Thelin and The Chimes at Midnight

Thanks to Titan's "Star Trek" magazine editor, Paul Simpson, for organising this beautiful illustration of Andorian Mr Thelin (late of "Yesteryear", TAS) to accompany the magazine's extract of a story out of "Myriad Universes: Echoes and Refractions", volume 2 in the series of novella omnibuses.

"The Chimes at Midnight", by Geoff Trowbridge, tells of the life that could have been, ie. if Spock had died during his kahs-wan practice run at age seven, and Thelin went on to be Kirk's first officer on the Enterprise. the timeline continues on through the movies years, paralleling the Genesis Project years and beyond.

Below (left), here's how he appears, drawn in the Filmation style, in the Titan ST Magazine, US #12, Jul/Aug 2008, p. 56:


Pocket Books cover art (right) by the talented John Picacio

Guest star Gene

Here's a graphic novel with a great Star Trek twist: "Roswell, Texas" by L. Neil Smith, Rex F. May, Scott Beiser, and Jen Zach was just published by Big Head Press.

March 5, 1836: Davy Crockett kills General Santa Anna with a single 600-yard rifle shot. The Alamo still falls to the Mexican Army, but Crockett escapes to join Sam Houston. The delay at the Alamo gives Houston time to prepare.

July 4, 1947: Lieutenant Gene Roddenberry, a young Texas Air Militia pilot, shoots down an unidentified flying disk near Roswell, western-most city in the Federated States of Texas. Agents from the United States, the California Republic, the Franco-Mexican Empire, and the Third-and-a-Half Reich all want to learn the flying disk's secrets.

Gene Roddenberry is one of many familiar characters in this alternate history tale. The book is printed in black & white, but you can read the entire story, in color, online or just the sequence of pages and the closeup featuring Lt Roddenberry.

I just ordered an as-new b/w book version from an Amazon second hand market seller, as Amazon itself is still awaiting stock.

The return of Mr Thelin!

(Cover art by John Picacio)

A few weeks ago, Paul Simpson, editor of the Titan "Star Trek" magazine suggested that I'd be very pleased by the next issue of magazine, and I assume that means there'll be something Thelin-related with the extract of "The Chimes at Midnight". Maybe the distinctive cover art, by the talented John Picacio, which features Thelin the Andorian, from the alternative timeline of "Yesteryear" (Filmation's animated Star Trek series of the 70s)?

Pocket Books' "Myriad Universes: Echoes and Reflections" collection is due in August. It contains three alternate universe stories. "The Chimes at Midnight" is by Geoff Trowbridge. "In a continuum where Spock died during childhood, an Andorian named Thelin became Captain Kirk’s stalwart friend and first officer. But at the moment of Khan’s final defeat, history takes an even stranger turn, and the emerging potential of Project Genesis is revealed as the galaxy’s greatest hope... and its most ominous threat." I can't wait!


Thelin in "Yesteryear"! - this image was tinkered with in Photoshop, several years ago, to give him Andorian blue skin. Famously, on TAS as televised, Thelin's skin is a more of a greyish/causcasian colour, and varies from frame to frame. Although, more recently, on the "Enterprise" TV series, we met the pale blue/white Aenar subspecies who share Andoria with the blue Andorians.

Captain's Log: Supplemental. Here it is: Thelin from the Titan extract:


Issue #12 (US), July/August, 2008, p. 56. Thanks Paul! So cool!