Star Trek: Cacophony: A Captain Sulu Adventure

Star Trek: Captain Sulu Adventures

by J.j. Molloy, George Takei

Captain Sulu and the crew of the U.S.S. Excelsior return. Not available in book form.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Star Trek Original Series, Fiction

Audio Cassette

First published October 17, 1994

Reviews

[Yvette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so much fun. Please listen to the audiobook it is a treat.

[Brian Terence · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this an an audiobook, can't compare with the written version, but the audio was good, entertaining listen.

[Ivy · Rating 2 out of 5]

listened to the audiobook which was about 1 hour and 7 minutes. this is a short story that left me a little bit meh. cute but kind-of just fluff, lacking substance. i expected something a bit better.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that this story was cut down to a little over an hour which meant I could not follow what was really happening....but maybe it was also because I was

Cacophony has a really fun epistolary setup and there is something genuinely fun about the set up of someone using interplanetary pirate radio to breakdown a society.

Where it shines is George Takei's voice narration. He has such a soothing and contemplative voice for Sulu that matches the tone of the story and is just perfect.

Four and a half - I too left this story worshiping the god that is Captain Sulu - out of five

[Rob Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting take on a Sulu adventure (using a Starfleet Officer listening to log entries as a framing device) just about pays off however George Takei's Sulu feels more like a guest actor in his own story as he has to share air time with a other characters and their monologues.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy star Simon Jones puts in a charismatic performance as Mulligan although his pronunciation of Excelsior (focusing on the OR at the end) does jar.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sound on this Audio Program was better than the first book, but this one does get a little horrible because of the content of the noise, sounds used in the story, Still it was not that bad of a story, Presented much as a trial to decide if Sulu has broken the Prime Directive, As if he hasn't seen other Captains break it before? This was a good read.

[Jose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Glad that spotify allowed me to listen to this without spending an Audible credit because I was very disappointed. This audio drama format of 1994 isn't really to my taste.
I could barely understand the story and it was over in less than an hour.
Unsurprisingly there isn't a book where this was based, which explains the thin plot....

[S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and entertaining. Great audio with original actor voices.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s short but feels longer than it is and makes you wish there were more to it.

[Mikael Kuoppala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's a wild concept: a planet where any sound is taboo, where the painful memory of war is suppressed by absolute silence. An extremist organization on that planet who broadcast old Earth radio signals to the populace. A populace that begins to think that these radio broadcasts are the voices of their gods. Sulu has quite the job ahead of him.

These stories of Sulu's time as the captain of the Excelsior are Star Trek at its truest. Diplomatic conundrums solved with peaceful wisdom, religious extremism as an opponent, clever sociological science fiction concepts. "Cacophony" has them all, but it doesn't really raise above its premise. The beginning is fascinating, but in the end the tale is a bit too simple live up to the conceptual richness.

[Marcelo · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a little unsettling to hear a Star Trek audio original with a plot more fitting to Star Wars.

In this story, Capt. Sulu must find middle ground between the elite cast of a species who regard silence as literally sacred because of some war and a dissident group that thinks playing old radio shows from Earth is a brilliant form of protest. That must have been a really loud war for silence be considered both holy and a good target for the iconoclast.

Also, radio programs from Earth? Jeez...

There's also a cataclysm ecological sub-plot that's used for motivation, otherwise I bet the master of the USS Excelsior would have just left the Stentorians to fend for themselves.

Of the three audio originals starring George Takei as Capt. Sulu, this is the weakest.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story, but sometimes I wanted to wear earplugs... LOL

Found it to be invaluable on a very long cross-country drive though, the annoyance factor helped keep me awake on the drive, and the pay off when the end came again was well worth the listening.

PS: If your kids play annoying music, put this on and blast them back. There's a moral to the story which informs the cacophony of a restless civilization.
Hopefully your heirs get the point.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars - Once I got past the very very creepy Earth radio broadcasts, I quite enjoyed this. There was a nice exploration of the dangers of silence, as well as issues that can come from free speech. Just wish Takei had had more lines :)

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent "Star Trek" novel, but it was far from spectacular.

[John Barclay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little story, not too deep and nothing really to do with Sulu himself, but still, a short simple idea and a good tale.

[Donavon · Rating 2 out of 5]

What is alien cult broadcasted repurposed clips from Earth radio and TV programs and ads were able to overthrow the governments. That is the story here!