The Valiant

Written by Michael Jan Friedman

Narrated by Anthony Stewart Head

Three hundred years ago, the S.S. Valiant was destroyed during an ill-fated attempted 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. Starfleet orders the U.S.S. Stargazer to investigate at once.

Lieutenant Commander Jean-Luc Picard is second office on the Stargazer and 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. Picard finds himself in command - trapped on the wrong side of the Barrier, cut off from Starfleet. 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!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Apr 1, 2000
• ISBN: 9780743519595

Michael Jan Friedman

Michael Jan Friedman is the author of nearly sixty books of fiction and nonfiction, more than half of which bear the name Star Trek or some variation thereof. Ten of his titles have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. He has also written for network and cable television, radio, and comic books, the Star Trek: Voyager® episode “Resistance” prominent among his credits. On those rare occasions when he visits the real world, Friedman lives on Long Island with his wife and two sons.

Reviews for The Valiant

[lunza_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Friedman is prolific, but, like many other writers in this genre, he leaves me a little disappointed. (Not disappointed enough to stop buying what he writes just because his name is on it ...)

[gilroy_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Even though the audio book says it's unabridged, it feels so short (only 3 hours) compared to full length books in audio for other companies. Yet this is what Simon and Schuster has done. The shortening and the narrator have thoroughly unimpressed me to this point. I think this would have been much better if Michael Dorn had read it.

[cataloger623 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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