Star Trek 926: The Price of the Phoenix

926. The Price of the Phoenix

PUBLICATION: Bantam Books, July 1977

CREATORS: Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath

STARDATE: Unknown (sometime in the 4th year of the 5-year mission)

PLOT: Kirk is seemingly killed on a planet near the Romulan Neutral Zone, but a charismatic called Omne has found a way to recreate a person perfectly, right down to their soul. He's produced a perfect copy of Kirk and offers it to both Spock and the female Romulan Commander in exchange for their obedience. Spock confirms this Kirk's identity through a mindmeld, but dubs him "James" to set him apart. Spock, the Commander and James discover that the original Kirk is still alive and being tortured by Omne who wants to break him and "own" him. They rescue him and in the ensuing melee, the Commander falls for James and Omne shoots himself in the head, sending his soul to his life-replicating machinery. On the Enterprise, it is decided that James would be surgically altered and given a Romulan identity, to live his life as the Commander's betrothed. A resurrected Omne beams aboard the ship where he is finally defeated, but as his body is transported away, we're left to wonder if he'll be raised from the dead again. James leaves with the Romulan Commander as planned.

CONTINUITY: Reference is made to Kirk's "last orders" (The Tholian Web). The female Romulan Commander and Subcommander Tal were first seen in The Enterprise Incident.

DIVERGENCES: This was before the concept of the katra, which surely would have helped inform Spock. This is one of at least three mutually exclusive fates reserved for the female Romulan Commander in the spin-off fiction. 50% of the time, Tal is also referred to as S'Tal (Tal is a nickname?).

CASTING PHOTO OF THE WEEK - For Omne, I see the great Richard Burton. Think big. Think 1969-70 when the story would have aired.
REVIEW: While there are a couple of fight scenes, this book is really about TALKING. There are just too many metaphysical and ethical discussions for its own good, all usually spoken in a sort of formal speech that sounds fine in some characters' mouths, but not, for example, in Kirk's. There's also an ongoing poker metaphor that gets a little silly by the end, and distinctly homoerotic passages I will not burden you with here. But for all that, it's still a thoughtful novel that explores what life is worth. The theme is taken beyond the obvious answers. It is sometimes difficult to grasp the motivations of both Omne and the Romulan Commander, and while that can frustrate, I found myself mostly liking the ambiguity. The Commander retains her mystique, and Omne his openness to interpretation. He is a man who so loves life that he has found immortality, but who also feels a need to OWN life, and therein lies his madness and his complexity. The authors tell the story that William Shatner once told them this should be the script for what became The Motion Picture, and it is certainly better than that other "ethical" story. Sending a second Kirk to the Romulan Star Empire would have been a tad comic booky for a first movie, however. Was it a good idea? I'll reserve judgment until I read the sequel. Certainly, The Price of the Phoenix leaves you wanting more. About the fate of James, certainly, but also because Omne's dilemma isn't resolved. He could be out there making himself an army of Kirks and we wouldn't know it. It feels slightly incomplete, which is perhaps a strength as much as a weakness.

Next for the SBG Book Club: Strike Zone (TNG), Betrayal (DS9), Invincible Part I (SCE), Invincible Part II (SCE), Planet of Judgment (TOS).