klingonkhristmas1By Paul Ruditis

Gallery Books, out now

It had to happen – the Klingons have reclaimed their festival Khristmas…

The Night Before Christmas is possibly one of the most-altered poems in the English language, with variants for every circumstance – the “politically correct” one is a personal favourite – and there are a number of unofficial Star Trek ones already floating around the internet. However the majority of these focus on the crews of the Enterprise (usually Picard’s ship), rather than their foes.

Apparently it’s not just the works of Shakespeare that should be read in the original Klingon; A Very Klingon Khristmas explains how the feast celebrates the birth of Kahless, with the arrival of Santa Qlas with a load of presents… including some things for those who’ve been naughty, not nice.

Ruditis’ comic text is accompanied by some highly appropriate pictures by Patrick Faricy (the look on the faces of the courting couple in the penultimate spread is hysterical), and while it may not have the practical uses of some of Simon & Schuster’s other less usual Star Trek tie-ins (such as the Cross-Stitch or Craft books), this will make a good stocking filler for the Trek fan in your life.

Verdict: The sort of book I would have expected at the height of TNG-mania twenty years ago, rather than now, this is a fun addition to the Trek library. 7/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order A Very Klingon Khristmas from Amazon.co.uk

Watch out for a chance to win a copy of A Very Klingon Khristmas coming this week from Sci-Fi Bulletin

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