Stone and Anvil (Spoiler)

S P O I L E R

Warning: Contains detailed spoilers, also for "Gods Above"

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"Once Burned" is still my all time favourite book but this one comes
pretty close. It is New Frontier at its best and a lot is going on in
this novel. There is so much I can write about, where do I start best?

Maybe with the cliffhanger at the end of "Gods Above". When Gleau was
found dead, looking like being mauled by an animal, and I learned that
Janos is the main suspect, I thought, it can`t have been him. I smiled
when Kebron started his train of thought, stepping in the shoes of Dixon
Hill and other famous detectives. As a rule, the main suspect is not the
killer, it must be someone else. What I learned is that I underestimated
PAD again: Soon it wasn`t a murder mystery any more. But the question of
why Janos did this and later the question how to save him touched and
involved me even more than a relatively simple murder mystery would have
done.

After I read "Gods Above" I thought, maybe I will be able to like this
Kebron. I certainly did! It was touching how much he believed in his
friend Janos and kept looking for answers, even if they seemed overly
phantastic. But like him, I more and more had to admit to myself, that
Janos indeed killed Gleau. That left me to hope that he was indeed not
responsible for his actions and that he can be saved. Kebron never gave
up, never surrendered. I could also see that although Kebron matured,
this is also the old Kebron we knew before. I especially saw that when
he was backing up his captain on the bridge, silent but very powerful. I
had to smile. Although I have never been a fan of the old Kebron, it was
good to see that he is still part of him.

Who also never gave up and never surrendered was Calhoun. I couldn`t
help it, I had to compare this situation with what we could read in
Challenger. The backgrounds are different but the problem behind them is
very similar: The question if a captain should hand over a crewman
charged with an offence that will result in his certain execution
without a fight, even if ordered to, even if he is sure that the
punishment is wrong, even if he is sure that there either will be no
trial at all or his crewman won`t get a fair hearing. Should he
sacrifice him anyway in the interest of peace with these people? I hope
"Exodus" won`t be the end of the story because I want so see that Keller
will fight for his crewman, that he will look for an answer that saves
his crewman and the future relationship with the Blood. I want to see a
Keller I can also respect in future, I want to see him to be as caring
and dedicated as Calhoun was here. Calhoun`s crew is his family, his
tribe. This was mentioned again in this book and he most definitely
proved it again. Another factor could be that he had been there were
Janos was. He nearly killed a woman when he was ill in "Restoration".
His xenexian killer instincts are certainly not as strong as a Mugato`s
but they are definitely stronger than a human`s. He knows what it means
to lose control and to have to live with what he did.

I hoped until the very end that Janos will be saved. I like him and
would have loved it to have him around in future. But that was first of
all my emotional reaction. Trying to look at it objectively, I think
this bittersweet end is much more appropriate than a happy end would
have been. What is important is, Calhoun did everything he could. It was
so close but he failed. Janos is alive but will never be part of his
crew again. I loved the conversation between Calhoun and Shelby when
they watched Janos becoming a member of this animal tribe. Calhoun found
his place, his family. It was good to see that Janos has a good chance
to belong as well although he has lost so much.

I think it is touching that M`Ress and Janos were lovers. I was
surprised when I learned that, but that was only my initial reaction. It
makes so much sense. Also, his love must have been very strong if it
drove Janos to do what he did. This makes what happened to him even more
tragic.

I kept wondering all the time how guilty Gleau really was and it became
obvious now that M`Ress was right. I still think she could have handled
the situation better but Gleau was revealed to be the creep he seemed to
be, especially in "Gods Above". Nevertheless, I don`t regret it that I
tried all the time to be fair and see the situation from his point of
view. But the problem is, he obviously lied and hid his full abilities,
using them with no regards for others. I don`t regret it that he is dead
and this solution makes M`Ress much more likeable. It is probably the
ideal way to end this story looking at NF as a whole.

This brings me to the Selelvians, their abilities and how they misused
them in this book. It had been a very long time since I watched most TOS
episodes but is it not punishable by death to set foot on Talos IV
because of the strong mental abilities these beings have? Keeping this
in mind and how these people manipulated the Federation, I wonder what
will happen next. Of course there should be a thorough investigation
under conditions that minimize the danger of further manipulations but
if there will be indeed evidence that this is not an isolated incident
and maybe that they joined the Federation under false pretences, they
should be expelled. We know from "Restoration" that handing over
prisoners knowing that they will be executed is not unheard of. But
handing them over knowing that there will be no fair trial or even no
trial at all before the execution, it seems that is going too far - even
for Jellico, which surprised me a bit. OK, I have a very bad opinion of
him and maybe should have known better, but anyway, it was indeed a
surprise that he seemed to help Calhoun, although he certainly was
clever enough not to do so openly. At least Jellico has his limits,
which is good. After "Cold Wars" I had my doubts.

We learned that although the Selelvians are members of the Federation,
they have their own warships. Allyn Gibson made an interesting point
when he pointed out that we know from "The Rift" (I really have to read
that book one day) that Andorians and Tellarites have warships. And of
course the Danteri. I always had been under the impression that when you
join the Federation, you lose your own military because it is absorbed
into Starfleet. Now it is obvious to me that member worlds can have
their own spacefleet independent of Starfleet. I am glad that I finally
realized that because now I feel much better about it that Bajor will
join as well and should be able to keep its militia. But I digress...

I found it interesting that you can also achieve a high level of mind
control and manipulation just by using drugs and it seems some form of
hypnosis. What was the biggest surprise in the whole book was the true
identity of this gribble who turned out to be the real villain. When it
first appeared I was smiling and thinking "how cute" and suddenly this
cute fluffy being with legs turned into the real monster of this book. I
had to laugh about the irony that the Klingons once exterminated the
Tribbles. They must have seen them as foes who deserved it. And now the
main adversary is a genetically manipulated Tribble. Marvellous! And
then Janos used the gribble as a snack, similar to Dr. Phlox lizard
food. At that point I nearly dropped the book. Sometimes I really love
PAD`s sense of humour!

PAD could easily continue this story, giving Calhoun another mission
from Admiral Nechayev so that he goes after the dangerous people the
gribble worked with. I agree that these people are a potential threat to
the Federation, something they can`t ignore. Not to mention that after
"Double or Nothing" I would love to read more stories of this kind. (I
only have read "A little Getaway" yet, but the rest of the stories in
"No Limits" will follow now).

I love speculating and after reading this book I wonder if this might
lead to something else: a body for Morgan Lefler. I was laughing when
PAD made his remark about putting a H for hologram on her forehead (Red
Dwarf), but also Rimmer eventually got his hard light holographic body.
And as I already mentioned, there is Rommie in Andromeda. Anyway, on top
of an unusual captain and an unusual bridge crew, the Excalibur now also
has an unusual computer with character. In the past, talking to a
computer was usually boring. On the Excalibur, that is no longer the
case. I find her very refreshing and can see the advantages a sentient
computer like her has. Although I agree with her, that she is not really
an AI, but something unique. But it should also be very interesting
should she one day really disagree with her captain and refuse important
orders.

The other main thread in "Stone and Anvil" is a flashback, showing the
history of Calhoun`s start of his career, from when Picard convinced him
to join Starfleet Academy and when he actually did so. From watching TV
I didn`t have the best opinion of what cadets are taught when it is
about honor, obeying orders and leadership abilities. I very much
dislike the idea of elite cadets and the emphasis of obeying orders
without questioning them. I was shocked that even older cadets are seen
as superior officers who have the right to give orders to younger
students. Even when it is obvious that they are abusing their powers and
bullying, people are supposed to obey. Of course what Calhoun did was
neither wise nor right but I also thought, good, it is about time
someone teaches these bullies a lesson! I detest bullies and if you ask
me, they got what they deserved.

This is of course the incident that was already mentioned in "Once
Burned". PAD continues to describe Calhoun`s difficult but also very
educational time (not only about learning facts but learning to adapt in
this society) on the Academy. I was also waiting for Calhoun`s talk with
Boothby PAD mentioned but instead he wrote about Shelby`s discussion
with him. He summarized very accurately what was obvious to me when I
read the book (but also before): They were not ready yet for a permanent
relationship. In that connection, PAD repeated one scene from the NF
comic, "Double Time", with Calhoun and Shelby in bed and he
instinctively came to the same conclusion. Although nothing what
happened here surprised me, it didn`t take anything away from my
enjoyment of that part of the book. Being a big fan of that
relationship, it was touching and interesting to see how both of them
grew, matured until they eventually became a married couple. But it was
also obvious, that Calhoun and Shelby are still learning, still growing
- as it should be. Nobody is perfect and there is always room for
improvement.

By the way, I hope one day we will find out where these intense dreams
and/or visions come from we could already see in "Martyr" and
"Restoration". I am sure they are result of their close relationship but
they have a very psionic feel.

I read some comments that Shelby`s relationship with Wexler doesn`t fit
to what had been said before in NF. Unfortunately I can`t find that part
now but if I remember correctly, PAD was talking about Shelby`s
relationships AFTER she and Calhoun separated.

I loved the part of the book describing Calhoun`s solution of the
Kobayashi Maru simulation. It was so very much in character! When I
first heard Calhoun blew the Maru up, my reaction was "what?" But the
way he explained it, it makes so much sense. I am surprised that Shelby
didn`t see that when he did so during the interview. I think the
insecurities that later led to her personal crisis were already visible
here.

What I found fascinating was Janos origin story. I never would have
guessed that Calhoun was so much involved in it, that he even gave him
his name. He was indeed a very special individual and I will miss him in
NF.

I am so glad that I still have more NF to read, namely the stories in
"No Limits" written by other authors than Peter David!

Baerbel Haddrell