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Title | The Star Ghost
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Author | Brad Strickland
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Illustrator | Todd Cameron Hamilton
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Publisher | Pocket Books - 1994
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First Printing | Pocket Books - 1994
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Title | Stowaways
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Author | Brad Strickland
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Illustrator | Todd Cameron Hamilton
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Publisher | Pocket Books - 1994
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First Printing | Pocket Books - 1994
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Title | Prisoners of Peace
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Author | John Peel
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Illustrator | Todd Cameron Hamilton
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Publisher | Pocket Books - 1994
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First Printing | Pocket Books - 1994
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Title | The Pet
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Author | Mel Gilden & Ted Pedersen
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Illustrator | Todd Cameron Hamilton
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Publisher | Pocket Books - 1994
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First Printing | Pocket Books - 1994
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Title | Arcade
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Author | Diana G. Gallagher
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Cover Art | Todd Cameron Hamilton
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Publisher | Pocket Books - 1995
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First Printing | Pocket Books - 1995
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Title | Field Trip
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Author | John Peel
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Cover Art | Todd Cameron Hamilton
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Publisher | Aladdin Paperbacks - 1995
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First Printing | Aladdin Paperbacks - 1995
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Title | Gypsy World
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Author | Ted Pedersen
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Cover Art | Todd Cameron Hamilton
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Publisher | Aladdin Paperbacks - 1996
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First Printing | Aladdin Paperbacks - 1996
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Title | Highest Score
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Author | Kem Antilles
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Cover Art | ---
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Publisher | Aladdin Paperbacks - 1996
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First Printing | Aladdin Paperbacks - 1996
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Title | Cardassian Imps
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Author | Mel Gilden
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Illustrator | Todd Cameron Hamilton
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Publisher | Aladdin Paperbacks - 1997
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First Printing | Aladdin Paperbacks - 1997
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Title | Space Camp
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Author | Ted Pedersen
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Cover Art | Todd Cameron Hamilton
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Publisher | Pocket Books - 1997
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First Printing | Pocket Books - 1997
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Title | Honor Bound: Day of Honor
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Author | Diana G. Gallagher
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Cover Art | ---
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Publisher | Aladdin Paperbacks - 1997
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First Printing | Aladdin Paperbacks - 1997
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Title | Trapped in Time
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Author | Ted Pedersen
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Illustrator | Todd Cameron Hamilton
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Publisher | Aladdin Paperbacks - 1998
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First Printing | Aladdin Paperbacks - 1998
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Category | Science Fiction
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Warnings | None
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Main Characters | Jake, Nog and the rest of the DS9 crew, Alexander
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Main Elements | Aliens
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Website | ---
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The Star Ghost
While living on "Deep Space Nine", Jake Sisko has seen a lot of strange things, since his father, commander of the station, opened it to every lifeform who passes through this sector of space. But when Jake's Ferengi friend Nog says he's seen a ghost, Jake doesn't believe him, until a shimmering figure with glowing red eyes appears in Jake's quarters. Soon enough the spectre has Jake on a dangerous mission into the depths of the station, with the fate of "Deep Space Nine" resting on his boyish shoulders.
Stowaways
Jake Sisko and his best friend, Nog, make plans to sneak aboard a shuttle Doctor Bashir is piloting down to Bajor. After all, it's been a while since Jake has been on a planet. And they'll be back before Commander Sisko returns to Deep Space Nine from his diplomatic mission in a nearby star system. The boys expect to have a great time as they secretly follow the Doctor around and see the sights of Sakelo City. But what they see terrifies them as they watch the doctor being kidnapped.
Now with the help of a Bajoran girl, Sesana, Jake and Nog strike out on their own to find the doctor. First the three friends must make their way through the dangerous territory that surrounds the city. But finding the doctor in the Bajoran wastelands is only part of their problem. Then Jake and Nog have to rescue Doctor Bashir from an army of killers without getting captured themselves.
Prisoners of Peace
Life suddenly gets interesting on Deep Space Nine when a new student turns up in Jake and Nog's class: Riv Jakar, a Bajoran boy whose parents were killed by Cardassians. Riv thinks school and hanging out on the Promenade are a waste of time. Instead he is determined to join the Bajoran freedom fighters in their battle against the Cardassians. When Jake, Nog, and their friends Ashley and T'Ara are investigating some mysterious incidents on the station they discover a stowaway, a Cardassian girl named Kam. She is the daughter of a high-placed Cardassian official who has just shown up at Deep Space Nine with eight warships, demanding the return of his daughter.
But Riv has other plans for Kam, and it's up to Jake and Nog to save her before Riv starts a new war.
The Pet
It's the anniversary of the discovery of the Wormhole, and ships from all over the galaxy are headed to Deep Space Nine to celebrate. When the freighter Ulysses docks at DS9, an animal escapes from one of the crewmembers and heads straight for Jake Sisko. It does not speak or eat, but loves to play ball! Since the furry little creature presents no threat to the station and the owner is under investigation by Security Chief Odo, Commander Sisko allows Jake and Nog to keep the pet until the situation can be straightened out.
Besides, the Commander has more important things to worry about. For starters, a huge new ship has come through the Wormhole and its captain is threatening to blow up the station unless his Crown Prince is returned—unfortunately for Sisko, he's never seen the prince. Also, mysterious creatures have begun terrorizing the station. With time running out, Sisko and his crew search the station for clues, while Jake and Nog try to save their pet from an alien's evil plan.
Arcade
Mind Games
There's a new player on the Promenade: a Ferengi shop-owner, Bokat. His Games Bazaar specializes in hard-to-find virtual reality computer games. He approaches Jake Sisko and Nog with a tempting offer to play a hot new game called the Zhodran Crystal Quest. No non-Zhodran player has ever won this game, but then Jake and Nog have the best scores on all the other games at the Games Bazaar. And Bokat is willing to bet on their ability to win the game, and—as a result—win Bokat a lucrative business deal with the Zhodrans.
But soon, kids all over the station are falling into comas, their minds trapped in an ever-changing game. Suddenly, it's up to Jake to go into the game and rescue them. If he wins, so does the Federation. If he loses, he'll be trapped forever in a deadly game with a very real Borg!
Field Trip
Ever since the Wormhole was discovered as a shortcut to the far off Gamma Quadrant, Jake Sisco has wanted to go through it, as the trip is a once in a lifetime experience. After much urging from her students, Keika O'Brien is leading a trip to a safe, boring planet. What could possibly go wrong?
Gypsy World
The Fjori star trader Orak is strictly off-limits as it docks at the repair bay on Deep Space Nine. But Jake and Nog can't resist the challenge to steal a look at the Fjori star maps and find the secret Fjori home planet, Eden. It's all a wonderful adventure - until they're caught.
Highest Score
Jake and Nog have hit the jackpot playing holo videogames in the Amusement Arcade. An alien named Kwiltek has offered them jobs helping him run remote-controlled mining operations on a distant planet where dull mining is turned into a thrilling video game. In the "gaming room, " teams of kids work together monitoring the operations by remote control, loading cargo and defending against the most frightening "threats" they've ever seen on-screen. "Now" Jake and Nog can show their stuff! Soon they're competing with other alien kids to see who can haul the most ore.
It's the ultimate game -- "with pay!" Until the night Jake and Nog slip into the command center and see a roomful of screens displaying real-life images of a devastated world where desperate natives are under attack by fighters that look "very" familiar! Suddenly the game is over -- and the nightmare begins . . .
Cardassian Imps
Jake and Nog are looking for action - in all the wrong places. They've played all the family holosuite games - and the adult games are strictly off-limits. So when Garak, the only Cardassian on Deep Space Nine, suggests a trip to the unknown depths of Level 45, they're ready to go. When they arrive on the musty, abandoned deck, they find a funny Cardassian toy that says "Moop" when activated.
And then they discover the replicator button on the toy. Perfect! They can replicate enough "Moops" for a baseball game. But suddenly the figures that stand before them are as tall as Nog - and they're replicating themselves!
Space Camp
Commander Sisko has made Jake an offer he can't refuse -- the chance to attend Starfleet Academy Summer Space Camp on Rijar, once home to an ancient civilization, now an archaeologist's dream. Jake's father has even agreed to send Nog. Jake is looking forward to the adventure and maybe finding something in the ruins to write a story about. But from the day they arrive it's a disaster!
The best friends are on their way to becoming worst enemies -- until an accident triggers the countdown of a megabomb that threatens the entire planet! Jake and Nog lead an expedition into the catacombs under the base in a desperate race against time. Their only hope is a terrifying voyage into cyberspace to gain control of the ticking bomb that is about to explode...
Honor Bound: Day of Honor
There is no occasion more sacred to the Klingons than the Day of Honor. And to the Klingon youth, honor is a lesson heard-learned and harder-earned. The hunter instinct is taking over Alexander, driving him to violence when he can't control his emerging Klingon traits. He's in trouble at school when his father, Worf, gives his word as a Starfleet officer that Alexander's behavior will change. But it takes a frightening confession from Worf before Alexander understands that he must learn to control himself or lose everything he loves. A Klingon is honor-bound to keep his word, at any cost. And Alexander is about to pay the price as he faces disgrace and dishonor for challenging his bullying classmates with character instead of force.
Trapped in Time
A blast to the past! Jake Sisko is wondering where life will take him next... and the answer is the past!
Chief O'Brien has promised to deliver a gift to a physicist, Professor Jonathan Vance. And Jake and Nog are allowed to accompany him to France. Vance shows them his "time machine", the first one ever to control time jumps with accuracy. When his assistant, Kruger, attacks him and steals the control device, Jake, Nog and O'Brien leap through the portal after him. They find themselves in Normandy, France, in 1944 during the middle of World War II. With Kruger joining the ranks of the Third Reich as a colonel, history is about to be changed forever. Can they stop Kruger from informing Hitler that a secret invasion will happen in Normandy?
I actually own a copy of The Star Ghost so when I found OpenLibrary had the whole collection I finally decided on what piece of the GIANT Star Trek lit-verse I would tackle first. These only take an hour or two each to read and they are great fun. As a YA (in fact middle-grade really) series, it of course centers on the adventures of Jake and Nog, who apparently did all kinds of crazy things we never got to see in the TV series. Of course, in books meant for kids, it is the kids that have to save the day, with minimal adult help. So while sometimes it doesn't make any sense that they don't go for help and try to solve the problems themselves, that's to be expected in the genre.
Otherwise, I must say they are very, well, Star Trek. Life and death situations occur, but are usually resolved by reaching out to the good in the other person/alien/thing. A creature might appear terrifying at first, but given a moment or two to get to know them, you realize they are actually there to warn you of great danger. Or an animal must be saved from a trader wanting to make a quick buck, because even animals shouldn't be treated as a thing.
And if the two boys need some additional help, there are often other kids around to help them out.
I found them a little silly, but you know, Star Trek had gotten a little dark lately, what with Picard and Discovery. I grew up on the shiny and bright Next Generation so I kind of like this return to the lighter side of things, where stuff happens but you know in your head by the end of the episode (of the book) things will mostly go back to the way they were ready for the next installment. I feel having a little of both is a good thing. Star Trek was meant to make us feel good about the future, and about the people around us, to give us hope. But at the same time we're not stupid, we know dark things will happen, that everything won't be perfect. But if you want a little happy stuff while you watch the second season of Picard and the fourth of Discovery, this kids series can help liven things up a bit.
And as the series goes along, there are a couple like Arcade and Highest Score that actually start to touch on themes that you might find in books like Ender's Game. And then there's Cardassian Imps...if that wasn't one trippy weird story I don't know what is!
The second to last book, Honor Bound: Day of Honor is part of another series which touches on every version of Star Trek of the time (Original, TNG, DS9, DS9 Kids, TNG Kids, Voyager) and explores a different Klingon character celebrating the Day of Honor. This didn't involve Jake and Nog but allowed another "kid", Alexander, to get the spotlight for a while.
To wrap up, the last story was particularly entertaining and an excellent place to wrap up. While all the books that came before were about Jake and Nog getting in trouble on the station, in this last book Nog is in Starfleet Academy and the kids are growing up. There's a little bit of silly time travel, but I must admit I smiled when I realized how the story was going to end when they go back in time to World War II France and run into a couple of French resistance fighters named Jean and Maurice...
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