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A review by djpax13
The Ashes of Eden by Judith Reeves-Stevens, William Shatner, Garfield Reeves-Stevens
3.0
Ashes of Eden was a good solid Star Trek novel. Probably my favorite aspect was the interplay between the characters: despite trials and tribulations, the crew sticks together, their experiences from over the years binding them together as a family. There are the usual aspects of a classic TOS story: Scotty and his engines, McCoy fighting with Spock while not admitting they are actually best friends, and of course Kirk and his girl. The story follows Captain Kirk in his quest to save a world and rediscover his youth, with many revelations along the way.
I enjoyed Shatner's writing, although his ego certainly shines through the prose. I think this becomes very obvious not only through his internal monologue, but how Shatner depicts some characters. For instance, Sulu seems a bit flat, Chekov seems to always ask "WWKD" (what would Kirk do?) and at times the others seem very cookie cutter. The story line also appears somewhat derivative, as if Shatner pulled bits and pieces from the different movies, added a few unique elements, and then sent the book to his publishers.
Despite these flaws, as I said above it was a good solid Star Trek novel. I might even read the next one in the series, if Shatner can manage to flesh out the characters a bit more and leave his ego out of the tale.
I enjoyed Shatner's writing, although his ego certainly shines through the prose. I think this becomes very obvious not only through his internal monologue, but how Shatner depicts some characters. For instance, Sulu seems a bit flat, Chekov seems to always ask "WWKD" (what would Kirk do?) and at times the others seem very cookie cutter. The story line also appears somewhat derivative, as if Shatner pulled bits and pieces from the different movies, added a few unique elements, and then sent the book to his publishers.
Despite these flaws, as I said above it was a good solid Star Trek novel. I might even read the next one in the series, if Shatner can manage to flesh out the characters a bit more and leave his ego out of the tale.