Star Trek: Discovery: The Way to the Stars

By: Una McCormack

Narrated by: January LaVoy

Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

An original novel based on the explosive new TV series Star Trek: Discovery!

Despite being an inexperienced Starfleet cadet, Sylvia Tilly became essential to the USS Discovery finding its way back home from the Mirror Universe. But how did she find that courage? From where did she get that steel? Who nurtured that spark of brilliance? The Way to the Stars recounts for fans everywhere the untold story of Tilly’s past.

It’s not easy being 16, especially when everyone expects great things from Tilly. It’s even harder when her mother and father are Federation luminaries, not to mention pressing her to attend one of the best schools the Federation has to offer. Tilly wants to achieve great things - even though she hasn’t quite worked out how to do that or what it is she wants to do. But this year, everything will change for Tilly, as she is about to embark upon the adventure of a lifetime - an adventure that will take her ever closer to the stars....

©2019 Una McCormack (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

It's boring. Very boring indeed. Very boring.

This book is not a Star Trek book. It is a coming-of-age book with a thin veneer of sci-fi window dressing. For all but the last two hours, there is basically nothing in here but conversations between, about, and at a privileged but constrained teenage girl with a domineering mother and an absentee father who happens to be a future Star Trek character. That character is actually pretty interesting- in Star Trek: Discovery. That character is NOT, in any way whatsoever, interesting in this book. One would never know that there is anything about a 22nd century prep school that distinguishes it in any meaningful way from a 20th century version.

Not a Star Trek Book

This book has just about nothing to do with Star Trek and as far as I'm concerned, has no business in that collection. The story is about a 16 year old girl maturing out of her teens but dealing with an overbearing mother . Don't spend your points on it if you're looking for a good Star Trek story.

Best for younger readers, nice Tilley backstory for the fan.

This is reminiscent of Enid Blyton stories: kids at boarding school & all they could get into plus growing pains. But it is also a great story for an older teen who begins to realize that their path might differ from what they thought or what their parents had planed; saying you are not alone, giving a bit of perspective and perhaps the courage to talk to those around them before the pressure becomes overwhelming.
For the adult Star Trek fan it gives us a backstory and motivation for Tilley, though it could have done with some more editing here and there.

What is lacking is the science part of the science fiction.
The great Star Trek books have always had four elements:
First (and well done here): believable & valuable expansion of canon to make the reader feel like they know the characters on the screen a bit better than the average couch potato.
Second: ethical quandries to be solved or at least seriously treated.
Third: ‘cutting edge science’ to lead into the fictional science; teaching a little science fact before getting into the science dream.
Fourth: humour & humanity

It is unfortunate the author missed quite a few opportunities to enhance an otherwise great story and make it a really great Star Trek story.

It’s a shame because I know from her other Star Trek Novels, that she can do a lot better! Perhaps she’ll be given the time to do a page one rewrite one day, both Tilley’s deserve to have the real foundations of their fields of fictional study brought closer to a wider audience.
Archaeology will probably get other opportunities; Star Trek has been unusually kind to Archaeology over the years despite being a show about the future, not the past.
But Mycology is not likely to get a whole lot of science fiction treatment if the first five books are any indication.
Considering the whole show is centered around a star ship running on a spore drive, the mycology has come woefully short! (I still know more mycology from a high school biology report I did thirty years ago than anything I learned on Star Trek Discovery or in the Disco novels) The novels are where obscure or new scientific ideas usually get treated so Tilley’s backstory would have been the ideal place to insert some basics on the subject matter. Its omission plus the setting of the story are why out of all the Discovery books, this is probably the one best enjoyed by a young reader - it is lighter fare than the average Star Trek Novel!

Well preformed!!! Great back story on Tilley.

You get some insight into why Silvia Tilley is who she is.
I think the book was written for and might be helpful to teenagers. This is both a compliment and criticism. I enjoyed it but expected something different, something more mature and adventurous. But I highly recommend this book to someone who wants to introduce a teen to the Star Trek World.

Love me some Tilly

I wanted to know why she was the way she is and the book did it.

More Tilly!

I really wasn't excited for a book just about Tilly... but wow! It was great and I definitely want too know more. It was a great blend of personal interest and action.

stupendous. one of the very best

great story and performance. hit me right in the feels. hope to see more like this. definitely best of the discovery series

LOVE IT

Tilly was already one of my favorites, this book strengthened that enjoyment of her character.

McCormack, a Great Writer but Story was Not for Me

Firstly I wanna say I think Una McCormack is one of the better writers when it comes to these Star Trek books. So much so that I want to read her more original content if there is any... I wanna say that because my previous review for her Picard book was rated very low and that book much like this one is due to the material she has to work with. Both Picard and Discovery are very poorly written show with utterly repugnant characters and this puts a McCormack at a disadvantage in my opinion.
Here we have a story about a young Tilly, a character is dislike in the show... not so much for how she is written but more so how the character is portrayed by the actress... so going into this book I was a bit nervous but McCormack is such a good writer that I was never bored and I didn't find Tilly as off-putting as I do in the actual show. That being said this story was just not for me... don't get me wrong it's not bad, but this coming of age type story is just not something I look for in a Star Trek book... if it were a one off episode in a Star Trek show I might actually love it as a departure from the normal space adventures (something like Data's Day or Lower Decks) but as a book it just not the kind of thing I usually go out and read. It's not bad though, just wanna make that clear. If you're going into this just know its more of a coming of age story and not your typical Star Trek story, or violent nonsense like Kurtzman Trek. So it was a nice departure from what I usually read but will most likely never revisit it

Loved and Hated it

So first yest I agree with others this really isn't a Star Trek book but as far as Tilly it's a great back story for her. I say I both love and hated it because there were real parts that drew me into the story and kept my attention. But there were also the teenage drama issues the really turned me off I get it this really happens but it's not my thing.