This book is a re-launching of the Star Trek: New Frontier series of novels. In one sense this is very good as I have not read any of the prior books, so when I picked this up I was rather hopeful this new start would make this a little easier for me to get an understanding of what's going on.

And fortunately it did, and I was also aided in this acclimatising by familiar elements. First of all this is Star Trek, so the feel of Trek is very familiar. And secondly there are a number of characters you will remember from the TV series itself. Several of the characters having appeared in various episodes – including the former Commander (and now Admiral) Shelby from the Borg episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Robin Lefler and a Vulcan doctor called Selar both of whom also appeared in ST:TNG.

Kalinda, the sister of Si Cwan, the Prime Minister of The New Thallonian Protectorate is due to marry the son of Si Cwan greatest political adversary. However when Captain Calhoun's son Xyon arrives and kidnaps his former lover (Kalinda) things in The New Thallonian Protectorate become a little volatile and the relationship between the Thallonians and the Federation are strained. It also comes as a great surprise to her and to Calhoun - as Xyon was believed to have been killed years earlier

And whilst this is going on the Trident and Excalibur are investigating signs that could be a Borg incursion into the area.

There was one thing that appealed to me greatly about this book – that the author was Peter David. When I read a number of Trek books (about a decade or so ago) I remember Peter David being one of the very best writers of Star Trek novels out there. So I was rather hopeful he is still as good as I remember. He is.

This was great fun reading, as TV tie-ins should be. What you should read these for, is extra adventures with the characters and situations you enjoy form the series. This is a fact Peter David seems very much aware of – he doesn't try to break the mold and break new ground for science fiction. What he does do is tell a very good tale, and involve the reader in Trekdom.

And this is typical P.D. Trek. He has built a wonderful tension in the tale here, indeed more so than many Trek books are likely to have. For, as the characters here are not involved in any TV series, there is more of a feeling of mortality about them, these people could die.

And there is a good solid Trek tale in these pages. I've read tie-in books that have read like generic sf tales that have had the character names changed to fit the universe, and not exhibited even the slightest understanding of the world where the tale is set. But here you are instantly immersed into the mythos of Star Trek.

And it even comes complete with a bit of "...To Be Continued". Great stuff!

Synopsis
Three years have passed since the events depicted in the previous New Frontier novel Stone and Anvil, and for both past and present crew members of the USS Excalibur, life has taken many surprising twists and turns. Captain Elizabeth Shelby has been promoted and now heads Space Station Bravo; while her former ship, the USS Trident, has a new captain. Soleta has left Starfleet to embrace the perils of exploring her Romulan heritage. The powerful Zak Kebron serves as Excalibur's counsellor and head of security. And Mackenzie Calhoun? Well, Mackenzie Calhoun is still who he is. As Si Cwan, prime minister of the new Thallonian Protectorate, prepares to marry off his sister Kalinda in a politically advantageous alliance that will strengthen his newly restored empire, the bride-to-be is abducted just before the wedding in a calamitous event that threatens to destabilize the entire sector - especially as her abductor is someone all too familiar. As the Excalibur, the Trident, and the entire Thallonian fleet attempt to bring order to their sector of space, no one suspects a mysterious alien force could also be playing a part in Kalinda's disappearance - or that the entire galaxy could soon be facing a long-forgotten enemy.