Yeah, I have all of VGD and TTN, I just need to read them lol... I have about 68 or so ST books in my 'cue' lol
To New Frontier or not?
- Thread starter thirteenth
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I've got my own mixed feelings about NF, and it's certainly not hard science fiction... but to accuse it of abusing the ST universe? Seriously? A universe where ancient Greek gods can create a giant hand in space to grab starships, immortal humans roam the cosmos for millenia, hyperevolved species lurk around every other planet, and entering parallel universes is as easy as falling off a log? What exactly does PAD do to the ST universe that hadn't been done by Gene and Co. way back when?
I think JD's description of the series is right. It has a great beginning, with fast-paced, fun adventures and over-the-top characters. Then in the middle it starts to drag around the Renaissance? trilogy, but has recently started to get good again. So, I recommend checking out House of Cards and if you like it, continue reading.
PAD also had a recent NF comic, which I thought left a lot to be desired. Of course, I would start with House of Cards first, but I don't think the NF comic would be all that easy to get into if you weren't familiar with the characters.
PAD also had a recent NF comic, which I thought left a lot to be desired. Of course, I would start with House of Cards first, but I don't think the NF comic would be all that easy to get into if you weren't familiar with the characters.
it was the eXcalibur trilogy.
IMO you can't go wrong by starting with the NF-series. Up until Restoration, it's a fun series - but then it just declines in quality because the characters grow ever more 2-dimensional (also due to the fact that after Restoration the main cast expands while the number of novels/year got reduced), and more comic-like. But as I said, the first arc is really well written and exciting.
Between the first arc and Restoration, is there a cliffhanger? Maybe I could buy them up to Restoration..
You should definitely buy the first 4 books together, they're sort of the "pilot"-episode. Just take a look whether you like it or not, as these 4 books actually pretty much summarize the style and the characters of the NF - well, in fact, they do what a decent pilot episode should do in setting the pace for the rest of the series... And either you like or you don't...
The 1st "season" spans up to "Dark Allies" (#8), and that book really contains an evil cliffhanger. *g* And after #8 already comes the Excalibur-Trilogy, ending with Restoration. So, if you want to avoid being left with a cliffhanger, don't stop at #8.
However, as I said, start with the first 4 books (or if you can, get the omnibus), and then go from there.
The 1st "season" spans up to "Dark Allies" (#8), and that book really contains an evil cliffhanger. *g* And after #8 already comes the Excalibur-Trilogy, ending with Restoration. So, if you want to avoid being left with a cliffhanger, don't stop at #8.
However, as I said, start with the first 4 books (or if you can, get the omnibus), and then go from there.
I thought the latest three books to be the best of the series.
The whole "comic book" argument is stupid IMO.
I've read alot of Trek novel outside this series and enjoyed them, but the
major difference is these ones are written to be over the top and extraordinary.
I don't think that's comic book like, it's just less pandering and more adventureful.
More the way Trek has always seemed to be when at it's best.
It doesn't focus on what the particle of the chapter is or what the
laws of teh canon!1!11!! are, but on the fun or intrique these characters
are experiencing in what is a very grand setting, space adventure.
Star Trek.
The whole "comic book" argument is stupid IMO.
I've read alot of Trek novel outside this series and enjoyed them, but the
major difference is these ones are written to be over the top and extraordinary.
I don't think that's comic book like, it's just less pandering and more adventureful.
More the way Trek has always seemed to be when at it's best.
It doesn't focus on what the particle of the chapter is or what the
laws of teh canon!1!11!! are, but on the fun or intrique these characters
are experiencing in what is a very grand setting, space adventure.
Star Trek.
I like NF, and would recommend reading it. (On the other hand, there's not much TrekLit that I wouldn't recommend reading, especially the newer stuff.) The earlier NF books are particularly enjoyable; I do agree that quality has declined somewhat of late, but hopefully it'll be getting back on track. Unlike some of the other posters here, I did enjoy the latest comic, although not as much as the actual books. I'd certainly begin with reading the books.
Well, the last (mainline) NF novel took place more or less simultaneously with Nemesis, which puts them just over a year before Destiny (and almost a year before the Excalibur's cameo in Before Dishonor).
Has there been word on on when PAD will catch Calhoun and co. up with the rest of the post-nem lit?...or should I just find a way to ask him
....hopefully they catch up for and have an impact in the Typhon Pact arc...I read the first four when they came out. I remember liking them just fine, but not really keeping up after that.
More recently I read the NF installment in the Gateways crossover. For completeness sake, since I'd read all the others. I was less than impressed. Steve Roby mentioned the whole Pheytus thing. That, in particular made it read more like Star Trek: Middle School.
More recently I read the NF installment in the Gateways crossover. For completeness sake, since I'd read all the others. I was less than impressed. Steve Roby mentioned the whole Pheytus thing. That, in particular made it read more like Star Trek: Middle School.
The whole Pheytus thing was just a joke that ran through one book. I don't see how it brought the quality of the entire story down to "Star Trek: Middle School" with just one joke
. This series is known for its humor and outrageousness (just look at some of the plot points and characters), and it has been since the series came out in 1997. It's not like it's Arthur C. Clarke or anything. 
Fine
. I was just trying to illustrate the point that PAD's New Frontier is not hard sci-fi. You can interchange Clarke with Asimov or Heinlein or Farmer, etc. My father and grandfather have both said to me that I absolutely had to read to Strangers in a Strange Land before I could consider myself a true fan of science fiction. Now I really like New Frontier, but I don't think i'll be saying to my kids that they have to read the Excalibur trilogy if they want to consider themselves true sci-fi fans . Just if they consider themselves Calhoun fans!
The whole Pheytus thing was just a joke that ran through one book. I don't see how it brought the quality of the entire story down to "Star Trek: Middle School" with just one joke
It's not just that it's a joke, it's an inept joke. It's a pun that only works if you pronounce it fee-tus, but it's spelled in such a way that a lot of people are going to read it as fay-tus. I did. Not to mention that Starfleet personnel making fun of another person's name strikes me as implausibly juvenile on the characters' part and self-indulgent on the author's. And it's not just one joke, it's just the most extreme example (fortunately, the notorious "21 bun salute" scene was removed from one of the NF books by its editor before publication).
