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Rating: Summary: Good story, interesting but dubious concept. Review: As with the first book of the "Captain's Table" series, this is a frame story. The story within the frame is a story about Jean-Luc Picard, told "in his own words", and is an excellent story. The outer framework of the story involves his arriving at the mysterious bar, "The Captain's Table", meeting some fellow captains, and being persuaded to tell his story. "The Captain's Table" is sort of a cross between "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon" and the cantina in the original "Star Wars" movie. It's an interesting concept, but I honestly don't think that it works for the Star Trek universe. A shame, really, and it admittedly isn't as obviously unworkable in this book as it was in the first, but the concept still misfires slightly.
Rating: Summary: Better than the First, but Still Lacked a Real Plot Review: I just finished the first two books in the Captain's Table series and found them to be a great addition to the Star Trek series."Dujonan's Hoard" has a strong storyline that adds depth, and a passing romance, to Jean-Luc Picard. The action was great, along with introduce a few new wrinkles to our scientific knowledge that was clearly missing from the New Frontier series books (5 & 6). Welcome aboard to this new series! -- David Hess
Rating: Summary: Jean-Luc Picard, Pirate King? A So-So Swashbuckling Tale Review: In this second book of "The Captain's Table" series, it is Jean-Luc Picard's turn to find himself in the strange watering hole that transcends time and space where he must spin his own tale of adventure. Michael Jan Friedman offers what is essentially a swashbuckling tale, set in deep space instead of on the high sea. Picard and Worf go off in search of the fabled treasure, Dujonian's Hoard, jewels that are not only worth an untold fortune but which are perhaps more powerful than dilithium as a power source. The pair join the crew of a ship captained by Red Abby, who claims to know where the treasure is, but who turns out to have more secrets than "Hill," Picard's alias for this adventure. Just to make things fun there are Cardassians, Romulans and the overly-rule governed Abinarri on the trail of the treasure, our heroes, or both. "Dujonian's Hoard" is a rather mundane "pirate" story, with the change in setting or addition of Picard adding little new or substantive to the tale with the possible exception of how often Picard gets beat up in this story. This novel is diverting but not a memorable Star Trek novel. Because these tales are told in the first person, Friedman jumps back and forth almost incessantly between the bar on Madigoor and the tale Picard is telling. While I appreciate the attempt at verisimilitude with the audience that keeps interrupting and asking questions that are always a step or two ahead of the tale being told, it just become too much after a while. The book also contains Friedman's biography of Jean-Luc Picard, which does a nice job of sorting out the major themes in the character's career. Again, because of the nature of these stories there is no compelling need to read all of the books in this series or to read them in any particular order. Finally: what's up with the lizard?
Rating: Summary: Jean-Luc Picard, Pirate King? A So-So Swashbuckling Tale Review: In this second book of "The Captain's Table" series, it is Jean-Luc Picard's turn to find himself in the strange watering hole that transcends time and space where he must spin his own tale of adventure. Michael Jan Friedman offers what is essentially a swashbuckling tale, set in deep space instead of on the high sea. Picard and Worf go off in search of the fabled treasure, Dujonian's Hoard, jewels that are not only worth an untold fortune but which are perhaps more powerful than dilithium as a power source. The pair join the crew of a ship captained by Red Abby, who claims to know where the treasure is, but who turns out to have more secrets than "Hill," Picard's alias for this adventure. Just to make things fun there are Cardassians, Romulans and the overly-rule governed Abinarri on the trail of the treasure, our heroes, or both. "Dujonian's Hoard" is a rather mundane "pirate" story, with the change in setting or addition of Picard adding little new or substantive to the tale with the possible exception of how often Picard gets beat up in this story. This novel is diverting but not a memorable Star Trek novel. Because these tales are told in the first person, Friedman jumps back and forth almost incessantly between the bar on Madigoor and the tale Picard is telling. While I appreciate the attempt at verisimilitude with the audience that keeps interrupting and asking questions that are always a step or two ahead of the tale being told, it just become too much after a while. The book also contains Friedman's biography of Jean-Luc Picard, which does a nice job of sorting out the major themes in the character's career. Again, because of the nature of these stories there is no compelling need to read all of the books in this series or to read them in any particular order. Finally: what's up with the lizard?
Rating: Summary: Another shine of Picard's love for archaeology Review: Michael Jan Friedman writes another amazing tale. This book shows once again Picard's incredible desire for archaeology. My second favorite Captain's Table book (favorite being Once Burned).
Rating: Summary: A great second book to the series! Review: The Captain's Table is a place that transcends time and space. Only Captain's may enter. A wonderful concept that is carried to fruition quite exceptionally by Michael Jan Friedman in "Dujonian's Hoard." I approached this one with a little trepidation after trudging through "War Dragons." Of course, knowing the author, I knew this one would be a lot better. I was not disappointed. "Dujonian's Hoard" is a wonderful tale with Captain Picard and Lieutenant Worf going undercover. They intend to find a missing Starfleet officer, Richard Brant who was searching for the hoard and return him to the Federation. This is a really well done tale. While others might have thought the interruptions from the other bar patrons distracting, I rather enjoyed the character interactions. Overall an excellent story by one of the best authors in the Trek series. Thank you to the author for this one!
Rating: Summary: A great second book to the series! Review: The Captain's Table is a place that transcends time and space. Only Captain's may enter. A wonderful concept that is carried to fruition quite exceptionally by Michael Jan Friedman in "Dujonian's Hoard." I approached this one with a little trepidation after trudging through "War Dragons." Of course, knowing the author, I knew this one would be a lot better. I was not disappointed. "Dujonian's Hoard" is a wonderful tale with Captain Picard and Lieutenant Worf going undercover. They intend to find a missing Starfleet officer, Richard Brant who was searching for the hoard and return him to the Federation. This is a really well done tale. While others might have thought the interruptions from the other bar patrons distracting, I rather enjoyed the character interactions. Overall an excellent story by one of the best authors in the Trek series. Thank you to the author for this one!
Rating: Summary: Treasure Island, Star Trek style Review: The concept of a bar full of starship captains spinning yarns to each other is an appealing one and Picard's tale for the quest of a stash of treasure stolen from the Cardassian homeworld, eons before that race had evolved, had me rivetted to the seat. The only problem was, though Jean-Luc Picard was telling the story, I couldn't help picturing that more flamboyant adventurer, James T. Kirk, acting out through the story. But it was a gripping yarn, nonetheless!
Rating: Summary: Too Much in Love with the Framing Story Review: The tale told by Captain Picard in this second "Captain's Table" novel is, in and of itself, amusing but not engrossing. Almost all of the pleasure one could get from it is sapped by the ever-increasing interruptions that return us to the far-too hokey Captain's Table bar. The interruptions do not, as one reviewer suggested, lend a sense of realism. Rather, they continually remind us how contrived the whole set up is. As with War Dragons, the tale itself is *not* written in the way one would expect a story to be told at a bar, and Picard's voice is not always captured. My advice to those who are about to read this one: read only the chapters captioned "Tale." Skip all of the others. Michael Jan Friedman is ordinarily among the best of the Trek writers; it is unfortunate that he allowed himself to get roped into the Captain's Table idea. A fine talent, an interesting challenge (a first-person Picard tale), but a wasted effort.
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