. The book is useful as a lesiure read on a hot summer day when you don't mind skipping a page here or there. An if you do, you won't miss a thing!

[Lois Merritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting - we see the first time Picard commands a starship. Mind you, that is on the Stargazer, but because the Captain and first officers are either dead or in a coma, but he, of course, is showing everyone that in this second officer is the captain we all know exists. But the things surrounding this story kind of annoyed me, probably only because once again we are revisiting things from past episodes, only in this case, it's a couple of Kirk's old missions, and I've listened to a lot of those lately. It seems to be a plot device that a lot of people liked using, and it's good, but too much of a good thing, and all that. But regardless, to see Picard before he was Captain Picard, this was a great peek at it!

[Tanya Turner · Rating 2 out of 5]

As interesting as it would be to see Jean-Luc Picard before the Enterprise, the second-officer depicted in this story doesn’t really feel like he could grow into the Captain we know from The Next Generation. The story focuses on the conflicts and relationships between the Stargazer grew, and while this is potentially interesting, it does it at the expense of giving no time to the enemy. The Nuyyad never even speak, they just exist to be shot at and destroyed. And this is why this book didn’t work for me, as Captain Jean-Luc Picard has a reputation for diplomacy (to the point that some have accused him of being preachy) but there is no attempt to talk to the Nuyyad and reason with them, the only solution presented to the threat is to demonstrate overwhelming firepower by the Federation. Picard even searches out further targets to destroy with no warning given. The threat to the Federation was dealt with by making it clear that the Federation was willing and able to annihilate its enemies, a strategy worthy of the Romulan Empire.

There is nothing technically wrong with the book, and the sections on board the Stargazer are interesting (although the attempt at a love interest was dire and unbelievable) but the wider plot let it down and left a nasty taste in my mouth.

[Jeremiah Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I was like “who are all these new characters withy funny names?” But by the end, I was like “WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?”

I like how there was a mystery element to this story exploring the early years of Picard. Here we see the young captain as a soldier, which is an exciting story, but I also wanted to see how Picard became such an expert diplomat and mediator. I was little disappointed he didn’t try to talk and understand the villains. But I was hooked.

[D. H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again I enjoyed reading a Star Trek novel because it was well-paced and easy to read.

After trying (and failing) to get through a couple of SF classics, these books are coming as a relief.

There are a few negatives, and it may seem like I'm pointing out the obvious here, but there's a ton of fan service. Maybe because I'm a TNG fan, I didn't notice this much in Reunion because I got all the references.

However, I'm not a TOS fan, and all I know about Gary Mitchell and the Kelvans comes from discussions on the Mission Log Podcast. So they're vague memories at best.

But if you know about these stories when you read this novel, you're supposed to see the novel creating a connection between TOS and TNG and react with an oh-cool.

If you don't then its kind of like, I get it, but I'm not really one of you.

But there are not gatekeepers here.

Like any good episode of Gene Roddenberry Star Trek there are

morals, messages, and meanings.
1. Give people second chances.
2. Forgive those who have wronged you.
3. Trust outsiders even if they're superpowered.
4. Trust yourself.
5. Listen to others.


Now unfortunately a lot of these are undermined by the ending in which Picard in a decision wholely unearned by the story recommends Star Fleet keep the existants of the telepaths on Magnia a secret and refrain from ever trusting the entire race of Kelvans ever again.


There's also a lot of Stargazer fan service. How the captain became captain, how the first officer became first officer, how the engineer stayed the engineer, and most importantly how the doctor began a secret relationship with Gerda Asmund setting him on course to... (that's a spoiler for a different book).

At times, those winks and nods slowed the novel down in a bad way.

Overall, though, an enjoyable read, and I'm planning to head straight into the next Stargazer novel because I suspect the story will become something on it's own.

[Brayden Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first foray into TNG novels and I think picked the best possible place to start. The story of Picard gaining his first command and subsequently earning his role as Captain of the Stargazer. For a rather slim volume at 279 pages there is a lot of story and plot packed in here and while watching the premier of Picard today and finishing this tonight. See both ends of Jean-Luc's illustrious career has been fascinating.

[TheInsaneRobin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s fine. It’s very simplistic and the characters are flat. But it’s not aggressively bad. More a 2.5 than a three.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, a fascinating and satisfying novel that chronicles the events leading to Picard taking command of the Stargazer. I enjoyed the character-building for the crewmembers of the Stargazer that we see in other novels. I wasn't initially very interested in reading the Stargazer novel series, but after revisiting Reunion and reading The Valiant for the first time, I think I would like to see more about these characters.

Full review: http://www.treklit.com/2019/02/Valian...

[Dark-Draco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be my favourite Star Trek novel that I have read so far. There are so many cool things wrapped into it - it references classic ST episodes and Captain Kirk, it sets up plot lines that are resolved in other books and it shows Picard in his first command - what more can you want?

The Valiant disappeared centuries ago when it was forced to cross the Galactic Barrier. A buoy was found stating that the Captain had to destroy the ship when one of its crew developed superhuman abilities and threatened everyone on board. But now two people have appeared, saying they are descendants of the crew that survived. They say that a race of warmongering aliens, the Nuyyad, have set their sights on crossing the barrier and destroying the Federation. The Stargazer is sent to investigate, taking along its young second Officer, Jean-Luc Picard. But when the Nuyyad turn out to be more formidable than first thought, when a saboteur is working to keep the Federation from succeeding and when the Captain is killed, Picard finds himself thrust into command.

I like this author's ST novels - they are fast-paced, true to the characters from TV and keep you thoroughly entertained from cover to cover. I'm not sure I could be so trusting of people proved to be a threat, but it has to work for the story to complete. Overall, I enjoyed the couple of days I spent in this books company and look forward to tracking down more books by this author.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read by Anthony Head, who did a really good job. I guess Patrick Stewart did not stoop to reading a young Picard book.

In terms of Picard baldness canon and chronology, which is what I am always charting, the cover shows him to have a fun, totally real head of hair which unfortunately is not verified in the text. I think that TNG ep that showed a young Picard stabbed by a Nasusican in his academy days, he did also had a good head of hair....and yet Tom Hardy was completely bald for his academy photo as young Picard in Nemesis.

In conclusion, The Valiant does not provide a clear account of Picard's baldness journey, but it is a fun cover pic.

Four - it was also an incredibly rugged opening with brutal psychic neck snappings and a sense of real tension and dread...really well done! - out of five

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find Friedman to be one of the better Trek writers, and the things that I like are here; he writes character well. Characters we are familiar with feel familiar (although it's somewhat different here as Picard is our only known, and an early version of him at that). I tend to enjoy his pacing (one thing I particularly enjoyed with this story), and I find his dialogue written in realistic fashion.
However, I found some negatives in this particular story. Without spoiling anything I found some character motivations to be underwritten to the point that at times I wasn't sure why a character was reacting emotionally in the way they were, and some of those character delves seemed to be there just to add mystery to what characters could be trusted. My biggest criticism though is the big bad guys of the story, that are never actually met in the flesh and the usual Star Trek goal of looking at all conflicts from all viewpoints is incredibly absent here. It left the big bad as little more than ships that could be used to execute the action of the story.

[David Palazzolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting to be captivated by this spotlight on Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s past but it fell short of the mark. I ran across this series a long time ago and have been intrigued that the chronologically final book in the series was the first written (STTNG: Reunion) so I thought I’d give it a try. While there were a few interesting things about it such as moments where one could see intermittent glimpses of the man Picard will ultimately become placed throughout the book, the positives could not overcome the negatives, chief among these being Dr Carter Greyhorse’s very creepy obsession of Lt Gerda Asmund. Not helping is the cramming of a lot of lore in the book—we have the return of the Kelvans and the telepathic descendants of the Valiant, the ship thought lost at the energy barrier at the edge of the galaxy in the TOS episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before”—on top of being introduced to a whole new bridge crew, all in a limited page count. A book with all this going down should have been 400 pages at least, but at 270ish pages the story is going to suffer.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book attempts to tie in the fifth Star Trek movie with Picard before he was a captain, and I'm afraid to say it doesn't really work. To my mind, having Picard as the second officer on a rather small ship was a mistake, since the captain and first officer should be able to sort out anything, but making him the first officer from the get go would have been too obvious -- but it was anyway. The characters didn't really feel three dimensional, and sadly, most of the plot twists were obvious. I enjoy reading Star Trek books by this author, but I'm not sure if I will read another in the Stargazer series.

[rivka · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining look at a young Jean-Luc.

[John (JP) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story of Captain Picard 1st command. Often alluded to in the series but never fully fleshed out. This was a good read.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic tale of how picard becomes the youngest capt. in history.

[Phillip Krzeminski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best Trek novel I've read, The Valiant suffers from the common failings of the tie-in novels: an over-reliance on mining ideas from past episodes (in this case several TOS episodes: "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and "By Any Other Name") instead of introducing fresh new ideas. The other major issue is that the author assumes our familiarity with the material and characters, which often leads to paper-thin characters. When combined, the fan-service and threadbare characterization make this feel a lot more like fan-fiction than a mass-market paperback.

The story itself isn't bad, per se, just not particularly memorable. The stakes feel somewhat low, as we all know Picard will be fine and the book does not give us much incentive to care about the fates of the more "dispensable" supporting cast.

**SPOILERS**

A minor quibble is also that this book doesn't provide a great transformation of Picard from 2nd officer to acting captain. In the show, we are lead to believe that this act was unprecedented and set the tone for his entire career. When the captain and first officer are disabled, it is him just doing his job - not doing something notably brave or heroic. It would have been more interesting if they had kept the adversarial first officer in command and had Picard seize command at a dramatic moment where his actions saved the ship and the crew (it really felt like this is what was being built up with the first officer's petty and jealous attitude).

[Christopher Schmehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an awesome read. Mysterious and so very compelling.
Mr. Friedman uses events first seen and dictated by Mr. Spock in "Where No Man Has Gone Before" to set up his novel. He recounts the tale of the Valiant starship's (pre-Starfleet exploratory vessel from Earth) last days. The ship's crew is mapping space from Earth to the edge of the Alpha Quadrant.
Unfortunately, they're also on an intercept for the galactic barrier. You know, that freaky, reddish-pink miasma that gave Kirk and company trouble toward the beginning of their five-year mission.
Friedman tells their fateful story and the decisions their captain is faced with after an attempt to cross the barrier that ends in a fiasco.
Then we jump to the 24th century. The Next Generation (after Kirk and the original series).
Technically, the main story takes place at least ten years before Picard assumes command of the Enterprise D. He is the second officer aboard the USS Stargazer.
Anyone who read Friedman's earlier Next Gen novel Reunion will remember many of the characters filling the Stargazer's roster.
Great book. It has a few flaws. One is the detail. A longer book would have fleshed out certain characters more. It also would have made it possible to learn more about the Nuyyad than that they were very hostile. The book's pacing is fast. But the overall story suffers a wee bit due to unknowns.
I did enjoy reading it though. If you like Jean-Luc Picard, I recommend it.

[David B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lieutenant Commander Jean-Luc Picard, newly in charge of the Stargazer after the death of the captain, must deal with mistrust and treachery among his own crew while meeting the threat of a hostile alien race beyond the galactic rim. Jan Michael Friedman uses the events of the original series episode Where No Man Has Gone Before as background. Years before the events of that episode, the crew of the starship Valiant was stranded beyond the energy barrier at the edge of the galaxy, where their ship was destroyed in order to kill a crew member whose godlike psychokinetic powers drove him to madness, as would later happen to Kirk’s friend Gary Mitchell. The descendants, who have developed their own ESP abilities, bring news of the dangerous alien Nuyyad and offer themselves as allies. But can they be trusted? Picard is rather quick to rely on violence for an officer who will later be renowned as a diplomat, but perhaps that is a sign of his development. Like nearly all Trek novels, it should have been shorter, but it remains an enjoyable read. Originally published as a one-off Next Generation novel, it comes chronologically before the later series of Stargazer novels.

https://thericochetreviewer.blogspot.com

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

A messy book, but nevertheless a fun one. There's nothing better, really, than the idea of making a sequel to a beloved TOS episode (Where No Man Has Gone Before) and throw in the fact that Picard is second officer on the Stargazer and we learn how he became Captain and ... well, it's a shame that this book doesn't quite deliver on the promise, since there's too much jammed in to a fairly brief wordcount and not enough attention to characterisation - utimately Picard's emotional trajectory, which should be a focal point here, feels like an aside, and the crew we met in Reunion are barely developed.

It's hardly boring though and the remit seemed to be to pack in enough callbacks to the old show whilst developing a fun scenario (which another review pointed out, feels a little incomplete when one considers the ending and what actually happened to our alien threat); and whilst I won't be continuing on to the Stargazer series at this point (I'm working my way towards the Trek-verse and it's too time-consuming), I've had a blast with this couple of Friedman TNG novels and won't discount them for a future read.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well a little disappointed in this one. I think my main problems are continuity with the show as Picard is appalled by the idea of mutiny on a Federation starship in "The Pegasus". I don't think there should have been a mutiny and as far as the plot goes it was kind of unnecessary. A lot of things were quickly brushed over for the plot and Picard was a little more battle-hungry for who he was on the show (less in the movies of course) for my liking. I will excuse it for being a "young Picard" but he didn't line up to who I think he is as a character.

[Read1000books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not give out 5 stars routinely, but I have to say one thing about the author of this book: FRIEDMAN KNOWS TREK!! You should know that I am a die-hard Original Series Trekkie, but having dripped my toe into the Next Gen era, I REALLY enjoyed this book. It tells the story of how Picard first became a starship captain prior to his command of ENTERPRISE. A truly superior ST story, with a great tie-in to the Original Series also! (Note: this novel immediately precedes the 6 book STARGAZER series).

[Mic Dysinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, Valiant was a great story, despite the numerous spelling errors with random spaces in words (which is due to Kindle and not the publisher) that were hard to ignore. The first few chapters felt like a bit of a rip-off of the TOS episode with Gary Mitchell. (Where No Man Has Gone Before S1E3) I get why it was written that way, but it just gave off that vibe. That said, once the story found its footing, it became an enjoyable read. I enjoyed reading about how Picard became captain. A good orgin story nonetheless.

[Yvette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I realized that I reading this storyline backwards Death in Winter, Reunion and now The Valiant. Oh well.
I listened to the Audiobook and I was totally engaged once we got to the Stargazer. Although, this book was supposed to introduce me to these characters I had the pleasure of knowing their future.
Character development, fight scenes,space battles, intrigue and a little romance are in in this little novel.

[Joe Seliske · Rating 4 out of 5]

An explanation of Picard's first command which we are reminded of each time the model of the Stargazer was seen in his ready room over the years. The story eludes to the fact that anyone who spends any time at all on the other side of the "great barrier" will develop telepathic powers. One of those books that was hard to put down due to the content. I would love to see what Gerda and Idun Asmund look like. My mind was like Dr. Carter Greyhorse - enthralled.

[Buddhagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel wasn't as great as some of the other TNG ones. I read the ebook format which seemed short; my nook said 162 pages. I can't put my finger on what was lacking but at least I know some of the background of Picard's 1st command. If you want to read the novels in a somewhat chronological order, read this before the Stargazer series.