Star Trek: Stargazer: Oblivion   by Micheal Jan Friedman

An adventure story starring Captain Picard and Guinan (though he is not acquainted with her yet). The Stargazer (the captain's ship before he got the Enterprise) has been sent to extract a defector who has (allegedly) some useful information for Star Fleet. But there is interference from the Cardasians and others in the plan, and it turns into something of a hit-and-run adventure aboard a habitation composed of scrap hulls welded together and drifting through space.

In places it is quick and suspenseful, and mostly unpredictable but slightly preempts itself. The vocabulary is slightly limited, but the worst part is that the voice of the author is all over the place: sometimes it is in Picard's head, sometimes Guinan's, sometimes the Cardasians', and sometimes the defector's. Nothing is left to the imagination regarding the characters' actions (they don't have any feelings); their thoughts are all laid out in simple english.

I think this might be a good book to reccommend a twelve year old, if only to get him into reading. For me, it was a bit of easy reading, harmless fun, but I would rather have read something more grown up.