Spoilers DSC: Fear Itself by James Swallow Review Thread

[Damian]

Just finished it. I confess that I didn’t see the JJVerse reference.
Maybe the drones scene as well; similar to the ones in Beyond.

I made it to the section with the drones and initially thought maybe that was it as well. But then I thought that wasn't really an Abrams reference. I mean, it had a similar feel to an extent but that was all and I thought if James mentioned there was a reference it'd probably be something more overt then that.

I'm still looking for it. I'm about 3/4 of the way through now and keeping my eyes open for it.

When I saw the Dimorus reference I remembered hearing that name before and thought maybe that was it. I looked it up in Memory Alpha and found it was familiar, but because of being mentioned in WNMHGB.

He did give us a small clue, that being the reference is in the 2nd half of the book.

 

[Damian]

I will say, looking for the reference has helped me find other references. For instance, I looked up Vok'sha (Yashae's species) to see if there was something to that and when I looked that up I saw they were referenced once in Voyager. Still looking

 

[Damian]

I finished the novel and rated it above average (I'm very hesitant to books "excellent"-- for instance, I would rate David Mack's Destiny books as excellent, a very high bar but above average is still a great book IMO).

I thought the story was good and informative about Lt. Saru. It also gives some background on the relationship and competition between him and Lt. Burnham. There are a lot of nods to other series and species we've heard some or nothing about. The Pelians are featured prominently here, who were featured in TNG episode "The Host" and this features the early signs of conflict between the Alphans and Betans. They are transporting Gorlans to a new 'home', a species mentioned in passing in the original series episode "Mirror, Mirror." There are nods to others series as well including Voyager and DS9 and there was a Mazarite character, a species featured in Enterprise.

James also mentioned an Abramsverse reference though I'm ashamed to admit I was unable to pin it down. There are some similarities, the drone ships are reminiscent somewhat to Krall's swarm in Beyond, a sacrifice by a character that reminded me a bit of George Kirk's sacrifice in Star Trek (2009), the debris feel reminded me a bit of the debris field in STID between the Enterprise and Vengeance, and finally complaints by the Peliars about what they feel is Federation interference that reminded me a bit of Krall's stated disgust for the Federation. But those are just themes, and I find in a universe as vast as Star Trek there are frequently similarities to other stories or themes that either are due to inspiration from earlier stories, or just plain coincidences. Judging from his comments about the reference I think the Abramsverse reference is something a bit more obvious then a simple theme. I'll keep looking for it though. I'd love to crack the secret .---one thing I just caught was a mention of the Suus Mahna, a Vulcan defense mentioned in Enterprise and featured in the novelization to Star Trek (2009), however I have a feeling that is not it either since it did not end up in the film and was something previously mentioned on Enterprise.

 

[Damian]

No-one's picked out the Kelvin Timeline reference yet, though...

Spoiler

How about the Xanno? I see they were mentioned in one of the Academy novels that take place in the Abramsverse?. This was the only thing I found that was only mentioned in the Abramsverse and not elsewhere

 

[thribs]

That has to be it. I looked that up as well but when I saw it was memory beta, I ignored it, thinking it was something that was in a movie.

 

[James Swallow]

Spoiler

How about the Xanno? I see they were mentioned in one of the Academy novels that take place in the Abramsverse?. This was the only thing I found that was only mentioned in the Abramsverse and not elsewhere

That ain't it...

I'm referring to something specifically from one of the films. In this case, from Star Trek Into Darkness.

 

[Damian]

That ain't it...

I'm referring to something specifically from one of the films. In this case, from Star Trek Into Darkness.

Dammit, I guess I have to admit I was reaching there since it was something only featured in a young adults novel. I'll keep looking for it.

Amusing in a way. In my search for the reference I've found a ton of other Easter eggs, some of which I would have missed if I wasn't looking (like a chess maneuver referred to by Data in an episode of TNG--or the Vulcan defense move cited in Enterprise). I'll find it.

Spoiler

Does the damage to the warp core have something to do with it? I remember reading about the damage reminded me a bit of how the injectors were out of alignment on the Enterprise in STID.

 

[James Swallow]

If I drop a reference in a book, it's explicitly the name of a person, a place, an event, a thing - don't look for nebulous "themes" or "things that are similar to other things", I'm not that subtle...

 

[Damian]

Ok. I still can't believe I missed it. I found a ton of other references, at least one for every series in fact, except for this one thing. I even read the Memory Alpha article on STID to see if there was something there I forgot but nothing rang a bell.

Spoiler

I don't have the book with me today so I can't double check this one, but was the USS Bradbury mentioned in the novel? I did see that in the Memory Alpha article on STID and for some reason that's ringing a bell for me. That was the ship Spock was going to be assigned to in STID after the Niburu incident

 

[Stevil2001]

The real highlight of the book is the thought and care it puts into its central character, Saru. Saru is, of course, a coward, but justifiably so in his own mind, and Swallow does a great job of keeping us inside Saru's mind throughout the novel. He's fearful, of course, but Swallow marries this with a sense of determination and obstinacy that the character also possesses, along with the occasional plausible instance of recklessness. I liked that Saru's most un-fearful moments came when he was able to empathize with someone else's fear, and then help them move beyond it. It's not something we've seen on screen, but it makes perfect sense with the screen portrayal of the character thus far.

Saru also gets thrust into command of a boarding party, and flounders at first but eventually shows some aptitude for it, culminating in a decent speech that I could see and hear Doug Jones performing (coinciding with his arc in chapter 2 of Discovery's first season). Additionally, there's a great scene that gives insight into Saru without him being present, where Michael Burnham explores his quarters, and starts to see the universe from his perspective. And finally, the novel's last chapter, where Saru and Captain Georgiou reflect on what he's learned from the experience, was very effective in showing Saru's slow growth, as well as Georgiou's strengths as a commanding officer.

More thoughts here: https://lessaccurategrandmother.blogspot.com/2018/08/review-star-trek-discovery-fear-itself.html But that's the main thrust of it.

 

[Burning Hearts of Qo'nos]

Just finished the book today and it definitely my favorite of James' work so far! It's going be easy to gush about the awesome character work provided for Saru. What I like most about these prequel books we're getting is that they really hone in on the "PRE" as the Saru we see here is definitely not the Saru we've seen on screen, but you can tell that they are the same person on different points of a journey. I like how the story just barely hinted at Saru's homeworld past, and given some of the news of where Discovery is headed, I fully believe that the hints were intentional and foreshadow more of what we learn about Kelpiens in future episodes.

One great little callback is Saru's morbid vision of the Shenzhou going down with the captain as escape pods flee for safety. We got a lot of great sibling rivalry between Saru and Michael, and this vision makes where their relationship is going to go so heartbreaking. He blatantly says how terrified he is of the thought of losing the captain and the Shenzhou and when it does come to pass, the person to blame is his frenemy and surrogate sister, one for whom his competition with has afforded him so much insight but also a place to associate his failures.

But of our Big Three in the Shenzhou era, Captain Georgiou has this tendency to absolutely steal the show! Maybe it's how iconic her appearance in the first two episodes have become with fans or chalk it up to her great performance, but of the three novels out that feature her, everyone has nailed her voice with such accuracy its scary. The final meeting between Georgiou and Saru was wonderful! She strikes a perfect balance of motherly and nurturing, with calculation and pragmatism, all with an overall air of mysterious badass. For having been in only two episodes, it's pretty clear if there was a Shenzhou TV series, Georgiou would have been a damn fine addition to our line of captains. I love it most when the captains act as teachers and mentors to their officers, with Janeway in particular. I'm thinking Janeway might have taken some notes from Georgiou somewhere down the line.

 

[Daddy Todd]

Fear Itself has been nominated for the Best Tie-In Novel Dragon Award.

Congratulations on the nomination, Mr. Swallow!

 

[James Swallow]

Fear Itself has been nominated for the Best Tie-In Novel Dragon Award.
Congratulations on the nomination, Mr. Swallow!

Thanks!

Anyone who would like to sign up to vote for Fear Itself - or any of the other categories in the Dragon Awards - can do so by registering for free right here: LINK

Our motto? "Vote Saru: He's Just As Terrified As You Are"

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Hmm. Gorlans. As I recall the Mirror-Gorlans staged an uprising, which was put down by the Mirror-Kirk, by the simple expedient of destroying their homeworld.

Reminds me of the thread about throwaway lines that could lead (or in some cases already have led) to other stories.

 

[Christopher]

Hmm. Gorlans. As I recall the Mirror-Gorlans staged an uprising, which was put down by the Mirror-Kirk, by the simple expedient of destroying their homeworld.

Indeed. When I read the book, I found myself wondering if I was seeing the Prime version of the Gorlan Uprising. Although the Mirror version would have to have been over a decade later, since Kirk would've only been 19 at the time of Fear Itself.

 

[thribs]

So has the JJVerse reference been found?

 

[James Swallow]

Indeed. When I read the book, I found myself wondering if I was seeing the Prime version of the Gorlan Uprising. Although the Mirror version would have to have been over a decade later, since Kirk would've only been 19 at the time of Fear Itself.

The Gorlans aren't conquered by a hostile Terran Empire in the prime timeline, so there's little reason for them to have an uprising...

So has the JJVerse reference been found?

Not yet.

 

[Christopher]

The Gorlans aren't conquered by a hostile Terran Empire in the prime timeline, so there's little reason for them to have an uprising...



Not yet.

Yeah, but maybe in the Mirror Universe, the Empire conquered Peliar Zel, and so when the Gorlans arrived in the Peliar system, they ended up getting enslaved by the Empire.

 

[Tuskin38]

It has been a while since I watched Mirror, Mirror, so I completely missed the Gorlans being a reference.

 

[James Swallow]

Yeah, but maybe in the Mirror Universe, the Empire conquered Peliar Zel, and so when the Gorlans arrived in the Peliar system, they ended up getting enslaved by the Empire.

Maybe. Not sure what that has to do with a Gorlan uprising in the prime timeline.

Also, thinking about it, if those events from Fear Itself did take place in the Mirror universe, I imagine the most likely outcome of a bunch of Gorlan refugee ships turning up in orbit around an Empire-controlled Peliar Zel would have been their immediate annihilation.