Kirk's Challenge
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| Star Trek TOS Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Kirk's Challenge |
| Author(s): | Eileen Roy |
| Date(s): | 1975, 1976, 1977 |
| Length: | |
| Genre: | gen |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: The Original Series |
| External Links: | |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Kirk's Challenge is a Star Trek: TOS Kraith story by Eileen Roy.
The art is by Connie Faddis and is an example of scratchboard.
It was published in parts in the print zine Interphase #2, #3, and #4. The first section was reprinted in Kraith Collected #5 and is online here.
There is a prequel, "Festival of Flowers", in IDIC #6, and two sequels, "Sands of an Endless Shore" in Maine(ly) Trek #3, and "Death's Crystal Kingdom" in Maine(ly) Trek #4.
A short story in the same universe is "A Fantasy of Alienation" in IDIC #4. This vignette features Jai and Sahaj.
Summary
"Kirk is part of Spock’s family, and has just received two children - his by a prostitute somewhere along the way." [1]
Reactions and Reviews
There are two main fictional offerings this time, both of which are well-written. 'Kirk's Challenge' (parts I and II of five) describes Kirk's plight when two children, apparently his, suddenly appear and are put in his care This is a complex story, quite far afield from the traditional ST universe, but the children introduced will hold your interest. Faddis illos add to the reader's pleasure. [2]
Eileen Roy has the first major piece of fiction in this zine, consisting of the first two installments of a story for the Kraith series, called 'Kirk's Challenge.' In this story, Kirk finds that he has been left with the care of two children by a very mysterious woman Eileen leaves us totally in the air about. One of the children is (supposedly) Kirk's illegitimate son. Holy soap opera! I hear reverberating through the walls, yet no one, not Kirk, not Amanda, not even level-headed Sarek thinks to compare blood samples which may not prove, but can DISprove fatherhood beyond a shadow of a doubt. Kirk, however, and the reader, must accept the child and his sister as kismet. Kirk's son, Jai... actually walks away with almost all of the entire story. Being from one of the Denebian worlds Eileen constructs not only the boy's mannerisms but his thinking, doing almost as well as Ursula K. LeGuin does, but not so extensively... This story is leading up to something real pithy but parts 1 and 2 lead nowhere, and fast. The story is weak, all the characters except Jai are week, the ending is weak, and there's nothing at the end for you to hold onto until the next part comes along, and since Interphase is a twice-yearly publication its a LONG time to keep it in mind for a sequel... One excellent feature of this story, however, is the scratchboard illos that accompany each part of the story... Most of them are excellent. [3]
Have you read INTERPHASE III yet? The relationship between Sarek and Amanda in Eileen Roy’s "Kirk’s Challenge" is absolutely lovely. [4]
References
- ^ from Karen Halliday's Zinedex
- ^ from The Halkan Council #14 (January 1976)
- ^ from Spectrum #24
- ^ from a letter by Jean Lorrah in "Despatch" #29 (Fall 1976)
- ^ from Karen Halliday's Zinedex