Warped Factors: A Neurotic's Guide to the Universe

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: Easily one of the best books by a television celebrity. Amusing and candid, it shows how life in Hollywood really is, how Walter Koenig coped with a difficult childhood and early days in Hollywood and how he feels about his fellow Star Trek stars. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Insight into a complex and talented man
Review: Having watch Walter Koenig on TV since he appeared on Star Trek and later seeing him as Al Bester on Babylon 5. I wanted to know more about this talented and complex man. I bought the book. I think most of us can identify with his story of life's many insecurites, our own periods of self doubts. Walter found a way to use all of his life experiences, good or bad, to become the gifted actor that has shared his talents and gift with us all in many theatrical productions, movies and television. The book is wonderfully funny and profoundly touching. Walter is a kind, caring man. This book is a must read for all Star Trek and Babylon 5 fans. Walter is special and unique in today world of famous inaccessible people, he has time for his fans.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I've just got into Star Trek and decided to read some of the books the cast wrote. The first book I read was Walter's book. He told some hilarious stories, but yet he told about the serious stuff too.

I've heard that some, if not all of the cast had issues with William Shatner. Walter could've made this a dirt book and tell about every dirty thing Shatner ever did to him. Walter didn't do that. He let it be known that he wasn't happy with some of the things Shatner did it on the set, but the whole book wasn't about that. I've read other books where stars and costars just let out all the bad feelings and the book turns out negative because it turns into 'I hate him because he did this and that, this and that, this and that- etc' I repeat that Walter's book ISN'T like that. It's worth a read if you are a Star Trek fan.

Rating:
Summary: To know Walter Koenig is to love him
Review: On page 150 of Walter Koenig's new book, "Warped Factors: A Neurotic's Guide to the Universe," there is a photo of the actor/writer at the age of six months. He is preoccupied. The face on this child has an old look about it, and he is fretting about something. The baby picture, we come to find out while reading this delightful book, is prophetic. It gives us a clue to the situations that will later make Koening tick... and sometimes self-destruct. "Warped Factor" is a much more intimate look inside an actor than most egocentrical folks are willing to share. Here, in plain black and white are Koenig's dreams, the good ones and the bad; his relationships, all without rancor; and the almost frantic way he has of sabotaging himself.It takes him through his confusing life, from his father's flirtations with communism, through his elementary and high school years, and the many manifestations of his career, which is truly one of which Michael Straczynski, creator of Babylon 5 describes as "lightening striking in the same place twice." If you're looking for Checov here, you'll find him, but deeper. If it's Alfred Bester you want to get to know, he's there too, layered by people Koenig had known, for good or for bad. I highly recommend this book. It's written by a man who truly loves and respects his fans, doesn't overwhelm them with baggage, but is simply and courageously inviting them in for a visit. This one is lovely, Walter. I laughed out loud.

Rating:
Summary: One of the better Trek autobiographies
Review: Perhaps because it's one of the last autobiographies by a star of the original Star Trek, this is also one of the best. Koenig has obviously spent a lot of time over the years thinking about decisions and mistakes he's made, but he seems more intent on learning from the past than on dwelling bitterly on it. The first half of the book, about the years before Trek, is more compelling than a Trek fan might expect, because of its depiction of such things as communist paranoia and the desperation of the young actor. The chapters about the Star Trek years add a few new tidbits of information, and offer a more nuanced view of William Shatner than might be expected. The one disappointment? It could have been longer. I would especially have liked more about Babylon 5. And more about Koenig's work with Roddenberry on the unpublished God Thing novel....

Rating:
Summary: Laughter And Insight--The Perfect Complement
Review: The price of this book wasn't peanuts. And Walter Koenig being one of the "lesser gods," I debated about buying it. I wasn't disappointed. Far from it. To quote a famous line, "I laughed so hard I nearly peed my pants!" Koenig tells a humorous story tinged with the painful awareness that only a true neurotic can supply. We all can identify with the "other shoe" syndrome (waiting for the other shoe to drop). In "Warped Factors," we cringe while Walter "waits." I quickly found myself on first-name basis, silently begging, "Please, Walter--not again. Don't screw this one up." Alas, he usually did. Through him, I truly feel I experienced the Hollywood scene first hand: between laughs, I found my stomach tied in knots.

The Star Trek memoirs come late in the book, but no one will mind the delay. The humor makes up for it. As for the Trek lore itself, it's just more of the same old, same old. "I wish I'd had more lines," is the recurrent theme. Granted, Chekov's "Yes, Keptin" doesn't quite qualify for icon status as does McCoy's "He's dead, Jim." But Koenig's own attempts at scriptwriting don't improve on that. In one proposed outline, he includes a fencing match for Sulu. (Been there, done that.) This plot calls for mass annihilation of the original crew--a disaster that would have spelled death for the Star Trek ideal. It seems a depressing attempt to precipitate the inevitable end (rf. "Star Trek VI: In Flanders Field"--see appendix). Fortunately, it didn't take.

Regarding cast quarrels, Koenig seems to resent Leonard Nimoy. Twice he alludes to some falling out that he never specifies--but it seems to have left a scar. He does praise Nimoy's generosity in standing up for him and others during contract negotiations, but puts it down to "noblesse oblige." I must admit, I've had the same thought. But truth or not, it seems ungrateful of Koenig to mention it, considering that Nimoy's "Star Trek IV: The Journey Home" does more to flesh out Chekov's personality than the entire run of the original series. Koenig's attitude seems like petty vengeance for some perceived slight. Neurotic, huh? But hey--we were warned.

Nit-picking aside, this book may be the best Star Trek bio ever for pure enjoyment--surpassing even Nimoy's. Subjective writing is definitely Walter Koenig's forte. I haven't yet read his first book, "Chekov's Enterprise." Now that I've sampled his writing, I can't wait!

Rating:
Summary: This is NOT a Star Trek book
Review: While a decent portion of the book focuses on Star Trek, most of it does not. This is a book about Walter Koenig, a self-admittedly neurotic actor. For me, this difference made the book very enjoyable. Here you will get a humorous look into the actor's life, complete with looking for work, working as a hotel package boy, dealing with agent's lies, and more. This book was a lot of fun.