Star Trek - From the Depths

"Your arguments are at base emotional," Spock said. "Logic tells us that any attempt to systemise justice will entail a degree of compromise."
"Then set logic aside what does your heart say?"
"My heart is incapable of speech, Commissioner."
Wayne stared at him.  "Is he making a joke, Captain?"
"He's Vulcan," Kirk said.  "He can't make jokes."
He saw the sideways flicker of McCoy's eyes, the ghost of a grin, hastily hidden.

From the Depths (#66 Pocket, #61 Titan) (1993) by Victor Milan was, I must confess, chosen because it had silver gilded lettering on the first edition, and not the usual gold.  I'm sorry, I'm a bad girl.  Whatever my reason for picking this one however, I've got to say it was rather good, although a quick crib on Goodreads suggests that opinion is divided!  I think I enjoyed this so much because firstly Milan created a character I loved to hate, and secondly the water world idea was imagination food.

The premise of the novel is a relatively simple one.  Kirk and the Enterprise are sent to mediate between (read: remove one of) the species living there.  One species (a kind of strange, small horse like creature) claims that humans settled on their native planet and are aggressively attacking them.  The humans on the other hand claim otherwise (naturally) and imply that the other species - the Susuru - started the attacks on them, and that they have merely been defending themselves.  The situation is made more complex because of the Klingon presence who are acting as advisers to the Susuru.

Memory Beta Summary

The bulk of the novel comes from it's theme and the characters that represent it, and although this novel was written in 1993, the concerns it addresses are especially prevalent today.

You'd expect the Klingons to be the main villains wouldn't you?  Well... you wouldn't be totally wrong, but I can't hate them, they are just being what your expect them to be.  No, the true villain is a human bureaucrat, feminist, PC pushing, agenda driven... female.  Of course these days we'd call them 'SJWs' or 'Social Justice Warriors', and what a blight they are!  I have a particular antipathy towards people like this and have sat appalled in the same position as Uhura, being talked down to because a feminist disagrees with my position:

Wayne looked around, her lovely haughty face with scorn.  "How like earth men," she said.  "What other Earth-derived men say is all that's important - the outcries of native beings count for nothing."

"Two of the spokespeople for the Discordians were women, Commissioner," Uhura said quietly.

Wayne dismissed the objection with a flip of her hand.  "The leader was a man.  They're a male dominated, exploitative society.  The women were figureheads - nothing more.  They'll recite the lies they're told to."

"This ship is commanded by a man, Commissioner," Uhura said.  "Does that mean I and all the other women aboard are nothing but puppets and empty headed liars?"

"Lieutenant, I don't think I like your tone."

"Commissioner, I don't think I like yours."

The passage above represents the Commissioner - Moriah Wayne - well and... she's easy to hate because she's someone everyone knows.  The apologist with that particularly detestable way of thinking, or reasoning which alienates everyone and will not be brought around to reason.  She demonises one group in this case human men, in other cases all humans, in favour of another species with no consideration that perhaps they (in this case the Susuru) might be in the wrong.  In this case, Moriah's hatred goes so far as she becomes more of a monster than the monsters, in her thirst for her particular brand of 'justice'.  I've said before that Star Trek is at it's best when it's tackling a real life issue, in this case it's a stark warning of a destructive way of thinking, a thinking which seeks to punish and destroy groups of people because of their backgrounds whilst elevating others because of past injustices committed against them.  Whilst supporting a group and giving them the means to improve is certainly a good thing this shouldn't be done whilst punishing people who are circumstantially in a better position.

I'll stop proselytizing now, I just had to get that off my chest!

Most horrifying of course (not really, but humour me) is that Kirk makes a terrible misjudgement regarding his relations with her.  Seriously James T., that woman was unhinged from the moment you saw her, just you just couldn't keep it in your regulation pants!  I am disappointed.  Problem is, it isn't outside of his character to do such a thing...

Anyway, not going to spoil just how beastly she is, but she does do something quite horrific, and you know what, when she eventually gets her comeuppance it is intensely satisfying.  Intensely satisfying.  On thing I do dislike though about her characterisation is that her behavior or, well frankly insanity is blamed on a tragic back story.  Like, Milan had to explain it away with some hackneyed pseudo psychology about her being an abuse victim so it kinda mitigates the pure evil she commits.  Sorry Milan, it doesn't.

Through the commissioner's story we also have a little bit of insight into Federation politics and the  possibility (almost a certainty) of corruption therein. Different authors have different takes on the situation within the body politic, Milan suggests a wearyingly familiar scenario where self serving individuals cover up  the evil actions of their friends.  I still don't agree with how this is linked with Moriah Wayne, I don't see why she had to have an excuse to be a monster.

Theoretically we're challenged to accept the 'human' interlopers, after all they are remnants of Earth's Eugenics Wars - think Khan - who escaped earth on a sleeper ship, only waking and landing on this oceanic planet forty or so years ago.  The most challenging is that they still practice genetic engineering, which really has been a requirement for life on this planet with its punishingly hot and humid environment and limited land.  The Augments are resourceful and command respect for their adaptation to their new environment, not just genetically but also in the way they have changed culturally and technologically to live on vast floating cities that have the capacity to submerge if the need arises.

We're introduced to a number of characters from the 'Discordians'  / Auguments, including a rather attractive green haired girl... who actually is the first character to be described in the book.  Kirk realises however that his 'love' has got him in trouble once this adventure and doesn't pursue her although he is interested in her (and she in him).  Aileea is set up to contrast to Moriah.  She is strong in combat, leading defense against the attacking Susuru but is also gentle and doesn't want to hurt them.  She is a strong representative of her people without a bureaucratic/political body behind her and doesn't feel she has anything to prove, seeing herself as equal to all others.  Other discordian characters are equally likeable one extensively engineered woman strikes up and easy friendship with Spock, and another male representative just seems like a super nice, accommodating guy!

I said that we are theoretically challenged to accept the Augments, but in actual fact the challenge isn't all that hard, and I'm not sure if that is a clever ploy to unsettle us and make us feel like we're backing the wrong people, or whether it's just supposed to be taken as read.  After all, the Susuru are allied with the Klingons and they also seem utterly unreasonable, and aside from a couple of contacts with them we don't get to know them as a species.  The reader and the Enterprise crew don't get a chance to like them or understand them, although it is difficult to speak to them with the Klingons there.

The main challenge I guess is not trying to reach into the book to strangle Moriah Wayne?

The Klingons needed to be there to facilitate the Susuru's use of advanced weaponry, but they do fall a little flat.  The commander of the Klingon forces wishes revenge on Kirk for several events in the past, and he's the one who has concocted this plan to get the Enterprise here while trying to control the planet...  He's not a strong character and is overshadowed by Wayne, this is possibly because he's a strange combination of TNG and TOS Klingons.   The Klingons also have a secret weapon hidden under the sea... however this again falls flat as the Enterprise defeats it with relative ease.

I haven't read any other books by Victor Milan,  but he isn't an inexperienced author looking at a list of his published works, although From the Depths is his only Star Trek novel.  I'm not sure that reading this novel really makes me want to read any other of his offerings.  I did enjoy it on the whole but that's mainly because of the characterisation of Moriah Wayne... and the fact she was utterly revolting to me (love to hate!), but certain parts of the story let it down terribly.  I still want to recommend this novel however, it's worth picking up for a quick and enjoyable read.

3/5 - Somebody set us up the bomb!


Finally - Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! 😺

Star Trek - The Starship Trap

'He did not normally have such thoughts.  A starship captain must be an optimistic and clever person, in addition to the other attributes he or she might have.  For one thing, Kirk was philosopher king, a supreme and benevolent leader in his twenty-three deck realm.'

I didn't pick this one!  I actually asked my partner to pick one this time, which is probably why the cover is unlike the others!  I was somewhat put off by the woman on the cover, don't be afraid, she is not a romance option (I'm not biased at all nooooo....)!  I had to laugh though, she's illustrated wearing a Starfleet uniform, but it is an important part of the storyline that she isn't part of Starfleet at all.  I formulated all kinds of theories about how she would end up in a uniform, like, she was an undercover Starfleet spy keeping an eye on an errant anti-Starfleet Federation politician - needless to say, it was not the case.  Which leads me to ask, who did brief the artist on what these covers should be?  Mind you, can't complain, the artist put Kirk on the front at his best (3/4) angle, and since the cover of the last novel I reviewed was Kirkless, well, I'm glad my eye candy is back!

The Starship Trap (#64 Pocket, #59 Titan) (1993) by Mel Gilden opens with a quote -

To see a world in a grain of sand,

And a heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.

                                       - William Blake

                                          1757 - 1827

- and quite a lofty one at that!  It's a very well known piece of poetry, and I have to admit I was a little dubious because of it.  Why?  Well, I sometimes feel that authors try and oversell their work by putting a 'deep' quote at the beginning, trying to make it more that it is.  That might have coloured my expectation of it a little and perhaps my perception of the narrator.  The narrator's voice comes  across as pretty arrogant, and slightly aloof but his observations are usually smirk inducing.  The narrator's main focus is Kirk, his thoughts, feelings and perspectives.  I think the narrator has a strong synergy with Kirk, or perhaps Kirk overwhelms the narrator a little... he's charmed by him and the narrator digs in to Kirk's smarmy nature for the best observations and reactions.  Spock and McCoy are strong supporting characters, well characterised especially when the narrator's gaze moves from Kirk for a short while and reads their inner workings.

Much of Kirk's interactions in this novel are characterised by a distinct weariness, which you can occasionally see in the series, there are certainly a couple of episodes in season three in which Kirk (or Shatner... perhaps both) is really fed up with the general state of things.  Short tempered, likely to say something with a 'devil may care' attitude, tired of responsibility, tired of politics and bureaucracy.  This may sound like it's going to be a heavy book with a description of Kirk's temperament like that, but it's not so!  The Starship Trap is an offbeat but funny novel that just seems to hit the right key.  I guess Kirk's attitude in this story is best described as sardonic, which ousts McCoy from his usual role as resident cynic-come-humanitarian to bold-optimist.  It's nice seeing Bones being cheery, and also RIGHT about someone!  Spock remains Kirk's right hand, companion and quasi-computer, I'm fairly sure that he's relieved that Kirk couldn't go chasing tail this time!

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, I haven't even summarised the story yet... but for once I don't know where to begin!

The story begins with the Enterprise crew on shore leave, this gets interrupted with orders to go pick up one Conrad Franklin Kent and his assistant.  Kent is a Federation politician, Federation presidency hopeful and noisy critic of Starfleet, he is joined by his able assistant Payton, a woman who 'gets things done.  On picking the Kent and Payton from Pegasus IV, Kent then orders Kirk to travel to Starbase 12.  You can imagine Kirk's disapproval at this turn of events, especially since the Enterprise is being used as a taxi to a man such as Kent.  During this trip we are introduced to Payton's mental augment; she has an implant which allows her to record everything she experiences for her records - this of course goes down a treat with Kirk, already not in the greatest of moods.  While on route to Starbase 12, the Enterprise is confronted by a Klingon starship, the captain of which claims that the Federation have been the perpetrators of attacks on Klingon vessels and responsible for their subsequent disappearance.  The easily dislikable Kent refuses to confirm or deny a weapon's existence to the Klingons.  A truce is eventually brokered and the Enterprise continues on its way, Kirk still in the dark as to the purpose of the journey.

On reaching Starbase 12, it is revealed that the Enterprise is to firstly engage in the testing of a new shield configuration designed by the reclusive Professor Omen (who also designed weapons such as the photon torpedos)  and then go search for the weapon (with Omen's help) which has been causing not only Klingon ships to disappear but also Federation and Romulan ships too.  Payton also is required to come along on the expedition in order to record the mission with her device and write report for Kent.  Naturally nothing goes to plan and the Enterprise is drawn into a trap, causing the Starship and crew to be thrown into another empty universe which they have to escape in order to stop a madman from sending the crews of hundreds, perhaps thousands of starships into other, unknown universes. 

I actually don't want to give too much of this one away, because it's one of those books which will be a pleasure to read and discover yourself.  The Starship Trap is probably more story development orientated than character development, but it is a good balance and Mel Gilden's writing is really uplifting and enjoyable to read.  The twists and developments in the story aren't incredibly obvious and I was kept guessing as to whether some characters had more information about the big bad than they let on.

Kirk and Payton are the strongest characters in The Starship Trap.  The way the narrator presents Kirk's narrative is humourous and his slightly off colour mood just really works.  I think I just really wanted a Kirk-centric novel, and this fit the bill!  Aside from the narration of Kirk's thoughts, I did like a particular section where Kirk wants to be involved with looking for a solution, only to find that he simply can't be involved.  Payton is an unusually strong original character who is well developed and is actually useful!  I particularly like the use of her augment, and how it is used as a way to develop her emotionally.  It was also nice that she was out of reach for Kirk (she had absolutely no interest in him and is engaged to another man), which meant they develop a better relationship.  By the end of the book, I was sorry to let the original characters go, I would happily meet them again in another outing (even Kent!)!

Mel Gilden just does a seriously good job with this book, and part of me isn't happy just seeing this in print.  I think it would have made a really good episode, which I don't think is accidental.  Mel Gilden has written a huge amount of TV scripts as well as four Star Trek novels, but it's clear he has a mind for television, the scene changes are often sudden but they are just in the right place to cut out any time wasting dialogue or actions.  At one point Gilden introduces us to an alien race in an alternate universe called the 'Klingee', they are of course that universe's Klingons, but their ships are a dusky pink and they are less warriors and more playground bullies who are easily manipulated into retreating.  The Klingee just felt very in keeping with the humour of TOS, again television friendly, and aren't we reading these novels because we love the television series so much?

4/5 - Yes, the poem does relate to the plot!

Star Trek - Doctor's Orders

He laughed softly. 'Fine.  I just wish the Captain would walk in here.  You know the trouble with this chair?'
'Wish I did' Devlin said with undisguised envy.
'You're nuts,' McCoy said.  'Well, each to his own insanity.  This thing has no back support to speak of.'

So, I was looking for something that would lighten my mood a little bit, something that would allow me to de-stress.  I was starting to feel a little fatigued by the emotional onslaught of ST:TOS fanzines and my novel choices had been a little heavy!  Jen I thought, you've got to pick something a little more therapeutic this time, otherwise you're going to be an emotional wreck this week!  Who better to see when you need a bit of therepy than a good ol' country doctor?

This cover makes me feel
inexplicably happy!

Doctor's Orders (#50 Pocket, #36 Titan) (1990) by Diane Duane was just the prescription I needed!  Initially I thought I'd reviewed a novel by Diane Duane before, the name was so familiar, but on checking, no I hadn't!  I have got several books by her that I have yet to read however which kinda explains it.  At least, I recognised it as being a name attached to The Romulan Way which I have multiple copies of... 

Diane Duane is pretty prolific when it comes to Star Trek!  By the time Doctors Orders was released in 1990 she already had eight Star Trek related projects under her belt including other novels, a computer game and even a TNG episode!  Post 1990 Duane has also written a ST:TOS manga series, a TNG comic mini series and adapted her works for audio production.  Most notably she has her Rihannsu series of ST:TOS novels, which originally started as two standalone novels My Enemy, My Ally and The Romulan Way but now encompasses 5 novels which have now been collected and published as The Bloodwing Voyages.

Needless to say I knew none of the above when I decided to read this, however it soon becomes quite clear that Duane is a seriously talented writer with a real love and understanding of Star Trek.  It isn't just her delicate hand when it come to crafting familiar main characters or new species that makes her writing great though, she's also quite capable of baffling pseudo-science!  It seems really unusual for a writer (either male or female) to be able to balance satisfying (for me!) characterisation and scientific jargon without either producing strange robot characters or conjuring some sort of space magic.

Honestly, the gorgeous cover of this book was enough to make me want to read it, but really it's the cherry on top when next to premise of McCoy being put in command of the Enterprise and pretty much everything going wrong.  Not only does Kirk go missing soon after McCoy is put in command, but a Klingon ship appears in orbit of the planet the crew of the Enterprise is surveying and their crew goes missing!  This compounds with McCoy having to deal with an overzealous Starfleet, Klingon reinforcements cruising for a bruising and to add insult to injury, an Orion pirate ship of colossal proportions joins the party with designs of making the Enterprise a trophy (why yes, I did enjoy using all those idioms).

As you can probably imagine, there is a lot going on in the narrative of this book, there's McCoy 's narrative, Kirk's narrative, and also a couple of short Klingon narratives.  Despite the many threads and characters - Duane is careful to include all of the 'first family' - nothing feels rushed or as if she has less interest in one section than another.  Duane's characterisations are spot on, and this is especially noticeable in McCoy's case - he grumbles, mutters, curses and has more than a few periods of introspection where he realises that possibly his own simplistic suggestions to Kirk might have been not so helpful after all!  An example of a nice touch, is when he realises that perhaps the captain comfort eats in times of stress and that he might have to bring that up in his next physical.  Kirk's characterisation plays on both his impish sense of humour and his uncanny ability to take everything in his stride.  Kirk's narrative is split between the Enterprise (before he gave command to McCoy) and his time 'missing' on the planet's surface while talking to a strange species called the ;At.  Kirk also deals with (with the ;At's help) a small group of very confused Klingons.

I'm not sure how Duane does it, but she manages to make the Klingons endearing.  Not very often that ones wants to cuddle a Klingon, but I certainly want to now!  Well, these are TOS Klingons, no pointy teeth or forehead ridges, so, perhaps that's more acceptable!  McCoy's interactions with the Klingon commander are wonderful,  especially because he just can't help being a Doctor and advising on the Klingon's medical condition, all the while insulting him.  His 'good' relations with the Klingons ends up benefiting him since they come to his aid against the Orion pirate ship.

The new aliens in the book are pretty interesting, and after all they are the main reason that the Enterprise is orbiting the planet in the first place.  Initial surveys from Starfleet suggest that three different sentient species have evolved on the same planet, and since this appears to be the only planet where this has occurred they want to study the peoples of the planet.  The inhabitants of the are very much 'others' not just because they are happy little slimes or 'ents' but because they perceive the past, present and future simultaneously.  The ;At, who is perceived as moving stones or vapour is a little more mysterious, and yes I'm having trouble writing about it/them, as its existence is mutable!  I really enjoyed the Enterprise crew trying to get the universal translator to work and trying to make sense out of creatures that simultaneously appear to exist in the past, present and future.

The final space battle with the Orions is really impressive - so well written!  I loved McCoy's reactions here and the overall competence of the crew.  When Kirk is back in the drivers seat however, everybody is relieved!  Another thing I liked here is how Kirk literally just appears on the bridge of the Enterprise, in the middle of combat, and just gets down to business.  Assesses the situation and makes it all work without breaking a sweat (afterall McCoy is doing all the sweating!).

It was good to see the Enterprise take part in what should have been a routine mission which was scientific in nature.  Sure, strange things happened but it wasn't the great drama we're kind of accustomed to seeing.  The Enterprise is in orbit for much of the book, the Captain has an incredibly restful time (for once!) and much of it is concerned with a rather peaceful dialogue with other aliens, both resident of the planet and of the Klingon variety.  As I said at the beginning, it was just what I needed to feel more peaceful and pleasant again, it's a very calming book!

5/5 - The past, present and future walk into a bar.  It was tense.

Star Trek - Ghost Walker

'Dammit, Spock! Kirk screamed at him, voiceless, helpless, from the corner of the room where he stood; and he was standing, he told himself - feet on the floor, elbow a few centimetres away from the wall - he did have a shadow of corporeal body still... Don't bend that fine Vulcan mind of yours to finding a reasonable explanation!  You're the only one who might be able to hear me - who might be able to save me, to save Helen!

Well, it's back to my usual programming for this post!  

As usual I approached my teetering pile of books, head craned to one side as I endeavoured to read the sideways spines.  'Oooh Ghost Walker' I thought to myself and plucked it right from the middle of the stack, unceremoniously toppling the rest.  I've never claimed to be sensible, especially where books are concerned.

Then I looked at the cover...  No!  A bird man is on the cover.  Previous bird people related trauma grips me, until I notice the name Barbara Hambly.  A warm fuzzy feeling and a memory of a rather good book surfaces... And yes, it is one I've reviewed before - Ishmael, it's also one I completely gushed over and gave it a top notch 5/5.  

Barbara Hambly, I have perfect faith in you, don't let me down!

Ghost Walker (#53 Pocket, #44 Titan) does not disappoint, although not quite as brilliant as Ishmael it is still rather good and rather charming.

When I started reading Ghost Walker I did wonder whether I was in the right frame of mind for this kind of story.  I'd just put down a fanzine (it was making me too stressed) and picked up this one to recuperate from the destruction of the federation.   Surely Hambly would be able to soothe my grieving soul?  No, Hambly poked deftly at one of the more stressful concepts for me - the idea of a double or impersonation.  In this case it's more a case of possession than duplication like in Double Double, but it still completely stresses me out!

Ghost Walker is a scifi ghost story, Kirk's body is possessed by the mind/spirit of an individual from race of tiny little not-quite-birdmen.  On being transported back to the Enterprise his own mind is forced from his body and the birdman takes over.  Kirk exists as a kind of poltergeist on the Enterprise, desperately trying to hang onto to consciousness, while the other consciousness controls his body with the intent to cause harm to the crew of the Enterprise and to destroy elements of his own people who would make peace with the Federation.

These events come about because the Enterprise transports a group of anthropologists to a disputed planet, they are trying to gather evidence that the inhabitants of the planet have a culture and are a people who need to be protected from the designs of the Klingons.  Meeting the creatures the 'Midgwins' Kirk allows telepathic contact with them, this is the action which allows the 'ghost walker' the opportunity to possess him.

A subplot to this book is Kirk's relationship with one of the anthropologists Dr Helen Gordon, in the weeks they have been travelling together to the planet of the Midgwins they have fallen in love with each other.  Although she was travelling to work with the anthropologists, she decides that she wants to stay on the Enterprise with Kirk, which involves her in the meat of the plot.

The plot itself is interesting and quite enjoyable and Hambly is careful to back up some of the more farfetched aspects of the story with references to actual episodes, but in trying to set up the 'haunting' aspect of the story the narrative stalls somewhat.  Although Hambly tries to mask what is going on, it's almost immediately obvious what has occurred, so until the crew actually works out the nature of the events on the Enterprise the reader is stuck in a frustrated limbo.  Perhaps if you didn't work it out rather quickly the prolonged mystery of the poltergeist wouldn't be so frustrating.  That being said, the 'haunting' episodes does allow Hambly to do what she does best - detail.  Hambly slips in snippets of information and description succinctly (rather unlike me...) and creates additional characters and scenes.  I really enjoyed the additional minor characters she added in, they didn't factor in with the main plot, but they did help the Enterprise come alive and made it seem less like a handful of people work on the ship.  Kirk in his poltergeist form is privy to all sorts of goings on amongst his minor crew members; an archivist has bribed an engineer to pressurise part of the hull so he can hide books in it, while another crew member has been trying to get the replicators to properly replicate chocolate.

Actually, while we're on the subject of original characters let me talk about Dr Helen Gordon, to whom I hold a particular antipathy towards.  She's an original character for this novel and, don't get me wrong, she's a well written character, but she's presented as a kind of new 'love of Kirk's life' character.  My problem with this really is, because it's one of these novels, we know it's all going to have to return to the status quo at the end.  The reader knows the relationship isn't going to last, so when I was reading the novel I was kind of always against her.  The decisions she makes as a character initially are based on the fact that she believes she can have a life with him, but it's just so futile!  I felt particular antipathy towards her because despite her expertise, intelligence and relationship with Kirk she doesn't actually put two and two together until Spock has already done so.  Possessed Kirk also rapes her, and tries to kill her (secretly) but she never comes forward with her concerns particularly, even with her girly chums Uhura and Chapel.  Helen Gordon just seems to be there to have horrible things done to her for virtually no reason, well, aside from extend the haunting sections of the novel.

I did like the use of Uhura and Chapel though, they are often sidelined in the novels so it was nice that the two of them were proactive and well written.  They were really in supporting roles to Helen, and despite their suspicions about the captain, they also don't say anything.

As you can probably guess, Hambly really likes the character of Spock; Ishmael almost solely centers on Spock and Ghost Walker also puts him in the hot seat.  I can kind of forgive Helen Gordon for not realising that Kirk's strange behaviour isn't Kirk, after all, she's only known him for a couple of weeks, but Spock?  Spock just logics strange behaviour away and carries on as usual while poltergeist Kirk is trying desperately to get him to realise what is going on.  This is actually questioned by Kirk once he's able to communicate, who unfortunately accepts a less than satisfying answer.  One of the key points is the idea of Katra, which is essentially what Kirk is existing as.    At one point possessed Kirk denigrates the idea of Katra, which does hurt Spock, but he still doesn't twig that it isn't Kirk! GAH.  What does save Spock is that Hambly's characterisation of him is consistent and  at times quite endearing.  I kinda of expected Spock to end up keeping Kirk's Katra within his own mind, however that didn't happen, I may have been influenced by a certain fanfiction I read, I was a little disappointed then that didn't happen.

I don't know how I really felt about Kirk's consciousness being stored within the framework of an AI on the ship's computer, that I find a bit of a stretch, although Hambly is careful to explain why she feel this could be allowed to happen... ok I'm more than little bitter that Spock didn't retain Kirk's Katra.  Sorry.  On the plus side, Kirk ended up the 'ghost in the machine' and the ghost in the machine - don't try to tell me Hambly wasn't aware of Ryle's The Concept of Mind.  I think actually the whole idea of Katra is based off Descartes and mind body dualism, but that's an exercise for another day when I'm motivated enough to think about philosophy... yuck.  I was quite nervous about Kirk being put in the computer, because he is essentially digitised... doesn't he die when that happens?  I guess if I can accept that they are not being killed every time they use the transporter I should accept that he hasn't died if his consciousness is put in a machine?  Kirk didn't have much of a choice though, as he was unable to rest in the state he was in, as he was only tenuously able to hold himself together.  This is the same for the mind possessing his body - Kirk's body does not sleep for a week by the time the events of the novel are over.

McCoy needs to hand in his medical license.  He gives the captain a physical but doesn't seem to notice that he's close to keeling over.  I don't know about you, but after two days without sleep, I look like hell,  I think Kirk has a physical at about four days without sleep?  I think Kirk's body should be failing at seven sleepless days!  Although admittedly the record was set in 1964 by a high school student, who stayed awake for 11 days (264 hours) for a science project.

There are two high points in the novel (both in the last quarter) which I particularly liked.  The first one was when Kirk (still in poltergeist form) warns the women about the danger Spock is in by writing in condensation.  This is the point when the everyone starts adding the events together and realise that the total jackass captain isn't Kirk at all!  Poor James T... Your crew fail you again!  The other is when Spock and Kirk finally face off against the possessed Kirk, I won't spoil but there is a particularly 'Spock' moment which will make you smile!

The end of the novel is actually incredibly satisfying!  It must have been so tempting to extend the ending, but Hambly makes the right decision.  I have to assume Spock did his naughty 'memory wipe' since we never hear about Helen again (of course!).  Thankfully, Kirk is left unable to remember much of what happened to him while separated from his body,  I can't help but think that it would be terribly traumatic to remember everything that happened!

I really do recommend Ghost Walker by Barbara Hambly, it's a good, solid entry to the series.   It's a little ponderous at times but persevere through yonder slow bits and ye shall have thy reward!

4/5 - Bird People... redeemed?

Star Trek - Fanzine - Private Possessions

Warning ahead of time, this gets a bit disjointed, with ideas and explanations, less of a review and more an idea for an article I guess?

I don't know why I do this to myself, you know?  I mean, there must be some part of me that takes inordinate amount of pleasure away from reading bad fanfiction, well bad fiction generally, but I swear if I read another description of Spock's jade nether regions I think I'll cry.

So yes, after my previous fanzine discovery regarding Della Van Hise and her slashy fanfiction alter ego Alexis Fagan Black, I decided to go searching for more of her 'wonderbad' works.  I was not disappointed (well perhaps my wallet was), Private Possessions sat there in the ether of the net AND it was available from a seller in the UK (my main objection to getting them is shipping costs from the US).  The fanzine was soon in my grubby little mits.

How Angsty!

Private Possessions is a 1986... I'll call it a fanzine but it's more a short (40k) novel credited to Alexis Fagan Black and published through Van Hise's 'Pon Farr Press'.  This makes it relatively contemporary with the release of Van Hise's novel 'Killing Time'.   Now I know I'm relatively young and late to the party, but I couldn't help but feel like I'd read this story before... that probably says more about me than I'd like to really admit, but for you, I'll reveal my deep dark secrets.

Before I continue, I'm going to give you a warning, one warning:

Private Possessions is slash fiction - if you don't like it or it offends you, don't read any further.

Still with me?  Excellent, onwards!

So, as I was saying, I couldn't help but feel like I'd read this story before.  I mean, I don't know when this particular story construct first appeared in fan consciousness, but it's one I have seen across multiple fandoms and most commonly within fiction written by women, for women containing male homosexual relationships.  If I was writing about Japanese fiction I'd call it YAOI, but I don't really think there is an equivalent term or word in the West.  I do struggle in calling this 'gay fiction' although a publisher would probably put it under a 'gay fiction' label.  The reason for this is because it isn't really fiction written for the gay community, the writer is ostensibly a heterosexual woman, the main readership, heterosexual women.  It's wish fulfillment, and if you read the text closely, you'll notice that despite apparently male appendages,  one of the characters is distinctly feminine and takes on a distinctly female role.

The premise of the story is thus:

Spock was captured whilst on what should have been a simple mission, apparently by slavers.  Kirk spends an inordinate amount of time looking for Spock in various slave auctions, for some reason he never goes in disguise.  Kirk finds Spock, who has seemingly had his memory completely wiped and is now essentially programmed to be a 'bed slave' (HA), no points if you can already guess where this is going.  On getting back to the Enterprise, shenanigans ensue and Spock attacks Kirk (no, not like that you dirty minded individuals - wait for it).  McCoy recommends that Kirk and Spock leave the Enterprise for some privacy in order to get Spock's memory back.

With me so far?  OK.  Kirk ends up pulling some strings and ends up with use of a secluded luxury mansion.  It's described as basically the height of opulence, marble floors, gilt everywhere, and infinity mirrors (why are there always infinity mirrors that never get used in the narrative?).  There are no servants or attendants, it's just Kirk and Spock alone... perfect right?...  I have seen this setting so many times in this kind of fanfiction, it isn't even funny, hell the fact I've seen it in published fiction is bad enough, it kind of gives me a 'Mills & Boon' vibe.

The narrative then continues on it's smutty predictable path, repeated misunderstandings, Spock trying to be the 'bed slave' he's been trained to be, the inevitable masturbation scene where Kirk realises he is attracted to Spock and then sees Spock jacking off, but convinces himself it's just the 'reprogramming' and 'this can't really be Spock'.  Kirk doesn't accept new Spock, Spock just wants to be loved and accepted, because even in this state he loves Kirk.

Horse riding through the mountains + emotional breakdown.

And finally, the drunk-date-not-quite-rape, it's-only-barely-consensual, rape-fantasy-fulfillment, please-make-it-stop, Spock-almost-drowned-Kirk-with-wine-and-tied-him-up.

Of course, the next morning all is forgiven because 'it had to happen this way'... because rape fantasy sex solves all problems, and only two days into a 2 month medical leave!  Spock is back to his usual self but Kirk a very happy underdog, wants to continue the relationship.

Yadda. Yadda.  It all works out in the end.

You might be getting the vibe that I really didn't like this, you'd be right.  I'm pretty easy going when it comes to certain things, less forgiving about others for sure, but there are quite a few things in this story which really bothers me.

For one thing, I can see why there was a lot of angst amongst the fans about slash fiction, the rights or wrongs of it etc.  As Van Hise/Black says in her little editorial at the beginning of the fanzine, she's glad of 'IDIC' - essentially often taken to mean 'to each his own' within the Trek Fandom (it actually means 'Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations').  I think this is inflammatory in itself, especially since she would have been aware of the arguments going on between fans in other zines on the subject of slash.  It's this kind of fiction that people point to as unacceptable; the characters are caricatures of themselves.  The only things which really makes Kirk in this story are that he is captain of the Enterprise, what he looks like, and a few vague mannerisms.  Even more distorted (and that's the point of the story I guess) is Spock, who is just a pair of pointy ears.  It's a strange objectification of two beloved characters, reducing them down to essentially porn lookalikes, right down to the reused set and storyline.

This is what people think of and object to when they object to slash fiction, and rightly too! IDIC can only take it so far, and when you are perverting the characters to this extent I don't think you can really defend it.  There isn't anything deep about this, there's no exposition, it's just cookie cutter smut - and it's not even well written.

I'm not going to even go into the quality of the writing, because, well, suffice to say it was eyerollingly poor.  She can write better than this, this is just... awful.

The other thing, the BIG other thing that really bothers me about this story type is the 'rape fantasy' aspect combined with the 'female substitute' character.  This is something you see almost exclusively in YAOI.  It's basically where although the characters are male in appearance, one of them takes the female role.  In YAOI it goes a little further, the 'female' character is often physically depicted as more feminine, they could have feminine mannerisms, have a less developed body, longer hair, that kind of thing.  In Private Possessions the female role is taken by Kirk, he's the caregiver, the one who needs to be 'taught', he's also less physically strong than Spock - this of course is canon, it's also the way the rape-not-rape is able to be carried out later.

The fact that Kirk is restricted by what he feels is morally correct also puts him in a position where he can't act - just as a woman can't initiate, he is also made impotent.  In this way Kirk/the woman is also absolved from any moral wrongdoing for example, if they end up liking the 'rape' even though they feel sexual relations with the other person is wrong.  If being physically weaker isn't enough, then add to the mix that 'Spock' threatens Kirk into drinking high strength alcohol, then physically forces him to drink it, and then ties him up.

...

Kirk tries to take the blame for it too, because, the rape-not-rape helped him to confront his feelings.  It had to happen that way.  It basically all works out and at the end they end up being a happy couple.

This doesn't bother me as much as it should, the rape aspect anyway.  I have read far, far too many versions of this story, so many different rape fantasies, to be offended by this.  What actually bothers me most is the feminisation of Kirk and the complete disregard for characterisation (I guess more to the point, that Kirk needs to be feminised to make the rape and then self blame acceptable, even laudable).  The feminine character is often a self insert for the female author/reader, and there's often a disconnect if the reader doesn't have the fantasy of being dominated by the other character.

I often worry what kind of mentality we're breeding into fans through this kind of fiction, especially younger female fans, because despite the fact this was published in 1986, we see the same themes, the same stories coming up again and again today and they aren't empowering or hopeful.  

Fan literature is more influential than many people realise.

If you want to read this story you can find it here.  I haven't checked for any alterations/revisions in this text (and I'm not reading it again) as this appears to be uploaded by Van Hise herself, but it should give you the uh, flavour of it.

Star Trek - The Vulcan Academy Murders

'I'm on my way!' Sarek cut him off, clamping control over the panic in his veins.  It had happened twice now - and if it happened a third time, the victim would be Amanda!

Spock is one of the most popular characters in Star Trek, he's also one of the most difficult to write - to 'get right'.   Is he the cold logical machine with the brain of a computer, or is he a loving, passionate empath who hides a tortured soul?  Well, those examples are two extremes and he's a little more complex than that (not that we haven't seen depictions of him at both ends of the emotional spectrum), and that's why we love him.  That's why we love Vulcans generally, they are complex and exotic,  they have strange customs and abilities but are still familiar enough to 'bond' with.  I think of Vulcans as 'space elves' not just because of the pointy ears, but also because they remind me of Tolkien's elves, in the world but not of the world and adhering to logic and concepts which are often totally at odds with what humans would deem 'logical'.  Both Tolkien's elves and Star Trek's Vulcans refuse to do what is necessary because it is against their creed yet allow other species -humans - to do the dirty work.

I think what really draws us to Vulcans and by extension, Spock, is the strange suppression of emotion and especially the denial over that emotion love - yet if you watch Sarek and Amanda (Spock's Vulcan father and Human mother) in the TOS episode 'Journey to Babel' there is is little else you can call their actions (their 'PDA's) except intense love.  Love in 'all it's forms' is central to the Star Trek creed and Vulcans are not immune to writer and fan speculation.

The Vulcan Academy Murders (1984) (#20 Pocket, #12 Titan) by Jean Lorrah had been on my to read list from the beginning; who wouldn't be drawn in by the slightly ridiculous tag line 'Captain Kirk becomes an interplanetary homicide detective!'?!

Jean Lorrah is/was actually a professor of English at Murray State University and had received her PhD from Florida State University. She's also one of the authors behind the Sime-Gen universe (together with Jacqueline Lichtenberg) but it best known for her 'Savage Empire' series. This novel appears to be one of her earlier novels, which would probably explain why it is utterly mad, like box of frogs type mad. Oh and by the way, in this case the cover has virtually nothing to do with what actually happens in the book - I'm not really sure what the artist's brief was, but it wasn't the actual story, that's for sure.

The easiest way to describe this novel is it's Star Trek x Columbo. Like Columbo it's less of a 'whodunit' and more a 'howcatchem'. Although Lorrah doesn't actually tell you who did it out right, she isn't very subtle with her 'subtle hints', so essentially from the beginning the reader is frustrated because there is only one culprit and every single character is struck with 'ISS' (Inexplicable Stupidity Syndrome) and nobody can make a single leap of logic unless it's spelt out to them first.

Essentially the plot revolves around two murders and one attempted murder of people within stasis fields which are supposed to be healing them from assorted terrible maladies. There is a Vulcan woman who is wife to one of the doctors/scientists, Amanda Grayson (Spock's mother), and an Enterprise crewman who was horrifically injured in a Klingon attack. Two of these people are killed while in stasis (no prizes for guessing who survives) and Kirk takes it upon himself to investigate and find the murderer, because Vulcan has no police force and these highly logical intelligent Vulcans can't possibly conceive of the idea of murder on Vulcan. I kid you not. 

As you can probably predict if you've ever watched a Columbo, Murder She Wrote or Poirot episode, there is the red herring character whom everyone believes is the killer until proven wrong and the keen investigator Colum-Kirk falls into a terrible trap threatening his life! Kirk manages to be found in the knick of time by McCoy (possibly the only character with half a brain on Vulcan) and finally they catch the real killer. Amanda wakes up from stasis safely and we have heart warming Vulcan family scenes.

One thing you're sure to agree is that Kirk should stick to his dayjob, he makes a really terrible detective.

The murder plot line is really secondary to Lorrah's Vulcan family drama and her opportunity to put her stamp on Vulcan family values. Some people have praised Lorrah's depictions of the various Vulcan characters and their relationships, saying that she 'really got a handle on her Vulcans' and it has scored quite well on Goodreads, but honestly I think the way she characterises them denigrates their otherness to just slightly more obtuse humans.

Some of the novel is from Sarek's perspective, which is often funny, but he is characterised as a meddling maid who is interested in match making his friends (because Vulcans just want to see everyone married off apparently) and who is exceptionally emotional. One of the things which does come across however is that the Vulcan logic is a facade and not deeply ingrained into them, so... how can I explain this, instead of logic being their instinct it's their suppressant. Essentially Lorrah characterises the Vulcans as feeling the emotions and then consciously suppressing them as opposed to it being instinctual and not a conscious decision. 

This novel also investigates the Vulcan 'bonding' between couples, including the effect on the surviving partner when the other dies and how it is possible to survive the severance of the bond. The parts which deal with the bonding are well done but if they had been allowed to stand alone as points of emotion for the Vulcans they would have been more effective, as it is their poignancy is muted because of the surrounding sea of Vulcan emotion.

One of the more clever aspects of the book attempts to give a backstory to M'Benga the doctor who specialises in Vulcan biology on the Enterprise. This novel suggests that he was studying on Vulcan in order to be able to treat Vulcans off world.

The Vulcan Academy Murders hasn't aged well from a lore perspective. For one thing, it's inaccurate as far as Sarek is concerned, because it doesn't take into account Star Trek V (1989) canon that he has previously been married / bonded and he survived her death, nor that Amanda will die after 36 years of marriage to Sarek (this novel attempts to extend her life). Sarek also will go on to state that he never told Amanda he loved her (TNG: Sarek), which is completely at odds with the overly emotional Sarek (and other Vulcans) we see in this novel. Finally, in The Vulcan Academy Murders Sarek and Spock end up in a mind meld together trying to save Amanda, however, again in TNG (Unification) Picard learns that Spock had never mind melded with his father and thus had never known about the love and pride Sarek had felt for him.

Essentially, Jean Lorrah's The Vulcan Academy Murders doesn't really add anything to our understanding of the Star Trek universe because the characterisation of Kirk, Bones and the Vulcans is so out of character that it would have to be consigned to alternate universe or just crack. It simply makes no sense when applied to the broader Trek universe. That isn't to say it isn't fun to read, just don't expect anything particularly ground breaking or sensible - it might be worth it just to read about Colum-Kirk and matchmaking, mother-hen Sarek.

Humans living up to expectations - 2/5

Edit: Sorry, sorry! My formatting went wrong!  I think it's fixed now!

Star Trek - Renegade

'I SHOULD HAVE BEEN WITH THEM, Kirk thought harshly, his eyes still fastened on the ten thousand square kilometers of shimmering distortion that blurred Vancadia's image on the viewscreen'.

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't select Renegade (1991) (#55 Pocket, #48 Titan) by Gene Deweese based on the cover art.  It is utterly gorgeous!  I pulled this picture straight from the Simon & Schuster page, so it's the Pocket Books cover, I actually read from the Titan Books edition, which seems to use slightly warmer palette and the cover itself is blown up so the whole front cover is represented by what is inside the white lines on the Pocket Books cover.

I love seeing all three of the trinity on a cover, especially when the artwork is this good!  The Enterprise is also present and being fired on by an opposing ship too - intriguing!

Renegade somewhat continues the story of Ben Finney (Court Martial), although he is a supporting character as opposed to the 'big bad' who is an original character of Deweese but with a similar background.  The antagonist, Jason Carmody, is an ex Starfleet officer, who was due to be court martialed for violating the Prime Directive and who now wants revenge against Starfleet; he enlists the computer genius Ben Finney to help and defects to the Klingon Empire.

The overarching story of Renegade is that the Enterprise is asked to mediate a dispute between a planet, Chyrellka, and it's errant colony Vencadia - not 'Chrellkan IV' and 'Chrellkan III' as the blurb at the back of the book suggests (did the editors even check these?).  Chyrellka and Vencadia declined membership to the Federation when approached ten years prior to the events in the book and are pre-warp but obviously space flight species.  Essentially, inexplicable hostilities have escalated between Chyrellka and Vencadia within the last five years in a tit for tat fashion, despite the fact that Vencadia is to have it's independence within the next year, through peaceful agreement.

While meeting with the premier of Chyrellka, Kaulidren (known as Cauliflower in my own mind), Enterprise suffers a computer glitch which, during the course of the novel snowballs into even greater errors, causing the sensors to detect things which are not there, and be blind to things which are.  This is of course where Ben Finney's expertise comes in and also where Spock 'goes out'.

Spock and McCoy beam down to Vencadia and are almost immediately attacked by the leader of the rebel government/movement Delkondros.  Spock, McCoy and a couple of the council members escape due to Spock's observations with his tricorder - with which he detects Klingon lifesigns.  They find they are unable to contact the Enterprise due to some sort of field and so are stranded as fugitives on the planet which seems to have moved towards nigh on martial law.  Much of Spock & McCoy's narrative now involves furtively moving from place to place and trying to evade Klingons whilst trying to get to a secret spaceship hidden by concerned members of the Vencadian council.

On the Enterprise, Kirk believes that Spock & McCoy are dead and Kaulidren is urging Kirk to retaliate with lethal force.  Kirk retains his cool despite the loss of his friends and his apparently failing ship, he is powerless and bound to the bridge.

Spock and McCoy are able to board the hidden ship, after finding Finney but find that this was also part of Camody /  the Klingon plans, which will see the Enterprise destroy them, at which point, Kirk will be disgraced and will begin the propagation of a computer virus across Starfleet.

Phew!  That's quite a scheme!  I won't spoil the end or quite how Carmody / the Klingons manage it but it's quite clever!  The only downside is that Carmody is such an egoist that he falls into the trap of telling his adversaries his plan... thus giving Kirk a hint as to what to do...

I really did quite enjoy this book, it was quite refreshing in a way!  Gene Deweese is a male author, and if shows quite clearly in his writing style.  Previously I've talked about how generally I (and probably you, if you're looking out for it) can tell if an author is male or female.  Women tend to be more interested in relationships and emotions and men tend to be more interested in the technology or creating a situation, Deweese adheres to this rule.  I also think that I'd be able to pick Deweese's style out from a selection of pieces because he's quite distinct, quite clinical.  This may be because he worked as a technical writer (including for the Apollo program).  Not many words are spared on description and Deweese doesn't seem very interested in emotional responses.  There are perhaps three sections in the entire novel in which Deweese offers a small amount of sentimentality into his work.  Generally, I would have thought that these little diversions would be like the 'rewards' I do so very much like, but, because of the clinical and sparse way Deweese writes even these sections don't quite hit the mark (for me at least).  For example Kirk in a fit of sentimentality and grief (I guess?), goes to Spock's quarters and reflects on the Vulcan's 'otherness', his loyalty... his history.  Not so much any soul searching or reflection on his own pain at losing Spock - not to mention McCoy by the way.  McCoy who is supposed to be dead too (as far as Kirk is concerned) doesn't seem to be mourned at all or even really mentioned as having any effect on Kirk whatsoever.  Deweese just doesn't seem interested in the emotional impact that the events in his novel could - or should - be having on the characters.

Why did I say it was refreshing?  Well, actually it's kind of nice having a 'technical' story if you will, without the emotional burden.  Sometimes it can be quite tiring reading really emotional, really stressful stories, and although I really do live for the roller coaster ride, sometimes it's nice to ride the teacups.  On the other hand, I think if Deweese had put a little bit more description in, a little bit more relationship building, I think it could have been a lot stronger.

I did ask my partner what he thought of the 'emotional' scenes, he thought it was just a much more masculine way of depicting grief, more objective and didn't have a problem with it.  Perhaps I'm just a drama devouring monster, and this leaves me hungry.

A bugbear of mine was the lack of description generally in the novel, it's not just clinical in its treatment of the characters, it's also clinical in it's description of surroundings, scenery.  There's no description of the actual scenery of Vencadia, so all I have in my mind is 1960s suburbs and buildings + hovercraft.  Which, I don't know, frustrates me a little bit.  I guess I want a window on another world and not the just a reflection of my own.

The inclusion of Ben Finney was inspired, after all 'Court Martial' was a really excellent episode and one of the few that gives Kirk  more of a backstory.  He's also a computer genius, after all he was able to manipulate the computer to the point of changing the visual record to make it look like Kirk had pressed the wrong control.  Further still, he almost succeeded, even if he was a mad as a box of frogs.  In this case, he manages to cause the computer to ignore or change the sensor readings and also to change it's own records.  Ben Finney himself is totally unhinged and remains the paranoid genius, although if possible he seems to be even more tragic and unhinged than before his partial rehabilitation.  Jason Carmody was quite the comic book villain, but I can forgive that, just because he is essentially a way to use Ben Finney who really doesn't have the mental acuity to be the driving force behind such a scheme.

Keeping Kirk somewhat helpless on the bridge of his own starship without Spock or McCoy was a break from the norm, especially as he was rendered so impotent with an effectual ship.  He also had to be more the Hornblower captain than an action hero, that is he was forced to use his own wits from the Captain's chair.  This actually highlights something that is often overlooked about Kirk; Kirk isn't just all action, he isn't all just charisma, he's a genius in his own right who is a good leader and delegates to ensure the smooth working of the ship.  His analytical skills and his skills in diplomacy are put to use throughout, even if he can never succeed in this instance.

All in all I think that the book is pretty good, the political situation and schemes that Deweese has conceived are enjoyable and separating Kirk from Spock and McCoy and allowing them time to act separately a different way of presenting the characters.  I do think that a little more description and attention to the emotions of the characters wouldn't go amiss.  I do recommend Renegade as a change of pace and a light read.

3/5 - I'm sorry, Dave.  I'm afraid I can't do that.

Busy Busy Convention Time! +1 Uniform & Bag Just For Me!

It's been a busy couple of weeks.

So, I posted a while ago that I got through parts for a new costume I was making; specifically a Star Trek TOS Spiral Skant Uniform.  Well, here are the results!

Why can't I get a good picture of my face AND full length costume!?

Considering it was my first attempt at sewing this costume, I was quite pleased with it.  It was also my first time wearing a lace fronted wig which was stuck down to my hairline with prosthetic glue!  Also, I actually remembered to take my communicator with me - check out my organisation skills.  The head band was a last minute addition, but I think it looks cute as hell, so I think it's going to remain a feature of this costume.

So, what do you think of 'Jamie T Kirk'?

The costume itself took about 2 weeks to construct it, off and on after work.  It wasn't the easiest pattern to construct, but it also isn't as hard as some commenters have implied.  The pattern I had was reproduced from a pattern that had been originally drafted in the 70s (so I gather), so the sizing was a little on the crazy small side.  It also had the most basic instructions, like... sixteen steps described in one line.  It took me at least an evening to truly understand just how the 'pleats' worked and I still don't think I've worked out why I needed to put such a long slash in for the zip - it makes no sense to me!

I did have to enlarge the pattern somewhat, I made the biggest size on the pattern originally, but found it to be far too small.  Note: there were no measurements to indicate what sizes the 'sizes' on the pattern actually meant.  I ended up adding two extra panels to the sides of the pattern, literally from the bottom of one arm right to the bottom hem in one piece.  Oh yes, the arms weren't actually sized up either, so even if the whole dress had fitted, my arms would have been ripping the seams She-Hulk style...

There is truly no way that pattern would have worked for me without significant adjustment - I could barely move my arms, and I hadn't even done the back up.  Luckily, I'm a passable seamstress provided I take it slowly and work it out in plenty of time.  Obviously my current uniform still has some problems, in places it is now too baggy, and the arm shape needs to be slightly different, but that will hopefully all be incorporated into 'Jane T Kirk MK II'.

I was tempted to buy the revised version of the pattern, but the sizing is still crazy in that one.  When I compared the sizes on the new pattern to my dismay I found that in the size I would be nearest to, the bust was two inches too big, the waist two inches too small and the hips were just right.  That was the biggest size too, so I decided stick with the pattern I had, since I knew where to adjust it.

I bought the insignia badge and the braid from Xscapes props, the badge has held up really well, even though it has been taken off the costume and then restitched because I needed to replace a damaged panel.  However the braid has been a little disappointing.  Mind you, I bet nobody would really notice it, I notice the problems with it because I worked with it close up, I don't think normal cameras would really pick up the problems I am seeing.  I think I'm going to try another supplier for the braid next time.

As you can see from the pictures, I can't complain about the badge, it held up really well.  The braid however has been a little problematic.  Even when I was first hand stitching it to the cuff the 'long stitch' sections were separting and pulling apart, which was disappointing.  Furthermore, because I was working on trying to save a damaged panel on the dress (now replaced)  I put it through the washing machine on a gentle wash, the braid didn't fair too well, but I think if there was just a little more tightness in the embroidery it would have been fine.  The dress in the middle is how it looks now after a wash and the replacement panel has been sewn in.  You can see that it's unlikely that the braid 'problems' will actually show up on camera.  It's entirely possible that I just had a bad length of braid too of course!  Perhaps my standards /  expectations are too high in this regard!  

I actually temporarily lost the pattern piece for the collar, improvised it myself AND THEN found the piece, still uncut in my discards pile!  My next version of this dress will actually have the correct collar on it!

Even though I am importing a different velour for my next version (replica fabric), I really like the velour I got from Germany and may buy some more so I can make another version of this colour.  By my eye from the show and screen shots, this colour is pretty good AND as you can probably see, it changes colour in different light and with different cameras.  It's also pretty nice to sew with being a light upholstery type fabric, and it falls and folds nicely.

So anyway, this is why there weren't any reviews for two weeks, I was making this Skant Uniform!

When I make my next one, I'm thinking of documenting the process and the alterations, but I'm not sure how interesting that really is!  I might be able to clarify some of the difficult bits of the costume which are somewhat unclear from the instructions - like the pleats, they seriously took me hours to work out.

The Convention

The convention itself was just one of the local ones to me, although one of the biggest for the area.  Cardiff Film and Comic Con runs twice yearly and really is less of a convention and more of a trade and autograph show.  Sometimes you get good actors, sometimes you don't, to date I have one autograph - from an original Ewok actor, Alan Bennet.  I really, really want to go to a proper Star Trek convention!  I'd like to go to the states some time and go to a big one there, but... the price of flights and stuff is pretty prohibitive for me.  ANYWAY back to the convention, we got there pretty late, because there had been an accident and the roads had clogged up so it was pretty quiet by the time we got there.  I managed to meet up with a few Trek fans there though, including the guys at USS Phoenix, a Star Trek fan group in Cardiff that I didn't know existed argh.  So I'm really, really looking forward to meeting up with them and sharing love of Trek with other people!  They seemed really nice and I managed to share intel with their chief medical officer about the Star Trek tablet bags available to buy on the dealer floor!  She bought a science one I think, while I bought a Command bag (naturally).  I am like, super pleased with it and it came with a little stylus too!  It is licensed goods and they are readily available online.  I was surprised at the price though, which was like.... £15, I was totally prepared to pay more like £20 - £25, but I'm not complaining!  I'm probably not going to another convention for a little while, but I'll be working on costumes at a slower pace.  Jamie T Kirk Mk II is going to be perfect!

EDIT:  I originally called the costume 'Jane T Kirk' - but it occurred to me that makes absolutely no sense, despite the fact that I took the name from the female comic iteration.  Lieutenant Commander Finney called his daughter 'Jamie' after 'James T Kirk'... so I think, although 'Jamie' is less punchy than 'Jane', she'll be 'Jamie' from now on. 

Star Trek - Fanzine - Stellar Gas

'Stellar Gas' published by 'Pon Farr Press' is a 1979 Star Trek fanzine edited by Della Van Hise.

'Della Van Hise?' I hear you murmur to yourself, a vague recollection sparking neurons in your brain.  'Where have I heard that name before?'.

Oh my friends, your memory does not do you ill, I wrote a review on that wonderful monster!

Killing Time - Della Van Hise

The thing is, Killing Time charms me.  I can be pretty hard to please, but while I do recognise that it has many problems and should be lambasted for its myriad of inconsistencies, inaccuracies and self indulgences, I also love it for the utter slashy pleasure it was to read. 

'Jen', I hear you say, 'why are you writing another love letter to Killing Time right now?  I thought you were reviewing a fanzine 'Stellar Gas' edited by Della Van Hise'.

OK ok... I'll explain myself.  I like buying and collecting things which connections to other things.  So, for example, when I saw an ebay listing for a fanzine edited by Hise, I was suddenly very excited, and it was very moderately priced too (and already in the UK! Hooray!)!  This is actually a Xerox copy of the fanzine, not an original however it was advertised as such and the quality is very good anyway, so I can't complain!

Now, fanzines are actually a relatively new thing for me, they aren't common in the UK and the postage costs from the states can often be prohibitive so I don't have many, although I am falling in love with them.  I just love fanfiction and actually, when you look into the history of fan communities especially the Star Trek communities, they can be pretty fascinating!

TLDR: I bought on impulse because it had Della Van Hise's name on it and because it was at the right price.

The publication itself is pretty good looking, the layout and art is satisfying; you wouldn't believe my relief when I saw that the text for the longer stories was organised into columns and didn't traverse the width of the page.  However, because of the kind of dated art (in some cases, high contrast to enable easy printing) and text, it reminded me of my old church newsletters!  It's a very odd sensation!

Contents wise, there are fifteen pieces of artwork of varying quality, some are reportedly produced by professional artists, I haven't actually looked into this yet however.

Artists Featured:

• Ralph Fowler
• Cheryl Newsome
• Scott Gilbert
• Kerry Gammill
• Matt Fertig
• Craig Sattler
• Bev Zuk
• Martin Cannon
• Jim Kuzee

There are ten pieces of written work, two of which are prose, while the remainder are poetry.

Writers Featured:

• Tracey Alexander
• Pamela Rose
• Leslie Fish
• Jeanne Powers
• Marilynn Lebo
• Christopher Randolf & James Van Hise
• Della Van Hise
• Merlin Adams
• D J Biehl

The first prose piece is written by Tracey Alexander and is titled 'Lost in Thought'.  Whilst I was reading it I got this terrible sense of deja vu.  There's time travel, a certain female Romulan commander, slash overtones in neon lights, a plot to change history enough for the Romulans to take control, a strange reconciliation with that Romulan commander...

It was too close to the plot of Killing Time.  The writing, too similar, too... familiar.  My partner suggested this Tracey girl was probably a friend of Van Hise, they possibly discussed it with each other.  A quick google search confirmed it.  Tracey Alexander is a pseudonym used by Della Van Hise - one of the many pseudonyms used by Della Van Hise.  Lost in Thought then is an early draft of Killing Time.  I can only imagine Van Hise or Alexander got good feedback for Lost in Thought to make her want to continue to work on the idea.  I have to admit that Lost in Thought is a pretty interesting story with plenty, PLENTY of Kirk and Spock agonising over each other, their relationship, their feelings...  I'm not going to complain, it gave me a case of the warm fuzzies.

Lost in Thought does differ from Killing Time, obviously a lot of content is added, some taken away.  For example, Lost in Thought has a Starfleet sponsored conspiracy, actions on the Enterprise which are tantamount to mutiny, Kirk's mind being removed from his body and placed in another person, then into Spock (all of which has some analogue in the series), and plenty of slashy moments.  It doesn't have the 'second history' story line, nor the beautifully self indulgent characterisation of Kirk as a drug addict ensign, vulnerable to and sensitive to the dutiful ministrations of his Vulcan captain... ... ... Sorry I slipped off into lala land for a second there.

The Kirk / Spock relationship is understandably less physical in Lost in Thought, but simultaneously more intimate due to Kirk literally being on Spock's mind!  The weirdest scene is Kirk taking over Spock's body in order to have sex with the Romulan commander while Spock hid in his own mind.  There's also an indication that Kirk and Spock are already bonded at this point, Spock seems to indicate this, even if Kirk doesn't know.  It certainly isn't a physical relationship at this point, but the general gist by the end is that Kirk and Spock are going to discuss their relationship further. 

Basically, if you liked Killing Time and you like slashy, romancy, dramancy (what?!) stories that are unapologetic and shameless in their distribution of the warm and fuzzies, this story is probably for you.

The second prose piece is 'The Gift' by Christopher Randolf & James Van Hise.  James Van Hise is Della Van Hise's husband and... oh, you guessed it, Christopher Randolf is another pseudonym for Della Van Hise.  I'm not even sure how much James Van Hise put into this story because it has Della all over it, from the overt slash to her stylistic quirks.

The Gift is less enjoyable, mainly because it is utterly batshit crazy.  And yes, I mean more crazy than Killing Time and Lost in Thought combined, let me summarise.

Kirk is stranded on a very wet planet, he can't get back to the enterprise because electrical interference or some such thing.  Kirk gets approached by an elf, who uses a magical knife on him which results in immortality.  Kirk gets back to the Enterprise and finds Spock dying, he uses the magical knife on Spock.  Kirk and Spock are now immortal.  Kirk and Spock get blown up, but survive as pretty much mounds of flesh, because, they are magically immortal.  McCoy takes them back to the same planet as Pike and the Keepers in order that they stay sane.  McCoy ends up going there too, because, he shouldn't have to pay the penalty for bringing them back to the planet.

I don't really have much more to say about The Gift, old, little space elves, space magic, immortality, ridiculous contrivances, also, permanent universe alteration, there is no reset button.  I guess that's the joy of fanfiction as opposed to the novelisations, there can be permanent changes to the status quo.  On the other hand, I'm not sure stories like this are not just a waste of paper.  Sorry if I sound a bit harsh there, but I really do feel that way!  Just think, they could have brought down the price of the production of their fanzine considerably if they hadn't put that piece in!

The poetry is pretty fun, there is a poem by Della Van Hise (under her real name!) here too.  I don't think that the other poetry is by her under pseudonyms, but there's always a possibility!    Although I did like Hise's  Feast of Dust, I preferred the poems by Merlin Adams and Leslie Fish, both of which are written from the perspective of Doctor McCoy.  Adams' poem takes the form of McCoy observing Spock whilst Kirk is on an away mission without him, while Leslie Fish's offering takes an unusual format (rather like a translated poem from ancient Greece), as McCoy considers his relationship with his old enemy: death.  I'm actually a really big poetry nerd, so I'm always interested in reading it.

The final parts of this publication are a ~very useful~ listing of fanzines published under 'Pon Farr Press' and an open letter to the fandom about an unscrupulous seller of unauthorised xeroxed zines at conventions in the states.  I love this kind of thing, because it gives you a snap shot of what was troubling the fans at the time, looks like some things always remain the same!

I realise that it might be a bit strange to review a fanzine which is pretty hard to get, but seeing as this has been out of print for so long, I might scan and upload parts of it, like the art work, some poems and perhaps the first story so that other people can actually read it.  I'll put it on a new page on the blog when I get it done, so keep an eye out.  I do have my eye on getting Stellar Gas 2, mainly for the front cover - Spock on an alicorn, THAT is a picture I must have in my collection!

ps. Sorry if you saw this post before I fixed some errant sentences, I'd edited some of it from my mobile and managed to move entire sentences around accidently!

pps. I am never editing on a mobile device ever again, every correction causes more errors!