6. House Of Cards - Peter David (1997)
By the time of its 30th anniversary, the number of Star Trek novels had reached an impressive total. The following year however, this would be added to in a way that was perhaps the biggest change since literary Trek's inception. Previous novels had continued adventures that had begun on TV, but there was now a brand new never seen before crew, that of the USS Excalibur. Although this crew included TNG favourites Shelby and Lefler, the vast majority were created specifically for the series; chief among these being Captain Mackenzie Calhoun. Thanks to the fact that niche media can afford to take more risks, Calhoun broke the mould of previously established series leads. The first non-human to sit in the Captain's chair (his real name is actually M'k'n'zy), he was also a former rebellion leader and warlord, and only joined Starfleet Academy after he had successfully banished the occupying Danteri forces from his homeworld of Xenex. The New Frontier series was a risk that paid off, and has had over twenty original tales under its banner, which even included two comic titles (something even Enterprise hasn't achieved). It was also included in subsequent crossovers and short story anthologies, and its crew was even expanded with the addition of The Animated Series regulars Arex and M'Ress. Thanks to its success other original literary series were commissioned, including the Klingon series IKS Gorkon, and the TOS era Vanguard.