Secret Agent: Enterprise

Zine
Title:	Secret Agent: Enterprise
Publisher:	T-K Graphics ("a specialist in Star Trek and science fiction books")
Editor:
Author(s):	Martin M. Bartel
Cover Artist(s):
Illustrator(s):	no interior art
Date(s):	1977
Medium:	print zine, fanfic
Size:
Genre:	gen
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS
Language:	English
External Links:
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Secret Agent: Enterprise is a gen 89-page novel by Martin M. Bartel.

It is a digest-sized zine, center stapled. On the cover: "The Calvus Files - Mission One."

Excerpt

This mission, marked by cool calculation, daring and skill, was undoubtedly responsible for prevention of the Third Klingon War. The commanding officer, Captain James T. Kirk, is awarded the Federation Medal of Heroism, as are Doctor Leonard McCoy, Ensign Pavel Chekov, Yeoman Deborah Hill and Federation agent Captain Duncan M. Calvus. This prevention has unquestionably saved millions of lives, both Federation and Klingon, and therefore it is impossible to extend sufficient gratitude to the crew of the Enterprise. The matter of the Organian “test” will be investigated and researched. Whatever the results of this investigation, it can only be assumed that the Organians are now convinced that the Federation, though violent at times, is the most peaceful of the cooperatives in the galaxy.

Reactions and Reviews

An 88-page double-spaced-between-everything, more white than print, 5.5 X 8.5 'rip-off' of ST fandom -- they hope. Thish is subtitled 'The Calvus Files: Mission One' in the obvious desire for this to be the beginning of a long and successful series. This so-called (and priced) book is sort of a cross between a zine and a pro paperback with the good qualities of neither. The only art is a poor Jack Cassidy-lookalike supposed to be Kirk, and a fair Spock on the cover; this is a shame, because the vocabulary and simple-minded story used call for children's pictures to be liberally used in a lot of those vast white spaces I paid for.

T&K's catalogue described it as 'another original ST novel. Kirk and a Starfleet special agent on an action-packed mission to a secret Klingon base.' Yes, it is, but beyond the constant padding of the text with detailed explanations of the workings of the transporter, 'elevators,' background of the characters (with an occasional leer at the Captain's shapely yeoman), there is very little plot. In fact, even less than the story shows, because as soon as there was confirmation from their equipment that an incredibly advanced hidden complex existed on the primitive Federation planet, Kirk would have beamed up and warped the hell out of there back to where he could get messages from Star Fleet Command for help. But no, Martel has all the six frail leading humans crawl down a rope right into the middle of 130 Klingon warriors in their mighty stronghold and then on bang-bang, fist fights, and running down that last to the end. WIth the big E unable to help because of various disasters, natch. Wretchedly inept dialogue, constant annoying typos, no character development whatsoever. I suggest you save your money, folks.

I picked up a couple of fanzines at the last con I went to, (or Festival rather.) I've only had a chance to read one of them so far, Secret Agent Enterprise. It was about a Federation secret agent assigned to the Enterprise to go with them and find out what the strange occurrences were on a Federation planet. It was pretty good. It had a good story concept and was written pretty well. There were a lot of typos, but for the 2 bucks I paid for it, I won't complain.