The Dean Died Over Winter Break: The First Chronicle of Brother Thomas, by Christopher Lansdown. CreateSpace and Silver Empire, 2018. 202 pages. Softcover, $9.99. Kindle e-book $4.99.
The investigator at the heart of The Dean Died Over Winter Break is a high-concept figure: a member of the F.B.I. Not the government agency, the Franciscan Brothers of Investigation. When a university dean is killed on-campus, and the official authorities are at a dead end, Brother Thomas of the F.B.I. is called in to solve the case before the undergraduates come back.
It’s a fun whodunit, with some intriguing characters and twists, and the crux of the investigation comes from Brother Thomas’ studies of human psychology and behavior. It’s a traditional mystery, with none of the gloom and heavy-handed darkness that mars so much of today’s detective fiction.
Readers with opinions and tastes like mine will enjoy the reflections on religion, philosophy, and G.K. Chesterton. Those with differing literary palates may not be so pleased.
In his author’s note, Lansdown writes, “I apologize that it wasn’t longer—in stories that we like, we come to care about the characters, and they have life more or less in proportion to page count. On the other hand their quality of life is defined by the quality of those pages, which in large part forms the practical limitation that keeps novels from being millions of pages long... If you wanted more, so did I, and you have my sympathy.” I certainly do want more, though not for this specific mystery.
The idea of an abbey filled with detectives is a great initial premise, but it leads to the fact that more backstory is needed. Like many first entries in a series, The Dead Died Over Winter Break suffers a little bit from what I call “expositionitis”– the fact that the need to provide plenty of backstory to describe the setting and characters tends to lead to choppy narratives and lots of explanation. This is often unavoidable, though much of this could have be assisted with an “Episode Zero,” an introductory narrative explaining how the order of the F.B.I. was founded, how various men joined the order, and quick mini-mysteries outlining their investigative training and the development of their reputation.
I hope that The Dean Died Over Winter Break is the start of a series of novels featuring Brother Thomas and his fellow investigators.
Lessons Learned from Star Trek, by Nicholas H. Kovacs. Lulu.com, 2018. 420 pages. Kindle e-book, $6.99.
This book is a fan’s tribute to the ways that a favorite science fiction franchise has influenced his life, and describing the various morals than can be derived from the various shows and movies. The affection for the topic is evident on every page, and the encyclopedic knowledge of the Star Trek universe is similarly obvious with each paragraph.
Kovacs explains in his Introduction how Star Trek has influenced his life in a heartfelt passage:
“For me personally, Star Trek has become one of my great passions in life. I remember being introduced to Star Trek by my father in the late 1980s, when I was in the second grade. At this time, I was a big fan of the “He-Man: The Masters of the Universe” cartoon series. My dad started to feel that I was getting too old for cartoons, believing I needed a hobby that was more appropriate for my age, and introduced me to the world of Star Trek. I can’t remember the title of the first Star Trek episode I ever watched, but I do remember it was from “The Original Series”. After watching a couple adventures of Captain Kirk, I began to develop a deep enjoyment of the Star Trek universe. Seeing all the cures for diseases and advanced technology in the Star Trek universe, made me want to command the USS Enterprise, and hope that one day the Star Trek universe would come true. Having since birth a genetic disability (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) that has confined me to a wheelchair, made me wish as I was growing up, to live in the fictional universe of Star Trek. I still have this wish today as an adult. In some ways, the fictional universe of Star Trek has become a reality, such as the development of voice recognition for computers. With my disability, I have found voice recognition programs for computers to be really helpful.”
This is a very useful book, but it is not for the novice to Star Trek, or even the casual fan. There are simply too many details about aliens, culture, and background information about decades of details connected to a major franchise to for the individual who doesn’t know the difference between a Romulan and a Vulcan to pick up the book and read it clearly. Indeed, the analytical narrative is filled with plenty of spoilers for major episodes, and therefore, the book is best for people with a similarly thorough knowledge of at least three of the Star Trek television series.
Longtime fans will find much to discuss about one of their favorite franchises. This is a labor of love, and those who care about Star Trek as much as Kovacs will be inspired by the work of a kindred spirit.
This review first appeared in Gilbert!
