Books like Night of the Living Trekkies

Star Trek + Zombies...\ \ For...the...WIN!This story more than delivered on everything I was hoping for going into it. It met or exceeded expectations in terms of both writing (crisp, polished and very funny) and characters (genuine, endearing, and smart), and the narrative was slick, fast paced and well laid out (i.e., twas nary a boring page). In fact, the overall quality was so surprisingly high that it made me wonder why this book isn’t better known, especially given its popular ingredients. Speaking of those ingredients, this is where Kevin David Anderson’s novel truly shines. The Star Trek/SF culture references are well-devised, laid on molasses-thick and deployed with a real sense of comedic timing. And the Zombie mythology is fresh and clever and adds a degree of substance that sets this apart from your run of the mill gimmick book. Even the end, where so many novels like this lose focus or run out of gas, was well handled. I left this story thinking I would pick up Mr. Anderson’s next effort sight unseen. Anyway...here’s the set up...PLOT SUMMARY:An “incident” takes place at a top secret government research facility, unleashing a zombie plague all over downtown Houston. By virtue of a series of later explained occurrences, the epicenter of the infection turns out to be a massive Trek convention full of the hardest of hardcore trekkies. Despite the hokey, groan-worthy nature of this set up, Anderson does a nice job pulling it off.Caught in the turbulence is Jim Pike (yes, Trek buffs, Jim....Pike), former unit commander in the famous 10th Mountain Division, whose carrying some heavy baggage from his tour in Afghanistan. When the fit hits the shan, Jim, along with a small cadre of in costumed conventioneers must fight their way through a horde of growing starfleet zombies. \ \ THOUGHTS:I thought it was terrific. I enjoyed the way that Anderson allowed the plague to slowly develop, giving us time to get to know the characters, and setting up a scenario that, while still fantastic, didn’t offend the suspension of disbelief. It was these touches of competence that started to clue me in that Anderson has the story telling gift. Okay, now let’s break down the fun... If you’re a Trekkie/Trekker...This story will stroke all your sweet spots and give you a shuttering nerdgasm. In addition to actually describing the difference between “trekkie” and “trekker,” something I have always been fuzzy about, here are just a few of the highlights:1. Every chapter heading is the name of a different Star Trek episode (e.g., "Space Seed", "Let That Be Your Final Battlefield", "Wolf in the Fold", "Dagger of the Mind", etc.), and the title used has some relation to that chapter’s subject matter. This is not as easy as it may sound, and I thought it was another one of those nice touches that Anderson used.2. Trek references, trivia, and dialogue positively abound throughout the novel and will satisfy even the most severe trekophile. From iconic tidbits recognizable by even the most casual of fans (e.g., the title sequence of the show is put to good use) to obscure nuggets that will convince the hard core that the author knows his stuff (e.g., remember the lirpa from the episode Amok Time, or the creature known as a Horta from Devil in the Dark....if not, you should). These references litter almost every scene. It’s like a Trekkie brain shagging 3. A group known as the West Texas Red Tunic Club, who all dress as red shirts from the original series. What happens to them, and any fan of the show can guess their fate, is hysterical. \ \ 4. One of the characters is a giant metal shop worker who came to the convention dressed as Klingon officer named Martock. Martock’s side business is making real life, and real deadly, replicas of all of the various Star Trek blade weapons. From the afore-mentioned lirpa to Klingon bat’leths to kar’takins used by the Jem’Hadar. 5. One of the characters, seemingly unintentionally, is constantly quoting lines from the original Star Wars trilogy at exactly the right time. To add to the comedy, she does this while dressed, for most of the novel, in Princess Leia’s slave bikini...why is a very funny story. \ \ If you are a Zombie fan...This is another place where the book elevates itself, from what could have been just a fun bout of Star Trek masturbation, into a really terrific effort. I don’t want to give anything away regarding the nature of the dead heads because the solving of that mystery is at the heart of the novel. However, while the zombies display the characteristically slow, awkward ambulation and a taste for skull candy that are common to the genre, most everything else about them is fresh and unique. Their background is unusual, and there is a motivation and purpose to the “attacks” that is far different and more understandable than the mindless search for “braaaaaaaains.” These zombies are much more sophisticated. \ \ Plus, they have and “eye-popping” addition that allows them to be far more organized and uniform in their activities...almost “Borg-like” you might say. If you’re both a Star Trek AND a Zombie fan...If this is the case, you probably stopped reading this review after the first 3 words, and speed-typed your way online to download a copy onto your kindle...so I’m not going to waste my breath on you, except to say that leaving like that was rather rude. And...finally...If you hate both Star Trek and Zombies...I don’t know what to tell you. You obviously have made some wrong decisions in your life that have led you to this unfortunate circumstance. Maybe you should go and take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror and figure out where things began to fall apart. It’s not too late...the first step is admitting you have a problem. ADDED BONUS:If everything else above wasn’t enough, Anderson also ties into the story a government conspiracy involving scientific black ops, alien visitations and even a tactical nuke. Bonus.So, it’s a mash made in heaven for fans of trek and zombies...\ \ Enjoy4.0 stars. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!