Customer Reviews

STAR TREK THE ASHES OF EDEN

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Starting with this book, Willam Shatner has proven how much he knows about and truly loves Star Trek and its characters. Along with the help of the Reeves-Stevens (They also deserve a high salute as well), Shatner adds some much needed depth to the cheap "death" of Kirk in Star Trek: Generations. He also takes care of some hanging continuity threads from the past movies as well. Gosh! Is it more than satisfying or what to finally see the resolution and evolution of some key questions and themes! The interesting thing here, while reading this, is that word has it Shatner proposed this story for the next Star Trek film. 6 was a great way to go out, but if they would have come back for one more, this would have been it. This story would have merited it, and I gurantee you everyone would have been leaving that theater with tears in their eyes and their fist in the air in victory. All sorts of juicy details are touched upon, including how and why The Genesis Project failed and more about David Marcus's death and everything else. I, too, had a little bit of a struggle seeing the young Teilani go after Kirk. I realize he IS Kirk, but come one, he is 60 years old now. (This is rectified in the following books in the series when Kirk is in the 24th century and Teilani is more his age) Whatever reputation Shatner may have, there is one thing no one should dispute: He knows and loves Star Trek like the back of his hand. It's too bad; as awesome as his books in this series have been, I wish he and Nimoy would take over the reign of control over the Star Trek franchise. I would DIE to see the saga Shatner had portrayed in these books on the big screen. For me, his books are what the movies used to be. Star Trek has become so cheapened, watered down, and politically correct, that when I finally ran across these books, I finally had REAL Star Trek again. Not some soap opera like what it has become. Go ahead: Compare these books to anything Star Trek in the past several years. The difference will make you weep. Here is the difference between love and the almighty dollar.

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.

"The Ashes of Eden" takes place in the last years
of Kirk's career at Starfleet, just before the events
seen in the film STAR TREK: GENERATIONS. The plot,
which is compelling written by Shatner, centers on
a mysterious doomsday project that the Romulan and
Klingon empires have put into place to destroy the
Federation. Kirk goes to investigate it, and in his
absence, a traitor in Starfleet convinces everyone
else (including now-Captain Sulu, who goes to hunt
Kirk like the professional he is) that Kirk has turned
traitor.

The novel is one of the best of the STAR TREK line.
I was pleasantly surprised by Shatner's writing, but
I suppose that I shouldn't have been. After all, the
man has "been" Kirk for three decades. Which leads
me to the other surprising element of the book.
"The Ashes of Eden" isn't just an exciting STAR
TREK adventure, it's also a look inside the mind
of Capt. Kirk. Shatner uses the novel to relate
what it's like to be a living legend. Kirk encounters
young crewmembers who know more about his
adventures than he does and who want details that
he can't remember. Kirk's response that he and his
crew didn't set out to be heroes, but rather "we were
just doing our job" applies to Shatner as well.

Welcome to the World of Star Trek Mr. Shatner!
Or should the ST world of literature welcome him. I had already read his Tek War books. Then they killed Kirk off in the movie GENERATIONS. I was disappointed because Kirk was always the star of ST for me. He had the kahoneys to write THE RETURN which was the second ST novel he wrote. I had tried to like the Star Trek books that came before Shatner returned to the world of ST but they were mostly mediocre at best. Well I liked the return and immediately read Shatner's first ST novel, Ashes of Eden.

Shatner leads the reader astray a bit. At first you are thinking you are in the midst of a story written to satisfy an old guy who is in the middle of late life crises. You think it is a simple story of a man needing a young babe and a new mission. But it is a set up for a real interesting story... I'll let you read the rest for yourself. The novel is also the first of what became a double trilogy. This first trilogy is followed by THE RETURN 1996 and then AVENGER 1997. The next trilogy starts with a real good one called SPECTRE, 1998, followed by DARK VICTORY, also good, and concluding with PRESERVER, 2000. PRESERVER was a bit of a disappointment, but I also never actually read the book, having bought the Audio CD instead.

William Shatner and friends, I am glad you stopped by the ST literature; your contributions are worthy reads! I wish you had written the 4 book series on the DOMINION WAR.

I am 31 years old and I have been a Star Trek fan since I was about 9 or 10. However, until now I have never read a Star Trek book. I guess now that I am out of school and have more time on my hands I can read more for fun instead of an assignment. I also haven't had a new Star Trek adventure in a few years now via TV or the big screen so I decided to start checking out the adventures that have been coming out since the beginning of Star Trek. I began with Ashes of Eden!!!!

I enjoyed this book a lot. I was warned before I began that Shatner was basically writing this for himself. "William Shatner was aboard the enterprise not Captain Kirk" However, I still got a big kick out of this book. Sure Shatner had Kirk go out on an adventure, having endless sex with a woman 1/3 his age. Not to mention he was the big hero at the end(I didn't ruin anything this is before the movie Generations you know he didn't die). Shatner not only knows the Star Trek Universe but he knows the characters, not just Kirk but all the others too.

Captain Kirk is thinking that his adventures are a think of his past, until he meets a young woman who is offering him one more adventure (among other things) Kirk accepts the mission even though McCoy and Spock do not approve. He heads to a planet out of federation space. What he doesn't know is the new leader of Starfleet decides it time to get revenge of Kirk for something Kirk did in his past. He goes after Kirk and brings along the crew that knows Kirk best. They are all along for the ride. Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura. Shatner brought in past adventures from the TV Series and the movies and combined it with original idea to create a great story.

Next for me is Collision Course by Shatner.

Grade: A-

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}

Months prior to the prologue of Star Trek: Generations, Kirk decides to resign from Starfleet as his old Academy nemesis Andovar Drake is appointed head of Starfleet Command. Lacking any drive in his life, Kirk accepts a last chance for adventure with the seductive young Teilani who wants him to protect her paradise planet (w/ rejuvenating powers no less!); so Kirk and Scotty take the mothballed Enterprise-A and head for planet Chal where a secret Starfleet cabal seek to exploit the planet for all its fountain of youth properties. The rest of the Enterprise gang hitch a ride on Sulu's Excelsior and together the crew once again save the universe.

An amazingly well-rounded novel with William Shatner (with assist from Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens) penning appropriately enough the perfect final note in the history of James Tiberius Kirk (the tagged-on epilogues notwithstanding). Like the original series, the novel is at times epic and moving while still finding time to be campy and tacky (63-year old Kirk getting it on with a twentysomething Romulan/Klingon hybrid in the backseat of a hovercar!?) and loaded with some nifty Starfleet espionage which reeks of "the truth is out there" paranoia streak which X-Files has inspired. SNL jibes & toupee jokes aside, Shatner has always given an indelible performance as Kirk and the actor has aged well with the character; and with this novel he proves that the part has been more to him then just another paycheck. Unlike other legends of fiction such as Tarzan, Robin Hood or King Arthur, Kirk has come through his youth and middle-age unscathed to land himself in retirement with no more adventures left to define him. This melodrama of Kirk aging although covered quite well in Star Trek II already, is still poignant here and the authors milk it for all its worth without it going overboard.

The rest of the cast of characters are well-utilized; the future tracks of Spock & Bones laid down here; however the novel remains very ambivalent about the futures of the rest of the crew. I found it very noteworthy that the author chose the character of Scotty to accompany him to Chal aboard the Enterprise, perhaps a veiled olive branch to actor James Doohan who has been feuding with Shatner for decades; the sequence where Kirk & Scotty sit together at the bar speaks volumes of the estrangement which Shatner must feel towards his fellow castmates. In fact much of the novel's poignancy lies in the double meanings which lace much of the dialogue and narrative, making Ashes of Eden a fictional sequel of sorts to Shatner's previous two autobiographies in which the actor admitted regret over his behavior in the past movies and series. With this added meaning to the story, the novel forms a fitting finale to the legend of James T. Kirk, typing up loose ends both fictional (the death of his son David, his friendships with his loyal crew) and in real life. With all the effort put into making this novel so poignantly final, the tagged on epilogue seems crass at best, paving the way for a new cycle of his legend; Kirk apparently taken up residence in TNG in subsequent novels. Nonetheless For those looking for one last grand adventure for Kirk, this is surely the ticket.

This is a great story. I am absolutely amazed that Bill Shatner did this. I had never read any of his books before this. I know about the "Tek" series, I know he has written his memoirs, but no one else can be Captain Kirk like Bill Shatner. He writes this book from a place he must be feeling in his own life; a man who is feeling his age, and questioning where and what he is in this, the twilight of his life. This story is great in that he resurrects his life, his purpose. Like in "Generations," he has to "make a difference." It is rare to read a trek novel that doesn't feel serialized, this novel breaks the mold that has been set forth by countless authors in the genre.

Kirk's devotion to a cause, and his willingness to break rules as he sees fit, are both great features of this book. I think that Shatner has truly captured the character he has played for all of these years. "Kirk" is truly represented in the book. He goes on a crusade of some better good, and puts at risk, his career, his friendships, and even his own life. So typical, but so profound at the same time. The idea of chivalry, that is so long gone, breaths new life in this book.

Overall, this is a great book. It brings the cast together, even if they are divided. It is nice to see how Shatner puts his own spin on his character, and how, I think, he brings his own life into these pages.

Like many great sagas out there the first chapter tends to be the best, and Ashes of Eden proves that theory to be true. The finale of the 10 part Kirk Saga "Captain's Glory" is absolutely superb too, but that review is on another webpage. Anyway, I read this book originally when I was 15 years old when it came out and couldn't put it down. I have recently reread Ashes of Eden as well as its two counterparts "The Return" and "Avenger." (these three novels make up the first trilogy entitled "The odyssey").

This time around I enjoyed Ashes of Eden ten fold. Not only is the book fast paced, full of action, and actually more of a love story, it has many things that trek fans love. Great interaction between the original crew, the Excelsior in action, and the true fate of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A.

If you have never read a Shatner Kirk novel YOU MUST START WITH THIS ONE! William Shatner does a marvelous job building on each novel and when the day comes you finally read the concluding chapter "Captain's Glory", you will be grateful you read them all in order. There are 9 novels totaling the Kirk Saga.

Again, Star Trek Ashes of Eden is a superb novel and arguably one of the greates Star Trek novels ever printed. 10/10 A+.

This is the first Star Trek novel that William Shatner collaborated on. He has since collaborated on others and written many on his own, in addition to the successful Tek Wars, which was made in to a TV series. I read the original hardback version, which is now out of print.

Here we find a retired, now civilian, James Kirk in a new adventure to save an independent planet recognized by the Federation, but claimed by both the Romulan and the Klingon Empires. Kirk is once again asked to become the Captain of the Enterprise.

But the Enterprise is no longer a Federation Ship. She has now been decommissioned and stripped of much of her equipment, too top-secret to be allowed on a now-civilian vessel. The vessel has been bought by an independent planet, Chal, and handed to Kirk, for his new assignment. That assignment is unclear at first, but the full story gradually is revealed, and Kirk finds himself on a different adventure than he first imagined.

Kirk's former crew under Captain Sulu get caught up in a high-level plot to undermine the whole Federation, and the trail leads right to the top. A showdown occurs at the planet Kirk has been contracted to save, where Kirk's former crew are pitted against Kirk and his new planetary defense force.

Kirk finds himself facing down the Commander in Chief of the Federation, who shows up to join his special team, Sulu and crew, in a new twist of this strange scenario developing on planet Chal. Kirk in his new role on behalf of Chal, is captain of the private, remiliatarized Enterprise as a defense ship for the almost defenseless planet.

A secret treasure of information on the planet holds a key to interpreting this mystery, unexpected even by the beleaguered inhabitants who invited Kirk to develop a defense for them.