QUICK SHOTS: Fan Fiction by Brent Spiner

I grew up on Star Trek (both the original and The Next Generation) both were favorites of my dad. I had the action figures, a phaser of my own and even read a few of the "expanded universe" books via my school's library. I dug Star Wars as a kid too, but I'm much more inclined to call myself a "Trekkie."  My father died rather unexpectedly in my early 20s and for a long while I sorta stayed away from Star Trek in general. But now my wife digs it, and we go to sleep with The Next Generation playing on Pluto TV. A full circle, I suppose. 

So, a little while ago I found out that Brent Spiner, who played Data in The Next Generation had written something that amounts to a mystery novel and I was intrigued. I've always been interested in this little sub-set of mystery fiction, where an actor writes (or has a ghostwriter do it) themselves into a mystery novel. Gypsy Lee Rose did it, George Sanders did it, George Kennedy did it. For all the Star Trek actors who have had books, I'm sorta surprised there's not a Lenard Nimoy plays Sherlock Holmes book, or William Shanter takes his T.J. Hooker training and solves a murder book.  

Brent beat 'em all to the punch. It's not a straight mystery novel either. It's a blend of "fact" and "fiction," telling the story of a deranged stalker he had to deal with in the early 90s during The Next Generation's run. The stalker was real, and bits of pieces paint a little bit of an autobiography, but the flip side is pure gonzo crime-fiction. Twin ladies who look like Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs, one an FBI agent, the other a professional bodyguard, close calls, funny cops, quirky side-characters and fictional versions of the whole Star Trek cast fill out the book. 

It's a mad-cap little mystery adventure with a funny and engaging tone. Brent obviously doesn't take himself too seriously but also indulges in some liberties as the creator of his own little world (both the twins have the hots for him) and then sprinkles it all with some fun in-side showbiz stuff and in-jokes. The early 90s setting was nice to read about too; it never got bogged down in the modern trappings that bore me out of a lot of new novels. The mystery element isn't too bad either, it plays the threat real and so there's enough "danger" to keep it interesting.

In a lot of ways it reminded me of Carter Brown's Larry Baker series about a Hollywood screenwriter who gets tangled up in slightly sexy and mysterious happenings. Or a full-showbiz and updated Dan Turner tale. It was an immensely enjoyable book, I'm sure it helped to have been a fan of Brent before. If you were oblivious to Star Trek, the book would probably lose its charm. But I was right up my alley.

And my now traditional sign-off, my first novel Gunpowder Breath is available on Amazon as an eBook!