Kevin Neece Gets Spiritual with Star Trek at All-Con 2018
At this year's All-Con, I had the awesome opportunity to speak with several amazing creators in the literary & artistic community. One, in particular, that stood out to me was a guy by the name of Kevin Neece. Kevin was an interesting character. I had just finished interviewing another author at the table next & was just about to start breaking down my recording setup for the day when I heard him jokingly call out to me, "don't forget to talk to me, too!" I turned around to see him grinning from ear to ear, his books & Star Trek memorabilia spread out on his table & I knew he was right. I definitely had to speak to this guy.
As we started talking, Kevin told me about his love for Star Trek & how he had been introduced to the series. It was a story that surprisingly reflected my own introduction to Gene Roddenberry's adventures into the final frontier. He watched the original series with Captain Kirk & the crew of the USS Enterprise, but found it wasn't until Star Trek: The Next Generation that he discovered his true passion for the franchise. What was particularly interesting was his personal revelation in the connection of themes from the shows & their ability to connect to theology. He found connections, both intended & unintended, to the works of C.S. Lewis & the books of the Bible. It was from here that his journey down the rabbit hole really took off.
He mentioned to me multiple times that he didn't see himself as an academic man. In fact, the thought of school was so contrary to his own inclinations that he was ready to leave education all behind the moment he graduated from high school. However, it was this drive to tell the stories that he would eventually publish that brought him back to academia over & over again, until he found himself with a Masters Degree in Liberal Arts/Fine Arts. Now, the stories that have come from this journey of his definitely reflect the hard work & thoughtfulness that you would expect from that kind of setup.
The first two books that he put out were compilations of work that he did, as well as several other talented authors: Science Fiction and the Abolition of Man, which is a retelling of C.S. Lewis' book, The Abolition of Man, but from the perspective of the works of classic & modern science fiction; and Spockology: Essays on Spock & Leonard Nimoy from the Undiscovered Country Project & Friends, which he ended up revising & updating prior to publishing in the wake of Leonard Nimoy's death in order to make it a more fitting tribute to him & the character that so many people loved. His newest book, The Gospel According to Star Trek: The original crew, is the first in a series that will analyze the gospel & theology, using each Star Trek series as the point of perspective to do so.
If you are a fan of Star Trek or enjoy books that use pop culture to spread a message, then I highly recommend that you go check out his books right now!
Check out more about Kevin & his books: