book 1: War Dragons (TOS) by L. A. Graf ~
This was my introduction to Star Trek fiction - and I'm glad it was a good experience.
I'd recommend this first book of The Captain's Table to all original series fans, especially fans of Sulu and Chekov. By the end of the book, it was truly Chekov's story - and details how he was affected by the death of his crew on the Reliant (Wrath of Khan).
There are two separate narratives, in alternating chapters. The first from Kirk's POV, his earlier days on the Enterprise with newly acquired officers Sulu and Uhura (details of her ascension through the ranks on board the Enterprise).
The second narrative is from Sulu's POV, as captain on his first major outing on the Excelsior, with first officer Chekov.
I will say that a good chunk of the story (about 3/4 of the way through) felt unnecessary (maybe 30-50 pgs), but it did pick up again and ended very well.
A little disappointing not to get a clearer picture of what The Captain's Table is - but that is to be expected, as this is the first of a series of 6 books - loosely connected through their relationship to that location. ****

book 2: Dujonian's Hoard (TNG) by Michael Jan Friedman
Picard's stint at The Captain's Table was a bit of a crawl for me. It seemed like tiny morsels doled out over a long period of time - a bit like the plot lines of 'choose your own adventure' stories. The chapters were three or four pages long - over the course of nearly 200 pages this became a bit silly. Much of these chapters were filler and seemingly an attempt to stretch the story to a predetermined page count.
What is good about the story is that it involves Picard and Worf, on their own (under cover)- I'm particularly interested in their relationship, now that it is known that Worf becomes Picard's choice for first lieutenant once Riker departs the Enterprise (post-Nemisis continuity).
It is a decent swash buckling jaunt with pirates, and there is a rare love interest between Picard and another character. In the end, there are no surprises and I was glad once I had finished the book. It was eminently put-downable, and I daydreamed about what to read next through much of the climactic chapters. ** 1/2

book 3: The Mist (Deep Space Nine) by Dean Wesley Smith
Easily my favorite of the first three novels in the Captain's Table series (sorry, haven't read the final three yet).
Dean Wesley Smith goes on my watch list for Star Trek fiction. The characterizations are seamless without being handled with clumsy exposition - and the command of language is just at the reading level I enjoy most. Never clunky and always clear with just the right level of sophistication.
The dialog is very good - so good, in fact, that I half believe the briefly alluded claim that the author himself may have spent some years working in a tavern.
The Mist is a great concept in a series that so often has to introduce a major threat at a regular pace - without the vehicle of the story seeming hokey and stale - an especially challenging thing in the DS9 setting since it is, for all intents and purposes, stationary in space.
I'm not going to go into spoiler territory - but I will say that the story carries a bit of a piracy vibe, but on a large and original scale. Originality, in the STU, isn't an easy thing to pull off - and I think it was accomplished here. I'll admit, however, that I'm not as well versed in the entire run of the series as I should be to make such a claim. It was original to me.
****1/2

Book 4: Fire Ship (Captain Janeway) by Diane Carey
My favorite of the first four Captain's Table books (I haven't read 5 or 6).
Janeway is taken away from everything she has - left broken physically and emotionally - and then begins to cope with the circumstance in a truly inspiring way.
I'm afraid that nearly everything I want to say about it is a spoiler of one kind or another - I'll just say that it was a good read, especially for a fan of Voyager that is most interested in Captain Janeway. While this may be borderline spoiler to say: she also finds herself in a situation where she is the only woman, for 95% of her tale, and among the challenges she faces it presents one of the most interesting threads throughout the story.
The Captain's Table 'framing device' that this series utilizes is hardly mentioned in this book, which I actually found to be a relief.
I'd been reading all of them in order and the CT concept wasn't holding my interest very much. ****1/2

my original intention was to read all 6 in a row and review them here - but after the 4th book, I can use a break. I don't want my introduction to Mackenzi to be in an anthology book - I'll look to the first New Frontier book for that. Also - rightly or wrongly, I'm not interested enough in Pike to read his story right now. I'll probably return to this series (this omnibus) down the line to check these out - because I am curious about whether or not the Captain's Table is more fleshed out or explained. And, of course, WTF is up with the Gecko.

So - going from the first 4 books, of 6 - my overall rating will stand at **** ( )