The Ashes of Eden is the first Star Trek novel written by William Shatner, in collaboration with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. The story takes place six months prior to the opening sequence of the film Star Trek: Generations, and reveals the final adventure of Captain Kirk before his disappearance into the Nexus and eventual death at the hands of Soran in the twenty-fourth century.
James Kirk struggles with growing old, and the idea that the time has come for his generation to step aside. The Enterprise he once commanded is scheduled to be decommissioned and put to use as a target ship in war games, and the new Enterprise B will have a new crew, and a new captain. But a beautiful, mysterious young woman, Teilani, a half-Klingon, half-Romulan, comes into Kirk’s life and offers him a second chance and the promise of eternal youth. She enlists Kirk’s aid in defending her planet against hostile invaders. Teilani’s homeworld, Chal, a failed attempt at a joint Klingon/Romulan colony world, is a virtual Garden of Eden, whose inhabitants do not grow old. Kirk and Teilani begin a passionate romance, and Kirk abandons Starfleet to aid Teilani and her people. Teilani even reveals to Kirk that her people have purchased the Enterprise from Starfleet, and Kirk finds himself once again in command of his beloved starship.
Of course, not everything is as it seems, and if you’ve ever seen any of the many episodes of Star Trek in which a seemingly perfect, Eden-like world is discovered, you already know that Teilani and her world are hiding a dark secret. While the fountain of youth concept may not be unique, this story provides a great platform for a very intimate look at James Kirk in the twilight of his career. His relationship with Teilani and decision to abandon Starfleet puts him at odds with his old friends from the Enterprise, all of whom appear in this novel. The familiar dynamic between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy is handled well here, and of particular interest is an unexpected and bitter rivalry between Commander Chekov and Captain Sulu, who even come to blows at one point in the novel.
A weak point of the novel may be the characterization of the villain, Admiral Androvar Drake, the new Supreme Commander in Chief of Starfleet and an old rival of Kirk’s. Drake comes across as too one-dimensional, and the authors struggle a bit to provide motivation for the rivalry between Kirk and Drake that fits within the bounds of established continuity (Drake provided the protomatter that lead to the destruction of the Genesis Planet, and was thus indirectly responsible for the death of Kirk’s son, David. Kirk helped prevent a war with the Klingons that would have provided Drake an opportunity to avenge his wife’s death).
These flaws are offset by the exciting story and exceptional characterization of James Kirk. It’s impossible not to read the novel as semi-autobiographical, as Kirk struggles with aging and the burden of celebrity. This intimate link between the author and the character he portrayed over so many years only adds to the novel’s appeal. The Ashes of Eden is a great beginning to yet another branch of the career of William Shatner, as well as an exciting new direction for Star Trek fiction. While this is meant to be the story of Kirk’s final adventure before his story would come to a close in Star Trek: Generations, an epilogue suggests Kirk’s story may not be over. The Ashes of Eden is the first in the “Odyssey” trilogy, followed by The Return and Avenger.
