Reviews

Dead Endless by Dave Galanter

whatiskendall's review

adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

jazzypizzaz's review

5.0

Everything more I wanted from the mycelial plane! A return of the tardigrade! Characterization so lovely I was swept away and taken off guard by the "twist"! A very nice first contact! Delightful little moments between characters both central and peripheral! Charming and funny and full of love! A book that makes me feel happy! (and sad, and lost and found)

gingerreader99's review

4.0

A very moving and touching entry into the Discovery series and Trek books generally. It goes to places emotionally that other books are unwilling to venture. Though Disco as a series is lovingly known for going where no one has gone before and undoubtedly traversing relationships , especially ones bound together across universes is somewhere it had yet to go. I'm settled on 4 maybe 4.5 stars, only because at times I find Stamets to be annoying as even Hugh points out. This other timeline was thrilling to explore though and I enjoyed the subtle differences between the two, as well as what connects back to Disco S1 which I havnt seen in years and now wish to go back and re-watch those earlier episodes. All told the story has a deep dive into a very loving and important relationship between Paul and Hugh, but on the second level includes what you always want in Trek, first contact and exploration. Let the haters get mad at this one! I don't care! I love it!

wondawilson's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

chapman's review

4.0

I'm happy to say I very much enjoyed this story. I was trying to work out where in the Discovery series it would fit, from the general premise of the story and it does indeed slot into it's place as you read.

I love the set up of the Discovery as we come to know it, a very interesting insight into the what ifs and might have beens. Coming from Hugh's perpsective, seeing the subtle differences in the characters lives and how that's changed them in small and large ways.

I can't deny my heart was both bursting and breaking for Hugh and Paul, who they are and aren't to each other. The coming anguish on their behalf, knowing what's to come. It's an interesting idea having the Tardigrade "Ripper" or Ephraim from season 1 returning. I haven't seen the Short Trek which seems to also have the Tardigrade in the story, which having the same name I'm assuming is the same one.

Unfortunately I must admit finding the conversations between Hugh and Ephraim the part that didn't work as well for me. I comepletely understand Hugh's frustration with the contstant repeat of "I will and I won't. I have and I haven't." Non linear comprehension is a tricky thing to discuss and for me, it was more annoying than anything else. There were a couple of times when it did work, but the rest I have to side with Hugh and beg him to stop.

Especially since Ephraim remembers the multiple conversations with Hugh, while Hugh does not, why hasn't he worked out that repeating that phrase doesn't help 80% of the time and just frustrates and upsets him?

Aside from that, I enjoyed it over all and it's lovely having a book focusing around Hugh and Paul's characters.

cythera15's review

adventurous challenging emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Listening to this audiobook really made my life infinitely better and I legitimately had to cry out loud because of how good & gay it was. When I was first reading this I thought 'OMG the author got this wrong about this character and that about the other character, and their voices are all wrong, etc." BUT THERE WAS A REASON FOR IT! Now I'm rewatching Discovery and it is so much better thanks to this book!!

ejpip25's review

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

THIS IS THE BEST BOOK IVE EVER READ

jbrooxd's review

4.0

I was happy to discover for myself that this was not a novelization of the episodes from ST Discovery thanks to

Spoiler

a parallel universe. Culber is from the TV show timeline while Stamets and the crew in the book are from a different universe.

There was a good amount of time spent on their relationship as well as some circular conversations between Culber and a tardigrade. The rest of the story focused on the issues on Discovery and how Starfleet will save the day. It felt like a typical Star Trek novel, and I enjoyed it. (Some language)

taaya's review against another edition

4.0

Somewhere around the middle I got lost a bit. When the beings manifested themselves. That was a bit too much to keep track of in, maybe just because I was listening to the audio book. I read a message on my phone and suddenly everything was different within seconds? That was one layer of twists and complications too much for my attention span.
But apart from that I loved the writing and the narration. Especially how Saru was written was just brilliant. Funny, charming, ...
Looking forward to the next Discovery novel. So far none of them disappointed.

rcollins1701's review

3.0

With the Star Trek: Discovery tie-ins, there is a concerted effort by the show runners and the authors to bring the novels into the official story of the show. This raises the stakes a little and creates a more seamless continuity between what we see on-screen and on the page (and avoids devolving into too much fan service). This is great for weirdos like me who like to watch shows as much as they like to read novels. Dead Endless is a straight-up classic sci-fi story, full-up with multiple dimensions and non-linear time, spores, spaceships, aliens and telepathy. Good stuff. The core of the novel is the love between Dr. Culber and Lt. Stamets, and Galanter doesn't take for granted that the reader will just accept these two men love each other—he builds there relationship from the ground up in a way that makes the conclusion heartbreaking and adds so much value to the plot on-screen. Good stuff!