Fan Fiction: A Mem-Noir Inspired By True Events by Brent Spiner (2021) We have to hand it to author-comedian-actor Brent Spiner, famous for playing Lt. Data, the much beloved android of the 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' TV series.......
This book is one crazy high wire act. Enough to make us scratch our head wondering, "What in the holy hell did we just read?"
It's a mess from start to finish, freely combining Marx Brothers type farce, creepy psychological thriller tropes, deft satire aimed with deadly accuracy at real life celebs and show biz in general.....and every so often, startling perceptions about the dysfunctional relationship between rabid fans and the objects of their adoration.......
We've no way to to make any rational categorization of 'Fan Fiction'.......it's impossible to pin down. But that didn't stop us from enjoying every wack-a-doodle page of it.
The book's title cleverly points in every direction. It's literally fan fiction of Spiner's own hectic life in 1991 when his 'Star Trek' series and the character he played in it were at the height of their popularity.......and there's no fictionalizing of his fellow cast members either. Good sports all no doubt, they allowed Spiner to insert them into his frenzied storyline, real names and all........
'Fan Fiction' also refers to the deluded warped unreality bubble in which some of Spiner's unhinged fans choose to reside... (in the book, anyway...)........ditching their own family to profess their love, or masquerading as 'Mrs.Spiner' and worst of all, one of them sends threatening letters promising Spiner a violent death.
With his life upended and overwhelmed by no less than three separate stalkers, Spiner's aided and protected by a wish fulfillment dream come true -adorable, but tough twin sisters Cindy Lou and Candy Lou. The former's an FBI agent assigned to track down the ominously sick letter writer, and the latter's a no-nonsense bodyguard Spiner hires to....uh...... guard his body.
And before long, Candy Lou's doing more for Brent's body than guarding it and wouldn't you know it, twin Cindy Lou's falling for him too. (We don't know how much of this corresponds to the 'true events' of the book's sub-title, but congrats to the author if any of the twin sister stuff is even remotely factual......)
From the first page onward, the book dizzily pinballs back and forth between laugh-out-loud, self-depreciating farce, heartrending flashbacks (involving Spiner's childhood abuse at the hands of his stepfather) and an encounter with fans that turns both insightful and explosively funny.
None of it ever blends together well, and from one page to the next, you never know when you'll end up giggling or sighing or just shaking your head in disbelief......but we loved the idea of Brent Spiner one-uppping the Trekkies who've written reams and reams of 'Star Trek' fan fiction about their favorite characters.
If the Trekkies can do it, why shouldn't an actual Trek actor have a shot at bending reality to his will too? And serve up an entertaining book in the bargain.......3 & 1/2 stars (***1/2)
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