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Rating: 
Summary: Truly where no one, or at least no series, has gone before..
Review: At the end of book eight in the New Frontier series by Peter David, we learn that the Excalibur was destroyed. In books nine and ten, the reason it blew up is never mentioned, and we followed the path of the surviving crewmembers. The only casualty, we were told, was Captain Mackenzie Calhoun. Leaving a distraught Commander Shelby behind in book nine, we finally pick up on her tale here, in "Restoration."As was obvious to all of us reading the series, Calhoun is not dead, and while he lives through a very Clint Eastwood-esque adventure on the planet where he crashed, we parallel Shelby's promotion to Captain, and her first command: the USS Exeter. Something I found rather interesting to note was that Shelby decided upon forming a very straight-laced, by-the-book command crew, and - drumroll please - they were all human. I sometimes get a little frustrated at Peter David's over-use of aliens, but this was a nice parallel, and drew the point home that the USS Excalibur was definately made up of the more "oddballish" officers of Starfleet. As Shelby learns that the rules are indeed meant to be bent (or broken), much to the chagrin of her new staff, and she puts Mackenzie Calhoun to rest in her heart, we follow Calhoun as he strives to find a way off a low-tech planet where he has been given a rather difficult role: a lawman. All in all, this was a great enty in the New Frontier books, and I can't wait for the next in the series (I'm rather hoping there's a Section 31 book coming out for the New Frontier books, as they did in all the other series). It was also interesting to read the conclusion of Lt. JG Robin Lefler's (mis)adventure from book ten. Once again, Peter David has proven that his characters in the Star Trek world have more than enough power on their own, despite having never been seen on screen, and definately deserve their place on the Star Trek shelf. The conclusion of this book will have you doing a jig in your seat, and the only thing I can really say is: More!
Rating:
Summary: Full Circle
Review: Despite his many critics Peter David continues to astound and delight true Star Trek fans everywhere. Anyone who has not read any Star Trek: The New Frontier is missing out on the best continuing Star Trek series. In my knowledge, Peter David is the only author that has ever addressed the issue of homosexuality within the confines of the Trek Universe, as he did within book 10 of this series. Restoration is the conclusion of the Excalibur trilogy which examines the lives of the crew of the USS Excalibur after the apparent death of Calhoun and the destruction of the mighty starship Excalibur. My only complaint about the book is the question of what really happened to Calhoun is quickly answered by the artwork depicted on jacketcover and the description of the book found inside the jacket. What I really loved about Restoration, is that it was more of a Western than a straight up science fiction story. And while that fact may put some Star Trek fans off, it shows Mr. David's diversity as a writer. From a cameo appearance of Marvel Comics the Mighty Thor,a magical woman, a child descended from a God,a story of unrequited love, to an old fashoined show down at noon in the Old West Restoration is a book that literally tries to encompass it all! Written for the fans, by a true Star Trek fan!
Rating: 
Summary: STNF #11 Excalibur Restoration - A true gem of a story!
Review: Overall, I'd say that Peter David set this trilogy up perfectly, with the first two books covering the crew and everything they went through after the destruction of Excalibur and this last, exceptionally outstanding novel "Restoration," covering mostly Shelby and her command of Exeter and what happened to Captain Calhoun. The one thing I never truly expected in the New Frontier series was a western which is exactly what you get in Captain Calhoun's story and it is written very well, reminding one of days gone by reading Louis L'Amour classics. Shelby's story is just as interesting as you see her going through some angst during her first command. As is usual with Peter David's writing, "Restoration" is another fine example of some the best writing in the Star Trek universe from one of Star Trek's finest authors. You'll find that this novel is a quick read given the high level of intrigue, humor and overall feel of the novel. The cover art is among the best in the New Frontier series. What's most interesting about this novel, both in the hardback and paperback versions is the Star Trek New Frontier Minipedia which covers all of the significant and not so significant people, places, and events from the very first New Frontier novel to "Restoration." The premise: During the first two books of this series we were lead to believe that Captain Calhoun sacrificed himself in an incredible attempt to get everybody off of Excalibur as it was in the middle of a warp core breach. What would the New Frontier series be without its brazen captain though and we soon find out what happened. Captain Mackenzie Calhoun finds himself stranded on a pre warp planet and no way to communicate with Starfleet and in the middle of great "western" style story. He soon finds himself living with Rheela who has a very special gift and her son Moke. Captain Elizabeth Shelby is now in command of Exeter and on a mission to invite a new planet into the United Federation of Planets but they soon find that this may not be as easy as it was originally thought it would be. Here's where Peter David's superior talents as an author strike you, when he ties in the first two novels and ties in this trilogy with another series of Star Trek novels and throughout this series he brings in some great "guest" characters. Not only do I highly recommend this New Frontier Excalibur trilogy but I highly recommend the entire Star Trek New Frontier series. You will be hard pressed to find such fresh, innovative, intriguing and humorous stories within the other series. {ssintrepid}
Rating: 
Summary: Sad "Resolution " to a once fresh book series
Review: Peter David's latest New Frontier novel is sadly the worst of the series. Like DS9's only hardcover "Warped", this much- anticipated tome was very poor both in prose style and plot. It was actually painful to read for its many fannish and cutesy phrases. I was an avid follower of the New Frontier series and even created the web's most elaborate New Frontier website, but after this latest book I may remove the site. The characters of Shelby and Calhoun are supposed to be senior Starfleet officers, but they act like regular folks "just like you and me." If a book were written in which the captain of a modern Naval vessel talked and acted like Shelby does in this book, it would be high-camp. That example is exactly what Gene Roddenberry encouraged prospective Trek writers to do in 1966 - imagine the story and dialogue in modern times. Also, the words spoken by all of the characters in this latest New Frontier novel are so colloquial, that it is hard to believe that the adventures are supposedly happening in the future. If the distracting prose weren't enough, the book's two plots were far too thin and uninteresting to warrant a full novel, yet alone a hardcover. I am also tired of every other chapter flipping back and forth between the two sub-stories. This clever little device to force some suspense only irritates. The Calhoun "western" sub-plot, rather than being akin to "High Noon" is more in the vein of a bad episode of television's "The Rifleman." Finally, the "big" enemy that Calhoun must face is a petty bureaucrat and an out-of-town gunslinger whose desire to kill Calhoun is painted in such broad strokes that one recalls the days of watching Saturday morning western serials - the bad ones, I mean. I sure hope the next book is better. I suggest you save your money and I recommend instead any Star Trek book by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, William Shatner and also the excellent DS9 novel "A Stitch in Time" by Andrew (Garak) Robinson.
Rating:
Summary: The mystery is almost solved
Review: This novel is clearly the finale of the Excalibur trilogy, so I started it with the hope of finally learning what happened to Calhoun. Did he really survive the explosion as one could surmise after Peter David's subtle hints and his refusal to go into details about the events shortly before the disaster? Well, if you want to know the same thing you won't be disappointed. The veil of mystery is lifted in "Restoration" as we do indeed learn that Calhoun is one of those Star Trek captains that manage to survive against impossible odds (and be honest: How could New Frontier continue without this extraordinary man who is so much more than just a captain?). The book is (as the previous two have also been) split into a couple of parallel stories. There's Calhoun, marooned on an unknown planet, quickly getting involved in the almost medieval actions of the indigenous populace against a woman with a curious gift... The second story focuses on Captain (!) Shelby, newly assigned to the starhip Exeter who struggles to feel comfortable in the role fate has cast her and to come to terms with the loss of Calhoun...
I won't say more about the contents here, you have to read for yourselves. I still don't feel at ease with his splitting of stories, though. Possibly designed to keep the suspense I still find it faintly annoying to be always yanked out of one story to be thrust into the next one - and back again. It just disrupts the flow one can get so quickly into - anyway, the language itself is fluent as usual, the events lead so smoothly into one another, that each chapter is a pure pleasure to read.
To put it in a nutshell: I loved the book. I hated the ending (that's why there are only four stars). Let me just say that I do enjoy happy endings - they simply have to be plausible. This one, sadly, is not. Too swift, too nice - in my opinion, not the way that Calhoun would act, even considering all that happened on that planet, and especially his resolutions concerning Shelby. It just didn't feel right.
Nevertheless, this one is worth a read!
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