Rating: 
Summary: This is a glass sculpture as well as a GREAT READ!!!
Review: I read this book when it first came out. I have seldom read its equal in imagery or complexity. The constant references to games and mirrors compels you to not only see the characters from every angle but to consider yourself as well. It is a classic "bildigsroman" (SP? English teachers forgive me! I tried), and takes the main character from young child to mature adult. And the journey is worth the trip! I reread this book at least once a year. I recommend also Ford's "How Much for Just the Planet?". Imagine a Star Trek movie written by Gilbert and Sullivan and directed by Blake Edwards! And check-out Gregory Keyes' Bester trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Deep, thoughtful book
Review: I recommend this book to all lovers of science fiction, even if they don't like Star Trek! It has it all: suspense, intrigue, action, drama (lots), pathos, coming-of-age, and romance. I don't own many of the Star Trek novels; many of them looked silly or sappy. This one is neither. It is thought-provoking on many levels. It gives a lot of insight into the Klingon culture that the series of books and movies really needed.
Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: I've read some 70-80 ST novels, or just about every one up till '97, which probably isn't as much as some of you, but enough for a good sample. This is one of the two or three best ones. Note that this was written in 1984, before Next Generation debuted, and so the Klingons portrayed in it are different from the Klingons in TNG, I prefer Fords depictation.
Rating:
Summary: ten stars
Review: It really deserves ten stars. Why does it? Why doesn't the book deserve ten stars? Believe me, this is an astonishingly well-written book. John M. Ford's depiction of Klingon culture is different from canon Klingon culture but it is more than likely to entertain you If you don't read the book, you'll wish you had
Rating: 
Summary: Very dissapointing novel
Review: It's sad. I've heard so much praise for the this book. People say it's a classic, one of the best ST books ever. I buy it and it's like watching paint dry.The novel seems so pointless. Instead of just telling a story in a straight-forward way, it just jumps through one man's life. We start out with this mind-numbingly boring "chess" game. Then we jump to when Vrenn is adopted into the Ketha's (sp?) House. That seems interesting until we jump to Vrenn being at the Academy and we have this pointless battle with the Romulans. We see Vrenn rise to being a captain and his assignment is to escort a diplomat to the Klingon homeworld. That seems interesting, but then we have this pointless mutiny attempt that I'm still not sure if I understand the motivation. Then we jump four years to Krenn escorting the amabassador back to Earth. The book is frustrating. Whenever something is remotely interesting, it's suddenly dropped and we get this pointless and boring chapter. I scanned the ending and it doesn't look like it improves. I'll finish it, but it's still pointless. This is supposed to be the definative Klingon novel and I didn't learn anything about Klingons.
Rating:
Summary: Praise John M. Ford
Review: John M. ford's book probably is the first book that doesn't portrays Klingons as villains. Most of the Star trek authors prior to TNG's debut used Klingons as stereotypes or villains. Worse, some of the authors including Blish and Goldin discredited the klingons as dishonorable and deceitful villains. John M. Ford not only did NOT used Klingons as stereotypes but depicts them as heroes even before Worf was conceived.
John M. Ford's novel will be remembered with honor.
Rating:
Summary: excellent novel
Review: John M. Ford's brilliant and powerful writing style was always awe-inspiring. The characters are fascinating. the dialogue is splendid. The quality of Ford's Klingons is superior to that of TNG's Klingons. Not only it awed many people including me but also it influenced Ronald Moore's work on Klingon culture. Mr. Moore admitted he liked reading the book Final Reflection in Star Trek Magazine review. However, this book may be contradicted and is not regarded as canon but the author's definitions of Klingon culture and Klingon sense of honor is never questioned. Whereas a Klingon captain named Krenn tries to struggle to understand Human culture, a Human named Tagore attempts to comprehend Klingon culture. The quote about naked stars in this book is inspirational. May the Black Fleet salute John M. Ford for his incredible legacy to the world. He deserves to be remembered with no less honor than Kahless the Unforgettable.
Rating:
Summary: Klinzhai
Review: Klingon Captain Krenn is a ruthless war strategist, but on a mission to Earth Krenn learns a lesson in peace. Suddenly he must fight a secret battle of his own for his empire has a covert plan to shatter the Federation. Only Krenn can prevent a war, at the risk of his own life.
Rating:
Summary: The second best Star Trek novel I own.
Review: Many have already synopsized the book here, so I'll just add that this book is excellent Star Trek. Not because of of what we usually associate as excellent - Phasers on Stun and Beam me up, Scotty! Rather, it is the "human" dimension and interaction of these prequel non-canonical characters that makes this book stand out. (Not to mention I'm a chess player and love books that relate human dimensions of gaming and games.) I'm not kidding when I say that this is the second best Star Trek novel in my library (and I have about 60 or so.) I'm actually on my third purchased copy because I wore the first two out in re-reads. For comparison, my favorite is Spock's World by Diane Duane. I also really enjoy the writing of Duane, Carey, and Dillard.
Rating:
Summary: Unresolved and Confusing
Review: Most of this book lacked clarity. The entire first third- the first unit- was extremely confusing, with unclear characters who constantly changed, whose focal points were games that were not fully explained. By the second unit, even the names of the main characters had changed. But things pick up more by the second unit, as a Klingon commander shuttles a federation ambassador to the Klingon homeworld. Difficulties continue in reading this text. Part of the problem is no fault of the author- written in 1984, so much has developed in our understanding of Klingon culture, appearance, and thought that we did not know at that time. Kahless, it's even written before TNG! So the cover shows the old TOS Klingons. But it's not just how they look- all kinds of information about Klingons has developed since then, like there code of honor, their attitudes towards war, their relationships, the name of their homeworld, their beliefs of Stobol Kohr and the afterlife- all this is different in this book, outside of canon. Ford comes up with an intriguing way around this, certainly. He describes the main plotline as a fictionalized history story that Captain Kirk starts reading. So any differences between the story and the reality can be explained away. But there are so many differences that, with an awareness of Klingon culture, it is difficult to follow this book. And sadly, the ending is very confusing. Many key questions that one has about the characters remain unanswered, but the author acts as if they have been answered. After reading the text, one is left with the feeling that you really have no idea what species the main characters are (despite that being a lifelong quest of the characters), why and how the primary mission occurred at all, what missions Klingons completed on earth, and how in the end everything is resolved. Ford proposes a possible answer to a question not even yet posed at the time of the writing, before TNG- why do the Klingon's foreheads change shape? One possible answer- interbreeding with Humans, Vulcans, etc. But even this is not as fully described as it should be. And in this time of war I also greatly appreciated the focus of one of the main characters on trying to establish peace at all times, speaking with Klingons of how one can have honor without even ever carrying a weapon. Some Klingons today could learn from that.
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