Star Trek: Into Darkness

By: Alan Dean Foster

Narrated by: Alice Eve

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

The official movie tie-in novelization of the highly anticipated sequel to 2009's blockbuster feature film Star Trek!

Pioneering director J. J. Abrams has delivered an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek into darkness.

When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.

With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction.

As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Star Trek Into Darkness stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve, and Peter Weller, and arrives on May 17, 2013.

©2013 CBS Studios, Inc.; Paramount Pictures Corporation. STAR TREK and all related marks and logos are trademarks of CBS Studios, Inc. (P)2013 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Damn it Man, I'm a Doctor!

Kudo's to Foster, Orci, Kurtzman and or Abrams. Whoever it is that is responsible for bringing back this series. These guys get it. They understand that what we like are the characters. The characters make the show, the movies and the books. In this book Kirk continues to show his hard headed, cheat if you have to side. Damn it Man, Doc is his cranky self. Scotty's character stands out in this one and I found him to be one of the most interesting members of the cast in this go around.

Without giving it away let me say they bring back a bad guy and a good guy. They do change the script a little, so sticklers for things being exact will not be happy. They have some references to Bradbury, Asimov and Clarke ( us old guys appreciate that). The story is a little weak, there are some things that just happen to happen the right way, but that is usual for movie books. I did not like this as much as the first Star Trek book by Foster, but the writing was still worth five stars.

What I don't understand is the narrator. First it is a female, second she is British. If you watched that series last fall on NBC, called The Neighbors, the good looking black alien, this narrator sounds exactly like her. Most of the characters as you know are male and this girl does not do good male voices. I am not against female narrators, I believe Kate Mulgrew would have done a good job. Her accent was very distracting at times. Sometimes Kirk was Kirk, but most of the time he was Kuck. McCoy and Spock had British accents. At times it was hard to figure out who was talking, almost everybody but Chekov and Scotty sounded alike. Spock emoted more then Kirk did, by her voice. Lots of times it sounded like a teen romance and I know that it was not the writing.

It is still worth five stars, it just could have been so much better.

Alice Eve is Outstanding!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I have already recommended the book. Alice Eve's ability to easily manage numerous accents displays talent and versatility.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Star Trek: Into Darkness?

I don't want to spoil it for any listener who might not have seen the movie, but the exchange between Kirk and Spock at the Warp Core.

What about Alice Eve’s performance did you like?

Please refer to earlier comment.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Come on, the Movie has already been made.

Good Story, Sexy Voice, Little Added To Movie Plot

I saw the movie and got the book in order to get a more in depth story. I really enjoyed listening but did not get much additional insight. The book of the 2009 movie provided some deviations from the movie as well as more in-depth information on the storyline and new, alternate universe. I was hoping the same in this book, but didn't find as much as desired. Follows the movie pretty closely. There are some additional insights, but not enough for what I wanted.

I really enjoyed listening to Alice's sexy, silky regional British accent and remembering her onscreen presence for 9 hours. I honestly don't understand some of the complaints about her accent. It wasn't hard to follow at all. I don't know, perhaps I've have more experience listening to Brits than the other commenters here and therefore didn't have any trouble.

Alice did, however, struggle with the male dominated storyline: while she had believable regional accents for all of the men, most of them came across as whining rather than joking, commanding..... For some reason, she didn't have this problem with McCoy. I liked her imitation of Scotty. I really didn't like her portrayal of Khan or Admiral Marcus.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, but I can't sit that long. I DID take a long long drive and listened the entire time without getting tired... bringing me back to her British accent....

Great story - terrible narration

If you could sum up Star Trek: Into Darkness in three words, what would they be?

Why Alice Eve?

What didn’t you like about Alice Eve’s performance?

I couldn't tell the characters a part. Kirk sounded like an unsure little boy - very disappointed.

Alan Dean Foster does it again.

Where does Star Trek: Into Darkness rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have listened to many audiobooks in my time and feel that Into Darkness ranks in my top 10, but probably around 8 or 9th place. That ranking isn't based on a dislike of the performance by Alice Eve or the story. It is only based on the fact that there are a few that I simply enjoy more than this audiobook.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character in this story is the obvious choice, Jim Kirk. The story arc for the Captain is superbly told in my opinion. I had always thought it odd that after the events of the first story in the new "reality" that a cadet fresh out of the Academy had been given the Federation flagship. The opening events of the story set up a character conflict that serves to really help him grow into a "real" Captain and not just the "acting" Captain. Admiral Pike hits the nail on the head when tells Kirk point-blank that he doesn't respect the chair. Given his "passing" of the Kobayashi Maru and defeating Nero he had not had to suffer the loss that is required to refine a person into a solid leader. Having to "face the music" for his interference at the begining of the novel set up a loss/redemption arc where Kirk could gain that level of respect. And as the story plays out he was ready to sacrifices himself twice for his crew. An honorable mention to Spock for the internal struggle he has with his emotions in this story. Ultimately he forsakes logic for revenge which is something we never saw the "Prime" Spock resort to during his adventures.

Which scene was your favorite?

I actually have two favorite scenes from the story. The first being when the Kirk realized that the Vengance was not on his side and he was ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of his crew. This was when the inner-child, the happy-go-lucky, no one can stop me Kirk died. that was the moment I think he truly changed.The second was during the interrogation that revealed the identity of Khan and described his invlovement in the Federation's research and development in trying to prepare for what they feel is a fateful conflict with the Klingons.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and no. Yes because I love the story. But no because it is unabridged! That's too long for one sitting, but I love the full descriptions of the environments and the characters.

Any additional comments?

As I write this review I am a die hard, life-long Star Trek fan who is stuck in Afghanistan and cannot see the film in the theater. The audiobook provided a different window into the story and it was enjoyable to experience this story like this. The fact that it was narrarated by "Dr. Marcus" made it even better. She does well for most of the characters, however, she tries a little too hard sometimes to mix the new Kirk with the old Kirk's voice mannerisms. Into Darkness was an enjoyable listen and I plan to listen to it multiple times. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves Trek and enjoys getting into the "alternate reality" of some of our favorite heroes.

The book is good despite the narration

What did you love best about Star Trek: Into Darkness?

This is a great reboot of the Khan storyline in the new universe. Very much enjoyed the plot and motivations of the characters.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator is atrocious. Perhaps one of the worst I have heard. She is slightly (and I mean slightly) more bearable at 1.5x speed. Horrible accents. Horrible pacing. Horrible pauses. Just plain... horrible.

Enjoyed it!

I was a big fan of the movie and I enjoyed this telling of it as well. My only issues was the voice and accent used for Harrison. Other than that I enjoyed Alice Eve's narration.

I enjoyed but

Followed the movie very well and I must say I enjoyed both. My only wondering is why they had a female narrator? She wasn't bad but there are more male characters in the book should've got a male to read this one.

Not sure why there are so many complaints about the narration, it’s lovely!

I can’t help but think that the people complaining about the narration are the same ones that get angry when video games feature female characters and call it “forced diversity” and “unnecessary wokeness.”

She did a fantastic job. There is no confusion about who is speaking. Yes, Robert Petkoff does a better job at “doing the voices” but if you get confused about who is speaking in an audio book because the narrator doesn’t sound exactly like the tv characters… maybe just watch the movie this is based on..?

Horrible narrator, great story

Where does Star Trek: Into Darkness rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Good story to go along with the movie! Yes, there are plot holes big enough to fly a Bird of Prey through, but hey! -- it's still entertaining and fun.

What didn’t you like about Alice Eve’s performance?

Alice Eve -- Carol Marcus in the movie -- was a questionable choice for narrating this story. I can't blame her -- she probably did the best she could. I fault the production team and director for signing off on poor narrative choices and inept characterizations. She didn't even bring any life to her own character's dialog. And worst of all, WHO in the world thought it was a good idea to represent Khan -- one of the most elegant antagonists in the Star Trek universe -- as a sneering, cackling cartoon villain? I almost expected him to offer Kirk a poison apple. Ack! I had to work too hard to overcome the narration and concentrate on the story.

This presentation is particularly disappointing after the terrific narration by Zachary Quinto for the first novelization of the new series.