The Long and Winding Road (Star Trek: TOS zine)
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| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Long and Winding Road |
| Publisher: | Natasha Solten |
| Editor: | |
| Author(s): | Sharon Pillsbury |
| Cover Artist(s): | DEW |
| Illustrator(s): | DEW |
| Date(s): | 1990 |
| Medium: | |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: TOS |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | Online Flyer on AO3 |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Long and Winding Road is a 145-page slash novel by Sharon Pillsbury. While the canon character, Finnegan, is prominent, the pairing is not Kirk/Finnegan, but Kirk/Spock.
The cover and interior art is by DEW.
Summaries
From Media Monitor: "The story of Kirk's unstable acquaintanceship with Finnegan, and an unfortunate incident that leaves both young men seriously affected. Kirk meets Finnegan again many years later, threatening Kirk's career and his quickly deepening relationship with Spock."
From Gilda F: "Kirkʼs run-in with his academy nemesis, Finnegan, brings disturbing memories to the surface, the same memories that are keeping him and Spock apart."
From the Flyer
- PART ONE: FINNEGAN: "And Keeps My Mind From Wandering" "Young cadet Kirk meets Finnegan at the Starfleet Academy and is the butt of many a practical joke. Meanwhile, Finnegan's roommate, a harsh, overbearing and insecure bully, takes the idea of a practical joke too far, injuring Kirk and leaving a guilt-ridden, not so cocky Finnegan in the wake of his brutality."
- PART TWO: KIRK: "It Was Twenty Years Ago Today... "Now a starship captain, Kirk meets Finnegan again. His old feelings, and a still unresolved psychological block from events in his academy days, surface and threaten his mental health, as well as his quickly deepening relationship with Spock. And the still guilt-ridden Finnegan seems to be the only man who can help him."
Reactions and Reviews
1990
I enjoyed novel a great deal and particularly liked the aspect of Kirk and Spock's quest toward love-making being long and slow. In fact, I personally would have liked to have seen at least 75X of the story to be "twenty years later", since the situation between Kirk and Spock was so intriguing. Finnegan's character was well fleshed. Perhaps the only thing lacking was a clear explanation as to why, his brother treated him and his sister the way she did. I also liked the hurt/comfort aspect. It was refreshing to see Kirk show a little honest weakness and fear. I was hoping the novel would continue on until Kirk was ready to have intercourse, but to do so in a realistic amount of time would have probably caused it to drag unnecessarily. I also enjoyed Spock's quiet patience; I don't think I can ever read too much of that. [1]
I read this novel in two days, and enjoyed it immensely. I liked the characterization of Finnegan (no, he does NOT become either Kirk's or Spock's love partner). Finnegan is neither all-good or all-evil, he is a "shade of gray." And I love the comforting and patience that Spock gives to a Kirk who has been hurt and traumatized. [2]
The opening section that took place at Starfleet Academy was excellent. It was ironic that Finnegan was calling this cadet Kirk "baby". Before the rape, he was one of the most mature and self-assured cadet Kirks I have ever seen. The ambivalent characterization of Finnegan is superb throughout the novel. Yet once we get beyond the Academy, there are problems. My most serious problem was with McCoy. How can he say to Kirk "Nothing goes beyond this room" one minute and spill the beans to Spock less than an hour later? And that was only the most blatant breach of confidentiality. It also seemed to me that McCoy thought it was more important for K/S to develop than for Kirk to fully recover from his rape. He was pressuring Kirk about K/S when he was supposed to be giving Kirk therapy on Starbase 12. I don't think that was proper. There are also a couple of minor plot improbabilities. McCoy and Spock shouldn't have had to wait for Finnegan to let them know about the rape. When Kirk mentioned that an awful thing happened at the Academy, McCoy should nave accessed Kirk's Academy records right away, and if it hadn't occurred to McCoy then, it should have occurred to Spock when McCoy asked him whether Kirk had ever said anything about something happening in the Academy. Spock isn't usually slow on the uptake. Also, why did Spock leave the door to Kirk's quarters conveniently unlocked so that Finnegan could wander in? I don't think Spock would be that careless. THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD does have some great scenes, but the flaws in McCoy's professionalism that I mentioned compromised Kirk's recovery process. [3]
2021
4/5: I read so many rape fics over the past few months that I thought I was completely desensitised, but this one hit me like a ton of bricks. Most of it was told from Finnegan's perspective, which I have some conflicting feelings about. It was interesting, though. This was overall very well written, but there was no distinction between thoughts and narration, which made some parts a little confusing.[4]
References
- ^ from The LOC Connection #20
- ^ from The LOC Connection #20
- ^ from The LOC Connection #22
- ^ K/S Fanfiction by uss-genderprise.tumblr.com/