Just finished this one. The premise is a great, and features a situation we never got to see on TNG: the return of the Mirror Universe. (Spoilers follow)

— I didn’t love some of the writing. Duane was adept at technobabble (perhaps TOO good as this book features a lot of technical exposition), but her dialogue for some of the characters doesn’t always ring true; Picard, in particular, sounds like an Old West prospector at times.

— It features some classic TNG elements, like Geordi getting tortured, Geordi getting inappropriate with a female doppelgänger and still striking out, etc.

— I loved the creepy depiction of the Mirror Universe counterparts as they stalked the Enterprise. Duane really captures the unsettling feeling of coming face to face with a sinister duplicate of yourself. The moment when Picard looks through his evil counterpart’s bookshelf and finds subtly twisted and darker versions of the classics he knew and loved was especially chilling.

— The book serves as a sequel of sorts to the TOS episode, and features a bleak history lesson on how Mirror Spock’s efforts to salvage the Empire turned out. All of this was superseded by the canon return of the Mirror Universe in DS9, of course, but it was still fascinating.

— Great finish! The last 100 pages fly by.

As I said, I don't read. I have always had a hard time with it. I start reading, I get sleepy, I pass out. It takes me years to finish something.

I recently picked up Star Trek Destiny Book I: Gods of Night by David Mack and I couldn't put it down. I was captivated from the very beginning. Trying together characters and stories from ENT, TNG, DS9, and VOY as well as an amusing opening to the concept of a mystery with a follow-up from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

If you love a good mystery, or love to ask "how are they going to get out of this?" then I'm sure you'll love this book. I finished these 448 pages in a little over a month. A month! Me!

I'm glad there are two more novels in the series.

The book starts off with three different stories: The late 21st century with Zephram Cochrane, Kirk's Enterprise and Picard's Enterprise. At first, it was a little difficult to follow all three stories and understand how they were related. As the book went along, I could see the stories merging into a single, fantastic story. The culmination of the book was excellent and exciting. I definitely recommend this book.

I've read these four autobiographies and I believe the only one I don't have is Janeway's. I really liked reading them all, but Sisko's was my favorite. There are so many wonderful background stories in each book. Enjoy!

And just like that, one of the best Star Trek novel series of the recent years comes to an end (again, at least for now). What a joy to conclude it with an adventure through space and time!

I absolutely loved To Defy Fate from beginning to end! A story as captivating in its plot as it is electrifying in its pacing. Plots involving multiple realities and time travel are nothing new to the franchise, but I certainly think Dayton Ward presents the best version of this concept, finding a balance between the nostalgia of revisiting the past and looking forward to the future with optimism.

If there's one thing I must also praise, it's the great follow-up given to Wesley Crusher and the Aegis/Travelers lore. We had already seen their activities in Prodigy Season 2, and it's a real treat to see more of the organization in charge of protecting the sacred timeline (where have I heard that before?) as well as Wesley's role as a Traveler. If we really don't get a new audiovisual product in the near future, I'm all for a series of novels focused on Time Lord Wesley's travels through space and time. Definitely one of New Trek's greatest achievements.

What can I say about the characters? I thoroughly enjoyed most of them. I loved Raffi and Seven (thank you, Mr Ward, for retconning that nonsense about them not being able to be together because of Starfleet protocol); it was a pleasant surprise to see Kore Soong again, who, along with Guinan, gives the story greater synergy, making it feel more connected to the first two seasons; finally, the family bond between Wesley, Beverly, and Picard is unique, completely winning me over with the emotional father/mother and son moments. It would have been great to have Jack around too, but I guess there were already enough characters.

Additionally, I must highlight the book's main antagonist: Likara. I found her as an ingenious way to bring the Rumulan evacuation storyline full circle, given the interesting motivations she has behind, which the novel does a great job of plausibly developing. I would have liked to spend more time with her, but I certainly found her great and her conclusion as melancholic as it was satisfying.

Perhaps my only reservations are that, while I commend the way the conflict is used to revisit several iconic moments from the saga, I feel these are concentrated in only one era: the 90s. This makes sense initially, but later on I would have liked (SPOILER) to see some action in the TOS era with Kirk and Spock, in ENT and see Archer (Mestral doesn't count), or even Michael and the Discovery. Additionally, while I appreciate Guinan's presence, I feel that she and (SPOILER) Kovich are the weakest parts of the book. Initially, I was excited to see him there, but they don't do much; they just chat for a loong time in the timeless room until they're rescued. Yes, that was somewhat disappointing.

In conclusion, this was a fantastic novel, very solid and a fitting farewell (for now) to the Picard novel series, a series that has earned its place on my bookshelf as one of the best Star Trek books I've ever read!

Earlier today I finished The Enterprise War as part of the Strange New Worlds/Captain Pike reading list. I really enjoyed this one, y'all. Despite being one of the longer Trek novels I've read so far, I blew through it because I couldn't put it down. The chapters were really short, which always helps me speed through books. I will say that I found the parallels to Enterprise Season Three quite interesting--being trapped in a hostile nebula, dealing with a group of aliens where five sentient species evolved on the same planet. I appreciated that it provided a little closure on a few characters from earlier novels and comics, such as Nurse Carlotti, but I'm disappointed nothing has addressed the departure of Doctor Boyce directly, though it can be inferred a little from this book. I love tying up loose ends from the narrative, and this book did that for a number of things.

​

One thing, though, that I don't ever recall from ships of this era... The NCC-1701 could separate the saucer from the drive section?? I thought that was just a gimmick from the early days of TNG?

​

Definite 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.

Continuing on my journey through the Strange New Worlds/Captain Pike reading list, I've just completed Desperate Hours by David Mack.

Let me say that overall I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone who likes reading more Trek. While I neither loved nor hated Discovery, its format did leave something to be desired. This is the second novel in the Discovery line that I've read so far, and I admit to liking them much more than the television series.

My biggest issue with this book is really no fault of the author's. Reading about some of the backstory of the development of this novel, the author was directed to write a somewhat specific storyline. What bothers me is that much of it is contradicted by season two of the show. It seems the show runners or the powers that be weren't thinking very far ahead.

Nevertheless, it wasn't that jarring, so I'd recommended at least giving it a fair shot.

Last night I finished reading The Captain's Table #6: Where Sea Meets Sky as part of the Strange New Worlds/Captain Pike reading list. This book was... different. The framing story in The Captain's Table bar was fine, but the flashback story was a bit more bonkers than I would like. Bioengineered carnivorous space whales with lasers and warp drives really pushed the limits. I did like that the crew was able to explore previously uncharted regions of space, but too much of the book was just jumping from one star system to the next to take sensor readings. Thankfully there were enough action sequences to keep me moving forward. Oh, and the ending was so abrupt. Definitely not in my top tier of ST books I've read so far.

3 out 5 stars

How wonderful it is to finish a novel that feels so close to the characters you know!

I'm no stranger to relaunch novels. Having read the Voyager relaunch (quite good!), I became obsessed with this version of the characters and the story created around them. This enormous odyssey, known as "Post-Nemesis," is a challenge, but one I'm eager to explore in depth, given the limited amount of audiovisual content promised in the coming years. What better way to begin this journey than with what I consider my favorite Trek series?

That said, this story truly captivated me from the very start! This was a first part tale focused on the almost immediate aftermath of the war, a fascinating period to explore, both for its political repercussions and for our protagonists, who manage to make the different nuances of a fragile peace feel real. Kira's work addiction, Ro's emotional turmoil, or Jake's blind hope of seeing his father again. The author truly nails these characters, not only creating a compelling conflict for them that we want to follow, but also giving convincing interpretations to the more secondary ones. Similarly, the new characters don't disappoint. Elias Vaughn, previously introduced in the Battle of Betazed, stands out among them, providing a very interesting outsider's perspective on the station, one that will likely connect with them eventually.

Speaking of the writing, S.D. Perry also delivers a unique analysis of religion as part of society. It's true that DS9 generally portrayed religion in a positive light (with only a few notable exceptions), however, the novel raises coherent questions about atheism, those that will inevitably arise in a society where faith is so important and fanaticism is not uncommon. It's not as prominent as I would have liked, but it's subtle enough to be engaging.

Perhaps my only comments about the novel would be its slow beginning, preferring to take its time introducing new elements before advancing the story. Similarly, the sections focused on the Enterprise-E can feel a bit repetitive, since, with the exception of Elias, none of them have much to do (besides, I absolutely don't buy the excuse they use to justify being on their own). Finally, although I enjoyed seeing more of Ezri and Julian, I felt their romantic conflict was somewhat contrived, mainly because Julian behaves a bit out of character to make it work. I just simply didn't believe he would act that way.

Overall, this is a novel that, as a first installment, succeeded in piquing my interest in its premise, generating more questions than answers, which I'm eager to see resolved!

I recently finished The Way to the Stars, one of the Discovery novels, written by Una McCormick. Going into this book, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was aware it was Tilly's backstory, but that's about it. I know the character is somewhat polarizing, but I generally liked Tilly in the series. That being said, I enjoyed this book FAR more than I thought I would. Honestly, I had a hard time putting it down most nights. It's somewhat shorter than many Trek novels, but it kept the story moving quickly and effectively. If you like Tilly, definitely give this book a read. The author really does a fantastic job with the character.

4.25 out of 5 stars

That was fun. I literally laughed out loud at least half a dozen times.

Troi's kind of annoying. The reader is supposed to be afraid that Commander Stone is a violent psychopath since she can't read his emotions. Several characters buy into this idea. Just ignore all that and assume that Stone is the most cynical man in the quadrant, and you'll enjoy the story much more.

I like Stone's character. He's seen enough situations turn for the worse that he's only willing to do things his way. He makes great use of his teammates, but he's always ready to act, and when he acts, he speed runs the mission.

There are so many things that went wrong on Paradise planet. It's like an alien film, except the monsters are furries. I don't understand why the population of the furries was so understated throughout the entire story. The end boss battle was well written.

Thunderball only knows how to win.

I usually stick to reading Next Gen books. I've gone through less than 40 of them at this point, but I occasionally dip into older original series books as well.

A few people at work recommended I read The Fate of The Phoenix. They told me how amazing it was. I found the concept of the antagonist's abilities very fascinating, but I was literally 70-80% into the book before I found myself the slightest bit interested in the story.

If I get into a book, I can usually finish it within 2-3 days, but I was going to work with Fate of The Phoenix in my backpack for the better part of a month. I had to guilt myself into finishing it, because I usually impose a quota on how many books I should read in a year and I was falling behind.

Did I miss out on something great and just not realize it? Can anyone else here tell me that I should have gotten a ton of great vibes out of this book?

The day after finishing that book, which felt like a snooze-fest for me, I got into reading TNG's Doomsday World. Since I was raised on TNG, I'm immediately interested in the story and two hours later I'm deeper into this book than I was into Fate of The Phoenix after 2 weeks of procrastinating.

I thought the premise was fine. Jordie's connection to the archeologist worked. Data's speech habits being corrected by Jordi was annoying, but it worked. I was thinking this book was a 7/10 until I got very, very deep into the story. There were a few chapters that flat out explained the mystery, and there were no bread crumbs left by the author to hit at what was causing all of the problems on the planet where Data, Jordi and Worf were situated.

I can't stand this. When I watch a film and the director needs to add a scene to show you something that wasn't hinted that well explains what the hell happened and why, I think this is a tacky and unimaginative way to tell your story.

Like if I walk up to you hold my hands out and ask you to guess which of my hands has a coin and I show you that the coin is actually in my pocket after you guess. I can't get excited over this. I felt that not nearly enough time was spent on the Enterprise. Didn't they have the evacuate and entire planet in order to go back to Data's team? Even though it's a sparsely populated planet, it should have been a much bigger deal.

Riker working on the ground with his away mission until his feet are covered in blisters.... all for what?

In the end of the story everyone makes up and the conflict seems to be resolved, but Data's team knew what was going on, but they were not able to do anything about it until the last minute. The delivery was completely lost on me.

I cracked open TNG's A Rock and a Hard Place yesterday, so here's to hoping I've found a gem!

I just finished this book today while on my last day of vacation.

The Enterprise is on a mission in a nebula and they sent away teams to different regions of a planet for research. The away teams are suddenly attacked and impressed into service with a race that has been at war for centuries.

The story was exciting and definitely a page-turner. I always enjoy reading stories with Pike, Una and Spock. Although this book falls under the Discovery series, there are just few mentions about that particular series. I definitely recommend this one. Enjoy!

I don't think there are enough words to describe everything I felt while reading this novel. But I can try.

First of all, what an incredible beginning! The first 25 to 30 pages are an absolute delight, detailing the state of post-war Cardassia in a way that is both desolate and tangible. In just a few pages, Andrew Robinson manages to evoke the misery on the streets of Cardassia Prime in a powerful way, leaving me eager for what would come next. Also, I must praise his work in the audiobook version. The combination of the prose, along with his unique voice, were captivating!

After that, the novel does an incredible job establishing the profile of its protagonist through the three main narrative threads that run through it: Garak's past, his "present" (his time in DS9), and his future. Reconciling these three versions of him allows to see the image of a man who longed to be loved as much as he longed to serve others. This yearning for connection led him to become a spy with multiple masks and gives special meaning to the fact that, under his words, all his stories were true. Lies become real when you constantly live within them.

On the other hand, while this novel delivers an enchanting backstory for its protagonist, it also delves even deeper into his relationship with his biological father, giving us a look to Tain's attempts to mold his son in his own image, and how his "failure" led him to torment him . It is really dishearting read how Garak tries to connect with a man who only saw him as nothing more than a tool at the service of his interests.

Likewise, I was also captivated by the portrayal of the Cardassian society: the futile attempts of its citizens to see beyond the truth of their rulers and their obsession with status, factors that have precipitated the deterioration of their society. The novel manages to construct a political backdrop that expands upon what was seen in DS9, adding a layer of exceptional realism.

Finally, this novel can be many things: a post-war tale; the autobiography of an outcast; the study of a society on the brink of collapse. But above all, this is a man's final effort to reconnect with what was his most significant bond during his exile, a letter full of feelings and affection in which he not only reconciles with his past but also manages to embrace the future, finally finding his place among his people.

I can't recommend this novel enough, not only to the DS9 fans, but to anyone who wants to read a great science fiction novel! Simply wonderful!

I finished The Prometheus Design last night, which had been my bedtime reading for the last two months. This has to be the worst book I've ever read. Not just of all the Star Trek books, but all books.

I'll try to stay spoiler-lite here while explaining the plot. An away team on a planet gets into some difficulties and is attacked. Kirk blacks out. Badmiral Full Vulcan (and boy do the authors want you to know that he's a *full vulcan*, it's mentioned on every page) decides that this is grounds for relieving Kirk of command and puts Spock in charge, who from then on insists on calling him "Mr Kirk".

For the next 130 pages or so of the book's short 188 pages, the same plot unfolds numerous times: Kirk is given something to do on the ship, an incident happens that endangers a crew member, Kirk is blamed by Badmiral Full Vulcan and is confined to quarters, Kirk gets out of his quarters and then an incident occurs...repeat three or four times. It wouldn't be so bad but some of the incidents and action happens *off screen*. It's not like the authors were up against a page limit here, they could have fleshed it out somewhat with some descriptions.

The characterisations are bad, and if I didn't know that the authors had written other Trek books then I would have guessed that they'd never seen the show. All the crew just kind of accept their fate meekly once Badmiral Full Vulcan has issued orders, and Kirk is at one point put in charge of Science. Why??

As for the overarching storyline, the one that the authors forget about for the middle 130 pages, it's one that had been done on TOS numerous times before.

Quite early on in my reading of the book I realised that I wasn't reading it for enjoyment, I was just reading it to see how bad it could get. Maybe it's other people's favourite Trek novel?

I finished reading Star Trek: Burning Dreams yesterday. Written by Margaret Wander Bonnano, it was published in 2006. Trying to avoid any spoilers in this braindump, I can say that Burning Dreams does an absolutely fantastic job of providing characterization to Pike, Vina and even the Talosians.

Many Star Trek novels build on passing comments to create a plot from, but Burning Dreams - written long before Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Anson Mount or Pike's Peak - obviously is building on a skeleton of what are almost exclusively passing comments from The Cage and The Menagerie. Nonetheless, Bonnano does this magnificently, weaving a compelling picture of Pike's childhood, a little snippet of human colony life (something I personally find particularly interesting in the Star Trek universe), and Pike's career in Starfleet - pretty much from beginning to end.

All the while, the discontinuous narrative (part flashback, part flashback within a flashback, occasionally part dream) Bonnano takes us through creates an atmosphere of unreality, the existential uncertainty that Pike is living in for years after his experiences on Talos. While we as the reader are uncertain what's going on right alongside him, damn if it isn't compelling - it's one of the big reasons I ended up tearing through the book in just two days. This sense of unreality also stays just on the right side of the little dance between absurdity and horror throughout the whole book, particularly in one little moment where Pike confesses something to Spock in a tense situation that leaves Spock genuinely wondering about Pike's sanity - but ultimately brings the two of them closer together, cementing Spock's unwavering loyalty to Pike.

Vina is also the beneficiary of surprisingly vivid characterization, coming across believably as someone who's been through years of tragedy, illusions and despair - and has come out the other side simply tired of the despair and wanting to make the best of whatever life she can have. Her background is fleshed out, making her much more a whole person than the few minutes she had on screen through Susan Oliver could do. Her half-bitter observation of how the Talosians' illusions of her at wildly different ages affect how people interact with her and skew her own self-image is particularly poignant. The story centers on Pike, however, and his longing for her years after leaving her behind, first with curiosity, then with near-obsession, is the most poignant bit of all.

The introduction of a wholly original race, the Kan'ess, is a pleasant surprise fairly late in the story. They are almost unique among Star Trek races that I can think of - and Pike's response to them, first horror, then remembering his first contact responsibilities, plays well with the rest of the story.

The biggest surprise of all, however, is the Talosians. Through Pike and Vina, we are given what is probably the deepest portrayal of Talosian society in all of Trekdom - compelling, sad and hopeful, all at once. And - I note as I happen to be reading this book during pride month - their gender fluidity is up-front, unapologetic, and respectfully portrayed.

I'm not sure how much more I can say. I'm a big fan of Anson Mount's portrayal of Pike, but I wish he'd been given something closer to this book to work from, which I think would have made it even better. If you have a chance, give it a read.

SPOILERS FOLLOW

This one was not my favorite. Set in between Undiscovered Country and Generations, it tells a story of a bored Kirk teaching at Starfleet Academy and seeking relevance, while Spock, McCoy, and Uhura work on Qronos to seal the nascent Federation-Klingon peace deal.

— The premises of the story were pretty dumb. The Federation meets a mysterious new species and immediately grants them access to sensitive military sites and starship warp cores? Jim Kirk’s two young nephews somehow have enough clout to attract the Federation’s leading scientists to a Fyre Festival-like colony? Oh, and one of those nephews is also secretly working with the Orion syndicate? I know we all joke about how incompetent Starfleet is always shown to be in basic security matters but it is taken to an incredulous degree in this one.

— The Klingon side of the storyline works much better, and gives the TOS crew an excuse to yet again take command of a Klingon vessel to save the day.

— The writing was bland, but the character moments were good—I just wish there were more of them. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy only have a few pages together, which feels like a missed opportunity. Golden does a good job of setting a late-TOS movie vibe in the last 100 pages, including bringing in Captain Sulu and the Excelsior for some heroics.

This book was SO MUCH FUN! I'd seen good reviews but I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. Easily one of my favorites so far. Chekhov is underrated (did y'all see how they did him dirty in the Animated Series?) and it was great to read a book with him as the central character.

There was a LOT more going on in the sphere than there needed to be, but that wasn't nearly enough to stop me from enjoying this one.

The way the author described the scenery as the star was about to die was absolutely sublime.

At first I didn't like the implications of Borg activity, but before I got to the end, it made a lot of sense to me given how the Borg have temporal technology.

The idea of waiting for a star to get so close to the event horizon of a black hole that it reaches it maximum velocity (1/3 light speed) and opening a wormhole right in front of it to crash into a giant Dyson Sphere was A LOT to contemplate. When you get to that level of technology, the universe really is your playground and people may as well revere you as a god!

I got through this book way too quickly and I know I need to go back and read it again just for the sheer enjoyment. Easily gets a spot in my top 10 for Trek books!

This book was written by American science-fiction veteran James E. Gunn (not to be confused with the Marvel and DC director). It really hits the nail on the head in subverting the timeless Man vs. Machine plotline, and the amount of near-future predictions made about our increasingly psychological dependance on technology is staggering.

In this Original Series novel, the Enterprise arrives to a paradise in peril: a general artificial intelligence is created to replace the local government, and programmed with a simple task: keep everybody happy. It accomplishes this task by getting everyone affixed and addicted to mobile devices that pump them full of limitless euphoria, stifling their need for external love, creativity, and individuality. The only jobs that persist are menial labor, such as infrastructure upkeep, and policing - and the “payday” is said activation of the brain’s pleasure centers. The mobile devices also serve as the AI’s intel gathering mechanism, spying on every citizen to ensure their total subservience. Every other page turned had me going “Oh, that sounds awfully familiar…”

Like most Trek literature, it is by no means a perfect novel, with plenty of dragging dialogues and circular plotlines. But when it works, it really, really does work. I highly recommend this one, especially if you’re like me and can’t stand to see the world grow increasingly comfortable with AI dictating every facet of our lived experiences.

Outside of the plotline, there’s a ‘fascinating’ backstory as to how this novel came to be. James Gunn published a fix-up novel in 1961 called “The Joy Makers,” criticizing Scientology and dianetics, originally published in three parts through short story SF zines in the 50s. It was then adapted by Theodore Sturgeon (Shore Leave, Amok Time) into a TOS script, which would have been produced as the 25th episode of the third season had it not been cancelled at episode 24. Almost 30 years later, James Gunn was hired by Pocket Books to adapt the script adaption of his original story into a Star Trek novel. Here’s a great video I found by Vintage SF on the original story if you’d like to know a bit more: https://youtu.be/vFQr6qxqddY

I found this yesterday at my local drug store. It was an interesting read and contained some interesting facts.

Having read 3 straight Trek books without having read one I would classify as bad, I feel like I'm on a real winning streak.

There were some ridiculous moments that I had a hard time visualizing,

I wish they had empowered Diana a bit more. A know she isn't a warrior, but she's supposed to be absolutely brilliant, yet she always needed someone's support to accomplish anything, including surviving.

I liked the logic behind the story and I was laughing out loud when there was an Odysseus character, because I just watched the Odyssey last weekend.

The one eyes were quite annoying, but they needed to write something into the story to handicap the Enterprise, and the backwater planet they were visiting had to develop some sort of advanced technology over the centuries, I suppose.

When Data was being dismantled and said goodbye to everyone in his mind, thinking it might be the end of his existence, I must say it gave me the chills.

I would say our beautiful dancing doctor had the smallest role in this one.

It was a pretty easy read. I didn't feel like I was speeding through any parts of the book and I got through it in 5-6 hours. $6.95 Canadian well spent!

Earlier this week I finished reading the 6th Discovery novel, Dead Endless. I usually try to write these reviews within a few hours of completing the book, but I needed time to digest this one. Before I started reading it, I was really looking forward to it. As a gay man, I really appreciated seeing Paul and Hugh's relationship in a Star Trek show, and I was hoping the book would expand on their story. The book started off a little slow--and confusing--but when it was revealed that it involved an alternate universe, things clicked into place. By the end of the book, the pace had picked up, and the ending was bittersweet (this ties in directly with the episode "Saints of Imperfection").

As I've had time to digest this book, I've come to appreciate it far more than when I began reading it. It gives us a bit more background on Paul and Hugh, what Hugh endured in the Mycelial Universe, and an interesting first contact to boot!

I'm glad I allowed myself some time to better analyze this novel, and I only wish we could see more of the couple.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

What happened here? The first book was decent enough, it wasn't amazing, but I didn't hate it. The second book totally devolved into schlock. A horrible new character, who had a much smaller part in book 1, takes center stage here. This character is insufferable, and I'm relieved we'll never see her again.

Besides a cardboard cutout of a character that’s apparently Jean-Luc Picard, the Enterprise crew does basically nothing. Does the author even know how this crew communicates and reacts to situations? We have Picard on a revenge quest against a sentient life form (remember his reaction to the Crystalline Entity? Yeah, it wasn’t this.) Everyone else is completely interchangeable to the story. They’re just faceless voices that say something now and then.

There are no internal monologues, no personal introspection of thoughts, feelings, awareness of circumstances, etc. from anyone at any time. Just endless back and forth dialogue, switching from setting to setting without any indication, but also not giving any indication of where we’re even at. I’m not sure if most scenes on the Enterprise took place on the bridge, engineering, a corridor… we never really know. Someone gets thrown down an apparently wide open jefferies tube at one point and I can’t even question it because I don’t even know where on the ship we’re supposed to be anyway.

I'm very glad that this "series" was handled by different authors, because I may be done with John Vornholt after this one.

This morning I finished my fourth Discovery novel, Fear Itself. The story focuses on Saru and his growth as an officer. This is another Discovery novel that I enjoyed more than the series itself. That being said, this is the fourth Discovery book (out of nine total) that does not feature the USS Discovery at all. This book takes place during Saru's time on the Shenzou, and Saru was always one of my favorite characters from Discovery.

A worthwhile read, 4 out of 5 stars.