Skip to main content

Zombies of the Gene Pool by Sharyn McCrumb

Originally published in March 2005, on my original 52 Books blog.

I borrowed this book from the library because I liked the title, which put me in mind of a wacky 60's sci-fi story, or rather a parody of one (I was actually looking for another of McCrumb’s books). The title comes from the fact that all of the characters that matter are in one way or another connected with science fiction, either as authors, failed authors, or fans, and some of them might be described as metaphorical zombies. Fandom plays a big part in the story, and is described in humorous terms, and although I have never been involved in fandom of any kind, I have spent enough time participating in Internet book discussion groups to know that the descriptions are accurate.

As a mystery, the book is not what one has come to expect of the genre: the death occurs more than halfway through the book, and is not revealed as a murder until 30 pages from the end, so the whodunnit part of the mystery is solved very quickly. The where-was-he-and -what-was-he-doing part takes a bit longer to solve. The identity of the murderer and the main twist will be obvious to most experienced mystery readers, the second twist is slightly more surprising (his motives), and the final one was transparent - at least to me - although I dare say it will surprise many less cynical readers.

Rating:
The book is well written and funny, and I enjoyed it in spite of the long lead-up and the weak mystery. Looking forwards to reading the prequel, Bimbos of the Death Sun, which takes on sci-fi conventions. 3+ stars.

Comments

Dorte H said…
I have read a couple of her Ballad stories. Not bad as far as I recall, but I think I mainly enjoyed them for the strong sense of place.
Bibliophile said…
Dorte, I agree on the Ballard series - very strong sense of place, plus some great characters, but none of the mysteries are strong, except possibly If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O. Neither are the mysteries in the Elizabeth McPherson series strong, but the humour and characters make them good reading.
I read this book years ago because I saw a stranger with it on a plane and asked him about it. From what he said, it seemed right up my alley. I'm glad I read it. Very entertaining cast of characters. I found their interactions (and all the geekiness) to be the best part of the book.

Glad to come across your blog.

Popular posts from this blog

Book 40: The Martian by Andy Weir, audiobook read by Wil Wheaton

Note : This will be a general scattershot discussion about my thoughts on the book and the movie, and not a cohesive review. When movies are based on books I am interested in reading but haven't yet read, I generally wait to read the book until I have seen the movie, but when a movie is made based on a book I have already read, I try to abstain from rereading the book until I have seen the movie. The reason is simple: I am one of those people who can be reduced to near-incoherent rage when a movie severely alters the perfectly good story line of a beloved book, changes the ending beyond recognition or adds unnecessarily to the story ( The Hobbit , anyone?) without any apparent reason. I don't mind omissions of unnecessary parts so much (I did not, for example, become enraged to find Tom Bombadil missing from The Lord of the Rings ), because one expects that - movies based on books would be TV-series long if they tried to include everything, so the material must be pared down

Icelandic folk-tale: The Devil Takes a Wife

Stories of people who have made a deal with and then beaten the devil exist all over Christendom and even in literature. Here is a typical one: O nce upon a time there were a mother and daughter who lived together. They were rich and the daughter was considered a great catch and had many suitors, but she accepted no-one and it was the opinion of many that she intended to stay celebrate and serve God, being a very devout  woman. The devil didn’t like this at all and took on the form of a young man and proposed to the girl, intending to seduce her over to his side little by little. He insinuated himself into her good graces and charmed her so thoroughly that she accepted his suit and they were betrothed and eventually married. But when the time came for him to enter the marriage bed the girl was so pure and innocent that he couldn’t go near her. He excused himself by saying that he couldn’t sleep and needed a bath in order to go to sleep. A bath was prepared for him and in he went and

List love: 10 recommended stories with cross-dressing characters

This trope is almost as old as literature, what with Achilles, Hercules and Athena all cross-dressing in the Greek myths, Thor and Odin disguising themselves as women in the Norse myths, and Arjuna doing the same in the Mahabaratha. In modern times it is most common in romance novels, especially historicals in which a heroine often spends part of the book disguised as a boy, the hero sometimes falling for her while thinking she is a boy. Occasionally a hero will cross-dress, using a female disguise to avoid recognition or to gain access to someplace where he would never be able to go as a man. However, the trope isn’t just found in romances, as may be seen in the list below, in which I recommend stories with a variety of cross-dressing characters. Unfortunately I was only able to dredge up from the depths of my memory two book-length stories I had read in which men cross-dress, so this is mostly a list of women dressed as men. Ghost Riders by Sharyn McCrumb. One of the interwove