Bimbos of the Death Sun - Sharyn McCrumb (1988)

Bimbos of the Death Sun has become something of a cult classic in the last twenty years, more for its setting than for any other merit. Which is not to say that it doesn't have other merits, merely that they are overshadowed by the crisp and accurate portrayal of the sci-fi/fantasy con which forms the backdrop to the story.

The title of the book is also the title of the book written by the hero of the book - if that sounds a little self-referential, that could almost be a through-line for the entire book. The hero, Dr. James Owen Mega, has written a hard SF novel retitled by his publisher with an eye to titillation. He is a professor at the local college and unfamilar with the whole fandom scene, thus playing the role of ignorant newcomer to whom folks can explain things - not-so-incidentally providing explanations to readers to whom a large science-fiction and fantasy convention of the 80's may be a completely different and strange world. (Although to be fair, even to those of us who went to some of these in our misspent youth, the world remains strange just not as different.)

The mystery itself is rather pedestrian. McCrumb has written better, if more mainstream, mysteries. What makes Bimbos such a hit is the dizzying array of characters, almost all stereotypes, but lovingly drawn. As someone who did hit a few of these cons in the 80's, I recognized every character in the book. Indeed, I probably was at least one or two of them. The book captures a time and place very well, and was a wonderful nostalgia trip. McCrumb does write well, and if the plotting of this book is a little sub-standard, that's OK because that's not really the point.

For gamers or sci-fi/fantasy fans, especially those who came of age in the 80's, the book is a welcome blast from the past. Even without that background, it's a pretty good read, it just won't resonate as well. Still it's a fast, light read and recommended - although copies may be hard to come by.

Overall Grade: B