Sunken Treasure: Wil Wheaton's Hot Cocoa Box Sampler

Wheaton, Wil

2009

8/10

OK, this post may cement my geektastic reputation, but Sunken Treasure was just too much fun not to write about. Also, I like pretending “geektastic” is a word.

For those of you who can't identify a Trek episode in 3.5 seconds or passionately debate the four basic type of superhero for hours on end, Wil Wheaton is known in certain cyber/geek circles for playing Wesley Crusher on Start Trek: The Next Generation and for being a geek authority on his blog and elsewhere (with expertise ranging from D&D to comic collections to classic arcade games).

My former roommate talked about how great Wheaton's blog was for years, but I never really paid attention until recently (I think it was a couple mentions on Boing Boing that really got me thinking). I now subscribe to the blog, follow the Twitter, and read the books.

This book is a collection of his projects from the past year. It includes a humorous sketch comedy script, a snarky (and insightful) recap of a Trek episode, reflections on growing up as an actor, and a production diary from the author's recent appearance on Criminal Minds. The writing style is conversational and comfortable, indicative of someone who developed their writing skills in a bloging environment. Pretty cool.

Its also worth mentioning that in addition to the regular “book” version, Sunken Treasure is available as a DRM-free PDF (for those who worry about such things). Just under ninety pages in PDF form, I read Sunken Treasure in several hours.