gingerreader99's review against another edition
3.0
I can't help but feel the most exciting and shocking part of the novel happens right away and the rest is just clean up. The character work is solid and getting to see Prime Lorca was fun (though he shares many similarities to mirror Lorca), as well as the Kirk cameo. Beyond that however it just didn't suck me in as much as I'd hoped. This is probably 3 downgraded to 2.5 for me.
thomwallacern's review against another edition
5.0
Such a fun piece of Trek history to read! Kodos the Executioner was one of the more sinister villains of the original Star Trek series. His orchestrated massacre of 4000 civilians is now expanded and detailed in this novel. I highly recommend this read if you want to really hate a guy. (Also, spoiler, kiddo Kirk shows up!)
trumfer's review
5.0
The second one is a charm!
Great prequel to TOS episode "The Conscience of the King" and Gabriel Lorca character from Discovery. The manner in which story is told deserves an additional praise - it's a journalistic investigation, complete with eyewitness interviewees and some background info. The story itself is pretty relevant for our day and age, so extra bonus points for that.
Thanks mr. Ward, I hope to read another DCS novel from you :)
Great prequel to TOS episode "The Conscience of the King" and Gabriel Lorca character from Discovery. The manner in which story is told deserves an additional praise - it's a journalistic investigation, complete with eyewitness interviewees and some background info. The story itself is pretty relevant for our day and age, so extra bonus points for that.
Thanks mr. Ward, I hope to read another DCS novel from you :)
markmtz's review
5.0
Yet another good read from Mr. Ward, with an astonishing coda. Looking forward to what comes.
judenoseinabook's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
A good solid trip to the Trek universe of pre Discovery Lorca and Georgiou; even a very young Jim Kirk makes an appearance. The story ties into the Tarsus lV Kodo the Executioner Original Series story by telling what happened there and the aftermath. It follows several main characters, is action packed and well plotted.
wondawilson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
snazel's review against another edition
Okay so I read this one hoping that it would make me like Lorca, because of spoilers about our meeting him in the show. It didn't really do that. And I almost gave up on the book entirely multiple times just cause it wasn't my jam. It didn't really read like what I think of as a Trek book, it didn't capitalize on the aesthetic and technobabble and determined optimism of that setting, and it kept giving space to people with views like "really kodos went too far but he had some good points about how everything bad started with the refugees". Not my jam.
HOWEVER. The last like, fifth of the book? I'm very glad I kept reading. The entire sequence with Georgiou and the corps of engineers hacker at the spaceport was deliciously Trek, and the book stuck the landing SO well. (Possibly it stuck it so hard because I wasn't really invested in the middle or beginning of the book, so when I did invest I did so with enthusiasm, but anyways. Those last two ending sequences ahhhhh.)
HOWEVER. The last like, fifth of the book? I'm very glad I kept reading. The entire sequence with Georgiou and the corps of engineers hacker at the spaceport was deliciously Trek, and the book stuck the landing SO well. (Possibly it stuck it so hard because I wasn't really invested in the middle or beginning of the book, so when I did invest I did so with enthusiasm, but anyways. Those last two ending sequences ahhhhh.)
em_being's review against another edition
2.0
A miserable book about how much Gabriel Lorca is the baddest cop in the Federation and how he and Good Cop Phillipa Georgiou work together to fail to do some plot stuff referenced offhand in an episode of TOS.
stealingsilver's review against another edition
3.0
It was alright. Not a great storyline or character development. It paints Lorca as a Phsyco mental health case
momopeach's review against another edition
4.0
It was enjoyable reading more about Tarsus IV which has been one of the plot points for one of my favorite TOS episodes since it gave us more insight to Kirk before the USS Enterprise. I was hoping that a future movie or novelization would touch on how the alternate Kirk would react during the events of "The Conscience of the King" episode; however, since that seems unlikely I appreciated the look into the immediate aftershocks of the Tarsus IV Massacre.