Fan Fiction: A Mem-Noir: Inspired by True Events

by Brent Spiner

Jeanne Darst (Secondary Author)

• ISBN10: 1250274362
• ISBN13: 9781250274366
• Publish Date: 12 October 2021 (first published 1 October 2021)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: St. Martin's Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Fan Fiction is a funny, often punny, fannish modern mystery with memoir overtones by Brent Spiner. Released 5th Oct 2021 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's Press imprint, it's 256 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook format (paperback out in Oct 2022). It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is such a trippy blend of fictionalized memoir and could-have-happened and is genuinely funny a lot of the time. There's a mystery subplot alongside the general reminiscence and interaction and dialogue between the cast of Star Trek: TNG (for people who stumbled into the book without much introduction, the author is also the actor who brought the android Data to the series, movies, video games, and spinoffs).

The unabridged enhanced audiobook has a run time of 6 hours and 53 minutes and is capably narrated by the author himself alongside many of his fellow former cast members voicing themselves. I particularly adored hearing many of my old "friends" including Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, and of course, LeVar Burton (I admit I squealed like the middle-aged fangirl I am). The sound and production quality was very high throughout. I highly recommend the audiobook.

It's often genuinely funny and well written. Mr. Spiner has a talent for comedic timing.

Four stars, Five for the audiobook.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Jeff Sexton]

Fun Romp Through Star Trek: TNG In Its Heyday. This is a fictionalized loose autobiography featuring Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation - and more specifically, Brent Spiner, the human actor who portrayed him. As one of those Autistics that Spiner mentions during the course of this story as eventually being told so many of us looked up to that character, I can absolutely attest to that being true... and one of the reasons he became so legendary to me. But the story itself is pure light-noir Hollywood, with quite a bit of comedy tossed into a plot that is nominally about obsessive fans and the more serious aspects of how that can go a bit off the rails. Most of the rest of the cast of TNG comes through in various bits, with Jonathan Frakes and LeVar Burton getting the most "screen time" here but even Michael Dorf, Gates McFadden, and yes, Sir Patrick Stewart himself all getting at least one scene of direct interaction with Brent within these pages. Still, as a "fictionalized autobiography" / noir, these scenes aren't meant as literal "this happened" so much as "this is true to who these people were in my experience, even as these exact interactions are fictionalized". As such, it offers a great view "behind the scenes"... without *actually* going "behind the scenes". Great use of the medium, and a quick ish read to boot- I read it in a single afternoon. Very much recommended.