Review of 'Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
So, having enjoyed the onscreen debut of Discovery tremendously I settled down to read this novel hoping for a good yarn. And it being Mack, of course that's exactly what I got. One does feel as if the introduction of too many officers in one paragraph might have not been such a good idea, and it is hard to match Mack's description of Nambue with his televised depiction, but apart from those small things the characterisations don't seem too bad.
The plot is interesting, and of course it's fascinating to see some of the TOS stuff (namely the Enterprise and Spock) out of context. What's less clear are the implications of Burnham's introduction into Spock's upbringing. I don't know how much detail there is going to be on this in future episodes or novels, but of course it's far more palatable to canon if Sarek's raising of her was remote …
So, having enjoyed the onscreen debut of Discovery tremendously I settled down to read this novel hoping for a good yarn. And it being Mack, of course that's exactly what I got. One does feel as if the introduction of too many officers in one paragraph might have not been such a good idea, and it is hard to match Mack's description of Nambue with his televised depiction, but apart from those small things the characterisations don't seem too bad.
The plot is interesting, and of course it's fascinating to see some of the TOS stuff (namely the Enterprise and Spock) out of context. What's less clear are the implications of Burnham's introduction into Spock's upbringing. I don't know how much detail there is going to be on this in future episodes or novels, but of course it's far more palatable to canon if Sarek's raising of her was remote (either in time or in place) from Spock's. Retrofitting Burnham's presence into Spock's childhood is hard enough for fans to swallow and here at least on the page, we do hear from Spock himself that "She is a few years older than I am, so we rarely moved in the same social or academic circles".
I have no problem with the retcon if it adds value - and there's plenty of material here, Mack shows a brilliant emotional disconnect between Spock and his parents with Burnham as something of a valve for those emotions. I did worry that any connection now between Burnham and Spock would devalue what Spock gained from Jean-Luc Picard at the end of Unification, over a hundred years on.
Niggles, then: Why holograms? The Enterprise is classed as a newer ship than the Shenzhou. The Enterprise uses viewscreens for communiques, the Shenzhou holograms. Is this a TV thing - are screen images too antiquated?
Next, does weapons technology really advance so quickly? According to the Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology, Phaser banks replace lasers for the Constitution class of starship by 2366. I know the Enterprise got hers early, but I thought it was post-Talos by more years than seem indicated here. maybe I'm wrong, it's a very fine point.
Finally there's Burnum and saru's relationship. Onscreen they're depicted much less angrily towards each other. is there a hatchet burying in the coming year? I wouldn't say they worked well together onscreen, but certainly there's a depth of feeling on the page which I am very much looking forward to seeing developed.
My nebulous concerns notwithstanding, it's great to see this as the first story in an exciting, new series of adventures. I would like to read a more fleshed-out version of the opening set of Discovery episodes, and then we'll have a whole new captain and crew to play with when we actually encounter the Discovery.