I want to be completely upfront and clear about what this book is and is not.  This is not great literature which comments deeply on the human condition.  Shoot, it’s not even an official Star Trek publication.  It is, however, good fun.  A fanboy novel of the highest order, Trekkies is a quick, clever read with plenty of entertainment value, even if you can’t tell a tribble from Alvanian cave sloth.

I think what I like most about this book is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously.  While I enjoy a bit of Star Trek, I’ve always been unwilling to get too deep into the mythos for fear of losing all perspective.  What Anderson & Stall have created here is a nice balance between pleasing those who actually attend Starfleet Academy and the more casual fan.  In short, the don’t tell too many obscure jokes, but instead keep the references easy and casual.  I’m sure there are bits of Trekkie humor I didn’t get, but that did nothing to interfere with my enjoyment of the novel.

Buried within this obviously geek-centric plot is a current, albeit mild, commentary on war and fantasy.  Jim Pike (and there’s your first Easter egg: JAMES T. Kirk + Admiral PIKE) was a huge Star Trek fan until two tours in Afghanistan left him feeling more than a little cynical, especially when it comes to people who trade reality for fiction.  As the story opens, Jim is working security at a cut rate hotel in Houston that’s playing host to the small-time Trekkie convention GulfCon.  Meanwhile, in a top-secret bunker beneath the nearby Johnson Spaceflight Center, there’s some bad juju a-stirring.  Very quickly, these two threads are joined when zombies not only begin to take over the Botany Bay Hotel and Conference Center, but all of “Space City.”  And just like that we find something with fewer social skills than a Trekkie.

Jim tries desperately to hold things together, but is rapidly forced to admit that “This was Dawn of the Freaking Dead” [sic].  As the last non-zombie staff member, he is unwillingly thrust into a leadership role he had been trying to avoid.  Guilt over events in Afghanistan led him to take the hotel job in the first place, wanting more than anything to avoid responsibility, especially for other people’s lives.  I was particularly impressed with this development; Jim’s internal struggle affects his relations with the other characters and adds quality depth to what could have easily been a silly zombie book.  With a line-up of noticeably alive and hapless sci-fi nerds, including his younger sister and an out of place Princess Leia impersonator, Jim must face down his insecurities if any of them are to escape this apparently no-win scenario.

All things considered, this is a pretty cool book.  The writing is good (with only a light sprinkling of cheese-laden lines), and the plot takes a great Star Trek/government cover-up twist, giving the story a touch of spice while also avoiding a lapse in pacing.  Plus, the novel is a bit of a primer of sci-fi conventions, which I found interesting, having never been to one.  Once again, Quirk Books plays to its strength of cramming the undead into unexpected places and manages to put a smile on at least one reader’s face.