Star Trek Discovery: Drastic Measures Book Review
3 min read
Star Trek Discovery: Drastic Measures
By Dayton Ward
The Story:
“It is 2246, ten years prior to the Battle of the Binary Stars, and an aggressive contagion is ravaging the food supplies of the remote Federation colony Tarsus IV and the eight thousand people who call it home. Distress signals have been sent, but any meaningful assistance is weeks away. Lieutenant Commander Gabriel Lorca and a small team assigned to a Starfleet monitoring outpost are caught up in the escalating crisis, and bear witness as the colony’s governor, Adrian Kodos, employs an unimaginable solution in order to prevent mass starvation.
“While awaiting transfer to her next assignment, Commander Philippa Georgiou is tasked with leading to Tarsus IV a small, hastily assembled group of first responders. It’s hoped this advance party can help stabilize the situation until more aid arrives, but Georgiou and her team discover that they’re too late – Governor Kodos has already implemented his heinous strategy for extending the colony’s besieged food stores and safeguarding the community’s long-term survival.
“In the midst of their rescue mission, Georgiou and Lorca must now hunt for the architect of this horrific tragedy and the man whom history will one day brand ‘Kodos the Executioner’….”
The Verdict:
If you’re a fan of the original series, you will like this story. Even though it’s a Star Trek: Discovery story, it feels much more like an original series story (and indeed is based off of the events mentioned in Conscience of the King) than a Discovery story. Unfortunately for the colonists on Tarsus IV, rescue was much closer at hand than was first indicated, and Kodos’ action was not necessary. This was stated in Conscience of the King, but it turns out help was even closer than anyone (other than Starfleet) knew and it’s doubly tragic due to Starfleet’s secrecy regarding their operations.
Gabriel Lorca (Prime Universe) makes his appearance here, ten years before the Battle of the Binary Stars. Like so many of the survivors on Tarsus IV, he must deal with his emotions which is made more difficult because not only are Kodos’ supporters after him, but he is tasked with tracking down the mass murderer. There is a battle within himself – to act as a Starfleet officer would act, and to not give in to the rage and vengeance that comes with his loss. Does he succeed? How does this Lorca compare to the M.U. Lorca?
Readers are also introduced to Philippa Georgiou, who is on one of the ships coming to help the stricken colony. She doesn’t seem as fleshed out to me as Lorca was, although she would be recognizable to those watching Discovery.
Other familiar characters from Conscience of the King make an appearance. One is a very familiar one; a young man who proves to be very helpful to the investigation. Old school fans will be delighted with several of the names. One thing I found interesting was some of the later victims of Lenore Karidian got histories in Drastic Measures and it’s worth rewatching the original series episode (or pulling up a transcript of it) for those names. I did that and then went back to their stories in the book and it was sad to realize that these people, coming alive for the first time in Drastic Measures, survived Tarsus IV only to perish later. Even so, it was a pretty cool thing to include in the book.
Finally, I can give one word of recommendation. Read the book to the very end. Skip nothing. Don’t stop reading until you hit the back cover, or you’ll be sorry!
Book Information:
Author : Dayton Ward
Publisher: Gallery Books
ISBN-10: 1501171747
ISBN-13: 978-1501171741
Pages: 391
Star Trek Discovery: Drastic Measures is available as a trade paperback for $16.00 ($14.40 on Amazon), and as a Kindle eBook for $11.99. To order, head to the link located here.
About The Author
