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Associated Press


Zero-G
by William Shatner and Jeff Rovin
Simon & Schuster
2 stars
Imagine someone similar to actor William Shatner as an FBI deputy director running a space station in the year 2050. That premise jump-starts Zero-G, an inconsistent sci-fi novel by the Star Trek star and co-author Jeff Rovin.
Samuel Lord runs the space station Empyrean, and his Zero-G men investigate everything the current FBI would, except these agents are responsible for everything that occurs outside earth’s parameters. There are other countries that have orbiting stations as well, so in addition to fighting crime, they are spying on their close rivals.
William Shatner: ‘You’re lucky if you get just one friend in a lifetime’
A tsunami that appears to have been created kills many, and it ties into the arrival on the station of a scientist named Dr May. Her research has been stolen, and she seems to know more about what happened than she lets on.
Zero-G is extremely disjointed. Some of the characters are intriguing, especially associate deputy director Adsila, who has the capability to shift from a man to a woman depending on the circumstances. Others who represent people from other countries are nothing more than a name.
The setting shows lots of promise, but the random use of tech-heavy words without explanation or the shifting points of view in the narrative easily pull the reader out of the story.
Shatner is a fine actor with some terrific book credits, but his latest effort is somewhat disappointing.


Book review: Zero-G, co-authored by William Shatner – intriguing but disjointed

William Shatner. Photo: Manfred Baumann

Cover of William Shatner's Zero-G

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Sci-fi tale set aboard space station Empyrean in 2050, about an interstellar FBI, has some interesting characters and a promising setting, but the narrative is uneven and jargon-laden


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