A Field Guide to the Aliens of Star Trek: The Next Generation

by Zachary Auburn

ONE KID'S CONTINUING CATALOG ALL ALIEN LIFE FROM STAR THE NEXT GENERATION.

These are the voyages of Joshua Chapman. In 1990 at 11 years old, he wrote a field guide to the alien races of Star The Next Generation for school. He continued the project through his awkward teen years and into reluctant adulthood.

Boldly go from season to season and learn about Acamarians to Zibalians. Explore strange new feelings, like Joshua's obsession with Data, and Joshua's angst toward his mother, who's more terrifying than a Yridian's face. Engage... with humanity at its weirdest.

"One of my favorite artistic discoveries of the last few years, in any medium. It's funny, touching, wholly convincing, and even profound–the kind of book you'll want to give to every misfit adolescent you now know or once did, which is to say everyone who was ever worth knowing." ―Kevin Brockmeier, O. Henry Prize winning author of Things That Fall from the Sky

216 pages, Paperback

Published September 12, 2017

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

First.. this book is not about Star Trek aliens. Sure, there are descriptions of the various races that showed up on The Next Generation, but that is not what this book is really about. This book is about a young man dealing with a situation that no one should ever have to. It is sad and kinda hopeless. I have no idea if there is a real "Joshua Chapman" but I really really hope not. Assuming that this is really fiction, the book does a good job of portraying the feelings of this boy reflected on the mirror of Star Trek.

[RavenWorks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Enormously depressing, to a degree that borders on false advertising. It's an interesting way to frame a work of fiction, but the story they chose to tell with it is the kind of thing that it seems malicious to just insert into something being pitched as comedy and a nostalgia piece on fluffy nerd pop culture.

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I had read these in their original zine format as the epilogue-type stuff almost ruined it for me. :/

While you can learn a lot about Star Trek here, the format was really interesting for telling the story of a difficult childhood.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do wish this had actually covered all the episodes of TNG but that's OK. The progression from Joshua's hopeful childlike outlook in the first season zine to the bitter and resigned adult in the author's reunion interview 20 years later, illustrated through his perceptions of TNG, its characters and various aliens and his references to living with an unstable single mom, was effective and felt real.

Little things like his entering high school and learning about different interests and media (like Wicca, Nine Inch Nails, Sandman and local socialists) seemed to really underscore how pop culture can help form and sometimes affirm/assuage our lives, if only for moments. The slow reveal with Joshua's cutting and how really broken his mother is was also well done.

I read the zines separately before reading this in book form and I don't think it's a better read one way or another, but I definitely appreciate the scope and intent of the work more when reading it as a book. But, the packaging, back blurb and ad at the end to read other hilarious works by this publisher seemed pretty out of place-- I found this serious and poignant, not hilarious (though I did have a lot of giggles about TNG observations and annoyance that rang true, like Joshua's love for Data and disdain for Troi).

[Erick Romero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Second book I've read by this author, and this is the second time I've been disappointed by him. Auburn's writing style is fine, but the stunts or pranks he pulls aren't. He's a troll. He's a good one, sure, but he's still just a troll.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s pretty clear that it’s not an actual collection of zines made by a kid with a hard upbringing. But the author really does a good job of creating a simulacrum of such a thing. It’s very sad and intermittently touching.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great funny primer to Star Trek The Next Generation. Written in a 'zine' format.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very very funny, very very sad.
For fans of: STNG, high school home-life problems, found art.
Read through to the end

[Laurie Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Field Guide to the Aliens of Star Trek: The Next Generation is everything it promises to be and more. You will have the pleasure of re-living all the episodes of Star Trek TNG through its alien life-forms, examining them through the eyes of a teenage boy as he maneuvers his way through puberty and beyond.

This story begins with editor Zachary Auburn discovering a series of old "zines" in a bookstore. The zines are written by young Joshua Chapman, first as a school project, then over a period of years, as a personal diary. Joshua's mission is to catalog every alien life form that appears in Star Trek: TNG. As Joshua matures so does the format of his zines, from scrawling penmanship to typewriter to keyboard. He rates the aliens and critiques the Star Trek episodes with blatant honesty. As Joshua reveals his feelings towards the aliens he also reveals the emotional roller-coaster of his life at home.

The story comes full circle when Auburn tracks down and interviews the adult Chapman. It is a poignant and intimate conversation. After all, we feel that we've grown up alongside Joshua.

This book is brilliant in its delivery. The detail that was put into reconstructing Joshua's journals with his awkward cursive and polaroid photos of the aliens makes you feel like you've gone back in time. Even if you are not a Star Trek fan you will enjoy Joshua's candor as he exposes the weaknesses of the show he loves.

There is so much more to the story, but you'll have to read it for yourself....

[Adrienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a difficult one to rate because I didn't realize it was a work of fiction until I googled the author afterwards. This wasn't originally published as a single volume; instead, it was a series of photocopied booklets, hand-stapled and looking authentically like an English class extra-credit project by a "Joshua Chapman":



I came across the set of booklets at my local library's used booksale and snatched them up for a laugh, thinking they were some local kids' project that got donated. The increasing mentions of abuse sent me to the internet, where I found that this was actually fictional and published originally as a prank. (It was definitely a relief to find out that there wasn't any truth to the child abuse!)

It works really well as a prank, and I give the author props for how realistically the style and writing changed across the yearly volumes. Had me fooled right up until the end, and many of the "reviews" of aliens in the earlier volumes had me literally laughing out loud. But (and this is a big but) it doesn't work well as a commercially produced single volume - loses all its charm when you already know it's fiction.

Four stars for how much it made me laugh at the beginning believing I was reading the thoughts of an actual kid, minus two stars for getting it published as a commercial book. Should have been left as the prank booklets only.