I’m a big fan of Star Trek, especially Star Trek: the Next Generation, which ran from 1987 to 1994. When it was announced that Brent Spiner, the actor who played Data, was writing a “memoir”, I was interested. What kind of anecdotes about the making of one of my favourite shows would he relate? What scandals will he blow the lid off? Did the cast secretly hate each other?
We won’t learn any of that here. Fan Fiction by Brent Spiner isn’t really a memoir at all. It’s entirely fiction. It’s actually a noire (as Spiner calls it, a “mem-noire”) mystery set during the filming of Star Trek The Next Generation, with real-life aspects of Spiner’s life, including his childhood, his friends and family, and little details of the filming all woven in.
Here’s a general idea (and these parts are presumably the fiction parts): Spiner and co-star LeVar Burton are opening their fan mail when a package arrives. In it is something disgusting and potentially threatening. With no way to trace the package, Spiner is unsettled. More mail and packages arrive, each with personal details and oddly specific messages that leads Spiner and investigators to believe there’s a genuine threat to his life. With slow progress on the case, Spiner’s mental state spirals and his work and relationships suffer.
Brent Spiner started out doing a lot of comedy in guest roles on TV, and Fan Fiction is a comedy. Best suited to fans of Star Trek, it features guest appearances of all his co-stars. Those familiar with the various cast members will notice that they are all greatly exaggerated. They all approved their portrayals: in the audiobook edition they even play themselves. This isn’t the best mystery in the world but it doesn’t take itself too seriously either. The novelty of the “real-life” setting and real characters pull it through to make it a fun, if light, read. Fan Fiction reads a lot like, well fan fiction.
Steven McCreedy is a library technician at the Cambie Branch of the Richmond Public Library
