Spoilers DSC: Desperate Hours by David Mack Review Thread
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Finally got a chance to knock this one out. It almost goes without saying that the highlight for me was the Spock/Michael stuff, especially getting into their heads. I really dug how Mack used the effect of their interaction to account for Spock's change between The Cage and TOS proper. 
I'm glad this book was written, but it was a bit uneven. I thought everything that was actually Discovery-prequel-y was fantastic - loved Saru and Una, loved Michael and Spock, loved Georgiou and Michael - but everything that was planet-of-the-week-y wasn't so inspiring. It's not just that we've done so many planet of the week stories. I felt like the governor's characterization was all over the place, from completely craven to completely moral, and the leviathan's challenges were so clearly written so Michael and Spock would have to work together that the hand of the author was too present to suspend disbelief entirely. Not one of Mack's best, but I'm still happy to have read all the character interactions.
What are the chances of Desperate Hours getting a mass market paperback release later on?
No idea.
The Enterprise chief engineer situation is really complicated enough... We've got not only Moves-With-Burning-Grace and Barry but also Michael Burnstein from the Jerry Oltion stuff. Barry is around before "The Cage" (per Vulcan's Glory), as was Grace but Barry also appeared in The Rift immediately after "The Cage", as did Grace who appeared in the Early Voyages issues set after "The Cage". I've placed Conflicting Natures and the flashback parts of Where Sea Meets Sky after Early Voyages so mid to late 2254 belongs to Burnstein. But now we know that Barry was chief engineer in 2255 and of course Grace appeared as chief engineer in 2263 parts of Burning Dreams... *sigh*
Is it possible that the Enterprise under Pike had more than one chief engineer, like the E-D had in the first season of TNG?
Well, that's what the show is doing (Sarek and Mudd aside). The books are there to support it. Most people who watch the show will never read the books anyway. They're more like bonuses than part of the core work.
I enjoyed the book, it is not the best David Mack did but it still is a very good one
It adds background to the show and fleshes out characters
The part about the planet was the least interesting to me, it made a plot basis but not much more, whereas the part about characters was very interesting.
Overall a very good book
It adds background to the show and fleshes out characters
The part about the planet was the least interesting to me, it made a plot basis but not much more, whereas the part about characters was very interesting.
Overall a very good book
True, and I don't mind other characters and ships appearing, I just would have liked the the first few books let the new characters shine on their own.
I can see why they did it this way, though. Discovery is so revisionist in its look and tech and approach that it's hard for a lot of people to see how it fits with the Prime 23rd century as we know it. By doing crossovers with TOS characters and events, the books help put it in context. They're connective tissue between the two iterations of the 23rd century.
Thats the exact reason I appreciated them making this book right out of the gate. There was a big elephant in the room that at least needed a cursory acknowlegdement. I’m looking forward to the T’Kuvma comic for the same reason.
I finished this book a few days ago, and it was pretty good (I voted above average). My only big problems were that Captain Pike was way too much of a "I was only following orders" soldier and came off as both petulant and bloodthirsty at times, the tests in the alien ship felt like they went on a bit too long, and the end wrapped up to quickly and cleanly. Besides that it was solid and is a good story that also feels like a good addition to the show.
Liked one of the apparent nods to TOS with Spock and Burnham making it into the very core of the alien vessel, and then encountering a computer control-system which refuses to be talked to death (by purposeful design), unlike some that Kirk will later have much more success with. 
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Called it! Woo!
I think this episode is also what Mack was talking about in the Literary Treks interview when he mentioned that some of his stuff with the Spock/Sarek/Burnham triangle would be coming back in the show. Knowing that Sarek felt like he screwed up by giving the wrong kid the spot in the Vulcan fleet helps add some more poignancy to his apparent habit of misjudgment, what with encouraging the kid without musical talent to practice and discouraging the one who exhibited it.
I think this episode is also what Mack was talking about in the Literary Treks interview when he mentioned that some of his stuff with the Spock/Sarek/Burnham triangle would be coming back in the show. Knowing that Sarek felt like he screwed up by giving the wrong kid the spot in the Vulcan fleet helps add some more poignancy to his apparent habit of misjudgment, what with encouraging the kid without musical talent to practice and discouraging the one who exhibited it.
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Just finished Jane Mayer's Dark Money. And a more bleak, depressing exposé (with no solutions offered) I haven't read in a long time. It took so long because I could only take it in small doses. For somebody who clearly knows the difference between "conservative" and "reactionary," she sure still uses the former to mean the latter a lot.
So this evening, I finally start the present opus. And it wasn't until I finally picked it up that I knew it (and by extension, Discovery) was "late Pike (i.e., post-Cage) era." Certainly a largely-unexplored period. Does Discovery at any point mention why the uniforms I've seen on the cover of this opus, and in the promotional materials for DSC, look nothing like Cage-era or TOS-era uniforms?
So this evening, I finally start the present opus. And it wasn't until I finally picked it up that I knew it (and by extension, Discovery) was "late Pike (i.e., post-Cage) era." Certainly a largely-unexplored period. Does Discovery at any point mention why the uniforms I've seen on the cover of this opus, and in the promotional materials for DSC, look nothing like Cage-era or TOS-era uniforms?
Keep reading.
Well, given that I've barely had a chance to glance at the first paragraph, and at some general series material on MA, there's no place for me to go but up.
I like all of the "fixes" David Mack made for the book. It really feels organic.
I disagree. Most of them serviceable - but the fact that we're noticing them means they aren't terribly organic. I think it probably would have been better served to not make any explicit mention of the aesthetic differences in the set design or the uniforms, and let readers pick what they want to picture (TOS, Abramsverse, or Discovery).
Although ironically, the one place where the changes weren't addressed is the one place where I think a fix was needed.
The whole hologram/viewscreen difference was completely glossed over, as far as I could tell. You get cuts between Pike being a hologram on the Shenzhou and the entire Shenzhou bridge being on the Enterprise's viewscreen, without any explanation for the discrepancy. (And if I missed one, please let me know!)
I think it probably would have been better served to not make any explicit mention of the aesthetic differences in the set design or the uniforms, and let readers pick what they want to picture (TOS, Abramsverse, or Discovery).Although ironically, the one place where the changes weren't addressed is the one place where I think a fix was needed.
The whole hologram/viewscreen difference was completely glossed over, as far as I could tell. You get cuts between Pike being a hologram on the Shenzhou and the entire Shenzhou bridge being on the Enterprise's viewscreen, without any explanation for the discrepancy. (And if I missed one, please let me know!)Similar threads
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