Star Trek: New Frontier: No Limits Anthology

I understand there was some trepidation over 'giving' Peter David's New Frontier characters to others to write, but after reading the stories contained in this anthology, I believe there was no need to worry. That these were stories written *prior* to the characters' becoming a team on Excalibur did, I suppose, lessen the pressure, but still, it was a task that couldn't have been done without minding the 'future' David's already written. Each author picked a character and wrote a story - and each did so with flair, not some little humor, plenty of continuity, and an obvious love of the New Frontier universe in the first place. I noticed one or two errors that smacked of haste in putting this book together, but those in no way diminished the overall enjoyment of it. Go ahead and buy this book - and then test your mettle at next year's Shore Leave convention by getting as many authors as you can to autograph the thing!

After reading Ilsa J. Bick's Well of Souls, just a terrific and griping book, I was inspired to find more of her work. Whoever said that her story in this anthology about Morgan Primus got him choked up is right on. "Alice, on the Edge of Night" just shines, and Bick's ability to get into the heads of her characters and make you care about them is truly amazing. She has a deft command of language and phrasing that left me gasping. Other people have griped about her writing, but I find it refreshing and captivating. I hope to see more by her in the Trek universe. Several reviewers at the Well of Souls website mentioned having her do a series. That's a good idea.Other terrific stories: David Mack's Kebron story, Sherman's story about an adolescent Si Cwan, and, of course, Peter David's tale of Calhoun's and Shelby's honeymoon.Please, someone -- do this again. With these writers. Please.

In his introduction to NO LIMITS, an anthology of eighteen short stories involving the New Frontier characters, Peter David notes that when this volume was first announced some fans expressed reservations at the idea of having authors other than David himself dabbling in the New Frontier sandbox. If you've got doubts, you can put them to rest. This is an excellent collection of rewarding stories by authors who amply demonstrate that they know the characters they are writing about.One of the pleasures of reading a large collection such as this is that the order you read the stories in doesn't matter, every time you pick the volume up there is something new and different to look forward to. Some stories will capture your imagination more than others but within the pages of NO LIMITS the reader gets to experience a little bit of everything--comedy, drama, action and adventure. The various authors effectively use their individual storytelling styles to explore key moments in the characters lives, and every story to some degree just adds to the overall tapestry of New Frontier. And while my own personal favorites of the collection, "Waiting for G'Doh", "Q'uandary", "Lefler's Logs", "Performance Appraisal", "Making a Difference", "The Road to Edos", "A Little Getaway" and "Out of the Frying Pan", may not be your own, I have no doubts that anyone reading NO LIMITS should find plenty to satisfy.

This anthology is excellent, although with my tastes, it was a mixed bag. A couple of the stories were a bit more simplistic than I would have hoped for, and some had pretty jarring inconsistencies (the ones that got to me most were in the story about Soleta's first encounter with Rajari). However, that aside, as a general thing, the book is definitely worth getting, especially for a New Frontier fan. Most of the stories offer quite a bit of insight into the character of focus, and none of the plots dragged (although I have to admit, I was in a hurry and skipped "Redemption" the first time through; I am planning on reading it, but can't review it at this time). My personal favorites were "Alice, on the Edge of Night," about Morgan Primus (it was fantastic), and although I can't think of a positive thing to say about D'ndai's character, "A Lady of Xenex" was my other favorite. None of the stories except his own had Peter David's sense of whatever it is that governs NF (I chose to believe it's irony), which I missed, but even for that, the book doesn't come up wanting.

I have read "New Frontier" since the beginning, and I was a bit reticent to pick up this anthology, wondering what these new voices would bring to the universe Peter David built. Indeed, I was curious as to what, exactly, the stories would be; as David says in the introduction, it was a tough decision to decide where the stories should take place, and ultimately they are all in the various characters' pasts, which makes for an interesting read.The results of "No Limits" are wonderful, illuminating the established characters with new details, explanations, and purpose. Every story adds something new to the characters, whether it is Calhoun's loyalty to Picard (the opener, "Loose Ends"), Kebron's love for fish (the aptly titled "Waiting for G'Doh"), Morgan's quest to end her existence ("Alice, on the Edge of Night"), or Burgoyne's life-altering experience with "visions" ("Through the Looking Glass").The standouts in the anthology are David Mack's Kebron tale, which offers great insight into his psyche and gives new meaning to "stoicism;" both of the Soleta stories, one which shows us of her fateful first meeting with Rajari, the second which gives us Spock; Josepha Sherman's "Turning Point" which finds Si Cwan as an adolescent coming to the realization that the Royal Court of Thallon does not sit well with his conflicting opinions of high and low castes; and, of course, Peter David's tale of Shelby and Calhoun's ill-fated honeymoon. Oh, and we finally get to meet Morgan Korsmo and see that oft-referred to incident, Wolf-359, and the battle waged on the "Excalibur."This is a great addition to any "New Frontier" fan's library, or any Trek fan's for that matter. This also works as an adequate introduction into the hearts and minds of the characters that have been changing since 1997. Pick it up. It's one of the best Trek anthologies out there, and it's great to see some new voices add their talents to the ever-expanding crews of the "Excalibur" and the "Trident."