Agreed, about No Limits. I just skipped a few of them. Then again, that's usually the way with me and anthologies.
The New Frontier gone off the rails...
- Thread starter PhoenixIreland
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Agreed, about No Limits. I just skipped a few of them. Then again, that's usually the way with me and anthologies.
Which ones did you guys not like? I thought the stories in No Limit ranged from enjoyable to excellent. It's my favorite anthology (closely followed by Tales from the Dominion War).
The only bigger problem I have with the last few novels is that Calhoun is boring me more and more. Every character got some kind of development (if all of them were favorable is disputable, but at least the characters evolved), only Calhoun is pretty much the same since Book One.
Actually we have, if you recall the Enterprise-C from "Yesterday's Enterprise."
I wasn't a big fan of the switch to the Galaxy-class and splitting the action across 2 ships, but this is progress, and as with life, things progress and evolve, so I've accepted it. Having said that, I've stuck with the series since Day 1 and have thoroughly enjoyed the series, sometimes more than others, so I would definitely recommend "reading on."
Without digging out my review from Google: The one I absolutely hated was the Morgan story. The Lefler story was at the lower end of what I consider to be average. Everything else was also enjoyable to excellent to me. I especially love the Kebron story. It is the funniest thing I ever read
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The changes are more subtle in Calhoun but they are there. As with Worf, he got more mature, more in control of his abilities and his temper. You could say, both of them got wiser. On the other hand although the cloak of civilization Calhoun is wearing now is more substantial, it is still a cloak.
I find it interesting to watch how well Calhoun and Shelby complement each other and how they over time learned from each other.
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Ah, that's right. I remember now a lot of people not liking either of the Lefler stories, but I found both of them intriguing.
I recall, when reading Missing in Action being surprised at the friendly scene between Calhoun and Jellico, at the most obvious level because we have no idea what the backstory is there, for Jellico to treat Calhoun thusly. But it was also surprising because of the way Calhoun reciprocated, sympathetic and almost gentle. That's a side of Calhoun that only really came out with Shelby before, and even there only intermittently. So if Calhoun is, as you say, still the savage at heart, then he has at least acquired a different cloak to cover it up by opening himself up to his spouse, friends, crew - he's not always the flippant badass which is his default mode, but can become a warmer, more humane Calhoun too.
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
i wasn't impressed by "Alice, on the edge of night" or the Burgy one where she has those visions...
most of the others, like PAD's, KRAD's, Ward's, Mack's, Dilmore's and TerriO's are good or excellent.
most of the others, like PAD's, KRAD's, Ward's, Mack's, Dilmore's and TerriO's are good or excellent.
We only saw the Bridge on that one, and it was a VERY cheap reset of the Ent-D battle bridge, they could build a new sickbay and bridge for he Promethius in voyager but they coudn't do the same for a former enterprise?
I started Stone and Anvil, I take back what I said (so far) it seems great.
One minor thing tho....why are the two ships always together??? I remember it being said in a previous book command had carved up 221-G between them and they had separate areas?
I still need to read Cold Wars. I bought it when I read the DS9 and TNG Gateways stories, but now I don't even remember what they were about. I tried reading the Voyager one and threw it against the wall in disgust when they spent 50 pages talking about some stray pet.
I can't say that the last two NF novels have thrilled me. They have felt pretty pedestrian, actually, and PAD's writing, which I usually like, hasn't been working for me. I gave up on the NF comic after two issues because I didn't find them engaging and the artwork didn't help.
I'll be buying the next book in paperback to see if it gets any better, but it'll probably be my last if the quality, IMHO, doesn't improve.
I'll be buying the next book in paperback to see if it gets any better, but it'll probably be my last if the quality, IMHO, doesn't improve.
well, Stone and Anvil continues on from the events of Gods Above, which saw the two ships come together to defeat the Beings. they're still together after the end of that crisis. IIRC, they spend more time apart in ATF, whilst they're apart in a hell of a lot of MIA...
Incidentally, since Calhoun's characterisation has been brought up, does anyone recall a line where somebody (Shelby?) notes that they have never seen somebody so fascinated by new discoveries as Calhoun?
That struck me as a little odd, without much support before or since. Calhoun always seemed like he got into Starfleet to lead and to have a purpose in life, and never seemed to express much interest in the exploration side of things.
Sorry I don't have the exact quote - I thought it was when he had the black mass brought aboard, but I can't find it in that scene.
That struck me as a little odd, without much support before or since. Calhoun always seemed like he got into Starfleet to lead and to have a purpose in life, and never seemed to express much interest in the exploration side of things.
Sorry I don't have the exact quote - I thought it was when he had the black mass brought aboard, but I can't find it in that scene.
The only full NF novel I have read is After the Fall, simply because the library had it in and I had nothing else to read at the time. Other than that, I've only read the short stories that appear in cross-series anthologies that I got for other reasons, those being Tales of the Dominion War and Tales of the Captain's Table.
And based on that single novel, I won't be reading any more. All the characters basically came off the same - throwing out sarcastic witticisms and dry bon mots before suddenly exploding into rage for a split second for no discernable reason, then going back to wise-cracking. I admit I laughed at times - especially when Burgoyne accidentally knocked out his own security bod. But plotwise, I was half-way through the book, waiting for the plot to start, when I finally realised this was the plot. Overall, I wasn't impressed.
And based on that single novel, I won't be reading any more. All the characters basically came off the same - throwing out sarcastic witticisms and dry bon mots before suddenly exploding into rage for a split second for no discernable reason, then going back to wise-cracking. I admit I laughed at times - especially when Burgoyne accidentally knocked out his own security bod. But plotwise, I was half-way through the book, waiting for the plot to start, when I finally realised this was the plot. Overall, I wasn't impressed.
Not Shelby. Soleta brought this up, as they studied the creatures in the lab in Dark Allies.
Good lord man, that's like starting off the Star Wars series by watching the Attack of the Clones. Sure based on that movie alone I wouldn't have an inclination to watch any of the other films either.
Like unto A New Hope, you must begin at the beginning, when things are really truly good. Trust me, you'll have a much different experience.
(Back door Props to KRAD, I've just started reading Honor Bound, and in addition to being hilarious, the scene at the beginning with Bekk Maris regarding the decline of the works of K'Ratak illustrates the phenomena being discussed perfectly. Kai KraD!)
"Stone and Anvil" also showed the very beginnings of Calhoun`s career including the start of the interesting relationship with Picard. There was no doubt about it that Calhoun who grew up on a world on a medieval level that had been artificially enhanced with modern technology was amazed by space travel and Federation technology. Also when he first arrived at the Academy, I had the feeling he felt a bit like an explorer entering a new world.
Soleta`s remarks made a lot of sense to me because of Calhoun`s background.
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