Daedalus

by Dave Stern

Book Overview

An original novel set in the universe of Star Trek: Enterprise ! October 5, 2140. After a half-dozen years of research and testing, Starfleet prepares to launch its first warp 5 vessel-- Daedalus. Propelled by a radical new engine designed by Earth's most brilliant warp field theorist, Victor Brodesser, the new ship will at last put the stars within mankind's reach. But on the eve of her maiden voyage, a maintenance engineer, Ensign Charles Tucker...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743471180
• ISBN13: 9780743471183
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: Star Trek
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

A Captivating Read

Dave Stern does a great job in creating a story that hooks you in quickly, and keeping you hooked. Almost the entire book follows Trip and Hoshi; a duo you don't see in the show. The characters are well written. The plot was interesting and was always moving, in multiple ways. You have Trip trying to help new friends while he himself experience medical issues. There's a lot going on but all of it ties back in and is relevant, so it makes for a great story. I genuinely enjoyed this book. And the twist at the end was a certain surprise.

captain59@yahoo.com

This is an outstanding book...one of my favorite Star Trek novels of all time. This is a deep Trip story, where we learn more about the officer and the man. What impresses me is the character development of not only Trip, but the new characters introduced in this book. Many times, characters in books (and episodes, for that matter) are just shells of what the could be...nothing more than reactionary placeholders. The characters in this book truly evolve and you get to like them. I could see Trip staying with this crew for the rest of his career, and I would enjoy reading about that. He really becomes one with them. I have only one complaint about this book: people shake their head way, way too much!

Best Enterprise novel to date

'Daedalus' by Dave Stern is undoubtably the best Enterprise novel to date, and echoes with the hallmarks of great Trek. The story of part 1 is centred around Charles 'Trip' Tucker, Chief Engineer of Enterprise and one of the leading actors in the show. Basically, Trip and Hoshi are forced to abandon Enterprise in the cell ship after their ship is crippled and boarded in a sneak attack. From there, they are picked up by the opponents of the forces that took control of Enterprise, a desperate military organisation on the verge of collapse. This puts Trip in a delicate position, does he use his Starfleet technology on training to aid his new allies, even though it would violate the Prime Directive? Matters are further complicated when it is revealed that Starfleet technology had a hand in starting the war, and that the enemy now have their hands on even more advanced technology in the form of Enterprise. The story is exciting, gripping, and character centred, all the good things that you want from a Star Trek novel. The writing itself is a little unorthodox, and not quite like any previous form of Trek writing. Stern is a very factual, practical writer, and writes a novel with the minimum of verbose descriptions and the maximum of dialouge. This is not a bad thing, but it is different to previous authors. The dialouge itself is extremely well done, and Stern really conveys the characters thoughts and intentions through it. One of my favourite scenes from the book is during Trip's initial meeting with Marshall Kairn, when Kairn puts the hard word on Trip about joining the Guild. The scene shows just how desperate things are for the Guild, and sets the scene for the rest of the book. But overall it is a solid story, and definitely the best Enterprise novel to date. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and recommend it to any Star Trek fan.

Yet another great "Star Trek" book!

Even though I grew up with the Original Series Star Trek, I also came to love TNG as well and, later, VOYAGER and ENTERPRISE. Being an avid fan of sci-fi in general, however, it would be an injustice on my part not to mention the many other old and new sci-fi works that both led me to Star Trek and which have forever forged my love for all sci-fi works: "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Puppet Masters", "Foundation", "2001", "2010", "Rendezvous with Rama", "Ringworld", all the "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" books, as well as books as new to the genre as "Advent of the Corps" and others.

The TV show should be written this well

We get to see part of federation history aboard a ship that didn't have a successful engine design. Years later Trip and Hoshi hope to prevent the same from happening while captured aboard an alien ship. Stern has a good grip on the characters. It's almost like a two part TV episode. The overall feel of the book is just like the show. Now if only the producers would hire Dave Stern to write for the Enterprise show.

Warning

.... This book is Part 1 of at least 2 parts (who knows?).The story of Daedalus does not resolve by the end of the book. You have to read Book 2 to find out what happens to the people who are all in dire straights. I hope Book 2 ends the story, because I don't want to be caught in a hardcover "soap opera." That said, I am looking forward to Daedalus Children (Part 2). I only regret that the publishers spaced the books so far apart. I will have forgotten what this book was about by the time Part 2 is ready for sale and I've already sold my copy of this one.By the time this Daedalus story comes to an end, I also hope that it deviates from what has become "standard" Star Trek plots (time-space continuum anomalies, etc). I am ready to move on to good science fiction with some new Trek ideas. As far as Stern's ability to TELL a story, he did a good job. I enjoyed his style. Regardless of my concerns, Daedalus is entertaining enough to be worth the cost of the book.