Walter Irwin (1) (1950–2004)

This collection of 15 essays is "from the magazine for Star Trek fans." Oh my, I was so very, very young and so very much a trekkie when I bought this book, and it somehow survived several purges of my bookshelves over the years--when I had to be ruthless because my books multiplied like tribbles.

This book was published in 1987, and as the introduction explains, it was a year behind the times given the time needed to choose the articles, edit and publish. So by the time the book hit stores, the readers had "seen Star Trek: the Voyage Home and knew that "the rumors of a new Star Trek series are true." So this is old, old stuff, and it didn't in my opinion age well. Not in an era where we can find fan fiction and character essays and analysis on the internet. Fanfic much, much better than the parody "Star Trip III." You can certainly get much more up to date info than what's in the "Star Trek Book List" by Googling. The articles "After Kyle" on the minor recurring characters and "You Could Go Home Again" rating episodes according to and detailing the potential for sequels could provide good fic fodder for those inclined. And I did find Merritt's "My Life in the Twenty-Third Century" about the inspiration she drew from Trek while caring for her brain-damaged child moving. I thought it the best article there. But it's not really enough to make this volume a keeper. It'll finally be boldly going into the get-rid-of box.… (mais)

This collection of 15 essays is "from the magazine for Star Trek fans." Oh my, I was so very, very young and so very much a trekkie when I bought this book, and it somehow survived several purges of my bookshelves over the years--when I had to be ruthless because my books multiplied like tribbles.

Back when this book was published in 1985, The Search for Spock had just come out; the opening article was "A Speculation on Star Trek IV." The second article, "Star Trek Fans: The Blind Spot" was all about how fans had to accept recasting or Star Trek would die. Not only was the Reboot not on the horizon, it didn't occur to the author the Trek universe could expand and thrive by other means; Star Trek: The Next Generation wouldn't air for two more years. Fanfic was found only in fanzines, not online. The article on it "The Three Foot Pit and Other Stories" didn't even mention slash. Had it not yet surfaced or was Kirk/Spock still a deep, dark secret? And in terms of the writing advice, well, I've seen better essays online from fan fiction authors since. Carpenter's "'Approaching Evil' and 'Love in Star Trek'-- a Rebuttal" had Ayn Rand's fingerprints all over it. It's obviously an application of her philosophy of Objectivism to Trek. What annoys me so much is the author doesn't have the guts to identify the sources of his argument, probably because he knows many would then dismiss him without a hearing. "And the Children Shall Sue" was just not an interesting parody--renaming Kirk "Jerk" doesn't pass for wit with me. If I had a favorite article, it was "All About Chapel" which does well in giving dimension to an underrated character through small moments in canon. But that's not enough--it's finally going into the get-rid-of box, because despite some lingering nostalgia, no this isn't a keeper.… (mais)