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Star Trek – Crucible: McCoy – Provenance of Shadows Retro Review: Time is the Fire in Which We Burn

Star Trek – Crucible: McCoy – Providence of Shadows Retro Review: Time is the Fire in Which We Burn
Credit: Pocket Books

Review: Star Trek – Crucible: McCoy -Provenance of Shadows

Star Trek veteran David R. George III‘s Star Trek – Crucible: McCoy – Provenance of Shadows boldly expands upon one of The Original Series’ most iconic episodes, “The City on the Edge of Forever.” George offers a compelling exploration of how Leonard McCoy’s unintended meddling with history forever shapes his remaining days in the 20th century. At the same time, George explores and expands upon McCoy’s life in the Prime Timeline. This lengthy character study delves fascinatingly into McCoy’s struggles with loneliness, his demons, and the profound consequences of his decisions.

There’s one important aspect easily forgotten about “The City on the Edge of Forever”: there’s an entire timeline where McCoy, crazed by a drug injection and sent back to 1930s Earth, alters the future enough so that the Federation never exists. This alternate timeline is never seen on screen, and McCoy’s apparent changes are soon reconciled by Kirk and Spock as they travel back in time after their friend. But the question of how McCoy changed the timeline is never explored, or how that timeline played out — that is until George put pen to paper and wrote the first of the Crucible trilogy in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Star Trek franchise back in 2016.

With Provenance of Shadows, George focuses each book in the trilogy on either James Kirk, Spock, or Leonard McCoy, the triumvirate of Star Trek: The Original Series. Each book explores how “The City on the Edge of Forever” impacted one of these characters; while there’s no reading order to follow for this trilogy, we read Provenance of Shadows first. We walked away being more invested in Doctor McCoy, played memorably by DeForest Kelley in TOS and its subsequent movies, than ever before.

Provenance of Shadows is a 620-page deep dive into the good doctor from the perspective of two timelines: one is the Prime Timeline, known as Timeline 1 in this book, where Kirk, Spock, and McCoy travel back to 1930s Earth as chronicled in the aforementioned TOS episode and then return to experience adventures we’ve seen on the large and small screen. The second timeline, Timeline 2, is the one McCoy experiences before Kirk and Spock travel through the Guardian of Forever in pursuit of their friend. Remember, in the minutes after McCoy stepped through the time portal, Kirk and his landing party realized history had changed. How did McCoy change the timeline?

Star Trek: The Original Series: Crucible: McCoy: Provenance of Shadows
Star Trek: The Original Series: Crucible: McCoy: Provenance of Shadows | Credit: Pocket Books

This question is never answered in “The City on the Edge of Forever,” and George smartly recognizes the potential for great McCoy-focused storytelling. Being the Star Trek fan he is, George also realized a personality trait McCoy exhibits in The Original Series, one that is never addressed directly: McCoy is largely a lonely individual, at least romantically. With these two ideas in hand, Provenance of Shadows turns out to be a fascinating examination of McCoy, even if it is a bit too long for its own good.

The book is comprised of two parallel McCoy stories. In Timeline 2, McCoy comes to grips with the idea that his friends are never going to rescue him from Earth’s past, leaving him to get by as best he can in 1930s New York. He becomes friends with Edith Keeler, who he saved from being injured in a car accident soon after arriving in New York City. McCoy sticks around New York and Keeler’s 21st Street Mission for a couple of years before leaving the city to make a new life for himself in Georgia.

It’s here in the American South that McCoy starts to flourish, becoming a country doctor serving a peaceful rural town, Hayden, located outside of the ill-fated Atlanta. McCoy, who ultimately lived in Hayden for almost 20 years, becomes close friends with two residents, Lynn and Phil Dickenson, the former of whom the doctor eventually becomes romantically involved. Their lives – and those of people around the world – are upended when World War II breaks out. America didn’t enter the war until a couple of years after 1941 because a prominent peace organization, headed by its visionary, peace-loving leader, Edith Keeler, convinced the president and American public that their country should not enter the European war.

Yes, McCoy saving Edith Keeler back in 1930 is what radically shifts the course of history, and ultimately why Kirk, Spock, and others in the future realize history is drastically changed. McCoy can only watch as the United States enters a war that drags on until at least 1955 and costs innumerable lives, including that of his good friend, Phil Dickenson. We won’t spoil the rest of the story, as there are plenty of thoughtful issues that arise for McCoy as he lives out his life – this crucible – in Georgia knowing he drastically changed the course of human events.

Timeline 1 follows what we know about events in the 2260s and beyond. George uses quite a few canonical events from The Original Series and the TOS movies to flesh out McCoy’s life; it’s like adding fat to the bones of McCoy’s decades-long story. We know what happens to McCoy in productions like “Operation – Annihilate!,” “Shore Leave,” “All Our Yesterdays,” The Search for Spock, and more. Provenance of Shadows expands on his story to include his various failed shots at romance, a years-long groundbreaking research project he and Spock work on, his relationship with other crewmembers or team members, and even his long-time struggle with his own mortality.

McCoy and Tonia Barrows. Barrows plays a significant role in Providence of Shadows
McCoy and Tonia Barrows. Barrows plays a significant role in Provenance of Shadows | Credit: CBS

Throughout both timelines, McCoy grapples with his inability to commit to relationships. This is especially evident in his interactions with Tonia Barrows in Timeline 1 – a character first seen in the Original Series episode “Shore Leave” – and later with Lynn Dickenson in Georgia in Timeline 2. Using events in both timelines, George slowly unravels the emotional wall McCoy has subconsciously built around himself, revealing a sobering truth about his inability to love. It’s a psychological exploration that adds significant depth to McCoy’s character.

While Provenance of Shadows is a deeply engaging character study, its mammoth length occasionally detracts from its pacing. Some sections retell well-known moments from TOS episodes and films, which, while helpful for new readers, can feel like unnecessary repetition for seasoned fans. A tighter focus on the book’s original content could have streamlined the narrative and kept the momentum flowing more smoothly.

We’ll admit there were a couple of times when we were wondering just where the book was going – which direction its dual plots were leading – as sometimes it felt like there was no goal in sight for George’s narrative. But alas there is, and it’s in the last 30 pages or so that the two parallel stories congeal into a fascinating, emotional conclusion. If you’re like us, you’ll likely be stuck in thought for a few minutes after turning the final page as we consider the trials McCoy experienced and how he handled them. Truth be told, he often handled them quite poorly, but these actions make McCoy a grounded, realistic character.

We thought George’s exploration of McCoy’s life – or lives, really – was absorbing. Even though McCoy is one of the main characters of The Original Series, his life outside the Enterprise is largely a mystery. Provenance of Shadows gives us a better understanding of the doctor than anything we saw on screen, and it’s clear George loves this universe in which he is playing. Exploring the impact of “City on the Edge of Forever” is a worthwhile venture considering the impact that story had on the Star Trek ethos. Studying McCoy’s loneliness, deep-rooted demons, and courage in the face of restarting his life in a time far removed from his own made us much more emotionally invested in the character than we expected.

Provenance of Shadows works as a great Star Trek story because it stays true to one of the series’ core themes: exploration of the self. By focusing on character development, emotional depth, and the impact of individual decisions on the course of history, it captures the essence of what makes Star Trek resonate with its fans.

You can check out Provenance of Shadows on Amazon.


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Written By

Kyle Hadyniak has been a lifelong Star Trek fan, and isn't ashamed to admit that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek: Nemesis are his favorite Star Trek movies. You can follow Kyle on Twitter @khady93.

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