The STAR TREK ASHES OF EDEN

Rating:
Summary: Just Before The End
Review: After producers decided to kill off Captain James Kirk in the film Star Trek Generations, his alter ego, actor William Shatner came up with an idea that would bring the character back in a series of novels. Shatner and his collaborators (ghost writers?), Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, came up with an interesting storyline that begins with Ashes Of Eden. First published as a novel, the folks at DC Comics, asked the trio to adapt "Ashes" as a graphic novel in comic book form. Although the orginal novel had the benefiit of being able to go into greater detail, the graphic novel is still a solid read.

The story takes place after Star Trek VI: TUC and just before Generations and continues the "send off" of the classic cast of The Original Series. The Enterprise-A is about to be decommissioned.It's famous crew is now scattered across the galaxy. Kirk is without a ship and a mission. In a defining moment Kirk decides to abandon Starfleet and live out his remaining days on the planet Chal, whose people believe they are doomed, they seek a defender of their way of life, a hero. Kirk gets more than he bargained for though, as he is caught up in a plot that spreads throughout Klingon and Federation space.

The original authors do a fairly good job adapting their story within the comic book arena. Even though there are fewer pages in this version nothing is lost. The story's main plot is given its due. There are even some nice character bits that found their way in the graphic novel as well. Artists Steve Erwin and Jimmy Palmiotti do the beloved classic space heroes and their universe great justice within these pages. Everything that is familiar, looks as it should, while the stuff created in the novel, is how I thought it would be. Colors are bold and brilliant, which enhances this read greatly.

Still worth a look, even if you have already read the original novel, recommended. The book has 94 pages.

Rating:
Summary: James T. Kirk in His Own Words
Review: I bought this book at the suggestion of the manager of the local bookstore to keep me occupied during an unwanted month-long trip to Poland. I normally don't read Star Trek novels, because Paramount doesn't recognize them as canon. That means that they never happened. They're basically authorized fan fiction. In fact, this is the first Star Trek novel that I've read all the way through. It's actually pretty good. In fact, I read so much of it at a time that I had nothing to do to relieve my boredom for the rest of the vacation. It's written by William Shatner. Who better to write a Captain Kirk story than James T. Kirk himself? This story is Kirk in his own words. It takes place between the end of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" and Kirk's apparent death in the opening scenes of "Star Trek: Generations". Kirk joins a young woman on a journey to save her homeworld and, perhaps, recapture his youth and be young forever. Sure, we know that he won't be young again. Sure, we know that he'll survive the events of the novel. It's still fun and exciting to read, though. Don't let "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" fool you. Shatner can write. The only complaints that I have are a few typos and Shatner's writing style. He often omits the word "and" in compound sentences, and he often uses incomplete sentences lacking subjects. He also writes a lot of the characters' thoughts into the narrative itself, which is supposed to be neutral. It's as if the narrator knows what the characters are thinking and agrees with them. Other than these things, which you can get used to, it's a good book. Shatner even references events in numerous TOS episodes and all of the TOS movies except for "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (which really didn't need to be referenced anyway). The story is bookended with scenes of Spock, standing over Kirk's grave on Veridian III, thinking about his late friend. Some historical notes are contradicted, such as when phasers were invented ("Enterprise") and the time period of Cochrane's first warp flight ("Star Trek: First Contact"), by later canon material, but the main story itself can still fit into the canon. The ending sets up Shatner's next Star Trek novel, "The Return". Overall, "The Ashes of Eden" is a good story and worth your time to read. It IS James T. Kirk.

Rating:
Summary: Star Trek The Ashes of Eden - The Shatnerverse begins!
Review: To date, "The Ashes of Eden" remains one of my favorite and most memorable reads in The Original Series Star Trek universe. This extraordinary novel serves well in what I'm gathering was William Shatner's desire to stay connected with the universe he helped create. I found this novel and it's follow up novel, "The Return" to both have been extraordinarily brilliant in the way William Shatner and his collaborators, Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens were able to perpetuate Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek universe, despite the character having been killed off in Star Trek Generations.

Although some of William Shatner's later Star Trek novels in the ongoing story do not quite live up to this first one, I would have to say that he's carved himself a nice niche in the Star Trek universe, at least in the fictional sense.

The cover art for this novel is brilliant and exciting, lending very well to the story!

The premise:

It is six months prior to that fateful day in which the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-B is launched under Captain John Harriman and she heads off for her inexorable brush with a destiny that entails the loss of the Federations most renowned captains, James Tiberius Kirk.

Captain Kirk finds himself facing the spectre of an unchallenging retirement when suddenly, a very beautiful young woman makes him an offer he couldn't refuse; a perilous voyage to an uncharted planet where he will confront that which poses a very real threat to the burgeoning peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Along the way, he has the opportunity to recapture his youth.

Captain Kirk finds that he must turn his back on his closest friends and is that he's also being hunted by Captain Sulu and the USS Excelsior. He also finds that he must stand alone as the chief defender of an incredibly beautiful world and he must choose between conquering the gravest challenge of his career or surrendering to the greatest passion he's ever known.

I highly recommend this novel and those Shatnerverse novels that follow for you will find that this incredible writing team of William Shatner and Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens are capable of producing some the most memorable Star Trek fiction ever put to print. {ssintrepid}