Scott Semegran’s latest novel is a timely invocation of the awkward friendships between ideologically polarized neighbors in a middle-class Austin-area neighborhood.

Seff is a progressive Texas transplant and self-employed writer, married to the love of his life (and current breadwinner) Laura Ann. Spending days working at home with only his dog for company, Seff becomes an unlikely casual drinking companion to his MAGA neighbor, Big Dave, a country-raised, part-time conspiracy theorist and full-time plumber.

What starts as a way to drink beer and pass time gets more interesting when Dave introduces Seff to an unsettling neighborhood mystery: In the wake of several household pets going missing, Dave has captured security video of a man walking near their houses overnight wearing only a stocking over his face and some tennis shoes. Together, the unlikely pair form a posse to catch the apparent sexual predator, a backdrop Semegran uses to magnify the tensions, great and small, within this unassuming neighborhood.

Starman After Midnight is billed as a novel-in-stories, the bulk of which is comprised of chapters depicting the interactions between Seff and Dave. Punctuating those chapters are brief vignettes about other neighbors, sometimes with magical realism overtones (e.g., a little girl grows exotic melons in her backyard practically overnight).

As the story unfolds, Semergran finds the quirky weirdness in the ostensibly mundane suburban American experience. Despite partisan differences, Big Dave and Seff’s friendship is believable. And while the quest to find the Starman is a serious matter, the characters still have fun; when conflicts arise between them, readers genuinely want to see fences mended.

It’s fair to say that there’s more to explore in these characters: Laura Ann is featured mostly as the adoring wife with little impact on the story; the Starman mystery has an interesting payoff that could be further mined. But these are relatively minor quibbles.

Starman After Midnight is effortlessly funny, likably odd, surprisingly moving, and imminently relatable—a genuine pleasure to read.

Suburban neighbors hunt for a mysterious interloper in Semegran’s novel.

Seff leads a quiet life with his wife in suburban Austin, Texas. Usually, the most colorful part of his day is sharing a few beers on the deck with his neighbor Big Dave, the proud sort of Texan who thinks nothing of shooting at a squirrel on his roof with a silenced Glock. When pets start to go missing around the neighborhood, Seff and Dave form a task force to get to the bottom of the mystery. The two men are soon surveilling the area with video cameras, chasing after shadowy figures in the dark, and getting pepper-sprayed by teens for their trouble. Just as they are about to give up, they capture something sinister on the cameras: a ghostly, glowing, naked figure wearing only running shoes and a pair of pantyhose pulled over his head. “[L]ooking like a naked bank robber ready for a jog—a thin and lanky, athletic, white praying mantis—he got really close to the camera and waved,” narrates Seff in horror. The only option, as they see it, is to form a posse to bring down this deranged culprit. Can the neighborhood—and Seff and Dave’s friendship—survive their ad hoc vigilantism? The novel takes the form of a series of vignettes depicting life in the neighborhood interspersed between chapters related more directly to Seff and Big Dave’s quest. Their odd-couple friendship—Seff is a progressive writer-type while Big Dave is an unapologetically MAGA plumber—forms the heart of the book. Semegran eschews injecting serious political conflict into the relationship, presenting Dave as a self-aware sitcom reactionary. “She is missing,” Big Dave chides Seff when he misgenders a dog. “You gotta get the pronouns of all the animals correct these days or the kids will cancel your ass on the interwebs and the social apps and such.” In a time of political polarization, the author offers an encouraging tale of neighborliness and camaraderie in the face of the unknown.

A big-hearted, often amusing tale of the weirdness of suburbia.

Starman After Midnight: A Novel-in-stories is a literary collection of small-town characters and situations. At their nexus are the lives of neighbors Seff and Big Dave, opposites who are attracted by the mysteries and puzzles that permeate both of their lives.

Their very different worldviews lead to meteoric clashes over diverse approaches to life and their own small pieces of it, creating an atmosphere of inquiry and discovery. This will especially attract readers interested in surrealistic settings, dark influences, and intriguing solutions to threats and possibilities.

The first attribute to note about Scott Semegran’s approach is his immersive language. He captures these vignettes of daily challenges through dialogues that are astute and packed with interest:

“How did you come up with something like that?” I said.
He finished the last of his beer. “Fox News. Beer me.”
I finished my beer and put a new beer in his outstretched hand. “Fox News isn’t news,” I told him.
“What do you mean it ain’t news? It’s in the title. Fox News.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it? It ain’t no more ridiculous than a naked bear in the woods flashing its pecker at a choir of gophers.”
“Huh?”
“You heard me. A spy, dammit. A gosh-dern-naked Russian-voting-system spy. Son of a biscuit.”

The scenarios which contribute to the greater whole and crux of the story aren’t what you’d anticipate from a pair of beer-guzzling buddies who hold such disparate attitudes about the evidence and circumstances that revolve around them.

Indeed, elements of psychological and social surprise that are woven into each tale create milieus which both stand nicely alone in individual chapters, yet are indicative of the strong outcome of these entwined experiences and mysteries.

Throughout them all, Semegran’s language ties together these oddballs and oddities in a manner that will especially please creative writing teachers seeking modern examples of powerful character-building devices:

The next afternoon, I was hot-to-trot in the writing department and finished a pivotal chapter in my zombie family novel, one where the father questions his existence and begins to wonder if he’s actually living his “afterlife” rather than his “real life.”

Humor juxtaposes nicely with serious reflection about community and individual involvements as the story unfolds in a series of picture-in-picture moments.

The tale is, quite simply, utterly compelling, fun, and attractive. Starman After Midnight will reach audiences interested in humor, puzzles, interpersonal relationship quandaries, and community challenge. It will also delight libraries looking for accessible, modern literary works that sizzle with originality and delightful surprises.

Literary writing and humor writing mesh together just as perfectly as the two unlikely protagonists in Starman After Midnight by Scott Semegran. Big Dave, a plumber by trade and conservative by political labels, spends his evenings enjoying a few brews on the patio with his neighbor Seff, a progressive-minded writer. The two lawn chair strategists contemplate life in their suburban Texan neighborhood, and readers observe their antics like the proverbial ‘fly on the wall.’ But, in this case, perhaps we’d be flies on the rim of the recycle bin as we watch Big Dave toss his crushed empties in with unerring accuracy. The book intersperses named stories with the novel’s ten chapters, creating a fun reading experience that incorporates Seff’s prose into Semegran’s writing.

Author Scott Semegran has created two well-drawn characters whose language, mannerisms, and ideals might be different but whose penchant for neighborhood gossip and life discussions is satisfied through frequent patio sessions where the juiciest eye-opening stories emerge after the second beer. Neighborhood shenanigans include strange goings-on with disappearing pets and a naked man taunting them on their driveway security cameras. Starman After Midnight offers laugh-a-minute reading with wise guy observations. Seff could be Semegran’s alter ego, revealing a talent for fluid writing even when the subject is gliding down the chilled grocery aisle to select a favorite beer brand or the pink snow of attic insulation. Even the font for the story/chapter titles sets the tone and lets readers know not to take themselves too seriously. A valuable reminder to us all.            

First and foremost, a large thank you to Reedsy Discovery and Scott Semegran for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Whenever Scott Semegran reaches out with a new novel, I know that I am in for a treat. His latest piece, a quirky novel tied together by a number of stories, offers the reader a great tale with quirky perspectives, about two men and their mission to catch a late-night prowler. What begins as a piece about these two neighbours, soon morphs into something larger and yet still disconnected in its own way. Semegran does well with this piece and had me hooked from the opening pages until the final reveal!

Wells Port, Texas is home not only to a bucolic suburban area, but also collection of people with unique circumstances. A number of odd events have taken place over the last few months, seemingly random in nature. However, there is something tying them all together, which will take time to uncover.

Neighbours Seff and Big Dave have long had a connection, though it does not make much sense on paper. Dave, a staunchly conservative man whose MAGA hat is always present, has made a connection with Seff, a writer who loves to spin a good yarn. Over beers and a chance to reminisce, they tell tales of the neighbourhood and those who live there. All around them, odd things have been happening, from a ferocious wiener dog that has gone missing, to odd melons that appear to grow in days, through to the well-endowed squirrel that did nothing but wreak havoc on the sanity of homeowners. However, all these pale in comparison to a streaking night prowler.

As Seff and Big Dave create a plan to catch this man, they learn that technology is not always their friend. Using video surveillance equipment, they capture the prowler in all his glory, naked as the day is long, and post it for all to see. The locals, while unable to identify the man, have dubbed him Starman, mostly because of how his nudity is covered for public posting. If only this menace could be identified, his true intentions could be determined. That mission falls on Seff and Big Dave, who will have to come up with something as they crack beers and recount stories of their time in the neighbourhood. A great story that had me reading well into the evening. Scott Semegran has a skill that is always able to pull me right in!

I always find myself in for a treat when I pick up one of Scott Semegran’s novels. Each one tells its own story and keeps the reader on their toes. This piece, told through the eyes of a number of vignettes and connected with the larger narrative, is as unique as it was a pleasure to read. A strong narrative offers up a basis for the larger piece, pushing things along with curious tales of a suburban community, while never entirely making it clear what awaits the reader. As the story gains momentum, the reader is in for a wonderful experience, tossing excitement out there for all to enjoy. Strong characters and their quirks help flavour things and make the reading experience all the more enjoyable for those who take the gamble on this book.

While the surprises in the book were numerous, Semegran does well to writing in strong plot points. The story flows with ease, using those plot diversions to surprise and entertain with ease. What’s always been a great thing about Semegran’s standalone work is that it leaves the reader satisfied but always a little curious about hat could occur should another novel appear. I can say the same here, as Semegran dangles a number of what-if moments alongside a solid story that has some conclusion.

Kudos, Mr. Semegran, for this treat!

REVIEWED BY Matt Pechey