No Limits

Star Trek: New Frontier #13.5

by Peter David (Editor), Keith R.A. DeCandido (Associate Editor, Contributor), Ilsa J. Bick (Contributor)

In 1997, Star Trek: New Frontier(R) debuted and became an instant sensation, chronicling the exciting adventures of Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the U.S.S. Excalibur, as told by New York Times bestselling author Peter David.
Now, over a dozen books later, Peter David has gathered some of the finest Star Trek authors to tell new tales of the Excalibur crew:

Dayton Ward's thrilling adventure from Calhoun's sordid past Loren L. Coleman's tale of Shelby's first experience with the Borg Robert Greenberger's origin of "Lefler's Laws" Susan Shwartz's adventure with Soleta and Ambassador Spock Terri Osborne's chronicle of Selar's encounter with the Q David Mack's tale of the longest day of Zak Kebron's life plus stories by Keith R.A. DeCandido, Susan Wright, Josepha Sherman, Ilsa J. Bick, Kevin Dilmore, Christina F. York, Robert T. Jeschonek, Peg Robinson, Mary Scott-Wiecek, Allyn Gibson, and Glenn Hauman & Lisa Sullivan.

Added Bonus! Peter David himself tells the untold story of Calhoun and Shelby's honeymoon on Xenex!

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Space Opera, Media Tie In

386 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 2003

About the author

aka 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.

Reviews

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not the biggest fan of the "New Frontier" sub-universe, but this short story collection is an interesting primer to the characters. Like many anthologies, it's a mixed bag...and I'm not enamored with all of the characters. But there are many gems to be had in this collection, the highlights being the insanely-funny Zak Kebron tale "Waiting for G'Doh" and the intense Burgoyne story "Oil and Water".

[Wayland Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter David is a highly enjoyable writer. Among his creations are the New Frontier series of books in the Star Trek Universe. New Frontier takes a few lesser known characters from Next Generation and adds in several originals to create a truly unique crew of misfits that make an amazing team. No Limits is an anthology of short stories by various Trek writers, focusing on the back stories of various members of the Excalibur's crew.

It's a great collection but probably wouldn't make much sense if you haven't read the series. If you like Star Trek, and enjoy some good humor and bad wordplay, this is a series you need to check out.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

No Limits is an anthology of New Frontier stories written, mostly, by people other than Peter David. I think this is a good thing because while it's a great thing to have your OG Star Trek characters achieve the kind of love that the New Frontier ones have, it's another thing entirely that they're loved enough that other authors want to play with your toys. It's a status that only a few spin-off characters ever achieve like Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mara Jade, and Darth Revan.

Generally speaking, all of the short stories are character pieces that give us a sense of who these people are. Some of them being slightly different (or at lot different) than Peter David treats them. Others are similar enough that it was hard to tell the difference between his writing versus other people's. Which is a compliment to the strong nature of the characters and storytelling. I will say, using Shelby and Selar is something of a cheat since both of them have origins in TNG.

"Loose Ends" by Dayton Ward: I've always loved "The Pegasus" episode and frankly, like Admiral Jellico himself, there's a very good argument Admiral Pressman was right in his conclusions even if he's wrong in the cowardly way he abandoned his crew. Mac does a great James Bond impression here and works better as a secret agent than Julian Bashir, that I never felt really fit into S31 even beyond the moral issues.

"All that Glistens" by Loren L. Colemen: A TNG Shelby story rather than a Peter David's Shelby. As much as I love the character, I like remembering the hyper-competent badass from "The Best of Both Worlds" and think she would have made an excellent Number One if Patrick Stewart had left.

"Waiting for G'Doh" by David Mack: This is an absolutely hilarious story and a sign that David Mack definitely "gets" New Frontier humor. The idea of Kebron as a park statue is so hilarious that it warrants full marks. The ending is especially awesome. Deneva. Hehe.

Lefler's Logs" by Robert Greenberger: I've always been a fan of Robin Lefler (Ashley Judd was my babysitter in RL). This is a good and sweet story about her character and incorporating her weird relationship with Morgan Primus.

"Alice, On the Edge of Night" by Ilsa J. Bick: Morgan Primus is an interesting character and while she's now divided from being Una Chen-Riley, probably for the best, I really like how dark this story is. It's the story of an immortal abandoning their family and that's always been a creepy idea. I remember a Twilight Zone episode that was particularly dark about it.

"Revelations" by Keith R.A. DeCandido: I love Soleta. In an entirely unhealthy geek romantic way illegal in most countries. She's my favorite Star Trek Expanded Universe OC aside from T'Ryssa Chen and T'Prynn. Which, come to think of it, makes a disturbing pattern. I really enjoyed Soleta getting flat out ticked at the not-so-subtle attempts at flirting that Security Chief Chan Pak tries to make. KRAD really gets the character. It's also the best one of the book, IMHO, because it deals with Soleta dealing with such a traumatic revelation of her parentage as well as how it ruins her friendship with Worf (who hates Romulans).

"Turning Point" by Josepha Sherman: This is a good story about how Si Cwan eventually became known as the People's Royal. I like this story as it is a good tale of someone becoming aware of their privilege and the systemic abuses that are inherent in the system. All without a Monty Python reference.

"Qunadry" by Terri Osborne: I like Q stories and seeing Selar dropped into the Q Civil War from VOY was a very big surprise for how unexpected it was. I also enjoyed the incorporation of a certain human-born Q.

Oil and Water by Robert T. Jeschonek: Burgoyne tries to deal with what he assumes is a bigoted non-gendered race to stop a dangerous rogue alien artifact. In fact, it's about the fact that said alien is a pacifist, which is a nice subversion.

"Singularity" by Christina F. York: A pretty good story about Mark McHenry accidentally skewing a scientific experiment because his supernatural piloting skills make a project seem easier than it actually is.

"The Road to Edos" by Kevin Dilmore: This is my second favorite story in the anthology with Arex of TAS being the incredibly helpful alien friend to a guy who is utterly unqualified for his job. Seriously, you'd think he'd at least learn the guy's homeworld before he started taking him home.

"A Lady of Xenex" by Peg Robinson: I really enjoyed this D'ndee story because I've always felt that Macs brother was one of the more interesting and genuinely morally ambiguous figures of the setting. Mac thinks of him as a collaborator with their former oppressors and weasal, and maybe he is to an extent, but the narrative never says he's WRONG about any of his conclusions.

"Making a Difference" by Mary Scott-Wiecek: A really tragic story of the Excalibur versus the Borg. It has a genuinely terrible moment where someone is captured by the Borg asking for her husband and soon will be condemned to a fate worse than death. It's a depressing but very well-written story.

"Performance Appraisal" by Allyn Gibson: I'm a bit iffier on this one because while I love the character of Kat Mueller, this feels more like a Tomalak story. Especially since Kat Mueller never really wants command and is closer to a security officer. On the other hand, I love Tomalak and feel he's a dramatically underused Star Trek villain when he's arguably Picard's archenemy.

"Redemption" by Glenn Hauman and Lisa Sullivan: An interesting story about the idea the Great God Xant of the Redeemers is literally true (or maybe it's the dying hallucination of a man) and that the Redeemers might be, well, redeemed if someone were to reach out to them. It feels a bit more Terry Pratchett than Star Trek.

"Out of the Frying Pan" by Susan Shwartz: Soleta and Spock try to escape some Ferengi pirates when their friend tries to sell them into slavery to cover his gambling debts. I kind of wish this was a Saavik/Spock story but otherwise really enjoyed it. The captain of the ship is utterly contemptible, though.

"Through the Looking Glass" by Susan Wright: I really liked this story about Burogyne making a lover of hir jealous and getting a psychic rock as revenge. I wish we'd gotten more insight into what the woman was trying to accomplish by screwing with them, though.

"A Little Getaway" by Peter David: Obviously, this is by Peter David and I love this handling of Mac and Shelby's romance. Shelby wants to prove herself by Xenexian standards and the Xenexians are playing headgames with him that I absolutely would want Mac to throw them off a cliff for. Still, very humorous and very fun.

[Crystal Bensley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun collection of New Frontier short stories!

[David H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun anthology! I liked most of the stories, and I felt like most of the authors did a good job representing Peter David's characters as I've come to know them in Star Trek: New Frontier.

Some were funny, some were depressing, some were just fun. I had high hopes for the TWO Soleta stories, but while they were fun on their own, in the context of the series, I felt a bit aggravated (the DeCandido story is practically covered in the novels already, and the Shwartz is a hidden moment from the very first book). Oh well.

My favorites were probably "Waiting for G'Doh, or, How I Learned to Stop Moving" (about Zak Kebron), "Making a Difference" (about Captain Korsmo and the crew of the Excalibur), and "Redemption" (about Xant). The others were mostly fine, but I have to warn people that the Robin and Morgan stories ("Lefler's Logs" and "Alice, on the Edge of Night") are depressing as heck.

[***Dave Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent collection of short stories in David's "Star Trek: New Frontier" setting, focusing on backstory / past episodes of many of the characters. Some are quite good, others are so-so, but the collection as a whole is decently entertaining. I'm tempted to look up some of the contributing authors (which is always one of the intents of such a volume).

The most intriguing story is one of the earliest, a very dark tale about Morgan Primus and her last days with her husband and daughter. Creepy.

The most retrospectively important tale is one of Soleta's early post-academy days, and a certain Romulan she encounters.

The best story is the last, penned by David himself, about a certain [non-spoilery] honeymoon that's referenced obliquely in the rest of the series. It's a fine example of how you can tell a good tale while not showing all the action.

[David Palazzolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Trek: New Frontier: No Limits is an anthology celebrating the longest running original Star Trek novel series--in that the series is not based on a pre-existing TV show or movie. I consider this book to be chapter 17 in the overall series because it contains the story of Captains Shelby and Calhoun's honeymoon on Xenex written by Peter David himself, which is worth the price of admission.

Will finish these stories after I finish reading the others in the series, as I am told it gets rather dark near the end, and I'd like to go out perhaps on a little lighter note.

[Ross Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

On July 4, 1997, I sat down and read the first "Star Trek: New Frontier" novella. (It was back when they were publishing the thin, little books. Sort of like they did with "The Green Mile").
Having been a Peter David fan for 8 years (I still have fond memories of sitting in a Taco Bell Drive thru, waiting for them to give me the order, and reading a few chapters to pass the time, since I was stuck between the cars and their machines were down), and having enjoyed Peter David's Starfleet Academy trilogy, I was excited to have a new series by him.
And I wasnt disappointed. A new hero - one who was not your typical Starfleet capatin - a few familiar faces (both from the screen and from other books) - and a new adventure in the making!!!
Sadly, after finishing the first few books, it would be 3 more years before I went back to read books 5-6 (moving around the country; working and marriage). But, for time in the early 2000s, as the new books arrived, I read them.
Except this one. I set it aside, as a "went I need to revisit the Excalibur crew" book.

So, in honor of the 25th anniversary of reading the first book, I sat down and finished reading this one.

Its been over a decade since I last read the New Frontier books, so it took a few pages to get to know the crew again. But I enjoyed it. I cant say which one was my favor - although "Waiting for G'oh" had me laughing and relating to Kebron. And "Q'uandary" was a fun little visit to all the characters played by one actress.

This isnt really for a new fan - this is one for those who have read the series and is wanting some dessert after the main course.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first picked this up I wasn't sure I was going to like it. I've been following and loving the episodic and continuing adventures of the New Frontier crews and I was a little hesitant to deviate from that main story arc. This collection did not disappoint though. I could not put it down. Most of the stories were just stellar, especially the Soleta stories, the Burgoynne 172 stories, the Zak Kebron story "Waiting for G'Doh," and the Selar story "Quandary." This collection was not just a random collection, for the most part. In fact I felt through much of it that I was getting the back story on many characters that had only been alluded to in several of the novels. These stories in other words were essential to the larger narrative, not surplus. So if you're following the novels in order, don't be afraid to stop; take a deep breath and pick this one up. You won't regret it. Similarly, the Captain's Table story "Once Burned," feels at first like a digression but really tells us so much essential material about Calhoun and his history.
If great fiction is about any one thing, it's characters, their depth, the stories that made them who they are. This collection has it. Why only four stars? Two of the short stories: "A lady of Xenex" (D'ndai of Calhoun) and "Redemption" (Xant) completely missed the mark. They seemed totally inconsequential. Irrelevant.
Overall, excellent! And the true measure of how great a Star Trek novel is, I'm finding, is whether it gets me hungry for another book, another series. This one makes me want to read Stone and Anvil even more and it makes me want to try Tales of the Dominion War -though I had previously discounted the latter.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading Peter David books and comics since I was a teenager. At this point, my tastes have changed a bit, but I still read his stuff to relax, like watching old cartoons. This book made clear that I care more about his writing voice than I do about the chatacters in the series because, while the stories aren't necessarily bad, they weren't relaxing.

This is a collection of short stories set in Peter David's Star Trek: New Frontier series written by other writers, all of whom have written other Star Trek projects. There's stories about the core characters like Calhoun, Shelby, Burgoyne, Kebron and the rest. There's also stories about D'ndai and even Xant, the god of the Redeemers. Most of them don't capture the humor or light-hearted voice of Peter David, though a few of them do better with character work.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an anthology so some good and some so so. If you have made it this far into new frontier (book order wise) your fan enough. I like the focus on the lesser known crew. Tired of everything always being about TNG.

[Lukáš · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some were good, others not as good as I would have hoped.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume contains a dozen or so short stories about the various crew members of the Excalibur. Most do add some depth to the characters involved. Recommended

[reherrma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter David's langlebige Star Trek-Serie "New Frontier" ist ein Unikat und kleines Highlight im literarischen "Star Trek"-Universum, es gibt zwar immer qualitative Schwankungen, aber eines ist immer sicher: Man wird bestens unterhalten mit viel Humor und spannenden Stories. Nun hat sich Pocket Books entschlossen, eine Anthologie von Kurzgeschichten herauszugeben, die in diesem New Frontiers-Universum angesiedelt sind. Der Serie spielt ja in der Zeit von Picard, Sisko und Janeway und ist literarisch auch in der Post-Nemesis Ära angekommen, allerdings gibt es, von wenigen Auftritten der DS9, TITAN und ENTERPRISE-Besatzungen abgesehen, wenig Berührung mit den anderen Serien. Für diese Anthologie ist eine Reihe von bekannten Star Trek-Autoren wie Keith R.A. deCandito, Dayton Ward, David Mack oder Kevin Dilmore vertreten, aber auch eine Reihe von hier bis dato unbekannten Autoren. Interessant ist, wie die Autoren versuchen, z.T. erfolgreich, den Humor und die Stimmung aus Peter Davids Romanen nachzuahmen: Ein Beispiel hierfür ist die Story von David Mack. Er schreibt eine Erzählung mit Zak Kebron, die den Titel trägt "Warten auf G'Doh - oder: Wie ich lernte, mich nicht zu bewegen und Menschen zu hassen".
Aber nicht nur lustige Geschichten kommen vor, sondern auch ernste. Und hier stechen zwei Geschichten hervor. Die eine ist von Mary Scott-Wiecek und hat als "Protagonist" die U. S. S. Excalibur in der Geschichte "Etwas bewirken".
In dieser wird geschildert, wie die Excalibur bei der Schlacht von Wolf 359 (siehe Doppelfolge von STNG) versucht, die Borg aufzuhalten, was natürlich nicht geklappt hat. Es ist eine dramatische Story, die einem unter die Haut geht. Denn die Geschichte ist ein Beispiel für das, was die Crews der verschiedenen Föderationsraumschiffe bei der Schlacht geleistet und erlebt haben.
Die andere Story ist Xant "Erlösung", geschrieben von Glenn Hauman und Lisa Sullivan. In ihr wird geschildert, wie ein Bewohner einer außerirdischen Welt eine Vision erhält, in der er sich mit Xant, dem außerirdischen Gott, dessen Priester den Glauben mit allen Mitteln verbreiten. Es ist ein hochphilosphisches Gespräch, das sehr gut geschrieben worden ist. Doch vor allem das Ende der Erzählung geht einem unter die Haut.
Es gibt allerdings auch einige weniger interessante Geschichten, allerdings bin ich der Meinung, dass es überwiegend hervorragenden Geschichten sind, die den Ton der New Frontiers Reihe sehr gut treffen, es war auch interessant, in diesem Kosmos andere Stimmen als die von Peter David zu hören. Wie die meisten Romane aus der New Frontiers-Reihe, macht auch dieser Band richtig Spaß...

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A while back I made a promise to myself that I would try to avoid certain genres, and one of those is licensed work. That might be a bit hypocritical of me considering that I enjoy comics which is corporate work for hire, but it was a decision based on the various franchises lining bookstore shelves. That doesn't mean there wouldn't be exceptions such as eventually trying Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy or Star Trek books written by established authors.

And, Peter David's ST: New Frontier books. I think David pretty much nsild ST:TOS, and he brings that flavor to the ST:TNG setting. He and editor John Ordover created the series, and except for a few ST:TNG charatcers who join the crew the rest were created by Ordover and/or David (who had introduced several of the characters in his Starfleet Academy books for a young reader audience). really pretty much old timey space opera with humor.

This collection of short stories is for the New Frontier completest. It is not great, nor it is bad. It falls right on that divider line in the road. The second Soleta and Burgoyne stories are better in that they give some insight into these characters inner workings. The lone David story, a Calhoun/Shelby "honeymoon" has his usual humorous touches.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though some of the stories are individually good, they really don't gel, largely because they don't embody the humor of the New Frontier series. Worth reading:

Alice, On the Edge of Night. Both a nice character study of Morgan and a look at an important time in her and Robin's lives. Much better than the preceding "Lefler's Logs", which ineptly tries to cover some of the same topics. [7/10]

A Lady of Xenex. A good story that gives depth to both main characters. [7/10]

A Little Getaway. You have to read this Peter David piece to realize how little the rest of the writers get the humor of the New Frontier series. [8/10]

Making a Difference. Slow to start, but you come to care about this earlier crew in a short 10 pages. [7/10]

Performance Appraisal. Though the central tactic is a bit gimmicky, this is a really nice portrayal of Mueller's essential character ... and even has some setup for future stories. [7/10]

Turning Point. Largely a vignette, but a great look at the evolution of Si Cwan's morals. [7/10]

Waiting for G'Doh. I'm not a fan of placing blatant parodies in theoretically real universes, but this is very funny and very true to Kebron's nature. [8/10]

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Previously, the New Frontier saga was penned entirely by Peter David. Now, a legion of Star Trek writers can say that they’ve played in his Trek sandbox.

These tales of the U.S.S. Excalibur crew complement the novels by telling us more about their past history. All of the short stories in this collection blend well with what we already know about the New Frontier characters. I find it difficult to choose a favorite. They’re all entertaining. In addition to a story, Keith R. A. DeCandido also contributed a New Frontier timeline.

No Limits was edited by Mr. David and published in trade paperback by Pocket Books.

[Benjamin Plume · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each story was fun, but none of them really did a lot for me in terms of character development. Still, it was nice to see different authors' perspectives on some of these characters.

[Brent Knorr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of decent stories that fill in some additional background information on many of the characters that appear in the New Frontier line of Star Trek novels.

[Andy Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining enough I suppose. There's a good half to three quarters of the book is of Peter David equivalent quality, or stronger. Some real stand-out stories with only a few dull duffers.

[Loki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uneven but mostly fun anthology of stories. Not necessary for the larger series, but a worthwhile enough way to spend one's time.