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Star Trek: New Frontier #1-4
New Frontier
The ancient Thallonian Empire has collapsed, throwing an entire sector of the galaxy into chaos and unrest. Billions of sentient beings are faced with starvation, warfare, and worse. Faced with a tragedy of interstellar proportions, Starfleet assembles a new, handpicked crew to help where it can and report what it finds. Captain Mackenzie Calhoun, recommended by Jean-Luc Picard himself, takes command of the U.S.S. Excalibur, which is manned by Starfleet's best and brightest, including some old friends from Star The Next Generation and some of the most dynamic new characters ever to boldly go where no one has gone before! This special hardcover edition contains the first thrilling adventure that launched Star Trek into a new frontier. It also contains a pull-out full-color print of all of the characters and a special "minipedia" guide to the people, places, and things that make up the New Frontier universe!
694 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
127 people are currently reading
291 people want to read
About the author
Peter David
3,568 books1,363 followersaka David Peters
Peter Allen David, often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.
Peter Allen David, often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.
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September 17, 2019
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5/5
Star Trek: New Frontier is the father of the modern Star Trek Expanded Universe. Much like Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy created the modern Star Wars Expanded Universe, so did Peter David's adventures of Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the U.S.S Excalibur create the foundations on which all others would follow. Star Trek fiction existed before this massive multi-book series, existed in books by the hundreds in-fact, but it was continuity-less and insubstantial as a cloud to the greater universe. I hesitate to use the word licensed fan fiction, because some of it was really good, but that's how Paramount viewed it. Flattering, fun to read, but lacking in consistency and unimportant in the grand scheme of things.
New Frontier changed that by providing a self-contained universe written entirely by Peter David, carrying the consequences from one story to the next. For over twenty years, the adventures of Captain Calhoun have entertained fans of Star Trek and created a bedrock to let publishers know fans were willing to follow original characters into the void. Thanks to the existence of Discovery, Star Trek is no longer in need of the Expanded Universe to continue its legacy but I still love these classic books written by Peter David. So what do I have to say about this series, now that I've talked it up for so long? It is very-very silly.
No, seriously, that's what you should understand before you pick up this volume and read a word of it. Peter David is a comic book writer, one of my favorite if not my favorite, and I mean that in both tenses of the word. The adventures of Captain Calhoun and his wacky crew trump the Original Series in terms of ridiculousness, are often prone to comedy skits, and include a race of Ewok-shaped evil wizards. If the idea of a planet-sized egg for a being not-too-dissimilar to the Phoenix from the X-men comics offends you, this may not be the series for you.
The strange thing is, New Frontier is still capable of generating drama and pathos despite its occasional verges into utter insanity. I care about the characters of the U.S.S. Excalibur more than I care about a lot of fictional characters. The death of billions during the Star Trek Destiny series affected me less than than the loss of some crew members here. This is definitely a book series where your mileage may vary but I recommend checking them out just in case. I freely admit it was a strong influence on my writing and helped make me the die hard satirical nerd I am in books like The Rules of Supervillainy and Lucifer's Star.
Now that I've discussed the series as a whole to death, I'll mention the omnibus itself. It's not actually an omnibus but the original novel that the publishers broke into four novellas for reasons of, "we believe it'll sell better this way." The premise is brilliance in itself and I've replicated it a dozen times for my tabletop Star Trek games. A big Romulan Empire-sized territory called the Thallonian Empire has collapsed, leaving dozens of star systems anarchic and without leadership. The Federation, fearing a humanitarian crisis on an epic scale, sends a lone starship into the chaos to patch things up. It is captained by the second most renegade/rules-ignoring Captain in Starfleet history (the most being Chris Pine's Captain Kirk).
Captain Mackenzie Calhoun is a former planetary warlord who joined Starfleet after liberating his planet from oppressive alien rule. He's also spent the past six years on undercover assignments for Admiral Nechayev, doing the sorts of things Section 31 would do if it had been invented yet out-of-universe. His crew is a similar collection of misfits including straight woman Shelby from "The Best of Both Worlds", Robin Lefler (Wesley's girlfriend played by Ashley Judd), a hermaphrodite alien engineer, one-off TNG character Selar, an exiled alien dictator, and the cast from Peter David's Starfleet Academy books. It's not the sort of cast which immediately excites you but the way they interact is delightful. Assuming, you know, you throw out all sense that Starfleet has any discipline whatsoever.
This is a book filled with action, adventure, comedy, and oddball office quirks that somehow don't detract from the story. Peter David did something very much as we'd think of as "Whedon-esque" humor well before Whedon had hit it big. This is because he combines his comic book writing skills with a deep love of Star Trek's lore to create something bizarre. This is clearly the oddest ship in the Federation and that's not a bad place to be.
The first four books aren't perfect. I'm not too fond of the way that Shelby conducts herself around Calhoun, I think Burgoyne (the hermaphrodite engineer) treats Selar in a manner dangerously close to sexual harassment, and the best moments for our captain are usually when his brother is humiliating him. Despite this, the humor and sense of adventure is nearly beyond compare in the EU. Check them out, I suspect you'll find them well worth it.
5/5
Star Trek: New Frontier is the father of the modern Star Trek Expanded Universe. Much like Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy created the modern Star Wars Expanded Universe, so did Peter David's adventures of Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the U.S.S Excalibur create the foundations on which all others would follow. Star Trek fiction existed before this massive multi-book series, existed in books by the hundreds in-fact, but it was continuity-less and insubstantial as a cloud to the greater universe. I hesitate to use the word licensed fan fiction, because some of it was really good, but that's how Paramount viewed it. Flattering, fun to read, but lacking in consistency and unimportant in the grand scheme of things.
New Frontier changed that by providing a self-contained universe written entirely by Peter David, carrying the consequences from one story to the next. For over twenty years, the adventures of Captain Calhoun have entertained fans of Star Trek and created a bedrock to let publishers know fans were willing to follow original characters into the void. Thanks to the existence of Discovery, Star Trek is no longer in need of the Expanded Universe to continue its legacy but I still love these classic books written by Peter David. So what do I have to say about this series, now that I've talked it up for so long? It is very-very silly.
No, seriously, that's what you should understand before you pick up this volume and read a word of it. Peter David is a comic book writer, one of my favorite if not my favorite, and I mean that in both tenses of the word. The adventures of Captain Calhoun and his wacky crew trump the Original Series in terms of ridiculousness, are often prone to comedy skits, and include a race of Ewok-shaped evil wizards. If the idea of a planet-sized egg for a being not-too-dissimilar to the Phoenix from the X-men comics offends you, this may not be the series for you.
The strange thing is, New Frontier is still capable of generating drama and pathos despite its occasional verges into utter insanity. I care about the characters of the U.S.S. Excalibur more than I care about a lot of fictional characters. The death of billions during the Star Trek Destiny series affected me less than than the loss of some crew members here. This is definitely a book series where your mileage may vary but I recommend checking them out just in case. I freely admit it was a strong influence on my writing and helped make me the die hard satirical nerd I am in books like The Rules of Supervillainy and Lucifer's Star.
Now that I've discussed the series as a whole to death, I'll mention the omnibus itself. It's not actually an omnibus but the original novel that the publishers broke into four novellas for reasons of, "we believe it'll sell better this way." The premise is brilliance in itself and I've replicated it a dozen times for my tabletop Star Trek games. A big Romulan Empire-sized territory called the Thallonian Empire has collapsed, leaving dozens of star systems anarchic and without leadership. The Federation, fearing a humanitarian crisis on an epic scale, sends a lone starship into the chaos to patch things up. It is captained by the second most renegade/rules-ignoring Captain in Starfleet history (the most being Chris Pine's Captain Kirk).
Captain Mackenzie Calhoun is a former planetary warlord who joined Starfleet after liberating his planet from oppressive alien rule. He's also spent the past six years on undercover assignments for Admiral Nechayev, doing the sorts of things Section 31 would do if it had been invented yet out-of-universe. His crew is a similar collection of misfits including straight woman Shelby from "The Best of Both Worlds", Robin Lefler (Wesley's girlfriend played by Ashley Judd), a hermaphrodite alien engineer, one-off TNG character Selar, an exiled alien dictator, and the cast from Peter David's Starfleet Academy books. It's not the sort of cast which immediately excites you but the way they interact is delightful. Assuming, you know, you throw out all sense that Starfleet has any discipline whatsoever.
This is a book filled with action, adventure, comedy, and oddball office quirks that somehow don't detract from the story. Peter David did something very much as we'd think of as "Whedon-esque" humor well before Whedon had hit it big. This is because he combines his comic book writing skills with a deep love of Star Trek's lore to create something bizarre. This is clearly the oddest ship in the Federation and that's not a bad place to be.
The first four books aren't perfect. I'm not too fond of the way that Shelby conducts herself around Calhoun, I think Burgoyne (the hermaphrodite engineer) treats Selar in a manner dangerously close to sexual harassment, and the best moments for our captain are usually when his brother is humiliating him. Despite this, the humor and sense of adventure is nearly beyond compare in the EU. Check them out, I suspect you'll find them well worth it.
August 11, 2009
This omnibus consists of four ST:NF books: "House of Cards", "Into the Void", "The Two-Front War" and "End Game". ST:NF basically tells the stories of the USS Excalibur and its crew - and it's so good! The truth is that you need to read these four books together because they tell one story, they are not stand-alone.
I love the characters, they are real heroes in the old sense of the word. The female characters are strong without being bitchy or arrogant. And the plot, I really like it. It would have been great to see the special effects on screen. But the best part? The dialogs! The book is not dark and gloomy, it's fun and full of adventure and the banter - especially between Si Cwan and Kebron - is hilarious!
Conclusion? I will definitely keep buying books in this series, that's for sure!
I love the characters, they are real heroes in the old sense of the word. The female characters are strong without being bitchy or arrogant. And the plot, I really like it. It would have been great to see the special effects on screen. But the best part? The dialogs! The book is not dark and gloomy, it's fun and full of adventure and the banter - especially between Si Cwan and Kebron - is hilarious!
Conclusion? I will definitely keep buying books in this series, that's for sure!
May 30, 2010
Peter David starts his own Star Trek series and continues his tradition of writing Star Trek stories with off the wall characters and plenty of humor sprinkled in.
This particular edition has the first four books together in one volume (as it should be since they're all one big happy book): House of Cards, Into the Void, The Two-Front War, End Game.
House of Cards starts by introducing M'k'n'zy of Calhoun, who barely out of his teens liberates his homeworld Xenex from the Danteri. Captain Picard visits the planet on a diplomatic mission and convinces him to join Starfleet where he becomes Mackenzie Calhoun.
We also meet Soleta, a half Vulcan who is imprisoned while visiting the Thallonian homeworld but escapes with the help of Ambassador Spock and Si Cwan.
In the present, the Thallonian empire is falling apart. The government has mostly been executed and refugees flee the area. Commander Riker suggests that one Starship be assigned to the area to help deal with relations and Picard recommends Mackenzie Calhoun, much to Admiral Jellico's chagrin.
The rest of the characters fall into place. Elizabeth Shelby becomes first officer. She used to be Calhoun's fiancee. Zak Kebron is the Brikar chief of security. He is a Brikar of few words and also very formidable. Burgoyne 172 is the Hermat engineer who is both male and female. Mark McHenry is the navigator who never seems to be paying attention but knows what is going on. Robin Lefler is running ops. Add Soleta as science officer, Selar as the doctor and Si Cwan as the ambassador/stowaway and the crew is complete.
"Shall I break him in half, sir."
This particular edition has the first four books together in one volume (as it should be since they're all one big happy book): House of Cards, Into the Void, The Two-Front War, End Game.
House of Cards starts by introducing M'k'n'zy of Calhoun, who barely out of his teens liberates his homeworld Xenex from the Danteri. Captain Picard visits the planet on a diplomatic mission and convinces him to join Starfleet where he becomes Mackenzie Calhoun.
We also meet Soleta, a half Vulcan who is imprisoned while visiting the Thallonian homeworld but escapes with the help of Ambassador Spock and Si Cwan.
In the present, the Thallonian empire is falling apart. The government has mostly been executed and refugees flee the area. Commander Riker suggests that one Starship be assigned to the area to help deal with relations and Picard recommends Mackenzie Calhoun, much to Admiral Jellico's chagrin.
The rest of the characters fall into place. Elizabeth Shelby becomes first officer. She used to be Calhoun's fiancee. Zak Kebron is the Brikar chief of security. He is a Brikar of few words and also very formidable. Burgoyne 172 is the Hermat engineer who is both male and female. Mark McHenry is the navigator who never seems to be paying attention but knows what is going on. Robin Lefler is running ops. Add Soleta as science officer, Selar as the doctor and Si Cwan as the ambassador/stowaway and the crew is complete.
"Shall I break him in half, sir."
December 16, 2015
I've read a couple of the later New Frontier novels & have been wanting to get started reading the series from the beginning & I'm glad I finally got down to it. I thought it was fun easy reading. Maybe slightly too predictable, but still good ST entertainment. I'm looking forward to continuing the series.
January 11, 2016
My first geek love was Star Trek. Star Wars later stole it away, but it was the crews of Enterprise D and Deep Space Nine that I thoroughly adored. When I went to university, Voyager was midway through and I quickly lost interest, barely touched Enterprise, and was pretty appalled by Nemesis. But things weren't much better in the other franchise either.
Then there was a saviour. J J Abrams helmed a triumphic reboot of Star Trek and I was reminded how great a series it was. I still didn't do that much other than re-watch my favourite of the older movies and the Borg saga from The Next Generation. As I mentioned in the other Peter David post, I kept glancing toward New Frontier, but never got round to it. Until now. And it was brilliant.
New Frontier follows the adventures of the Starship Excalibur. A ship seen once or twice during the time of The Next Generation, here is given a full crew and series. Seen before in TNG could be a hallmark of New Frontier, as half its cast is made up of characters that guest starred in an episode or two. People like Robin Lefler as played by Ashley Judd, and Commander Shelby from Best of Both Worlds. But it's to David's credit that this never becomes the selling point of the series. It not only helps concrete the book in the world of Star Trek (should that be Galaxy?), but he nails the characters. More on that later.
But first the negative, if it can really be called that. Thank the Great Bird of the Galaxy I got the first four books as one collection. First of all they form one big story. There are separate incidents in there that make them work stand alone too, but mostly they're used as cliffhangers. It's comics writing in novel format, which is ironic considering how I first came to now PAD, but I'm not a hundred percent sure how I feel about that.
Also what would have been the first book is all prequel. You get the back story of Captain Mackenzie Calhoun, and a few other members of the cast, all taking place over the course of twenty years. But PAD pulls it off well. The stories are genuinely interesting, and the cameos certainly help. Hell, part of the book is all about the Next Generation crew. Read as a whole it didn't bother me in the slightest, but I couldn't help but feel that if I was just reading Book 1, I might feel a bit hard done by. Another part of what saves it is PAD's handling of the well established Next Generation crew and a few others. They all sound exactly how they should. In fact with Picard and Spock, David is so on target that as I read the lines I heard them as Patrick Stewart and Leonard Nimoy.
Then the ending not only mirrors the very beginning brilliantly, but feels like it could be straight out of the original series with Kirk. New Frontier really does capture the essence of Star Trek as a whole, and yet still feels like it's doing its own thing. If you're looking for something new in what has now become the Prime Universe, or even just something to keep you going between Abrams movies, this is definitely worth picking up. I'm already eyeing up the next two books. And yes, that early reference to the Great Bird is a reference to not only Gene Roddenberry, but something in the book itself. Something that had me grinning like a child every time I read it.
Then there was a saviour. J J Abrams helmed a triumphic reboot of Star Trek and I was reminded how great a series it was. I still didn't do that much other than re-watch my favourite of the older movies and the Borg saga from The Next Generation. As I mentioned in the other Peter David post, I kept glancing toward New Frontier, but never got round to it. Until now. And it was brilliant.
New Frontier follows the adventures of the Starship Excalibur. A ship seen once or twice during the time of The Next Generation, here is given a full crew and series. Seen before in TNG could be a hallmark of New Frontier, as half its cast is made up of characters that guest starred in an episode or two. People like Robin Lefler as played by Ashley Judd, and Commander Shelby from Best of Both Worlds. But it's to David's credit that this never becomes the selling point of the series. It not only helps concrete the book in the world of Star Trek (should that be Galaxy?), but he nails the characters. More on that later.
But first the negative, if it can really be called that. Thank the Great Bird of the Galaxy I got the first four books as one collection. First of all they form one big story. There are separate incidents in there that make them work stand alone too, but mostly they're used as cliffhangers. It's comics writing in novel format, which is ironic considering how I first came to now PAD, but I'm not a hundred percent sure how I feel about that.
Also what would have been the first book is all prequel. You get the back story of Captain Mackenzie Calhoun, and a few other members of the cast, all taking place over the course of twenty years. But PAD pulls it off well. The stories are genuinely interesting, and the cameos certainly help. Hell, part of the book is all about the Next Generation crew. Read as a whole it didn't bother me in the slightest, but I couldn't help but feel that if I was just reading Book 1, I might feel a bit hard done by. Another part of what saves it is PAD's handling of the well established Next Generation crew and a few others. They all sound exactly how they should. In fact with Picard and Spock, David is so on target that as I read the lines I heard them as Patrick Stewart and Leonard Nimoy.
Then the ending not only mirrors the very beginning brilliantly, but feels like it could be straight out of the original series with Kirk. New Frontier really does capture the essence of Star Trek as a whole, and yet still feels like it's doing its own thing. If you're looking for something new in what has now become the Prime Universe, or even just something to keep you going between Abrams movies, this is definitely worth picking up. I'm already eyeing up the next two books. And yes, that early reference to the Great Bird is a reference to not only Gene Roddenberry, but something in the book itself. Something that had me grinning like a child every time I read it.
October 5, 2013
Peter David's New Frontier series has kept the fire burning for those of us who love the Trek franchise. In this Hardcover four-story offering we receive some of David's best and most creative writing. There is no doubt that his work stands shoulders above other Trek stories, an amazing feat given there are some 500+ literary novels; last I checked.
House of Cards: In this first installment we are introduced to our main characters as they transverse their separate storylines. Apart from each other we learn their individual strengths as they prove what they are made of and watch as they struggle through dire circumstances sometimes narrowly adverting death itself.
Into the Void: Coming in at only 150 pages we read as our newly joined crew settles into their Galaxy Class starship the USS EXCALIBUR. While desperately seeking answers to the conflict surrounding them they also struggle to become accustomed to each other. Not making things any easier for the crew they find a stowaway who may bring death of them all.
The Two-Front War: Continuing on with the bold tradition set forth by the first two novels the reader is introduced to a new species and their home. Playing off their victimhood the guests to the EXCALIBUR unweave an intricate web of subterfuge. Meanwhile a character from past tales fights for the life of a missing family member.
End Game: Wrapping up the four-part series End Game ties together story threads left dangling from the previous three tales. Dealing with refugees from the Two-Front War the crew must struggle to resolve a plethora of problems that have come to a boiling point. If those weren't problem enough a dark issue from the crews past comes back to haunt them.
I am a huge fan of this series and I'm extremely happy that these stories are in Hardcover form(I can't stand paperback books). If you are a fan of Star Trek: TNG then you'll be right at home with this series. Even if you are new to the Expanded Universe of Trek I have no doubt that you'll enjoy these books.
House of Cards: In this first installment we are introduced to our main characters as they transverse their separate storylines. Apart from each other we learn their individual strengths as they prove what they are made of and watch as they struggle through dire circumstances sometimes narrowly adverting death itself.
Into the Void: Coming in at only 150 pages we read as our newly joined crew settles into their Galaxy Class starship the USS EXCALIBUR. While desperately seeking answers to the conflict surrounding them they also struggle to become accustomed to each other. Not making things any easier for the crew they find a stowaway who may bring death of them all.
The Two-Front War: Continuing on with the bold tradition set forth by the first two novels the reader is introduced to a new species and their home. Playing off their victimhood the guests to the EXCALIBUR unweave an intricate web of subterfuge. Meanwhile a character from past tales fights for the life of a missing family member.
End Game: Wrapping up the four-part series End Game ties together story threads left dangling from the previous three tales. Dealing with refugees from the Two-Front War the crew must struggle to resolve a plethora of problems that have come to a boiling point. If those weren't problem enough a dark issue from the crews past comes back to haunt them.
I am a huge fan of this series and I'm extremely happy that these stories are in Hardcover form(I can't stand paperback books). If you are a fan of Star Trek: TNG then you'll be right at home with this series. Even if you are new to the Expanded Universe of Trek I have no doubt that you'll enjoy these books.
December 10, 2019
Dire.
I read and reviewed each volume in this collection separately, so this is basically just for my own records. The rating is an average of the individual ratings - basically, everything got one star bar the first book, House of Cards, which got a very reluctant two stars. I'm still not convinced it deserved it. Look, there's just a host of problems here. There's plot problems, editing problems, I cannot appreciate the smug and smirking tone of it all, but above everything else, the characters are terrible. Characterisation is paper-thin, but the worst of the lot by a country mile is Captain Calhoun, who is a 14 year old boy's wet dream of what a hero should be. I have a particular loathing, however, for how three of the women characters have been presented. The first officer once had a romantic relationship with the captain, and is forever on the edge of blurting out how much she still wants him, while the bulk of her time is spent on, and I quote, "moralistic carping" which is ultimately designed to show how right said captain is, all the time. Another is the product of rape, and weepily traumatised by it. The third is a Vulcan who killed her husband with sex and has intimacy issues because of it, complicated by the fact that she's going though pon farr. None of the men are presented in this desperately needy, emotional way. It irks.
To be honest, I have difficulty understanding how something this poorly written got published in the first place. Given the plethora of fanfic out there that is intelligent, subtle, thoughtful, and just extraordinarily well-written, that the official tie-ins can descend to this level of crap is enormously dispiriting. No wonder I spend my time on Ao3.
I read and reviewed each volume in this collection separately, so this is basically just for my own records. The rating is an average of the individual ratings - basically, everything got one star bar the first book, House of Cards, which got a very reluctant two stars. I'm still not convinced it deserved it. Look, there's just a host of problems here. There's plot problems, editing problems, I cannot appreciate the smug and smirking tone of it all, but above everything else, the characters are terrible. Characterisation is paper-thin, but the worst of the lot by a country mile is Captain Calhoun, who is a 14 year old boy's wet dream of what a hero should be. I have a particular loathing, however, for how three of the women characters have been presented. The first officer once had a romantic relationship with the captain, and is forever on the edge of blurting out how much she still wants him, while the bulk of her time is spent on, and I quote, "moralistic carping" which is ultimately designed to show how right said captain is, all the time. Another is the product of rape, and weepily traumatised by it. The third is a Vulcan who killed her husband with sex and has intimacy issues because of it, complicated by the fact that she's going though pon farr. None of the men are presented in this desperately needy, emotional way. It irks.
To be honest, I have difficulty understanding how something this poorly written got published in the first place. Given the plethora of fanfic out there that is intelligent, subtle, thoughtful, and just extraordinarily well-written, that the official tie-ins can descend to this level of crap is enormously dispiriting. No wonder I spend my time on Ao3.
June 24, 2015
I'm adding this as one book rather than adding all the 13 I own and am currently re-reading. I'm a huge Star Trek fan and this, for me, is the true fifth series (rather than Enterprise).
The captain may be larger-than-life and is probably a bit of a Mary Sue. He's brilliant at everything, a kind of a space-aged James Bond - he's got his dark past and his commitment issues but they add to his charm rather than detracting from it. But then there's everyone else...
The core group are folks David dreamed up for a series he wrote about Worf (TNG, DS9) at the academy (one of the very first Star Trek books I read) and minor characters from TNG (Lefler, Selar, Shelby). They are a complex and non-typical bunch. There's the hermaphrodite who falls in love with a Vulcan, the hulk-like Brikar security chief who likes goldfish, the Romulan/Vulcan hybrid who battles to conceal her true heritage, and the prince of a fallen empire fighting personal demons (just to name a few).
The series flips constantly between side-splitting humour and silliness, deep reflections about life and the universe, rich character-driven narrative and thrilling action-adventure.
Peter David started writing for comics and it's apparent that he's taken great lessons from those days. The series is an easy read filled with action and plenty of visual stimulation. Whenever I want to hide from the world, this is the series that a pull off the shelf.
It is escapism of the best kind: transporting you to a far off time and place, giving you new friends when you get there and making sure you enjoy your stay.
The captain may be larger-than-life and is probably a bit of a Mary Sue. He's brilliant at everything, a kind of a space-aged James Bond - he's got his dark past and his commitment issues but they add to his charm rather than detracting from it. But then there's everyone else...
The core group are folks David dreamed up for a series he wrote about Worf (TNG, DS9) at the academy (one of the very first Star Trek books I read) and minor characters from TNG (Lefler, Selar, Shelby). They are a complex and non-typical bunch. There's the hermaphrodite who falls in love with a Vulcan, the hulk-like Brikar security chief who likes goldfish, the Romulan/Vulcan hybrid who battles to conceal her true heritage, and the prince of a fallen empire fighting personal demons (just to name a few).
The series flips constantly between side-splitting humour and silliness, deep reflections about life and the universe, rich character-driven narrative and thrilling action-adventure.
Peter David started writing for comics and it's apparent that he's taken great lessons from those days. The series is an easy read filled with action and plenty of visual stimulation. Whenever I want to hide from the world, this is the series that a pull off the shelf.
It is escapism of the best kind: transporting you to a far off time and place, giving you new friends when you get there and making sure you enjoy your stay.
March 21, 2025
Star Trek: New Frontier was a great idea for a tie-in novel series to the television programmes, but its need to be connected to those perhaps lets it down.
As far as setting up a new series of adventures where no one has gone before, the first novel in the series (actually a fix-up of four novellas originally published in a serial form) achieves its goals. You’re left with a good idea of the characters, their personalities and potential conflicts, as well as the area of space they will be spending most of their time. This feels very similar to the pilots we got for The Next Generation and Voyager, even down to a few side journeys that just feel there to pad the running time. Each of the novellas ends on a cliffhanger that must have been effective if read during the original publication. Yet they never feel at all disconnected from each other, which makes this reader speculate whether four novellas were fixed up into one novel or that one novel was in fact split into four novellas then reassembled into its original form.
If anything, it may do Star Trek a little too well. A prerequisite to even begin publication was the inclusion of several recurring television characters from The Next Generation amongst the main characters. That feels fair enough, but when the security officer is revealed to have been Worf’s roommate at the Academy; the science officer was saved from captivity by Spock, and the chief engineer was introduced to whisky by Scotty it can get a bit too indulgent. Then there’s our protagonist, Captain Mackenzie Calhoun, who is so much of a Mary Sue it feels any intention to parody that concept inadvertently adds to it. Young former freedom fighter of an alien, but not too alien, just purple eyes (always a warning sign), who is always right in the end, especially when he’s wrong. Even that he was romantically involved with his first officer, Elizabeth Shelby, an import from The Next Generation, and that he seems to win every argument between them only adds to this.
Regardless of the need to add as many references into the parent works as possible, or author Peter David’s insistence on Calhoun, one of his few outright original creations, being so infuriatingly perfect, New Frontier did fill the need for something in Star Trek spin-offs. Since all other series were either based of running or concluded television series authors were made to adhere to continuity and not introduce recurring elements or big changes. The setting has an entire galaxy to play with and in the golden age of tie-in fiction it would be foolish to not take advantage of that. That the other major original creation of David’s (several of the characters not pulled from The Next Generation were instead pulled from the young adult Starfleet Academy tie-ins) is an intergender character referred to by merged personal pronouns (however dated they may now appear) did portray a character when it took filmed Trek another two decades to portray an LGBT main character.
Peter David’s original New Frontier tale is certainly not without its flaws, but its positives are enough to probably pick up the next one in the series.
As far as setting up a new series of adventures where no one has gone before, the first novel in the series (actually a fix-up of four novellas originally published in a serial form) achieves its goals. You’re left with a good idea of the characters, their personalities and potential conflicts, as well as the area of space they will be spending most of their time. This feels very similar to the pilots we got for The Next Generation and Voyager, even down to a few side journeys that just feel there to pad the running time. Each of the novellas ends on a cliffhanger that must have been effective if read during the original publication. Yet they never feel at all disconnected from each other, which makes this reader speculate whether four novellas were fixed up into one novel or that one novel was in fact split into four novellas then reassembled into its original form.
If anything, it may do Star Trek a little too well. A prerequisite to even begin publication was the inclusion of several recurring television characters from The Next Generation amongst the main characters. That feels fair enough, but when the security officer is revealed to have been Worf’s roommate at the Academy; the science officer was saved from captivity by Spock, and the chief engineer was introduced to whisky by Scotty it can get a bit too indulgent. Then there’s our protagonist, Captain Mackenzie Calhoun, who is so much of a Mary Sue it feels any intention to parody that concept inadvertently adds to it. Young former freedom fighter of an alien, but not too alien, just purple eyes (always a warning sign), who is always right in the end, especially when he’s wrong. Even that he was romantically involved with his first officer, Elizabeth Shelby, an import from The Next Generation, and that he seems to win every argument between them only adds to this.
Regardless of the need to add as many references into the parent works as possible, or author Peter David’s insistence on Calhoun, one of his few outright original creations, being so infuriatingly perfect, New Frontier did fill the need for something in Star Trek spin-offs. Since all other series were either based of running or concluded television series authors were made to adhere to continuity and not introduce recurring elements or big changes. The setting has an entire galaxy to play with and in the golden age of tie-in fiction it would be foolish to not take advantage of that. That the other major original creation of David’s (several of the characters not pulled from The Next Generation were instead pulled from the young adult Starfleet Academy tie-ins) is an intergender character referred to by merged personal pronouns (however dated they may now appear) did portray a character when it took filmed Trek another two decades to portray an LGBT main character.
Peter David’s original New Frontier tale is certainly not without its flaws, but its positives are enough to probably pick up the next one in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2024
Audiobook. I read this when it came out. I like Peter David. I like Peter David's idea about carving out a niche for himself in the Star Trek universe. But I don't understand what the blue hell is going on in this audiobook.
The two largest science fiction universe audiobooks -Star Wars and Star Trek - seem to always to be overproduced, in my opinion, audiobooks. There is music everywhere, a lot of places it doesn't need to be and this is more overproduced than necessary since its the beginning of a new idea in the Star Trek universe.
I dare you to get through a Star Wars audiobook without hearing a few bars of the Imperial March. I went on a splurge and listened to most of the Grand Admiral Thrawn books. The content is great. The audiobooks for some reason are super overproduced. Its not enough to just get a talented voice actor to be a talented voice actor and do a range of voices. The voices have to be electronically altered and twisted and shaped and whatever else to the hilt. It beat the urge out of me to listen to, or even consider reading another Star Wars book for a good long time. Star Trek has TWO pieces of music that are generally famous. The themes for The Next Generation and The Original Series. That's it. This book isn't set on the Enterprise, so I don't get why there is original music everywhere in this audiobook.
Secondly, the book is 35 years old, and the audiobook is probably a little younger, so maybe Mr. David did revisions on the text, but the audiobook doesn't follow my Kindle version in the slightest. Maybe its just how audiobooks were back thirty plus years ago. I'm trying very hard to be generous and give everyone a break, but the audiobook is so wildly divergent from the text I have. Maybe they thought its another chance to edit the book? Maybe Peter David went along with it?
(I'm trying a different audiobook service, perhaps this explains why this book wasn't on Audible. Why should Amazon point out the goofiness?)
Anyway its a fun, if slightly weird niche of the Star Trek Universe. Its worth trying. It's got the Star Trek books weird assembling of crew; minor characters from The Next Generation; new characters from planets Mr. David made up; new characters from planets we've heard of; characters addressing ideas and prejudices previously not addressed in Trek TV or film. I know Trek is all about inclusion, and since Paramount isn't paying an actor to portray whomever, why not push the envelope and be creative, and Mr. David is ridiculously creative. Go nuts!!! It only costs ink and paper, which frankly are rounding errors in the bottom line of Simon & Schuster. I've got no problem with any of that.
Imagining the decision making process of Mr. David, of his editors, of Simon & Schuster in assembling this crew makes me laugh. Do you think they worried about if there was enough familiar to readers to make it a selling point? Do you think they worried about if they pushed the envelope too far with certain characters??? Did Mr. David just do whatever? Back when New Frontier came out S&S was pumping out, at least, a couple Star Trek books a month, I think. Did his editors care? Did S&S care? And if someone above Mr. David did care, what did they care about? It just makes me laugh.
I'm not loudly recommending the audiobook.
The two largest science fiction universe audiobooks -Star Wars and Star Trek - seem to always to be overproduced, in my opinion, audiobooks. There is music everywhere, a lot of places it doesn't need to be and this is more overproduced than necessary since its the beginning of a new idea in the Star Trek universe.
I dare you to get through a Star Wars audiobook without hearing a few bars of the Imperial March. I went on a splurge and listened to most of the Grand Admiral Thrawn books. The content is great. The audiobooks for some reason are super overproduced. Its not enough to just get a talented voice actor to be a talented voice actor and do a range of voices. The voices have to be electronically altered and twisted and shaped and whatever else to the hilt. It beat the urge out of me to listen to, or even consider reading another Star Wars book for a good long time. Star Trek has TWO pieces of music that are generally famous. The themes for The Next Generation and The Original Series. That's it. This book isn't set on the Enterprise, so I don't get why there is original music everywhere in this audiobook.
Secondly, the book is 35 years old, and the audiobook is probably a little younger, so maybe Mr. David did revisions on the text, but the audiobook doesn't follow my Kindle version in the slightest. Maybe its just how audiobooks were back thirty plus years ago. I'm trying very hard to be generous and give everyone a break, but the audiobook is so wildly divergent from the text I have. Maybe they thought its another chance to edit the book? Maybe Peter David went along with it?
(I'm trying a different audiobook service, perhaps this explains why this book wasn't on Audible. Why should Amazon point out the goofiness?)
Anyway its a fun, if slightly weird niche of the Star Trek Universe. Its worth trying. It's got the Star Trek books weird assembling of crew; minor characters from The Next Generation; new characters from planets Mr. David made up; new characters from planets we've heard of; characters addressing ideas and prejudices previously not addressed in Trek TV or film. I know Trek is all about inclusion, and since Paramount isn't paying an actor to portray whomever, why not push the envelope and be creative, and Mr. David is ridiculously creative. Go nuts!!! It only costs ink and paper, which frankly are rounding errors in the bottom line of Simon & Schuster. I've got no problem with any of that.
Imagining the decision making process of Mr. David, of his editors, of Simon & Schuster in assembling this crew makes me laugh. Do you think they worried about if there was enough familiar to readers to make it a selling point? Do you think they worried about if they pushed the envelope too far with certain characters??? Did Mr. David just do whatever? Back when New Frontier came out S&S was pumping out, at least, a couple Star Trek books a month, I think. Did his editors care? Did S&S care? And if someone above Mr. David did care, what did they care about? It just makes me laugh.
I'm not loudly recommending the audiobook.
March 21, 2022
I've been interested in this series for years now, and finally read (listened) to the opening story. It was released in a chapterbook form similar to Green Mile - - just to further complicate an already niche market. Thankfully, fandom still grabbed on and it thrived for 18 (?) or so further novels.
You can trust Peter David. He's consistently good, and he writes characters and interpersonal communication really well. He has some shmultzy tendencies that I usually like - as in, some predictable relationships and "Moonlighting" dialog (is that a relatable description anymore?). He also knows his Star Trek, and has written some of the biggest fan favorite novels (mostly TNG).
I like this crew, and I'm hoping to enjoy this side pocket of of the ST universe (contemporary to TNG) for a while. It struck me as remarkable that he has a dual-gendered race, and spends a good amount of time teaching a 1998 readership how alternative pronouns work. I think he may have inspired Becky Chambers a bit, in that regard.
There are two or three hilarious buildups and payoffs in this set of introductory stories - which are homages to Star Trek history and some comics tropes (PD, aka PAD, is famously a Marvel writer - probably most known for his Hulk and X-Factor years). The books don't disappoint. I do recommend reading them, rather than listening to this audio production - b/c this seems heavily abridged, and the sound production feels dated (and nowhere near the production values of Doctor Who audios - a natural comparison to the Star Trek audio franchise).
You can trust Peter David. He's consistently good, and he writes characters and interpersonal communication really well. He has some shmultzy tendencies that I usually like - as in, some predictable relationships and "Moonlighting" dialog (is that a relatable description anymore?). He also knows his Star Trek, and has written some of the biggest fan favorite novels (mostly TNG).
I like this crew, and I'm hoping to enjoy this side pocket of of the ST universe (contemporary to TNG) for a while. It struck me as remarkable that he has a dual-gendered race, and spends a good amount of time teaching a 1998 readership how alternative pronouns work. I think he may have inspired Becky Chambers a bit, in that regard.
There are two or three hilarious buildups and payoffs in this set of introductory stories - which are homages to Star Trek history and some comics tropes (PD, aka PAD, is famously a Marvel writer - probably most known for his Hulk and X-Factor years). The books don't disappoint. I do recommend reading them, rather than listening to this audio production - b/c this seems heavily abridged, and the sound production feels dated (and nowhere near the production values of Doctor Who audios - a natural comparison to the Star Trek audio franchise).
October 13, 2023
With the renaissance of good Trek on TV right now, I really just wanted to consume a lot more Trek, so I figured I'd give some novels a try. I've had some misses, but this was a hit. First off, Peter David knows the universe of Trek well, so anything he writes has potential. New Frontier deals with an entirely new ship and crew, although some characters from TNG make an appearance. The new characters are well thought out, have some layers to them, and are fun to get to know. The characters that return from TNG (Selar, Shelby, and Lefler) are written in such a way that they seem like a natural continuation of their on-screen characters. The plot deals with the collapse of an empire and the fallout from this. The Excalibur is sent to the sector the empire was in to monitor the situation. The plot moved along at a good pace, and was engaging (heh).
The book did not stick the landing for me. The last few chapters weren't really all that great, but they didn't spoil the whole experience. Another minor quibble, for me, is that I think David really mis-writes Jellico. He's written as a mean-spirted, almost incompetent officer here. My opinion of Jellico tends to be closer to that of SF Debris': that he's very competent, he just does things differently than TNG fans are used to. I also think that Picard, in the cameo he had, wasn't written perfectly. These are just minor quibbles. If you're a fan of 1990s Trek, this is a solid read.
The book did not stick the landing for me. The last few chapters weren't really all that great, but they didn't spoil the whole experience. Another minor quibble, for me, is that I think David really mis-writes Jellico. He's written as a mean-spirted, almost incompetent officer here. My opinion of Jellico tends to be closer to that of SF Debris': that he's very competent, he just does things differently than TNG fans are used to. I also think that Picard, in the cameo he had, wasn't written perfectly. These are just minor quibbles. If you're a fan of 1990s Trek, this is a solid read.
February 12, 2020
YIKES. A lot of people have already written thoroughly about the problems with this book, so I will be brief. I am a lifelong Trek fan but have never delved into the books because I've only heard bad things. Well, I was a bit desperate for some new Trek stories, as I don't enjoy the writing for the new movies or shows that much, I decided to grab a few of the better-rated books and give them a chance.
I like some of Peter David's work in comics, specifically his X-Factor run, so I figured it couldn't be that bad....and boy was I wrong. I couldn't finish the book. It was so cringe-inducing that I had to just put it down and donate it to a used book store.
The main character is an absurd amalgamation of Mary-Sue tropes and writer fantasy-fulfillment; he is the model of what a 13-year-old with bad taste would think is cool. Additionally, Peter David seems to have totally missed the point of Star Trek. It is not a world for anti-heroes. Period. The idea that Starfleet would elevate a WARLORD to a position of leadership makes me question if Peter David is even familiar with the franchise. The handling of women characters is shameful and was gross and dated even at the time of writing. He takes a powerful character from TNG and turns her into a weak and yearning stereotype.
I like some of Peter David's work in comics, specifically his X-Factor run, so I figured it couldn't be that bad....and boy was I wrong. I couldn't finish the book. It was so cringe-inducing that I had to just put it down and donate it to a used book store.
The main character is an absurd amalgamation of Mary-Sue tropes and writer fantasy-fulfillment; he is the model of what a 13-year-old with bad taste would think is cool. Additionally, Peter David seems to have totally missed the point of Star Trek. It is not a world for anti-heroes. Period. The idea that Starfleet would elevate a WARLORD to a position of leadership makes me question if Peter David is even familiar with the franchise. The handling of women characters is shameful and was gross and dated even at the time of writing. He takes a powerful character from TNG and turns her into a weak and yearning stereotype.
August 3, 2025
Apparently the first Trek book series to not feature mainline TV ST crew....and boy the market seemed to be in edgelord not your granddaddies Trek.
New Frontiers has the vibe of teenage edginess with a Paul Maduib-like captain who is peak individualistic action hero man, "i don't care if you murder these refugees, but FYI I'll just murder you afterwards" that seems to resonate with other reviewers??
I think the accent / speech cadence that the narrator gave captain Mack helped soften his character for me surprisingly that made his big threatening speech (shamefully) fun. So god help me if i actually was reading these books.
I like that 700+ pages of four books was condensed into four hours of audio book. They introduce one non-gender conforming character, which was interesting, but because its the late-90s they had to make them essentially sexually deviant sex pest alien species.
All in all, doesn't quite give me what i am looking for in these Trek audio books. And also the dialogue audio quality was garbage for some reason?
Two and a half - that cosmic space bird reveal was top notch, who knew you didnt need to wait until Lower Decks for wacky stuff like that? - out of five
New Frontiers has the vibe of teenage edginess with a Paul Maduib-like captain who is peak individualistic action hero man, "i don't care if you murder these refugees, but FYI I'll just murder you afterwards" that seems to resonate with other reviewers??
I think the accent / speech cadence that the narrator gave captain Mack helped soften his character for me surprisingly that made his big threatening speech (shamefully) fun. So god help me if i actually was reading these books.
I like that 700+ pages of four books was condensed into four hours of audio book. They introduce one non-gender conforming character, which was interesting, but because its the late-90s they had to make them essentially sexually deviant sex pest alien species.
All in all, doesn't quite give me what i am looking for in these Trek audio books. And also the dialogue audio quality was garbage for some reason?
Two and a half - that cosmic space bird reveal was top notch, who knew you didnt need to wait until Lower Decks for wacky stuff like that? - out of five
March 1, 2018
I went in with high hopes, but this fell well below my expectations.
It has a fun factor, but the writing and dialogue are extremely childish, and I find the characters to lack depth. It feels like it's more suited to being a comic book than a novel (or in this case, a series of novellas joined together).
The whole thing feels very repetitive, too (Calhoun does something shocking, Shelby reacts in horror, turns out Calhoun was right all along). Plus, I feel like I've heard the phrase "go to hell" far more often than the laws of probability should allow.
For all that, it's highly entertaining while also being nonsense. It moves at a breakneck pace and really likes go to for over-the-top excitement. I have to admit that the lighthearted nature went some way towards winning me over, but it did become a lot to take after a while. There are a number of attempts at comedy but about 80% of them fail to work. I'm currently unsure whether I'll continue to include the series in my future Trek reading.
It has a fun factor, but the writing and dialogue are extremely childish, and I find the characters to lack depth. It feels like it's more suited to being a comic book than a novel (or in this case, a series of novellas joined together).
The whole thing feels very repetitive, too (Calhoun does something shocking, Shelby reacts in horror, turns out Calhoun was right all along). Plus, I feel like I've heard the phrase "go to hell" far more often than the laws of probability should allow.
For all that, it's highly entertaining while also being nonsense. It moves at a breakneck pace and really likes go to for over-the-top excitement. I have to admit that the lighthearted nature went some way towards winning me over, but it did become a lot to take after a while. There are a number of attempts at comedy but about 80% of them fail to work. I'm currently unsure whether I'll continue to include the series in my future Trek reading.
July 21, 2019
I have read this entire series before in book format. This audible recording with its sound effects, grunting fight scenes and computer noises doesn’t add anything to the story. The narrator isn’t that great either, he narrates at a strangely slow pace for some characters.
The story is great thought. Captain Calhoun is unlike any Star Trek captain, he is more a mixture of captain Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly, captain Ed Mercer from The Orville and a bit Captain Jean Luke Picard. He is calculating, fiercely loyal to his crew, enigmatic, devious, violent and very unorthodox.
His crew is also fascinating with two Vulcans, a dual sex species called Hermats, a Brikar and McHenry who turns out to be a very interesting individual in future books!
The story is great thought. Captain Calhoun is unlike any Star Trek captain, he is more a mixture of captain Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly, captain Ed Mercer from The Orville and a bit Captain Jean Luke Picard. He is calculating, fiercely loyal to his crew, enigmatic, devious, violent and very unorthodox.
His crew is also fascinating with two Vulcans, a dual sex species called Hermats, a Brikar and McHenry who turns out to be a very interesting individual in future books!
February 9, 2023
New Frontier books #1-4
So I’ve started reading Peter David’s New Frontier books… and I have some thoughts. I very much enjoy Peter David’s writing and that’s the case here. Calhoun is ok as a character, he is just a dick lol. All of the characters come off as dicks, but in like a good, loveable rascal way. It feels very soap opera esque with lots of comedy. Peter David does a good job of hamming it up and I enjoy the action sequences he likes. But like the characters like I said come off as almost too dickish, as in the case of Calhoun and feel too prickly sometimes. I hope this improves as I read more of the books in the series. Anyway, those are my brief thoughts on the first four NF books
So I’ve started reading Peter David’s New Frontier books… and I have some thoughts. I very much enjoy Peter David’s writing and that’s the case here. Calhoun is ok as a character, he is just a dick lol. All of the characters come off as dicks, but in like a good, loveable rascal way. It feels very soap opera esque with lots of comedy. Peter David does a good job of hamming it up and I enjoy the action sequences he likes. But like the characters like I said come off as almost too dickish, as in the case of Calhoun and feel too prickly sometimes. I hope this improves as I read more of the books in the series. Anyway, those are my brief thoughts on the first four NF books
April 2, 2019
A hardcover collecting the first four books in the New Frontier series by Peter David.
#1 - 3/4-3/7 - Not bad, I'm really enjoying this series. New ship, new crew, new characters, but existing in the same timeframe as Next Generation. This first book starts off a little odd, and I wasn't sure where it was going but it finished up nicely.
#2 - 3/7-3/8 - Better than book 1. Coming together and really enjoying the characters. David is such a good Star Trek writer.
#3 - 3/13-3/14 - Gets a little boring in the middle, but ends with a BANG. Really, really good.
#4 - 3/15-3/16 - Really enjoyed this series. Good characters, fun stories. I would continue it.
#1 - 3/4-3/7 - Not bad, I'm really enjoying this series. New ship, new crew, new characters, but existing in the same timeframe as Next Generation. This first book starts off a little odd, and I wasn't sure where it was going but it finished up nicely.
#2 - 3/7-3/8 - Better than book 1. Coming together and really enjoying the characters. David is such a good Star Trek writer.
#3 - 3/13-3/14 - Gets a little boring in the middle, but ends with a BANG. Really, really good.
#4 - 3/15-3/16 - Really enjoyed this series. Good characters, fun stories. I would continue it.
August 31, 2024
Great start to the series. PAD is on his A game here. The way characters and plots are set up are really well done, dialouge between characters is often pretty funny, action scenes are joy to read. I have a couple problems with it, like how I feel it gets too bogged down in Thalonian politics, and how the captain's brother starts out seeming like an interesting character and is later revealed to be less dimensional than I thought, or how i feel they should have built up to the finale over more books because it probably would have hit a lot harder. But overall I had a great time reading this and am excited to see where the series goes in future books.
August 12, 2021
I've been reading Star Trek books for a very long time now and I always enjoy them. This one was nice because it was a completely crew on a ship that wasn't the Enterprise. The story takes place over 20 years and centers around the life of one person but involves many parts of several other people's lives along the way. The story is complex and leaves you wondering at many points what will happen next. I felt that it was very well written and I think I would definitely enjoy reading more from this author. I will always like more from Star Trek though.
September 4, 2020
If you are a fan of STAR TREK - and I am a die hard fan - then I believe you will love this book. Do I think Peter David is in the same league as Isaac Asimov or Larry Niven? No I do not. But because I can't help but love all things STAR TREK, I loved this book. I was 10 years old when the original series was on tv. My Dad let me stay up late on school nights to watch it with him. I have watched every movie and tv show multiple times since then. I loved this book.
May 27, 2021
Första fyra böckerna i en ny serie, och en spännande inledning är det definitivt. Det är bra att ha en fyra böcker lång berättelse på en gång, då detta hjälpte mig att förstå de unika personerna som finns med i serien. Eftersom serien är fortlöpande, får inte alla frågor svar i dessa böcker, men mycket förklaras och beskrivs på ett bra sätt. Jag är ännu inte fullt nöjd med författaren Peter Davids prestation, men ett gott första intryck är det ändå.
December 20, 2022
An oldie from the '90s, but a goodie; not exactly groundbreaking in the sci-fi, or social commentary aspects of comedy, but never the less, a very entertaining comfort-read, with some great original characters. A lot of comedic banter and great one-liners; almost a milder version of "Archer" in space. It's hard not to think that certain aspects of these books had an influence on "Orville" by Seth McFarlane as well.
November 16, 2023
Strong launch for a new ship, new crew, new mission. In some ways it predicted the current Paramount+ era where every new story has its foundation in some pre-existing piece of Trek lore… which is to say, this is quite satisfying fan fiction. David’s grasp of the established character voices is excellent, and to his credit he develops some new alien cultures to explore. The mission itself felt pretty perfunctory, but I was invested enough in the characters to see it through.
January 3, 2019
Pulpy, with lots of swashbuckling action and David’s sense of humour. The story takes a while to get going, and there’s more exposition than I generally like, but it’s a fun ride and I blasted through it in a day or two. Side note: why use a clunky pronoun for the multi-gendered character when you could use they instead? Would’ve made for a smoother read
May 31, 2020
Great start!
Great start to the series. We’re given enough on all the major players to understand their internal struggles and their roles on the ship and too each other. Peter David does an excellent job of making everything feel like Star Trek, yet still being its own thing. I look forward to reading more in the series and see where it all leads.
Great start to the series. We’re given enough on all the major players to understand their internal struggles and their roles on the ship and too each other. Peter David does an excellent job of making everything feel like Star Trek, yet still being its own thing. I look forward to reading more in the series and see where it all leads.
May 20, 2021
Eh
The story is fine, but it seems as though it was written by someone with only a passing familiarity with Star Trek. If you're looking for a decent story without much foreshadowing (except for a few painfully obvious instances), and occasional grammatical errors, this one might be ok. I won't be looking for other Trek novels from Peter David.
The story is fine, but it seems as though it was written by someone with only a passing familiarity with Star Trek. If you're looking for a decent story without much foreshadowing (except for a few painfully obvious instances), and occasional grammatical errors, this one might be ok. I won't be looking for other Trek novels from Peter David.
April 29, 2022
I went in expecting all new characters and raised an eyebrow when the first book in this had familiar cameos. It became more of its own thing from the second book onward, though there were moments that were difficult to read through here and there. I might continue reading to see where the series goes, but just not right away.
April 7, 2019
Excellent unpredictable Star Trek fiction
This is fun, if uncomplicated stuff, lifted up mostly by Peter David's skill with characterization and dialogue. The fact that the series does not focus on the "main" TV series cast adds a welcome air of unpredictability, too.
This is fun, if uncomplicated stuff, lifted up mostly by Peter David's skill with characterization and dialogue. The fact that the series does not focus on the "main" TV series cast adds a welcome air of unpredictability, too.
June 2, 2021
A great start! Big fan of Peter David in general, and he’s got a great handle on Star Trek. I really like that they create a new pocket of the universe that they can explore and change without having to worry about resetting to status quo. There were parts where it went a bit extreme on the violence, not something I mind but felt out of place in Trek.
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