Many thanks to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio and St Martin's Press for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this mem-noir by Brent Spiner, or to those who live on another galaxy, Data from Star Trek. 5 absolutely hilarious stars for the most purely entertaining book I've read in a long time. However, the audiobook is an absolute must - once I started listening, I couldn't switch over to the digital copy because the narration made the book.

It's 1991 and the height of Star Trek The Next Generation, when Brent Spiner starts receiving death threats from an obsessed fan. He has to gather Paramount Security, LAPD and even the FBI to help investigate the situation. This is a look into the fandom world and how it can affect the actors.

While my husband loved the original Star Trek, we raised our boys on all of the Star Trek franchises to come - in the 1990s, it was about the only safe, family oriented, show with good values on TV and we couldn't get enough. My boys dressed as Star Trek characters every Halloween (Data, Worf and Spock) and our first email addresses were all Star Trek related. So this book satisfied all my Trek love. However, even someone not obsessed with Star Trek would love this book - it is absolutely hilarious. I listened to it while running errands and kept laughing out loud - it is just too good. Brent narrates the book with the help of all his TNG castmates which of course made it all that much better.

Do not miss this book - so hilarious! I hope this is not the last book Brent Spiner will write!

While I certainly enjoy watching the Star Trek movies and TV shows, and very much admire their philosophies, I’ve never been the kind of superfan who gets into the minutiae of the series universe. But when given the chance to review Brent Spiner’s debut novel, written in collaboration with Jeanne Darst and centering on his time as Lieutenant Commander Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation, I absolutely leapt at the chance. Readers, I was well rewarded, even with only my passing familiarity with the show.

For a start, this is one of the most laugh out loud funny books I’ve read in a long time. As a “mem-noir”, the novel’s narrative is based on true events, though Mr Spiner freely admits to playing fast and loose with the facts in the process of writing, often for comedic effect. Intriguingly, this playful subversion of the truth turns the story into a meta-commentary on the nature of fan fiction itself, as written by a man who lived through the incidents he’s describing but deliberately chooses to reframe them with himself not as victim but as hero, in a pulpy noir style. Granted, not even fictional Brent Spiner is as hardboiled or hyper-competent as many self-inserts might be, grounding the book in a perpetual state of pseudo-realism. Readers will constantly ask themselves “How true to life is this?” as the novel’s narrator interacts with his famous castmates in the wake of being stalked, as here where he’s discussing the situation with Sir Patrick Stewart:

QUOTE
“Yeah, it’s extremely creepy. Jesus, Patrick, I feel like I’m a character in some insane piece of fan fiction.”

“And yet, ironically, it is we who created the world this person’s imagination is currently inhabiting. We opened the door, and he or she walked right in. With all the psychodrama happening on the show, I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often. We should caution the writers to consider this going forward.”
END QUOTE

The responsibility of creators towards their fans is just one of the philosophical topics considered in this exceptionally witty novel. Set in 1991, fictional Brent is mostly enjoying his life as an actor on a hit television series, at least until a series of threatening letters and grisly gifts begins to show up in his mail. With the cops more interested in him reading their script treatments for possible Star Trek episodes than in actually investigating, the escalation of threats finally comes to the attention of the FBI, in the form of beautiful Special Agent Cindy Lou Jones. She recommends that Brent hire the services of her twin sister Candy, who left the bureau in order to run private security instead. As with most fan fiction, this leads to a budding love triangle, as well as a series of confrontations with potential suspects. Brent and his allies must race to figure out the identity of the stalker before they can make good on their threats to harm him or anyone who comes between them.

Being stalked is a nerve-wracking situation for anyone, and Brent copes by drawing on the characteristics of the role he’s most famous for to help him stay focused:

QUOTE
All day long I work in a nervous daze, but the hyperrational Data keeps pulling me through. The calm that envelops me when I assume his persona is like a balm to my tortured soul. I ask myself, “How would he react to this situation?” and I answer in his voice: “Analyze the problem. Search for abnormal patterns. Use the information to make an assessment and respond accordingly. Do not let fear lead you to irrational decisions.” Data will be my guide.
END QUOTE

Filled to the brim with probably mostly true anecdotes about life on the set of ST:TNG, as well as more than its fair share of wisecracks, this book will delight any Star Trek fan, or just anyone who enjoys humor in their crime novels. In fact, this book was so hilarious that I didn’t even realize during my first read-through just how profound it is on the topic of celebrity and metafiction. I felt compelled after reading this the first time to research the true events this book was based on, and found the ethical quandary raised thereby particularly thought-provoking. As the subject and victim of an unsettling fascination, Mr Spiner is well within his rights to reclaim and reshape the narrative that has been built up around him. That he further fashions this into a meditation on fandom and the relationship between celebrities and the people who support them makes for a surprisingly deep volume that is worth reading more than once to fully absorb both how thoughtful and dazzling it truly is.

A super fun read. I wasn't too familiar with Spiner and Star Trek but still enjoyed this one. A noir style comedy.

“Fictional autobiography” - That’s how the blurb describes this book and it’s actually the only problem I have with it. I want to know what parts are true!

As a longtime Star Trek fan, I really enjoyed this book. Next Generation was never a favorite of mine, but who could not love Data.

This book is for Star Trek fans. The tidbits about various actors and Gene Roddenberry grabbed me because Star Trek is so much a part of my life. The story itself was engrossing and some of the packages “Data” received were simply gross.

Mostly, this book was fun. Even when bad things happened, I was reminded of a Three Stooges skit, rather than feeling any sense of suspense.

Yes, I enjoyed this book BECAUSE I am a Star Trek fan and that’s my one reservation about recommending it. I can’t imagine anyone who is not a Trekkie caring about it at all.


This book was sent to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

WHAT'S FAN FICTION ABOUT?
During the filming of Season 4 of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Brent Spiner starts receiving threatening (and disturbing) packages and letters delivered to his trailer. They're purportedly from "Lal" (Data's daughter from episode 3.16 "The Offspring").

Those aren't the only interesting letters he's receiving, there are also a series of letters from someone claiming to speak to Spiner on the phone at night while her husband is out of town on business. These conversations are apparently quite graphic and sexual in nature, while the letters that are in response to them are very benign, and maybe a little tragic.

Spiner gets help from the LAPD, the FBI, a personal bodyguard, and fictionalized versions of his ST:TNG costars as the threats increase in intensity. This assistance bounces from comical to incredibly effective, while Spiner's worry and stress (and increasing lack of sleep) start to spiral out of control and his grasp on sanity starts to slip.

FAN CONNECTION
When it comes to his stalker, the late-night phone call recipient, a law enforcement officer/would-be-TV-writer, a pizza delivery man—and a few others, the relationship between fan and performer is clearly unhealthy.

But throughout there is a thread of meaningful connections being made through Spiner's performance to the audience. There were a couple of really sweet moments we see because of this—in the midst of the satiric madness, they really ground the work and help you remember that Spiner was more than someone suffering from a sleep-deprived paranoia.

I'M LIKELY TO BE THE ONLY ONE BOTHERED BY THIS, BUT...
We spend a lot of time with ST:TNG and have references to other parts of Spiner's career before that, but not one single nod to Bob Wheeler?

That's the role that made me a fan of Spiner—probably would've found another 1/2 Star or so if there'd been a quality joke about him.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT FAN FICTION?
I don't remember the last time I had this much fun reading a book—it was just a blast. I laughed and/or chuckled frequently, cringed a couple of times (in a good way), and couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

That starts with the characters: Spiner's antics and reactions to his situation were great. The comically-exaggerated versions of the ST:TNG cast were fantastic—I wouldn't mind reading a series of Spiner's adventures just to see those again. The Bodyguard and FBI officer rounded out the cast of characters in an entertaining way that also provided the lethal abilities required to keep Spiner alive in the face of the threat.

The stalker's actions in other settings would be hair-raising and chilling—but given the comic tone, they become ridiculous. And you can't wait to see what extreme "Lal" will go to next.

Spiner's humanity (depicted as very flawed) shines through in the midst of the madness. When that's combined with the heartwarming fan connections, they make this surprisingly sweet as much as it is comically dark. All in all, a real winner.

Fans of Star Trek or Hollywood satires need to get their hands on it.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

Easily in the top 5 worst books I’ve ever read. You could tell where you were SUPPOSED to laugh, but none of the jokes were actually funny. There were a few too many creepy character interactions & too much filler in the middle. I was hoping for a fun, entertaining read, but this turned out to be neither.

Happy to include this unusual hybrid auto-fiction in the October instalment of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month's top fiction for Zed, Zoomer magazine’s reading and books section.
Full review feature at link.

Brent Spiner weaves a fantastical tale. Stalkers, bloody horse heads left on the door step (or in this case, bloody pig parts sent in the mail)

The style is fun with a bit of intrigue and suspense. It's a quick and easy read, though the narrator comes across as a bit too egocentric.

Having said all that, Fan Fiction would have been better as an actual fiction novel rather than a memoir. A memoir implies events that actually happened, and in this case Spiner fully admits at the beginning much of what he retells is embellished or made up.

Set in ’91 during the height of the Next Generation run, Brent Spiner writes a truly entertaining fictional memoir about the life of a celebrity caught up in a fan’s obsession. Letters, a pig penis (yep, I just wrote that!), and other messages are delivered to Spiner by a creepy admirer of the show and specifically the character of Data. On the Paramount lot, he’s conscious of every person on the set… at the San Diego Comic-Con, he tries to focus on his interactions with the fans, and even knowing that he has a bodyguard, yet his attention is drained with the unknown… Who is this stalker? Welp… It’s Data’s daughter Val… from Episode 16 in Season 3. Or at least that’s what the letters say…

Told with several glimpses into the Next Gen Cast: Dorn, Patrick Stewart, LeVar, Frakes, Marina, and Wheaton all make appearances. And the 90s nostalgia is in full effect… sneaking out to go to Blockbuster, Roddenberry on the set, driving around in his little Toyota. My enjoyment continued to grow as the suspect list got longer and the threat grew even more dangerous. But don’t forget the fun to be had figuring out what parts of the book are “fiction” and what parts are true to life… Embellishment, satire, and giving the reader more and more of the essence of these Star Trek actors.

Fan Fiction should be on every Trekkie’s TBR, or just every scifi fan, and anyone who is curious about this fictional memoir genre. I had so much fun!

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Fans of Star Trek the Next Generation likely will appreciate this more than I did but know that even if you, like me, have not watched the show, you can still enjoy this as a romp through 1991 Hollywood. A mixture of memoir and mystery (it wasn't always clear to me where the memoir stopped and fiction started), it's all about how a stalker claiming to be the daughter of his character set off a series of unlikely events. Spiner explores his childhood and offers insight into some of his cast mates, It's light, it's fun, and if it's occasionally over the top, that's ok too. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. An entertaining read.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free e-arc of this book.

Despite the legitimately scary subject matter of violent stalking, this was enormous fun to read. Brent Spiner's sense of humor and wryly comedic voice shine through. His all-in-good-fun skewing and skewering of his Star Trek: The Next Generation castmates added another flavor to a blend already including noir, old Hollywood bedroom comedy, and absurdism. On the whole, this is more Who Framed Roger Rabbit than Raymond Chandler, so if you're coming for some straight dark noir with the "inspired by true events" memoir shading, you've got another thing coming. But if you like a good mash up and want some deftly-written Real Person Fic, this is the book for you.

I went into this book not having any idea what to expect from Mr Spiner as an author but I must say I enjoyed this book from the first page until it's last. I chuckled out loud on more than one occasion and found myself becoming sad as I neared the end of it. A highly entertaining read I would recommend to any fan of his,

This book is definitely a "romp". I had so much fun reading this and trying to figure out how much was real and how much made up. (I"m still not sure). I enjoyed Brent Spiner's way of writing, I found it delightful. Reading about the cast members from the point of view of an insider was great, and getting a glimpse of their real personalities was very cool.

I would love to read more from Spiner.

I would call this story more of a romp than anything, and that is a good thing. This is a fun read, and author Brent Spiner weaves us in and out of his memories while embellishing the pages with a hilarious plot that is probably based somewhat on actual events.

Basic plot: What would happen if a fan had difficulty separating fact from fiction and became a danger to a celebrity and his loved ones? While this is not a new idea in the realm of authors, Mr. Spiner’s handling of the story by mixing it with his life creates a realism that pulls readers into the book. His wry humor about his life and the people he knows and meets kept me interested right up until the last page.

While reading the book, I found myself pondering whether a moment in the story was inspired by or perhaps lifted intact from real life events. We all have anecdotes about what we do and where we work, and one can only imagine that, for those people more in the public eye, those happenings can sometimes appear to be on steroids. These larger than life descriptions could very well be taken from Mr. Spiner’s memories.

Gene Roddenbury’s funeral comes to mind as one of those events. The mood is different than the rest of the book and the scene creates a beautiful homage to a person who affected many lives. I counted it as a wonderful addition to Mr. Spiner’s tale and if I am correct about the retelling being more real than made up, I appreciate his sharing of what had to be a difficult moment.

In truth, I never was a trekkie, and cannot say I ever watched an episode of Mr. Spiner’s television show (he played Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation), I did recognize him from his picture although I did not know his name until I read the book. Those of you standing in my shoes can be assured that this will not affect whether or not you will enjoy this book. I found it a welcome respite from all the real world events, and is certainly a breath of fresh air in the world of fiction. Five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a complimentary electronic copy of this book.

I think Mr. Spiner should stick to acting and not writing a book.
It was not what I expected.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Quick head’s up: In this review, I use “Brent” to refer to the character and “Spiner” to refer to the author.

Let’s get the fanfiction discussion out of the way.

If you are into fanfiction, you probably know that, despite anything the OED may tell you, fans (or fen, as we’re sometimes pluralized) write it as all one word: fanfiction. Spiner’s book is titled Fan Fiction. But there’s a reason, I promise! In spite of Spiner not writing this the same way as fans do, I can fanwank the title! The novel itself, you see, is mostly Fiction, and it’s about not only Brent dealing with the attentions of a scary Fan, but the ways in which Brent is a Fan himself.

There is a point at which Brent tells Patrick Stewart that he feels as if he is a character in a work of fanfiction. At first, I thought, “Whoa, an actor aware of fanfiction in 1991?” but then I remembered that this is Star Trek, one of the first media fandoms and the first fanzine-based media fandom, and that the first issue of a newsletter devoted to Data and Spiner was released in the fall of 1987, well before this book takes place. That newsletter (adorable titled Data Entries) published its first piece of fiction in issue 3, which was published in spring of 1988, again well before this novel takes place. It’s worth noting that the first issue of the newsletter discusses establishing a fan club for Spiner and later issues report that Spiner requested that fans not do this and that the newsletter not include photos of him out of makeup. While the driving force in the novel is a fan who is creepy as can be, there were a lot of active fans of Spiner’s who were careful to respect his privacy. All of this to say, of course by 1991 Brent would be aware of fanfiction, though whether he would have actually read any for Star Trek or anything else is something I don’t know.

What I loved:

This book is a lot of fun. Brent Spiner makes it impossible to know what draws on real life and what’s totally made up, though there are interviews where he clarifies it a bit.

I can’t include exact quotes because I only have an Advanced Reader’s Copy and not a final version, but I can share some of my own notes with you. I think that will illuminate what I love about the book better than a summary can.

There’s a point at which Brent goes to see a detective at the LAPD. This detective offers a lot of assistance regarding Brent’s stalker, but of course he finishes their meeting by telling Brent he has a TNG spec script that involves Data traveling back in time to the 20th century to team up with a character who is clearly a self-insert for the detective. But really, who among us doesn’t have a TNG spec script that features Data collaborating with a self-insert character? When I was in middle school, my best friend and I plotted out the beats of an episode where Data teams up with a middle school-aged flautist to communicate with the Crystalline Entity through music. The middle school-aged flautist was a self-insert for my best friend; Data was guaranteed to be a Data Sue for me if we had actually finished the script.

Spiner portrays himself as a nebbishy, anxious wreck, which completely contradicts the image I have of him in my head as a confident, charismatic, and hilarious performer. It made me feel more aligned with the character Brent, which is nice because as someone who sees myself in Data, there was the risk I would find Brent to be so different from his character as to be not relatable. I too am an apparently confident and charismatic person who is actually an anxious wreck. (Can women be nebbishy? If we can, I am on the inside but not externally.) Because of this, I found Brent super relatable.

We get a glimpse into the glamor of a Hollywood life here when Brent puts in a CD in his car in 1991. How fancy is he? My family didn’t get a car with a CD player in it until probably 2000 or later. We bought one with a tape deck in 1993.

Spiner references his comedy influences in the book frequently; at first, I didn’t think of him as a comedic performer, in spite fo thinking of him as a funny person, but remembering that he was part of a panel on humor in Star Trek as part of First Contact Day 2021 reminded me that this is, in fact, a huge part of his work. Spiner’s comedy chops shine through in the book, when he has Brent drop jokes in a classic comedic structure. Again, I can’t tell you the exact quotes, but there are a lot of places where my annotations say things like “Fucking hilarious” and “Brent Spiner is a goddamn delight.”

Spiner confirms what I already knew (and used for my Data cosplay at my dissertation defense): Data is not white. He is gold. I liked that he confirmed this and mentioned it pretty frequently.

Spiner portrays Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett-Roddenberry as freaking adorable. I don’t know what they were really like, and I know that Majel wasn’t the alpha and omega of Gene’s attractions and romantic/sexual relationships, but DAMN, so cute.

Spiner’s portrayal of his TNG classmates is, according to his SyFy interview, exaggerated; it’s also delightful. Levar Burton is the most enlightened hippie in hippietown and Patrick Stewart is 100% So Very RSC.

What I wanted more of:

There is a lot going on in this book, in spite of it focusing strongly on one storyline: Brent dealing with the mysterious fan who is stalking him and seems to believe she is his daughter from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Offspring” (almost there in my rewatch!), Lal. I wish we’d gotten to spend a little bit more time with any of it. It’s a fast and fun read but it wouldn’t have been hurt by I having more time on set, more time dealing with the mystery, more time with Brent handling his complicated relationship with FBI Agent Cindy Lou and her twin, private security guard Candy Lou.

What I need to warn you about:

Spiner’s writing voice here is sparse. I think this is because Spiner is putting on a Chandleresque voice; reading the Google Books preview for The Big Sleep confirmed this for me. I rarely read hard-boiled detective fiction or noir; I’m more of a Victorian/cozy kind of gal. Because of this, the voice took me by surprise. If you’re used to that kind of writing, I think you’ll go, “Yep.” If not, know that it’s an intentional style.

While Spiner imitates the voice of a hard-boiled detective here and “mem-noir” is a delightful neologism to describe what he’s written, this has a more optimistic vibe than is typical of noir or hard-boiled detective stories. There’s a mystery, the book is set in LA, and Cindy Lou and Candy Lou could be credibly called dames, but that’s where the similarities end.

There are a couple of anachronisms that I wonder if they’ll be in the finished book. There’s a point at which Spiner uses the word “besties,” which seems to have first appeared in 1991. So it’s possible it would be used in the context of this story, but it would be very cutting edge. There’s also a character described in the epilogue as having been taking online classes for years, and I can’t tell if the epilogue is supposed to be from the perspective of Spiner-now, as the prologue clearly is, or Brent-then. So that might be an anachronism or it might not, I can’t tell.

Some people have criticized Spiner’s portrayal of women in the book, especially the twins Cindy Lou and Candy Lou, as being too limited and focused on them as sexual objecsts. It’s a fair critique, but it didn’t bother me.

Final word: Fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation should definitely check this out. Noir readers might enjoy it too; Spiner does a good job of explaining things about the show that non-fans might otherwise confusing.

I'm a fairly recent Star Trek: The Next Generation fan thanks to the LeVar Burton Reads pod. So of course I requested this ARC when it popped up on NetGalley. While I enjoyed reading about my favorite characters and the "behind the scenes" aspect of filming, this story was just too silly for me. The characters were straight from central casting (oversimplified stereotypes) and the plot was trite. I would rather have read a true memoir where this true stalker story was one chapter of his life.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and #NetGalley for a digital arc. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I loved this book. I have to admit that I am a huge fan of Brent Spiner. I loved him as Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation and as Bob Wheeler in Night Court. And now I love him as a writer. Since I am a Star trek fan, I appreciated the inside stories about the show. I also liked the inclusion of other Star Trek stars. The story itself is excellent and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I had no idea what was fictional and what was real, but it didn’t really matter. And while there were only a few laugh-out-loud moments, overall the book conveys a certain lightness that had me smiling most of the time. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader copy.

I was drawn to this book because it was written by Brent Spiner, the actor who played Commander Data on 'Star Trek: The next generation' for years.

Semi-autobiographical, the book is an odd combination of fiction and reality, as Brent's fictional plot takes place amid his life working on the TV show. A commentary on fan-dom and the life of a celebrity, it gives you the inside look at an actor's daily life. Funny in parts, it was certainly an interesting read.

Well, that was quite a ride. On the plus side, there are several moments of laugh-out-loud humor, it's an interesting picture of life on TNG in the 90s, and the fact that it's not-quite-true only adds to the dizzying feeling of unreality as the reader, like the narrator, wonders what's real and what isn't.

That said, the actual plot is campy, cheesy, and doesn't exactly break new ground. This is not one I'll ruminate over for weeks. The dream sequences drag and I started skimming whenever I saw italics. But, it was a pleasant diversion and I'm glad to have read it. For anyone inclined to read this, I'd recommend holding out for the audio book. Given the casting, I think that might squeeze the most possible fun out of this story, and fun really does seem to be its strong suit.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!