Night of the Living Trekkies

Starred review from September 20, 2010
Science fiction geekdom meets the zombie apocalypse in this engaging and genuinely funny parody. Disillusioned army vet Jim Pike is home from Afghanistan and working as a "glorified bellhop" in a hotel in Houston that's preparing to host hundreds of Star Trek fans for GulfCon, the "biggest all-Trek con in the South." The already surreal convention turns nightmarish when convention-goers begin turning into cannibalistic zombies. As tricorder-wielding flesh-eaters overrun the city, Pike and a small band of survivors, armed with Klingon bat'leths and Vulcan lirpas, must find a way to escape. The fusion of campy zombie-powered storyline, abundant Star Trek trivia, and hilarious one-liners makes this an utterly unforgettable read that will be cherished by Trekkies, Trekkers, and horror fans alike.

October 15, 2010

Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead looks at Hamlet from the viewpoint of two minor characters on the sidelines. This book has the same kind of feel, as if a big-budget zombie blockbuster is being played out in Houston and we're watching the effects on a small group, filmed with shaky hand-cams and cell phones. Setting a zombie novel at a Star Trek convention could have been dreadful, but it really works, with multifaceted characters and a plot that's funny but not ridiculous. Geeky in-jokes abound, including chapter titles taken from the names of Star Trek episodes. BZG Trekkie zombies are alien invaders in the form of an infectious agent.

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