Changeling (Star Trek: TOS zine 2)
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See also Changeling (disambiguation).
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Changeling |
| Publisher: | Changeling "is an unprofitable enterprise of 'The Harvard Street Press' and 'Moriarty Press |
| Editor(s): | Carolyn Meredith, Kathryn Smith & Kathryn A. Sheilds |
| Date(s): | 1975-1979 |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: TOS |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Changeling is a Star Trek: TOS anthology in newspaper-format published by Carolyn Meredith in the mid 1970s. At least two issues were published. It contains fiction, articles and art.
From an Editorial
From the editorial:
In 1975, we decided to start 'Changeling' to publish what had by then turned into a series of sequels, offshoots, and non sequiturs to the original story [The Corssing Lords]... this tabloid format is an experiment. It's cheap (relatively speaking), and the newsprint is light, which cuts down on postage. If it's successful, it will be followed by more of the same. Since you probabaly never seen a Trekzine that looks like this one, we thought you might be interested in how it came to be... When the time came to get this second printing together, Kathy unequivocably, and quite sensibly, refused to spend the large of time doing it on the hand-cranked Tin Lizard in the basement would entail. (Once through that is a learning experience; more is either selfless dedication or flagrant masochism.) So she starting looking into professional printing costs. They were, in a word, horrendous. It was the old stalemate: your money or your life... Then she got the Idea. Fred Ramsey, a mutual friend, had put out his own magazine in this form, so Kathy figured we could do 'Changeling' in the same way.
General Reactions and Reviews
- "A ST fiction zine, featuring stories by Carolyn Meredith and Bill Spangler about an encounter with descendents of the colonists sent out by Sargon's people half a million years ago. The Sargonites have become a major space power, but are not more convinced that the Federation is civilized than the Federates are about them." [1]
- "The format is tabloid and as the editors explain, an experiment. This format is cheaper to print and the newsprint lighter to for less postage. Each page holds the equivalent of four 8.5 by 11 typed pages of material so a 24-page zine is a lot of story. The reporduction and art work are good to excellent and at $1 for issue #1 and $1.25 for issue #2, you couldn't go wrong. I must admit that at first I was put off by a newspaper zine but if it makes that much difference in price, I'm all for it! Inflation makes it harder and harder to buy all the zines I'd like to read so maybe this format could be just the shot in the in the arm fanzines need." [2]
Issue 1
Changeling 1 was published around 1975. (One edition: December 1978, second printing, revised.) On the cover: "beginning a series of Star Trek adventures." It has illustrations by Bill Trimmer.
- Sic Friat Crustulum (editorial)
- The Crossing Lords by Carolyn Meredith (originally in Tholian Web #6) This story was mentioned in Star Trek Lives!.
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1
This zine is a single story, The Crossing Lords, previously published in Tholian Web. We are warned in the editorial that the novelette is the tip of an iceberg -- the first of what will be a blizzard of related stories. Hurray! Crossing Lords is a skillfully SCIENCE FICTION which uses the Star Trek characters to good advantage. The plot extrapolates elaborately on the implications of the 'Return to Tomorrow' episode, resurrecting the personality of Sargon (through Kirk's mind/memories) and presenting the reader with a complex of psionices, para-physical science and socio-political intrigue spanning milennia (sic). THe science is the mostly deftly handled, with only a sly reference to the plot of the classic science fiction film, 'The Forbidden Planet,' lending credence to theories. Some confusion occurs in the juxtaposition of 'reincarnations' by either EFENIA power or by memory-enhancement. Setting-descriptions are generally quite good, though newcomers are at a disadvantage compared to the known (and handsomely done) Enterprise personalities. Accompanying artwork was competent though emotionless, mineo printing good (though a different typeface might be appropriate for so many pages of solid print) and the humor the editorial irresistible. Altogether an eminently entertaining zine. [3]
This zine is a new series of SST adventures that starts off with a bang! "The Crossing Lords" centers on the Enterprise answering a distress call from a planet well within Federation Boundaries where there should be no one to send said message. When the Enterprise arrives they find inhabitants who not only shouldn't be there and are Earth humans but none of who are capable of sending sub space messages or so it seems. This may sound vaguely familiar but don't be misled, the twists and turns in this story are very well done and the author's extrapolations from the ST universe tie it all together very neatly. [4]
Issue 2
Changleing 2 was published in August 1979 and contains 28 pages. It contains illustrations by Bill Trimmer (cover) and Bill Spangler.
- The Unmasking by Bill Spangler (p.2)
- Another Helen, Another Troy by Carolyn Meredith (p.6)
- The Shapes of Vulcan by Carolyn Meredith (article, p.27)
- Of Vulcan and the Abakri by Bill Spangler (article, p.28)
Reactions and Reviews: ISsue 2
These are the next missions after The Crossing Lord ends. The Enterprise has been called to Vulcan where T'Pring has been brutally murdered. Why was she murdered and for what purpose? What if anything does it have to do with the Vulcan 'theatre' recreating a violent past Vulcan? Read 'The Unmasking' and find out. 'Another Helen, Another Troy' has the Enterprise going back in time to test a theory of historical intervention on Houliss. However, there is dirty work afoot, the historical intervention is a bit of a ruse to get an unscrupulous man within grasp of the Houlisset lid inter-dimensional transporter. Precognition, Godessses, grotesque creatures, plagues are some, although not all, of the things that Kirk and company must deal with. These are three separate stories that are subtly linked to one another by the original ST they draw from. I found that it was extremely hard to put these zines down till I was finished. I personally can hardly wait for issue #3. [5]
It consists of one long story, one novella that continues Meredith's Sargonite stories, and two Vulcan stories. A few good sf line drawings by Bill Trimmer and Bill Spangler. 'The Unmasking' is a most imaginative whodunnit with T'Pring the victim on Vulcan. the E bears a galaxy-famous criminologist and his assistant to solve a mystery, which is done with great style and a most intriguing development of alien backgrounds. His invention of 'abakri' (described as both theater and a means of social change on Vulcan) adds immensely to this story, involved a it is in the murder. The tale tends to be action-orientated instead of character-developed, and no changes in the participants can readily be seen as a result of their experiences, but it is entertaining on several levels. 'Another Helen, Another Troy' is a different matter all together. Filled with Dream Gates, time loops, and confusing paradoxes, it stretches the imagination while it delights the soul. The E is ordered to the planet Houliss to prevent a plague and civil disturbances -- by going back in time and altering the causes. To make it even more dangerous, Uhura intercepts a call from the E of their future, and they know the mission will be sucessful -- except that Kirk ha somehow killed McCoy in the two weeks that separates them in real time. Meredith has added plenty of warmth and human interest to this story (something I complained about in the first one) along with very good sf, even a touch of romance for the future Kirk. This zine is probably the biggest bargain available in ST fanfic today, though the fact that it will undoubtedly self-destruct in the way of all newsprint makes it a narrow choice for collectors. [6]