This is really a great book and all FoLCs (Fans of Lois and Clark) ought to really enjoy it. It was just like watching an episode of the series, except with more detail. I truly loved it and will read it again often.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of L&C. The characters and the tone of their relationship are(is) true to the television series. MJ Friedman really paid attention to detail and it paid off. I really enjoyed this book and found it a fun read. There is great interaction between the title characters, just like in the show, and the plot moves along nicely. Great book!

Romance, mystery, show business, and even some *heat*. I love this book

While a Justice League book, the focus of this one is mostly on the team up Batman and Hawkgirl. The rest of the JL is there, playing supporting parts - which works for this story.

The interplay between the animated versions of Batman and Hawkgirl are interesting. There is also hinted details to this Hawkgirl's past that we have yet to see much glimpse of on the show. I'd like to read another teaming of these two when Batman is a bit more up to his game (you understand what I mean when you read the book...).

When the leaders of the warring nations of Luristan and Kaznia agree to meet in at the World Assembly in Metropolis, the Justice League goes on full alert. Superman heads up the group that includes Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, and Wonder Woman. Bane, the international mercenary powered by the super-soldier drug Venom, heads up a crew designed to tear the peace talks apart and plunge the nations back into war. While the rest of the Justice Leaguers hold back Bane's minions and ensure that the peace talks are left intact, Batman and Hawkgirl utilize their detective skills to track Bane down and discover what's really at stake in the attacks. However, Batman hasn't slept in two days and isn't at his best, and his lack of performance is clouding the relationship he has with Hawkgirl.

Michael Jan Friedman has also written JUSTICE LEAGUE: IN DARKEST NIGHT, the second book in the series based on the Cartoon Network hit television show. In addition to the comic- and cartoon-based novels, Friedman has written more than 160 comic books. The author has also contributed to Star Trek Starfleet Year One, Star Trek the Original Series, Star Trek The Next Generation, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager, as well as several mini-series within the franchise. He also wrote the only Star Trek Next Generation/X-Men crossover. Other novels spawned from comic book properties include a Fantastic Four adventure: THE REDEMPTION OF THE SILVER SURFER, Superman novels, and X-Men novels. He's also a contributor to the Wishbone adventures, displaying a versatility and wide interest.

WINGS OF WAR is a fast-paced and exciting read. With the quick cuts back and forth among the characters the novel feels very much like one of the cartoon episodes. Readers who sit down with this novel will probably read straight through the adventure, or long to get back to the book during those time it has to be put aside. The author does a really good job of showcasing each character a little, and doing a lot of character interplay between Batman and Hawkgirl. Plenty of action and superpowers fill the pages, building exciting images in a reader's head, but the mystery that is presented for Batman and Hawkgirl is well done, allowing each of them to step forward and be the lead detective at one time or another. Each is allowed his and her expertise.

Fans of the comic book series or cartoon series will definitely want to pick this book up. In addition to showcasing Batman and Hawkgirl, the story is fun and quick, just the way an episode plays out. Parents will want to pick this book up for reluctant readers who enjoy the television show. Friedman's style and delivery are highly visual and those reluctant readers will have no problem at all imagining the adventures that the super-heroes share.

Friedman and Harrison did an excellent job in this book. The story arc covers nothing less than 300 or so years in the Trek universe. The co-authors go behind the story of the original Trek episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and present the story of the S.S. Valiant and what happened to it, its captain, and its crew beyond the galactic barrier. It also delves into the cause of Gary Mitchell's (Captain Kirk's crewman) transformation into a psychotic superman. Then, the main part of the book, set on the U.S.S Stargazer with Jean-Luc Picard as the second officer, seeks to expand on those stories a bit, and adds the problems of a new and violent alien race, descendents of the survivors of the Valiant who seem somewhat suspicious, a sneak attack that leaves Picard in command with an untrusting crew. The authors do a good job in presenting Picard as an imperfect person, devising imperfect solutions to difficult problems. Some may be offended because the Picard of TNG is not presented in this story, but how can he? If the story takes place when he is younger, you have to expect that he is not as wise as he is during TNG and that he might make some errors in judgment. Not to mention the fact that the authors also have to maintain continuity with what we learned in TNG -- that Picard did not receive a command posting for his efforts with the Stargazer in this story, because he was first office under Jack Crusher later in his tenure on the Stargazer, where yet again, he was forced to take command. This is a very good story, because it shows the very human and fallible face of Picard in his early life, which only makes us appreciate the character all the more in his later life. Picard is, in the end, like any one of us, trying to do what is right in an imperfect world with imperfect people. The only complaint I have was that I wished the Nuyyad race had been given a face and a reasoning behind their attacks.

What an interesting book. I truly enjoyed reading this one and let me tell you why.

We start out reading as to what happened to the U.S.S.Valiant and her crew... of course we all know what hapened when Kirk and his crew found that bouy with the warning. Well this gets into more detail as to what happened and the crew's struggle to survive. Captain Carlos Tarasco's decision to destroy the Valiant. Now, some might say this is a little like the Gary Mitchell episode but we have the same author and he is giving us a little more background. Now that ends Book 1 and we now proceed to Book 2.

Now, this is where the meat of the story is. We have a good look into the making of Jean-Luc Picard Number Two on the U.S.S. Stargazer. We have Starfleet sending the Stargazer to the galactic barrier to investigate a new threat to the Federation, aliens called the Nuyyad.

Starfleet gets this information via a couple of descendants from the ill-fated Valiant crew. The Stargazer picks up one of the survivors at Starbase 209 and her name is Santana. Now comes the interesting play... can the crew trust this newly found person? Capt. Ruhalter puts Picard in the position to find out... much to the dismay of the XO Leach. We find the making of Picard's character here... the Capt. grooming a younger officer... and the insecurity of the junior officer in his convictions. But, alas, as the Stargazer passes through the barrier the Capt dies and the XO is in a deep coma. Now we see true character of Picard begin to blossom. Jean-Luc finds that he is the highest ranking officer after crossing the galactic barrier. The Stargazer picked up a Kelvan prior to crossing the barrier to help fight the newly found Nuyyad as they have had prior knowledge of the Nuyyad's ship design and fighting capabilities.

We find out that the Magnians (Valiant descendants) distrust the Kelvans. Not only that but most of the Stargazer crew distrusts the Magnians. So Picard is now trying to get the crew behind him as well as he can... but we have saboteur aboard.

So we have the rather unorthodox but clever Picard trying to hold all of this together. He tells Capt. Ruhalter that Santana can be trusted over the objection of the XO. Next Picard takes the Stargazer to the Magnians' homeworld instead of back through the barrier and home jeopardizing the crew and the ability to warn Starfleet.

Knowing that a trap was set after getting to Magnia, Picard still trusted the Magnians and beamed aboard several more from the planet and gave them access to strategic systems and allowed their mental powers to be enhanced. Picard also removed the safeguards from the phaser technology... taking out a single enemy installation.

All of this interplays with the making of the character of what we know to be Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Mutiny, sabotage, all around distrust and a common enemy dig deep into well of Jean-Luc Picard's character.

A good fast read and background information. Read it and enjoy.

The Valiant tells the story of Picard taking command of the Stargazer. The story begins with the crew of the Valiant from the original series Star Trek episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and fills in information on what happened to that crew. Jump 300 years ahead to the Trek era just preceeding The Next Generation. Decendants of survivors of the Valiant appear to warn the Federation of a potential enemy on the other side of the galatic barrier. The Stargazer and crew are dispatched to see if the threat is real. The ship is attacked and the captain is killed and first officer incapacitated and Picard has to take over. Picard has to deal with a mutiny, a damaged ship, gain trust of the crew he now commands, deal with a Kelvin, and the new threat to the Federation. If you like space battles and action there is plenty in this book. We see characters that first appeared in Friedmans Star Trek book Reunion and their character development in this book helps explain their actions in the previous book. For fans of Star Trek this book is a must.

Suspensfull, well written, and entertaining; Reunion brings the old crew of Picards former command, the Stargazer, to the enterprise for a mission to the homeworld of one of Picards former officers, who has the fourtune of becoming the ruler of his homeworld. However, this joyous reunion is soon to become a nightmare, when someone is trying to kill members of the old stargazer crew.

Finding the killer will be a challenge, as they all have issues of one sort or another. To top it off, they find themselves in another emergency which threatens the entire ship, a subspace phenomena from which they must escape.

Suspensfull to the end, a great read. Only one cavet, at times I did feel the technical information was a bit dumbed down. A common patern was to explain the problem technically, then again explain in a simpler technical language, then once again in a very simple maner. While all accurate, it got a little annoying after a while, as if the author were attempting to make it so a sixth grader could understand it easily(perhaps?) Dispite this flaw, it is still an excellent mystery which captures the spirit of the Enterprise and Stargazer crews quite well.

An incredible story on the past of the Stargazer, and is very suspenseful to the very end. However, recommend readers to read the Valiant, also by Michael Jan Friedman, before you read this book. It gives even more surprise to the ending.

entangled in a web of mystery and emotion, this is a book you have to read, spellbonding and thought provoking, it's high on my rating as a startrek TNG book

I have read plenty of Michael Jan Friedman stories to know that he LOVES Star Trek, but I can always count on him to give me a less than stellar story...I can't put my finger on it, but let's just say they never seem to end up being all they COULD have been...and 'Crossover' is another example of what I mean. The idea of Reunification isn't original, however the way Friedman presents it here IS...but it just didn't seem to have that Trek magic I look for. Peter David certainly has it in HIS books, and so does Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, in fact these authors are TRUE serious Trek writers...but Friedman fails in his attempt to reach that 'something' that makes the story truly magical. It WAS an entertaining read, as are ALL of Friedman's Trek stories, but if you know what I'm talking about, they just lack something that makes them a little more special. But if you are looking for a Next Gen story that includes Spock, Scotty and a very old Admiral McCoy, then this story does seem to fit the bill. All in all, a good story (hence the 4-star rating) but not quite the cream of the crop.

The plot of this story is very, very good: Ambassador Spock is captured while breaking the laws of the Romulan Empire on Constanthus. Bringing in McCoy and Scottie, I thought, was brilliant and tying them into the Enterprise-D was a great idea. My problem with the book (and the reaon it didn't get a five) is that Friedman seems to be off in this book. I've read his works before and was very pleased with them, but in Crossover he seems to be lacking, almost if he didn't want to write this book but was pressured into doing so. I gave the book four stars because I'm a Trekkie and love pretty much everything Star Trek and because I enjoyed the story even though I was disappointed.

Croosover is one of those books that you can't put down. (I finished it in two days.) It was a page turner that kept you the edge of your pants and you never wanted it to stop. The story revoles around spock. He is working on his mission for Unifiing (sp) the Vulcans and the Romulans. He gets captured by the romulans and he find out that it was because of a spy. (I'm not going to tell you who because it would ruin the book for you.) Starfleet finds this out and sends the Enterprise-D to negotiate the Unificationist's release. They send a rep to help. That rep is Admiral Leonard H. McCoy. Meanwhile Scotty (Who is flying around in his shuttle) overhears the messege from Starfleet and he divises his own rescue plan. It is the various plotlines and characters the keep you reading. I grade it *Burns a five on to the side of a cow* A FIVE! By the way, if you were wondering what the best ST novel I have read. It is "Fallen Heroes" (ST: DS9 book no. 5)

I don't read Fantastic Four comics, so I can't say whether Michael Jan Friedman's novel successfully captures the spirit of the comic book. However, I must say that if it does, I won't be adding the FF to my comics buying list anytime soon.

The plot of "The Redemption of the Silver Surfer" seems promising enough. The FF are drawn into the Negative Zone by Blastaar, one of their old enemies, who enlists their help against Prodigion, who may or may not be a Negative Zone equivalent of Galactus, the eater of worlds. The Silver Surfer, Galactus's former Herald, joins the FF in the Negative Zone, where Prodigion perhaps offers him a chance for redemption. Hence the title.

However, Friedman's writing is childish and heavy-handed. There is no subtlety of characterization; the FF are essentially one-note cardboard-cutouts, and the Surfer's guilt is completely unconvincing. Given his past, I'd say it must have taken work to make him so shallow. Great job, Mr. Friedman. Furthermore, the is-Prodigion-good-or-bad question, which could have been interesting and raised hard ethical issues, gets old very fast. The ethics never get much more serious than "It's good to help people, and bad to hurt people." Wow. I never knew that. Thanks for telling me.

"Redemption" is a fast read, and fine to fill an otherwise empty afternoon, but I know comics can provide a lot more. One great thing about superhero comics (besides the action and ridiculous costumes) is their ability to cut to the heart of myths and archetypes, without having to worry about strict realism. "Redemption" keeps the action and impossible costumes, but it's novelization by the numbers. It has no deeper level. Hell, it doesn't even have a human level, to give the action even minimal coherence. And that hurts.

(The illustrations, on the other hand, are great! Pity there aren't more of them...)

This, like Countdown To Chaos is a very good read, and a must have for anyone who loves Fantastic Four and stories about the Negative Zone. I also would strongly recommend this for those who are fans of the Silver Surfer for this novel has some of the best characterization ever done on him in any work.

This book is amazing. I have read many novels that are based on comic book series, and some of them do not capture the essential spirit of the series. Fortunately, Michael Jan Friedman has done just that. He has wonderful characterizes the Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer perfectly, giving homage to their illustratrous past. Every detail he wrote and George Perez illustrated hold true to the FF comics. The story is fresh and original, with twists and unexpected turns.

It is well worth your money to read this, but as you can tell from the other reviews either you like it or you don't. Well, I love it! Excelsior!

The story told in this book is rather dull and boring. I had hoped for much better. It also failed one of my major criteria for a novel; it was never edited. At various points throughout the book Sulu is refered to as the navigator or helmsman. On particular scene has Uhura, seeing Chekov look at her, ponder about the navigator. The very next paragraph she is now ponder about the navigator (Sulu). Very annoying. In order to make this book more enjoyable I found myself visualizing very colorful "sign language" by various character. Sign language plays an important part in the story.

Overall, I was very disappointed in this book.

Books written by three authors tend to be either bland or disjointed. Bland because arguments over the story line led to a mushy compromise or disjointed as some of each authors ideas were incorporated into the book. Neither is the case here. This is a book in the finest tradition of the Star Trek model. The new characters are well drawn and we get to see a side of Commodore Wesley that was not apparent in the original series. Chronologically, the story also takes place shortly after Chekov first arrives on the Enterprise, and a subplot follows his first days on the Enterprise where he commits some errors of enthusiasm.
The book begins with devastating attacks being carried out on Federation colonies. At first the only point of the attacks appears to be the destruction of Federation sites. However, after a great deal of investigation, the purpose turns out to be much more sinister. The Enterprise engages the raiders and just manages to defeat them after learning of their origins.
This is one of the better books in the Star Trek series and I found it difficult to put it down.

Star Trek: The Disinherited by Peter David with Michael Jan Friedman and Robert Greenberger is a TREK tale told well. The collaboration of the three authors gives the story a full body of adventure as the characters are fleshed out. You get the feeling while reading this book that someone has spend some time writing this story.

As Kirk and crew, minus Uhura, speed off to save another Federation world suffering from an unknown space attack, only to find the worlds completely devastated. Ready adventure is apparent when the attacking fleet severly damages the Enterprise and make their escape.

But, Spock finds something of great interest that could make a difference in the fate of the Federation, let alone the Enterprise. Uhura is on a mission of her own... making this a two story adventure... working the plots of these stories together, the readers get a better picture of the adventure.

This is solid classic TREK told well and written to keep your interest with an ending only found in the TREK universe.

Fourtune's Light....a priceless jewled seal of a powerfull trading house, has been stolen and an old friend of Rikers is implicated with it's theft. He can't belive his friend would have done such a thing, and is sent on a mission to find his old friend, and the Fourtunes Light, which must be present for a merger between powerfull houses.

In the meantime, Riker askes Data to check out a holodeck program he's been working on while he's gone. I must say that Data's portraial is innacurate, and I find it hard to belive Data could be so inept(for his standards) at Baseball, and understanding the rules. Still, it's an interresting sub-plot which breaks up the intensity of Rikers mission.

Once underway, Riker and his partner on the planet discover a web of decit and criminal activity. To top it off, someone is now on to Riker and his partner and he's a target from people who want to keep the Fortune's Light hidden, as well as other plots which have far reaching consequences.

A decent, but not great book.

Star Trek - The Next Generation: Forture's Light written by Michael Jan Friedman is a well-written book involving a detective stroy plot mixed with sports fiction as the Enterprise crew trys to solve a mystery and recover a theft of the Madraga Criathis family seal the Fortune's Light... that is supposedly stolen by Teller Conlon one of Commander William Riker's best friends.

As this plot unfolds, William Riker is working on a baseball holodeck program and is called away to the surface of Dante Maxima Seven where the government is controlled by huge social/economic entites that control the general population, to find his friend Teller Conlon. Riker leaves the baseball program in the holodeck and Data tries it out. This plot gives Data a real workout with all of the baseball speak and the nuances of the game as Data tries to understand and play the game.

Both plots were well-written as they kept the readers interest, for two unlikely plots to blend together and form the backbone of the book's plots, they melded quite well. This book is well-toughtout as well as well-written and you can tell it by the way the book flows. The only thing that I can't see is Riker being a detective... he's more like a bull in a chna store type who's rough and tumble antics get him out of a lot of tight spots, but Friedman used this quality to an advantage as Riker is teamed up with a local woman who's sole purpose is to help Riker investigate and they run into a lot of impediments along the way. Riker is no "Columbo" but he gets the job done with action-adventure following along with the mystery.

I gave the book only four stars as the character development was a little shallow at times and the plot was rather predictable. Only for those reasons, otherwise the story flowed well and you were entertained as you read on it the book.

This book is a very good example of just how far good writing can take a mediocre concept. I was truly unimpressed with either of the plots in this book, yet found myself being drawn into it in spite of myself due to the excellence of the writing.

I suppose it is unfair to actually say that the plots are BAD. They do not, however, resonate with me at all. The primary plot is a detective and mystery fiction plot in which Riker has to unravel a mystery on a planet where a friend of his has disappeared, allegedly after stealing a priceless artifact. I'm not universally opposed to detective fiction, but I generally find that they don't work overwell as Star Trek plots, and I certainly don't see Riker as a viable Sam Spade type. Further, this plot just seemed rather blase, and it truly required exceptionally adroit writing to get me to care about it. In a way, I never did, but in spite of that, I found it difficult to put the book down toward the end, so Friedman must have been doing something right.

Furthermore, the secondary plot involved Data playing "major league" baseball on the holodeck, trying out a program that Riker had written for himself just before being called away on his mission. Again, I don't necessarily object to sports stories; one of my favorites is "If I Never Get Back", by Darryl Brock. But I don't much care for holdeck stories in general, even if they are merely subplots and not the major focus of the story, nor do I generally care for the "Data does something offbeat in an attempt to learn more about what it means to be human, and in the course of doing so, commits many amusingly silly faux-pas" type of story, of which this was certainly one. In fact, I generally don't believe that baseball and Star Trek mix well; it's one of the things that cause me to grit my teeth whenever it's brought into play in Deep Space Nine due to Ben Sisco's hobby. I certainly disliked the episode "Take Me Out To The Holodeck" about as much as I've disliked any Star Trek episode in any series.

So imagine my confusion to discover that I was actually enjoying the scenes in that subplot also, in spite of the fact that Friedman's apparent knowledge of baseball is somewhat limited, and his claim that both Data and Geordi would have difficulty understanding the concept of a curveball somewhat dubious.(I realize that for years engineering types swore that it was an optical illusion, because it was physically impossible. But those days are ALREADY behind us; certainly, engineers from three or four hundred years in the future should have no difficulty with the concept. Nor do I believe that it would be all that difficult for Data to track the trajectory of a curveball and hit it soundly.)

I find that I can't in good conscience give less that four stars to a book so well written as to be enjoyable and even captivating in spite of a basic concept that I simply can't see the point to, but neither can I give five stars to a book with such an unattractive concept. If you find the idea of mixing detective fiction AND spectator sports fiction with your Star Trek fascinating, you'll certainly love this book. If, as I did, you find either or both of these concepts seriously dubious, you might still like it. But if you're unwilling to deal with the cognitive dissonance produced by enjoying such an unattractive story concept, steer clear of this one.

ONCE AGAIN DATA USES HIS DETECTIVE REASONING TO SAVE THE DAY!HE LEARNS MORE ABOUT IT'S NOT WHAT EVERYONE ELSE DOES THAT COUNTS,IT'S WHAT YOU'VE GOT, THAT COUNTS, AND DON'T BE AFRAID TO USE IT! I LIKE THIS ALOT, CAUSE IT SHOWS ME,AND I FELT AS IF I WAS DATA. LOVE THE WAY THE LIZARD PEOPLE BECAME OUR FREINDS!

The Starship Enterprise and it's crew are scheduled for retirement when they are sent on one last mission to a hostile planet. McCoy's past becomes the center piece to the diplomatic solution. Friedman explores a deeper understanding of McCoy and gives the reader/star trek fan a greater appreciation for the stubborn doctor. You will see Bones in a different light after reading this book.

Star Trek: Shadows on the Sun written by Michael Jaan Friedman is a flashback novel with the primary character being Dr. Leonard McCoy. McCoy confronts his past in order to save the future, also we read of McCoy's past and why he left a wife behind.

It is refreshing to read a Star Trek book that kicks the James T. Kirk character to the back burner and highlights someone else as the lead character, is the case of "Shadows on the Sun" is just such a book.

We read about the successful young doctor McCoy with a storybook family, but McCoy is in for a betrayal from the woman he loves. Now, McCoy leaves everything he had on Earth and heads for outer space and a career in Starfleet. Everything is fine for forty years as McCoy makes a career in Starfleet, now a crises has developed on the planet of Ssan.

The Ssani have a long history of being assassins and the U.S.S. Enterprise and her crew are sent to negotiate a settlement with a group of mediators aboard. As the Enterprise is on the way McCoy meets his ex-wife after forty years as she is one of the negotiaters.

Of course nothing is going right with the Ssani as a matter of course, they use assassination as a matter of fact and a way of life."Shadow of the Sun" is a Ssani saying that means Sun is the image of viewing the life cycle and Shadow is the individual life. The individual casts a shadow on the the Sun of all life.

The mediators and Captain Kirk are now taken hostage as a Civil War rages and it is upto McCoy to draw from his past to save the negotiations and save the day. The narrative moves very quickly and the prose are true to the characters and McCoy is the stand out hero of the book. If you are a Dr. Leonard McCoy fan this is your book to read as the character of McCoy get fleshed out early in McCoys career through flashbacks.

I wasn't gonna write reviews today. I was just gonna read... Till I read this one. I would like to say this is my favorite Star Trek novel by my favorite author. McCoy was a trainee in a portion of this, they called him "trainee" ... so what? Some people have such strange reasons for hating novels. I agree with a previous review, the Shadows on the Sun ideal was described so perfectly. Ok, now what I thought: I love the flashback stuff, LOVED IT. The history of these characters we love so much is THE entire reason we love them. Where they came from IS who they are. This book does great in fleshing out the "trainees" (hehe) past. I love Friedman he's gutsy, would you want to take a character with a 30 year history and invent his past before the glaring eyes of millions? I wouldn't. Micheal Jan Friedmans novel is a must for McCoy fans and anyone who wants to know more about the "trainee" than they already knew. Buy it.