Fire on High (Star Trek: New Frontier) [Mass Market Paperback]

This latest volume of the "Star Trek: New Frontiers" series is a solid, if not spectacular, part of this latest addition to the Star Trek firmament. Continuing the story of Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the crew of the USS Excalibur directly following the events of the rest of the volumes in the series, the book does little to advance any sense of characterization or general plot. But considering how well Peter David has written each character up to this point, this is quite acceptable. The pace is quick, the Captain makes Jim Kirk look like a by-the-book desk jockey, and the inter-species romance is... interesting to say the least.

If nothing else, the offer for the Captain Calhoun action figure should make this book a worthwhile purchase.

lwk

First is the one that actually bothers me a bit: I don't really care for the fact that the storyline continues from one book to the next; granted, the last two books in the series have been better about this than the first four, in that they have legitimately been complete stories in and of themselves. But I find that I prefer stand-alone stories for the most part. If you don't share this preference, you may find this a strength rather than a weakness.

Second is the caveat that does NOT bother me, but might well bother some people: while he never becomes EXTREMELY graphic, certainly never tasteless, Peter David's characters have always been a bit more obviously sexually active than we usually see in Star Trek; not that there was ever any doubt about Kirk, but even in his case, it was generally just hinted at, and that was even more true in "Next Generation". Granted, "DS9" and "Voyager" went a little farther in that direction, (remember the opening scene of "What You Leave Behind", the final episode of DS9, with Bashir and Ezre Dax naked in bed together?) but the constraints of network television still kept things a bit more restrained than David feels any inclination to. Certainly, most Star Trek novels follow the precedent set in the shows, and are much more circumscribed about showing what their characters do behind closed doors than he is. I enjoy this, but it does mean that people who do NOT enjoy this sort of thing can be unpleasantly surprised to see so much sexuality in a place that they wouldn't ordinarily expect it.

As to this book specifically, I found the story to be the best of the series so far. But really, I can't recommend it to anyone who hasn't read the previous books, so my recommendation is simply: start with Book One (House of Cards); if you like it, keep reading. If you don't, you've no need to read this one.

When it is not the topic of romance, we see many of the second string characters develop as well. Its nice to see that the inhabitants of the 24th century have the same day to day dealings we do, and that everybody on the ship has an important role in one way or another.

Think of it as Melrose Place in space. There a quite a few romantic plotlines with numerous twists that are highly entertaining and funny. There is great chapter in which the female Vulcan, Soleta plays an unwilling ships counseler a la Deanna Troi. Crew members want to ask her for advice on the topic of love, and being Vulcan.., well you can imagine the dry logic she expresses and finally subcumbs to frustration. Very funny.