Commentary: Trek Stars: The Work of Star Trek Creators Outside of Star Trek

February 2013
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Thu, 21 February 2013

Commentary: Trek Stars 16: Infected with Literary Curiosity

Meyer Part 7: The Canary Trainer.

After a twelve year hiatus, Nicholas Meyer returned to the medium of books for one last novel in 1993. Once again, he chose to tackle the character of Sherlock Holmes. The Canary Trainer looks at what happened to Holmes after The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, where we find him in Paris on the case of The Phantom of the Opera.

This week, Max and Mike are joined by Augie Aleksy of Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore in Forest Park, Illinois, to discuss what Holmes was up to during The Great Hiatus, How Meyer fits his story inside of both Arthur Conan Doyle’s canon and Gaston Leroux’s novel, how the character of Holmes works without Watson, and how Meyer’s books encourage readers to seek out their source material.

Direct download: ctrek-016.mp3
Category:Nicholas Meyer -- posted at: 8:00pm MDT

Thu, 14 February 2013

Commentary: Trek Stars 15: Just Like Batman & Robin

Meyer Part 6: Confessions of a Homing Pigeon.

After a string of successful mystery and adventure books, Nicholas Meyer chose to tell a more personal story for his fifth novel, Confessions of a Homing Pigeon. The book is an autobiographical coming of age tale about George Bernini, an American boy who is sent to France to live with his alcoholic Uncle Fritz after his parents are killed in a trapeze accident.

This week, Mike and Max discuss the personal nature of the novel and how it deals with universal themes of adolescence, the reasons why Meyer felt compelled to tell this story, the similarities to Catcher in the Rye, how the book works as a road story, how this novel’s style differs from Meyer’s other novels, whether or not the book suffers from “The Dawson’s Creek Syndrome,” why the 14-year-old protagonist reminds Mike of Roy Scheider, what makes this book Meyer’s Driving Miss Daisy, and how the book is essentially the story of Robin the Boy Wonder gone wrong.

Direct download: ctrek-015.mp3
Category:Nicholas Meyer -- posted at: 8:00pm MDT

Thu, 7 February 2013

Commentary: Trek Stars 14: Less Botany, More Botany Bay

Meyer Part 5: Black Orchid.

In 1977, Nicholas Meyer teamed up with his University of Iowa classmate Barry Jay Kaplan to write his fourth novel, Black Orchid. The book was Meyer’s first attempt at something outside of the mystery genre, specifically historical fiction. It looks at the Brazilian Rubber Boom of the late Nineteenth Century, and the United Kingdom’s attempt to steal rubber seeds in the hopes of breaking up Brazil’s rubber monopoly.

This week, Max and Mike are joined by Matt Rushing of Trek.fm’s Literary Treks and The Orb to discuss the book’s strengths and weaknesses, whether or not Kaplan’s influence hurt the overall work, the protagonist’s similarities to Indiana Jones, the real life history behind the fiction, the inherent drama of seed-stealing espionage, the finale’s similarities to the Battle of the Mutara Nebula, and why The Undiscovered County is the perfect title for Star Trek VI.

Direct download: ctrek-014.mp3
Category:Nicholas Meyer -- posted at: 8:00pm MDT

Thu, 31 January 2013

Commentary: Trek Stars 13: A Fan Club on Steroids

Meyer Part 4: The West End Horror.

Two years after the success of The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, Nicholas Meyer returned with his second Sherlock Holmes novel, The West End Horror. This time, Meyer chose to write a much more traditional Holmes adventure which features the detective investigating a murder set against the backdrop of the British theater scene of the late 19th century.

This week, Mike and Max are joined by Tony Powers, a public librarian and Holmes aficionado, to discuss how Sherlockians compare to Trekkies, how Meyer’s books stack up against other Holmes pastiches, how the story is used to shed light on various historical characters of the era, the difficulties of simultaneously satisfying both the long-time fan and the newcomer, the passion of the Baker Street Irregulars, the work of Holmes scholar William Baring-Gould, and Meyer’s ability to stay true to source material while adapting it for a modern audience.

Direct download: ctrek-013.mp3
Category:Nicholas Meyer -- posted at: 8:00pm MDT