Vulcan's Lyre

Zine
Title:	Vulcan's Lyre
Publisher:
Editor(s):	Kelly Cline, Ivan Wolfe
Type:	newsletter
Date(s):	late 1980s-1990s
Frequency:	monthly
Medium:	print
Fandom:	Star Trek: TNG
External Links:
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Vulcan's Lyre is a gen Star Trek newsletter, each issue roughly 16-20 pages. It lasted 50 issues.

From an ad in Starfleet Communique, it is "a monthly newsletter with vivid stories, insightful articles, the latest updates, breathtaking artwork and all things Trekkish."

From an ad in Datazine #56: "One year, 12 issues. A fanzine with a regular editoral column; reviews of books, episodes, etc.; trivia; news and other information on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek VI; Star Trek fiction; Star Trek artwork; and other feature items that include poems, nonfiction, etc."

Issue 26

Vulcan's Lyre 26 was published in May 1991.

Reactions and Reviews

This is mainly a NexGen newsletter which carries two very short fiction pieces, art, a poem, reviews and articles from our fellow fen, way up north in Alaska. I have to begin by saying that I am a personal aficionado of anything that comes out of that wonderful state.

While the reproductive quality of Vulcan's Lyre is not so hot (it's photocopied), the good, fannish energy and enthusiasm the editors and contributors pour into this labor of love make up for the graphic shortcomings. And folks, at this price you really can't go wrong.

The-layout-was-a-bit-confusing for me and the number of misspelled words/typos is somewhat daunting but there is something refreshing about the work of Ivan Wolfe and Kelly Cline.

Kelly reviews several NexGen episodes in a sort of awkward style, but I basically agreed with the sentiments expressed, if not with the style of presentation.

The ongoing supermarket tabloid parody created by Ivan, roasting the Classic and NexGen stars, is a little weak, but it's funny and I can only wonder at what he'll come up with next. (This installment states Walter Koenig has been secretly married to Roseanne Barr for four years.)

Most of the art in this issue is early work by Gennie Summers which resembles cartoon drawings except for a couple newer illos. Yet Gennie's drawings fit right in with the zine, enhancing its decidedly fannish overtones perfectly.

The issue's single piece of poetry is "Shadows Cross the Heart" by RoseAnn Alvarez, and I very much enjoyed her simple, evocative imagery. I did find her "theme" a little obscure, but Ms. Alvarez managed to create what seemed to me to be silver threads of verse flowing forth from an alien landscape. A very nice little gem to happen upon.

Also enjoyable are the humorous "letters" sent in from various fictional creations. These "letters" in part lambaste the editors, and are definitely the product of fannish efforts, but what's wrong with that? I found them enjoyable (even when, as one such "letter" from a Klingon group invading earth stated, "Serve the glorious Klingon Empire or be crushed!").

"Paradise" by Halsey Taylor is an interesting short short story. It's a NexGen'piece which involves Spock's niece T'Heta (Sybok's daughter) who is a sort of ambassador-at-large on a hostile "pleasure planet." The characters are drawn realistically, the pace well-kept and I found myself enjoying this piece in spite of its brevity.

The second and final work of fiction in Vulcan's Lyre is 'T'Kaiya" by Kim Pederson (editor of Engage!, a fantastic new LOC zine which I highly recommend to everyone). Unfortunately, I found the writing to be somewhat amateur and the plot too thin to support itself. The story concerns itself with T'Kaiya, a Vulcan ensign aboard the U.S.S. Exeter, which has been trapped in Tholian space with those hostile little crystalline sugar cubes breathing down their necks. The adventure of the story is how the crew manage to extricate themselves from the Web, and although I was not overly impressed with Kim's prose, I did enjoy her work for its sheer enthusiasm.

Vulcan's Lyre is worth its subscription price, and any fan that would like to leave behind some of the pretentiousness rampant

in may facets of Trekdom today need only pick up a copy of this charming and fun zine.