The upcoming Star Trek: Kirk Fu Manual puts the Fu in “Fun”. This delightful book from veteran Star Trek author Dayton Ward and illustrator Christian Cornia is charming and fun to read, with plenty of inside jokes for Trek fans, and it comes in a beautifully-bound hardcover that would make a great gift for friends and family, or for yourself.

So what is it? The Star Trek: Kirk Fu Manual is an in-universe guide to “Starfleet’s most feared martial art”. From the introduction, we learn that it’s an addendum to the Starfleet unarmed combat training manual.

The manual is “written” by James T. Kirk himself, and features 12 of his signature moves. Each move comes with an explanation of when to use it, plus step-by-step instructions on how to execute it. Each move also comes with a relevant excerpt of Kirk’s personal logs.

There’s a quiz at the end and a completion certificate...and a couple Easter eggs too, if you read closely enough.

This book comes with plenty of Trek cred. Dayton Ward is the author of dozens of Star Trek novels, including the recent Discovery tie-in, Drastic Measures. He’s also written the in-universe travel guides to Vulcan and the Klingon Empire. Illustrator Christian Cornia is a newcomer to Trek, but his fresh, eye-catching style complements the feel of this book perfectly.

Star Trek fans will welcome the subtle nods to Original Series Trek. You’ll recognize each Kirk Fu move from iconic episodes such as “Arena”, “The Gamesters of Triskelion” and “Space Seed”. Little comments like “Results may vary if your opponent is a shapeshifter” add extra dimensions, and somehow every move ends up with Kirk in a ripped shirt. And yet, there’s care taken to make each Kirk Fu move realistic, and as a reader, you feel “in on the joke”.

So what about the physical book? Currently, the Kirk Fu Manual only comes in hardcover, and the quality of the finish is surprisingly high. Each page is thick and richly-colored, with clear, readable text. The illustrations have a glossy texture and the whole book feels substantial despite its small size of 7 inches square. For those of you book nerds out there, you’ll also appreciate the end papers in this edition, which are beautifully illustrated in gray and white with subtle metallic silver accents.

Simply put, in addition to the content of this book being fun and easy to look at, the quality of the binding elevates it to another level. 

The Star Trek: Kirk Fu Manual is a surprising and wonderful love letter to Star Trek, and author Dayton Ward and illustrator Christian Cornia have succeeded in creating a book that’s both entertaining and informative, and would be a great addition to any Trek fan’s bookshelf. Just make sure you limber up before you try the moves for yourself. Pre-order the Star Trek Kirk Fu manual now from Amazon.com.