World Famous Comics: Crucible: Kirk: The Star to Every Wandering (Star Trek)
Crucible: Kirk: The Star to Every Wandering (Star Trek)
By: David R. George III Publisher: Star Trek Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Star Trek Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 320 Publication Date: February 01, 2007
. . . 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
. . . James T. Kirk, displaced in time, allows the love of his life to die in a traffic accident, thereby preserving Earth's history. Returning to the present, he continues a storied career as a starship captain, opening up the galaxy. But as he wanders among the stars, the incandescence that once filled his heart remains elusive.
IN A SINGLE MOMENT
. . . that haunts James T. Kirk throughout his life, he preserved the timeline at the cost of his happiness. Now, facing his own death, the very fabric of existence collapses across years and light-years, forcing him to race against -- and through -- time itself, until he comes full circle to that one bright star by which his life has always steered.
Star Trek TOS: Crucible Trilogy - Kirk I've read all three books in the Crucible Trilogy in the order that they were written, beginning with McCoy, then Spock, and finally ending with Kirk. The book on Captain Kirk: The Star to Every Wandering was a bittersweet tale of love lost and the hope of finding that lost love again. This book was written to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Star Trek the Original Series and has references to various television episodes as well as the Trek films in which Captain Kirk appeared. The common thread that all three books in the Crucible Trilogy has is the TV epsiode: "The City on the Edge of Forever". If you enjoyed that episode, I feel confident that you will enoy reading each one of the Crucible Trilogy books.
Interesting story. Slightly better than its "Crucible: Spock" predecessor, not nearly as good as the "Crucible: McCoy" opener of the trilogy. (Curious that even in a trilogy that consists of three separate stories not interdependant on one another, the middle installment manages to be the weakest.) For those who agree with the common perception that Edith Keeler was truly the love of Kirk's life, this story will doubtless work better than it did for me. But in order to accept that proposition, I would have to accept the cultural myth of "love at first sight" to an extent that I've never been able to manage (see my review of Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet.) After all, Kirk had only known her for a very brief time, not long enough to truly form a solid relationship that would constitute real love. Granted, infatuation interrupted can be devastating, and might even leave a weak-willed, impractical person traumatized for life. But Kirk was neither weak-willed nor impractical, and while the guilt feelings for having essentially caused the death of a woman he, at the very least, cared for deeply and greatly respected would certainly have been real and have haunted him for the rest of his life, I refuse to believe that what he had romantically with her was real enough to poison his relationships similarly. Furthermore, to suggest that Kirk's inability to have lasting relationships was a result of thre events in "City On The Edge of Forever" is to overlook the fact that his romantic pattern was already established in "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", "Dagger of the Mind", "Miri", and "The Conscience of the King" before "City on the Edge of Forever" occurred. To say nothing of the fact that it seems to me (although without more research than I'm willing to put into a quick review I can't prove it) that David Marcus was born and Carol Marcus broken up with before that episode. In any case, while Edith Keeler was certainly a fascinating personality, I sincerely doubt that Kirk would have been capable of a lasting relationship with her, even under circumstances that didn't preclude the possibility. He was, as it was frequently established during the series, "married" to his ship, and all other relationships took second place to that. ("Elaan of Troyus", among other episodes.)
So I find the basic premise of this book dubious, if not quite as dubious as that of the "Crucible: Spock" book, and that is why I rate it at less than five stars. Still, it is a well-written and enjoyable story for all of that, and a four-star rating is certainly not a pan.
Who Cares? I loved the first two books in this series, about McCoy and Spock. The premise is interesting, how did the time trip back to the Great Depression and the death of Edith Keeler affect the three main characters of Star Trek?
But while the McCoy and Spock books added lots of interesting information about the lives of those two (even if the Spock book contradicted elements of other Star Trek books) I found I had no interest whatsoever in learning any more about James T. Kirk.
This may be because of the spate of books supposedly co-written by William Shatner allowing the great hero Kirk to live on beyond his death in the film "Star Trek: Generations" and to provide his answer for the pointless "Kirk or Picard?" question. But I gave up 59 pages into this book, and had to struggle to get that far. So someone who has actually read the whole book may be able to provide a more in-depth review.
But I just don't see the point of this thing, except that once the concept of the trilogy was sold, someone had to write the third book.
Excellent A very good depiction of the inner struggle Jim Kirk must face when it comes to finding his true love in life, Edith Keeler and how he balances his views on how the universe has treated him. A must read for all Star Trek fans of James T. Kirk.
An AmazingTrek Trilogy Just finished reading Crucible: Kirk and I have to say that it is very emotional. Actually, I felt like it was an extended version of Star Trek: Generations. At the second part of the book, I felt that there were scenes that would have firt nicely in the movie. Actually, I believe some of what's in the book was actually scenes that were cut from the movie.
Having read all three books, I can now give my opinion on all at once and here's how I break it down:
Crucible: McCoy: This was the best one in the series. I thought it heartwarming, touching and emotional.
Crucible: Spock: Was an okay one but I felt it was a bit weak.
Crucible: Kirk: Not as great as McCoy but still a fun and interesting tale.
I thank David George for writing these novels and allowing me the pleasure of reading something as mesmerizing as this series was.
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