Martyr
So, the New Frontiers series settles down into a series at this point.
There’s some rough patches. It’s still a shorter novel, and feels more like an expanded episode than a novel. Part of that… I think is that it feels like some sub-plots are there because an hour-long TNG episode has subplots, and not because the story organically generated them.
Now, the subplots do all actually flow into the main story, but it does feel like we have a completely unneeded sex-comedy C plot for most of the novel.
With Thallon gone, so is the Thallonian Empire, but word is just getting out, and the inevitable rumors start making what really happened to USS Excalibur in book four seem tame. First crisis is a world that’s been fighting a nasty internal war for literal ages, held back recently by the Thallonians. Along with the lid no longer being kept on the planet, Calhoun and Excalibur have been named as the coming of a prophesy.
This is more than a big enough headache to be going on with, especially with Calhoun taking a very unorthodox method of navigating these troubled waters. Then we get a second problem intruding on the first, and giving us the Recommended Book Allowance of starship combat. Personally, this part also feels a bit tacked on, despite proper development, though its obvious that it’s also setting up a continuing problem for the series.
Overall, it’s good, but not great. I do feel like some of the problem is the transition from the big story in four parts to more self-contained books in the 300-page region. Also, the characters need some work. Selar is generally good, and I like David’s portrayal of Shelby, but it’s hard for me to get a proper read on Calhoun, and the rest feel a bit cardboard yet.
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