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By BWilliams / 01:05, 9 October 2006 / Reviews - Books
Synopsis: : 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, isolatled instant on the edge of forever.
Review: It's hard to know where to begin with a review such as this one. Very few times have I just come right out and said it at the very beginning. This is one of those times. Quite simply put, the first installment of the CRUCIBLE trilogy, PROVENANCE OF SHADOWS, is nothing more than an immediate classic STAR TREK epic at its finest! Very seldom does a novel get this good right from the word go!
David R. George III, the author of the equally epic SERPENTS AMONG THE RUINS, has crafted an epic tale that takes readers on not one but two journeys through time and life itself. Of course, we are all familiar with how the Original Series episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" deeply impacted the remainder of the series and the lives of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy from that point on. But what happened after that? We certainly know some, based on the episodes and the feature films. But deeper than that, George gets to the characters' hearts and minds, exploring how a single moment colors and forever affects a person's life.
In PROVENANCE OF SHADOWS, George takes us on the journey that is Leonard McCoy's life - or rather, lives - both in the 23rd and in the 20th centuries. We see not only the impact that McCoy makes behind the scenes of the remainder of the original episodes but also beyond, as he devotes his career to exploring a medical mystery and his heart to the one great love of his life, Tonia Barrows (from "Shore Leave"). Throughout the 23rd century portions, everything that affects McCoy affects Barrows as well - dangerous missions, career changes, deadly illnesses, even love and heartbreak. But it doesn't stop there. George also gives us a look into what might have happened had McCoy saved Edith Keeler's life, unraveling an alternate timeline that spans the decades of the 20th century. Even in this alternate timeline, McCoy devotes his years to what he knows best: helping and being a blessing to others (as DeForest Kelley equally did) both in his life and his medical career. (See if you can find the sneaky DS9 reference George slips in!)
You would think that through two different lifetimes, George has given us a more detailed picture. While adding his own brush strokes to the STAR TREK tapestry, George takes it one step even further and explores the one driving event that changed Leonard McCoy's life, affecting his heart and influencing his decisions and relationships throughout his entire life (or lives). We are all bound and colored by signature moments in our lives - our first love and heartbreak, the death of a parent, marriage, the birth of our first child, the list goes on and on. David George gives readers that signature moment in McCoy's own life as well.
At 640 pages, this is no doubt the largest STAR TREK novel published to date, and yet at the heart of this epic is a simple tale, the life (or lives) of one man and the difference he made in other people's lives. But don't take my word for it. You simply must read PROVENANCE OF SHADOWS and be absorbed. It's a grand tale that rightfully takes its place among the finest tales at the top of the TREK canon. Perhaps along the way, you'll find similar colors and signature moments in your own life that have occurred. Hard to believe that this is just the first book of the trilogy! Is there a way to give this book a sixth star?
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