Shatnerquake

Jeff Burk's Shatnerquake is the finest story ever told containing multiple William Shatners. Lesser authors have been shackled before now with writing only one role for Shatner. This is understandable, in the field of television and film, for logistical reasons. However, this has never been the case in the literary realm and Burk has led the way here with both great panache and bloodletting. Unsatisfied with a single Shatner, Burk here provides a wall of Shatners. A smorgasbord of Shatners. Indeed, every possible variation of Shatner is set upon onlookers, each other, and the reader. No one is safe, let alone Shatner. While some people have, in the past, mocked Shatner, deriding his skill as a thespian, song stylist, or margarine spokesman, Burk has shown that the problem has never been one of too much Shatner, rather too little. Free of casting limitations the literary form allows for full Shatner on Shatner action. At last Shatner is presented on a level playing field, where characters are of the same caliber. With Shatnerquake, Burk has solved the Shatner dilema, which has plagued man since 1951, and he shall be remembered forever for this. Denny Crane!

Picked this book up after I saw the author do a very interesting read of it. Finally sat down and read it in one sitting. This is a great book for fans of funny, action packed and sometimes gory reading and at times reminds me of some of my favorite Stainless Steel Rat books with it's pacing and unapologetic wit. I would highly recommend this book.

I had the extreme (XTREME) pleasure of seeing Jeff Burk perform a scene from Shatnerquake at a reading recently. If you've not seen this, immediately find out when and where you can, and see it. But before you do that, read the book. I happened to have finished Shatnerquake the night before I saw Jeff perform. I was very happy I had. Jeff Burk has created something smart and amazing with Shatnerquake. The whole concept is hilariously brilliant. William Shatner? William Shatner. William Shatner! That truly says everything about the thrill-ride through the Shatner-tastic world-bending event. It's a quake in all senses of the world. It will rock you. Even when Captain Kirk is rampaging through the sickest convention center in all the land, phasering bystanders and later chopping up everything around him with a lightsaber, I wanted to be there. I'm pretty sure nearly every memorable character Shatner has ever played is in this book--all at one time. It's like an electric Shatner pie. It's non-stop. It's insightful. It's an homage in perfect Bizarro form. It is seriously a blast to read. Jeff Burk takes a look at juicy bits of society through a Shatner-tinted looking glass, turning show business (conventions in particular) on its side for the readers to get a good look. He's done a great job of keeping it fast and funny and sliding ideas past us in the melee surrounding a Shatner-disaster. It's obviously an ode to a tremendous entertainer, and Mr. Burk treats William Shatner and his career with great respect, while still taking us on a crazy ride through the public persona of such a well-known and illustrious performer. Rock and roll in written form. There's even a Bruce Campbell sci-fi cult. (They're the ones that make Shatner's convention experience so much fun.) Buy this book!

I'm a Star Trek fan though I don't know if I'd call myself a trekker or a trekkie. Even so, this book was awesome. It's funny, violent, and fast-paced. The premise alone is classic. Burk has taken a love of Star Trek/William Shatner and channeled it into one of the best books of the year. Seriously. The story takes place in the near future (though I am reluctant to call it SF) and all of the action takes place in a huge convention called ShatnerCon. And who is the arch-enemy of Shatner and all of his fans? Bruce Campbell and his minions! How is that not awesome? The writing is smooth, the dialogue excellent (stilted dialogue is a pet peeve of mine), and the characters funny as all hell. Even if you aren't into Star Trek, you'll probably like this book especially if you are familiar with all of the different roles that William Shatner has played during his career. It's a short book so that means only an hour or so out of your life. It's an hour well spent. Though that's probably my only criticism: I'd love to read more about this. Another 25-50 pages would've been super. Still, maybe short and sweet was the best route. Anyway, I hope there's a sequel or a related book of some sort. If you're into Star Trek, bizarre, cult fiction, Bruce Campbell, and funny offbeat fiction, check this out!

The concept of this book is so hilarious you just can't deny its awesomeness. Not only is it a cool idea for a book, but it is also a heck of a lot of fun to read. My favorite parts are seeing Captain Kirk interacting with fat nerdy people in Star Trek costumes, mistaking them for members of his crew. I also love Rescue 9-1-1 Shatner and Priceline Shatner, who teleports around people. This is the funniest book I've read in a long time. It needs to be made into a movie.