Book Review: Fan Fiction: A Mem-Noir by Brent Spiner
Fan Fiction: A Mem-Noir: Inspire by True Events
Author: Brent Spiner
Published: October 5, 2021
256 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
From Brent Spiner, who played the beloved Lieutenant Commander Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation, comes an explosive and hilarious autobiographical novel.
Brent Spiner’s explosive and hilarious novel is a personal look at the slightly askew relationship between a celebrity and his fans. If the Coen Brothers were to make a Star Trek movie, involving the complexity of fan obsession and sci-fi, this noir comedy might just be the one.
Set in 1991, just as Star Trek: The Next Generation has rocketed the cast to global fame, the young and impressionable actor Brent Spiner receives a mysterious package and a series of disturbing letters, that take him on a terrifying and bizarre journey that enlists Paramount Security, the LAPD, and even the FBI in putting a stop to the danger that has his life and career hanging in the balance.
Featuring a cast of characters from Patrick Stewart to Levar Burton to Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, to some completely imagined, this is the fictional autobiography that takes readers into the life of Brent Spiner and tells an amazing tale about the trappings of celebrity and the fear he has carried with him his entire life.
Fan Fiction is a zany love letter to a world in which we all participate, the phenomenon of “Fandom.”
Kim’s Review:
What an awesome book! It was fun and littered with Star Trek references that Trekkies all love! Plus, some hilarious 90’s stuff that today’s generation would never understand! There were some places where the story dragged a little, but overall, I had way too much fun reading it. I heard Brent reading in my head! Ok… I also heard Burton’s Dorn’s, and Frakes’s voices and I enjoyed it way too much! If you’re a Trekkie, just trust me, read this book!
Purchase Links:
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Book Review: Star Trek: The Lost Years by J.M. Dillard
Star Trek: The Lost Years
Author: J.M. Dillard
Published: August 1990
315 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
After the end of the Enterprise™’s five-year mission, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy struggle to establish new lives apart from each other and the starship. The newly-promoted Admiral Kirk is placed in charge of a specially-created Starfleet division and attempts to defuse a critical hostage situation; Mr. Spock, who, in the midst of a teaching assignment on Vulcan, finds the one thing he least expected; and Dr. McCoy, whose unerring instinct for trouble lands him smack in the middle of an incident that could trigger an interstellar bloodbath.
Kim’s Review:
Y’all know I’m all about extra information that fills in all the blanks! I hate not knowing a full story! Thankfully, I learned a lot from reading this book. But I gave it 4 stars just because it’s not a complete “missing chapter in Star Trek history”, it’s just a chapter. I know that Admiral Kirk ended up as Head of Starfleet Operations by the time Vger showed up and this book barely covers a year, in fact, it’s really only a month. So I was a little peeved by that. However, I still got a look into things I didn’t know. I saw how Spock and McCoy dealt with their new reality of being off the Enterprise. I saw the beginning of Kirk’s rise at Starfleet and the obvious wrong decision of being behind a desk. This was a good story and very classic Star Trek. All the characters I love all in one place, giving me more info! Overall, a great book!
Purchase Links:
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Short Story Sunday: Halfway to Free by Emma Donoghue
Halfway to Free
Series: Out of Line collection
Author: Emma Donoghue
Published: September 1, 2020
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Read: February 1, 2022
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Short Story Description:
Miriam was raised in a society without children. To offset the devastation of climate change, state-of-the-art birth control has made daycares and playgrounds things of the past. As tempting as the government inducements are to remain child-free, Miriam’s curiosity about the people who “drop out” of society to become parents grows. When she finds a like-minded partner, she must choose between the rewarding comforts she knows and the unknowable mysteries of being a mother.
Emma Donoghue’s Halfway to Free is part of Out of Line, an incisive collection of funny, enraging, and hopeful stories of women’s empowerment and escape. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.
Jessica’s Review:
Taking place in 2060, I would rather this short story be a full-length novel as all the beginnings of a dystopian tale will leave the reader thinking. The world that Miriam lives in is overpopulated and having a child is looked down upon. NOT having a child is the acceptable choice and only the extremely wealthy or celebrities procreate. There are even government incentives, support and more to stay child free. This includes having health care, housing, and even employment. There are still those that go against the grain and decide to procreate thus losing everything. Those form their own communities to pull through together.
Miriam has come to a crossroads in her life with what she should do and what she wants to do. She and her partner have to come to a decision.
This short story really makes you think with everything going on in this dystopian world, why would someone want to have a child as there is so much to lose. This story with its ‘anti-children’ stance parallels what goes on in our world today if one does not have a child, whether due to life circumstances or health reasons.
I really hope that Donoghue decides to expand upon this short story, there is so much potential here!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
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