"He is even deeper in your blood than Vulcan."
Review
I went out of my way to make sure I got a first edition of this book due to the fact it underwent some severe revisions in every subsequent edition, ostensibly to cut out a handful of very overt spirk scenes. I'm not sure if there are any comparisons between the editions to highlight what was culled and changed, but it would be interesting to look into.
Anyway, this book was Good but not my favorite. Largely due to personal preference -- I'm not overtly Opposed to character AU's, but they don't tend to be my favorites, so perhaps I should have seen this one coming lmao. But it definitely wasn't bad; I didn't find any of the character choices to be egregious and it Was pretty interesting to compare and contrast the effect that the alternate timeline had on the development of both Spock and Kirk. I definitely found the depiction of the relationship between Spock and Kirk to be compelling as all hell; I can see why this book is somewhat of a 'legend' among spirk shippers lol.
The antagonists of the novel describing Kirk as "what is dearest to [Spock] in all the combined universes" alongside sections like : ""In any timeline, I know that you will be as unique as you are now... and I believe you will find your happiness." He looked down, not quite able to meet the hazel eyes as he spoke. He is even deeper in your blood than Vulcan. It was, he realized, a very simple truth." really do kind of leave one a little breathless about it all. Equally compelling to me is the subplot that involves two side characters from the Enterprise - Richardson and S'Parva. S'Parva is from a telepathic species and can perform something analogous to a mindmeld; when Richardson admits he's nervous to doing this with her, she laughs and says that telepathy isn't nearly as Intimate for her species as it is for Vulcans -- it's much more casual.
We then immediately cut to a scene where Spock initiates a mindmeld with Kirk. lol.
The repeated emphasis on the bond that Spock shares with Kirk is fascinating. Even before the plot really kicks off, Kirk spends a moment reflecting on the telepathic bond that they've had for years, and this is something that reoccurs at several points throughout the plot. Kirk is able to send Spock an image of a constellation via this link so that Spock will be able to find the planet Kirk has been stranded on; the alternate timeline Spock (upon approaching Pon Farr) is unable to resist the temptation to meld with Kirk because he can sense that their minds share a connection and suspects they've done it multiple times before; even within the throes of Pon Farr, Spock finds himself drawn to a distant connection implied to be his bond with Kirk (given that, even though they are separated by unknown lightyears, Kirk seems to suffer a mild version of the blood fever right alongside Spock) before he's intercepted by Thea; the fact that at the end of the novel (spoilers), the alternate Spock and Kirk choose spend their final moments together in a mindmeld as their timeline collapses around them. Fascinating.
There's a couple of good McCoy moments in this one as well -- Spock reflecting that "McCoy's nonchalant approach to any given situation never ceased to amaze him. Such complete adaptability." and McCoy later having a moment in which "he struggled to hold his temper at bay. For himself, he didn't particularly care if Thea did break his neck; but for Spock's sake, he forced himself to listen". A scene where McCoy "reached out discreetly, steadying the trembling Vulcan body with one reassuring hand... almost surprised when he felt the captain lean against him for support". Good fun. Equally good fun are some more examples of Kirk reflecting on the Enterprise like she's a lover of his rather than the ship he's in command of; lol.
Will leave you with another line that particularly struck me: "There is an energy field between the two universes. The words came back to him; and he wondered if some part of the other Kirk and Spock still existed in disjointed, ethereal form, if they walked the corridors like ghosts in a last moment attempt to prove that they had lived and breathed and existed."