From archive Thu Jul 30 17:01:06 MDT 1992 Subject: Bimbos of the Death Sun From: katz@venera.isi.edu (Alan R. Katz) Date: 9 Jun 87 22:54:24 GMT This is for real: Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb a book review by Alan R. Katz Believe it or not, I actually only got this book because of the title! But, its really very good. The story is a murder mystery which takes place at your typical science fiction convention. One of the main characters is a engineering professor who has written his first (hard) science fiction book (which the publisher went and named Bimbos of the Death Sun). The worlds greatest author of Science Fantasy (who is a truly unlikable person) is found murdered in his hotel room during the con by his agent (whose first thought is "I wonder if I get two more wishes?"). The question then becomes: Who hated him enough to kill him? (answer: practically anyone who knew him). The mystery is eventually solved by the engineering professor in the ultimate Dungeons and Dragons role playing game (well, thats what the back cover says). If you have ever attended a con (and who hasn't?) you will recognize the characters, most are stereotypes of your typical sf-con addict and are very funny. The costume contest, the filk singing, the reactions of the ordinary hotel guests are all there. The book is published by TSR Inc. (who, I believe, do the D & D stuff). A very funny book. [****] (out of 5) ------- From @asterix.liu.se,@majestix.liu.se:matoh@prefix.liu.se Fri Jul 31 19:01:28 1987 Received: from asterix.liu.se by obelix.liu.se; Fri, 31 Jul 87 19:01:28 SDT Received: from majestix.liu.se by asterix.liu.se; Fri, 31 Jul 87 18:56:41 +0200 Received: from prefix.liu.se by majestix.liu.se; Fri, 31 Jul 87 18:56:44 +0200 Received: by prefix.liu.se; Fri, 31 Jul 87 18:53:02 +0200 Date: Fri, 31 Jul 87 18:53:02 +0200 From: Mats Ohrman Message-Id: <8707311653.AA12504@prefix.liu.se> To: mats@obelix.liu.se Status: R Path: liuida!enea!mcvax!seismo!columbia!rutgers!mtune!mtgzy!ecl From: ecl@mtgzy.UUCP (Evelyn C. Leeper) Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf-lovers Subject: BIMBOS OF THE DEATH SUN Message-ID: <2708@mtgzy.UUCP> Date: 22 Jul 87 12:20:23 GMT Organization: AT&T, Middletown NJ Lines: 61 Xref: liuida rec.arts.sf-lovers:3790 BIMBOS OF THE DEATH SUN by Sharyn McCrumb Windwalker, 1987, ISBN 0-88038-455-7, $2.95. A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper Copyright 1987 Evelyn C. Leeper I'm not sure who Sharyn McCrumb is, but I'd bet you'd find her name on the membership lists of several science fiction conventions. BIMBOS OF THE DEATH SUN is a novel set in a real fantasy world--that of a science fiction convention. (Lately, it may seem more horror than fantasy, but that's another story. Appin Dungannon, the Guest of Honor of this particular convention, is the author of the incredibly successful series of Tratyn Runewind books. He is described as a "malignant midget," but McCrumb--in what must be a ploy to fend off a Harlan Ellison lawsuit--makes sure to mention that he is NOT Harlan Ellison. Dungannon apparently has all the bad characteristics of Ellison without any of the literary talent, since Tratyn Runewind does not seem to be a character on the level of, say, Hamlet. Therefore, it is not much of a surprise when Dungannon is found murdered in his hotel room. It's not even much of a loss so far as most of the people are concerned. But the police think it would be nice to find the killer. But why BIMBOS OF THE DEATH SUN? Well, the protagonist of the story is Dr. James Owen Mega, a.k.a. Jay Omega, author of the recent not-best-selling science fiction novel...BIMBOS OF THE DEATH SUN. The book, he claims, is based on a new scientific theory he was working on; the title were dumped on him by the publisher. Mega is especially outraged at the cover, showing a "female bodybuilder in a fur bikini." Just as BIMBOS OF THE DEATH SUN is the title of both this book and the book-within-the-book, the cover of this book is very similar to the one described. In the true tradition of cover art, though, the cover of this book differs in several details from that described for the book-within-the-book. Perhaps this is a meta-statement on how cover art is often inaccurate, but I doubt it. Anyway, McCrumb has the characters, and I do mean characters, that one meets at a science fiction convention down cold. The costume fans, the gaming fans, the outsiders who have discovered that science fiction fandom will ignore many things the mundane world places great importance on-- height, weight, appearance, the ability to "fit in"--they're all here. McCrumb may seem at times cruel to those whom she is portraying, but it is more a question of accuracy than of hostility. One brief example: when it is finally announced to the convention members that Dungannon has been murdered, the audience at first doesn't know what to make of it. Then, Suddenly a clarion voice rang out like a battle cry above the babble. "The hucksters' room! While we still can!" ... "The huckster's room?" she echoed. What does that have to do with Appin Dungannon's being murdered?" ... "Not a thing," he replied. "But life goes on. And now autographed copies of Appin Dungannon's books are worth triple what they were five minutes ago." While this is not a book from which a non-convention-goer could learn about conventions, it is a book that convention-goers will love. Highly recommended. Evelyn C. Leeper (201) 957-2070 UUCP: ihnp4!mtgzy!ecl ARPA: mtgzy!ecl@rutgers.rutgers.edu From rec.arts.sf.written Sun Jul 26 16:58:04 1992 Path: herkules.sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!mcsun!uunet!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!swrinde!mips!pacbell.com!decwrl!netcomsv!mork!dani From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Sharon McCrumb: Zombies of the Gene Pool Message-ID: Date: 26 Jul 92 00:53:07 GMT Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Lines: 23 Thank goodness for libraries! I'd hate to have actually spent money for this book. "Zombies of the Gene Pool" continues the fannish adventures of Jay "Bimboes of the Death Sun" Omega, now at a reunion of once-young science fiction authors -- some of whom have gone on to success and some of whom have not. There isn't much of a plot. The story is mostly a vehicle for poking fun at science fiction authors (none of whom bear any resemblance at all to any actual authors, oh no!) and -- to a far lesser extent than last time -- science fiction fandom. Once again there is a murder to solve. It's different from the last one in that the police would have solved this one quickly and routinely. And in that Omega's playing detective doesn't do *quite* as much harm this time. Give this one a miss! ----- Dani Zweig dani@netcom.com "The death of God left the angels in a strange position." --Internal documentation, programmer unknown From /tmp/sf.1110 Fri Jul 23 13:53:49 1993 Path: lysator.liu.se!isy!liuida!sunic!pipex!uunet!psinntp!dg-rtp!sheol!dont-reply-to-paths From: wex@media.mit.edu (Alan Wexelblat) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Review of BIMBOS OF THE DEATH SUN Approved: sfr%sheol@concert.net (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: <9307020228.AA15140@media.mit.edu> Date: 05 Jul 93 03:37:55 GMT Lines: 41 BIMBOS OF THE DEATH SUN by Sharyn Mccrumb Review Copyright (c) 1993 Alan Wexelblat Sigh. It's just my nature to be disappointed, I think. First SNOW CRASH, then this. Another one everyone talked about: Oh, it's so funny; you'll love it. Not. McCrumb uses the skeleton of a mystery to write a lampoon of SF cons, fans, and their associated ephemera. As with most lampoons it's stereotyping, patronizing, simplistic, and in the end just plain dull. Rubicon SF convention (the first of many puns in the novel) has one famous author guest, Appin Dungannon, a man who combines the worst characteristics of Harlan Ellison and Michael Moorcock. By the time he's murdered, he's offended just about everyone he's come into contact with. So there are plenty of potential suspects -- at least in theory. Unfortunately, the mystery part of the book is even weaker than the lampoon. McCrumb shows us the crime when it happens. We then just have to wait around for Rubicon's other guest author, Jay Omega, to get around to showing the other characters the solution. What the Edgar Allen Poe people thought they were doing giving this thing an award totally eludes me. Omega and his girlfriend, Marion, are the prime commentators on the horde of stereotypes that wander through the pages of this book -- the overworked con chair, the nerdy gamers, the hopeless-geek hall costumers, the filkers, etc. They explain each one's pathologies in endless repetitive detail, with occasional references to real-life SF people McCrumb more or less approves of. This is not to say she hasn't got large grains of truth in what she writes. I (and probably you, dear readers) have seen or been more than one of these stereotypes at one time. But it's just not funny. A smile here or there is about all this book is good for. %A Sharyn McCrumb %T Bimbos of the Death Sun %I TSR Books Mystery %G ISBN 0-88038-455-7 %O $3.95 %D 1988