Night of the Living Trekkies: Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall
THEY THOUGHT SPACE WAS THE FINAL FRONTIER-THEY WERE WRONG
From the publishers that brought you Pride, Prejudice and Zombies, Quirk Fiction brings you a modern-times novel with those loveable brain eating-scamps.
A quirky bright cover of a zombie in full cosplay as a Vulcan done in pulp magazine fashion, this book called out to me as I entered the somewhat expensive bookshop. Armed with a gift-voucher from the big man in red I went with my gut instinct and hoped that that dearly beloved publisher of mine would not let me down. They did not.
The book is cleverly written by Kevin Anderson and Sam Stall, and forecasts the zombie apocalypse to begin where all apocalypses begin, at a Star Trek convention! The book chronicles the life of Jim Pike (*wink wink* Star Trek reference anyone). A once-upon-a-time fanatic of Star Trek, our protagonist Jim Pike resolves himself to a life of assistant hotel management, well after serving two years in Afghanistan a peaceful life is all he really wants. This is not to be, it seems, as Trekkies or Trekker (there is a difference as you’ll come to learn) invade the usually peaceful hotel for GulfCon, a convention of epic proportions. But there is much more going on behind the scenes at this convention. What ensues can only be described as zombie mayhem, as mysterious events lead Jim and a “ragtag group of fanboys and fangirls” to survival, including Jim’s sister, all in blue, a Klingon, the mandatory red shirt (eh? eh?) and a Princes Leia dressed in slave idea and including Star Trek slippers.
What follows is not your usual zombie apocalypse. As readers will learn a Bat’leths (a Klingon’s most honourable weapon) is far more effective than your average baseball bat or axe.
With each chapter named after an episode of Star Trek, references are there from the very beginning. And if you are not up to par with references there are very few references that go overlooked. There are even a few Star Wars lines thrown in for equal measure for those of us who continue to fight the classic battle of which is better. However as quirky and geeky as the book sounds, a fact which adds to its brilliance, this book is not just reference after reference with not much left for us to sink our teeth into and you don’t have to be a die-hard fan to get the references.
The book is written at a nice and steady pace, almost encouraging a series. Suspense, romance and action allows for this book to maintain this pace without losing too much of its movement. Characters are well developed allowing readers to sympathise and learn more about their characters than the usual one-dimensional “I smash zombies” variety. We learn lots about the characters back stories and can see how they relate to each other in multiple dimensions.
And what would a zombie novel be without the zombies and there are plenty of them in this book! Bloody corpses dressed up to the nines in Star Trek uniforms these zombies are more than meets the eye (or third eye *wink wink*). In the twists and turns of this zombie apocalypse should Jim and his crew be wary of more than just zombies? Is there such a thing as a “no win scenario” for Jim and his crew? And when the battle is over is it really over?
Mixing two popular genres into one novel, Anderson and Stall didn’t miss a beat! This book is guaranteed to have something for everyone. A fast-paced zombie story with all the development of plot from a successful Star Trek episode. If you are a lover of science fiction (not necessarily Star Trek) this book is for you. If you are a lover of zombies and are on the lookout for something that is both entertaining and a good read then this book is for you. And if you are on the lookout for something that is un-put-down-able then this book is most definitely for you!
This is one book that ticks all the boxes so set phasers for enjoy (sorry I couldn’t resist the pathetic joke)
