Michael R. Underwood

This is the second Ree Reyes adventure, and though I didn't like it as much as I did the first book, Geekomancy, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. At times the pop-culture, nerdiness felt like it was a bit too much for me, and since that's exactly what I signed up for when I chose this book I'll chalk it up to personal taste and move on.

I loved the addition of celebromancy and cinemancy to this universe. Especially celebromancy with the idea that an actor or actress holds certain mantles of show more power, like "the leading man" or "America's sweetheart." I liked that those mantles can be taken through ritual and don't just fall on someone naturally. I also liked that rituals are powered by fannish activities, such as tweeting and watching movies. It had me looking at certain celebrity feuds in a whole new light.

I enjoyed Ree's time as a screenwriter and even enjoyed her brief romance with her leading lady. I especially enjoyed it because it wasn't made out to be a big deal at all but was just two people enjoying each others' company for a certain time. That was so great to read.

Sometimes I think Ree's powers come too easily or are a bit rushed. It seems as if the only payment people make in this magical system is fatigue.

The big twist at the end blew me away. I wasn't expecting it and it erased certain doubts I had earlier about what I thought was a vital plot point being given away. I can't wait to see what happens with this next.

(Provided by publisher) show less

Fun romp through a world where fan-fervor creates power that can be tapped by empowered geeks. The central characters are fun and interesting, although my suspension of disbelief was strained by the coincidences and happenstance at times.

Still, it felt like a very geeky homage-montage mix of everything from Gaiman's Neverwhere to the early days of D&D with hefty swathes of every genre movie, TV show, comic, or cartoon from my generation.

And it didn't hurt to find a personal geekish-pride show more moment where Ree, the central character, takes a moment to leaf through The D&D Cyclopedia (the book that kept editor-me inside and working on tight deadline all through the summer of 1991...and of which I'm still very proud). show less

This is SF. Well, actually, it's Western, but since I don't want to bother making a shelf for that and it really is SF without being Westworld, I'll leave it as SF.

Except. It's also a writing manual, giving us all the insides of How To Write A Story as the means to live while being inside one. Or three. Or eighteen stories. Or however many Tau-Heinleinesque [b:The Number of the Beast|50877|The Number of the Beast (The World As Myth)|Robert A. show more Heinlein|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1201734223s/50877.jpg|1077659] alternate universes there are when genres spin into umbrella universes that split even further into sub-genres that split into yet more subgenres...

And the whole point is that the GENRES ARE MIXING AND BREAKING DOWN... oh my god... the universe is breeching!

Damn cool concept, and I think I'm gonna like this even more than [b:Geekomancy|13609386|Geekomancy (Ree Reyes, #1)|Michael R. Underwood|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334886014s/13609386.jpg|19206590], because it's not only tapping into nostalgia, but it's also going to tap into archetypes in a BIG way in order to Get Things Done. Hell, it's written in such a way that even the ultra-conscious way that the story is written gets sublimated into the characters who consider the fine points of storytelling just so they can manipulate a whole worldview inside the genre. And then, underneath that, or above it, I can't really decide where that layer belongs, we've got Leah transforming from Reluctant Hero, to Kid, to Sidekick, back to Reluctant Hero in her own tale that is, in itself, a metafiction of all these alternate realities.

And is it easy to follow, unlike my review's narrative? Hell yes. It's all story, tongue-in-cheek pure adventure.

It's good all by itself.

The only thing that could make it better is an ongoing series of novellas doing the same thing and enlarging the concept...

But Oh, Wait! It is!

I'm tickled pink. :) And thanks to Tor, I recently got Episode 2 as an ARC. Guess what I'm going to do in 2 minutes? show less

Thanks to Netgalley, I'm able to wolf down my fix of one of the most interesting Urban Fantasies to come along in a while, and do it with a smile and well before the actual publish date. Am I squeeing? Yes, yes I am. I feel like I just got a powerup on nostalgia, just like Ree, and my geek is ON.

There's nothing quite like this series. The rules are well defined, the characters are interesting, and the utter truckload of geeky nostalgia plows through me like the power of the dark side. Or is show more that Hexomancy? Hmm.

For those who have read the first two novels and the novella that sets the stage for this one, kudos. You've got all the props and the asshattery of a certain Eastwood under wraps. If you're just missing the novella, then you're asking yourself why the Strega (luck magic witches) are cursing him out and destroying Grognack's cool geek bar in the process, demanding that he die for crimes that haven't been committed yet. Can anyone not see this foreshadowing? No? Okay. No problem.

Now we enter in to this novel, resplendent in magic right out of WoD Mage: Ascension mage class designed to find and exploit weak spots in people, buildings, tools and generally being practically unstoppable. Pit these greek fates against the great wall of geek, and we've got a delightful action tale with excellent pacing, character development, and a truckload of geeky references. We even get the hint of a better question as to the previous novella's foreshadowing. It's very solid.

My only complaint is that the geeky nostalgia is headed too much into the huge franchise land. It's fine to use the MCU/DC, Star Wars, Star Trek, Magic: The Gathering, and wonderful Buffy, but what I really want is a bit of the deeper geek. You know, more Doctor Who than just the psychic paper. A real exploration of the badassery of the Leverage characters, or, especially, an all out geekfest of cyberpunk. Mr. Underwood has definitely played upon all of these already, to be sure, but here's my problem:

I WANT MORE. Like ravenous beast with a maw like a caldera, I want to consume an endless supply of these novels.

That being said, I loved the character developments, the new potentials for great mischief, and Drake. He's like a door to another universe just walking around and being extra polite to everyone. Fun stuff.

I totally recommend this, dude, but please, do me a favor and be sure you've read the others. It will stand up on its own, but only technically. The joys are really in the backstory and development. show less