I read this after Bimbos of the Death Sun; unfortunately, this shows many of the flaws of Bimbos and few of the good traits. The mystery aspect of the story is if anything weaker; from the discovery of the murder to the end of the book is 26 pages, and they're 26 pages from a novelist, not a short story writer. There's an aspect of forensics that's a bit absurd; if the autopsy would have revealed what it did (and that's a big "if" provided they weren't looking for it), they certainly wouldn't have found it in twelve hours. Judging this story by other elements, the setting is less dynamic and interesting than the science fiction convention, and instead the honest if obnoxious fans of Bimbos, you get a lot of vitriol tossed at science fiction, and a cast full of nasty and sometimes self-loathing characters.

I was looking for a nice fun read combined with a decent mystery, and I didn't find either here. If the darker characters are more to your taste, and you aren't worried about the mystery, then you may enjoy it more. ( )

A light and easy mystery as Dr. Jay Omega and Dr. Marian Farley solve a murder at a science fiction convention. ( )

After Bimbos of the Death Sun became a hit among science fiction fans, Sharyn McCrumb had the opportunity to attend SF conventions and pick up lore from the fannish past. Zombies of the Gene Pool weaves diverse threads together. Aficionados will recognize bits of the Futurians, LASFS, the Slan Shack, Francis Towner Laney, Claude Degler et al. The characters are more interesting, and more sympathetically treated, than in Bimbos, and the murder motive is clever. The murderer's modus operandi is unfeasible, but that hardly makes this mystery unique. ( )

I wanted a break from having to think hard while reading and this book fit the bill. I enjoy many of the SF fan references, and the idea of delving into the lives of SF authors in their earlier and later days. Unfortunately much of the humour is a bit mean-spirited for my tastes. ( )

TadAD recommended this to me because I enjoyed Bimbos of the Death Sun earlier this month and this is the sequel. Once again we get some glimpses of science fiction fandom but this time the focus is more on the authors than the fans. Years ago a group of young sci-fi fans with aspirations to become famous authors lived together on a small farm in Tennessee. They decided to bury a time capsule commemorating their time together and including a short story from each author. Unfortunately a few years after they had gone their separate ways the TVA built a dam (I remember the controversy about that project!) and the entire area became covered by the huge lake that resulted. The story takes place many years later when the lake was drained to do repairs on the dam and the opportunity to dig up the capsule arises. Since some of the authors became famous the event becomes a national media story. I actually enjoyed this one more that the first. The characters were very interesting and the “quasi-profound discussions” of early science fiction I were entertaining. The descriptions of the area that had been flooded by the lake were interesting and felt like they had been thoroughly researched. That was one of my favorite aspects. Another enjoyable feature was all the literary phrases from famous works that are used in conversation—and McCrumb didn’t require me to try to dredge up from my murky memory where the quotes came from—that was also included in the conversations. All in all, this was a very entertaining way to spend a free afternoon. Oh, yes, there is also a mystery and this one was not as obvious as the one in Bimbos. Recommended. ( )