Star Trek: Discovery: Die Standing Book Review
3 min read
Star Trek: Discovery: Die Standing
by John Jackson Miller
Book Description:
“No one in the history of histories has lost more than Philippa Georgiou, ruler of the Terran Empire. Forced to take refuge in the Federation’s universe, she bides her time until Section 31, a rogue spy force within Starfleet, offers her a chance to work as their agent. She has no intention of serving under anyone else, of course; her only interest is escape.
“But when a young Trill, Emony Dax, discovers a powerful interstellar menace, Georgiou recognizes it as a superweapon that escaped her grasp in her own universe. Escorted by a team sent by an untrusting Federation to watch over her, the emperor journeys to a region forbidden to travelers. But will what she finds there end the threat — or give ‘Agent Georgiou’ the means to create her old empire anew?”
Book Set-Up:
Historian’s Note
Overture – (Ch 1-4)
Stage One – Defiance (Ch 5-11)
Stage Two – Murder (Ch 12-19)
Stage Three – Plundering (Ch 20-31)
Stage Four – Destruction (Ch 32-40)
Stage Five – Vengeance (Ch 41-50)
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Non-Spoiler Review:
In Die Standing, readers will not only get the adventures of the former Emperor Georgiou, but they will find out more about one of the Daxs; Emony Dax the gymnast. Original series fans will enjoy a familiar original series character included in the story, as well as learning the history of a killer referenced in an original series episode.
Fans of Section 31 and personnel associated with it won’t be disappointed either. As for the former Emperor, will she or won’t she?
Spoiler Review:
Fans of M.U. former Emperor Georgiou will enjoy this story. The story focuses on her, and on former gymnast Emony Dax, and the original series’ Sean Finnegan [Shore Leave].
One thing that the trio has in common is that they are unsure of where they fit in life. Georgiou no longer rules a universe, and Emony Dax is at loose ends now that her gymnastics career is at an end. By the end of the novel, all three have a better idea of what to do with their lives.
With Georgiou, we see the time period in-between when she was on Q’onos, and when we next saw her in Season Two of Star Trek: Discovery. All throughout the story, when decisions are made, readers wonder – will Georgiou make a decision to aid the Federation, or make decisions based on her desire for an Empire to rule again. At times, Georgiou herself is uncertain about what to do.
Georgiou, Dax, and Finnegan team up to figure out what a killer weapon is and who developed it and how the races of the Troika are involved in creating this weapon. This references another original series episode, but I won’t say which. There is much more knowledge of this weapon than is seen later when Captain Kirk encounters it again. It’s an excellent (and different) villain and original series fans will definitely enjoy the new information about it. One doesn’t have to be a fan of the original series to enjoy the story though, but being so just makes it that much better. The Troika races are also explored, and that is part of the fun of Star Trek, meeting new races and finding out what makes them tick.
It’s always interesting to compare characters in both universes, and this time, we see several. The most interesting character in that regard turned out to be Finnegan. The man, an annoying pain in the backside in the regular universe, turned out to be a skilled assassin in the Mirror Universe. Finnegan is more than a one-note character in this story in comparison to his role in Shore Leave.
If you like adventure, exploration, mystery and learning more about established characters, you’ll enjoy Die Standing.
Book Information:
Author: John Jackson Miller
Publisher: Pocket Books
Publication Date: July 14, 2020
ISBN-13: 978-1982136291
ISBN-10: 1982136294
Pages: 400
Star Trek: Discovery: Die Standing is available as a paperback for $13.71 on Amazon or as an eBook for $11.99. To order, head to the link located here.
About The Author
