The Creators – Paul Cornell – Writer, Christopher Jones – Artist, Charlie Kirchoff – Colours, Neil Uyetake – Letters

The Players – James T. Kirk, Laura Rhone, Spock, McCoy

The Story – Captain Kirk finds love, but will it stick?

The Take – While on leave, Kirk meets a woman who just so happens to be a captain as well and he finds that the two of them have much in common. From there author, Paul Cornell has them essentially falling in love though neither one of them says it. It is a light-hearted affair, essentially a throwaway piece of fluff having nothing that will ever impact anything going on in the main Year Five book, though never say never. That being said, it is highly enjoyable because of those very facts and Cornell understands Kirk to a T as it were, his voice sounding as it should even though it be upon the printed page. There are no real big battles though there is one life or death decision that has to be made and aside from that, it finds James Tiberius Kirk being happy. Even more so, it finds him discovering happiness from outside of the ship, from not being a captain, but a man and one who has found a woman the same as he. Drawn by Christopher Jones, the artwork is a perfect match for the story and it is nice to see that the characters within the book actually match their television counterparts which does not always happen in the licensed Star Trek books. As it is, one would expect an ending that where Kirk loses the girl or she dies or some such for as far as the show and the films go, Kirk was single for quite some time. Be that as it may, the story does indeed have a happy ending and it is one purely in line with what happens in the world of Star Trek. If in need of some light, feel-good reading, the Star Trek: Year Five Valentine’s Day Special will do the job.

Worth it? – Yes.