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  • Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours

  • By: David Mack
  • Narrated by: Susan Eisenberg
  • Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (215 ratings)
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Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours

By: David Mack
Narrated by: Susan Eisenberg
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Summary

An all-original novel based upon the explosive new series on CBS All Access!

Aboard the Starship Shenzhou, Lieutenant Michael Burnham, a human woman raised and educated among Vulcans, is promoted to acting first officer. But if she wants to keep the job, she must prove to Captain Philippa Georgiou that she deserves to have it.

She gets her chance when the Shenzhou must protect a Federation colony that is under attack by an ancient alien vessel that has surfaced from the deepest fathoms of the planet's dark, uncharted sea.

As the menace from this mysterious vessel grows stronger, Starfleet declares the colony expendable in the name of halting the threat. To save thousands of innocent lives, Burnham must infiltrate the alien ship. But to do so, she needs to face the truth of her troubled past, and seek the aid of a man she has tried to avoid her entire life - until now.

©2017 David Mack (P)2017 Simon and Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

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What listeners say about Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

3 minute story told in forever...

I like star trek but this was tedious.
it went on and on and on, oh and on and on well I'm sure you get the general idea.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

essential prequel to the new series

Desperate Hours main story arc is a traditional Trek story that would fit in to any of the series that have come before. It's an enjoyable alien story which also fills out some interesting background in to Starfleet and the Federation at the time of Discovery.

However the main reason to read this book is for the backstory it unlocks for Burnham and Saru. This helps us to understand the motivations of the characters on screen in a way that the main show will never have time to explore.

Essential reading/listening for anyone who is enjoying Star Trek Discovery. Well done David Mack.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Dissatisfied and disappointed

This was a difficult book for me to listen too. In part to the very stoic reading of the narrator but mostly down to the story. This is the first David Mack story I've listened to and it will likely be my last. I feel that he did not capture the true essence of the characters as depicted by the television series. There was too much questioning and second guessing of authority on both ships. Pike and Georgiou came across as petulant children rather than the strong characters shown in TV. The rest of the cast seemed to whinge and moan. I did not feel the truth of characters like Burnham, Spock or Saru. I also felt like I was having a lot of things explained in a condescending manner, usually through the questioning of authority alluded to earlier. If this had been the first mission and everyone was green I could perhaps forgive it but that wasn't the case. Characters should have been allowed to do their jobs without having to show the two captains their working out, it made it feel as if neither captain trusted their crew. Then the seemingly endless puzzles and hoops and the cheat on the end puzzle, I felt that it should have been done without the psychic element. Their relationship, Spock and Burnham, also did not seem genuine and I really struggled to believe it. The timed trap also seemed like the writer was trying too hard. The really good plot element of a colony breaking away from the Federation and the politics and conflict there would have been excellent and probably would stand up on its own merit but sadly it just seemed like the author forgot about them and again I felt cheated with their ending.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great first novel of the series.

This ties Discovery to Star Trek Tos well leaving little doubt that this is Trek in its prime timeline.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

slow start, great finish

The story and the voice acting is a Lil dull to start but as it goes on, it gets better and better! loved learning about Michaels advancement to "number 1" and more about her relationship with Spock and Saru. great fun!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not a bad first book for the serise

This book is set one year ahead of the first episode. it trys to link TOS to DISCOVERY. however the books seems to of been written without episode 6 in mind. it's bit jaring on that one point as a couple of issues are mentioned that arnt addressed in the same way. This aside the story is good and would appear to place DISCOVERY in the original timeline rather than the ABRAMAVERSRE.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

The narrator really lets this down, I had to go back as I had just switched off listening. it's difficult to make out what's happening at times from the monotone drone of her voice. The story didn't have much to it from what I could make out and as much as I love Star Trek I am reluctant to download any others. I will probably be better off waiting until I have time to physically read them... I hope anyway.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Just not listenable

Not great really, very monotone and just awful to listen.
Being read by one person when written as multiple cast with pointless over descriptive passages for just about everything makes this book hard to listen.
I will admit to not getting past chapter 3.
I would say it might be ok for some but just not for me.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

the story struggles

the story struggles with too many inconsistencies with the characters portrayed in the show, CPT Pike is largely unrecognisable. it's obvious that the writer was handed a mash of ideas and told to put them into some sort of order.
the performance is very one note. very little inflection with the different character. perfect for leaving on to go to sleep to, but unengaging for the majority.
the ending though is mostly ok, the A plot wraps up nicely, the b plot suddenly ends without much fanfare.
too many ideas, poorly executed. it's not the writers fault, I suspect he was told what he had to feature in the book.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Save your credits, there’s better out there

First off let me start by saying David Mack is not a bad writer but, yep you knew there would be one, Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours is flailing car crash of a story. From characterisations that seem completely out of whack to the characters we have grown to know through the show to an over reliance on contrived plot elements all topped off with narration that sounds more akin to a bad 90’s infomercial voiceover.

I appreciate that this was the first Discovery original novel but it really does feel like nobody provided the author with even the briefest of character bios to work from and the whole thing feels disjointed because of it. Save your credits and your time and just move on to other books in the series, this one unfortunately will leave you very much wanting.

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