"Taking the time." That's funny....
Sorry, but the time between the anthology conception and turning in the manuscript to production was about four-and-a-half seconds. (Okay, three months.) This was the textbook definition of "rush job".....
Where I Re-Read NEW FRONTIER by Peter David
- Thread starter Charles Phipps
- Start date
"Taking the time." That's funny....
Sorry, but the time between the anthology conception and turning in the manuscript to production was about four-and-a-half seconds. (Okay, three months.) This was the textbook definition of "rush job".....
"Taking the time." That's funny....
Sorry, but the time between the anthology conception and turning in the manuscript to production was about four-and-a-half seconds. (Okay, three months.) This was the textbook definition of "rush job".....
Hahaha.
Worf's First Adventure
Starfleet Academy 1#
Synopsis: While a cadet at Starfleet Academy, young Worf struggles to cope with both his Klingon heritage and the fact that he is becoming increasingly human.
Analysis: I'm including this among the NEW FRONTIER books because I just finished it and since I don't have any reason not to review it, I might as well. The fact that Soleta, Zak Kebron, and Mark McHenry are among the cast is enough to also add to the sense of it being a prequel to the New Frontier series anyway. I never begrudge an author from stealing from themselves after all and it's amazing how much I do that with my own books and I don't have nearly as much of a writing collection as Peter David did at even this point of his career.
I should note that I read this book when it first came out and I was about twelve years old. Which means that I have something of a vague recollection of the plot and was actually its target audience when it first came out. I had been a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan even then and watched it when I was probably too young to get most of its appeal but it was my favorite show growing up. Like all children, Worf was my favorite for the same reason Wolverine was. He was big, gruff, and the warrior who was badass despite losing constantly.
Before I get to the story, I'm going to state one part of the book actually stuck with me for the three decades since I first read it. It was a scene where all of the Starfleet cadets all did reports on famous battles between the Federation and Klingons in order to let Worf know he's alone here with no friends. It was a lot darker and more traumatizing in my memories than on my re-read but it was such a subtle and dark bit of bullying that it really resonated with me. I think because it was passive aggressive rather than overt.
In any case, I think the story holds up pretty well. Mind you, I don't have any problem reading YA books and still consider myself a proud Alex Rider fan. If it's not as in-depth as most Star Trek books, it's not exactly The Lost City of the Jedi either. Worf is in character throughout the book and while he does get into some unnecessary fights that I hope would not be tolerated by the 24th century, he is a good read about a fairly unremarkable Academy year. There's no need for Voldemort to try to kill everyone there, it's about studying and fitting in.
NEW FRONTIER characters are interesting to note with Soleta being almost pure Vulcan and only the occasional hint of her being a lot gruffer than the majority of their kind. Mark McHenry is sort of an helmsman Luna Lovegood and I kind of imagine if you'd portrayed him as the "Mozart of Warp Drives" that people would have bought it from Wesley. Indeed, in an alternate universe, an older Will Wheaton would have made a good Mark McHenry.
Zak Kebron, though, is barely recognizable as he's a massive-massive racist. Virtually the entire book is Zak being a jerk to Worf from beginning to end, engaging him in fights as well as goading him to get himself expelled. He's a violent bully that is almost unrecognizable from his gruff but likable NF self. Yes, we know he eventually gets better but it was genuinely surprising how nasty he is to Worf for his species. Worse, he's like this even after he discovers that Worf is a survivor of a Romulan massacre.
Sadly, the love interest character is so forgettable that I don't even remember her name unlike the majority of other characters.
Strangely, I think my favorite part of the book is Worf's relationship with Simon Rozhenko. I barely remember Worf's brother from his utterly awful episode but really identified with the fact he's a man who has no interest or aptitude for Starfleet. He's a guy there because it's expected of him and Worf, despite all his bullying, is much better suited. Watching Simon unable to admit his lack of desire to continue on his path to Worf is a surprisingly true to life bit. Especially since Worf thinks of him as the golden child.
Which gets to some of the issues here of continuity because I AM A TREKKIE AND I WILL NITPICK. The first issue being that there is no "Simon Rozhenko", his name was Nikolai. This is not Peter David's fault, though, as I looked it up and he wrote this book before Worf's brother appeared in "Homeward." Next, Sergey is portrayed as something of a Starfleet legend and Starfleet academy is Simon and Worf's destiny. This is off but not necessarily WRONG because Sergey was a petty officer and presumably never attended Starfleet Academy. It just adds an interesting layer to their hero worship of their dad who might have been fine with either of them signing up at the local port to run transporters like Miles O'Brian.
Finally, Starfleet does one of their psy ops HORRIBLE HEAD GAMES where the students think they're going to die and get evaluated on their response. I think these are grossly irresponsible and I hated when it showed up in TNG and in Short Treks.
Starfleet Academy 1#
Synopsis: While a cadet at Starfleet Academy, young Worf struggles to cope with both his Klingon heritage and the fact that he is becoming increasingly human.
Analysis: I'm including this among the NEW FRONTIER books because I just finished it and since I don't have any reason not to review it, I might as well. The fact that Soleta, Zak Kebron, and Mark McHenry are among the cast is enough to also add to the sense of it being a prequel to the New Frontier series anyway. I never begrudge an author from stealing from themselves after all and it's amazing how much I do that with my own books and I don't have nearly as much of a writing collection as Peter David did at even this point of his career.
I should note that I read this book when it first came out and I was about twelve years old. Which means that I have something of a vague recollection of the plot and was actually its target audience when it first came out. I had been a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan even then and watched it when I was probably too young to get most of its appeal but it was my favorite show growing up. Like all children, Worf was my favorite for the same reason Wolverine was. He was big, gruff, and the warrior who was badass despite losing constantly.
Before I get to the story, I'm going to state one part of the book actually stuck with me for the three decades since I first read it. It was a scene where all of the Starfleet cadets all did reports on famous battles between the Federation and Klingons in order to let Worf know he's alone here with no friends. It was a lot darker and more traumatizing in my memories than on my re-read but it was such a subtle and dark bit of bullying that it really resonated with me. I think because it was passive aggressive rather than overt.
In any case, I think the story holds up pretty well. Mind you, I don't have any problem reading YA books and still consider myself a proud Alex Rider fan. If it's not as in-depth as most Star Trek books, it's not exactly The Lost City of the Jedi either. Worf is in character throughout the book and while he does get into some unnecessary fights that I hope would not be tolerated by the 24th century, he is a good read about a fairly unremarkable Academy year. There's no need for Voldemort to try to kill everyone there, it's about studying and fitting in.
NEW FRONTIER characters are interesting to note with Soleta being almost pure Vulcan and only the occasional hint of her being a lot gruffer than the majority of their kind. Mark McHenry is sort of an helmsman Luna Lovegood and I kind of imagine if you'd portrayed him as the "Mozart of Warp Drives" that people would have bought it from Wesley. Indeed, in an alternate universe, an older Will Wheaton would have made a good Mark McHenry.
Zak Kebron, though, is barely recognizable as he's a massive-massive racist. Virtually the entire book is Zak being a jerk to Worf from beginning to end, engaging him in fights as well as goading him to get himself expelled. He's a violent bully that is almost unrecognizable from his gruff but likable NF self. Yes, we know he eventually gets better but it was genuinely surprising how nasty he is to Worf for his species. Worse, he's like this even after he discovers that Worf is a survivor of a Romulan massacre.
Sadly, the love interest character is so forgettable that I don't even remember her name unlike the majority of other characters.
Strangely, I think my favorite part of the book is Worf's relationship with Simon Rozhenko. I barely remember Worf's brother from his utterly awful episode but really identified with the fact he's a man who has no interest or aptitude for Starfleet. He's a guy there because it's expected of him and Worf, despite all his bullying, is much better suited. Watching Simon unable to admit his lack of desire to continue on his path to Worf is a surprisingly true to life bit. Especially since Worf thinks of him as the golden child.
Which gets to some of the issues here of continuity because I AM A TREKKIE AND I WILL NITPICK. The first issue being that there is no "Simon Rozhenko", his name was Nikolai. This is not Peter David's fault, though, as I looked it up and he wrote this book before Worf's brother appeared in "Homeward." Next, Sergey is portrayed as something of a Starfleet legend and Starfleet academy is Simon and Worf's destiny. This is off but not necessarily WRONG because Sergey was a petty officer and presumably never attended Starfleet Academy. It just adds an interesting layer to their hero worship of their dad who might have been fine with either of them signing up at the local port to run transporters like Miles O'Brian.
Finally, Starfleet does one of their psy ops HORRIBLE HEAD GAMES where the students think they're going to die and get evaluated on their response. I think these are grossly irresponsible and I hated when it showed up in TNG and in Short Treks.
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I devoured these books back in the day, when the series was a part of the regular publishing schedule. I lost interest and didn’t even read The Returned. If I am honest, I don’t remember an awful lot about them now.
*edited for spelling*
*edited for spelling*
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The Return, when I get to it, will have....thoughts.
Star Trek: New Frontier: Being Human
Book 12
Synopsis: Throughout the Star Trek: New Frontier saga, Mark McHenry, the navigator on the USS Excalibur, has demonstrated abilities beyond those of the somewhat odd human being he appears to be. When the inhabitants of an innocent solar system are confronted by a menace linked to the source of McHenry's powers, his true heritage is revealed at last.
Meanwhile, Zak Kebron is going through a startling change that will leave him both more and less than he was.
Analysis: I actually finished this one awhile ago and didn't get around to writing the review. Indeed, I actually read this and the sequel back to back so it's doubly problematic. Thankfully, though, that means I can do their reviews simultaneously. For those wondering what the long delay of about a year and four months was, it was due to my niece moving in. Which obviously disrupted a lot of my online time. However, I'm getting back to writing my Space Academy books so I might as well get these done since I'm definitely in a humorous space opera mood.
This book introduces the revelation that Mark McHenry, the guy capable of flying a starship in his sleep, is actually a demigod. Indeed, he is the descendant of Apollo from Who Mourns Adonis?. Peter David has a fantastic love of TOS and makes the proper decision of attempting to weld the "Wild West" days of ST into the more stately and dignified TNG era to hilarious effect. It's part of why I love this series as I admit to being someone who enjoys the goofier side of Trek with all its whales, gangster planets, and more. People harp on the holodeck episode but I actually note it's when TNG was able to cut loose.
Ironically, I think Being Human was when Peter David started to enter his "Dark Period" of New Frontier. The series lasted far longer than I expect he knew and probably was intended to potentially end with the destruction of the Excalibur way back when. Star Trek: Stargazer is one of my favorite Trek series but it only lasted five books with a couple of side-stories involving the cast as well as a much-appreciated coda in The Buried Age. Here, things kept going and that meant a lot of plotlines started getting traumatic and merciless. Seriously, the cast gets cut down like Post-Claremont X-men with less resurrection.
As much as I love New Frontier, I can't say the Dark Period is my favorite part of the series as the characters start getting trimmed with the Reaper's scythe and often go through hellish circumstances to rival Miles O'Brien. In this case, the set ups for the deaths of Si Cwan, Morgan Primus, and more. The characters don't remain static in the New Frontier novels but the changes are going to be something that will put both them as well as the reader through the ringer.
There's some questionable choices mythologically like the fact that McHenry's designated love interest (and abuser--which Peter David touches on tastefully) is Artemis, the Virgin Goddess. I think it was a weird choice and I think one of the other goddesses would have been a better choice like Aphrodite or even Athena (even though she is a virgin goddess as well--Ancient Greeks man).
Oddly, my favorite part of the book was the Si Cwan parts after he accepts the help of the Danteri in rebuilding the Thallonian Empire. It was a bad idea, Calhoun knew it was a bad idea and Si Cwan knew it was a bad idea. However, Si Cwan is one of those characters I like ala Tyrion Lannister who thinks they're worse people than they are so they underestimate the level of stupidity as well as narcissism that makes evil people do things even against their own self-interest because pragmatism isn't actually a quality of the worst. Basically, Si Cwan can't comprehend the idea of giving up power to a master because toadying is antithetical to someone with genuine self-respect.
Basically, you can't win the game of thrones by being smart because a lot of the people with power are just genuinely stupid.
Book 12
Synopsis: Throughout the Star Trek: New Frontier saga, Mark McHenry, the navigator on the USS Excalibur, has demonstrated abilities beyond those of the somewhat odd human being he appears to be. When the inhabitants of an innocent solar system are confronted by a menace linked to the source of McHenry's powers, his true heritage is revealed at last.
Meanwhile, Zak Kebron is going through a startling change that will leave him both more and less than he was.
Analysis: I actually finished this one awhile ago and didn't get around to writing the review. Indeed, I actually read this and the sequel back to back so it's doubly problematic. Thankfully, though, that means I can do their reviews simultaneously. For those wondering what the long delay of about a year and four months was, it was due to my niece moving in. Which obviously disrupted a lot of my online time. However, I'm getting back to writing my Space Academy books so I might as well get these done since I'm definitely in a humorous space opera mood.
This book introduces the revelation that Mark McHenry, the guy capable of flying a starship in his sleep, is actually a demigod. Indeed, he is the descendant of Apollo from Who Mourns Adonis?. Peter David has a fantastic love of TOS and makes the proper decision of attempting to weld the "Wild West" days of ST into the more stately and dignified TNG era to hilarious effect. It's part of why I love this series as I admit to being someone who enjoys the goofier side of Trek with all its whales, gangster planets, and more. People harp on the holodeck episode but I actually note it's when TNG was able to cut loose.
Ironically, I think Being Human was when Peter David started to enter his "Dark Period" of New Frontier. The series lasted far longer than I expect he knew and probably was intended to potentially end with the destruction of the Excalibur way back when. Star Trek: Stargazer is one of my favorite Trek series but it only lasted five books with a couple of side-stories involving the cast as well as a much-appreciated coda in The Buried Age. Here, things kept going and that meant a lot of plotlines started getting traumatic and merciless. Seriously, the cast gets cut down like Post-Claremont X-men with less resurrection.
As much as I love New Frontier, I can't say the Dark Period is my favorite part of the series as the characters start getting trimmed with the Reaper's scythe and often go through hellish circumstances to rival Miles O'Brien. In this case, the set ups for the deaths of Si Cwan, Morgan Primus, and more. The characters don't remain static in the New Frontier novels but the changes are going to be something that will put both them as well as the reader through the ringer.
There's some questionable choices mythologically like the fact that McHenry's designated love interest (and abuser--which Peter David touches on tastefully) is Artemis, the Virgin Goddess. I think it was a weird choice and I think one of the other goddesses would have been a better choice like Aphrodite or even Athena (even though she is a virgin goddess as well--Ancient Greeks man).
Oddly, my favorite part of the book was the Si Cwan parts after he accepts the help of the Danteri in rebuilding the Thallonian Empire. It was a bad idea, Calhoun knew it was a bad idea and Si Cwan knew it was a bad idea. However, Si Cwan is one of those characters I like ala Tyrion Lannister who thinks they're worse people than they are so they underestimate the level of stupidity as well as narcissism that makes evil people do things even against their own self-interest because pragmatism isn't actually a quality of the worst. Basically, Si Cwan can't comprehend the idea of giving up power to a master because toadying is antithetical to someone with genuine self-respect.
Basically, you can't win the game of thrones by being smart because a lot of the people with power are just genuinely stupid.
Star Trek: New Frontier: Gods Above
Book 13
Synopsis: Captain Mackenzie Calhoun has often been accused of playing God, but he has never faced off against real gods – until now. As Captain Kirk did before him, Calhoun has encountered beings of unnatural power and abilities verging on godhood, and who claim to be the very individuals who inspired the Greek, Roman, Norse, and, other pantheons from Earth culture.
Analysis: This is a "season finale" book where we have Mac actually facing down gods in Star Trek. It's definitely as big and epic a confrontation as we've ever gotten in the books and does a fantastic job of selling the stakes. While created independently, it has a lot of Season Four of Babylon Five energy as Mac reveals just how little humanity needs the gods of old anymore.
Unfortunately, the gods of this book don't have quite the nuance as the Vorlons or Shadows. Artemis, Thoth, Anubis, and Tyr are about as one dimensional as the slave lords from "The Gamemasters of Triskelion" or "Catspaw." Which is fine because TOS villains very often were incredibly awful with no nuance but disappointing here.
Much of the book is about the temptations the gods give to provide a literal opiate of the masses in ambrosia. I'm not very fond of Soleta's handling in this book as she gets reduced to a starstruck lover too enraptured with Thoth to really make a meaningful contribution to the story. It does posit the interesting idea that LOVE is the most powerful form of worship and why the gods so frequently take mortal consorts.
Another plotline I'm not particularly fond of is Lieutenant Commander Gleau and M'Ress, which is Peter David tackling date rape in Star Trek before Darulio from The Orville. Well, technically Star Trek has been handling date rape in Star Trek since "The Naked Now" but you know what I mean. It's deeply uncomfortable that Gleau uses his psychic power to get laid and Shelby is mostly disapproving but not "criminal charges and court martial" mad. It does reference the vow of celibacy that Deltans are forced to take and I'm reminded how
Christopher handled the Deltan's disastrous First Contact in his ENTERPRISE novels. But yeah, screw this guy.
I'm kind of iffy about the handling of Odin in the setting as he represents all of the Sky Fathers of Earth History (at least in this universe). Still, he at least is mostly on the side of good and i actually felt the tie-in to Santa Clause was pretty good. I'm surprised they didn't allude to the idea he was also the Christian God's inspiration but that's mostly because Peter David does take risks like that. Then again, he was really pro-religious in his excellent Supergirl comics.
Morgan Primus "died" the previous book and is now uploaded to the Excalibur's computer system. I thought this was a very interesting twist and something that I was anxious to see how it worked. I have to admit it's only as a 42-year-old man that I get this is all just an incredibly elaborate Majel barret joke. After indicating she was Number One, had Scotty mistake her for Christine, and be an overbearing mother like Lxanna, OF COURSE she ends up the starship's computer voice.
Note: My headcanon is that I'm happy to consider New Frontier still part of my personal canon. Which also fits that she's just yet another woman who mysteriously looks like Majel Barret in-universe. Because why not? Tom Paris turns out NOT to be related to Lorcano.
This is the end of Mark McHenry's story and given he was a character that has been with us from the beginning and even in spin-offs, it's a shame to see him take the Wesley Crusher to Traveler route of ascending to a higher plane of existence. Same for Kes. I think that's something of a lazy way out and rarely satisfying when normally "ascending to godhood" is a big deal. At least it's a happy-ish ending, though. Which is a far cry from the way that Janos will be treated next book.
Book 13
Synopsis: Captain Mackenzie Calhoun has often been accused of playing God, but he has never faced off against real gods – until now. As Captain Kirk did before him, Calhoun has encountered beings of unnatural power and abilities verging on godhood, and who claim to be the very individuals who inspired the Greek, Roman, Norse, and, other pantheons from Earth culture.
Analysis: This is a "season finale" book where we have Mac actually facing down gods in Star Trek. It's definitely as big and epic a confrontation as we've ever gotten in the books and does a fantastic job of selling the stakes. While created independently, it has a lot of Season Four of Babylon Five energy as Mac reveals just how little humanity needs the gods of old anymore.
Unfortunately, the gods of this book don't have quite the nuance as the Vorlons or Shadows. Artemis, Thoth, Anubis, and Tyr are about as one dimensional as the slave lords from "The Gamemasters of Triskelion" or "Catspaw." Which is fine because TOS villains very often were incredibly awful with no nuance but disappointing here.
Much of the book is about the temptations the gods give to provide a literal opiate of the masses in ambrosia. I'm not very fond of Soleta's handling in this book as she gets reduced to a starstruck lover too enraptured with Thoth to really make a meaningful contribution to the story. It does posit the interesting idea that LOVE is the most powerful form of worship and why the gods so frequently take mortal consorts.
Another plotline I'm not particularly fond of is Lieutenant Commander Gleau and M'Ress, which is Peter David tackling date rape in Star Trek before Darulio from The Orville. Well, technically Star Trek has been handling date rape in Star Trek since "The Naked Now" but you know what I mean. It's deeply uncomfortable that Gleau uses his psychic power to get laid and Shelby is mostly disapproving but not "criminal charges and court martial" mad. It does reference the vow of celibacy that Deltans are forced to take and I'm reminded how
Christopher handled the Deltan's disastrous First Contact in his ENTERPRISE novels. But yeah, screw this guy.
I'm kind of iffy about the handling of Odin in the setting as he represents all of the Sky Fathers of Earth History (at least in this universe). Still, he at least is mostly on the side of good and i actually felt the tie-in to Santa Clause was pretty good. I'm surprised they didn't allude to the idea he was also the Christian God's inspiration but that's mostly because Peter David does take risks like that. Then again, he was really pro-religious in his excellent Supergirl comics.
Morgan Primus "died" the previous book and is now uploaded to the Excalibur's computer system. I thought this was a very interesting twist and something that I was anxious to see how it worked. I have to admit it's only as a 42-year-old man that I get this is all just an incredibly elaborate Majel barret joke. After indicating she was Number One, had Scotty mistake her for Christine, and be an overbearing mother like Lxanna, OF COURSE she ends up the starship's computer voice.
Note: My headcanon is that I'm happy to consider New Frontier still part of my personal canon. Which also fits that she's just yet another woman who mysteriously looks like Majel Barret in-universe. Because why not? Tom Paris turns out NOT to be related to Lorcano.
This is the end of Mark McHenry's story and given he was a character that has been with us from the beginning and even in spin-offs, it's a shame to see him take the Wesley Crusher to Traveler route of ascending to a higher plane of existence. Same for Kes. I think that's something of a lazy way out and rarely satisfying when normally "ascending to godhood" is a big deal. At least it's a happy-ish ending, though. Which is a far cry from the way that Janos will be treated next book.
Star Trek: New Frontier: Stone and Anvil
Book 14
Synopsis: Fans of Peter David's best selling New Frontier saga have been eagerly awaiting a new adventure featuring Captain Mackenzie Calhoun, Captain Elizabeth Shelby, and the crews of the Starships Excalibur and Trident. Now at last Calhoun and Shelby return in an exciting page-turner the explores the past of both captains - while simultaneously confronting them with a perilous dilemma in the present.
A crewman has been murdered aboard the USS Trident, and all evidence points to Ensign Janos of the Excalibur. Calhoun is reluctant to accept that Janos, a powerful non-humanoid whom the captain has known and trusted for years, could be a killer an immediately launches an investigation into the crime. But this troubling murder mystery soon escalates into a full-fledged diplomatic crisis that threatens to pit Calhoun and Shelby against the entire United Federation of Planets and the starship Enterprise.
Meanwhile, the turmoil involving Ensign Janos forces Calhoun to recall his own tempestuous past, his rocky relationship with a young Elizabeth Shelby, and a long-ago exploit that may have everything to do with the deadly emergency that now confronts them all.
Analysis: A murder mystery is a timeless Star Trek plot and no surprise works very well here. The victim was hated by a large part of the crew but Security Officer Janos is the one who is believed to have done it, mostly because all of the evidence points to him. A lot of great flashbacks to Shelby and Calhoun's time in Starfleet Academy as well, including the best handling of the Kobayashi Maru test since Kirk's own.
I believe this is possibly the best of the NF novels but it is also one that is a gut punch in the way it unambiguously embraces it's downer ending. It also contains one of my all-time favorite Star Trek plots and that is MacKenzie Calhoun attending Starfleet Academy and his unique solution to the Kobayashi Maru. More on that later but this is the Dark Period's real beginning.
The main plot is that Ensign Janos, a genetically altered Mugatto, is accused of murder. Part of what makes the murder mystery work so well is that it's not really a mystery at all. He did it and did it because the victim was a complete disgrace of a Starfleet officer to someone he cared about. It's just that he's losing his mind in a manner akin to THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU. Which may have been his origin to begin with.
What makes this novel powerful is that our heroes completely fail to save the day. Janos has a fate arguably worse than death, albeit understandable given the crew won't want to mercy kill their friend. There's also plenty of people who think a life as an animal in a verdant paradise is better than death. Really, it's up to your values. It's a gut punch but, unfortunately, just the first of many that the series is about to deliver to us.
The best part of the book is learning about how MacKenzie Calhoun went from being a William Wallace-style Highland rebel to being the captain of a Federation starship. The adjustments he has to make are enjoyable to read about even if they are very much of the kind that would have gotten him expelled several times. Watching Mac steal Shelby from her fiance is handled well even if it doesn't particularly paint Mac in a very good light. He's a really crappy friend.
As mentioned twice already, the best part of the book is the Kobyashi Maru as handled by Mac and I think his handling of it is actually valid, reasoning wise. It also makes perfect sense why Shelby would assume it was just Mac doing a stunt and unwittingly torpedo her own career. She became emotionally compromised by her relationship with Mac and couldn't see him as her superior officer--which is why these relationships are banned in real life.
But yes, BLOW THE SHIP UP!
Book 14
Synopsis: Fans of Peter David's best selling New Frontier saga have been eagerly awaiting a new adventure featuring Captain Mackenzie Calhoun, Captain Elizabeth Shelby, and the crews of the Starships Excalibur and Trident. Now at last Calhoun and Shelby return in an exciting page-turner the explores the past of both captains - while simultaneously confronting them with a perilous dilemma in the present.
A crewman has been murdered aboard the USS Trident, and all evidence points to Ensign Janos of the Excalibur. Calhoun is reluctant to accept that Janos, a powerful non-humanoid whom the captain has known and trusted for years, could be a killer an immediately launches an investigation into the crime. But this troubling murder mystery soon escalates into a full-fledged diplomatic crisis that threatens to pit Calhoun and Shelby against the entire United Federation of Planets and the starship Enterprise.
Meanwhile, the turmoil involving Ensign Janos forces Calhoun to recall his own tempestuous past, his rocky relationship with a young Elizabeth Shelby, and a long-ago exploit that may have everything to do with the deadly emergency that now confronts them all.
Analysis: A murder mystery is a timeless Star Trek plot and no surprise works very well here. The victim was hated by a large part of the crew but Security Officer Janos is the one who is believed to have done it, mostly because all of the evidence points to him. A lot of great flashbacks to Shelby and Calhoun's time in Starfleet Academy as well, including the best handling of the Kobayashi Maru test since Kirk's own.
I believe this is possibly the best of the NF novels but it is also one that is a gut punch in the way it unambiguously embraces it's downer ending. It also contains one of my all-time favorite Star Trek plots and that is MacKenzie Calhoun attending Starfleet Academy and his unique solution to the Kobayashi Maru. More on that later but this is the Dark Period's real beginning.
The main plot is that Ensign Janos, a genetically altered Mugatto, is accused of murder. Part of what makes the murder mystery work so well is that it's not really a mystery at all. He did it and did it because the victim was a complete disgrace of a Starfleet officer to someone he cared about. It's just that he's losing his mind in a manner akin to THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU. Which may have been his origin to begin with.
What makes this novel powerful is that our heroes completely fail to save the day. Janos has a fate arguably worse than death, albeit understandable given the crew won't want to mercy kill their friend. There's also plenty of people who think a life as an animal in a verdant paradise is better than death. Really, it's up to your values. It's a gut punch but, unfortunately, just the first of many that the series is about to deliver to us.
The best part of the book is learning about how MacKenzie Calhoun went from being a William Wallace-style Highland rebel to being the captain of a Federation starship. The adjustments he has to make are enjoyable to read about even if they are very much of the kind that would have gotten him expelled several times. Watching Mac steal Shelby from her fiance is handled well even if it doesn't particularly paint Mac in a very good light. He's a really crappy friend.
As mentioned twice already, the best part of the book is the Kobyashi Maru as handled by Mac and I think his handling of it is actually valid, reasoning wise. It also makes perfect sense why Shelby would assume it was just Mac doing a stunt and unwittingly torpedo her own career. She became emotionally compromised by her relationship with Mac and couldn't see him as her superior officer--which is why these relationships are banned in real life.
But yes, BLOW THE SHIP UP!
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Always felt Stone and Anvil would serve as a good conclusion to the series. After the high-stakes of the previous two books which as you said were the "season finale", Stone and Anvil felt like a nice epilogue to the series that wrapped things up. The books that came after were, in my opinion, a bit disappointing.
As mentioned, what I remember most about the books after this period is characters start dropping like flies and going through O'Brien-esque torment.
From what I remember?
Si Cwan will be assassinated, leaving his pregnant wife behind. Morgan Primus will go insane and need to be put down. Doctor Selar? Also, horribly dies. The Xyon/Kalinda relationship is torpedoed. The entirety of the Xenexian race will be exterminated, driving MacKenzie to commit an act of genocide. That's...a pretty big chunk of the cast there.
That's why I call it the "Dark Period."
Yeah, when I reread the novels a couple of years ago, I could not even get through much of the subsequent novels - they just feel so overbearingly dark... I genuinely feel like treating Stone and Anvil as the finale for New Frontier, and just keep the stories that came after as shelf stuffers for the sake of completion, not to actually read.
This "Dark Period" got too dark for my tastes.
This "Dark Period" got too dark for my tastes.
Obviously what a writer writes has very little to do with his mood at the time. Some of my darkest stuff has been when I've been at my happiest but it seemed like Peter was definitely in a deconstructive "Iron Age of Comics" mood when he wrote these particular works. That's not even getting into what happens with Soleta and Calhoun, which I normally would be quite happy to ship.
Yeesh.
And yeah, I would agree with both of you guys that "Stone and Anvil" isn't the worst place you could stop the series.
Yes, if I ever did a reread, I think I would stop here for sure.
Count me in as someone else who always advises people to treat “Stone and Anvil” as the series finale. I think the only NF stories that felt “right” after this were Shelby’s “Captain’s Table” story, and the cameo in “Before Dishonor” (which has its own problems, needless to say).
I think one issue after Stone & Anvil is that "New Frontier" just got too big. It started off as one crew on one ship having localised adventures in one sector. It then became many crews on many ships dealing with constant galaxy-ending events. There was a lot of sprawl. Which is also why I like Stone & Anvil as a finale. After the big adventure in previous books, it was just a relatively smaller story focusing on the characters.
Star Trek: New Frontier: After the Fall
Book 15
Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Peter David's unforgettable novels of Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the crew of the Starship Excalibur remain one of Star Trek's most popular book series among fans. Now, David takes the New Frontier universe in a bold direction that will at once shock, thrill, and delight longtime and brand-new readers of this acclaimed series.
Three years have passed since the events depicted in the novel Stone and Anvil, and for the past and present crew members of the U.S.S. Excalibur, life has taken many surprising twists and turns. Captain Elizabeth Shelby has been promoted to admiral and heads Space Station.
Bravo...while her former ship, the U.S.S. Trident, has a new captain. Soleta has left Starfleet to embrace the perils of exploring her Romulan heritage. The powerful Zak Kebron serves as the Excalibur 's counselor and head of security.
And Mackenzie Calhoun? Well, Mackenzie Calhoun's still who he is.
As Si Cwan, prime minister of the New Thallonian Protectorate, prepares to marry off his sister Kalinda in a politically advantageous pairing that will strengthen his newly restored empire, the bride-to-be is abducted just before the wedding in a calamitous event that threatens to destabilize the entire sector—especially since Kalinda's abductor is someone all too familiar.
As the Excalibur, the Trident, and the entire Thallonian fleet attempt to bring order to their sector of space, none could ever suspect that a mysterious alien force may also be playing a part in Kalinda's disappearance—and that the entire galaxy may soon face a long-forgotten enemy.
Analysis: Stone and Anvil was a work that was probably a good ending to the New Frontier series but I have to say that I am glad the series continued. Mostly because I really enjoy this novel. Interestingly, this book has a three year time skip and I wonder if there's RL reason for this like trying to bring the series up to the same timeline as the rest of the books. Either way, it puts a lot of characters in very different places.
We get to finally see the rebuilt Thallonian Empire as a non-evil organization or commonwealth in the Thallonian Protectorate. Well, mostly non-evil because I'm not sure about Si Cwan's number two in Prime Arbiter Fhermus.
The main plot is that Fhermus' son is engaged to Kalinda, Si Cwan's sister, and the rest of the Protectorate assumes this is an attempt to create a political dynasty. Which would be very smart of them but they claim (correctly) that, ugh, they are just a couple in love. The announcement of their engagement, though, is enough to bring Xyon out of hiding as he refuses to let Kalinda marry another man when he still has feelings for her.
Xyon is an interesting example of a very enjoyable dislikable character. His sheer selfishness and self-centeredness makes him a both interesting to read even as you want to scream at him. Even when confronted with the fact that he's hurt everyone by faking his death, he refuses to believe it was a big deal. I support him and Kalinda as a couple but, man, is he a terrible boyfriend and his attempts to win her over via duel is imitating the worst of Mac/Shelby's relationship.
We also have the Priatians, who are a race that used to rule all of Thallonian Space before Si Cwan's people drove them off their planets and conquered them. Robin Lefler is sympathetic but their demands are ridiculous. Sadly, it also resembles the dismissive attitude many individuals have toward indigineous restoration movements. It doesn't help the Thallonians are, well, jackasses and seeing them forced to cede territory seems fine to me.
Kat Mueller gets a pretty good amount of screentime this time around as well. I've always enjoyed her character and especially like the way she plays off of Shelby. She's been promoted to captain of the Trident with Elizabeth now an admiral. I really enjoyed her conversation about having sexual encounters with other people during a long distance relationship (even if it is just feeling Shelby out to see if she'd be okay with sleeping with Mac again--hint: she's not, Kat). Sadly, the book makes Kat extremely racist against Andorians.
It's funny that the book was written before ENTERPRISE because Kat mentions how little Andorians are associated with the Federation, how they're mostly ignored, and how promoting one to Commander is considered a fig leaf toward their society. Given they're now one of the more famous races, it's kind of funny how the books treat their being ignored by TNG. Then again, maybe I'm just an Andorian fanboy (*hugs picture of Pava*).
Perhaps the most controversial element of this book is Soleta defecting to the Romulans. She got outed off camera as a Romulan-Vulcan hybrid and this resulted in her being kicked out of Starfleet. It's a true Drumhead situation since I'm not sure that it would be illegal to find out your ancestor was someone after joining Starfleet. However, we have the same, "threatened to resign and didn't do any good" with Calhoun that Janeway and Picard both tried and failed to do. Honestly, I'd be more like, "I was unwittingly party to terrorism" would be a bigger issue for Soleta.
Book 15
Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Peter David's unforgettable novels of Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the crew of the Starship Excalibur remain one of Star Trek's most popular book series among fans. Now, David takes the New Frontier universe in a bold direction that will at once shock, thrill, and delight longtime and brand-new readers of this acclaimed series.
Three years have passed since the events depicted in the novel Stone and Anvil, and for the past and present crew members of the U.S.S. Excalibur, life has taken many surprising twists and turns. Captain Elizabeth Shelby has been promoted to admiral and heads Space Station.
Bravo...while her former ship, the U.S.S. Trident, has a new captain. Soleta has left Starfleet to embrace the perils of exploring her Romulan heritage. The powerful Zak Kebron serves as the Excalibur 's counselor and head of security.
And Mackenzie Calhoun? Well, Mackenzie Calhoun's still who he is.
As Si Cwan, prime minister of the New Thallonian Protectorate, prepares to marry off his sister Kalinda in a politically advantageous pairing that will strengthen his newly restored empire, the bride-to-be is abducted just before the wedding in a calamitous event that threatens to destabilize the entire sector—especially since Kalinda's abductor is someone all too familiar.
As the Excalibur, the Trident, and the entire Thallonian fleet attempt to bring order to their sector of space, none could ever suspect that a mysterious alien force may also be playing a part in Kalinda's disappearance—and that the entire galaxy may soon face a long-forgotten enemy.
Analysis: Stone and Anvil was a work that was probably a good ending to the New Frontier series but I have to say that I am glad the series continued. Mostly because I really enjoy this novel. Interestingly, this book has a three year time skip and I wonder if there's RL reason for this like trying to bring the series up to the same timeline as the rest of the books. Either way, it puts a lot of characters in very different places.
We get to finally see the rebuilt Thallonian Empire as a non-evil organization or commonwealth in the Thallonian Protectorate. Well, mostly non-evil because I'm not sure about Si Cwan's number two in Prime Arbiter Fhermus.
The main plot is that Fhermus' son is engaged to Kalinda, Si Cwan's sister, and the rest of the Protectorate assumes this is an attempt to create a political dynasty. Which would be very smart of them but they claim (correctly) that, ugh, they are just a couple in love. The announcement of their engagement, though, is enough to bring Xyon out of hiding as he refuses to let Kalinda marry another man when he still has feelings for her.
Xyon is an interesting example of a very enjoyable dislikable character. His sheer selfishness and self-centeredness makes him a both interesting to read even as you want to scream at him. Even when confronted with the fact that he's hurt everyone by faking his death, he refuses to believe it was a big deal. I support him and Kalinda as a couple but, man, is he a terrible boyfriend and his attempts to win her over via duel is imitating the worst of Mac/Shelby's relationship.
We also have the Priatians, who are a race that used to rule all of Thallonian Space before Si Cwan's people drove them off their planets and conquered them. Robin Lefler is sympathetic but their demands are ridiculous. Sadly, it also resembles the dismissive attitude many individuals have toward indigineous restoration movements. It doesn't help the Thallonians are, well, jackasses and seeing them forced to cede territory seems fine to me.
Kat Mueller gets a pretty good amount of screentime this time around as well. I've always enjoyed her character and especially like the way she plays off of Shelby. She's been promoted to captain of the Trident with Elizabeth now an admiral. I really enjoyed her conversation about having sexual encounters with other people during a long distance relationship (even if it is just feeling Shelby out to see if she'd be okay with sleeping with Mac again--hint: she's not, Kat). Sadly, the book makes Kat extremely racist against Andorians.
It's funny that the book was written before ENTERPRISE because Kat mentions how little Andorians are associated with the Federation, how they're mostly ignored, and how promoting one to Commander is considered a fig leaf toward their society. Given they're now one of the more famous races, it's kind of funny how the books treat their being ignored by TNG. Then again, maybe I'm just an Andorian fanboy (*hugs picture of Pava*).
Perhaps the most controversial element of this book is Soleta defecting to the Romulans. She got outed off camera as a Romulan-Vulcan hybrid and this resulted in her being kicked out of Starfleet. It's a true Drumhead situation since I'm not sure that it would be illegal to find out your ancestor was someone after joining Starfleet. However, we have the same, "threatened to resign and didn't do any good" with Calhoun that Janeway and Picard both tried and failed to do. Honestly, I'd be more like, "I was unwittingly party to terrorism" would be a bigger issue for Soleta.
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Star Trek: New Frontier: Missing in Action
Book 16
Synopsis: In this New Frontier novel, the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur find themselves thrust into another universe—and must find a way home by any means. Following the dramatic events of After the Fall, Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur find themselves catapulted headlong into another universe, far from the New Thallonian Protectorate and Sector 221-G...a place where an ancient war rages between two powerful alien races.
But Calhoun has no intention of staying here for very long and, adopting the time-honored philosophy of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," takes it upon himself to somehow (and by any means necessary) persuade one side or the other to help him and his crew get back home. Meanwhile, the shadow of war has fallen over the New Thallonian Protectorate, and an embattled Si Cwan faces growing treachery as he attempts to maintain his tenuous hold on power.
With Starfleet and the Federation declaring Sector 221-G temporarily off-limits, Admiral Elizabeth Shelby and Captain Kat Mueller decide to take matters into their own hands, ignoring orders by trying to find some way of getting to the Excalibur, presuming there is any Excalibur to get to. But they never count on the most unexpected of allies—an old friend whose shifting loyalties are about to be put to the ultimate test even as a growing cataclysm looms....
Analysis: Missing in Action is a story that kind of reminds me of The Return, which we're rapidly coming up on. The premise is that there's two giant alien races locked in a genocidal war with one another that Mac attempts to prevent the destruction of but who, ultimately, fails to do so (one eliminating the other before Q annihilates other) that actually does a pretty good homage to "Let this be our last Battlefield" without probably being directly a reference to it. It also might literally take place in a universe that exists in a jellyfish. Sort of like the galaxy that exists in a marble in Men in Black or the Discworld--we're completely off the rails now.
Yeah, this is a pretty wild storyline and I wouldn't say Peter David had run out of ideas at this point so much that he maybe had too many ideas? I dunno, because there's a lot going on in this story and it goes in even wilder directions than is typical. That isn't a bad thing necessarily but describing this particular book's plot and what goes on in it is harder than normal.
I mean, I haven't even gotten to the fact that Si Cwan dies ignobly in this book and his killer is promptly killed by Robin Lefler (actually, Kat Mueller but this reminds me of a scene where Wesley Crusher was supposed to wipe out a bunch of awful people with his Traveler powers but they were told that they couldn't do that despite it being absolutely what the character would have done in that situation).
The loss of Si Cwan continues the trend of the "Dark Period." It's not that I don't believe in killing off characters at the end of their story arc is something that has a place in a series like New Frontier, it's just its starting to come more rapid and grizzly too. Si Cwan finally achieves some measure of success with the Thallonian Protectorate and it ends in a civil war followed by his execution while his wife his pregnant with his son. Yeah.
To get back to the primary storyline, I also feel like the Dark Period is also made explicit by the failure of the "Star Trek Way." Mac goes to elaborate lengths to try to prevent the Bolgar and the Teuthis from destroying one another. This includes giving himself and their two leaders a fatal disease. It also ends, again, in our hero failing.
Which, again, is something that is okay in moderation but has the Bolgar wiped out by the Q in the end in something that seems wholly mean spirited. I guess because their leadership wanted the Teuthis dead (who are objectively evil colonialists consisting of a dozen or so people), they all deserved to die. The whole "genocide is the best solution" will start appearing in not only this book but subsequent books. Which...really, Peter?
I will give Soleta credit here, I absolutely loved how she turned the tables on her rebellious Romulan crew. Peter David's subversion of the idea of her winning over their loyalty and Lucius' speech about how the old Praetor had wanted her as his successor (when he was just buttering Soleta up) was all handled very cleverily.
Book 16
Synopsis: In this New Frontier novel, the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur find themselves thrust into another universe—and must find a way home by any means. Following the dramatic events of After the Fall, Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur find themselves catapulted headlong into another universe, far from the New Thallonian Protectorate and Sector 221-G...a place where an ancient war rages between two powerful alien races.
But Calhoun has no intention of staying here for very long and, adopting the time-honored philosophy of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," takes it upon himself to somehow (and by any means necessary) persuade one side or the other to help him and his crew get back home. Meanwhile, the shadow of war has fallen over the New Thallonian Protectorate, and an embattled Si Cwan faces growing treachery as he attempts to maintain his tenuous hold on power.
With Starfleet and the Federation declaring Sector 221-G temporarily off-limits, Admiral Elizabeth Shelby and Captain Kat Mueller decide to take matters into their own hands, ignoring orders by trying to find some way of getting to the Excalibur, presuming there is any Excalibur to get to. But they never count on the most unexpected of allies—an old friend whose shifting loyalties are about to be put to the ultimate test even as a growing cataclysm looms....
Analysis: Missing in Action is a story that kind of reminds me of The Return, which we're rapidly coming up on. The premise is that there's two giant alien races locked in a genocidal war with one another that Mac attempts to prevent the destruction of but who, ultimately, fails to do so (one eliminating the other before Q annihilates other) that actually does a pretty good homage to "Let this be our last Battlefield" without probably being directly a reference to it. It also might literally take place in a universe that exists in a jellyfish. Sort of like the galaxy that exists in a marble in Men in Black or the Discworld--we're completely off the rails now.
Yeah, this is a pretty wild storyline and I wouldn't say Peter David had run out of ideas at this point so much that he maybe had too many ideas? I dunno, because there's a lot going on in this story and it goes in even wilder directions than is typical. That isn't a bad thing necessarily but describing this particular book's plot and what goes on in it is harder than normal.
I mean, I haven't even gotten to the fact that Si Cwan dies ignobly in this book and his killer is promptly killed by Robin Lefler (actually, Kat Mueller but this reminds me of a scene where Wesley Crusher was supposed to wipe out a bunch of awful people with his Traveler powers but they were told that they couldn't do that despite it being absolutely what the character would have done in that situation).
The loss of Si Cwan continues the trend of the "Dark Period." It's not that I don't believe in killing off characters at the end of their story arc is something that has a place in a series like New Frontier, it's just its starting to come more rapid and grizzly too. Si Cwan finally achieves some measure of success with the Thallonian Protectorate and it ends in a civil war followed by his execution while his wife his pregnant with his son. Yeah.
To get back to the primary storyline, I also feel like the Dark Period is also made explicit by the failure of the "Star Trek Way." Mac goes to elaborate lengths to try to prevent the Bolgar and the Teuthis from destroying one another. This includes giving himself and their two leaders a fatal disease. It also ends, again, in our hero failing.
Which, again, is something that is okay in moderation but has the Bolgar wiped out by the Q in the end in something that seems wholly mean spirited. I guess because their leadership wanted the Teuthis dead (who are objectively evil colonialists consisting of a dozen or so people), they all deserved to die. The whole "genocide is the best solution" will start appearing in not only this book but subsequent books. Which...really, Peter?
I will give Soleta credit here, I absolutely loved how she turned the tables on her rebellious Romulan crew. Peter David's subversion of the idea of her winning over their loyalty and Lucius' speech about how the old Praetor had wanted her as his successor (when he was just buttering Soleta up) was all handled very cleverily.
I am presently debating doing Vanguard or the Starfleet Academy (Marvel Comics) series next.
Star Trek: New Frontier: Treason
Book 17
Synopsis: It is a time of political upheaval and uncertainty in the New Thallonian Protectorate. Following the brutal assassination of her husband, Si Cwan, former Starfleet officer-turned-newly-appointed-Prime Minister Robin Lefler must now face the growing danger and intrigue surrounding her newborn son and heir to the noble line of Cwan. Following a harrowing assassination attempt, Robin has no choice but to flee New Thallon with her child...seeking refuge with Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur and creating a major diplomatic crisis in Sector 221-G.
The political fallout between the Federation and the New Thallonian Protectorate pales, however, in comparison to the threat of an enigmatic alien race determined to seize the infant Cwan for its own mysterious purposes. But nothing could possibly prepare Calhoun for the shocking betrayal from within -- an act of treachery to aid and abet this alien race -- forever altering the lives of the Excalibur crew....
Analysis: Who is next on the dart board for the "Dark Period"? Well, *spins the wheel*, it looks like it is Doctor Selar who tragically dies this time around! While not reaching Coda's level of killing beloved Trek characters (for firehouse sale reasons, admittedly), I have to say this was still very much a gut punch when it happened and started my disenchantment with the series or at least how it ended. Doctor Selar, like Si Cwan, had been in the series from the very beginning and them dying in such a terrible way leaves me feeling a bit empty despite her accomplishing what she'd set out to do in saving her son.
The premise of this book is that the Thallonian Protectorate is a complete failure because no sooner does Robin Lefler become its Prime Minister then the evil nobility set out to kidnap her child to raise them as a puppet ruler. It kind of makes all of Si Cwan's efforts to rebuild the region into a more stable one a complete wash as not only did he cause a meaningless civil war but the government he creates in its place is one that is just as scheming as well as tyrannical as the one that he replaced. Poor Robin is reduced to being a homeless refugee that must run back with her child to the Federation (who almost hands her back over to the Protectorate despite the fact they're obviously going to murder her).
We also have a pretty brutal handling of the series long-running romance arcs. Selar and Burgo are obviously never going to get back together (and she uses a mind-meld to take away the pain he'd feel from her death), Robin is tortured by Si Cwan's ghost the entirety of the book, Lucius and Soleta end with the death of the Romulan (which was obviously going to happen TBH), and Xyon abandons Kalinda in the middle of the story in such a way that it makes it impossible for you to root for them ever getting back together.
Seriously, Xyon's selfishness has been a running theme throughout the series but you'd think when Kalinda's nephew has been kidnapped, he'd be capable of seeing past his own butthurt issues with Si Cwan until the end. Nope! Apparently, Xyon has learned nothing from his situation and it leaves me feeling like I suspect Calhoun does, "disappointed but not surprised."
The D’myurj and Brethren are introduced as villains, which is a case of why you should always sound out new names when trying to remember their names. For a decade, I could never figure out how to say the first name before I realized, "Oh, they're the Demiurge." Which makes sense because they're a bunch of aliens obsessed with uplifting other species. Sadly, Peter David doesn't really do much with this interesting anti-Prime Directive-esque concept and instead makes them one dimensionally evil and the Brethren to be Space OrcsTM or maybe Space Sontarans. A nod is made they could have been the people who uplifted the probe from "The Changeling" but that doesn't work with the Demiurge any better than it does the Borg.
DIGRESSION: I know @Christopher has explained why the Borg being behind V'Ger never made any sense but I actually thought the idea would be that the Borg would have been created by Kirk arranging for Decker and Ilia bonding as creating them--something Shatner was apparently for. Basically, Ilia is the Borg Queen or her and Decker's "childe" and they go back in time because time is really no object to the V'Ger creation that resulted. Yes, that ruins the message of the movie of tolerance and understanding and is "small universe" but it is an interesting bit of retconning, IMHO. See above Christopher also pointing out how this never made any sense and still wouldn't, admittedly.
In any case, neither the Demiurge or Brethren are particularly interesting as villains compared to the Redeemers, Danteri, or even the Wanderers. They're just too evil and there's no real engagement with the idea that they're going around helping other races out of their technology as well as "barbarism." Which has been used as an excuse for colonialism many-many times in the past but doesn't even get a fig leaf here. It was handled much better, IMHO, in Rise of the Federation where the Ware (which isn't even sentient) had many positive effects on the people it encountered despite Starfleet's attempts to eradicate it.
Finally, just to make one more statement about how this might be the only New Frontier book I actually don't like (2 1/2 stars), I would have to say that there's a lot of consent issues throughout the book. Si Cwan sleeps with Tania Tobias (the little blonde girl that Worf liked in the Starfleet Academy books).
The one who strangely looked like she was twelve on the cover. The problem is that Si Cwan is in Kalinda's body at the time and we never really get any sense of what her opinion on the subject is.
Book 17
Synopsis: It is a time of political upheaval and uncertainty in the New Thallonian Protectorate. Following the brutal assassination of her husband, Si Cwan, former Starfleet officer-turned-newly-appointed-Prime Minister Robin Lefler must now face the growing danger and intrigue surrounding her newborn son and heir to the noble line of Cwan. Following a harrowing assassination attempt, Robin has no choice but to flee New Thallon with her child...seeking refuge with Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur and creating a major diplomatic crisis in Sector 221-G.
The political fallout between the Federation and the New Thallonian Protectorate pales, however, in comparison to the threat of an enigmatic alien race determined to seize the infant Cwan for its own mysterious purposes. But nothing could possibly prepare Calhoun for the shocking betrayal from within -- an act of treachery to aid and abet this alien race -- forever altering the lives of the Excalibur crew....
Analysis: Who is next on the dart board for the "Dark Period"? Well, *spins the wheel*, it looks like it is Doctor Selar who tragically dies this time around! While not reaching Coda's level of killing beloved Trek characters (for firehouse sale reasons, admittedly), I have to say this was still very much a gut punch when it happened and started my disenchantment with the series or at least how it ended. Doctor Selar, like Si Cwan, had been in the series from the very beginning and them dying in such a terrible way leaves me feeling a bit empty despite her accomplishing what she'd set out to do in saving her son.
The premise of this book is that the Thallonian Protectorate is a complete failure because no sooner does Robin Lefler become its Prime Minister then the evil nobility set out to kidnap her child to raise them as a puppet ruler. It kind of makes all of Si Cwan's efforts to rebuild the region into a more stable one a complete wash as not only did he cause a meaningless civil war but the government he creates in its place is one that is just as scheming as well as tyrannical as the one that he replaced. Poor Robin is reduced to being a homeless refugee that must run back with her child to the Federation (who almost hands her back over to the Protectorate despite the fact they're obviously going to murder her).
We also have a pretty brutal handling of the series long-running romance arcs. Selar and Burgo are obviously never going to get back together (and she uses a mind-meld to take away the pain he'd feel from her death), Robin is tortured by Si Cwan's ghost the entirety of the book, Lucius and Soleta end with the death of the Romulan (which was obviously going to happen TBH), and Xyon abandons Kalinda in the middle of the story in such a way that it makes it impossible for you to root for them ever getting back together.
Seriously, Xyon's selfishness has been a running theme throughout the series but you'd think when Kalinda's nephew has been kidnapped, he'd be capable of seeing past his own butthurt issues with Si Cwan until the end. Nope! Apparently, Xyon has learned nothing from his situation and it leaves me feeling like I suspect Calhoun does, "disappointed but not surprised."
The D’myurj and Brethren are introduced as villains, which is a case of why you should always sound out new names when trying to remember their names. For a decade, I could never figure out how to say the first name before I realized, "Oh, they're the Demiurge." Which makes sense because they're a bunch of aliens obsessed with uplifting other species. Sadly, Peter David doesn't really do much with this interesting anti-Prime Directive-esque concept and instead makes them one dimensionally evil and the Brethren to be Space OrcsTM or maybe Space Sontarans. A nod is made they could have been the people who uplifted the probe from "The Changeling" but that doesn't work with the Demiurge any better than it does the Borg.
DIGRESSION: I know @Christopher has explained why the Borg being behind V'Ger never made any sense but I actually thought the idea would be that the Borg would have been created by Kirk arranging for Decker and Ilia bonding as creating them--something Shatner was apparently for. Basically, Ilia is the Borg Queen or her and Decker's "childe" and they go back in time because time is really no object to the V'Ger creation that resulted. Yes, that ruins the message of the movie of tolerance and understanding and is "small universe" but it is an interesting bit of retconning, IMHO. See above Christopher also pointing out how this never made any sense and still wouldn't, admittedly.
In any case, neither the Demiurge or Brethren are particularly interesting as villains compared to the Redeemers, Danteri, or even the Wanderers. They're just too evil and there's no real engagement with the idea that they're going around helping other races out of their technology as well as "barbarism." Which has been used as an excuse for colonialism many-many times in the past but doesn't even get a fig leaf here. It was handled much better, IMHO, in Rise of the Federation where the Ware (which isn't even sentient) had many positive effects on the people it encountered despite Starfleet's attempts to eradicate it.
Finally, just to make one more statement about how this might be the only New Frontier book I actually don't like (2 1/2 stars), I would have to say that there's a lot of consent issues throughout the book. Si Cwan sleeps with Tania Tobias (the little blonde girl that Worf liked in the Starfleet Academy books).
The one who strangely looked like she was twelve on the cover. The problem is that Si Cwan is in Kalinda's body at the time and we never really get any sense of what her opinion on the subject is.
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