The Price of the Phoenix

Title:	The Price of the Phoenix
Creator:	Myrna Culbreath and Sondra Marshak
Date(s):	July 1977
Medium:	print
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS
Language:	English
External Links:
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The Price of the Phoenix is a Star Trek pro novel written by Myrna Culbreath & Sondra Marshak.

front cover

See List of Star Trek TOS Pro Books with Fan Connections.

In a Prior Form

See Never Mourn Black Omne, the fanwork that was the rough draft of "The Price of the Phoenix" and its sequel, The Fate of the Phoenix, combined.

Summary

From the book jacket:

CAPTAIN KIRK IS DEAD. LONG LIVE CAPTAIN KIRK. Spock, Doctor McCoy and the other crewmen of the Starship Enterprise experience a stunning double-shock. The first, painful blow is Captain Kirk's tragic death. Then, Captain Kirk's miraculous rebirth reveals the most awesome force the Enterprise has ever encountered. Spock is forced into a desperate gamble for Kirk's human soul against Omne - the ultrahuman emperor of life beyond life, and death beyond hell...

The story takes place on a world where Omne, a physical and intellectual superman of "overpowering masculinity" has established enclaves for people from many planets to live and re-enact their worlds' historical periods. He is opposed to the Prime Directive because it creates a nanny state situation. Having staged Kirk's death and ensuring that Spock sees it, Omne then creates an exact duplicate. Spock establishes a telepathic bond with "James", ensuring he would be able to recognize this duplicate Kirk in the future. Also on the planet is the female Romulan Commander from the Star Trek The Original Series episode "The Enterprise Incident". Omne believes that Spock's influence on Vulcan, and Vulcan's influence on the galaxy, is so great that if Spock were to denounce the Prime Directive, the Federation would eventually dissolve. An alliance with the Romulans would become possible, and Spock and the Commander could marry. The Romulan Commander breaks in to rescue James. They learn that the original Kirk is alive and well. Through their telepathic link, Spock and James search for each other and Kirk, who is engaged in a terrible physical and philosophical battle with Omne. Spock catches up with Omne and subjects him to a mind meld -- which proves to be a mistake, as Omne acquires all of Spock's abilities in the process. Upon returning to the ship, the Commander claims James as her property since she rescued him. He is surgically altered to Romulan appearance and biochemistry: but on Romulus, he will only exist as an ineffective princeling "from one of the matriarch colonies where men are properly treated as delicate creatures and not permitted to fight." Themes of physical strength and dominance, the "alpha male" and freedom of choice recur throughout the narrative.

Some Covers from Other Editions

• 

  the UK Corgi edition, 1977

• 

  an alternative cover echoing hurt/comfort fic themes, (1985, Bantam Books)

• 

  an alternative cover featuring the female Romulan Commander from "The Enterprise Incident" episode

• 

  the Italian edition

The Authors Comment

A very lengthy, detailed letter about "Price of the Phoenix" by the authors was published in Interstat #20 -- some excerpts:

Our best and our thanks for the thousands of fine and moving letters we receive. Please know that we are very often moved to answer, and literally cannot. We have had another reason over the years for never answering in print anyone who writes for publication rumors or worse about us or our work, without making certain of the facts or having the courtesy to check with us....
Because we have always been fans ourselves and felt a special closeness to the fan movement, it is possible that we will be the only writers of professionally published STAR TREK fiction who will write to confirm what both Sydny Weinberg as editor at Bantam and Susan Sackett [Roddenberry's personal assistant] have said: STAR TREK books are screened and approved at every stage, from outline to final manu script, both by Bantam and by Paramount, through Gene's office and by Susan....
It was SPOCK: MESSIAH, not PRICE OF THE PHOENIX which Gene saw only in galleys, too late, and which caused him to demand future approval through his office of all STAR TREK books. PRICE was next after that and was the first novel approved personally by Gene. In his letter of approval, of which we have a copy, he says among other nice things how well we know and understand STAR TREK. He did not ask for any change of so much as a word. PRICE was published as written....
What Susan Sackett is saying in her letter, and what needs to be emphasized again is that, while taste in STAR TREK fiction are obviously going to vary, that is everyone's right and privilege. As Susan points out about a recent novel, "Many, many letters of high praise have been received on this and all the other STAR TREK books which have appeared, a volume far in excess of the negative mail." That "all" includes PRICE OF THE PHOENIX. And that goes double for our own mail, where responses are more than 99 to 1 favorable, very often in terms which we find extremely perceptive and deeply moving. Occasionally we also get perceptive and thought-provoking criticism. We deeply appreciate that, too. The most common single comment we get is that PRICE is the best of the published STAR TREK novels. Some say simply, the best STAR TREK. Some use wider categories: best science fiction, the book which has moved them most profoundly. We have been extremely interested in all of the reviews of PRICE in the fan literature. We especially want to thank Jean Lorrah for her fine review. Among others which we particularly liked, T'Leina deserves special mention. To the reviewers, to Leslie Fish and to all who have written us their thoughtful comments, we express our appreciation. Thanks. It was for you that we wrote THE FATE OF THE PHOENIX... not only for ourselves but for people like Susan, and indeed for anyone who might be hurt, it is best to be very certain. With us it is the best policy to check directly. We have not cared to answer anything else, even to say what some fans may not know: the breakthrough which made possible the publication of new professional STAR TREK fiction, after seven years, was made by us through our fight for STAR TREK: THE NEW VOYAGES I. For the first time in history, we published the fan fiction of a phenomenon. We put it on the professional basis which made publication possible. We have kept in close touch with our roots in the fan movement, appearing at conventions without charging a fee, sharing our platform with fan writers, editors, artists, photographers, singers, etc.—whose appearances we organized at our own long distance expense in order to encourage fan creativity. Nor have we spoken of any of those things until now. If to do that or to do any of the other things we have done out of our own love of STAR TREK, or to write PRICE, is "an insult"—so be it. But the feedback we get through the mail and at conventions says not. Thanks for that, too.

Inspired Fanworks

• Balance of Terror/Reverse by Rebecca Ross ("This is the first of Miss Ross' MIRROR/MIRROR adatations of several major episodes, depicting the events of "Balance of Terror" as they happened aboard the ISS Enterprise." - printed in Southern Star #5)
• Bi-Lliam #2 (a zine written as a response) (late 1970s to early 1980s)
• Prime Directive, poem in Spock #45 (1986)
• The Price of the Phoenix: A Play by Jane Carnall, a circuit story
• Omne, poem by Marybeth Pospula in Tetrumbriant #15/16 (1980)
• Omne's Grief, poem by Melissa Lee in Alliance (1981)
• The Wrath of Ricardo Montalban, story by Bill Hupe and Anne K.M. Hupe in Abode of Strife #3 (1985), one of a series in which this story, plus "Kirk's Nightmare," "Khan's Revenge," and "Fantasy Planet Revisited" are related fanworks with a focus of punishing Kirk in horrible ways for loving Spock.

• 

  Omne, poem by Marybeth Pospula in Tetrumbriant #15/16 (1980)

• 

  from Beyond Fiction #1 (1981), artist is Sharron Crowson, poem inspired by "The Price of the Phoenix" and The Fate of the Phoenix

Reactions and Reviews

1977

There is one fantastic STAR TREK experience that you MUST try! It's the new ST novel by Sondra Marshak & Myrna Culbreath. It's called THE PRICE OF THE PHOENIX and is in paperback at your local bookstore. The story involves the idea of making a duplicate Kirk when the original is killed by a malevolent madman super-eugenic being named Omne. If you love Kirk-Spock relationship stories and zines, this one is for you! I admit I couldn't put it down. The novel also includes the return of a certain ST guest star (female)...but no more clues on that! The book is true to the charadters. Kirk and Spock primarily, yet Spock does show a bit more humanity as in this scene where he speaks to Omne after Kirk's death: "'I do not answer murder with words, nor defend him to one not fit to have looked upon him.' He heard the ancient madness in his voice and did not flinch from it." GREAT BOOK!

I didn't understand 'Price Of The Phoenix', maybe I'm just thick, but what is an Alpha Male? Seems to me it's a man shaped like the first letter of the Greek alphabet, that makes 'The Omega Man' look odd too!

The plot of this novel is simple: Omne, a brilliant and powerful renegade, has developed a process by which he can duplicate persons, mentally and physically. He sets a trap for Kirk, captures and copies him. Spock, with the aid of the Romulan Commander from "The Enterprise Incident", must then rescue both Kirks. That accomplished, the four join in an alliance to make peace between the Federation and the Empire, and to stand against Omne, who mayor may not be dead. (I understand that a sequel is in the works, so he probably isn't.) The book, however, is not simple. Marshak and Culbreath have raised some extremely tough questions here: What is identity? How does an individual or a society deal with evil without becoming corrupted him(it)self? How do you define freedom? They make a respectable stab at answering them, too. Technically, the writing is sound, the characterization thorough if rather derivative, with a heavy reliance on archetypes. Care has been taken, too, with the names. Omne obviously comes from Latin omnes, but it is also an anagram of Nome, likewise meaning "all", a fitting appellation for a Vulcan who has perverted that doctrine and twisted it to his own ends. And one is constantly reminded that there is a question of a birthright here, with a strong temptation to take it falsely: James [equals] Jacob. As should be obvious, this is a thoughtful book, and a well-made one. Recommended.

If "Spock, Messiah" is insulting to women, in "Price of the Phoenix" everyone becomes a woman! The only male portrayed in the novel is a black-clad herd bull, reminiscent of E.M. Hull's "Sheik". There is a certain fascination in seeing a high-strung, coy Kirk, and a Spock alternating on the verge of a temper tantrum or tears. The prose style is an improvement over the first novel, even though it is heavily overemotional; but the story is filled with simplistic and questionable Ayn Rand type philosophy, many beatings and lots of hard breathing. Very Krafft-Ebing, but one prefers Roddenberry.

As with most Star Trek stories, it is assumed that the reader is familiar with the background presented in the original television series. While this is generally a reasonable assumption, in the case of The Price of the Phoenix it is carried to an extreme unusual even for these stories. This is, of course, one of the problems which any author of Star Trek material must cope. Basic background material regarding the Star Trek universe must be presented to make for a complete story, without making all the Trekkers start muttering under their breath, "Yes, we know that, get on with the story." Marshak and Culbreath manage to accomplish this with regard to the story itself, but there are many references which would be missed, if not be downright confusing, if the reader was not familiar with Star Trek.

The story, without ruining it for those of you who haven't yet read it or are in the process of doing so, concerns the apparent death of Captain Kirk and the subsequent revelation that a duplicate has been created. The duplicate, which has Kirk's memories and is indistinguishable from him even by a Vulcan mind probe, is part of a plan to coerce Spock into denouncing the Federation (in exchange for the release of the duplicate) to weaken it sufficiently for the Romulans to challenge them. The mastermind of this plot is Omne, who for reasons of his own wishes to keep the Federation from spreading, and is using the Romulans to assist him. His contact with the Romulan Empire is the female Commander from "The Enterprise Incident," who seems to be unable to make up her mind whether she wants Spock or Kirk's duplicate as her price for assisting Omne with his plans.

The story itself is quite interesting, with confrontations, deals, counterdeals, and plot twists all blended skillfully into an understandable, if involved story line. The characterizations are complex, yet compatible with those developed in the original series. The Kirk/Spock relationship is explored and some interesting insights are made. Some further capabilities of the Vulcan mindmeld are introduced; these are believable and Speck's use of them is still in character, however.

Unfortunately, the good points of this story are overcast by an inferior writing style. Marshak and Culbreath seem to have a poker fixation, with most of the conversations between Omne and the other characters filled with talk of "raises," "calls," and "chips." In addition, the characters have a tendency to discuss their feelings, their present situation, and the moral implications of their actions at inappropriate times — like when they are lost or being hunted by Omne's henchmen. The constant references to incidents from the regular episodes tends to distract; in fact, after a while it almost takes on the tone of a trivia contest - you find yourself trying to foot note the references. In fact, the last sentence would be incomprehensible to those who have forgotten the last line of "Journey to Babel" This serves to illustrate the technical weakness of this type of writing; some readers would be left wondering about its meaning; thus lessening their enjoyment of the book.

Besides these major faults, there are several minor points which should be mentioned. The ending has a touch of "deus ex machina" about it, but no more so than one or two of the television episodes did, so this can be forgiven. And for some reason known only to the authors, no name is given to the Romulan Commander; although she calls Spock and Kirk by name they never call her anything but "Commander." A minor point, perhaps, but an irritating one.

This book, while of interest to Star Trek fans, does not properly qualify under the general heading of "science fiction." It was written by and for the Star Trek subgroup, and only serves to emphasize what many sf people have been say ing about "Trekkies" (to use their term) — that they are not true sf fans and are only concerned with their little (?) universe. While this is true of some, it is an unfair generalization; it should not be encouraged by the professional publication of what should properly be considered fanzine material, for the enjoyment of those who are interested without having to prove itself to those who are not.

If you want Star Trek fiction — don't look here — read a fanzine. Bantam Books doesn't seem to want to give us good ST novels. "The Price of the Phoenix" follows In the footsteps of "notable" works such as Spock Must Die! and Spock Messiah...

The opening premise is at least interesting: Kirk is dead. But the book goes downhill from there. A few pages later he is alive again. Omne, a "super alien" has somehow killed and remade Kirk using a variation of the transporter. The book offers no legitimate motive for Omne's actions- he just does them.

Another major character is the female Romulan Commander (from "The Enterprise Incident") who falls In love with the Kirk duplicate, (ho-hum...) McCoy, Scott, and Kirk are all handled well, but Spock's characterization is a little too human for my tastes. The Romulan Commander; let her actions speak for themselves: she is in love with Kirk. (I thought she fell in love with Spock in "The Enterprise Incident"???)

The action of the story is a constant series of fist-fights between the major characters and the super alien, Omne. Between fist-fights we are deluged with pages and pages of philosophical lecturing and in general, boredom.

Rating: "4 out of 10".

1978

"The Price of the Phoenix" is an extremely well written novel. However, it does not qualify as legitimate Sim Trek material to be absorbed in the collective ST fan memory.

The most disastrous flaw lays within the realm of characterization, and in particular, in the character of Spock. The Vulcan/Human hybrid is not the same Mr. Spock as appeared in the Star Trek series. The Vulcan influence is dominant in our Mr. Spock. whereas their Spock is a pointed eared human, possessed of Vulcan strength and an inherent capacity for love, Also, their Mr. Spock can be "bought", which is something totally impossible for ours. A key quality of the "real" Spock's character is his ability to endure. His price could never be on a personal level, but rather on a higher universal plane. Spock does indeed have the capacity to feel, and never has he felt more on a personal level for anyone more than for Captain Kirk. However, the dominant Vulcan in Spock strives to suppress the humanity within him, and the humanity is indeed the underdog. The relationship with Kirk is the only such human relationship that the Vulcan can permit, but he does not let the relationship dictate to his existence. The inherent nobility in the soul of the Vulcan is channelled into the universals of good, duty, honour, and peace for all beings. Spock himself points this out to Doctor McCoy in "The Immunity Syndrome". On the third page of the novel it is plainly stated that, "the Vulcan repression of emotion was a weakness as much as it was a strength...But McCoy had always known that it could break down explosively". The problem in the novel is that Spock's dominant Vulcan half gives in without so much as a whimper, Spock in the novel behaves as a human would, allowing himself to be controlled by his passions, and this is inaccurate. No matter how great his personal feelings towards Captain Kirk, Spock would never behave in this manner without a galaxy-rending explosion. After an explosion of this nature there could be no recovery.

On the other hand, Captain Kirk is dealt with very skilfully. But, in comparison with Spock's weak showing, the Captain comes out looking like some some sort of "super-Kirk". The few noticeable flaws in him - the flaws which lend such believably to the character - are undercut by his overwhelming capacity for nobility, causing him to be worth "a galaxy's ransome".

The character Omne is the supreme manifestation of evil, and he is the perfect anti-hero in relation to Kirk, as he is exactly Kirk's match. The two could be identical, but as Omne himself so succinctly puts it, "ideals are fragile". His views are presented in a very plausible way. He argues quite eloquently for the 'wolf,' as it is "the other side of innocence...which you (Kirk) imprison in a cage of virtue. Can't you feel it raging and crying to get you?...What gives it less right than virtue?" From his point of view, it is Federation "creeping do-goodism" which is destroying the galaxy. In the conflict with Kirk, it is difficult to ignore these points which he presents so clearly. "Moral questions I never answer themselves", and Omne's point of view seems so much more appealing because Omne has so much advantage.

The Romulan Commander is also excellently developed. Her actions and thoughts are perfect within the Romulan tradition. Her nobility is emphasized, and she is proven to have great sense of will and magnetism, especially when dealing James. Her strength of will actually dominates James to a certain extent, and it is believable (and this cannot be wholy [sic] attributed to his displaced feelings).

The development of plot is orderly and logical, although the way the authours [sic] expressed it on paper can be confusing to the average reader. The presence of viewscreens is not made perfectly clear at first, and can cause difficulties in the following of the action.

The multiple manifestations of Kirk also can cause a bit of a strain. Then, too, the manner in which offers and counter-offers are made create havock [sic] in following the plot. Finally, but quite understandably, motivation of the characters can be difficult to analize [sic].

On an overall basis, "The Price of the Phoenix" is a well laid out, fast paced and enthralling book. The characters are well developed. and their interaction excellently and led. The problem is that the character developed under the name of Spock is not the Star Trek Spock, but rather a product of wishful thinking on the part of the authors (Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath) perhaps to make for more interesting reading .

It is a good book, but it is not Star Trek.

(I would like to note that my neglect of the other Star Tick characters is due to their inconsequential roles in the novel. 1 would like to give them honourable mention here.)

I'd just like to say a word in favour of 'The Price of the Phoenix' as Beth seemed to like 'Planet of Judgement' better. 'Planet of Judgement' was certainly written in a less complicated way and there are bits in 'The Price of the Phoenix' where you feel that there must be pages missing, but this is more than made up for by the Kirk/Spock relationship which was expressed beautifully and in fact was the main theme of the book. Kirk's price is Spock, and Spock's price is Kirk. Also their characters were described very accuratoly in the 'Phoenix' and there was not much interplay of character in 'Planet' - I think probably because Joe Haldeman just doesn't know and understand Kirk, Spock and McCoy as well as Sondra and Myrna do.

I am bone weary of twin or double stories — no matter how well conceived and/or executed — so the Marshak and Culbreath novel had one strike against it before I even cracked the binding. There are others.

The story is written well enough to hold my interest throughout. (But bear in mind that I am a die-hard ST fan, so this is really no literary laurel.) There are a number of memorable one-liners, and the scene where Spock meets James for the first time is excellent. As a matter of fact, the beginning of the novel, up until the point where Spock leaves after "marking" James, was the best part.

The Kirk/Spock characterizations and relationship were caught perfectly, (I ‘’know’’ with absolute certainty that James T. Kirk ‘’is’’ Spock's price!) Unfortunately, their characterizations are not sustained throughout the novel. (I was totally disappointed with the portrayal of the Romulan Commander — but that may well be because I have a different conception of her.)

There are times when the "my Jim," "his Jim," "our Jim" is a bit confusing. And, there are entirely too many dei ex machinas — from spray- can-instant-healing to telepathic contacts to the fact that Jim is not dead — to suit my taste. Also, there are a number of unanswered questions resulting from the story line that are quite disturbing:

1) Why did the Romulan Commander decide to take the Federation's side in this matter? (After her last meeting with Kirk and Spock, I can't imagine why she'd try to warn them.)

2) If Omne's planet had applied to and had been accepted into the Federation, how come everyone is at a loss as to his origin? And if a misuse of the Prime Directive resulted in the destruction of his planet, surely such a disaster would be cited during training at the Academy? And surely such a superior race would have left a mark on Federation history, technology, and/or sciences.

3) Once Omne knew his process worked (which he did give James), why not create an army of selfs and simply take over the Federation and the Romulan Empire? (Given Sondra and Myrna's portrayal, he would have succeeded!)

4) What about those telepathic links? Spock says the Jim/James one could be dangerous, but nothing is done about it. The matter is simply dropped.

5) And hold on a minute, I thought it was Spock the Romulan Commander was smitten with...

I suspect Sondra and Myrna plan a sequel and that is why they didn't kill off their villain. (They should have, as presented, especially at the end, he is entirely too formidable.) However, I liked the fact that James was considered a person — entitled to an existence in his own right — and that they found a satisfactory, if too convenient, place for him. Actually, that's what the sequel should be — James' problems as a Romulan princeling. So you see, they could have killed off Omne.

I know the book will sell — fandom has reached the point where one must read at least what is professionally published to keep up and be considered in. My question as a reviewer has become, "if it weren't Trek, would I recommend it?" In this case, the only answer I can give is — it's better than SPOCK MESSIAH.

I've been reading with interest the correspondence in the newsletters about The Price of the Phoenix and Planet of Judgement. It made me realise that I had completely forgotten the story of Planet of Judgement, which must be a criticism in itself. So I deliberately reread the two books, bearing in mind the opinions expressed in the last two newsletters. The first thing that struck me was that this time I understood a lot more of The Price of the Phoenix. Whether it's the American phraseology or the psychology that defeats me, I'm not sure. I enjoyed the story and agree with Karena Langdon and Susan Meek that the Kirk/Spock relationship was beautifully handled. The fact remains that I'm a librarian, not a psychoanalyst, so I prefer novels to be a little less complex - and so I imagine would non-ST fans picking up the book out of curiosity.

For people rapt in the Kirk/Spock relationship, it is a novel as good as [a previous reviewer] claims, but to those fans to whom the other crewmembers of the Enterprise are worthy of attention, the novel falls short of expectations for a Star Trek novel.

For too long, people have regarded Star Trek as a Mr. Spock Hour. Paramount have cashed in on this idea by relentlessly releasing hordes of L. Nimoy records, books, etc. Whatever happened to the voyages of the Starship Enterprise? P.O.T. Phoenix becomes quite dragging when nearly every page mentions only Spock, Kirk, Omne or The Romulan Commander. The story literally reeks with loyalty and love??? At best, the story is a good K/S story, despite the fighting becoming toomonotonous.

[...]

The cover of the book claims "A new Star Trek experience." Well, it certainly is new and an experience, but would be better titled "A new experience based on characters from Star Trek." I speak as a fan of the entire show, not just a fan dedicated to two people.

I got word of this hook through a fellow Trekfen of mine who saw it in the grungiest little market we have in town (it's also across town, and the only one in the area.) Not having enough time to skim the book, he just read the outer covers. He called me when he got home. "They’ve got a new book out sounds like they’re reincarnating Captain Kirk it’s got a very strange cover on it...etc." A new book? Another STOCK: MESSIAH? Better check it out.

Somewhere I had heard that Marshak and Culbreath were putting a book together, and the title sounded right...I was pleased to find that they had written it, instead of editing others. My first reaction was: If nothing else, it will be accurate. For the most part, that held true. The characterizations were excellent and a little surprising in parts. The writing style is wordy and confusing, but once you get used to it, it's still wordy and confusing. Take your time reading it and have a dictionary handy. I just finished taking three English classes in school— including a forensics class and it was hard in places. This' book is better read two or three times maybe four or five six would be excellent. You’ll find something you missed each time, believe me.

The plotline is rather simple. There’s this ’being’ named Omne, who has this planet where the only rule is the challenge and which, being near the Romulan territory (i think?) has Romulan guards to keep everyone in order otherwise. Kirk is trapped in a burning house, the house collapses and, supposedly, Kirk is killed. That’s good enough for a beginning. This is where the deceptive covers come in. Kirk is not killed as a matter of fact, he’s twice as alive as before the duplicate story is also in play here, along with your basic torture theme. Kirk/Spock in danger/torture. But there is a new twist.

The female Romulan Commander is back and, even if we still don’t know what her name is, she stays in perfect character throughout the book and becomes the forth member in a trio. I know that sounds contradictory, but you'll find out. The relationships are quite interesting and somehow you forget that she was ever an enemy. Omne. Now there’s a subject! Supposedly a giant of a man, dressed in black, with black hair, black eyes...death warmed over. **sigh** The perfect antagonist to be destroyed at all costs. Problem is you can't.

Omne has the key to immortality and, although he is killed once, he comes right back to get them, is killed again; you're not even sure it’s final that time, because he disappears right after "dying."

How about dying? Basic Torture theme, complete with beatings, some Vulcan mind-meddling, tears, nightmares, the works. Catharsis? Not really. No one dies maybe Omne, but you aren't left with that impression at all. Six times isn't enough for this book—you'll want to try for seven. You have to figure it out the story and the writing style. I'm sort of curious to see the reactions of others to this book. Any volunteers? I'll lend you the book if you can't find it. I don't blame you. I never expected to find it in that grungy little market. THE PRICE OF THE PHOENIX. Highly recommended by me, that is.

I celebrate the publication of a Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath Star Trek novel, The Price of the Phoenix.

How refreshing to find a sustained ST plot without Klingons, Romulans, or priestesses pictured as the villlans! In fact, Klingons are no more than mentioned in the book. Set upon a planet that has been peopled by refugees of civilisation, of justice, creating artificial enclaves of cultures, the story unravels and entangles Kirk, Spock, the (surprise - surprise) Romulan Commander, and — Omne. Omne is not disguised as Klingon, Romulan, Vulcan or Human. He is an alien of aliens, disguised in size and strength, and ultimately, in the almighty power of evil. In act and word, and thought, Omne is evil, embodied.

Age-old philosophies of Good and Evil, and of Man are questioned, twisted, and toyed with as are the characters themselves. Inevitably, you, the reader, will find yourself rethinking your own values: those you were taught, those you fought for, those you defended only yesterday. And, as if any ST fan already suspect, there is the unavoidable, essential issue of love (as well as 'Love') in the novel. A story involving Kirk and Spock could not realistically side step that issue.

Everything the characters say is as believable as life. They, themselves, live and breathe as you or I. Towards the end, however, some of the speeches do become long-winded, which, while it does not slow down the reading, might distract you a bit. These speeches detract little from the whole work, thou though.

If it is possible, try to read the book in one sitting. Three hours should be enough. Read it quickly the first time through, then turn back to page one and begin again — slowly savoring the retelling. It is totally worth the second reading, and even a third. The text keeps hitting you, impact upon impact until you are exhausted, left with an almost indescribable feeling, and yearning for more...

Sondra and Myrna, I salute you!

1979

Although well-endowed with the warmth of emotion popular among ST fans and possessed of a scientific problem and philosophical 'gordion knot', this book tends to lack the overall joi de vivre of the ST universe. A most 'dour' piece.

Do not be deceived by male Trek lit. Hundreds of men read the Gor, Conan, Louis L'amour series. These are the male equivalent of the "warm, dumb, soppy, stuff". I do not know if it's nature or nurture but I've noticed men seem to read/write heroic fantasy and women are drawn to romance. I don't mind good, logical, well written Trek romance but much is on par with the worst Harlequin. My biggest complaint is the lack of rationality in characters and plots. (Anyone want to see a dissertation on the logical fallacies in Kraith Collected?) Or worse the sudden change in a character with no rhyme or reason except 1) true love or 2) deep hidden aspects of the character's nature (Try the Phoenix books—better yet, don't!) The soppy stuff in Sahaj makes sense. I think the real "enemy" better quality zine selling.

There have been several Star Trek novels written in the last few years. Unfortunately most of them have been rather disappointing, showing little real knowledge or understanding of the themes and characters of the original. This book however is something different: not just another sci-fi novel utilising the series for its background, but a true Star Trek experience, written by people who obviously care very deeply about the characters and what they represent. The authors, whom fans will recognise as the editors of STAR TREK: THE NEW VOYAGES, are in fact probably the Star Trek experts par excellence, and their immense knowledge of the whole Star Trek world is evident throughout this novel.

The book has a strong story line, with our gallant Captain Kirk and his ever-faithful Mr Spock required to tackle a superhuman villain named Omne who has ambitions to take over the galaxy. He has also discovered a means of overcoming the inconvenience of being killed, which gives him a distinct advantage over the opposition. Omne is an interesting invention, perhaps a little to much of a superman to be totally convincing as a character, but a useful foil to illustrate the essential nobility to the federation outlook as represented by Kirk.

So basically it is the old story of good versus evil, but what gives the book its special interest is not the plot, well thought out though that is, but the opportunity it offers for insight into the workings of the characters' minds and the development of their interrelationships. There is plenty of action, chiefly in the form of hand-to-hand combat, but the real drama is pyschological and concerned with mental and moral rather than physical dominance. The battle for mastery between Kirk and Omne, both in their own way "alpha" males, is extremely well handled and avoids making either character too simplistic despite their obvious embodiment of the opposing forces of good and evil.

The depth of the character analysis, particularly of Kirk, is quite remarkable and goes far beyond anything attempted by the original television series. The authors are perhaps a little less successful with Mr Spock - they don't quite get under his skin as they do with Kirk - but the relationship between the two is very well handled and there are some moving scenes illustrating the depth of love and caring between the two men, although severe critics might detect an underlying streak of rather romanticised masochism in their almost excessive willingness to suffer and sacrifice themselves for one another.

Other members of the Enterprise team appear only briefly (in fact very little of the action takes place aboard the Starship) but Dr McCoy and Scotty are both accurately drawn. An interesting addition to the cast is the Romulan Commander (developed from the character in the aired episode 'The Enterprise Incident') who joins forces with Kirk and Spock in their battle to save the galaxy. Like Omne, she is not altogether a satisfactory character, being something of a superwomen type (shades of American-style women's lib!) but necessary as a plot device and also serving to provide a romantic interest for both Kirk and Spock.

The story builds up well, with plenty of emotional traumas and lots of Vulcan mind-melding, through a series of exciting climaxes to a final grand denouement, though the ending is something of a cop-out, leaving us with a strong suspicion that Omne is still lurking around somewhere awaiting his rebirth in the sequel the authors are no doubt planning! But all in all a very good novel - rather excessively idealistic in concept and almost exhaustingly emotional in tone, perhaps - but compulsive reading from the first page to the last. The book has been around for a year or so now and many Star Trek lovers will have come across it already, but if not - get hold of a copy and give yourself a treat.

An exchange between Linda Frankel and Jacqueline Lichtenberg in A Companion in Zeor #4, May 1979:

I'll probably be considered absolutely off the wall, but I thought THE PRICE OF THE PHOENIX was one of the better Bantam Trek novels. ((Oh it is—which isn't saying much. JL)) It at least attempted to be about something. [Penny Z] obviously doesn't know the writers if she thinks that they would intentionally write thinly disguised pornography. That wasn't their purpose at all. Readers of STAR TREK LIVES know that Sondra Marshak is a student of Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand, and Myrna Culbreath also has a philosophical background. As an ex-Objectivist myself, I recognized the principles they were attempting to put forward. (One shouldn't have to know them in order to grasp them from the fiction. JL)) I also recognized Omne as none other than Gail Wynand of THE FOUNTAINHEAD. The book was meant to be a philosophical dialogue, but where they went wrong was in their concessions to conventionalized plot concepts. The chase syndrome is quite conspicuous there. It also nearly bored me to stupefaction. If I hadn't been so interested in what they'd do with the questions tentatively raised, I would never have stood it. When you consider that none of the other Bantam Trek novels (except VULCAN, a marvelous effort) touched on ideas at all, you have to allow Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath some credit. The "theory of good writing" that [Lichtenberg] learned from Ms. Marshak is fairly common. MZB's "fanny in a bear trap" formulation is quite similar. David Gerrold believes that the character's identity ought to be placed in danger. Most professionals put their characters through the wringer. How else do you have a story? [snipped] The most negative thing I can say about a writer is that s/he took no risks. JL took plenty. I think that Ms. Marshak and M. Culbreath also took a few in THE PRICE OF THE PHOENIX.

1980

As it now stands, [feminism] is more a vehicle invented by upper-middle class women to justify their complete self-interest and the desertion of their duty to children...peopled by the selfish and neurotic, where Janice Lester would feel perfectly at home (Roddenberry gave us a recognizable women there, you meet her often). And if the whole movement isn't pervaded by hatred of males, I know one member who is!

All this wanders from the subject of feminism in Trek Lit. Take heart, Leslie, there are some successful examples! Can you think of any more devoted couple of girls than he "Misses Kirk and Spock" in "Phoenix"?

[I'm] who admits to not hating The Price of the Phoenix. I may go down under a deluge of bricks and old tomatoes, but, and I say this with my head held high, I LIKED THE PRICE OF THE PHOENIX! Okay, so it was vastly over-written, and bordered on purple prose. So, it was violent, even bloody, and the chase scenes were overlong. So what? The main part of the story (as I saw it) was to take the Kirk/Spock relationship, and run it through the meat grinder, to see what came out. The violence didn't faze me a bit; it seemed to be such a necessary part of the story, I just accepted it. (The sequel to Price, The Fate of the Phoenix, came out in May 1979. It's better written, a great deal less physically violent, and even lets us in on the Romulan Commander's name. But if you thought Omne was nasty to Kirk and Spock before, wait til you read Fate. Believe it or not, he's got something much worse up his sleeve, and all without touching a hair on their heads.)

Except for the Phoenix books, I wouldn't care if they made a big pile out of all the pro Star Trek novels and torched it. You are right, of course, when you say that Marshak and Culbreath have gone off on their own tangent. However, it seems to me that they've done so on purpose. The characters in their short stories in New Voyages II seem pretty true to the aired ones. If some of the experiences these characters have been put through in the Phoenix books were to happen to me, I have no doubt that I would be changed pretty extensively also. Chaos is exactly the point of the Phoenix books, as far as I can see. Omne himself is essentially a chaotic power. The thing is, that doesn't make him any less believable, rather the reverse. It seems to me that our real universe is not always just, simple, or aesthetically pleasing. It contains evil, or it couldn't be in the shape it is. I hate books where the good guys win automatically, without losing anything — I can't relate to that. The Phoenix books seem much more realistic, and therefore more interesting, because in fact things can go wrong. Life and growth are not the goal of everyone, and you have to cope with those whose values are exactly the opposite, and you can lose. Kirk II was emphatically not created by a man interested in "evolving the nature of the universe". He was created as a tool, a weapon, an experiment, and an object for a love/hate obsession. None of this was his fault, but now he, and the others on his side, have to cope with it. The only thing you said in your review which made me really angry was, "Why is a second Kirk's continued existence essential?" No one's continued existence is essential! We could solve the problem of James (or the problem of you or me for that matter) with a nice, clean, simple phaser shot. Or alternatively I rather think Omne would take him off, our hands, if we asked nicely.

1981

Of ALL the Star Trek books out the only one's I have found to be of any real substance are: The Price of, The Fate of; The Entropy Effect; The Prometheus Design. The most fascinating and raising the most questions - the PHOENIX Series by Marshak and Culbreath. I would like to compliment them, on a very fine collaboration that produced an extremely well done set of novels. I am assuming from the way the books were written (the characters gloriously handled, the material in the books) that we have a pair of writers who are interested - not only in the financial aspects of Star Trek fandom - but who really care about the characters of Star Trek and the people in Star Trek fandom. They, along with McIntyre, have cared enough to give us a story that is a comprehensive whole. (Not a jumbled up mess). The characters? All the characters were vividly described. They have life, they feel and they encourage the reader to feel. The subject matter is thought provoking. I hope Marshak and Culbreath plan a sequel. The story leaves to much to the imagination. Does the Commander get James back? How? What about her relationship with Spock? Rovan? The Federation? They don't do it — I WILL.

Spock and the ladies come from a society that exists on honor, duty and deep running loyalties. NONE of which is given without good cause. The Commander, Doyan and Trevanian (the way he's described one could reach out and just squeeze) I liked. Women of fire, honor able, fiercely independent; warriors. (One point I got a kick out of is when the Commander almost raped Kirk — or rather James - a nice bit of poetic justice.)

Omne: I hated, I loved, I feared, I pitied. Omne a mental and physical giant, sees his life's companion, his sons and his world die because he has embraced the Federation wholeheartedly. The Feds, because the Prime Directive is not fully developed and so not realizing the full dangers involved, do not withhold anything from him.

He wanted to learn, to grow and he wanted his people to grow as well.

But his people were not ready for the rapid growth. It would seem from the story that he had tried to move his people along to fast after embracing the Federation. Civil war was "the result.

Omne with his decades deep brooding, black grief and rage turns on the federation. Is he of such a black heart because he never re leased his grief for the loss of his family, his world? Is he using Eirk and his friends, representatives of the Federation, as a whipping post? Why? To 'punish' the Federation for it's 'meddlesomeness and creeping goddism'.

Destroying a cohesive whole and creating a few pockets of independents which will take several decades - centuries to recover. (The truth of the matter is that he's miserable and can't stand to see anyone else be happy). If Kirk's group were to get him to admit, at least to himself, his culpability and his grief; would he again become, in part, Omnedon?

'Omne, ah alpha male, quit - but at what point? This appears to be part of his problem. This is what he cannot forgive himself or Kirk. Kirk at one point broke; but he literally shook himself, he looked at the situation, mastered his shock and was made whole again. Omne did not, could not and this is what Omne cannot forgive — of himself or Kirk. AND I CAN ASSURE YOU PEOPLE THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MAN AND A MALE. I KNOW.

Crane's main points for argument are the prime directive and immortality. Prime Directive - to what extent does the Federation have the right or duty to get involved in another culture. Or does it have the right to become involved. Should it? Under what conditions? Crane's second point was immortality. IMMORTALITY — at what price. Man through the ages has strived to overcome death. Does man have the right to eternal life? Whether we admit it or not; EACH of us - our thoughts, our actions - are governed by our views of death. Num 23:10, Mark 14:34, Ezek 18:4, Rsalm 78:50, etc.

I first read The Price of the Phoenix in 2/78. I read The Fate of the Phoenix as soon as it came out in '79. I still reread them from time to time. The talk of love, undying friendship, and trust among people of heart is touching — AND most DESIRABLE. This series points to people who aren't afraid to care for others or to share themselves. How many of us dare SHARE ourselves, our hearts with each other? People today are looking for REAL caring, TRUE friendships, DEEP running loyalties; as well as people of honor and dignity. If we weren't we would not be so fascinated by a show or book which glorified these qualities.

Kirk and Spock were not afraid to share their hearts. They each had the honor and the dignity not to betray that sharing, other wise they might not have survived Crane.

THEY WERE MEN UNAFRAID TO FEEL FOR OTHERS — ARE YOU?

What about people of today? How many are afraid to open them selves and SHARE of themselves. A great many judging by the wide spread philosophy of meism.

K/S: How does K/S get involved? There is more love and caring written into this type of story than any other - which is so tragic because is reality there is NO trust,..love or sharing involved in such a relationship. These stories are written because people have begun to feel that such deep loyalties and love are not attainable. Do you realize that for every 100 E/S material written all but one is written by a heterosexual female? Why doesn't anyone write such deep caring into male female relationships? Believe me - it is possible. In order to receive we must first give.

1983

Sondra Marshak's and Myrna Culbreath's books, in my opinion, are the worst ST ever published (even mediocre fan fiction is better). I couldn't get through the first three chapters of THE PRICE OF THE PHOENIX.

I enjoyed the 'Phoenix' books by M. & M., although I thought the plots in both were convoluted with too many subplots and wordiness, besides which their own macho image of the superior male superseded Spock and Kirk's true characterization. At least it was a good attempt to provide some depth and soul searching within the characters' psyches.

Are the Kirk and Spock consistent with the T.V. series and movies in their character development in the Phoenix books?

I believe they are indeed.

[...]

Now we shall consider Kirk and his manifestation as James, the Phoenix. The first time I read it I couldn't believe that someone could write it. How could they do that to James? How could James accept a life that was virtual slavery? That was the life the Commander offered him.

Even loving her, he would be at her mercy. She took him as the spoils of war and he didn't even realize it. At least, not right away and perhaps he never did. She knew that he thought she was joking when she referred to him as property and she allowed him that illusion. Kirk has always been practical. When Delia in THE WINK OF AN EYE demonstrated her control over him and his helplessness to resist, he tried to make a deal with her, offering himself if she would let his ship go. James had that same ability to adjust to any situation and try to make the most of it in whatever way he could.

When James offered himself to Omne, for his friends lives, he made Omne understand that he would serve him only as long as his friends lived and only for their sake. So that fits right in with the Kirk personality. How James will deal with him fate as Omne's prisoner would make an interesting final book on the subject. I can't accept his permanent enslavement any more than Spock could. With Omne's abilities I expect him to free himself from exile, with James' persistence, I expect him to escape from Omne. In order to do that he would have to kill Omne. Could he do that? I don't know. In order to remain free, he might be able.

1984

New Voyages and The Price of the Phoenix were the first books I read in Trek (hotly followed by Leslie Fish's "Shelter" and "Poses" - how can she claim not to write romance?). I think Marshak and Culbreath first sowed the seeds of K/S in my mind - and as we all know, they've subsequently chickened out - or at least, that's how I read it...

1993

The first K/S story I ever read was Shelter, by Leslie Fish. And believe me, I would have hurled the zine across the room if it been mine to hurl. Aha! But why would I have done it? Not because I didn't believe, but because I did. Before reading Shelter, my only exposure to the notion of K/S had come from the "Phoenix" books, by Sondra Marshak & Myrna Culbreath, and it wasn't the kind of "exposure" I wanted. In short, though I found the books enjoyable overall, I didn't believe what they were trying to tell me between those professionally-written lines. There was something in the Phoenix books that made me squirm — and not in the same way Shelter made me squirm. The Phoenix books made me uncomfortable, argumentative, and downright bitchy whenever I encountered the concept of K/S. Though, like I said, they're great books in and of themselves.

[snipped]

In all fairness, of course, perhaps the Phoenix books would have affected me in the same way Shelter did had they been done as fanzines, without the need to write between the lines rather than on the lines. All I know is that reading the Phoenix books originally turned me into what's known nowadays as a "rabid anti-K/Ser". You see, the Phoenix books didn't convince me that Kirk and Spock might be lovers, or at the very least, were involved in some pretty kinky pastimes in the privacy of their own thoughts. Shelter, on the other hand, more than convinced me. And I, a stubborn, starry-eyed, 22-year-old girl, didn't want to be convinced. I kicked and I screamed and I yowled — my heroes wouldn't do this! But... Leslie made me believe they would. She made me know they would by showing me how it was possible - which is the mark of a good writer. (And when I got through kicking, screaming and yowling, I went straight to my friend's zine collection and promptly devoured all the K/S I could get my hands on — which, back in those days, wasn't a lot. But it was enough to get me started on the way to delightful perversion, where I've lived happily ever since...).

1994

Slashy? Price of the Phoenix, where Kirk is on his knees in front of Omne, and Omne puts his hand behind Kirk's head and brings it forward... Or where Spock is confronted by the naked (but discreetly draped with translucent fabric) body of Kirk, whom he had thought dead but finds alive, and sleeping, into which emotionally laden atmosphere Omne suggests that Spock awaken Sleeping Beauty in "the traditional manner". Oh, yes, there are some old non-slash books I remember very very fondly.

1996

On the other hand I have to vehemently disagree with whoever recommended the Phoenix books by Marshall and Culbreath (sp?) These were/are truly awful and what is more they are not awful by accident. Unlike (say) the Patrian Trangression which is merely dull and badly written, the Phoenix books have a lush and exotic awfulness that can only the the product of great effort. This is not awfulness by mistake, this is awfulness that was striven for, they meant it to be like this and *this* is truly terrible. For a start their prose is so over wrought you could bounce pennies off it like an army bed and for a finish both authors are smitten by "ol hazel eyes", both have a sadistic streak a mile wide and neither have any built-in sense of the ridiculous so that both books read like a cross between a cheap gothic romance and a pulp 50's scifi without any of the fun of either. I finished it feeling faintly grubby.... I love K/S...and I love H/C [hurt-comfort narratives] and I still hate this book. I think it is the relentless sadism, physical and mental... it's the S without the M that turns my stomach. That and the lack of self-knowledge by the authors, much of what they write is by any standards ludicrous and they either don't know or don't care that what they write is so relentlessly flavoured with sexualised violence as to be (to me at least) embarrassing. Sort of like watching your maiden aunts throw their knickers on stage at a Tom Jones concert. YMMV of course.

I am not a big fan of K/S stuff. Mainly because I'm not much of a M/M fan. But when I heard about the Phonix [sic] books I went out and bought them and I read them both in one sitting. I looked, and looked hard, and the funny thing is, I never saw anything other than a profound friendship in those books (gee, thats gonna get me flamed), and I looked hard. The Phonix books are not my favorite, but they are by far the best Star Trek books I have ever read. When I want to curl up with an old friend I break out Uhura's Song, Dreams of the Raven, The Three Minute Universe. or Dreadnought and Battlestations. But the Phonix books are a very different kind of story. I don't like to read them because I don't have the stomach for that much violence. The story is H/C, but more of a four way H/C story in many ways. And the people get hurt really bad.

1997

This is a book John Ordover and Pocket Books would never publish. Kirk dies and is cloned and an evil dictator, Spock and the Romulan Commander (the babe) all fight over who gets the clone. It's slashy and full of dominance games and the prose is purple enough for a dozen books. If this is what the pros were writing in 1976, the 'zines must have been very interesting.

A Word of Warning. I have heard these two books described as an ideal introduction to slash in general and K/S in particular. I could not disagree more - I hated these books with a passion I can only ascribe to the depths of my disappointment with two books which had been so warmly recommended to me.

The prose isn't so much purple as so over-wrought you could bounce pennies off it, like an army bed. I found reading the first of them deeply embarrassing; these two either didn't realise how self-revealing the whole thing was or they didn't care - it was like coming home to find your elderly great-aunt has published her sexual fantasies on a bill-board outside your house. I now know much more about the inside of their heads than I want to.

I know most of us are writing this stuff out of our own fantasies but most of us can manage a certain distance about it - we have built in anti-ridiculousness meters which prevent us making total idiots of ourselves.

Not those two - they just let it all hang out - the relentless sadism (nothing consensual about these dames), the nauseating hero-worship of old hazel-eyes (hey I'm a Kirkian and *I* hated it), the ludicrous harping on about who was the "alpha-male" in the story, the way everybody lusted after Kirk and sublimated it into violence, the total lack of anything even remotely resembling humour.

Now I like slash, I write slash, I like h/c, I've written h/c - I made myself finish the first book, I couldn't make myself finish the second.

As someone said - Not books to be set aside lightly - they should be thrown with great force. (Who said that?)

Jess - YMMV, IMHO, et cetera et cetera

Oh, I dunno. They ARE dreadful, I freely admit that. They are the ST equivalent of what used to be known as bodice-rippers, or penny dreadfuls. But there is a certain gruesome fascination about them, for me. In general, I do not like Jaqueline Lichtenberg's solo stuff, except for the very first Zeor book. And I don't like most of their combination stuff, either. Triangle was perfectly horrid. But I have a sneaking fondness for Price of the Phoenix. It was the first thing I ever found that showed me that other people looked at The Boys, and saw some of the same stuff I do. For that, I shall always be grateful, even though it really is a contestant for a Bulwer-Lytton award.... <You know -- the contest for stories that begin: "It was a dark and stormy night" -- and go downhill from there... ;-)>

Greywolf the Wanderer, reminiscing again

I read "Price" when I was 14 (oddly enough I gave a copy to my then boyfriend as a going away present--never heard what he thought of it). I was living in Iran (1977, feel free to do the math) at the time, and was just getting into Star Trek which was shown on the English language TV channel. I grabbed every Star Trek book I could get my mitts on and "Price" was my introduction to the K/S subtext.

It's also a really badly written book, although at 14 I was much less critical (hell I read John Norman too; I blame Iran and Norman equally for the fact that I'm a feminist). While I have no problem with dom/sub dynamics and Killa's "Surrender" was a great argument that that sort of thing could go on between Kirk and Spock in the *bedroom*, I found the whole weird dynamic to be very off in a public context. Reading it years later I find myself laughing and thinking that, even at my most purple, I'm not that bad.

However, historically it's a valuable book, if only to show how much could get published as pro fic back when Trek was, for all intents and purposes, a closed franchise. Look at James Blish's original novel (the one about the two Spocks). Talk about something that couldn't get published today; he completely ruled out any further conflict with the Klingons by having the Organians (remember them?) refuse to allow it. Anyway, "Price," as bad as it is, does have TrekSmut written all over it. It's one look at the K/S dynamic and a lot of people were influenced by it.

2000

Though, of course, there was that twisted piece of shit written by Marshok and Culbreath and actually published as a Star Trek novel and marketed to au audience, including children, that was not told that it was to expect thinly disguised homosexual sado-porn in lieu of a novel...

Folks are free to fantasize about whatever sexual permutations they desire. If they wish to fantasize about Cisco as a pimp, Janeway as a dominatrix, Picard as a cross-dresser, and Kirk and Spock as homosexual lovers, fine by me. If they want to imagine that Sulu and Chekov have orgies which Uhura videotapes and sells to Dr. McCoy, who is secretly a voyeur, that's fine too. But if they claim that any of these alleged sexual combinations has some basis in the show, they're going to get an argument, at least from me.

As to _stories_ about such sexual permutations, I suppose one's attitude about them depends on one's attitude about fan fiction and other unauthorized derivative works. _I_ think fan-fiction is stealing, but I realize others disagree and think it's wonderful. But Marshok and Culbreath weren't writing fan-fiction; they were writing an offiicially-authorized Star Trek novel, and I certainly think it's fair to object to surreptitious insertion of homosexual themes in such works by rogue authors with an agenda.

I've had my suspicions about the writers of the Phoenix stories... . It's kind of hard *not* to see K/S in a scene where they're both stark naked and tending each other's wounds with Omne's therapeutic shaving cream... oh ok, sickbay in a can. <eg>

2003

Their novels, _Price of the Phoenix_ and _Fate of the Phoenix_, are explicit slash, but written in code so that if you don't know you're looking at slash, you don't see it (you just get confused as hell). If you do know it's slash . . . well I got through exactly 3 and a half pages of _Fate of the Phoenix_ the last time I had a go at it. The cognitive dissonance was too fucking much. They may have thought what they were doing was very clever; I just got a headache.

I'm reviewing both [The Price of the Phoenix and "The Fate of the Phoenix] together -- (Slashy, strange story in which Kirk must battle a superman named Omne who progressively gains the skills of his opponents.) Includes the Romulan commander from "The Enterprise Incident," like all good slash. Kirk gets cloned and she keeps the clone as an, uh, body servant. The worst thing about these books is the elliptical, "insider" dialogue, which no sane person save the authors could make heads nor tails of. Yes, I was harsh because I wrote this during my little anti-slash period. Not all slash features the Romulan commander, after all. But I still think they suck.

2004

I recently came upon a very early pro novel “The Price Of The Phoenix” by Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath.

Reading it again brought back so many memories of those first flush days of K/S—when we eagerly awaited every pro novel as it was published. (Then it also reminded me of the last pro novel I ever read in which Kirk was turned into a crab creature on some planet and Spock has to search for him, but decides to go back to the Enterprise and resume the search in the morning because it was nighttime...) I wanted to share with you the wealth of K/S that I rediscovered in this novel. Some parts were truly breathtaking with K/S, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this again after so many years. Also, it’s very hard to believe that these women didn’t know exactly what they were writing and that the publishers didn’t have a clue what they were publishing! The novel is all about this Omne entity who is a big, gorgeous, sexy alien guy all dressed in black leather who desires Kirk beyond just wanting to rule the galaxy with him. So he makes this replica Kirk who they all call James (in fact, it gets mighty confusing who is who and who is doing what to whom) and there’s this Kirk replica totally naked under a very transparent sheet. “Sleeping beauty,” Omne said. “You may perform the awakening—in the traditional manner, if you like.” That’s what he says to Spock! But before this happens, everyone thinks Kirk is dead and Spock is beyond devastated—until he sees the replica. He could not use the name. If he used the name he was certainly lost. Omne says Spock “has certainly shared ship and shore leave for many years. Hardships, injuries, dangers, gym workouts (yes, those sexy gym workouts certainly rank right up there with injuries and dangers!). He must know the captain very well. Every contour. Every scar. Every injury.” Of course there’s references to hazel eyes when Kirk and Spock “lock eyes” and then the replica is made to stand up naked in front of them.

“This is my Captain,” Spock said. “I require no inspection.” Wow! I’m sure he doesn’t! Also, don’t you love the “my Captain”?

Spock does a mind-meld with Kirk. They say things like "We are alone.” Spock slipped in easily at the level of warmth. He had been here before. It knew how to accept him.

Spock says to the Kirk replica: “I am going to — mark—you now. It will be my way back to you, for I think he will keep you from me.” They left him still standing naked amid candles and flowers. But Spock felt a slender bond stretching between them like a strand of gold.

The right was not his. The friendship. All the years before—and to come. The agonies and the little private jokes. The shared looks speaking volumes in a familiar silence.

The Romulan commander, you know the one, features prominently in this story. She sees the link that Kirk and Spock share. She sees that they are in their own secret world that she can’t ever be a part of. He could melt stone, she thought, looking into the expressive face. Melt stone hearts. Vulcan. Romulan. The galaxy could not stand against him. How many hearts had he melted, how many faces warmed with those gentle, demanding hands? But, wait! There’s more! Kirk finds a wounded Spock and takes him in his arms. Excellent hurt/comfort. Then Kirk takes off Spock’s jeans! “Yes...” The pause was very long and the Vulcan eyes searched his face, seemed to drink it in, reached long fingers to brush dampness from his cheeks. “...Jim.” The best is yet to come—they’re all naked and Spock finds a large black velvet robe for Kirk and the Kirk replica gets to wear a white silk tunic with silk briefs! Quite the outfit! I loved the huge heroic nature of Kirk and Spock in this. They’re as important to Omne as like ruling the galaxy or something. And in spite of myself, I couldn’t resist the wonderful florid speeches that everyone gave during big action scenes. They all talked with this grand sweeping manner—like Kirk saying, “Moreover, (I mean when has Kirk ever said moreover?) now he has Spock’s powers. Superlatively dangerous.” (I use superlatively in conversation all the time. Don’t you?)

Anyway, I had a really great time reading this and I just marvel that it probably got in under the wire as the publishers began to realize there was this thing called K/S.

2005

I enjoyed reading your comments about “The Price of the Phoenix” and it brought back fond memories. I remember discovering the book (and its sequel) and thinking “this is more like it!”. After reading them, I went looking for other pro books that also depicted such an intense relationship between Kirk and Spock. But alas, I never discovered K/S until many years later.

Angsty?! Angsty?!!

Those books were the wellspring of the hurt comfort genera! That and they reeek, from cover to cover of (not so) thinly veiled S&M. To this day I

wonder how those books got published. They certainly have never let anything like them be published since.

...the only masochism is trying to read them. I nearly tossed the first Phoenix book from the third story atrium of my local library down to the first floor reading room because my brain hurt so much from trying to follow their idiocy. "hee hee! we're so clever! we snuck slash into a pro-novel! bow down to our genius!"

Er, well--from what I did read of this novel, and the others, it's not so much snuck in as hiding out in plain sight. :-)

It seems to me that the sharp divide that now exists between fanfic and "pro" Trek novels really wasn't firmly in place at the time those books were published. (Obviously books were books and zines were zines, but there was no automatic assumption that fanfic was unfit for professional publication.) Marshak and Culbreath also edited two volumes of "Star Trek: The New Voyages," for Bantam, both of which contained stories culled from fanzines (and I wonder if those collections weren't what Moore was thinking of when he mentioned M&C by name...) Professionally written Trek novels evolved alongside of, and arguably in the wake of, the fanfic. The editors of the pro books, no doubt totally unaware of slash culture and possibly not even that well versed in the Trek canon, probably didn't even know what they were looking at.

I also doubt that M&C were trying to pull a fast one on Bantam by "slipping" slash content into their books. More likely they simply saw no reason to leave the slash elements out as long as they were "toned down" enough to be ambiguous. Early Trek novel publishers couldn't put a ban on slash material in their books if they didn't know what slash was. M&C probably just wrote the story that they wanted to write and then edited it until Bantam said the manuscript was acceptable. The publisher, eager to profit from the popularity of Trek, may well have rushed the books into publication with minimal attention to certain details.

There are a fair number of early Trek pro-novels that are obvious mutations of fanfic, of varying quality. What's nice about many of these early works, however good or bad they may be as literature or science fiction, is that the writers are obviously passionate about the characters and write as if they, not Paramount, own them. I think that's greatly preferable to the kind of soul-less, by-the-numbers junk that's been published in more recent years by Pocket. These newer books are so thoroughly vetted by the Trek image-police that they rarely have any creative bite. And they tend to be created by writers for whom Star Trek

is just another job rather than a passion.

I also doubt that M&C were trying to pull a fast one on Bantam by "slipping" slash content into their books. More likely they simply saw no reason to leave the slash elements out as long as they were "toned down" enough to be ambiguous.

There seems to have been a conscious effort to write slashy conversations in such a way that if the reader didn't know it was slash, they couldn't put the pieces together (and would just be confused). The book is basically an exercise in social cryptology--if you don't get it, you don't get it. It's like an entire book written in Cockney slang.

The Phoenix books aren't "toned down" in the least. If you want toned down slash, try Margaret Wander Bonnano.

Early Trek novel publishers couldn't put a ban on slash material in their books if they didn't know what slash was.

That's not really it, though ... There was a very porous line between K/S and the K&S friendship stuff which was loved by a wide swath of fans (not necessarily K&S zines, but the sort of typical stuff you see in gen and pro fics between Kirk and Spock from that period, as well as on the animated series--for example, the scene where Kirk and Spock hug in "Mudd's Passion").

The publisher was probably deficient in clue--after all, they printed some really crappy Trek novels by scifi authors looking to make a buck, including wives and brothers of people they'd already published, and some of them really didn't know Trek. (One author had apparently learned about Trek by watching some TAS episodes.)

Well, it just goes to show that if the motto here at ASCEM isn't "Diffrent strokes for different folx" it should be. I devoured those lousy Phoenix books repeatedly - never had any illusions that they were good, mind you- but haven't you ever gotten a whif of some really awful junk food (nacho cheese always gets me), known it was dreadful, but wanted it like crazy anyway? Triangle, on the other hand, boared me to tears....One dosen't have to go far to imagine that Trek book editors in the olden days -when Trek was thot to appeal mainly to boys- were as clueless as the 13 year old me that bought those books. I read very thing Trek that I could get my hands on then and I was equally willing to pass judgement on them. I freely loathed Spock Messiah, and knew that there was something twisty about those Phoenix books, but didn't yet know enough about a lot of things to pin-point it. I knew that there was something sick about the way I liked those books, and couldn't pin-point that either. (We have so much to learn about ourselves when we're 13!). What's funny is that I'd been exposed to some early explicit slash by then, and dissaproved completely. It's not that I was a prude, I just [that] that all these efforts were far too off character and that remained my opinion until the first movie came out. As flawed as that movie was, it rendered the old Trek characters into 3 dimensional people (or at least, started to) and at that point, in my mind anyhow, it became possible for James T. Kirk to be someone who could have any kind of real relationship - with his first officer or anyone else, for that matter. In the years that followed, the depth of perversity in the Phoenix novels slowly became apparent to me. I even began to wonder if M&C themselves even knew what they were really writing about. I'm still not sure.

Ah, I remember those bits. I guess because it was mostly teasing from Omnedon and not a free expression of affection on Spock's part > that I didn't recognize it as slash (Not that I knew that term back then!)

It was also presented as very wholesome, as opposed to the kind of "ooo... illicit" vibe that slash sometimes gives off.

What? No, I can't agree with that. The whole series is doom and gloom with a heavy dose of Sadism--and not just from Omne.

It's very much in the bodice-ripping mysterious tall dark stranger and blushing debutante tradition, but even creepier, if possible.

That one scene in particular is cute. It's one of the few times Kirk expresses intent (other than his intent to get free and take down Omne). K'Sal did a good breakdown of the "plot", and I'm sad to say I can't remember her exact words, but they were reminiscent of Olive Oyl screaming to be saved from Bruno, except in this case Olive wants to get caught. I think K'Sal called the books obscene. They really are.

I don't like the "ooo... illicit" vibe, myself :P

Well, then what's up with them sneaking slash into a heavily suggestive story? Why not portray their relationship in wholesome terms (avoiding out-and-out slash that won't get published, of course)? Two male writers, Joe Haldeman and Gene Roddenberry in "Planet of Judgment" and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", did a better job of portraying the emotional relationship between Kirk and Spock than Marshak and Culbreath did.

M & C's writing operates on pure hormones, brain not required. There's no love in these stories, only lust. I mean, reread Procrustean Petard if you don't believe me. There's another K/S story in New Voyages/New Voyages 2, by the way--a really cute one where Spock's inhibitions are released for a moment by some hive mind of butterflies and he starts talking about a desire to get away from people and be alone with Kirk. (On the Bridge, so Kirk hastily shuts him up, of course.) PP isn't actually K/S but there's the clear implication that: Spock wants to get in Kirk's pants; and Kirk is a slut.

2008

Oh God! This is the most horribly written novel I have seen in quite a while. It has all the bad habits and tendencies of poorly written fan fiction, while prolonging the torture in drawn-out dialogues and angst reflections. It could even be considered a “slash”, a homosexual take on the characters. (This occurs frequently on fan fiction, as writers ‘dream’ of strange romances) Most of the time this is only implied in the ‘Spock-Kirk’ friendship, but in several places it’s disgustingly obvious.

“Sleeping beauty,” Omne said. “You may perform the awakening–in the traditional manner, if you like."

I absolutely hate the dialogues. They tend to be repetitive, speaking out the obvious, and in large parts “confrontational”, like bad fighting speeches. The writers like putting words in the mouths of the characters, and they drone on and on, most of the time getting nowhere, just talking of what they would do or not do, or challenging stupidly their adversary. This slows a lot the action on the book, and the pages go on and on while little is actually happening.

“Where I come from,” he said, “and in the civilized world, the custom is to ask permission to enter.”

“One does not ask permission of property,” Omne said.

“We have had that argument before.”

Omne smiled. “You lost.”

“Force is not an answer to argument”

“It is the last answer.”

Kirk shook his head, not deigning to answer.

The first time I could not even read it straight, I could not even comprehend how this was even published, or worse still, how Roddenberry himself read it and did not veto it.

A very excellent plot synopsis and character analysis is available at Wikipedia, so I won’t recreate it.

There are also other comments how Omne is one of the greatest adversaries the Enterprise has encountered, but if you analyze it closely, there’s really no big merit on this character’s creation. He has no personality per se, he’s just a sounding board where the characters get to voice off. He’s over-simplified, and the planet he created is absolutely ridiculous. The planet is “westernized”, with guns provided, but this is not touched nor used later, it’s just the backdrop. The Romulan commander is also present, but besides being a plot device, it’s totally out-of-character and illogical why it’s there and why she acts that way.

There are lot of big holes in the premise, in the action, in the characters actions, in the theme, in the plot, the descriptions, etc. I won’t go further in trying to describe more of the awful problems this book has, it simply was written by worse than amateurs, in a horrible way. I hated it all the way, I can’t stand this type of careless writing or the style it’s written in. The closest I could compare it to would be to a romance pulp novel, but I have not read too many of those either. Maybe a romance-pulp-reader would like it more, or there’s something in there that I’m not getting, but I highly doubt it.

I would recommend that you skip this book. The plots are not even that interesting, and are nothing like what normal Trek is about. Better yet, skip the whole series, or anything written by these authors; there are lots of much better (or at least mediocre, but interesting) books out there.

2011

A careful reading of this book makes it obvious that the piercing insight of the authors, Ms. Marshak & Ms. Culbreath, perceived far more deeply than most into the subtleties and nuances of the complicated relationship between Kirk and Spock. In fact, they saw more than many of the most ardent fans of the show may have been willing to notice or even admit. Crazy you say? Balderdash you challenge? Well, open your mind and read on and you may be very surprised by the time this review is over. At the outset, let me say I was quite impressed that the authors did not shy away from the strength of their convictions regarding the true nature of the Kirk/Spock relationship, despite such nature being well outside the recognized, approved depiction of Star trek canon. Before analyzing their conclusions in light of “official” Star Trek doctrine, I thought it would be appropriate to let people see for themselves the unrestrained passion, the physical hunger, the deeply felt emotion that the authors so admirably (at least in this reviewers opinion) gave full expression. [see the rest at the original review pointing out the homoerotic themes in the novel]

The one thing all of [early Star Trek tie-in novels] had in common was simple: it was all still largely unnoticed by its nominal parent company, Paramount Pictures. Spin-off novels about a canceled series? Somebody somewhere in the vast motion picture conglomerate might have cared a bit, but the corporation sure as hell didn’t.

And the way to tell that somebody somewhere cared at least a little? Those early Star Trek novels steered further and further away from the sado-erotic excesses of the earliest fan fiction. Even with the earliest professional novels, somebody somewhere must have said ‘Kirk and Spock can’t die, or be tortured, or kill out of anger’ – even though those three things were staples of fan fiction.

So it’s only fitting that this whole era of Star Trek fiction would end not only a pair of novels that actually dare to revive almost the whole of fan fiction’s bag of naughty tricks – but a pair of novels that also beat out all the rest for sheer entertainment. This era of Star Trek fiction goes out with one hell of a bang.

Of course I’m referring to The Price of the Phoenix and The Fate of the Phoenix, by the writing team of Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath.

I’ve praised these two before, but here they come into their own for the first time: here they write the Star Trek fan fiction novels to end all Star Trek fan fiction novels.

The Price of the Phoenix came out in 1977 and is, I make no secret of it, my favorite Star Trek novel of them all (not all the novels featuring the original cast, but all the novels – this is my favorite out of 700, not 70) – a designation rendered all the more melancholy for me by the realization that this book could never be published today. Even though its every page is glowing not only with knowledge of the show (this writing team was even briefly in love with the idea of footnotes in Star Trek novels – imagine if that had caught on! They’d be running at Gibbon-esque length in the most recent books!) but with fidelity to its spirit, these books are too violent, too sexually charged, too adult to get green-lighted in today’s franchise sci-fi market. Not to mention the fact that all of those fan fiction staples feature prominently here: our logical, unemotional Mr. Spock threatens murder with savage ferocity; characters are tortured with sheer brute force; and best of all, somebody dies – Captain Kirk, no less, and he’s dead before the book opens with these crackerjack lines:

The transporter shimmered.

The two Enterprise security men materialized, took a firmer grip on the anti-grav lifts, and stepped carefully off the platform with the stretcher that bore the body of Captain James T. Kirk.

[...]

He’s a fascinating villain, Omne, and he’s the cornerstone of why this novel and its sequel work so well – only a great villain, somebody who challenges our heroes on many levels, can bring out the best in those heroes. The Star Trek novels that try to do this by the introduction of a point-of-view good guy (the infamous “Mary Sue saves the universe” gambit that we’ll have reason to discuss in a later chapter) almost always fail, because they distract our attention from the heroes who should be at the center of things.

Omne centers the attention like nobody’s business. He appears human, though he’s very tall, broad, and heavy with muscle (he’s called a “giant” many times) – but he isn’t human: his blood is blue-green, and he’s at least as strong as a Vulcan or a Romulan. And the reason we know that is because Vulcans and Romulans play a vital part in these books. The Vulcan of course is Mr. Spock. The Romulan, as Kirk and Spock discover when they arrive at Omne’s black hole planet, is the same female Romulan Commander they once encountered in the original series episode “The Enterprise Incident” and tricked out of the fledgling Romulan cloaking device.

The Romulan Commander (we never learn her public name, although she whispers her private one to Spock at one point) in that episode was played with magisterial, entirely believable authority by Joanne Linville, and her performance is so memorable that the Commander immediately became a favorite character in fan fiction and in many Star Trek novels. In The Price of the Phoenix she’s come to Omne’s world (with the three starships under her command) on a mission analogous to that of Captain Kirk: to assess Omne’s potential to disrupt the current balance of power (the book’s major logistical flaw is that the Klingon Empire would certainly also have sent a representative, yet there be no Klingons here).

[...]

...Omne also has a darker motive, something entirely more reminiscent of the bad old days of fan fiction: he wants to use his Vulcanoid physical strength to humiliate Kirk – physically. To make him beg – not for principle or for the lives of his friends, but personally, for himself. And Kirk knows it’s possible...

[...]

For this humiliation and much more, Spock surrenders to the rage that’s welling up against his peaceful Vulcan training, and the novel climaxes in a long and brutal fight between him and Omne, a fight that ends with Omne risking everything – risking that his own pre-set Phoenix machinery will work to duplicate himself – by killing himself. When he returns and confronts his adversaries – Kirk, Spock, the Romulan Commander, the duplicate Kirk, and Dr. McCoy in the Enterprise‘s Sick Bay, he finally realizes that these heroes will sacrifice almost anything to prevent his miracle from becoming an evil let loose on the galaxy...

[...]

The book is rip-snortingly fast-paced (the whole of the main action hardly takes longer than a day), but it’s raw and avid with emotion – it’s take-no-prisoners fan fiction in which both Kirk and Spock get roughed up well beyond what later fiction would countenance. This of course is the allure of fan fiction: you can’t be certain at any point what will and won’t happen. The Price of the Phoenix ends with a cliffhanger, and the following year Marshak and Culbreath brought out the sequel, The Fate of the Phoenix, again starring Kirk, Spock, the Romulan Commander, and the duplicate Kirk (now called James and surgically altered to pass as a Romulan and live with the Commander in the Romulan Empire, rather than have the presence of two Kirks in the Federation reveal the existence of the Phoenix process), all again pitted not only against Omne but also against a Phoenix-generated duplicate of Omne – wearing a copy of Mr. Spock’s body.

[...]

The Price of the Phoenix and The Fate of the Phoenix sold very well, but more importantly, they were very much loved by Star Trek fans eager for the novels they were reading to more faithfully mirror the show they loved. Both books have been reprinted several times with an array of different cover illustrations – including one for The Fate of the Phoenix that features Kirk kneeling before a shadowy figure we only see from the rear and must assume is Omne – reflecting the fact that in the entire course of both books, Culbreath and Marshak never once explicitly tell us what color Omne’s skin is – he’s called Black Omne, but that’s easily interpreted as a reflection of his malevolence only, and sometimes our authors will refer to his ‘heathen idol face’ – but again, the truly telling specifics simply aren’t included.

2012

... These books are one thing over and over: "Captain, I can't let you do this, it's too dangerous. I must die for you." "No, Spock, it's too dangerous, I'll do it and die for you." "No, Jim, it is I who must die for you." And then one of them would conk the other over the head and say, "Ha, ha, my old friend, you lose, I get to die for you." And this goes on and on chapter after chapter. This, for all I know, is where "slash fiction" began (look it up on Wikipedia: "Kirk/Spock"), so at least is historical.

But boy, is it bad. I forced myself to finish it so that I could honestly say, "I read the worst book in the world all the way through, and it didn't suddenly get better on the last page." But at least it is historically, change-your-life bad.

UPDATED: According to fanlore.org, these two books actually were disguised "slash" fan fiction, so if you know you like that, maybe they succeed on that level for you. You can search for the two books at fanlore.org and learn a lot about that time in Star Trek fiction.

...In their defense, they apparently had a lot to do with keeping Star Trek fandom going, and put out some other factual books about the show and its fans, as well as some fan fiction anthologies, and that's not a bad thing, because it all helped lead in the direction to where Trek survived. They just weren't cut out out be novelists, apparently. AND they were a lot younger then. I wouldn't want to be judged on stuff I wrote umpty-jillion years ago.

2013

I don't know why so many people had a hard time understanding what was going on in the PHOENIX books. It isn't THAT dense a read, I mean we're not talking Joseph Conrad, where it might take you 8 hours to read 90 pages. They may not be as lean and straightforward as SPOCK MUST DIE! (which I recall being able to read cover-to-cover while the afternoon movie (3:30pm to 5pm) ran, but PRICE and FATE's characters were quite recognizable to me as the guys from the TV show. That was true in PROMETHEUS as well (they got Shatner as Kirk in the dialog SO well that I was really hearing Shatner when Kirk argued with the god-like aliens), but TRIANGLE! I guess I know how most of you feel if TRIANGLE is what you got from the other books.

2014

KIRK: *dies*

SPOCK: Prepare to face thy doom, Omne.

OMNE: I have the technology. I control the horizontal. I control the vertical. I control this entire planet. I can bring him back.

JAMES: Hi!

OMNE: He's yours to have and to hold.. if you give me the Federation.

SPOCK: I left the Federation in my other pants.

ROMULAN COMMANDER: *helps Spock* What makes him think you've got the Federation?

SPOCK: Vulcans are godlike and superior. Of course we own the Fed, Starfleet, NBC and everything else. He can go get his own damn Federation.

OMNE beats the crap out of KIRK, then heals him with a magic spray can.

SPOCK: Especially not after he beat the crap out of my BFF.

SPOCK beats the crap out of OMNE.

ROM. CMDR.: Wow! Are you sure he's just your BFF?

SPOCK: Yes. This isn't slash. That would be illogical.

ROM. CMDR.: (wow, are you in denial.)

OMNE: Waaaah! I got my ass kicked by this powerful studly manly man Vulcan!

OMNE kills himself. SPOCK and the ROMULAN COMMANDER find the real Kirk (Not dead, I'm getting better!) and take him and James back to the Enterprise.

OMNE shows up and beats the crap out of everybody before being killed a second time.

OMNE: But I'll be back!!

KIRK: I was afraid of that.

ROMULAN COMMANDER: Let's disguise James as a Romulan, then take him to a world where men are the weaker sex because he's such a wimp.

SPOCK: OK.

THE END

2017

(2017-12-26) ... this post prompted me to re-read “The Price of the Phoenix” for the first time in 30+ years ...

Oh dear. I’ve read hundreds and hundreds of Trek books in the last 4 1/2 decades, and I can confidently state this is the worst Star Trek novel I’ve ever read. So, maybe it’s just as well their further Trek projects never got off the ground.

(2017-12-29) ... I’ve read my share of fan fiction, and this, on a sentence-by-sentence basis, is more professional, more polished than most of what I’ve read. It’s just when taken over all that the awfulness emerges.

It’s clear that the Bantam editor (Fred Pohl) had no clue what Star Trek’s appeal was, so he didn’t try and shape the plots or characterizations. He did make sure it was competent and professional, even if pulpily plotted and floridly overwritten.

And marshak & culbreath’s books continued to be reprinted again and again into the early days of the 21st century, so they must have had their finger on the pulse of some strain of fan, even if I don’t fall into that group.

Unknown Date

The mood in the Enterprise transporter room in a somber one: James T. Kirk has been pronounced dead, and what remains of his charred body has just been returned to the Enterprise. Spock, who was witness to Kirk’s death as the captain rushed into a burning building to save a baby, believes the death was no accident but a well-planned murder. With this conviction, he returns to the planet seeking revenge for Kirk’s death. While there, he confronts the Romulan commander (from "The Enterprise Incident") with his beliefs and finds that hers run along a similar line. Before long the two face Omne, the owner of the lawless planet, and find that he has discovered a way to conquer death using a variation of the transporter effect and a recording of the emanations of one who is dying. The result of his experiment? A duplicate Kirk, identical in all respects to the original, who is "for sale" if Spock does Omne’s bidding and denounces the Prime Directive.

However, before Spock can play his role, the original Kirk is discovered, and Spock must now figure out how to secure his release before Omne can carry out his grand designs for the galaxy. Unfortunately, one of Omne’s first acts is to prove his superiority over the "son of moral certainty" as he dubs Kirk, and the starship captain faces bitter defeat at the alien’s hands while Spock, the Commander, and his duplicate search for him and for a means of leaving the planet. As they search, there is also the question of what to do with a duplicate Kirk; these two Kirks can not be reunited as they were in "The Enemy Within" as these are not opposites, but identical individuals, who must now face several metaphysical issues of their own.

While the novel has plenty of action, it also has several spots that are bogged down in dialogue that at times seems both heavy and repetitious. Much of the dialogue also becomes too philosophical as life without the finality of death is discussed.. A central element in the story is, of course, the friendship between Kirk and Spock, but this at times comes across more like slash fiction than true friendship. And while the return of the Romulan Commander is a welcome one, at times she and the rest of the characters do not seem to react as we readers have come to expect.

The novel ends with several loose ends, thus paving the way for a sequel The Fate of the Phoenix. Despite its weaknesses and the fact that it is not an easy read, I think most readers will find the plot to be an interesting one and will even be caught up in some of the allegory present in the story.