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Star Trek: Crucible #1
McCoy: The Provenance Of Shadows
IN A SINGLE MOMENT
…the lives of three men will be forever changed. In that split second, defined paradoxically by both salvation and loss, they will destroy the world and then restore it. Much had come before, and much would come after, but nothing would color their lives more than that one, isolated instant on the edge of forever.
IN A SINGLE MOMENT
…Leonard McCoy, displaced in time, saves a woman from dying in a traffic accident, and in so doing alters Earth's history. Stranded in the past, he struggles to find a way back to his own century. But living an existence he was not meant to, he will eventually have to move on, and ultimately face the shadows born of his lost life.
IN A SINGLE MOMENT
…Leonard McCoy, displaced in time, is prevented from saving a woman from dying in a traffic accident, allowing Earth's history to remain unchanged. Returning to the present, he encounters a medical mystery he is committed to solving. But the echoes of an existence he never lived haunt him, and the specter of a premature death will bring him full circle to the shadows he has never faced.
…the lives of three men will be forever changed. In that split second, defined paradoxically by both salvation and loss, they will destroy the world and then restore it. Much had come before, and much would come after, but nothing would color their lives more than that one, isolated instant on the edge of forever.
IN A SINGLE MOMENT
…Leonard McCoy, displaced in time, saves a woman from dying in a traffic accident, and in so doing alters Earth's history. Stranded in the past, he struggles to find a way back to his own century. But living an existence he was not meant to, he will eventually have to move on, and ultimately face the shadows born of his lost life.
IN A SINGLE MOMENT
…Leonard McCoy, displaced in time, is prevented from saving a woman from dying in a traffic accident, allowing Earth's history to remain unchanged. Returning to the present, he encounters a medical mystery he is committed to solving. But the echoes of an existence he never lived haunt him, and the specter of a premature death will bring him full circle to the shadows he has never faced.
640 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
May 13, 2014
Ugh, I'm done. I can't take any more of this, I just can't. I know Trek novels are not Great Literature by any stretch of the imagination, but this is bad even for a Trek novel. I will elaborate when I am able to use a real keyboard and not a touchscreen.
Added 13 May, 2014
Okay, here's the elaboration I promised. I hope you weren't expecting paragraphs and paragraphs, because I don't think I have that much to say.
This book is terrible for a couple of very simple reasons. For one, I was on page 39 when I quit and still nothing had happened. McCoy saved Edith, which we already knew was going to happen, in one timeline; in the other, they all sat around in Sickbay speculating on why Kirk and Spock were being weird. McCoy walked Edith from the scene of the near-accident to the mission, then from the mission to her home, and there was a lot of internal monologuing. 39 pages of 'oh, I just love humanity so much, I have to do what I can to help.' It's so, so padded out.
And that was another problem. George spends way too long trying to get across to us just who these people are. Newsflash: this is a Trek novel, and not only that, a Trek novel based on a particular episode! We already know all of these people! You don't need to convince me that Edith Keeler is a great humanitarian by having her repeatedly think and say, 'I just have to help!' We know.
It's pretty melodramatic as well, but in a really...odd way. People weep crystalline tears in specific millimeters. The attempted juxtaposition of poetic description with exact, near-scientific terms just didn't work for me, at all.
The real problem just boiled down to pacing. It was padded to make it longer, which makes everything too drawn out, and probably caused the melodramatic fluff, because every sentence had to be backed by a paragraph of something. If this is just George's writing style, then...ick. Not for me. The beginning of the book, at least, is sooo sloooow that if the rest of the book was that way, then chopping out all the fluff would have made the book easily a third shorter, if not more.
In short, I didn't like it, at all, I didn't finish it, I never want to finish it, I got rid of it already, and I don't recommend it to anyone. It was more disappointing because McCoy is my favorite, but next time I'll know better.
I guess that was a few paragraphs, wasn't it?
Added 13 May, 2014
Okay, here's the elaboration I promised. I hope you weren't expecting paragraphs and paragraphs, because I don't think I have that much to say.
This book is terrible for a couple of very simple reasons. For one, I was on page 39 when I quit and still nothing had happened. McCoy saved Edith, which we already knew was going to happen, in one timeline; in the other, they all sat around in Sickbay speculating on why Kirk and Spock were being weird. McCoy walked Edith from the scene of the near-accident to the mission, then from the mission to her home, and there was a lot of internal monologuing. 39 pages of 'oh, I just love humanity so much, I have to do what I can to help.' It's so, so padded out.
And that was another problem. George spends way too long trying to get across to us just who these people are. Newsflash: this is a Trek novel, and not only that, a Trek novel based on a particular episode! We already know all of these people! You don't need to convince me that Edith Keeler is a great humanitarian by having her repeatedly think and say, 'I just have to help!' We know.
It's pretty melodramatic as well, but in a really...odd way. People weep crystalline tears in specific millimeters. The attempted juxtaposition of poetic description with exact, near-scientific terms just didn't work for me, at all.
The real problem just boiled down to pacing. It was padded to make it longer, which makes everything too drawn out, and probably caused the melodramatic fluff, because every sentence had to be backed by a paragraph of something. If this is just George's writing style, then...ick. Not for me. The beginning of the book, at least, is sooo sloooow that if the rest of the book was that way, then chopping out all the fluff would have made the book easily a third shorter, if not more.
In short, I didn't like it, at all, I didn't finish it, I never want to finish it, I got rid of it already, and I don't recommend it to anyone. It was more disappointing because McCoy is my favorite, but next time I'll know better.
I guess that was a few paragraphs, wasn't it?
January 17, 2021
One of those epic stories, where you have to stay up in bed for hours...and stay in the bath tub until the water gets cold...because you simply have to reach the end, and not ever countenance putting it down. David R George has written an astonishing, parallel time lines epic, where the fanwank becomes the core of an incredibly emotional and poignant story. As a 40th anniversary publication, this is the ultimate celebration of the irascible Leonard McCoy.
June 16, 2023
If you've seen any Star Trek show involving the original characters (the original tv series, the first batch of films, the alt-universe films), then you've encountered and "know" Dr McCoy. This book here attempts to fill in some of the holes in McCoy's life on the 40th anniversary of Star Trek.
Specifically: there's an episode, the 28th in the first Star Trek season titled "The City on the Edge of Forever" (aired April 6 1967) during which McCoy, high on drugs, dives through the Guardian of Forever, and ends up on earth in 1930. He does something that alters the future, and Spock & Kirk need to go back and fix things. Well, this book follows both plots: McCoy back in time altering stuff, leading all the way to his death after being stuck in time for x number of years; plus the plot wherein Spock & Kirk did in fact fix things, so McCoy is back in his own time, and that story also follows until McCoy's death. The book alternates between being in the 'prime time line', and the 'altered time line'.
That's probably why this book is 600+ pages in length. Covers the rest of the TV show, with a few of the episodes referenced, bounces through some of the films, finds McCoy touring the Enterprise like he did on that episode of TNG, and then finally follows McCoy to his death.
Interesting concept. Interesting story. Not badly written, just not something I'd give 4 or 5 stars to.
Rating: 3.5
June 16 2023
Specifically: there's an episode, the 28th in the first Star Trek season titled "The City on the Edge of Forever" (aired April 6 1967) during which McCoy, high on drugs, dives through the Guardian of Forever, and ends up on earth in 1930. He does something that alters the future, and Spock & Kirk need to go back and fix things. Well, this book follows both plots: McCoy back in time altering stuff, leading all the way to his death after being stuck in time for x number of years; plus the plot wherein Spock & Kirk did in fact fix things, so McCoy is back in his own time, and that story also follows until McCoy's death. The book alternates between being in the 'prime time line', and the 'altered time line'.
That's probably why this book is 600+ pages in length. Covers the rest of the TV show, with a few of the episodes referenced, bounces through some of the films, finds McCoy touring the Enterprise like he did on that episode of TNG, and then finally follows McCoy to his death.
Interesting concept. Interesting story. Not badly written, just not something I'd give 4 or 5 stars to.
Rating: 3.5
June 16 2023
November 25, 2016
Provenance of Shadows by David R. George III is an interesting Star Trek novel.
At times, I want to say it’s the best of the McCoy-centric novels (at least those that I’ve read), because the exploration of what McCoy’s life would have been if he had been maroon in the past after saving Edith Keeler is well-written, engaging, and occasionally adorable.
As other folks have said in their reviews here on Goodreads, these portions of the novel are slow-paced, but I found that to be the best part. We got to sit and spend time with how these characters think and react. It made each of them feel alive.
In contrast are the parts of the novel that explore the effects of “The City on the Edge of Forever” in the normal timeline, after Jim stops McCoy from saving Edith. This storyline is sort of… ehhhh. Most of the time it feels like the author is just listing off events, hoping that our familiarity with the episode or movie will carry the emotional punch for us.
And in that context, I found myself looking more forward to the chapters without the classic crew, which... I shouldn’t. I mean, if it’s well-written, I should be looking forward to both storylines, but I shouldn’t be eager to leave the Enterprise; I should be feeling its loss when Jim and Spock and Uhura and the rest aren’t there. In fact, the only tangible emotional connection that the author puts any effort towards is Tonia Barrows, McCoy’s date from “Shore Leave.”
On one hand, good for David R. George III for expanding the role of a one-off pseudo-love interest yeoman and making her a physicist, but why a romance?
Now in the author’s foreword for the book, he mentions that there are so many stories about these characters already, what could he say that has not already been said. So I suppose I understand his lack of focus on the triumvirate friendship, but what about Uhura or Sulu or Scotty or Chapel or even Rand? Heck even Chekov and M'Benga, who McCoy wouldn’t have known before the incident with the Guardian, would be interesting friendships to explore. Why not build up McCoy’s relationship with these people ?
Especially considering the time period in which McCoy was living in in the past, focusing on his friendship with Uhura or M’Benga would have been excellent in contrasting his two lives.also considering how much M’Benga’s name is said throughout the book, you’d think he would have a bigger role.
To sum up: Provenance of Shadows = Good in the past timeline, emotionally lacking with an unnecessary romance in the normal timeline.
At times, I want to say it’s the best of the McCoy-centric novels (at least those that I’ve read), because the exploration of what McCoy’s life would have been if he had been maroon in the past after saving Edith Keeler is well-written, engaging, and occasionally adorable.
As other folks have said in their reviews here on Goodreads, these portions of the novel are slow-paced, but I found that to be the best part. We got to sit and spend time with how these characters think and react. It made each of them feel alive.
In contrast are the parts of the novel that explore the effects of “The City on the Edge of Forever” in the normal timeline, after Jim stops McCoy from saving Edith. This storyline is sort of… ehhhh. Most of the time it feels like the author is just listing off events, hoping that our familiarity with the episode or movie will carry the emotional punch for us.
And in that context, I found myself looking more forward to the chapters without the classic crew, which... I shouldn’t. I mean, if it’s well-written, I should be looking forward to both storylines, but I shouldn’t be eager to leave the Enterprise; I should be feeling its loss when Jim and Spock and Uhura and the rest aren’t there. In fact, the only tangible emotional connection that the author puts any effort towards is Tonia Barrows, McCoy’s date from “Shore Leave.”
On one hand, good for David R. George III for expanding the role of a one-off pseudo-love interest yeoman and making her a physicist, but why a romance?
Now in the author’s foreword for the book, he mentions that there are so many stories about these characters already, what could he say that has not already been said. So I suppose I understand his lack of focus on the triumvirate friendship, but what about Uhura or Sulu or Scotty or Chapel or even Rand? Heck even Chekov and M'Benga, who McCoy wouldn’t have known before the incident with the Guardian, would be interesting friendships to explore. Why not build up McCoy’s relationship with these people ?
Especially considering the time period in which McCoy was living in in the past, focusing on his friendship with Uhura or M’Benga would have been excellent in contrasting his two lives.
To sum up: Provenance of Shadows = Good in the past timeline, emotionally lacking with an unnecessary romance in the normal timeline.
Shelved as 'abgebrochen'
March 7, 2019On page 219 I gave up. I felt like the story had not even begun yet. How can something be told in that epic detail? I mean, when I gave up I just read two pages of Kirk working out. Is there any relevance to knowing after which minute he started to sweat? The whole scene could have been done on two sentences. „Kirk had been working out. Although he was resting against the wall, when Spock and McCoy came in, they could see that Jim was sweating.“ Two whole pages condensed in a few words. And that can be said for most of the book. It could have been great and interesting, if the pacing would just be ... well, way quicker. Page 219 feels like it could have been page 20, maybe 30, in a normal novel. So, nope. Had to gave up. Just couldn’t force myself to pick up the book any longer, knowing that by this pacing I would never be able to reach the end within the next few days. And a book that takes longer than a week to read it is not worth valuable lifetime.
September 4, 2023
Ich bin seit knapp 35 Jahren Star Trek Fan, bin mit TOS aufgewachsen und habe an die 400 Star Trek Romane bisher gelesen und ich kann ganz ehrlich sagen, dass mich dieser Roman umgehauen hat. Lange Zeit habe ich mich vor diesen Roman gedrückt. Die Vorstellung 800 Seiten über eine TV Folge zu lesen, die dann sogar als Trilogie in Romanform aufgebaut wird, hat mich sehr irritiert und auch verunsichert. Doch nun hab ich Band 1 gelesen und bin wirklich absolut begeistert. Es ist vielleicht der beste Star Trek Roman den ich je lesen durfte.
Streng genommen handelt es sich hier um zwei Romane. Die eine Handlung erzählt den Werdegang von McCoy seit seinen Erlebnissen mit dem Wächter der Ewigkeit. Dabei werden auch die Filme sehr gut mit einbezogen. Die zweite Handlung erzählt eine alternative Geschichte wie McCoys leben verlaufen wäre, wenn ein Ereignis nicht eingetreten wäre. Beide Handlungen sind wirklich unterhaltsam und mitreißend. Ich könnte auch nach dem Beenden des Romans nicht sagen, welcher Teil mir besser gefallen hat. Beide sind wirklich gut gemacht. Der Autor schafft es auch die Gefühle des Lesers anzusprechen und dadurch eine Sogwirkung aufzubauen. Man kann sehr gut nachvollziehen, wie McCoy sich fühlt bei dem erlebten. Zugleich erhält der Leser auch eine kleine Verhaltensstudie über McCoy. Ich würde nun nicht sagen, dass wir hier eine Biographie von Dr McCoy erhalten, dafür fehlt halt vieles aus der Zeit vor den Ereignis mit dem Hüter. Aber alles was danach kommt schildert der Autor sehr detailliert und vermittelt dem Leser ein klares Bild von dem Leben des "Landarztes".
Mich hat dieser Roman kalt erwischt. Ich habe einen okayen Roman erwartet, habe aber ein richtig tollen Roman erhalten, der mir zum Ende hin Tränen bescherte, etwas, dass bisher kein Star Trek Roman schaffte. Was auch schön ist, der Autor schafft es auch wirklich gut an ein paar unauffälligen Stellen Bezüge zu anderen Star Trek Serien herzustellen. Fand ich nett, da es nicht erforderlich war.
Dieser Roman ist von meiner Seite eine absolute Empfehlung.
Streng genommen handelt es sich hier um zwei Romane. Die eine Handlung erzählt den Werdegang von McCoy seit seinen Erlebnissen mit dem Wächter der Ewigkeit. Dabei werden auch die Filme sehr gut mit einbezogen. Die zweite Handlung erzählt eine alternative Geschichte wie McCoys leben verlaufen wäre, wenn ein Ereignis nicht eingetreten wäre. Beide Handlungen sind wirklich unterhaltsam und mitreißend. Ich könnte auch nach dem Beenden des Romans nicht sagen, welcher Teil mir besser gefallen hat. Beide sind wirklich gut gemacht. Der Autor schafft es auch die Gefühle des Lesers anzusprechen und dadurch eine Sogwirkung aufzubauen. Man kann sehr gut nachvollziehen, wie McCoy sich fühlt bei dem erlebten. Zugleich erhält der Leser auch eine kleine Verhaltensstudie über McCoy. Ich würde nun nicht sagen, dass wir hier eine Biographie von Dr McCoy erhalten, dafür fehlt halt vieles aus der Zeit vor den Ereignis mit dem Hüter. Aber alles was danach kommt schildert der Autor sehr detailliert und vermittelt dem Leser ein klares Bild von dem Leben des "Landarztes".
Mich hat dieser Roman kalt erwischt. Ich habe einen okayen Roman erwartet, habe aber ein richtig tollen Roman erhalten, der mir zum Ende hin Tränen bescherte, etwas, dass bisher kein Star Trek Roman schaffte. Was auch schön ist, der Autor schafft es auch wirklich gut an ein paar unauffälligen Stellen Bezüge zu anderen Star Trek Serien herzustellen. Fand ich nett, da es nicht erforderlich war.
Dieser Roman ist von meiner Seite eine absolute Empfehlung.
April 25, 2020
Tak je minuta po půlnoci, já tu držím tuhle dočtenou knížku a bulím. Nikdy by mě nenapadlo, že 700 stránková Star trek bichle by mě mohla takhle dostat.
Byla propracovaná, napínavá, dojemná, kouzelná.
Znalost seriálů i filmů naprosto nutná, bez toho si to nevychutnáte.
PS. Miluju odkaz na jednu z nejlepších epizod Star treku Deep Space Nine - Far beyond the stars - setkáváme se s Bennym Russellem. Víc nemám odvahu prozradit. Přečtěte si to pokud se orientujete ve světě Star treku, nebudete litovat.
Bylo to boží. 🖖
Byla propracovaná, napínavá, dojemná, kouzelná.
Znalost seriálů i filmů naprosto nutná, bez toho si to nevychutnáte.
PS. Miluju odkaz na jednu z nejlepších epizod Star treku Deep Space Nine - Far beyond the stars - setkáváme se s Bennym Russellem. Víc nemám odvahu prozradit. Přečtěte si to pokud se orientujete ve světě Star treku, nebudete litovat.
Bylo to boží. 🖖
September 2, 2013
This was the first book in David R. George's Crucible series and takes place right after the events that occur in the Star Trek original series first season episode, The City on the Edge of Forever.
In this book, the story is split into two perspectives although both of them are Leonard McCoy. The first is just as he episode ends, with Edith Keeler dead and Spock, Kirk, and McCoy going back to their own world and time. The second perspective however, assumes that Kirk and Spock did NOT find McCoy, and he saves Edith from death and ends up staying on Earth in that time period.
I enjoyed this book for a lot of reasons. Leonard McCoy is a fascinating character and the entire book is told from his point of view, so I felt like I learned quite a bit about his character that I may not have known otherwise. Additionally, this book felt like a love letter to the original series. There are countless quotes and references from the various episodes spanning the three seasons and if you are a fan of the show you will enjoy that aspect as much as I did! Also the writing stlye is great, I really enjoyed the use of detail and description, and also the dialogue that the author used.
There were a couple of things about it however, which detracted some enjoyment out of it for me. First of all, in the beginning there was a chapter from Joanna's (McCoy's daughter) point of view. I was really excited because I was expecting her character to be developed more and wanted to learn more about her. Unfortunately, that never happened again aside from that one chapter which left me confused as to why it was in there in the first place. Secondly, the tone of the novel seems to shift around the middle somewhere. I don't want to give too much away but basically the theme changes from being about how McCoy has changed the past to why he can't keep a relationship going. I felt like the former was the more pertinent idea.
In any case, this book rocked, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves Star Trek!
In this book, the story is split into two perspectives although both of them are Leonard McCoy. The first is just as he episode ends, with Edith Keeler dead and Spock, Kirk, and McCoy going back to their own world and time. The second perspective however, assumes that Kirk and Spock did NOT find McCoy, and he saves Edith from death and ends up staying on Earth in that time period.
I enjoyed this book for a lot of reasons. Leonard McCoy is a fascinating character and the entire book is told from his point of view, so I felt like I learned quite a bit about his character that I may not have known otherwise. Additionally, this book felt like a love letter to the original series. There are countless quotes and references from the various episodes spanning the three seasons and if you are a fan of the show you will enjoy that aspect as much as I did! Also the writing stlye is great, I really enjoyed the use of detail and description, and also the dialogue that the author used.
There were a couple of things about it however, which detracted some enjoyment out of it for me. First of all, in the beginning there was a chapter from Joanna's (McCoy's daughter) point of view. I was really excited because I was expecting her character to be developed more and wanted to learn more about her. Unfortunately, that never happened again aside from that one chapter which left me confused as to why it was in there in the first place. Secondly, the tone of the novel seems to shift around the middle somewhere. I don't want to give too much away but basically the theme changes from being about how McCoy has changed the past to why he can't keep a relationship going. I felt like the former was the more pertinent idea.
In any case, this book rocked, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves Star Trek!
June 16, 2014
While I do not read a ton of Star Trek authorized fiction, I have read Star Trek novels across the spectrum of quality. McCoy: The Provenance of Shadows, the first in the Star Trek: Crucible trilogy celebrating the 40th anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series's first airdate, is by far the best. The writing is superb, and the parallel story lines are masterfully crafted.
Deriving its tale from the number one Star Trek: TOS episode, "The City on the Edge of Forever," the novel follows two diverged pathways Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy's life could have taken after the events of said episode: one where he is returned back to his proper time to continue his life in the era he is familiar with, and one where Kirk and Spock fail to retrieve him from the 1930s, forcing him to live out the remainder of his days in the 20th century. Both realities are written with the finest detail without boring the reader. Admittedly, the most engaging of the two stories, in my opinion, is the 1930s narrative, in which McCoy adapts to 20th century life. Perhaps the accessibility to that era makes it easier for the reader to enjoy the story more than its futuristic counterpart, but nevertheless the tale proves to be the strongest of the two.
This is a novel I will return to again and again. It is, by far, the best in the Crucible trilogy, and I consider it to be among the best Star Trek authorized fiction published up to date.
Deriving its tale from the number one Star Trek: TOS episode, "The City on the Edge of Forever," the novel follows two diverged pathways Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy's life could have taken after the events of said episode: one where he is returned back to his proper time to continue his life in the era he is familiar with, and one where Kirk and Spock fail to retrieve him from the 1930s, forcing him to live out the remainder of his days in the 20th century. Both realities are written with the finest detail without boring the reader. Admittedly, the most engaging of the two stories, in my opinion, is the 1930s narrative, in which McCoy adapts to 20th century life. Perhaps the accessibility to that era makes it easier for the reader to enjoy the story more than its futuristic counterpart, but nevertheless the tale proves to be the strongest of the two.
This is a novel I will return to again and again. It is, by far, the best in the Crucible trilogy, and I consider it to be among the best Star Trek authorized fiction published up to date.
October 26, 2018
I didn't totally dislike this book (otherwise I would have given up on it early on) but honestly it began to feel like a chore at some point after the beginning chapters. It didn't take me long to finally understand why some of the other reviewers complained about flaws such as McCoy being portrayed out-of-character, the pacing issues, too much recapping of episodes and films, and a storyline that seemed straight out of a fanfic -- not to mention the excessive length of the book itself. This book is only around 600 pages, but it easily felt like it was twice as long as that.
I enjoyed it because of the premise, and the fact that it stars my favorite character. Because of those reasons, I faithfully stuck with the story until the end, but unfortunately I was disappointed. Aside from the complaints mentioned previously, personally I just hated the ending and the way the romantic relationships just had to be shoehorned in there. Lynn was boring and Tonia should have stayed forgotten after "Shore Leave".
(By the way, if you intend to read this, I hope you really enjoy the word "bulkhead" because you're going to be seeing a lot of it.)
I enjoyed it because of the premise, and the fact that it stars my favorite character. Because of those reasons, I faithfully stuck with the story until the end, but unfortunately I was disappointed. Aside from the complaints mentioned previously, personally I just hated the ending and the way the romantic relationships just had to be shoehorned in there. Lynn was boring and Tonia should have stayed forgotten after "Shore Leave".
(By the way, if you intend to read this, I hope you really enjoy the word "bulkhead" because you're going to be seeing a lot of it.)
February 10, 2019
So first off, the best part of this book was when McCoy broke the hand of a racist guy with a tire iron.
Overall I really did like this book, but the ending was much better than the beginning and middle. The structure of the book is alternating chapters between the past timeline occurring after McCoy went through the Guardian of Forever and the “normal” timeline. Unfortunately, I felt like this book was much longer than it needed to be and dragged in the middle precisely because of this structure and the amount of time that was dedicated to the timeline that we all know. A number of scenes were just recapping scenes from the episodes and movies with very little new information or analysis from McCoy’s perspective. I doubt most people are going to be picking up this book without having seen at least most of TOS and the movies. I personally really didn’t need a recap of what happens. There were some characters/events that we didn't get to see fleshed out in TOS that I appreciated the author delving into here to varying degrees (Barrows being a prime example of this) but ultimately there much too much telling the reader what they already know. I would have been in favor of ditching the alternating structure in the middle and just focusing on McCoy’s time in the past because I enjoyed that much more. (As a writer, I know the feeling when you lock yourself into a back-and-forth structure and then realize that one part has more to write about than the other and I feel like that's what happened here). The point of how the events in the past affected the present timeline wasn’t really emphasized throughout the book as I was expecting it to be and didn’t fully come together until the very end. As another review noted, I really thought the M’Benga numbers were going to be something important but then they kind of just…weren’t.
The last 150 or so pages really flew by for me and was the only point in the book where I felt like I couldn’t put it down. I feel like the author did a good job in making me care about Lynn and the past timeline and I did enjoy when everything finally came together and the past timeline tied in with the other timeline. Despite some flaws, it still was an enjoyable read for me.
Overall I really did like this book, but the ending was much better than the beginning and middle. The structure of the book is alternating chapters between the past timeline occurring after McCoy went through the Guardian of Forever and the “normal” timeline. Unfortunately, I felt like this book was much longer than it needed to be and dragged in the middle precisely because of this structure and the amount of time that was dedicated to the timeline that we all know. A number of scenes were just recapping scenes from the episodes and movies with very little new information or analysis from McCoy’s perspective. I doubt most people are going to be picking up this book without having seen at least most of TOS and the movies. I personally really didn’t need a recap of what happens. There were some characters/events that we didn't get to see fleshed out in TOS that I appreciated the author delving into here to varying degrees (Barrows being a prime example of this) but ultimately there much too much telling the reader what they already know. I would have been in favor of ditching the alternating structure in the middle and just focusing on McCoy’s time in the past because I enjoyed that much more. (As a writer, I know the feeling when you lock yourself into a back-and-forth structure and then realize that one part has more to write about than the other and I feel like that's what happened here). The point of how the events in the past affected the present timeline wasn’t really emphasized throughout the book as I was expecting it to be and didn’t fully come together until the very end. As another review noted, I really thought the M’Benga numbers were going to be something important but then they kind of just…weren’t.
The last 150 or so pages really flew by for me and was the only point in the book where I felt like I couldn’t put it down. I feel like the author did a good job in making me care about Lynn and the past timeline and I did enjoy when everything finally came together and the past timeline tied in with the other timeline. Despite some flaws, it still was an enjoyable read for me.
September 7, 2023
Crucible #1: McCoy: Provenance of Shadows by David R. George III
Wow. What a hell of a book. This is the defining McCoy book in my opinion. I loved Doctor’s Orders and enjoyed Shadows on the Sun but McCoy deserves more love in terms of books in my opinion. No offence to Kirk and Spock, but McCoy I find the most interesting. In the Original Series, you don’t learn much about him, beyond being divorced and his daughter and him being from Georgia and how he helped put his dad out of his misery, but with this and Shadows on the Sun, you really get to learn about his character.
You mainly learn here why he’s never been able to have a proper romantic relationship with the women in his life and why he’s always been a bit of a loner. Dealing with the aftermath of City on the Edge of the Forever, we have two different storylines here. One of McCoy and the rest of his normal life and McCoy in the 1930s-1950s after he altered history by saving Edith Keeler.
This was a marvellous book in my opinion and added a lot of richness to things we’ve seen in TOS and the movies. One minor detail that destroyed me emotionally was that the events of City on the Edge of Forever and Operation: Annillhate took place within a week of each other.
Kirk lost the love of his life and only blood sibling in the span of less than two weeks. Wow. The book is 627 pages, so there is a lot also to talk about, but I’ll keep it focused on McCoy.
McCoy in the past was the best part, but this book acted more as a biography for him. It all came together in the end wonderfully. We also learn about how McCoy felt abandoned as a result of the deaths of his parents, and that’s why he’s never been able to have a proper romantic relationship. McCoy is a very tragic character, almost Shakespearean in nature. Overall, this was a very good book and the defining McCoy book.
8/10
Wow. What a hell of a book. This is the defining McCoy book in my opinion. I loved Doctor’s Orders and enjoyed Shadows on the Sun but McCoy deserves more love in terms of books in my opinion. No offence to Kirk and Spock, but McCoy I find the most interesting. In the Original Series, you don’t learn much about him, beyond being divorced and his daughter and him being from Georgia and how he helped put his dad out of his misery, but with this and Shadows on the Sun, you really get to learn about his character.
You mainly learn here why he’s never been able to have a proper romantic relationship with the women in his life and why he’s always been a bit of a loner. Dealing with the aftermath of City on the Edge of the Forever, we have two different storylines here. One of McCoy and the rest of his normal life and McCoy in the 1930s-1950s after he altered history by saving Edith Keeler.
This was a marvellous book in my opinion and added a lot of richness to things we’ve seen in TOS and the movies. One minor detail that destroyed me emotionally was that the events of City on the Edge of Forever and Operation: Annillhate took place within a week of each other.
Kirk lost the love of his life and only blood sibling in the span of less than two weeks. Wow. The book is 627 pages, so there is a lot also to talk about, but I’ll keep it focused on McCoy.
McCoy in the past was the best part, but this book acted more as a biography for him. It all came together in the end wonderfully. We also learn about how McCoy felt abandoned as a result of the deaths of his parents, and that’s why he’s never been able to have a proper romantic relationship. McCoy is a very tragic character, almost Shakespearean in nature. Overall, this was a very good book and the defining McCoy book.
8/10
January 23, 2020
This is a trilogy?
Don't get me wrong, David R. George's depictions of the original Enterprise crew is spot-on. I liked how he actually weaved a sense of coherence into the original five-year mission, instead of just the Enterprise wandering from one crisis to another week to week. But given that this novel is easily twice the length of the other two entries, I kind of wonder what else can be told.
I'll admit, I kind of spent most of this novel wondering when the two timelines would intersect, or when there would be any differences between what happened in episodes originally to what would differ due to McCoy's journey through the Guardian of Forever. Since it didn't really do so until the last couple chapters, the narrative (at least in the 23rd century) was a bit disjointed. Here's hoping the other two books bring a more coherent sensibility to this trilogy, even if they are much shorter.
Don't get me wrong, David R. George's depictions of the original Enterprise crew is spot-on. I liked how he actually weaved a sense of coherence into the original five-year mission, instead of just the Enterprise wandering from one crisis to another week to week. But given that this novel is easily twice the length of the other two entries, I kind of wonder what else can be told.
I'll admit, I kind of spent most of this novel wondering when the two timelines would intersect, or when there would be any differences between what happened in episodes originally to what would differ due to McCoy's journey through the Guardian of Forever. Since it didn't really do so until the last couple chapters, the narrative (at least in the 23rd century) was a bit disjointed. Here's hoping the other two books bring a more coherent sensibility to this trilogy, even if they are much shorter.
January 5, 2020
Nineteen long months it took me to finish this book, that may be a new record. Half of the book consists of a time-line that the reader knows is going to be eradicated by a change in the past (the real star trek timeline), the other half are a lot of short episodes, sometimes filled with some action but always difficult to place because they are so short. At the end, when it is too late, both lines are fused together. A very long psychological story meant to show a different side of Dr. Leonard McCoy. Next to the question whether the author succeeds, do we actually need this and does it have an additional value? For me the answer to both questions is clearly no.
Brought as a romantic melodrama, i mosly remember it as pointless and something desperately in need of an ending which never seems to come.
Brought as a romantic melodrama, i mosly remember it as pointless and something desperately in need of an ending which never seems to come.
December 22, 2017
The first part of the Crucible trilogy covers a period of almost five hundred years exploring two different timelines resulting from the events of the legendary TOS episode "The City on the Edge of Forever". The 'old' timeline during which Leonard 'Bones' MacCoy struggles to emotionally adapt in the tumultuous period of the thirties is by far the most exciting of them although excessively long. On the other side, the standard timeline mostly recaps known episode and movie plots and it is not really engaging save for the very last part of the book. Yet the scope of the story is outstanding and it summarises just everything that makes the Star Trek franchise what it is: extraordinary ships, exotic adventures, gallant captains, camaraderie, humanitarian values and some more.
May 27, 2021
En bok för den som verkligen vill tränga in i Leonard McCoys tankevärld. Otroligt medryckande, men för den som önskar fart och fläkt är detta inte boken. Boken stannar upp mycket kring händelserna runt den tidpunkt då Edith Keeler var tvungen att dö. Den berättar Leonard McCoys känslor på ett mycket tilltalande och intressant sätt. Men ni som läser den måste se till att ge den mycket tid och låta intrycken smälta in långsamt!
May 21, 2023
Honestly, felt a bit worthless. Half the book (every other chapter) follows McCoy in the alternate timeline created in City On The Edge Of Forever. The other half really doesn't have a plot. It just follows McCoy throughout the series up to Encounter at Farpoint. Fills in a few gaps and adds his perspective to certain key events, but no overarching story is present.
June 20, 2019
This is a remarkable story. Almost twice as long as a typical ST novel, but well worth it. Finally, an author who gets into some depth with these characters. The ending brought a tear to my eye. Never thought I'd ever say that about a star trek novel. Ever. I'll be reading this one again.
January 20, 2018
zeitweilig etwas langatmig. so richtig gepackt hat es mich nicht. werden den zweiten Band dann eher nicht lesen
June 16, 2023
Ein wundervolles und sehr emotionales Buch.
September 1, 2023
A rare Star Trek novel that gets all the characters right. Also, it focuses on Dr. McCoy, who deserves to have his own novel focused on him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2024
Arger Heulkrampf aber es hat sich gelohnt
Ich liebe ihn so sehr
Ich liebe ihn so sehr
June 13, 2020
(Copy of review posted on my Facebook page on 3/16/19.) Just finished reading "Crucible: McCoy - The Provenance of Shadows", the first in the "Star Trek: Crucible" trilogy of novels written by David R. George III and released in late 2006 through early 2007 as part of Pocket Books' celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the original "Star Trek" television series' debut in September 1967.
All three books in the "Crucible" trilogy (the other two being "Spock: The Fire and the Rose" and "Kirk: The Star to Every Wandering") share the common thread of tying into the classic original series television episode, "The City on the Edge of Forever", in which McCoy accidentally travels back to 1930s Depression-era New York City via a mysterious alien portal called the Guardian of Forever and rescues a woman named Edith Keeler from being killed in an automobile accident, drastically changing the course of Earth's history from that point forward (Keeler ends up leading an influential pacifist movement that keeps the United States out of World War II for decades longer than in the "correct" timeline, etc.) Back in the present time of Star Trek, Kirk, Spock, and a few others find that their ship, the Enterprise, is no longer answering their calls and is no longer in orbit around the alien planet that they have chased McCoy down to. They deduce what has occurred, and Kirk and Spock travel through the Guardian after McCoy to prevent him from changing the past and to bring him back with him to their present (our future).
That all happens in the television episode. "McCoy: Provenance of Shadows", presents two separate, parallel timelines, alternating from one to the other with each succeeding chapter.
In the first, the McCoy of the alternate timeline in which he rescued Edith Keeler lives his life in that alternate timeline with scant hope of ever returning to the 23rd century. We get to see him settling in to his life in the 1930s and on into the 1950s, and along the way discover just how different world events occurred thanks to McCoy's inadvertent change to a critical moment in history.
In the other, we follow McCoy primarily (but also Kirk and Spock, at times) over the course of the decades following their return to the 23rd century at the end of "City in the Edge of Forever", jumping from one event to another (some recapping events seen in other episodes of the television series and in the subsequent Star Trek motion pictures, others original to this novel), all relating to one of three repeating themes: 1) the discovery and decades long study of a "chronometric" particle and "chronitons" created when traveling through time as McCoy, Kirk, Spock, and the rest of their Enterprise crew did multiple times that McCoy discovers signs of immediately after the incident with the Guardian of Forever; 2) McCoy's repeated sabotaging of any long term romantic relationship he is part of, something that has happened his entire adult life but the reason for which always eludes him (until near the end of this novel); and 3) McCoy's continued close friendships with Jim Kirk and with Spock over the remaining decades of McCoy's life.
I really enjoyed this novel's separate "tracks", enough to still give it four out of five stars. My only quibbles about were that 1) the constant switching back and forth between track/plot settings one and two with each chapter quickly became annoying as just as I began to get interested again in what was happening, the story would once again shift to the other "track". By the last quarter of the book or so, it had begun to be a bit less disruptive, but initially it was very hard for me to get too interested in either storyline as each was constantly being interrupted.
And, 2) at times the repeated references to events from various episodes of the television series seemed rather forced and there just to remind you that this novel (and the entire trilogy it is just of) was done as part of a celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the tv series. Again, though, by the last fourth or so of the novel, as the events made their way into those of the Star Trek movies and also things started to come together in the sub plot about the mysterious time travel particles McCoy and Spock were studying alongside these other events happening, it had become a bit less intrusive.
There are moments that are quite moving near the end of both plot "tracks" involving McCoy, especially when the "real" McCoy finally becomes aware of his "past life" that he never really lived yet at the same time discovers he had.
The next Star Trek novel on my plate (after reading a few non Trek books) will be book two in the trilogy, "Spock: The Fire and the Rose".
All three books in the "Crucible" trilogy (the other two being "Spock: The Fire and the Rose" and "Kirk: The Star to Every Wandering") share the common thread of tying into the classic original series television episode, "The City on the Edge of Forever", in which McCoy accidentally travels back to 1930s Depression-era New York City via a mysterious alien portal called the Guardian of Forever and rescues a woman named Edith Keeler from being killed in an automobile accident, drastically changing the course of Earth's history from that point forward (Keeler ends up leading an influential pacifist movement that keeps the United States out of World War II for decades longer than in the "correct" timeline, etc.) Back in the present time of Star Trek, Kirk, Spock, and a few others find that their ship, the Enterprise, is no longer answering their calls and is no longer in orbit around the alien planet that they have chased McCoy down to. They deduce what has occurred, and Kirk and Spock travel through the Guardian after McCoy to prevent him from changing the past and to bring him back with him to their present (our future).
That all happens in the television episode. "McCoy: Provenance of Shadows", presents two separate, parallel timelines, alternating from one to the other with each succeeding chapter.
In the first, the McCoy of the alternate timeline in which he rescued Edith Keeler lives his life in that alternate timeline with scant hope of ever returning to the 23rd century. We get to see him settling in to his life in the 1930s and on into the 1950s, and along the way discover just how different world events occurred thanks to McCoy's inadvertent change to a critical moment in history.
In the other, we follow McCoy primarily (but also Kirk and Spock, at times) over the course of the decades following their return to the 23rd century at the end of "City in the Edge of Forever", jumping from one event to another (some recapping events seen in other episodes of the television series and in the subsequent Star Trek motion pictures, others original to this novel), all relating to one of three repeating themes: 1) the discovery and decades long study of a "chronometric" particle and "chronitons" created when traveling through time as McCoy, Kirk, Spock, and the rest of their Enterprise crew did multiple times that McCoy discovers signs of immediately after the incident with the Guardian of Forever; 2) McCoy's repeated sabotaging of any long term romantic relationship he is part of, something that has happened his entire adult life but the reason for which always eludes him (until near the end of this novel); and 3) McCoy's continued close friendships with Jim Kirk and with Spock over the remaining decades of McCoy's life.
I really enjoyed this novel's separate "tracks", enough to still give it four out of five stars. My only quibbles about were that 1) the constant switching back and forth between track/plot settings one and two with each chapter quickly became annoying as just as I began to get interested again in what was happening, the story would once again shift to the other "track". By the last quarter of the book or so, it had begun to be a bit less disruptive, but initially it was very hard for me to get too interested in either storyline as each was constantly being interrupted.
And, 2) at times the repeated references to events from various episodes of the television series seemed rather forced and there just to remind you that this novel (and the entire trilogy it is just of) was done as part of a celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the tv series. Again, though, by the last fourth or so of the novel, as the events made their way into those of the Star Trek movies and also things started to come together in the sub plot about the mysterious time travel particles McCoy and Spock were studying alongside these other events happening, it had become a bit less intrusive.
There are moments that are quite moving near the end of both plot "tracks" involving McCoy, especially when the "real" McCoy finally becomes aware of his "past life" that he never really lived yet at the same time discovers he had.
The next Star Trek novel on my plate (after reading a few non Trek books) will be book two in the trilogy, "Spock: The Fire and the Rose".
March 10, 2017
Interestingly this is, in my opinion, the best of the Crucible trilogy. Very good book, both with the time lost version of McCoy and the 'moderrn' one. Strongly recomended.
February 10, 2015
Provenance of Shadows by David R. George III is the 1st book in the Crucible trilogy of Star Trek novels which were written as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations. The story starts off after the events that occur in the Star Trek original series first season episode, The City on the Edge of Forever. From that point on we get to follow two stories from McCoy’s perspective. The first of these is where we see what happened to McCoy in the 1930’s on the assumption that Kirk and Spock didn’t manage to rescue him from the Guardian of Forever. The other story follows McCoy’s life after his rescue right up until his death.
This novel is without doubt a character piece, it tries to explore the reason why McCoy is the man he is. McCoy has always been a fascinating character and George has done a great job in bringing him to life in a manner that fits in with what we know of him. We do get to learn some interesting facts about him and whilst some of the psychological elements seem a bit melodramatic it was still thoroughly interesting.
However, there are a few issues with this characters driven approach. Basically, George has spent so much time exploring McCoy and padding out the story that the pacing is incredibly slow. Everything seems to be overly drawn out and because George decided to use the TV show as the basis for the overall plot points, most of what we see in the novel in terms of events is already known to us. This means, that there is no suspense or real excitement in the novel beyond what you may feel in regards to the exploration of McCoy’s psyche.
The 1930’s period does give George much more leeway and he has tried to add in some original events. However, even here the pacing seems rather slow and there is still a basic lack of surprise as we already know from the TV episode that the events around WWII are altered by McCoy’s presence. This part of the story however, really strives to explore the human condition via McCoy’s interaction with the other characters in this time period and I really enjoyed following this.
Overall, this is an interesting novel which tries to explore and explain McCoy the character. It does have some pacing issues and beyond the character exploration it doesn’t have the most exciting or entertaining of plot lines. However, if you are a fan of McCoy you would be mad to miss out on this novel which is almost a shrine to the man and his time within the Star Trek Universe.
This novel is without doubt a character piece, it tries to explore the reason why McCoy is the man he is. McCoy has always been a fascinating character and George has done a great job in bringing him to life in a manner that fits in with what we know of him. We do get to learn some interesting facts about him and whilst some of the psychological elements seem a bit melodramatic it was still thoroughly interesting.
However, there are a few issues with this characters driven approach. Basically, George has spent so much time exploring McCoy and padding out the story that the pacing is incredibly slow. Everything seems to be overly drawn out and because George decided to use the TV show as the basis for the overall plot points, most of what we see in the novel in terms of events is already known to us. This means, that there is no suspense or real excitement in the novel beyond what you may feel in regards to the exploration of McCoy’s psyche.
The 1930’s period does give George much more leeway and he has tried to add in some original events. However, even here the pacing seems rather slow and there is still a basic lack of surprise as we already know from the TV episode that the events around WWII are altered by McCoy’s presence. This part of the story however, really strives to explore the human condition via McCoy’s interaction with the other characters in this time period and I really enjoyed following this.
Overall, this is an interesting novel which tries to explore and explain McCoy the character. It does have some pacing issues and beyond the character exploration it doesn’t have the most exciting or entertaining of plot lines. However, if you are a fan of McCoy you would be mad to miss out on this novel which is almost a shrine to the man and his time within the Star Trek Universe.
July 29, 2011
In 2006 David R. George III received the honor of penning novel trilogy celebrating the 40th anniversary of Star Trek. His aim was to write a book about each of the three lead characters, tying their lives together through the most acclaimed episode of the original series, "City on the Edge of Forever". "Provenance of Shadows" is the first book of the bunch and it concentrates on Leonard McCoy, the much-loved country doctor who traversed to the final frontier and beyond.
The story stems from the aforementioned classic episode quite directly: in that story McCoy is accidentally sent to the Earth in 1920's under the influence of narcotics. There he does something to alter the timeline. The episode detailed the process of correcting history, but we never got to learn how events transpired in the alternate timeline. Now we do. Half of the novel follows McCoy through the events of a history straying away from our own. Simultaneously, another story thread follows the main timeline of the series and movies, giving us unseen glimpses into McCoy's life. The two storylines both shine alone and are further accented by the pacing they offer each other.
David R. George III has created a rich, nuanced narrative packed with beauty, deep character insight and heavy themes. He wonderfully explores human compassion, hate and intolerance in the story set in the past and illuminates McCoy's character tremendously with the scenes of the future we all think we know already. The book is very emotional- at times bordering on either sappy or indulgently somber- but manages to maintain dignified composure through deep depiction and analytical insights into McCoy and humanity as a whole. This is sharp, aesthetically honed stuff that makes you think and makes you feel.
I heve to point out, though, that the beginning of the novel is somewhat slow and heavy, which might make the well over 600 pages ahead feel like a sizable feat. But it’s worth it to continue reading, as “Provenance of Shadows” eventually turns into a truly giant novel with exceptional rewards.
The story stems from the aforementioned classic episode quite directly: in that story McCoy is accidentally sent to the Earth in 1920's under the influence of narcotics. There he does something to alter the timeline. The episode detailed the process of correcting history, but we never got to learn how events transpired in the alternate timeline. Now we do. Half of the novel follows McCoy through the events of a history straying away from our own. Simultaneously, another story thread follows the main timeline of the series and movies, giving us unseen glimpses into McCoy's life. The two storylines both shine alone and are further accented by the pacing they offer each other.
David R. George III has created a rich, nuanced narrative packed with beauty, deep character insight and heavy themes. He wonderfully explores human compassion, hate and intolerance in the story set in the past and illuminates McCoy's character tremendously with the scenes of the future we all think we know already. The book is very emotional- at times bordering on either sappy or indulgently somber- but manages to maintain dignified composure through deep depiction and analytical insights into McCoy and humanity as a whole. This is sharp, aesthetically honed stuff that makes you think and makes you feel.
I heve to point out, though, that the beginning of the novel is somewhat slow and heavy, which might make the well over 600 pages ahead feel like a sizable feat. But it’s worth it to continue reading, as “Provenance of Shadows” eventually turns into a truly giant novel with exceptional rewards.
February 15, 2013
Oh my God - the end-all, be-all Star Trek (or any tie-in) book for me. Remember that episode when McCoy jumps into the enormous Cheerio of Space and ends up causing Hitler to not-lose and not-die? YOU KNOW. The one where Kirk falls in love with Joan Collins and Spock fashions the Internet out of 1930s junk material (mostly wood). REMEMBER NOW?
Anyway, like all good Star Trek episodes, this one left some MAJOR issues hanging. Such as, umm, the fact that McCoy bifurcated the world line and thus there's a second McCoy running around some second universe out there. In this most wonderful of books, a book that captures Star Trek's multicultural, zany-physics-professor essence in all its glory, we follow BOTH MCCOYS.
McCoy #1 is basically a rehash of the TOS seasons and movies, with a little bit of filler from his life off-screen. Like, his dating life. You know.
McCoy #2, meanwhile, soon realizes that he's stuck in 1930s New York City FOR KEEPS. And he better get a move on and fix himself a life! So, being industrious, he jumps a train down South and becomes the good ol' country doctor he always was, living amid the small town trials and tribs of Peachville, Georgia (or whatever it's called). That is, until Nazi fighters start bombing America. WTF! You may ask. WTF indeed. WTF, thinks McCoy. Ah yes - he and the Cheerio messed up the world line. And remember when Spock told Kirk about the whole WWII/Hitler issue? Oh, shit, consequencesss. Now McCoy gets to live through it. And so do we!
Sooo good. This book hit all my buttons. It was engaging, intelligent, silly and - at times - absolutely addictive. It made a real effort at portraying non-white, non-male characters (well, apart from the good doctor), and its eventual moral was a progressive, almost post-Freudian, "yo, therapy is awesome and will make you better at relationships!" thing. Adorable and funny, engaging and sad. Highly recommended.
Anyway, like all good Star Trek episodes, this one left some MAJOR issues hanging. Such as, umm, the fact that McCoy bifurcated the world line and thus there's a second McCoy running around some second universe out there. In this most wonderful of books, a book that captures Star Trek's multicultural, zany-physics-professor essence in all its glory, we follow BOTH MCCOYS.
McCoy #1 is basically a rehash of the TOS seasons and movies, with a little bit of filler from his life off-screen. Like, his dating life. You know.
McCoy #2, meanwhile, soon realizes that he's stuck in 1930s New York City FOR KEEPS. And he better get a move on and fix himself a life! So, being industrious, he jumps a train down South and becomes the good ol' country doctor he always was, living amid the small town trials and tribs of Peachville, Georgia (or whatever it's called). That is, until Nazi fighters start bombing America. WTF! You may ask. WTF indeed. WTF, thinks McCoy. Ah yes - he and the Cheerio messed up the world line. And remember when Spock told Kirk about the whole WWII/Hitler issue? Oh, shit, consequencesss. Now McCoy gets to live through it. And so do we!
Sooo good. This book hit all my buttons. It was engaging, intelligent, silly and - at times - absolutely addictive. It made a real effort at portraying non-white, non-male characters (well, apart from the good doctor), and its eventual moral was a progressive, almost post-Freudian, "yo, therapy is awesome and will make you better at relationships!" thing. Adorable and funny, engaging and sad. Highly recommended.
June 3, 2011
Provenance of Shadows (Star Trek Crucible: McCoy) David R. George III, 2006
These books have been tempting me from the shelf of the local library for a while now, and I finally broke down and borrowed this one. I used to read Star Wars novels, but I haven't read much licensed fiction in a while.
Premise: During the episode “City on the Edge of Forever,” Doctor McCoy went back in time, and created an alternate timeline. Kirk and Spock restored history, but on some level, McCoy both returned to the Enterprise with his friends and lived out the rest of his life in the 1930's.
This book started strong. I really enjoyed the beginning; it was fun and fast, and the idea of following alternate McCoy was great. The problem was, it couldn't sustain its pace.
The book is split between alternate McCoy living in the past and standard McCoy (of course, no relation to 2009's New!McCoy) living in the 2200's. The story following AltMcCoy is actually really strong overall, it has good character work, interesting plots, etc. The best scene in the book is when McCoy realizes how he changed history, and his horror that he can't do a thing about it.
However, the other half of the book devolves quickly into a fan-fic-esque tour through the rest of the Original Series and the movies. The narrative never stops in one time long enough for me to care about what is going on, and the connections to the other story are tenuous and obnoxious. Far too much of it is direct references to episodes, etc. It's a really frustrating read.
The end of the book was hokey, pandering and dull. The beginning was intriguing enough and it was a quick enough read that I might flip through another book in the series next time I'm at the library, but if it's another “This is Your Life” ramble, I'll pass.
These books have been tempting me from the shelf of the local library for a while now, and I finally broke down and borrowed this one. I used to read Star Wars novels, but I haven't read much licensed fiction in a while.
Premise: During the episode “City on the Edge of Forever,” Doctor McCoy went back in time, and created an alternate timeline. Kirk and Spock restored history, but on some level, McCoy both returned to the Enterprise with his friends and lived out the rest of his life in the 1930's.
This book started strong. I really enjoyed the beginning; it was fun and fast, and the idea of following alternate McCoy was great. The problem was, it couldn't sustain its pace.
The book is split between alternate McCoy living in the past and standard McCoy (of course, no relation to 2009's New!McCoy) living in the 2200's. The story following AltMcCoy is actually really strong overall, it has good character work, interesting plots, etc. The best scene in the book is when McCoy realizes how he changed history, and his horror that he can't do a thing about it.
However, the other half of the book devolves quickly into a fan-fic-esque tour through the rest of the Original Series and the movies. The narrative never stops in one time long enough for me to care about what is going on, and the connections to the other story are tenuous and obnoxious. Far too much of it is direct references to episodes, etc. It's a really frustrating read.
The end of the book was hokey, pandering and dull. The beginning was intriguing enough and it was a quick enough read that I might flip through another book in the series next time I'm at the library, but if it's another “This is Your Life” ramble, I'll pass.
October 8, 2013
As usual, I rated this book as a Star Trek book, not in comparison to other sci-fi, or books in general. I've never been a big fan of Dr. McCoy, so I wouldn't normally have bought this book. However, I originally picked it up because I had been told on a message board that it explained how McCoy's going back in time and saving Edith Keeler in "City on the Edge of Forever" created the violent Mirror Universe in "Mirror, Mirror." There's actually no indication of this being true that I can see, although I can see how someone could extrapolate the story and come to their own conclusion.
It was interesting to see what happened to McCoy after saving Edith's life, and how that eventually led to a delay in the US entering WWII, although that timeline moved a little slow at times. I also thought it was interesting to see what was going on in McCoy's head during some pivotal moments from the Original Series and the films. I just wish the author had stuck to McCoy's POV during those scenes. I realize this is part of an interlocked trilogy, but since Kirk was a minor character here, it didn't make sense that we would occasionally see the story from his view (and others'), such as when he saved the whales from drowning in the Klingon ship at the end of STIV (especially since it basically just went through what we already saw in the movie). I would have much rather read what was going on with McCoy at that time, and stuck with the one perspective. Other than that, I don't have any complaints. I highly recommend this book to fans of TOS, especially if you like good doctor.
It was interesting to see what happened to McCoy after saving Edith's life, and how that eventually led to a delay in the US entering WWII, although that timeline moved a little slow at times. I also thought it was interesting to see what was going on in McCoy's head during some pivotal moments from the Original Series and the films. I just wish the author had stuck to McCoy's POV during those scenes. I realize this is part of an interlocked trilogy, but since Kirk was a minor character here, it didn't make sense that we would occasionally see the story from his view (and others'), such as when he saved the whales from drowning in the Klingon ship at the end of STIV (especially since it basically just went through what we already saw in the movie). I would have much rather read what was going on with McCoy at that time, and stuck with the one perspective. Other than that, I don't have any complaints. I highly recommend this book to fans of TOS, especially if you like good doctor.
December 13, 2016
+ Really enjoyed McCoy's alternate life in 1930s and beyond, save for how it concluded. Why did that even have to finish off like that? What real purpose did it lend for alt McCoy? Especially considering Lynn. A lot of McCoy's issues were on some level addressed and it is Lynn who, at the end, bears it alone
+ I was under the impression that there would be something grand done with the time aspect (the difference in M'Benga numbers due to time travel) -- not to say that identifying another piece of the puzzle that is the universe is anything less, but I was expecting it to be this massive plot thing that somehow tied in with alt McCoy's timeline
+ Really liked how the timelines blended, and how the author slipped the instances in so it was sometimes a 'blink and you miss it' moment.
+ The author really could've stripped back the text to make a starker story. There was a bit much 'padding' at times.
Overall, a fun indulgent read of a pretty solid character piece on Leonard McCoy.
EDIT TO ADD Dec 13 2016 || I think about this book sometimes and always wish it could've been more than one it was. I was totally expecting something to happen to fish McCoy out of the 30's timeline, or for him to come clean to Lynn. Or for the author to address some of the half-thoughts (eg. Joanna) that he added but never really expanded on.
+ I was under the impression that there would be something grand done with the time aspect (the difference in M'Benga numbers due to time travel) -- not to say that identifying another piece of the puzzle that is the universe is anything less, but I was expecting it to be this massive plot thing that somehow tied in with alt McCoy's timeline
+ Really liked how the timelines blended, and how the author slipped the instances in so it was sometimes a 'blink and you miss it' moment.
+ The author really could've stripped back the text to make a starker story. There was a bit much 'padding' at times.
Overall, a fun indulgent read of a pretty solid character piece on Leonard McCoy.
EDIT TO ADD Dec 13 2016 || I think about this book sometimes and always wish it could've been more than one it was. I was totally expecting something to happen to fish McCoy out of the 30's timeline, or for him to come clean to Lynn. Or for the author to address some of the half-thoughts (eg. Joanna) that he added but never really expanded on.
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