Night of the Living Trekkies

I saw this in a charity shop and, as a long standing Star Trek fan, couldn't resist, although the premise - zombies run amok at a Star Trek convention - sounded ripe for a stereotyped corny storyline. I was pleasantly surprised. Although most of the story is tongue in cheek until it grows more and more serious towards the end, the main characters are well developed and even small walk-on parts are sympathetic and convincing, and the action is well described and smoothly written.

The set-up for the story is that Jim Pike (yes, a cross between two of the iconic captains of Classic Trek) is newly promoted to assistant manager of The Botany Bay, a Houston hotel which is hosting a Trekkie/Trekker convention (the book helpfully spells out the show more difference at one point). The snag is, Jim has spent most of his working life since leaving the Army - where he underwent two tours of Afghanistan and still suffers PTSD-related issues - avoiding responsibility. But it lands well and truly in his lap when he starts to become concerned about a spate of disappearances of hotel staff and guests as the convention begins on Friday night, possibly connected with the bites a couple have suffered: bites which mysteriously continue to bleed. If that isn't enough, his younger sister, for whom he feels responsible since the deaths of their parents, is due to arrive as a convention attendee .....

The story is an enjoyable page turner. Jim and the main female character, a woman dressed as Princess Leia of Star Wars for a promotional video to help pay her way into medical school, are both engaging. As the odds against them stacked up, I wondered if they would survive long enough for their kindling romance to develop, or for Jim and the reader to find out her real name. There is an undercurrent of humour through most of the tale and clever asides to Star Trek, with for example, each chapter being named after an episode. And even the rationale behind the zombie outbreak is well thought-out with an unusual twist. So a well deserved 5-star rating from me. show less

Zombies. At a Star Trek convention. Ridiculous? Awesome? Ridiculously awesome? (Just to be clear, the authors clearly know and love fans. Although there is some mocking of particular fans -- including body-policing -- there isn't mocking of fannishness itself.)

Let me say this: I am not a trekkie (that's right - I said trekkie!). But I am a fan of the genre and a fan of zombies. And I'm a fan of this book!

Seriously, this was a fun read, hitting all the right notes, all the right jokes, and balancing humor and horror just right. This book is not a parody or a caricature, but instead a spot-on zombie story with Star Trek trappings.

Is this book for trekkers? I think so. It's full of the type of in-jokes that geeks love. In fact, I think it's great for any fan of the genres of sci-fi and horror who have a sense of humor.

Who is Night of the Living Trekkies not for? The humorless.

Crisp pacing, good characters and natural dialog.

Jim Pike, who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, spends his days trying to hide from the rest of the world. And what better way than to work as an assistant manager for the Botany Bay Hotel in Houston, Texas. Mostly a hotel for traveling businessmen, one weekend a year, the Botany Bay becomes the beacon for GulfCon - one of the largest Star Trek conferences in the U.S., effectively tossing Jim's chances to enjoy his quiet desk job. Just as the hotel prepares to receive the oncoming tidal wave of Trekkies, some of the hotel employees begin calling in sick, complaining of not feeling well after being bitten. Even the head of security is attacked -- by a mime, of all things.

And that's just the beginning. Those that are bitten spring show more back to life, violent and ravenous, but something doesn't right. They don't act like typical zombies; these can act in coordinated unison, with a particular purpose. Or maybe it's that third eye that sprouts from any conceivable spot on the body. Looking into it is almost mesmerizing.

Soon Jim is racing through the hotel with Princess Leia, Martock -- a Klingon weapons maker -- and other survivors of this terrible night, trying to find his sister somewhere on the 7th floor and lead them all to safety. . .somehow.

"Night of the Living Trekkies" takes the traditional story of a small group of people coming together to survive a zombie apocalypse and mixes it with heavy helpings of all things Star Trek. From the various weapons that Jim and his crew wield, such as kar'takins and yans, to the way almost everyone seamlessly makes references to the worlds of Star Trek. It even manages to lovingly poke fun at the series and fans' enthusiasm about it -- the main character's name is Jim Pike (a combination of two captains of the USS Enterprise), and the references to the red shirts thanks to the West Texas Red Tunic Club. (For those out of the loop, here's an explanation from the book:

"...the characters dressed in red tunics were always doomed. If one beamed down to a planet with Kirk and Spock, the guy in red would always, always die."

Watch a few episodes of the classic show for yourself to see if it's true.)

The frequent "Star Trek" in-jokes perfectly balance the gore and zombie mayhem, making "Night of the Living Trekkies" a fun and fast read, sure to please both zombie lovers and Trekkies alike. show less

Zombies are on the loose, and they're attacking a Star Trek convention. But fortunately, Trekkies do not believe in the no-win scenario... Oddly enough, my one complaint about this book is that it's not quite nerdy enough for my admittedly extremely nerdy tastes. There are lots of Star Trek references and in-jokes, but the writers apparently felt the need to make things more accessible by frequently having the characters explain this stuff to each other even when it really shouldn't have been necessary. Plus almost no work of fiction I've ever seen that's involved a science fiction convention has gotten it quite right, and this is no exception. (Yes, I have been to a few. And, honestly, not everybody is in costume all the time, and if show more you insist on being called by a character's name for the whole weekend, even the other fanboys might look at you funny.) But never mind that. It's great fun, anyway, and by the end, I was laughing out loud quite frequently. It's not all humor, though; there's also lots of the exact kind of slightly cheesy horror action I've been in the mood for lately. show less

Jim Pike works in a dead end job with a minimum of responsibilities at a hotel. Although he has the capability and intelligence to do something significant with his life, he avoids responsibility like the plague. When he spent two tours of duty in Afghanistan, his confidence in himself and with people as whole was completely shattered. Now he has to deal with GenCon, the Star Trek convention that has started in the hotel. Things couldn’t be more disastrous. The attendance at the convention is well below what was expected. Employees are calling in sick and if they bother to show up, they disappear. Many people report being bitten by random strangers and develop flu-like symptoms shortly afterwards. Jim’s gut feeling tells him show more something is really wrong here, but Jim’s brain convinces him that it’s just paranoia. There’s no such thing as zombies, right?

I thought this was going to be the mash-up book that was too cheesy to be good, but I ended up reading the entire thing in one day. It was so engaging, I couldn’t put it down. It mashes together two things I really enjoy: zombies and Star Trek. I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, so I have pretty much always been a moderate Trekkie. I really enjoyed all the attention to detail in the book. Every chapter heading was named after a Star Trek episode. There were huge amounts of references to all the Star Trek series throughout the book. The author must be nerds as well or they did massive amounts of research in order to appear so.

The characters are all multidimensional, realistic people. Many of the people I got attached to ended up dying, which surprised me. I figured time wouldn’t be spent on a lot of character development if they’re just going to die. I really like Jim and his hero journey, from an outcast of the lowest order to a leader. The zombies are also pretty cool. These aren’t your run of the mill zombies, but ones induced by alien parasites, kind of like in Scott Sigler’s Infected. They cause people to sprout an extra eye and have the ability to mesmerize people. Eating flesh isn’t needed for their survival, but as means of transmitting more parasites to more people. Their biology is interested and provides a new spin on the zombie.

Night of the Living Trekkies is a fast, light read that grabs you doesn’t let go. The Star Trek information is presented in such a way that fans would recognize some more subtle Star Trek allusions, but there are plenty that are explained so no readers would feel left out if they don’t know Star Trek canon very well. I think everyone could find something that they like in it. show less

One of the few books in the same genre as McCrumb's Bimbos of the Death Sun and Zombies of the Gene Pool: a humorous SF book set at a convention. Shell shocked vet Jim Pike must lead a small group of survivors from a Star Trek convention to safety after zombies invade the hotel -- the city -- the world? Pike was a Trek fan but after combat finds the show too sunny and unrealistic: now he must use its ideals to rally a small group of untrained civilians whose ideas about fighting largely come from video games (long on heroics and superhuman feats, short on strategy).

Will they make it out of the hotel alive -- even the guy in the red shirt? Or will they join the ranks of the tottering undead?

A fun book and a quick read -- full of Star show more Trek trivia (nearly every character's name is a mashup of Trek characters'), reflections on how the stories we tell (and which genres we adopt) affect our outlook, and a pleasant mix of jokes and zombies rattling the door or lumbering towards our heroes at just the wrong moment. (Also has some Star Wars content and occasional nods to other fandoms.) Fair warning: the more Star Trek trivia you know the more jokes you will get. show less