Commentary: Trek Stars 12: Professional Fan Fiction

Meyer Part 3: The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. Star Trek fans know Nicholas Meyer as the man who took a great franchise and made it even better. But prior to delving into the lives of Captain Kirk and Mister Spock, Meyer left his mark on another beloved fictional character: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. This week, Mike and Max are joined by Nicholas Meyer expert John Tenuto to look at Meyer’s first Holmes novel, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. We discuss the book as a piece of fan fiction, the idea of re-writing canon to make it work better, how the book stacks up against other expanded universe Holmes stories, Meyer’s ability to work within a pre-existing continuity, the similarities between this book and Meyer’s other works, Meyer’s fondness for pairing historical figures with fictional characters, the film adaptation, and the Undiscovered Country connection. We also touch on the possibility of Khan appearing in Into Darkness, and John reveals the premise for a very dark subplot which was cut from The Wrath of Khan.