Slower than a mind meld: Reading Star Trek

This has no particular relation to this post (outside of the presence of Spock) but it makes me laugh every time.

For many Trek fans, this is the ultimate novel, so I had to check it out. It was an enjoyable one - especially the attempts of one time not to influence another time - and I agree that the Reeves-Stevens pair are the best of the Trek novel writers. Still, this one focused to much on Cochrane for me, leaving me still loyal to Prime Directive as a favorite novel. The voices are just right though; I could hear Stewart and Shatner's voices as I read!

When it comes to episodes, I do agree with prevailing Trekkie opinion that "City on the Edge of Forever" is one of (if not the ) best Original Series episode. For that reason, I was excited to see the publication of this graphic novel. In my (admittedly limited) experience, it's a difficult thing to find a good Star Trek graphic novel, but this one is satisfying for a number of reasons: it expands on the original episode so even longtime fans get something new, the art is gorgeous, and the emotional shock is very real, even if you went in familiar with the episode. (Of course, I can never get too upset about Edith, because I want Kirk to end up with Spock, but that's neither here nor there...)

Though it is here in this delightfully Spirky clip...

When I heard about this book I really hoped it would start a trend. Who doesn't want a biography of Hamlet? Mickey Mouse? Jon Snow? This is a goldmine for someone. This particular book was a fun diversion (anyone familiar with Trek won't be in for many surprises, naturally) but my favorite part came in the final pages. As with Shatner in the The Return, this one proves, once more, that good characters should never lightly be let go. In an epilogue written by Spock, readers are informed that Kirk is alive somewhere because if he wasn't, Spock would know about it (that whole t'hy'la thing we're trying to sidestep, no?) and (best of all) he will return! I hope I someday craft a character that people love so much that they will deny his or her death. Will that make me an heir of Conan Doyle?