“Best Destiny” by Diane Carey is more or less a sequel to “Final Frontier”, another of Carey’s novels which I previously read. Whilst there is a basic framing story based around an attempt to rescue another Starfleet ship by the soon to be retired James T. Kirk, the main portion of the story follows the antics of a young 16 year old Jimmy Kirk. As a teenager Kirk has a lot of pent up anger against his father and seems destined to for a life of gangs and crime. However, Kirk’s father decides to make one final attempt at “rescuing” his son and takes him on a voyage aboard the Enterprise which is currently under the command of Captain Robert April.This supposedly safe journey to an archaeological dig on the planet Faramond soon turns out to be anything but safe. Whilst journeying to the planet aboard a shuttlecraft Captain April and those alongside him which includes the Kirks find themselves under attack by an unknown assailant and end up fighting for their lives. As the crew tries to survive, the young Kirk learns the meaning of teamwork, discipline and finally begins to understand his father.Carey, really has done another brilliant job in capturing some of the earlier aspects of Kirk’s saga and I found that this book compliments “Final Frontier” superbly. The novel has action and tension aplenty but the primary focus of the novel is an interesting character study that examines Kirk’s change from a teenage tearaway into the young adult who would later become a legendary hero. The change that Kirk has undertaken is masterfully highlighted in the framing story where we see him face off against a foe from his youth who failed to learn from his past mistakes.As always with Trek novels it does help to know the characters already but I actually think this is one of those novels that could have worked easily outside of the Trek Universe. Therefore as long as you know the basics about the main characters then you should be more than able to read and enjoy the book. Carey also keeps the technobabble limited and when she does include it there are some good explanations due to Kirk being young and new to space and therefore needs it explained himself. Therefore no one should get lose trying to understand what various technologies re being used for.Overall, this is another enjoyable book from Carey that takes a look at the earlier years of Kirk’s life and I found it highly interesting to see why Kirk became the type of person he did. It really is a must read for all fans of Star Trek and I can’t recommend it highly enough as a real showcase of what Star Trek literature can and should be.
Like so many of the greatest commanders in history, James T. Kirk was a rebellious teenager, driving his Star Fleet father George Kirk to the brink of frustrated parental defeat. In his first attempt to show his son what Star Fleet was all about, Jimmy Kirk experienced the brutality of Kodos’ own brand of survival techniques. When Jimmy leads his gang in an attempt to run away on an ocean ship, George tries one last time to alter his son’s life course. Although the mission is designed to be a “milk-run”, it turns out to be much more than that. George Kirk, Captain Robert April, Jimmy Kirk and several other Star Fleet members are observing a unique star formation in a small craft when a pirate ship attacks them. They put up a good fight but when they think that they are about to be destroyed, they put Jimmy in a makeshift survival pod and try to send him out of danger. However, Jimmy has other ideas and proceeds to attack the pirate ship and disable them long enough for his father and shipmates to join in the fight. They manage to defeat their opponents, one of which is a boy genius who has somehow managed to develop a new and revolutionary shield technology. There is a later story intertwined with this one. Years later Kirk is an admiral and the time frame is right after “The Undiscovered Country.” The Enterprise is about to be decommissioned when it is forced to answer a distress call from one of the newest models of starships. When they arrive, Kirk finds himself confronting an old nemesis with delusions of godhood. This book is an excellent glimpse into the troubled teen years of the strong-willed Jimmy Kirk and the circumstances that turned a potential sociopath into one of the finest commanders Star Fleet ever produced. This review also appears on Amazon
What do You think about Best Destiny (1993)?
While I was visiting my brother-in-law, he suggested and then lent me a Star Trek book – Best Destiny. Best Destiny follows James T. Kirk’s first time in outer space. He is 16 years old and absolutely filled with teenage angst. He is furious with his father, who is a Star Fleet security officer and is very much absent from Jimmy’s day-to-day life. Jimmy is taken up to the Star Ship Enterprise, captained by Robert April, and of course, something goes wrong, and they meet some pirates who also have a teenager who is just as filled with teenaged angst as Jimmy. It is a well written book, and the writers of the new Star Trek movie read the book to really get a feeling for how to write Kirk for the new movie. Finest Destiny is one of the better Star Trek books, and watching Jimmy come to terms and become Jim Kirk was enjoyable. I give Best Destiny a B+.
—M. David Loyal
Before the movie there was Best Destiny. The story about how Jimmy Kirk became James T. Kirk, The captain of the Enterprise. Kirk's retirement is looming & the enterprise is being replaced by a newer stlye of starship. Uhura picks up a distress call & a place from Kirk's past makes him remember his teenage years. I like the movie's rendition of him better than the book but for what it is it's still good. "Parents don't last forever, Good or bad.---Comes a time when there is no excuse. Poor me, I had a bad life, so I get to go out and be bad to others.Like Hell you do!" Kirk to Roy Moss
—Athena Braun
This is one of my favorite Star Trek novels, particularly for its focus on my favorite Star Trek Character, James T. Kirk as a teen, and his relationship with his father. It's a good extrapolation of what the young Kirk might have been like--the flaws and virtues that came out in the man and leader, often flip sides of the same quality. (“Jimmy,” he asked, “when is it going to dawn on you that rules exist for a reason?" Lines said after an incident that would definitely hammer down the lesson. Yet later as an adult it often would be Kirk's refusal to go by the rule book that would be winning--and that's shown here too.) It's well-written, with lines I still remember decades later.
—Lisa (Harmonybites)
