The Sound of Rain (Star Trek: TOS zine)

Zine
Title:	The Sound of Rain
Publisher:	MKASHEF Enterprises
Editor(s):
Date(s):	1986
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS
Language:	English
External Links:	Online Flyer
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The Sound of Rain is a slash 83-page Star Trek: TOS anthology of stories by Natasha Solten. It has the subtitle, "and other K/S stories."

It is illustrated by Jacquelyn Zoost and Natasha Solten.

From the Editorial

The editor includes a quote from the book "I Am Not Spock" by Leonard Nimoy about his reaction to the zine Spock Enslaved!:

... The cover of one of these fanzines in particular shows a very well done drawing of Mr. Spock stripped to the waist, his lower portion covered for the most part with a draped toga exposing one bare leg, his hands manacled and a belt from the manacles chaining him to a post. The obvious suggestion is that Mr. Spock in this case is a love slave, much in the same way that women have been used for years in erotic and semi-erotic literature. I suppose in this case, turn about is fair play...

The editor then comments:

The above observation by Mr. Nimoy is, in a nutshell, exactly what I am trying to do in writing erotic Trek literature, specifically K/S. The tables are turned now; this is erotica aimed at and for women and it is great fun to write for my own enjoyment and that of others. Never is it meant to hurt others, offend or corrupt. It is pleasure and pleasure alone. And if there may be some literaty merit it it, then that's an added bonus. I appeal to the open-minded ones, to the lovers, to the ones of you who have discovered that dreams can be as real as reality. Enjoy! And to quote Mr. Nimoy again [from his book 'I am Not Spock'] with his answer to a women who asked him if he was aware that he (and Spock) was the source of erotic dream material for thousands of women around the world: 'May all your dreams come true.

Content

Fiction:

• The Sound of Rain (Spock has been gone almost a year on a secret mission and his absence has been harder on Kirk than Kirk could ever have imagined.)
• A Private Mission, part I, "All That Matters" (When Spock does not appear at their preset meeting place while he and Kirk are on a secret mission, Kirk sets out to find him and discovers Spock beaten and raped.)
• A Private Mission, part II, "Like the Night"
• Distractions (When he and Spock are almost captured by Klingons, Kirk is upset when Spock refuses to leave him behind.)

Poetry:

• The Sound of the Rain
• Dark Waters
• Phoenix
• Ying and Yang
• Requiem for Rayna
• Two Lives
• The Star
• A Vision of Gold

Sample Interior Gallery

• 

  inside page, sample poem and illo

• 

  inside page, Natasha Solten

• 

  inside page, Jacqueline Zoost

• 

  inside page, sample text

• 

  inside page, Jacqueline Zoost

• 

  inside page, Jacqueline Zoost

• 

  inside page, Jacqueline Zoost

• 

  inside page, Natahsa Solten

Reactions and Reviews

See reactions and reviews for The Sound of Rain.

See reactions and reviews for A Private Mission.

See reactions and reviews for Distractions.

[zine]: This zine contains three k/s stories and eight poems by Natasha Solten. The first story, "The Sound Of Rain," begins with Kirk, alone, in his apartment overlooking San Francisco Bay. He and Spock have been separated for about a year while Spock partakes in a secret mission. Kirk, at first not consciously aware of how much he misses Spock, expresses his secret feelings through a recurring dream where his last good-bye to the Vulcan is impossibly painful, unlike their real good-bye which was simple and painless. When the two reunite, after year of separation, Kirk learns to face his anxiety and deep emotions, and can finally put a name to them: love. What I like about this story is the character of Spock. He is not the naive, often smug character he was before he left. He has matured into a confident, observant friend, and Kirk's thoughts and feelings do not pass by him unnoticed. He gives his strength when Kirk needs it most. Throughout the story, a rain storm pound the roof and windows, giving the story an atmosphere of loneliness, and later, coziness. Very well, written, TSoR is a good read. The second story, "A Private Mission," involves the recovery of Spock from personal injuries sustained during an undercover mission involving himself and Kirk. This is mostly a hurt/comfort story, with Kirk as the strength for Spock as they return to Starfleet Command and go through debriefing. It is predictable, but interesting. The characters are gentle and caring. A sweet K/S story using a tired theme. The third and last story, and my personal favorite, is "Distractions." It opens with Kirk and Spock being pursued by a group of Klingons. Kirk falls and cannot continue on. He orders Spock to keep running and Spock disobeys in order to remain at Kirk's side. Kirk is fuming that Spock has disobeyed a direct order, but Spock ignores him and they both sit in the street awaiting their fate as the Klingons round the corner. Of course, in the nick of time, the two are beamed up. The remainder and major focus of the story involves several confrontations between Kirk and Spock involving the subject of Spock's disregard of direct orders. Deeper meanings behind his insubordination surface and the story culminates in beautifully, poetic love scenes. All the poetry is good, the most notable ones being, "Dark Waters," "Requiem For Rayna," and "Two Lives." Also, "Phoenix" has some wonderful images as well as "The Star" which is the only non-K/S Trek poem of the bunch. Artwork is by Solten and Jacquelyn Zoost. All in all, the zine is a good read and well worth ordering.

What made me pick up this 1986 gem of a collection? Well, it was Natasha kinda pouting about it a few days ago to me, saying her memory was that it wasn‘t a very good collection. I had to see if she was right or not. Now, I admit to not being completely detached from reviewing this because Natasha is a friend, someone I‘ve written with in the long-gone past. I also believe that she is one of the greatest living poets so, impartial I am not. However, even my memory of 'The Sound of Rain' wasn‘t accurate because, as it turns out, this is a lovely, sweet (in the best sense of the word), insightful, poetic collection of three stories: 'The Sound of Rain', 'A Private Mission' and 'Distractions'.

'The Sound of Rain' finds Kirk and Spock apart for a period of one year following the five-year mission; Spock has gone on a mission for Vulcan into Romulan space to rescue any survivors on the planet Hellguard – where he finds Saavik. But this story isn‘t about Spock‘s mission or even Kirk‘s work at the Admiralty during that year apart. This is a lush little story of their reunion. It is at times stressed but, in the end, the reunion is just as lovely as any reunion could hope to be. 'A Private Mission' is, in a way, a ―rape story‖ – something Natasha and I both swore to each other neither of us had ever written (we were both very wrong, and see what aging memories are like?!). Spock is attacked while he and Kirk are on a 2-man mission. But this is not about Spock‘s attack. It is about his healing. This is definitely a hurt/comfort story – with the emphasis on the comfort part – but it is also very much a K/S story as the two of them learn to live with what happened and learn to turn to each other for strength and, yes, comfort. 'Distractions' is just what it says: a story about distractions. When Spock refuses to abandon Kirk in the face of Klingon spies chasing them (Kirk is injured and can‘t run any more), a proverbial can of worms is opened. Why couldn‘t Spock leave Kirk; why couldn‘t he follow orders under those conditions; why does Kirk discover he wouldn‘t have been able to leave Spock in similar circumstances; why does Kirk think the best way to corner Spock is to lie in wait for him on the Vulcan‘s bed? These questions and more are explored and, in the end, answered in this very spot-on character study. Also included – because Natasha is a poet at heart – are eight beautiful poems celebrating the K/S relationship. All art is by Natasha and Jacquelyn Zoost, graphics by Caro Hedge.

You know that feeling you get from reading good, old-fashioned, hot, loving K/S? Well, I got that feeling from each of the stories in this anthology. A better read I cannot think of for a long, cold, New Year‘s night.