Night of the Living Trekkies

Review by Kayla -The zombie-lovin'-chick-from-Iowa -

I have to admit, I was WAY too excited for this book. I squealed when I read the e-mail that said I was the winner of the contest and going to receive the book in the mail soon (editor's note:  Kayla won this book from Zombies & Toys). When it finally arrived, I was actually afraid to read it. I was scared of the disappointment if I read it and didn't like it. What if the zombies were retarded? What if the characters were too cliche? What if they completely destroyed the zombie genre reputation and smeared shit in its rotting, flesh-eating face? Well, I faced that fear and opened the book, just to read the first page and be slapped in the face. I.Was.Wrong.

Right away the prologue snatches you in. Witty banter between characters and then - BOOM! Action happens. In my opinion, that's a great way to hook you in. There's so much mystery about what's going on immediately. And that's what kept me going. As you read on, you lose track of time (or is it just me?) - I loved the interesting mix of the story. A Star Trek convention in Houston unknowingly being under attack by a mysterious virus that takes the whole city and turns them into zombies. A bit of comedy. Action. Gore-filled scenes. The writers definitely knew what they were doing.

I loved the variety of the characters. There were all kinds of people with all kinds of personalities... the zombie variety was GREAT! When there's variety, it keeps things moving a long and leaves it open for any unsuspecting thing to happen. The lead character, Jim, I love. And of course his "side-kick", Leia is just amazing. The two have this interesting Star Trek/Star Wars cross over romance thing going on (and no, it's not that cheesy or bad). I do have to admit - it's tough coming up with different ways to kill off zombies when you're writing. It can be the same mundane thing - "Be-head. Set on fire. Blow up. Dismember." But instead, they introduce new ways for killing zombies by using Star Trek weapons. Hell yes!

I was only mildly disappointed with one part of the story (I'll be nice and won't spoil!) - The cause. The cause of everything going on. It honestly pissed me off a bit, but as a loyal zombie fan and fellow nerd, I kept pushing on. I do have to say the end did catch me by surprise and when I set the book down after spending a week and a half devoted to it, I was overall very satisfied. Thanks fellas for writing a story that struck home and made my nerdy zombie lovin' heart skip a beat or two during several scenes. You rocked my socks!

Another Night of the Living Trekkies Contest

So, you may recall that Zombies & Toys is giving away a copy of the latest zombie novel from Quirk Books, Night of the Living Trekkies.  Our contest ends this Friday and the winner must send me a review of the book to feature for everyone to enjoy.  Why?  Because it's my copy of the book and I don't have time to read it!  But, for those who like to read and not write, we will have a second contest for another copy when we post the guest review.

In the meantime, our friends at Buy Zombie are giving away are having their own contest that ends this Sunday.  It's possible to earn 50 entries per person!  Make sure to tell them ZT send you as I'd like to win a copy myself.  After all, I'm giving away my copy!

Night of the Living Trekkies

Night of the Living Trekkies is a tale of heroism, sci-fi fandom, and flesh-eating Vulcans by Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall.  The official release date is Sept 1st and the same publisher who brought us Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Quirk Books, is going to give Zombies & Toys readers an opportunity to win a free copy of their book! 

Jim Pike was the world’s biggest Star Trek fan—until two tours of duty in Afghanistan destroyed his faith in the human race. Now he sleepwalks through life as the assistant manager of a small hotel in downtown Houston. But when hundreds of Trekkies arrive in his lobby for a science fiction convention, Jim finds himself surrounded by costumed Klingons, Vulcans, and Ferengi—plus a strange virus that transforms its carriers into savage, flesh-eating zombies!

I've decided to do this contest a bit differently than previous ones.  I have committed myself to reading and reviewing two other books and have realistically come to the conclusion that I will not have the time to read and review Night of the Living Trekkies in a timely fashion.  I am doing the publisher a disservice by not reviewing the book they have generously decided to send me.  I am doing the author a disservice by not reviewing a novel that undoubtedly took much time and effort.  Most importantly, I am doing Zombies & Toys readers a disservice by not providing you some additional information about some zombie goodness.

As a result, I would like to give my copy away to a reader who would like to submit and have featured their review.  If you are interested in contributing to the ZT community while snagging a free copy of a zombie-filled book, email your name and address to trekkies@zombiesandtoys.com.  One winner will be selected next Friday, Sept 3rd.  I will have the book in the mail the next day on Saturday and would like your review on or by October 15th.  Along with the featured review, we will also be giving away a second copy of Night of the Living Trekkies as part of our normal contest feature.

Also worth mentioning is the Night of the Living Trekkies Facebook page is giving away some nice prizes as well.  Grand prize will be some Troublesome Tribbles (they move and everything!), an unofficial Trekkies T-Shirt, and a signed copy of the book.  Two runners-up will receive an Unofficial Trekkies T-Shirt and a copy of the book.  All you have to do to be eligible is join the Facebook page!

I will be testing some new ideas over the coming months.  Based on YOUR feedback, we will be replicating and/or moving forward with the new ideas or learning from my mistake and ditching them.