Rating: 
Summary: The first fully successful "Gateways Book."
Review: No surprise that the first fully rewarding "Gateways" series book was written by Peter David and used his New Frontier characters. The story itself is self-contained, and you don't need to read all the other books in the Gateways mini-series for it to make sense (something mini-series writing Trek books need to do more often).
Secondly, the characters progress from where we last saw them in the New Frontier novels - Shelby on her own ship, with her own crew. I liked two additions to what I hope is the regular cast: M'ress and Arex - characters you may remember from the cartoon of the original series. Though I did find that some of the "return" characters seemed a little forced - Shelby basically snapped up half the crew from the Grissom from when Calhoun served aboard said ship, the entirety of the USS Triton was well done.
The plot was excellent - self contained, like I said, but also playing around with some interesting philosophical ideas: what is "holy land," what's the point of fighting over it, etc. Peter David is fairly true to characters when these issues arrive - it is the tactical-minded Shelby who can't comprehend the notion of fighting over something called "holy," for example. Add the usual level of witty conversation between characters and crew, and you've got a great book here, folks.
Grab it.
Rating:
Summary: The first fully successful "Gateways Book."
Review: No surprise that the first fully rewarding "Gateways" series book was written by Peter David and used his New Frontier characters. The story itself is self-contained, and you don't need to read all the other books in the Gateways mini-series for it to make sense (something mini-series writing Trek books need to do more often).
Secondly, the characters progress from where we last saw them in the New Frontier novels - Shelby on her own ship, with her own crew. I liked two additions to what I hope is the regular cast: M'ress and Arex - characters you may remember from the cartoon of the original series. Though I did find that some of the "return" characters seemed a little forced - Shelby basically snapped up half the crew from the Grissom from when Calhoun served aboard said ship, the entirety of the USS Triton was well done.
The plot was excellent - self contained, like I said, but also playing around with some interesting philosophical ideas: what is "holy land," what's the point of fighting over it, etc. Peter David is fairly true to characters when these issues arrive - it is the tactical-minded Shelby who can't comprehend the notion of fighting over something called "holy," for example. Add the usual level of witty conversation between characters and crew, and you've got a great book here, folks.
Grab it.
Rating:
Summary: The first fully successful "Gateways Book."
Review: No surprise that the first fully rewarding "Gateways" series book was written by Peter David and used his New Frontier characters. The story itself is self-contained, and you don't need to read all the other books in the Gateways mini-series for it to make sense (something mini-series writing Trek books need to do more often).
Secondly, the characters progress from where we last saw them in the New Frontier novels - Shelby on her own ship, with her own crew. I liked two additions to what I hope is the regular cast: M'ress and Arex - characters you may remember from the cartoon of the original series. Though I did find that some of the "return" characters seemed a little forced - Shelby basically snapped up half the crew from the Grissom from when Calhoun served aboard said ship, the entirety of the USS Triton was well done.
The plot was excellent - self contained, like I said, but also playing around with some interesting philosophical ideas: what is "holy land," what's the point of fighting over it, etc. Peter David is fairly true to characters when these issues arrive - it is the tactical-minded Shelby who can't comprehend the notion of fighting over something called "holy," for example. Add the usual level of witty conversation between characters and crew, and you've got a great book here, folks.
Grab it.
Rating: 
Summary: McKenzie and Wife: How faking a marital spat can end a war
Review: That's what Captains McKenzie Calhoun and Elizabeth Shelby (Mrs. Calhoun) find to be the best solution to a multi-generation war that's only a "cold war" because the warring races are both removed by a superior alien race from their home planet to new worlds where they can't get at each other. At least at first, anyway. Until the Gateway people give their device to each of the sides. The result is a sneak attack on the royal palace of one world that wipes out their royal family except for one pre-adolescent princess (well, they say that one of the Pharaohs was a middle-school age kid). So the Calhoun-Shelbys have each taken their respective ships to one of the worlds involved. This story breathes something of a new life into the series I variously refer to as "Punk Trek" and "Alt Trek"--the New Frontier cycle of books. The "New Wave Frontier" series has thus far been a bit short on any real story lines--it's built instead around "CWA" (Characters With Attitude) and their quirks. Such as a Jean-Claude Van Damme-clone skipper that makes the cowboy Jim Kirk seem like Mister Roberts by comparison. I won't bore you with any more, but the whole idea seems to be a more hip Star Trek for a different generation--I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they use gangsta rap, techno and grunge as sountrack music if they ever (shudder!) do a TV series of this cycle. Another bright spot to this story is the introduction of Arex and Mress from the animated series, in which Arex comes across as the tough cop security officer rather than his rather wooden personality in his old role, and kittenish (in more ways than one) Mress comes across sexier than she could have in Saturday morning cartoons of the 1970s.
Rating:
Summary: McKenzie and Wife: How faking a marital spat can end a war
Review: That's what Captains McKenzie Calhoun and Elizabeth Shelby (Mrs. Calhoun) find to be the best solution to a multi-generation war that's only a "cold war" because the warring races are both removed by a superior alien race from their home planet to new worlds where they can't get at each other. At least at first, anyway. Until the Gateway people give their device to each of the sides. The result is a sneak attack on the royal palace of one world that wipes out their royal family except for one pre-adolescent princess (well, they say that one of the Pharaohs was a middle-school age kid). So the Calhoun-Shelbys have each taken their respective ships to one of the worlds involved. This story breathes something of a new life into the series I variously refer to as "Punk Trek" and "Alt Trek"--the New Frontier cycle of books. The "New Wave Frontier" series has thus far been a bit short on any real story lines--it's built instead around "CWA" (Characters With Attitude) and their quirks. Such as a Jean-Claude Van Damme-clone skipper that makes the cowboy Jim Kirk seem like Mister Roberts by comparison. I won't bore you with any more, but the whole idea seems to be a more hip Star Trek for a different generation--I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they use gangsta rap, techno and grunge as sountrack music if they ever (shudder!) do a TV series of this cycle. Another bright spot to this story is the introduction of Arex and Mress from the animated series, in which Arex comes across as the tough cop security officer rather than his rather wooden personality in his old role, and kittenish (in more ways than one) Mress comes across sexier than she could have in Saturday morning cartoons of the 1970s.
Rating:
Summary: Best of Gateway Series
Review: This was the best of the 5 I've read. Like many New Frontier books, this one ends in a cliffhanger, but the story just prior to that point has a conclusion that you can feel is complete in itself.
Peter David is probably the most consistently entertaining ST author, but this was a challenge for him. I think dealing with two New Frontier crews is difficult. He pulls it off, but not as much fun, in my opinion, as some of the earlier New Frontier books. The two separate Captain--First Officer relationships just don't have the flame of Calhoun and Shelby. And Shelby isn't her same old self either. That can be good, as the future will tell, but so far I was slightly disappointed in that aspect.
Still, the book by David is the best I've seen of the Gateway series.
Rating: 
Summary: Embarrassingly Bad
Review: `Cold Wars', though touted as book 6 of 7 in the Gateway story arc, is a stand alone story in its own right. While events revolving around the sudden appearance of Iconian Gateways through the Trek universe is the catalyst for these 7 books, only a very brief setup description in the first few chapters brings the reader up to speed on what's going on.In this New Frontier tale taking place in old Thallonian space, we learn that two warring races have been separated from their home planet and dispatched to two separate planets in order to refrain themselves from mutual extinction. These two races that share centuries old hatred for each other are introduced to Gateway technology, allowing them to invade each others planets for the first time since their separation. These scenarios are very action packed and will have the reader turning pages like mad. These skirmishes and their outcomes begin a frenzy and renewed interest in these warring races into wiping each other out. Thus, the UFP sends the Trident and Excalibur to each planet involved to stop a major war from brewing and to also find out who's behind the sudden appearance of the Gateways. It seems that the Gateway's in and of themselves are a threat to the known universe, for their misuse could end up causing irreparable damage to all systems. Think of the Aerons and Markanians (the two opposing races) as a social commentary of or own history. Substitute either the Hatfield's and McCoy's, Black vs. White, religious belief against religious belief, or whatever, and you have Peter David's message in a nutshell. Mr. David once again does a brilliant job of barely disguising our own problems that have plagued mankind's thinking for years in the guise of a great science fiction story. In addition to a great stand alone story, the author continues to develop other subplots that continue from previous novels (see: Moke, Dr. Selar, & Kalinda), introduce new ones (see: Burgoyne, Shelby, Mueller) and new characters: M'Ress & Arex (displaced in time from Captain Kirk's era), Ensign Phyetus and others. The author makes each of these characters unique with fascinating stories of their own that make the New Frontier series so entertaining. Mr. David does this in a way that always propels the larger story forward without the feeling of crowding these in for filler material or quick levity. These aren't your regular `red shirts' or menial characters usually downplayed in the television series or other books. Finally, the climax is full of excitement, and just when you think it is over, Peter David throws in his classic twist and cliffhanger. Great read.
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