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Spoilers DSC: Desperate Hours by David Mack Review Thread

Rate Desperate Hours

  • Outstanding

    Votes: 17 24.6%
  • Above Average

    Votes: 36 52.2%
  • Average

    Votes: 13 18.8%
  • Below Average

    Votes: 2 2.9%
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    Votes: 1 1.4%

  • Total voters
    69
Still not done listening to the audio version, but the long passage where Georgiou puts on some music had me wanting to scream. The whole “vinyl sounds better than digital” really makes her seem like a hipster douchebag. What is it, 1982 again?

But knowing Mack was writing, I was seriously disappointed that she wasn’t listening to Rush. Or, I don’t know, Twisted Sister (to stay with the 1982 theme). Miles Davis seemed a mundane choice.
 
Enjoyed the book. Glad to have read it after the episodes - helped me get the visuals and voices right. In future chronological experiences, I’ll read it beforehand.

Thrilling encounter between Shenzhou and Enterprise.

Surprised at the early contact between Federation and Chobliks. I take it as a TTN easter egg.

Loved the reference to the Bolians. I wonder if we ever see Troke and the Tulians again.

We learned more about the Kelpiens. Specifically, their homeworld is Kelpia.

We really get the vibe of a utopian Federation (like we know it) populated by flawed beings, which suits the TV series’s tone.
 
Nearly done it now and I am enjoying it, but mainly for getting to know the new characters and understanding how it all fits into canon, while the plot itself is a bit...standard. Not bad by any stretch, just seems like the plot of a random episode.

It was interesting to see a Starfleet officer legitimately pissed about being passed over for promotion. The scene where Saru lets Georgiou know how he feels slighted made it all the more satisfying to see him sitting in the command chair on the Discovery, decked out in command gold.

For the most part it was interesting to learn a bit more about the background characters. I find myself
hoping most of them survived the Shenzhou's destruction so we can see them again on the show.

Question for Mr. Mack: some of the first names you gave people, like Dr. Anton Nambue, or whole names like Jira Narwani and Troke, did you decide on those names together with the writers and producers, or did you just make them up?
 
...I liked it a lot, a great look into the backstories of the new folks, and even Spock too.
 
Question for Mr. Mack: some of the first names you gave people, like Dr. Anton Nambue, or whole names like Jira Narwani and Troke, did you decide on those names together with the writers and producers, or did you just make them up?
Most of them I developed on my own, along with detailed character bios, backstories, quirks, interests, etc. Those were then submitted to the show via Kirsten Beyer for approval. Some, such as Gant, Detmer, and Jannuzzi, ended up being used on the show. (A few, like Connor and Britch Weeton, were established by the show's writers.) Also, Kirsten tells me that the Shenzhou bridge crew actors were given my bios of their characters to provide a foundation for their performances.
 
Most of them I developed on my own, along with detailed character bios, backstories, quirks, interests, etc. Those were then submitted to the show via Kirsten Beyer for approval. Some, such as Gant, Detmer, and Jannuzzi, ended up being used on the show. (A few, like Connor and Britch Weeton, were established by the show's writers.) Also, Kirsten tells me that the Shenzhou bridge crew actors were given my bios of their characters to provide a foundation for their performances.
WOW! You made up Detmer, Gant and Januzzi? I figured they just told you who those characters were! Crazy, and awesome!
 
I like Keyla Detmer. She stands out to me, not just because of her look aboard Discovery either.

Other characters from different series have always caught my eye, such as: Ensign/Lt. j.g. Jae from TNG, the female conn officer who briefly replaced Stadi in "Caretaker" (the scene they meet Neelix in), the female ops officer in "Nemesis" who nearly got blown into space.
 
Despite my misgivings over some character work (posted a couple days ago) I have to say I really liked it. It added some nice background, and the plot was tight and fast-paced.

Good work. I’ll definitely pick up the next ones.
 
After 200 pages, I put it down and moved onto other things. I was simply bored by it.
 
...I was a little disconcerted not to see more of Pike being resistant to General Order 24, but in the end I put it down to the the idea that he was less willing to buck the system given his relative inexperience compared to Georgiou.
 
...I was a little disconcerted not to see more of Pike being resistant to General Order 24, but in the end I put it down to the the idea that he was less willing to buck the system given his relative inexperience compared to Georgiou.

We discuss this very topic with David Mack on this Sunday's (10/8/17) Literary Treks podcast.
 

http://trek.fm/literary-treks/206

In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Bruce Gibson and Dan Gunther welcome author David Mack to talk about his new Discovery novel, Desperate Hours. We discuss the process of collaboration with Discovery's writers, Captain Pike's devotion to duty, Enterprise vs. Shenzhou, the Shenzhou's bridge crew, comparisons to the Vanguard series, Spock and Burnham, the look and feel of the universe, the book's non-canon status, and finish up with what David Mack has on the horizon.
 
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