Albeit Almost 2 Years Late, My Take On "Crucible: McCoy"

[JeremyW]

So, it is almost two years since this book came out, and I FINALLY managed to sit down and read it (believe me, it becomes easy when you are on a bus from Vancouver BC to Salt Lake City, UT and your iPod and cellphone crap out on you). Well, all I have to say is that I absolutely LOVED this book! At first, I had reservations about this book, because I will be blunt: I only liked a handful of episodes from The Original Series,and I did not know if I could sit through and read a TOS novel...well, I was so glad to be proven wrong. This book is long...VERY long, but well worth it. I started it after crossing the border at Blaine, Washington, and finished it outside Bountiful, Utah. I barely slept in the night, so I had ample time to read. (Just over one day)

Anyways, what I liked about the book: David pulled us through 100 years of Trek and focused this book on McCoy, even though there was ample time for all the other characters. And what was great for this book was that it was beyond a typical sci-fi novel...this could be put on any shelf of reputable literature, and people would love it. (IMO) The story's written that it focuses solely on character. Sure, there are your classic Trek moments, and your space battles and other stuff, but the story that intrigued me the most was the 'what-if?' story where McCoy saves Edith's life. I found the struggles of the good doctor to be gut-wrenching and almost misty-eyed at some points. The neat part is that it parallels with what McCoy's going through in the timeline that we know as canonical Star Trek. I liked how David approached various topics, including faith, politics, morals, societal issues, love, friendship and family. Every word was there for a reason, and everything had a purpose. I also liked how EVERY single Trek had some relevance. (I've never seen TAS, but I'm assuming that's there too)

Trek - Duh, it's McCoy, Kirk, et.al
TNG - McCoy's visit to the Enterprise-D
DS9 - The mention of Emony Dax, and the appearance of 'Benny' in the alternate timeline...I for one liked this reference, because I couldn't help but think of what Sisko said at the end of Far Beyond The Stars, and his pondering whether Benny's the dream or the dreamer...gives us something to think about
VGR - Reference to Leonard McCoy's Comparative Alien Physiology... I think this book was mentioned here first.
ENT - Reference to the Kir'Shara.

All in all, a great read. I will now finish the Spock and Kirk novels and I'm sure I'll love those ones as well. David, great book! A fitting tribue to Trek's 40th Birthday...even though I'm 2 years late. LOL

Sorry this is short....the keyboard I am using is pissing me off, and not allowing me to type as fast as I normally do. I'd write more because this book deserves more.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I've never seen TAS, but I'm assuming that's there too

That Filmation's animated ST series is so well referenced was a delight to me, too! First names for (Paul) Bates and (Jimmy) Clayton, welcome cameo appearances by Randi Bryce and M'Ress the Caitian, and cheeky references to Mantilles, Dramia II, Edoans, Phylosians, Vedala, Aquan surgo-ops and even practical joking computers!

 

[David R. George III]

Jeremy, thanks so much for the kind words. I am of course delighted that you enjoyed Provenance of Shadows as much as you did.

 

[JeremyW]

Jeremy, thanks so much for the kind words. I am of course delighted that you enjoyed Provenance of Shadows as much as you did.

I did, and picked up the Spock entry for the road home at the Barnes and Noble in Bountiful, Utah. (Although I'm probably going to read Terok Nor Book 1 as I bought that book and saved it for this particular trip...can't get enough DS9...)

Anyways, back to Provenance...with McCoy's alternate timeline experience, the first thought that came to my head by the end of Part 1, was, "Wow! This is like Carbon Creek, but for TOS!" Carbon Creek is by far one of my all time favorite Enterprise episodes, and the reason why is despite it takes place in a much earlier time, it holds true to the ideals of Trek, and did a great job with character growth. Even if the alternate timeline did not exist, you saw a growth to the character, yet even when McCoy did move on with his life, he also stayed true to who he was. It made the ending of that alternate timeline very shocking and saddening...I didn't see that coming. But, the hints were there...you spoke of faith, and although you used another theology to move your point, we as LDS folk talk about balance, and that everything has its opposite...Christ vs. Satan, Good vs. Evil etc... it's only fitting that while the McCoy we know lived a full life, the OTHER McCoy lived a life that was full, but full of struggles...the choices he made impacted his reality, and when finally when everything was looking like it was going 'right', tragedy strikes. Definitely going to give super cool status to that...

But, I must confess...when you threw Benny Russell into the mix, and reading about the alternate World War II scenario, I half expected to learn that some of the German soldiers were mysterious, and hid their faces...I half expected Vosk to show up, but that'd be too much. Nevertheless, a great book!

 

[BaloksPuppet]

I mentioned earlier that I too really enjoyed this book (I liked the entire series, but this book especially), but I have one question that has been sort of bugging me since I read it last year and I think it might be a spoiler:

Spoiler: Question

Why didn't Timeline 2 McCoy develop Xenopolycythemia? I don't remember it being mentioned in the book though I could have missed it, but did he get infected sometime between "City on the Edge" and "For the World is Hollow"?

Thanks

 

[ATimson]

Spoiler: Question

Why didn't Timeline 2 McCoy develop Xenopolycythemia? I don't remember it being mentioned in the book though I could have missed it, but did he get infected sometime between "City on the Edge" and "For the World is Hollow"?

Spoiler: 'For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky'

Given that the disease was detected during his annual physical, my impression is that he wouldn't have been infected more than a year prior to that--and "World" probably takes place more than a year after "City", the former being in season three and the latter in season one.