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{{Quotation2|[zine]:  

{{Quotation2|[zine]:  

Whether or not you enjoy this zine depends primarily on whether you believe that for a story to be K/S, it must necessarily include vivid descriptions of sexual activity between our two heroes plus or minus [[A.N.Other]] and partly on how many K/S zines you have read already for it does to a certain extent cover old ground. It seems that many K/S zines at the moment contain the same authors, writing stories which, while not identical, are thinly disguised variations on the same theme. Many of these authors e.g. A.T. Bush and Devery Helm are talented writers but are they, perhaps, guilty of producing a little too much? Could they do better? I suspect they could and that, I think, is what saddens me regarding this zine. Not that AS I DO THEE is without - none of the stories contain rape/sadism/violence, thank the Lord, and it has obviously been conceived in a loving spirit. I think, however, that the proofreader (and believe me I know what a ghastly job it is) could do with a new dictionary. The truly outstanding contribution - and it would have stood out in any zine - is "From The Dark Into The Light" by Vivian Gates. This author always portrays her characters as equals, thoroughly masculine and mature and here we have no exception, her best to date. Every word that the two men utter in this story - a first timer - is totally believable; they converse obliquely round some subjects in a form of short hand that two people who are very close to each other might use and neither of them utters the long diatribes that would sound patently ridiculous in Shatner's or Nimoy's mouth and this matters, to me at least. I have to believe in the characters, otherwise the names could be interchangeable with any other "/" couple that could be dreamed up and that is not what I read Trek for. Like Carol Frisbie, I believe the genuine magic to lie between Kirk and Spock. A case in point is "This One's For You" by Tere Ann Roderick. This is an intense story set, I think, four years after the end of the five year mission. Kirk is now an Admiral, still harbouring bitterness over what he sees as Spock's earlier desertion of him. They come face to face at a meeting engineered by Spock. I enjoyed this story in parts but it was spoilt for me by Spock's totally uncharacteristic behavior and patterns of speech, in particular his swearing, and Kirk's equally loud and invective filled replies. As far as I remember, when Kirk is really upset he goes very quiet and my overall impression was that with the names and a few details changed, this story would fit any "/" pairing. The rest of the stories are as follows: Two Post-TWOK stories: "Favors" by Lenore Williams owes a lot to the TWOK script, quoting the cabin and reactor room scenes extensively with the author's interpretations interspersed. "I'll See You in My Dreams" by Tere Ann Roderick is not yet finished so is a little difficult to judge in its present state. It involves Saavik a little too much for my taste but I freely admit to being biased if not bigoted about that. Two Shore Leave Type stories: "Seaside Rendezvous - An Interlude" by Sharon F. explores McCoy's reactions to his two friends'...activities while Spock is on sick leave. Well, it provides an opportunity for the author to describe a fair amount of sexual goings on, but I'm not sure I learnt a lot about the relationship either between Kirk and Spock or between them and McCoy. Nor did Sharon follow up on the idea that Spock might be broadcasting a form of 'we're at it again' call signal because of his unbonded state. "Control" by Wendy Rathbone ultimately ends up as a shore leave in a shuttle craft. We are cursorily introduced to one Devon Quinn who is just as cursorily killed off. Both Kirk and Spock are in love (of a sort) with her, but they turn to each other (on Devon's recommendation) after her death. Before they are totally settled and after Kirk's first rather abortive kiss, Spock utters the immortal line: "I like you Captain, I really do. But I do not love you." Put that in Nimoy's mouth and chew on it! The problem, I suspect, is that the author~did not care too much for poor Devon and while I can sympathize with that (I have [[an aversion to women in my K/S]]) unfortunately she is rather obviously sacrificed to the exigencies of the plot and I can't help remembering Evanna from [[PRECESSIONAL]] who actually enhanced the relationship between Vulcan and human. Two Spock/Kirk and [[A.N.Other]] stories: "Secrets" by Jo Scott Ross suggests that Spock may actually have run away from home rather than, as is more widely accepted, entered Starfleet Academy. In this story he is picked up in a bar by a rough diamond, Thomas O'Shannessy, and rather quickly ends up in bed with him. The only clue we are given as to why Spock has developed a penchant for falling into bed with men is that he was 'persuaded' to do so by the Captain of another freighter. The idea of these being Spock's beginnings is original and both Spock and Thomas are rather engaging. All the same, with only seven pages and the obligatory sex scene, I feel as though I've been sold short. The scope for investigating the psychology of Spock's relationship with his parents that led to all this, and even his own thoughts on his situation would have been enormous and I think with a little more work the author could have produced a really meaty and memorable story. A.T. Bush has departed from her usual style to chronicle a pubescent Kirk's exploits with his many Love Instructors (a concept first mooted by [[Gene Roddenberry]] in ST:TMP). I appreciate what she was aiming at and the descriptions were certainly erotic, but for me it wasn't K/S even if there was a little thrown in at the end. The editor's contribution is "Edge of Uncertainty" a "what if Spock didn't recover his sight after Deneva" story. A lot of interaction is between Spock and McCoy but when Kirk appears on the scene, the comparison must be with "Nightvisions". The difference here is that, with the first confessions of love, the two men make impassioned speeches to each other whereas in "Nightvisions" touch and silence or at most a few scant words speak for them. I find the latter to have more impact. I think, as with a couple of other stories in this zine, the decision to bond is somewhat precipitous. Cynthia Drake's story "And Our Tomorrows" is post Sarpeidon. Her Kirk still tends on the bossy side, but Spock at least is less subjugated than her normal portrayal of him, so that I find her characters more easy to relate to this time - I realize she is a very popular writer and this is my personal quibble.  

Whether or not you enjoy this zine depends primarily on whether you believe that for a story to be K/S, it must necessarily include vivid descriptions of sexual activity between our two heroes plus or minus [[A.N. Other]] and partly on how many K/S zines you have read already for it does to a certain extent cover old ground. It seems that many K/S zines at the moment contain the same authors, writing stories which, while not identical, are thinly disguised variations on the same theme. Many of these authors e.g. A.T. Bush and Devery Helm are talented writers but are they, perhaps, guilty of producing a little too much? Could they do better? I suspect they could and that, I think, is what saddens me regarding this zine. Not that AS I DO THEE is without - none of the stories contain rape/sadism/violence, thank the Lord, and it has obviously been conceived in a loving spirit. I think, however, that the proofreader (and believe me I know what a ghastly job it is) could do with a new dictionary.  

Unfortunately, my out standing memory of this story is Barbara P. Gordon's illo on page 7. My first reaction was to burst out laughing - I mean to say, would Kirk really be that gross? Compare this with the beautiful illo on page 14 and it's hard to believe the two came from the same pen. But back to the story: essentially the step back to his past has shown Spock what he really wants - Kirk - and vice versa. Enter the sexual encounter. Well written, certainly, but apparently the sole aim of the story. "I-Witness" is a post Leila story by Joy March Fox and here again, things progress far too precipitously for me. Difficult to say whether you, the readers, will enjoy this zine; it depends on what you want out of K/S. If it's eroticism, this is for you; if it's exploration of the long term problems of such a relationship, it's not. If you have definite views on the characters of Kirk and Spock, you may find some of the portrayals hard to take. However, the Vivian Gates' story might, alone, make it [[worth the price]].<ref>from [[Not Tonight, Spock!]] #5</ref> }}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cynthia Drake's story "And Our Tomorrows" is post Sarpeidon. Her Kirk still tends on the bossy side, but Spock at least is less subjugated than her normal portrayal of him, so that I find her characters more easy to relate to this time - I realize she is a very popular writer and this is my personal quibble.  Unfortunately, my outstanding memory of this story is Barbara P. Gordon's illo on page 7. My first reaction was to burst out laughing - I mean to say, would Kirk really be that gross? Compare this with the beautiful illo on page 14 and it's hard to believe the two came from the same pen. But back to the story: essentially the step back to his past has shown Spock what he really wants - Kirk - and vice versa. Enter the sexual encounter. Well written, certainly, but apparently the sole aim of the story.  

 

"I-Witness" is a post Leila story by Joy March Fox and here again, things progress far too precipitously for me.  

 

Difficult to say whether you, the readers, will enjoy this zine; it depends on what you want out of K/S. If it's eroticism, this is for you; if it's exploration of the long term problems of such a relationship, it's not. If you have definite views on the characters of Kirk and Spock, you may find some of the portrayals hard to take. However, the Vivian Gates' story might, alone, make it [[worth the price]].<ref>from [[Not Tonight, Spock!]] #5</ref> }}

{{Quotation| [zine]: This is a worthy effort by a new editor, tastefully and beautifully put together, with an especially lovely [[Gayle F]] cover, and a very attractive layout. However. (There always seems to be a however, doesn't there...) Despite the fairly consistently high quality of the stories, there were what seemed to me to be an inordinate number of typos. In fact, the consistency of some of them leads me to believe that Ms. Gelfand needs a typist—or a proofreader—that can spell better. The presence of several handwritten passages in a couple of the stories was quite jarring and left me with the feeling that an unfinished draft had been sent to the printer. The artwork was the usual mixture of lovely to mediocre, in the usual proportion—although Maureen B's' illo of Spock and McCoy is an outstanding piece of work. So much for the nuts and bolts. The zine contains more than a dozen stories—among the best of them are AND OUR TOMORROWS —vintage Cynthia Drake; SEASIDE RENDEZVOUS—AN INTERLUDE, by Sharon F -- there are some delightful moments in this, one of my favorites; FROM THE DARK INTO THE LIGHT, by Vivian Gates; I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS by Tere Ann Roderick, a cliffhanging sequel to ST:TWOK, evidently to be continued in AIDT II. Well, it worked; I'm hooked. I HAVE to read the end of that one.... The poetry is...not great, but adequate. The closing spot was rightly given to Leslie Fish's moving poem, PAS FINI. That one got to me. Taken all together, this new zine is much more plus than minus—but please, Ms. Gelfand-—get a proofreader that can spell! <ref>from [[Not Tonight, Spock!]] #6</ref> }}

{{Quotation| [zine]: This is a worthy effort by a new editor, tastefully and beautifully put together, with an especially lovely [[Gayle F]] cover, and a very attractive layout. However. (There always seems to be a however, doesn't there...) Despite the fairly consistently high quality of the stories, there were what seemed to me to be an inordinate number of typos. In fact, the consistency of some of them leads me to believe that Ms. Gelfand needs a typist—or a proofreader—that can spell better. The presence of several handwritten passages in a couple of the stories was quite jarring and left me with the feeling that an unfinished draft had been sent to the printer. The artwork was the usual mixture of lovely to mediocre, in the usual proportion—although Maureen B's' illo of Spock and McCoy is an outstanding piece of work. So much for the nuts and bolts. The zine contains more than a dozen stories—among the best of them are AND OUR TOMORROWS —vintage Cynthia Drake; SEASIDE RENDEZVOUS—AN INTERLUDE, by Sharon F -- there are some delightful moments in this, one of my favorites; FROM THE DARK INTO THE LIGHT, by Vivian Gates; I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS by Tere Ann Roderick, a cliffhanging sequel to ST:TWOK, evidently to be continued in AIDT II. Well, it worked; I'm hooked. I HAVE to read the end of that one.... The poetry is...not great, but adequate. The closing spot was rightly given to Leslie Fish's moving poem, PAS FINI. That one got to me. Taken all together, this new zine is much more plus than minus—but please, Ms. Gelfand-—get a proofreader that can spell! <ref>from [[Not Tonight, Spock!]] #6</ref> }}