New Frontier, Book Two: Into the Void by Peter David [LEFT]Blurb: Roll Call: The Crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur: Captain Mackenzie Calhoun: An unorthodox, decisive young captain who loves his crew and his ship, and loves testing their limits even more. Commander Shelby: A woman of strong opinions and strong values, Shelby never hesitated to tell her captains when she thought they were wrong, and Mackenzie Calhoun won't be any exception. Burgoyne 172: The chief engineer of the Excalibur, with the decisiveness of Calhoun, the strength of Shelby, and the gender of both. Burgoyne is a Hermat, and when s/he sets his/her sights on you, s/he isn't an easy...person...to refuse. As the Thallonian Empire succumbs to violence and insurrection, the U.S.S. Excalibur prepares to launch on her humanitarian mission of mercy. But her departure is destined to be a memorable one, as Calhoun contends with an unexpected stowaway, a stormy relationship with his crew, and -- light-years away -- frightened refugees aboard a dying ship. -------------------------------- My review from long, long ago: A worthy continuation of House of Cards. Where character introduction and cuilding was on the forefront there, here the plot begins to thicken. Peter David is able to make you become attached to the characters despite you barely knew them. In addition, with Calhoun you get a Starfleet Captain you haven't really seen much in the newer series, a headstrong, rule-bending Captain in the vein of James T. Kirk. A good deal of his crew doesn't fit into the usual SF scheme either, but he counter-points it with seemingly perfect Stafleet officers like Shelby and Selar. Together with House of Cards this novel forms a very convincing start into the New Frontier series. [/LEFT]
What is considered "Comic book humour"? I'm an avid comic book reader, and i'm not sure that humour is different in comics than it is in other literature. Funny is funny. What's the difference?
I dunno. It's what a lot of readers say they find "wrong" about Peter David novels. In PAD's case, his humour is often quite black - something sinister is happening and the characters start wise-cracking, but that is also very reflective of real life.
Perhaps it's just that, since the majority of Peter David's writing has been in comics, and since his work in comics has been so influential, his particular style of humor therefore reminds people of his comics and thus of comics in general.
Yep. Not a PAD anecdote, but I recall watching "Man of Steel" when it came out in the cinemas - and being bored witless by the overblown, tedious Superman vs Zod battle in Metropolis, and an onscreen policewoman makes a "comic book" style witticism and I was like - "That's what was missing from this battle!"
I originally read the first four New Frontier novels upon their release in 1997, but just did a re-read a couple of months ago. While it's still a bit difficult to review each of the four novels individually, as it truly is one story that was broken up for marketing reasons, I can say that I enjoyed this portion the most. It introduced the rest of the crew as they came together aboard the Excalibur., in typical pilot episode fashion.
I had to vote outstanding here. The first four NF books were the first adult Star Trek books I read, and I think possibly even the first adult books of any form I read. I still love the first half dozen or so NF books. Great writing, great characters, and great stories. If it weren't for the NF books I never would have tried the DS9R and probably wouldn't be anywhere near as big a Trek fan as I am today.
I'm with JD. These books really acted as the beginning of my treklit love. I'd read a few before then, but the first four New Frontier books really started the obsession. I have fond memories of climbing the tree in my parents front yard (my secret lair) and reading for hours. Thanks PAD
Love NF. So much fun, and so easy to read, and so over-the-top. And that's what made them enjoyable; they were never taken too seriously. It's basically Star Trek's version of a soap opera.
Another great entry. I enjoy PD humor and I'm very selective of what I consider good humor in writing. So far only Abercrombie and Erikson have make me laugh, and now PD joins them. Good job.
Oh, neat to see the New Frontier books getting looked in on. I haven't gotten very far with it myself, but I very much enjoyed the 4-part intro (although I really hated the serialized fiction trend as a sales tactic); I consider the 4 parts to be a single story, and the next time I find the omnibus collection that has them all in a single book, I won't hesitate to snag it. IIRC, the second part has a very funny pair of scenes where McKenzie has two of his officers gripe about their concerns, and he lies his face off and tells them exactly what they want to hear to mollify them...each of these officers hear Mackenzie say exactly the opposite of what MacKenzie has told the other officer.
Another hilarious scene is when Selas speaks to Mackenzie about a subordinate that have a low performance. Mackenzie: Sex performance? Selas: Arched eyebrow.