Fan Fiction by Brent Spiner

 

This is a weird and witty novel, clearly has a lot of Noir in its ancestry but has a really dry sense of humor about it, and draws amply (and does well to do so) on Spiner's experiences making Star Trek: The Next Generation. There's a co-writer on the title page who probably deserves a good bit of the credit--and Spiner is generous in his acknowledgments. There are some moments that don't work as well as others, but that's not wildly unusual. There are hints that something like at least some of this happened for real, and it's clear Spiner appreciates fans while at least occasionally wishing they'd leave him alone, but this is not any kind of fandom takedown novel (if that's your jam, I Am Providence by Nick Mamatas is a good novel that does some downtaking of at least Lovecraftian fandom). Many of the  secondary characters are fictional versions of real people, which makes it hard to talk about characterization in the novel, but the dialogue feels at least mostly plausible; the moments where Spiner kinda captures the relationships between cast members are often wonderful. I'm not sure how much appeal this novel would have for people with no fond memories of the show, but I enjoyed it plenty.