''The Price of the Phoenix'' (July 1977) by

Sondra Marshak Sondra Marshak (née Hassan; born June 15, 1942) is an American science-fiction writer. She is most well known for her work co-written with Myrna Culbreath. She was a co-writer of '' Star Trek Lives!'' (1975), with Jacqueline Lichtenberg, and tel ...

and

Myrna Culbreath Myrna Lou Culbreath (born September 1, 1938) is an American science fiction writer and editor, most well known for the ''Star Trek'' tie-in novels and anthologies cowritten with Sondra Marshak. Culbreath was a founding editor of the libertarian ed ...

, is an original novel based upon the 1960s television series ''Star Trek''. It was first published by

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...

in 1977, and reissued by

Corgi The Welsh Corgi ( or Corgi, plural Corgis, or occasionally the etymologically consistent Corgwn; ) is a small type of herding dog that originated in Wales. The name ''corgi'' is derived from the Welsh words and (which is mutated to ), meani ...

and

Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and co ...

in the UK. The novel references the ''Star Trek'' episode "

The Enterprise Incident "The ''Enterprise'' Incident" is the second episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by D. C. Fontana and directed by John Meredyth Lucas, it was first broadcast September 27, 1968. I ...

," and includes the unnamed

Romulan The Romulans () are an extraterrestrial race in the American science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. They first appeared in the series ''Star Trek'' (1966–1969). They have appeared in most subsequent ''Star Trek'' releases, including '' The A ...

commander featured in that episode. The commander's name is never revealed in the book, but is said to translate to "dawn of springtime." A sequel, ''The Fate of the Phoenix'', was released in 1979.

Plot

Kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...

is beamed aboard the Enterprise after his accidental death on an unnamed planet.

Spock Spock is a Character (arts), fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), USS ''Enterprise ...

confronts the planetary ruler, Omne, who reveals to Spock that he has pioneered the “phoenix process", a modification of transporter technology capable of creating an exact duplicate of a living person—including a duplicate of Kirk. Spock is given leave for a brief

mind meld Vulcans, sometimes referred to as Vulcanians, are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid species in the ''Star Trek'' universe and media franchise. In the various ''Star Trek'' television series and films, they are noted for their attempt to l ...

, and verifies that the duplicate is indeed Kirk, whom he names “James”. Spock then accepts an offer from Omne to learn more about the phoenix process, however, Omne explains the "price of the phoenix" will require the betrayal of the

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

and of the

prime directive In the fictional universe of '' Star Trek'', the Prime Directive (also known as "Starfleet General Order 1", "General Order 1", and the "non-interference directive") is a guiding principle of Starfleet that prohibits its members from interferin ...

. Spock and James encounter the Romulan commander they previously met in "

" while searching for the real Kirk. The Commander is sympathetic to their plight, and she agrees to help. The party find Kirk being tortured by Omne. Spock engages Omne in hand-to-hand combat, but the more powerful Omne proves difficult to dispatch. He is eventually subdued and Spock subjects him to a forced mind-meld to purge his memory of the day's events. Before the meld is ended, Omne commits suicide. Realizing Omne only took such an action to escape capture, Spock, James, Kirk and the Romulan commander retreat to the ''Enterprise''. They draw up plans to establish a new life for James, and a strategy to cope with Omne’s inevitable resurrection. James agrees to accompany the Commander back to a colony world of Romulan Empire, and is surgically altered to appear Romulan. Before James and the Commander depart, the resurrected Omne transports himself aboard the ''Enterprise''. While holding James at gunpoint, Omne announces his intention to return to the planet's surface, where it will be impossible to pursue him. Kirk warns the defiant ruler to mend his ways, which Omne dismisses. Kirk signals the ship's engineer,

Montgomery Scott Montgomery "Scotty" Scott is a fictional character in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. First portrayed by James Doohan in the original ''Star Trek'' series, Scotty also appears in the animated ''Star Trek'' series, 10 ''Star Trek' ...

, to transport the weapon out of Omne’s hand. Omne retrieves a second weapon and engages Kirk in a

Mexican standoff A Mexican standoff is a confrontation in which no strategy exists that allows any party to achieve victory. Any party initiating aggression might trigger its own demise. At the same time, the parties are unable to extricate themselves from the sit ...

. Omne is outdrawn and is killed again, this time by Kirk. Spock theorizes Omne has perished outside the range of the phoenix device. However, those present agree to deal with Omne should he ever return.

Sequel

The ruler, Omne, returns in ''The Fate of The Phoenix'', also written again by Marshak and Culbreath. It was released by

in 1979.

Production

The self-published book ''Never Mourn Black Omne'', distributed sometime prior to the publication of ''Price'', is believed to have been an early, draft, version of the novel. It is unclear how many copies were printed, or distributed. The text of ''Never Mourn Black Omne'' parallels that of ''The Price of the Phoenix'', and, to some degree, the text of ''The Fate of the Phoenix''. Both Sondra and Marshak clarified, in a letter published in ''Interstat'' #20, that the manuscript for ''The Price of the Phoenix'' was personally approved by

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...

as part of the book's production. The approval was characterized by the authors as a reaction to the production of ''

Spock, Messiah! ''Spock, Messiah!'' (September 1976) is the second original novel based on television series ''Star Trek'' intended for adult readers, written by Theodore R. Cogswell and Charles A. Spano, Jr. It was preceded by ''Spock Must Die!'' (1970), and ' ...

'' (1976), by Theodore R. Cogswell and Charles A. Spano, Jr., which Roddenberry was only indirectly involved.

Reaction

Marshak and Culbreath were not interested in professional literary criticism, but they were very interested in fan reactions and feedback, writing to ''Interstat'', "We have been extremely interested in all of the reviews of 'The Price of the Phoenix''in the fan literature." In ''Interstat'' #1, a fan-submitted essay entitled "What Hath Bantam Wrought?" compares ''The Price of the Phoenix'' to the previously released novel, ''Spock, Messiah!''. The fan writes, if ''Messiah!'' "is insulting to women," then in ''The Price of the Phoenix'' "everyone becomes a woman," and that "the only male portrayed in the novel is a black-clad herd bull" reminiscent of a character from '' The Sheik'' (1919) by E.M. Hull. The editor of the Canadian Trekkies Association's anthology ''Cantektion'' lauded ''The Price of the Phoenix'' as well-written. However, the novel suffered from a disastrous flaw "within the realm of characterization, and in particular, in the character of Spock." Spock, as written in the novel, was not the same as the Spock who appeared on the television series. The February 1979 issue of the Starship Exeter Organisation (UK) newsletter included a fan review which cited the authors as "probably the ''Star Trek'' experts par excellence," and that their knowledge of the "''Star Trek'' world is evident throughout this novel." The review concluded by explaining "through a series of exciting climaxes to a final grand denouement" the ending is "something of a cop-out," and that the text was "rather excessively idealistic in concept and almost exhaustingly emotional in tone." ''The Price of the Phoenix'' was reviewed by Philippa Grove-Stephensen in the December 1977 issue of ''Paperback Parlour''.

References

External links

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