REVIEW: Finder's Keepers by Russ Colchamiro

Finder's Keepers by Russ Colchamiro
Publishing information: Paperback; 301 pages
Publisher: 3 Fingers Press; 8 October 2010
ISBN 10: 0979480140
ISBN 13: 978-0979480140
Standalone
Copy: Sent by publisher
Reviewer: Tyson

Synopsis: "FINDERS KEEPERS is not your typical story, which was my point from the very beginning. As an agent said of my work, it is strange and ambitious ... and fun. It started out with my wanting to put to paper a bizarre, and in many ways, life changing experience I had, and it wound up morphing into a hybrid tale that is part road trip, part cosmic lunacy.

On a backpacking trip through Europe, Jason Medley and Theo Barnes stumble through hash bars and hangovers; religious zealots and stalkers; food poisoning and thunderstorms; cute girls, overnight trains, fever-pitch hallucinations--and the spectre of adult repsonsibility!

But when a jar containing the Universe's DNA falls from the land of Eternity to the caverns of New Zealand, these new friends find their loyalties put to the test—unaware that a motley crew from another realm is chasing them across the globe, with the fate of the Milky Way hanging in the balance."

At first glance Finder's Keepers is a novel similar to something Chris Moore or Sir Terry Pratchett would write, a zany and twisted adventure where all heck is breaking loose. But Colchamiro has found his own voice and humor in his debut novel.

Finder's Keeper is a very quick read. At just over 300 pages and each chapter averaging only two or three pages, you just can not stop reading until the book reaches its conclusion. There are four main characters. Donald and Danielle are two low level designers for the galaxy. Between all of the love making on the newly created Earth, they manage to misplace some of the universe's DNA. They are two interesting characters and their dialogue with each other was humorous. Theo and Jason are the other two characters who find the DNA and as they work their way around the world find themselves in one misadventure after another.

The beginning of the novel was a little muddled as prospectives and time shift from chapter to chapter. Once you catch up with everyone and everything going on, the novel does a great job of coming together and showing off the authors ability for laughs. There are many situations and dialogue that had me chuckling. Finder's Keeper is a humor book for anyone who has traveled into the unexpected or gone backpacking abroad. The novel does a fine job of showing what most backpackers and travelers experience at least once in their lives only this time it has universal implications.

While I did enjoy much of what Colchamiro wrote and the characters finally started to take shape in my mind, I just never really found a connection with any of them. The book took a while for me to really get into it and by that time it was nearly half-way done. While I don't think it would have benefited from more filler, it would have been nice if the editor touched up the beginning. I would like to read his future novels and see how he improves. Hopefully, the characters will make a return in later novels. My final assessment is that if you like Chris Moore or Pratchett, give Colchamiro's Finder's Keepers a shot. Why not start with his first novel and follow his career? He shows great promise and it is nice to have a new voice in the humor/science fiction section of the book store.

Plot 7/10
Characters 6/10
Style 7/10

Overall 7/10

REVIEW: Mogworld by Yatzhee Croshaw

Mogworld by Yatzhee Croshaw
Publishing information: Paperback; 414 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics; 21 August 2010
ISBN 10: 1595825290
ISBN 13: 9781595825292
Standalone
Copy Out of pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Back of the Book "A Novel That Will Give A Whole New Meaning To The Term 'Corpse Run'

In a world full to bursting with would-be heroes, Jim couldn't be less interested in saving the day. His fireballs fizzle. He's awfully grumpy. Plus, he's been dead for about sixty years. When a renegade necromancer wrenches him from eternal slumber and into a world gone terribly, bizarrely wrong, all Jim wants is to find a way to die properly, once and for all. On his side, he's got a few shambling corpses, an inept thief, and a powerful death wish. But he's up against tough odds: angry mobs of adventurers, a body falling apart at the seams - and a team of programmers racing a deadline to hammer out the last few bugs in their AI."

As a huge fan of The Escapist's Zero Punctuation, I knew that I had to give Mogworld a shot. I love Croshaw's sense of humor and while Mogworld is a tad bit tamer than his video reviews, it does a fairly great job of converting his brand of comedy into a novel.

Mogworld is very similar to World of Warcraft or other forms of MMORPG's (or online mulitplayer role playing games for the uninitiated) except this novel has a twist. We find ourselves reading about Jim, an undead wizard whose only wish is to die. He was resurrected, in his own words, " by a git." When the "git" messes up the resurrection spell Jim and his fellow undead gain awareness. They are not the mindless zombies their master was expecting. This leads to many adventures and an ultimate quest. These quests border on the absurd. Jim has a few companions that join him and encourage him to take on one disaster after another.

While the world building is a little bit lacking, you can see where it was done on purpose as Mogworld is satire. Each location sounds similar to some famous games and locales. While the book has some interesting names for locations they really have no real impact on the story as it is more about the adventure or quest. Besides, the majority of people that will be reading Mogworld should have a pretty good grasp of what online gaming worlds look like and should be able to relate fairly well. This is also where Mogworld fails, if you are not a gamer, then this book will fall apart on you half-way through and will leave you behind. The book starts out very strong with witty dialogue and great characters but by the end you are not left with much to think about besides, "why did I read this?" Even if you are a gamer, you may find yourself lost along the way as it gets a little muddled.

The plot is rather simple, Jim is undead and unable to die and he is looking for a way to take a permanent dirt nap. What seems simple becomes impossible and leads to some strange and interesting situations. The fact that Croshaw is behind the wheel of this story should tell you that you are in for quite a ride. The book is said to be 350 pages but my book has 414 pages which were plenty. I was hoping for more when I bought the book and Croshaw did not deliver.

If you enjoy Zero Punctuation's humor and want to see how he does in another form of media this may be your book. Mogworld was written for (mainly) gamers that like to play role playing games, but if you are not a hardcore player you may not get all of the jokes. Also, Mogworld is a far cry from his video game review site, Zero Punctuation, very tame and it loses its focus towards the end. A bitter disappointment, can not recommend this novel.

Plot 5
Characters 6
Style 6

Overall 5.5/10

REVIEW: Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall

Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall
Publishing information: Paperback; 253 pages
Publisher: Quirk Books; 28 July 2010
ISBN 10: 1594744637
ISBN 13: 978-1594744631
Standalone
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Back of the Book: "Journey to the Final Frontier of Sci-Fi Zombie Horror!

Jim Pike was the world's biggest Star Trek fan—until two tours of duty in Afghanistan destroyed his faith in the human race. Now he sleepwalks through life as the assistant manager of a small hotel in downtown Houston.

But when hundreds of Trekkies arrive in his lobby for a science-fiction convention, Jim finds himself surrounded by costumed Klingons, Vulcans, and Ferengi—plus a strange virus that transforms its carriers into savage, flesh-eating zombies!

As bloody corpses stumble to life and the planet teeters on the brink of total apocalypse, Jim must deliver a ragtag crew of fanboys and fangirls to safety. Dressed in homemade uniforms and armed with prop phasers, their prime directive is to survive. But how long can they last in the ultimate no-win scenario?"

Not long ago I asked a question. "Do book trailers sway you in purchasing a book?" Normally, they do not, but the trailer for Night of the Living Trekkies is an exception. While not a huge Star Trek fan (more of a Star Wars guy), I do enjoy watching the films and still try to catch Star Trek: The Next Generation when I can. That being said, with Halloween just around the corner this was a great book to read for the holiday and kept me laughing.



Night of the Living Trekkies starts off as nearly all Zombie stories start, a disaster occurs and slowly humanity is overwhelmed by the living dead. The difference this time is that the chaos occurs during the Southwest's biggest Star Trek Convention. As our hero Jim's sixth sense starts to pick up a vibe that things may not be as they seem, he and his companions must survive undead Klingons, Romulans and Starfleet captains who intend to make them a snack.

The authors know a lot about Star Trek and Star Wars and use that to their advantage as they use their knowledge to great many funny and awkward moments in the book. Even though I am not a huge Trekker or Trekkie, I was still able to follow their "logic" and had a great time with the book. Admittedly, I had a much easier time with some of their jabs at Star Wars that they through in from time to time. However, the many inside jokes about Star Trek were also easy to understand and I found myself chuckling a few times out loud at some of the moments in the book.

Even though this is a book based on the fans of Star Trek, it is also a great zombie book as the undead horde descend on the book's two star hotel the convention is being hosted at. As the story unfolds we learn how the zombie horde was created and how it all started. A lot of zombie novels and movies tend to have the zombies appear out of nowhere, they just come to be without explaining their origins. Night of the Living Trekkies does a great job of explaining how the zombies came to be and the plot behind them. It was a nice little twist that made the book all the more enjoyable.

The characters, the pacing, and the humor of Night of the Living Trekkies makes for a great book to read regardless of the season or holidays coming up. However with Halloween right around the corner, it seems like the perfect book to read to get you in the mood to dress up as Commander Riker (beard included) and head over to your neighbors and demand some candy. The book is not all that scary and it isn't meant to, be but if you are looking for some entertaining reading that will have you laughing at the absurdity. Then this is right up your alley. Highly Recommended.

Plot 9
Characters 10
Style 10

Overall 10/10