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birdmanseven's review against another edition
2.0
Not the in-depth look at Georgiou that I was hoping for. It had it's moments, but I think it left a lot on the table.
We discussed it further over on Howe's Things: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/poetry-month-special-2023
We discussed it further over on Howe's Things: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/poetry-month-special-2023
edcorcoran's review against another edition
3.0
When I realized the Dromax were the Worms from the video game Worms, I couldn’t decide if I was pissed or impressed.
Die Standing isn't nearly as good as JJM's The Enterprise War, but it's still a fun read. Like The Enterprise War, it's at its best when it's exploring some distinctive science fiction ideas. Once the book gets to the Troika, it really gets cooking and stays highly enjoyable until the last few chapters.
But unlike The Enterprise War (and like it's predecessor Dead Endless), Die Standing is stuck with some of Discovery's worst ideas. In this case, it's Emperor Georgiou not only surviving the destruction of the Charon but coming to the Prime universe and then becoming a hero. There's a very reasonable meta-textual reason for that decision: Michelle Yeoh is a movie star beloved worldwide and she's also apparently a great co-worker as all the Discovery cast and crew seem to adore her. But none of her story post-Charon has ever made any sense in the text of the series. It didn't make sense she survived; it didn't make sense that Starfleet used her as an asset; it didn't make sense that she actually helped out Michael Burnham and the Discovery and it certainly didn't make sense that she went from a bloodthirsty tyrant to a gently grizzled anti-hero.
When Georgiou is acting on her worst impulses, the book is pretty fun. But when she is called to be selfless, her reasoning never makes any sense. I still don't know why she did what she did at the finale.
The other primary characters in the book are all fun. But it suffers from the "small universe" problem that the recent Star Wars movies have. Everyone has some tie-in to a previous Star Trek story. Build a story around Kirk's first experience on the Farragut with the dikironium cloud creature from "Obsession"? Sure. But making Finnegan from "Shore Leave" and another Trill named Dax the supporting characters? C'mon. The coincidences around the Mirror Universe are built into the concept, so I can't complain about those. But just make the supporting cast actually new: some other guy who isn't Finnegan and a Trill that isn't Dax.
Die Standing isn't nearly as good as JJM's The Enterprise War, but it's still a fun read. Like The Enterprise War, it's at its best when it's exploring some distinctive science fiction ideas. Once the book gets to the Troika, it really gets cooking and stays highly enjoyable until the last few chapters.
But unlike The Enterprise War (and like it's predecessor Dead Endless), Die Standing is stuck with some of Discovery's worst ideas. In this case, it's Emperor Georgiou not only surviving the destruction of the Charon but coming to the Prime universe and then becoming a hero. There's a very reasonable meta-textual reason for that decision: Michelle Yeoh is a movie star beloved worldwide and she's also apparently a great co-worker as all the Discovery cast and crew seem to adore her. But none of her story post-Charon has ever made any sense in the text of the series. It didn't make sense she survived; it didn't make sense that Starfleet used her as an asset; it didn't make sense that she actually helped out Michael Burnham and the Discovery and it certainly didn't make sense that she went from a bloodthirsty tyrant to a gently grizzled anti-hero.
When Georgiou is acting on her worst impulses, the book is pretty fun. But when she is called to be selfless, her reasoning never makes any sense. I still don't know why she did what she did at the finale.
The other primary characters in the book are all fun. But it suffers from the "small universe" problem that the recent Star Wars movies have. Everyone has some tie-in to a previous Star Trek story. Build a story around Kirk's first experience on the Farragut with the dikironium cloud creature from "Obsession"? Sure. But making Finnegan from "Shore Leave" and another Trill named Dax the supporting characters? C'mon. The coincidences around the Mirror Universe are built into the concept, so I can't complain about those. But just make the supporting cast actually new: some other guy who isn't Finnegan and a Trill that isn't Dax.
marktm's review against another edition
3.0
It's fun having some of the blanks filled in on the Discovery characters' stories, and it's fun to tie in TOS storylines and minor characters. That said, the plot and narrative often feels disjointed and not quite authentic. It doesn't detract too much from enjoying the book, but I feel it could have been better.
scottlukaswilliams's review
3.0
Miller nails the characterization of Mirror Georgiou. That said, I think the reason she works on Discovery is that we get relatively little of her. For me, the character is a bit too broad to carry an entire book. She tires me out. That’s the fear I have for the Georgiou/Section 31 series that’s in development too. I guess we’ll see!
mreiki's review against another edition
3.0
This is a solid tie-in, but not one of the best I've read.
I liked the connections to TOS/DS9 via Emony Dax and Finnegan and that they used Emperor Georgiou's perspective to point out some of the Federation's/Section 31's hypocrisies, but at times the depiction of Georgiou threatened to veer off into the cartoonish. (Maybe a whole novel focused on her was just a bit much for me.)
The solution to the plot made sense, but felt a little rushed.
I liked the connections to TOS/DS9 via Emony Dax and Finnegan and that they used Emperor Georgiou's perspective to point out some of the Federation's/Section 31's hypocrisies, but at times the depiction of Georgiou threatened to veer off into the cartoonish. (Maybe a whole novel focused on her was just a bit much for me.)
The solution to the plot made sense, but felt a little rushed.
cythera15's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-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? Yes
5.0
I enjoyed this book so much!! I loved Emperor Georgiou, as well as Finnegan and Emeni Dax. I loved that there were a robust imagination of aliens that are not bipeds and very different than humans. The dialogues were funny and descriptions of inner life of the characters were sophisticated. The annoying parts were abusing the Irish-alcoholic trope and the obsession with Roman/Greek empire but I don't know, forgivable.
rachelbz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
lunarcatbooks's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Star Trek novels can get bogged down into the technological details and it can get pretty slow. This was not one of those books. This was an adventure tale featuring mirror universe Phillippa Georgiou the Emporer of the Sector!
It was a face paced story with a lot of action, fighting, great dialogue, and intrigue. I really enjoyed it.
It was a face paced story with a lot of action, fighting, great dialogue, and intrigue. I really enjoyed it.
ogreart's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this in-depth look into Emperor Georgiou both before and after her move to the prime Star Trek Universe. It took a basically unlikable character and explored her in a way that answered some questions. Having an earlier Dax and Kirk's bully from the Academy as secondary characters worked well for me. Enjoyable story. Filled in some holes.
crankyoldnerd's review
5.0
Where did the smoke monster that killed most of the farrafut and was in the episode Obsession come from?
Read this and find out. An excellent look at the Terran emperor coming to terms with being in this universe and unraveling the mystery of the iron eating smoke monster from the TOS Episode Obsession
Read this and find out. An excellent look at the Terran emperor coming to terms with being in this universe and unraveling the mystery of the iron eating smoke monster from the TOS Episode Obsession