geekyDAW Books, paperback
352 pages and 368 pages, respectively, science fiction comedy detective spoof noir weirdness with monkeys
Currently in print
***
Zachary Nixon Johnson is the last private investigator on Earth. Oh, sure, there are some chain-store imitators who'll do the job at a low rate and with even lower standards, but he's the last of the true hired dicks, the only man left who really understands the fine art of walking the streets, dealing with low-lifes, and generally getting the shit kicked out of him.
That entire paragraph reads like a screaming high school cliche. There's a reason I don't write noir. And there's a reason that Zakour and Ganem do. We're introduced to Zachary Johnson in The Plutonium Blonde, a high-octane science-fiction/comedy noir romp that hits the ground running and views speedbumps as a really good reason to hit the gas and get a little hang-time. You're really given next to no introduction to the world; it's basically assumed that you're a smart kid, you'll pick it up. Luckily, the world is presented with a light enough hand and a good enough nature that catching on isn't all that difficult, and the film noir tropes of the narration make a bit of 'As you know, Bob...' a lot easier to swallow than it might otherwise be.
The Plutonium Blonde is a story full of dangerous dames, homicidal robots, snarky computers, bizarre technology, and classic gumshoe heroism. It's the sort of thing that can appeal to readers of either detective novels or science fiction, as long as they have a decent sense of humor; this isn't a book that takes itself overly seriously. Then again, when you're writing about the world's last detective, his sarcastic personal computer, his psychic secretary, and his heavily-armed hot-tamale pediatrician fiance, how serious can you really get? The action is fast-paced without becoming confusing, frothy enough to stay entertaining and heavy enough that you actually remember it five minutes after you put it down. Given the amount of 'comic' science fiction that's entirely forgettable, just not funny, or both, this is a really welcome discovery.
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 missing android who might just be the end of life as we know it. It's also about a lot of people trying to kill Zach. This is a theme of these books, actually. Everyone wants Zach dead, except (usually) his allies and, presumably, the reader.
The Doomsday Brunette picks up where The Plutonium Blonde left off, and raises the stakes by giving us four dangerous dames instead of just one: the Thompson Quads, genetically engineered superwomen who were supposed to change the world, and settled for being, essentially, Paris Hilton, Supergirl, Ozma of Oz, and Grumpy Goth Girl v.9.5, instead. Only now one of them is dead, which is technically impossible, and Zach needs to find out who, how, and why before things get even worse...
This is a sequel that's really not a disappointment in any sense of the word. Better yet, it manages the same beautiful balancing act between total unfamiliarity and data-dumps that the authors achieved in the first book; I'd feel totally comfortable handing someone number two and saying 'read this, you'll like it.' Given my feelings about starting in the middle, that's saying a lot.
I highly recommend both books, and I'll be looking up book three, The Radioactive Redhead, just as soon as I finish reading all the books that are currently threatening to devour my dresser. This may take a while. If you don't have a heap of paperbacks threatening to smother you in your sleep, I recommend you have a shot at beating me there. I doubt that you'll regret it.
July 30 2008, 17:19:16 UTC 8 years ago
July 31 2008, 00:28:37 UTC 8 years ago