Of the five I've read (excluding Challenger), this was the most disappointing Gateways book. I am a huge TNG fan, but this book was very slow.I enjoyed Troi as Captain, but that was about it. And the crew of her ship had some personality.This book and the Deep Space 9 version, were the most integrated of the Gateways series. Between the two, most of the Gateways story is told, prior to the conclusion in book 7 and you will definitely want to read the conclusion. If you like a series, read these two for sure. You may not need to read Voyager, or New Frontier. If you don't like a series, these are the two to avoid. See my review on the others.