The Absconded Ambassador

I read this as an early draft, so it was great to read it again in polished form. Underwood's Genrenauts series pays tribute to scifi crossed with other genres as his heroes work to "fix" broken storylines that create dangerous ripple effects on Earth. This is the most scif-fi of the novellas since they must go to a science fiction world. To me, it reads as a loving send-up to Babylon 5 and other similar shows, and I love it. There's action, political intrigue, and humor galore. Since it's a novella, it's a fast read.

Thanks goes to Tor and the author for the ARC!

A few weeks in to her new life, Leah gets thrown into two, yes, two, major infodumps! Poor girl. I never guessed that managerial duties in a big corporation could sound like so much technobabble and serve all the same functions... but wait!

This Is SF. Of course we have technobabble! Especially when we're getting ready for SPACE OPERA! Woo Woo!

My Genre-loving friends, get ready... we're out of the saddle and back in the Saddle, but this time we've got alien politics, burgeoning alliances, mystery, and enough fast-paced Pew-Pew action to make me think I was in a golden age rocket ship, and indeed, that's the point.

Gotta save the universe by saving the universe. Always the multiple layers. :)

I show more won't give it away, but there's a special crossover and some special character development. It makes me wonder if the ongoing genre-bending events on both sides of the tracks are going to get us into a lot of epic troubles.

It's not quite a cliffhanger, but it serves as a great continuing story hook that is still self-referential in all the story ways it needs to be if it's going to be a self-respecting meta-Genrenaut.

Be forewarned! Setting is just as important in Space Opera SF as story, so don't blink! :) show less

Leah Tang is off on her second mission as a rookie Genrenaut, this time to repair a breach in the Science Fiction world. A peace treaty is due to be signed, a boon to life, limb, and trade in a good part of this genre world, but an ambassador who has played a critical role has been kidnapped. If he isn't present for the signing, many of the other intended signatories will back out, because he's the one they all trust. Leah learns a lot about a world that shouldn't exist, a genre she though she knew, and her new colleagues.

She also teaches her colleagues something about the value of lacking preconceptions, otherwise known as significant prior knowledge. Along the way, we get hints that one of those colleagues is something other than what show more he outwardly seems, too, though everyone agrees Leah isn't ready for that knowledge.

Once again, a lot of fun. Well worth your time. show less

My difficulty with this novel really stems from the first book. The point was made several times that they are not supposed to be the primary characters in the 'story' that is unfolding. It is their job to find the critical pieces and set them back on the road. Yet,...

No sooner than they get some basic information about the current problem than Roman and King grab a spaceship and head off. They fight off a series of opponents and...wait. Shouldn't there be someone else to act as the hero?

Everything else is amusing. I am a bit miffed that these are such short books, yet the price hardly reflects the size.

My difficulty with this novel really stems from the first book. The point was made several times that they are not supposed to be the primary characters in the 'story' that is unfolding. It is their job to find the critical pieces and set them back on the road. Yet,...

No sooner than they get some basic information about the current problem than Roman and King grab a spaceship and head off. They fight off a series of opponents and...wait. Shouldn't there be someone else to act as the hero?

Everything else is amusing. I am a bit miffed that these are such short books, yet the price hardly reflects the size.

Still fun.
This was more of a Roman story.
With a sprinkling of intergalactic politics thrown in.