Originally published in April 2005, on my original 52 Books blog.
I just finished reading this prequel to Sharyn McCrumb’s
Zombies of the Gene Pool and I think it’s a really good story. Not only is the mystery strong, with several interesting suspects, a likeable hero and a loathsome and rather tragic murder victim, it is also a very funny description of people one is likely to meet at a sci-fi and fantasy “con” (“convention” to the uninitiated, although “gathering” is perhaps more descriptive). The title itself, just like that of the sequel, is a parody of the kind of titles you’re likely to come across on a pulp sci-fi novel. 4 stars.
Warning: slight SPOILERS ahead
The story: Jay Omega has written a sci-fi novel, and his girlfriend, Marion, thinks he should do more to promote it, even if he is deeply embarrassed about the title which the publisher gave his novel. So he goes to a local sci-fi and fantasy convention, where he runs into all sorts of weird and weirder members of the “fen” (slang for “fans”). When the other featured author and star of the con, the miniature and malicious Appin Dungannon, author of a series about viking hero Tratyn Runewind, is murdered and Jay is asked to be Dungeon Master in a game of Dungeons and Dragons featuring Tratyn, he sees an opportunity to draw out the murderer whom he has decided must be either one of the many who hated the dead author or a rabid fan out to rescue Tratyn from being killed off by the author, who hated his creation more with every published book (don’t you just love long sentences?).
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