Star Trek: New Frontier
Star Trek: New Frontier is a series of interlinked novels written by Peter David, published by Simon & Schuster imprints, Pocket Books, Pocket Star, and Gallery Books, from 1997 to 2015. New Frontier was the first Star Trek tie-in fiction property not to be based on a television series. The series was created by John J. Ordover.
The novels explore life aboard the, commanded by Capt. Mackenzie Calhoun. New Frontier is concurrent with The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager television series and their tie-in book lines.
Production
John J. Ordover said in Voyages of Imagination, "One of the major problems with the novels at the time … was you couldn't put any inherent continuity into them and you couldn’t make any significant changes, so characters couldn’t die, they couldn't change, they couldn't leave. The core characters always had to remain the same. After a few years, that gets frustrating for an editor." Ordover devised New Frontier to accomplish what he couldn't with the other Star Trek book lines—to create a serialized, internally consistent, series of novels set in the Star Trek universe. According to Peter David, "Paramount's belief was that there would be little to no interest from the fans in a series that did not stem directly from the shows." He was given "their blessing", with the caveat a number of characters from The Next Generation were to be included.“Peter David made up MacKenzie Calhoun on his own," said Ordover. Likewise, David said, "I’m pretty sure John came up with the. He told me the characters he wanted to use and I was allowed to run with it." David then "fleshed out the concept and created the original characters."
Four novels were published in paperback novella format in 1997, similar to the release of The Green Mile by Stephen King. An omnibus was published in 1998. The novels that followed were published in mass-market paperback format. No Limits, an anthology of short stories edited by David, was published in trade paperback format.
WildStorm published a graphic novel in 2000, written by David, with artists Mike Collins and David Roach. A five-issue comic book miniseries was published by IDW Publishing in 2008, also by David, with artist Stephen Thompson.
In total, twenty four novels, a short story anthology, and two graphic novels, have been published as of 2015, in addition to several short stories, and related works, by other writers. Characters and settings from New Frontier have appeared appear in other Star Trek novels, most of which were written by David. Novels have been included in crossovers with other Star Trek book lines, such as: The Captain's Table, Double Helix ''Gateways, The Lost Era, and the Mirror Universe anthologies. A short story by David was anthologized in the Tales of the Dominion War, edited by Keith DeCandido.
The Returned'', the most recent installment of the series, was published as a three-part ebook exclusive by Pocket Star.
Premise
The once-powerful Thallonian Empire has collapsed following a popular uprising, destabilizing a vast region of space known as Sector 221-G. Starfleet has dispatched the, under the command of Captain Mackenzie Calhoun, to fly the flag, and offer aid to those affected by the political and economic instability of the region.Characters
The characters in New Frontier are an amalgam of characters from the Animated Series, The Next Generation, David's trilogy of young adult Starfleet Academy novels, and new characters created for the series. The series is written in an ensemble-cast style, similar to a television series. However, the primary characters are Calhoun, Commander Elizabeth Shelby, and Vulcan medical officer Dr. Selar.Mackenzie Calhoun
Mackenzie Calhoun is a member of the Xenexian species, a race that, for years, was under the rule of the Danteri. Calhoun led the Xenexian revolution that freed them from the Danteri, a revolution that ended before Calhoun turned 20. After a visit from Stargazer captain Jean-Luc Picard, whom he had seen in a hallucinatory vision prior to the meeting, Calhoun left his homeworld and joined Starfleet. After a falling-out after the events surrounding the death of his captain on the USS Grissom, Calhoun left Starfleet, but was lured back by Picard and took command of the Excalibur. His cowboy-like command style sometimes irks his co-workers, but he has always been able to get the job done.Peter David has stated that the character of Commander Quentin Stone from his 1991 TNG novel, A Rock and a Hard Place, unintentionally turned out to be an early draft of Calhoun.
Elizabeth Shelby
Elizabeth Shelby first appeared in the TNG episodes "The Best of Both Worlds Parts 1 and 2", where she was played by Elizabeth Dennehy. Shelby was assigned to the USS Excalibur some years before New Frontier under the command of Captain Korsmo. She was romantically involved with Calhoun during her time at Starfleet Academy. When the series began, Shelby served as first officer of the Excalibur under Calhoun; their relationship was decidedly platonic, but she has since married Calhoun, been promoted to her own command as captain of the USS Trident and later, Admiral in command of Starfleet's Bravo Station, where she administratively oversees activities in Sector 221-G, the focal point of many New Frontier adventures.She makes a brief appearance as a major Starfleet Admiral in Star Trek: Picard Season 3's penultimate episode.
Burgoyne 172
Burgoyne 172, a member of the Hermat species, is neither exactly male nor exactly female, but is instead a combination of the two. Originally, s/he served the chief engineer of the Excalibur under Captains Korsmo and Calhoun, but has since received a promotion, and now holds the position of first officer on the current ship bearing that name. Burgoyne has become romantically involved with Dr. Selar, and together they have one child. In the novel "Treason," when Selar is manipulated into kidnapping Robin Lefler's child, Burgoyne is injured trying to stop her. Seeking to make amends, Selar decides to remove Burgoyne's "hurt" by using a mind meld to erase all hir memories of their relationship. Thus, when Mac complains about Burgoyne risking hirself to save the woman s/he loves, Burgoyne is confused and Soleta confirms what Selar did, leaving Mac unsure whether to tell Burgoyne the truth or have hir hurt losing hir love.Selar
Doctor T'Para Lotos Selar, a female Vulcan, originally appeared in the TNG episode "The Schizoid Man" as a lieutenant and medical officer under Dr. Pulaski. Dr. Selar was played by Suzie Plakson. She is the Chief Medical Officer on board the Excalibur. It is revealed in the opening New Frontier novel story arc that her husband, Voltak, suffered a fatal heart attack years earlier when they were consummating their marriage during pon farr. As a result, she never completed the act, and was in a suppressed state of incomplete pon farr until she met the Excaliburs chief engineer, Burgoyne 172. The two began a relationship, and Selar bore them a son, [|Xyon]. In the 2009 novel Treason, Selar, desperate for a cure for the rapid aging that afflicted Xyon, was telepathically manipulated by a race called the D'myurj into kidnapping Cwansi, the infant son of Robin Lefler and Si Cwan. In atoning for her act by rescuing Cwansi, Selar sacrificed herself by destroying the D'myurj's base of operations in an explosion that took her life. Previous to that, she decided to ease the hurt she had done to Burgoyne by using a mind meld to erase the pain from his memories of their relationship.Other characters
Robin Lefler served for a time on the USS Enterprise-D. Lefler was later assigned as chief operations officer for the Excalibur. During this time, she finally rediscovered her missing mother, Morgan. Lefler later married Si Cwan and settled with him on a planet in the Thallonian Empire, where she served as an Ambassador. After Si Cwan's death she gave birth to his child and briefly ruled the Thallonian world before leaving with the child for their own safety.Soleta was the third of the characters that originated in the Starfleet Academy novels. She is half-Vulcan and half-Romulan. Soleta served as the science officer of the Excalibur for many years until her true heritage was revealed. She then allied herself with the Romulan Empire and served as captain of the stealth ship Spectre. However, after the Romulan emperor was assassinated during a coup, Soleta undertook freelance espionage engagements in support of the Thallonians or Mackenzie Calhoun.
Zak Kebron is a Brikar. He first appeared in the young adult Starfleet Academy novels, where he was shown as attending the Academy with Worf, Mark McHenry, and Soleta. Kebron's species has a thick hide, are incredibly massive, and have a very long lifespan. They do not undergo their version of puberty for many years ; Kebron underwent this phase while serving on the Excalibur. Originally the security officer, the metamorphosed Kebron now serves double-duty as counselor on the current Excalibur.
Arex originally served on the USS Enterprise under Captain James T. Kirk as a navigation officer. The three-armed, three-legged officer was stuck in time until he was later recovered by Starfleet, and became chief of security on the USS Trident.
M'Ress served with Arex on the USS Enterprise as a communications officer. M'Ress is a Caitian and has many cat-like features, including pointed ears, a mane, and a tail. Like Arex, she was thrown forward in time nearly a century. M'Ress had some difficulty adapting to her new time period, which was not helped when she was mind-raped by another member of the crew, but eventually became chief science officer on the Trident.