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seanan_mcguireThe Radioactive Redhead, by by John Zakour and Lawrence Ganem.
DAW Books, paperback
368 pages, science fiction comedy detective spoof noir weirdness with scary pop stars
Currently in print
***
Just in case you missed my review of the first two books in the series, well...you should probably read those first, because it's usually best to approach things in order. It's not entirely necessary, as the authors are very good about summarizing, but I still think you'll have more fun that way. That said:
Zachary Nixon Johnson is the last private investigator on Earth. He has a beautiful girlfriend who stands a reasonably good chance of not killing him before she drags him to the altar, a drop-dead gorgeous secretary who happens to be one of the most powerful psychics on the planet, and a super-computer directly bonded to his brain. He also has about a million betting pools going on when he'll finally buy the farm, given his near-godlike talent for getting himself into serious trouble.
Anyone who's been following the series knows the formula by now: Zach is muddling along, doing his science fiction noir thing, when suddenly a gorgeous woman in a position of power (whether it be political, financial, or just, well, powerful) makes him an offer he can't refuse. Said gorgeous woman will quite probably have hair matching the color identified in the title, because that's the entire point of the series naming convention, and no one wants to make a good title cry. Zach then proceeds to get the shit kicked out of him in a variety of interesting ways, kicking back the entire time, and probably causes a lot of things to explode along the way.
For some reason, I always picture Zach as played by Bruce Campbell. It's probably the tone of his internal dialog, which is sharp, snappy, and occasionally lapses into laugh-out-loud hilarity. He'd be a lot of fun at a party, at least until one or more bad guys (or misguided allies) crashed through the roof and tried to kill him.
The Radioactive Redhead takes the manic approach of the first two books and continues it in grand style, skewering everything from politics to pop stars as it begins slowly but steadily to expand the universe in which Zach has to operate. Most of the expanded universe wants to kill him. That's not terribly surprising. What is surprising is that this book manages to be just as much fun as the two that came before it, throwing in just enough fresh twists and turns to keep things exciting, while going back to the tried-and-true tropes of this particular form of gonzo noir with enough regularity to keep the faithful readers happy. I was incredibly pleased with this book, and came out of it with a renewed faith in the ability of the authors to keep the series fresh and keep the reader guessing.
I'm going to close with a variant of my usual disclaimer about the Zachary Johnson books: you may have noticed that I haven't said much about the plot. That's because it's sort of hard to go into without giving things away. It's about a pop star whose life may or may not be in danger, a reality show devoted solely to wiping Zach off the face of the planet, and what happens when psychics go bad. And yes, it's also about a lot of people trying to kill Zach.
I hope they keep failing for a long time to come.
DAW Books, paperback
368 pages, science fiction comedy detective spoof noir weirdness with scary pop stars
Currently in print
***
Just in case you missed my review of the first two books in the series, well...you should probably read those first, because it's usually best to approach things in order. It's not entirely necessary, as the authors are very good about summarizing, but I still think you'll have more fun that way. That said:
Zachary Nixon Johnson is the last private investigator on Earth. He has a beautiful girlfriend who stands a reasonably good chance of not killing him before she drags him to the altar, a drop-dead gorgeous secretary who happens to be one of the most powerful psychics on the planet, and a super-computer directly bonded to his brain. He also has about a million betting pools going on when he'll finally buy the farm, given his near-godlike talent for getting himself into serious trouble.
Anyone who's been following the series knows the formula by now: Zach is muddling along, doing his science fiction noir thing, when suddenly a gorgeous woman in a position of power (whether it be political, financial, or just, well, powerful) makes him an offer he can't refuse. Said gorgeous woman will quite probably have hair matching the color identified in the title, because that's the entire point of the series naming convention, and no one wants to make a good title cry. Zach then proceeds to get the shit kicked out of him in a variety of interesting ways, kicking back the entire time, and probably causes a lot of things to explode along the way.
For some reason, I always picture Zach as played by Bruce Campbell. It's probably the tone of his internal dialog, which is sharp, snappy, and occasionally lapses into laugh-out-loud hilarity. He'd be a lot of fun at a party, at least until one or more bad guys (or misguided allies) crashed through the roof and tried to kill him.
The Radioactive Redhead takes the manic approach of the first two books and continues it in grand style, skewering everything from politics to pop stars as it begins slowly but steadily to expand the universe in which Zach has to operate. Most of the expanded universe wants to kill him. That's not terribly surprising. What is surprising is that this book manages to be just as much fun as the two that came before it, throwing in just enough fresh twists and turns to keep things exciting, while going back to the tried-and-true tropes of this particular form of gonzo noir with enough regularity to keep the faithful readers happy. I was incredibly pleased with this book, and came out of it with a renewed faith in the ability of the authors to keep the series fresh and keep the reader guessing.
I'm going to close with a variant of my usual disclaimer about the Zachary Johnson books: you may have noticed that I haven't said much about the plot. That's because it's sort of hard to go into without giving things away. It's about a pop star whose life may or may not be in danger, a reality show devoted solely to wiping Zach off the face of the planet, and what happens when psychics go bad. And yes, it's also about a lot of people trying to kill Zach.
I hope they keep failing for a long time to come.
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Date: 2008-10-02 05:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-07 10:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-07 10:30 pm (UTC)http://www.amazon.com/Zombie-CSU-Forensics-Living-Dead/dp/080652877X
Jonathan Maberry. I finished it the next day, it has no "zombie fiction" but lays out step-by-step emergency personal response, and the cops toward the end seem pretty excited about talking about zombies. I think you'd like the interviews with the coroners and blood spatter techs, etc.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-07 10:32 pm (UTC)