The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse

Rating:
Summary: Professional Reviews and Quotes
Review: "It's not often you encounter a book that is PI novel and procedural, science fiction near-future satire, fantasy and coming-of-age story all rolled into one. That mixture sounds like a recipe for disaster: surely, you assume, this is too much to cram into one modestly-sized novel. What a refreshing pleasure it is, then, to discover that this book succeeds in all of these areas.

Lots of novels have wildly complimentary cover blurbs, though few print as many as this book, or at such length, and few have so many blurbs from top-notch authors (Nancy Kress, Mike Resnick and especially Charles de Lint, to name just three). Fewer still deserve all that praise. For this rare gem, Hartman deserves all that praise and more."-Ed Blachman, The Drood Review, Sept/Oct 1999

"Keith Hartman has written more than a good science fiction novel with noir trappings. At a time when both gay and straight politics have hit a new low, we need more thoughtful books like this one; books that make us rethink issues of individual sovereignty in an ever more collectivist world. Hartman writes with a passion that can never be understood through something as limited as sexual politics. This novel is about integrity as the only hope for the human race."-Brad Linaweaver, author of Moon of Ice

"Keith Hartman's The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse kept me up half the night. It's robust, exhilarating, intense, bursting with satiric wake-up-America social commentary, and steamy enough to top the milk of human kindness with a heavy dose of foam. Literary cappuccino!"-Leslie What

"The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse is a genuine original. Keith Hartman has written a merry mayhem with horror at its heart. Witty, inventive, and endlessly entertaining, Hartman's debut novel seamlessly weaves the plausible and the outrageous, the hilarious and the fearful. Where else can you find a murder mystery peopled by hackers and Baptists, detectives and witches, Cherokees and cross-dressers, cops and artists? This is an amazing book."-Nancy Kress

"This novel breaks some prime rules drummed into beginning writers-limit the number of main characters, limit the number of viewpoint characters--but Keith Hartman has taken a complex structure with a myriad of characters and a different viewpoint in every chapter and miraculously made it work. Chapter headings help the reader keep the well-drawn characters and their situations straight as the multiple story lines weave together into an engrossing novel with a logical and satisfying ending. Particularly fascinating is how Hartman mixes high tech and magic in a world where disparate belief systems exist in segregated parallels, but with all taken for granted, even when one group wants to destroy another. This is wonderful first novel by an exciting new author. I look forward to seeing more of his work."-Lee Killough

"Keith Hartman's first novel, The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse, is a fantastic thrill ride through several meshed worlds: police work, the underside of art, Cherokee shamanism, Wicca, detection, high school, and more, all packed into a near-future Atlanta full of wild but plausible reality shifts. Hartman's characters are smart; his world-building is broad, convincing, and exciting; his choice of detail is exquisite. Compelling and engrossing, this book grabbed me and didn't let go until long after the end."-Nina Kiriki Hoffman

"Good mysteries need good writing to get up to speed, and Keith Hartman manages to floor the gas pedal in a sleek, next-century coupe while still keeping an eye on the rear-view mirror for all the Chandlers and Hammetts who've been down the same road before. His first novel is a fun ride with some darkly intriguing blind alleys along the way-read it with your seat belt on, and enjoy."-K. W. Jeter, author of Noir and Dr. Adder

"Eleven points of view. Eight interwoven plot lines. Six days. One mystery, and a positive fifty-seven varieties of tone! Hartman has borrowed generously from both other genres and his own fertile imagination and thrown everything in by the double handful, producing an irresistibly entertaining book. The satirical take on the futures of various subcultures is particularly good."-Roland Green

"Hartman weaves an intriguing web with numerous well-defined characters. The background world is both funny and scarily possible."-The Denver Post, June 27, 1999

"...you have an adventure that keeps you going on till the end of the book to see how Hartman is going to be able to make all this fit together. He does it and does it well. Be sure to check this one out."-Baryon Magazine, June 1999

"Ironies are not lost on Hartman..."-Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review

"There's a great SF premise here...the writing is tight, the drama tense."-Locus

"For the record, I hate Keith Hartman. I've never met the guy, don't know much about him, but what I do know is this: His debut novel, The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse, is better than any first novel has a right to be. Like anyone else with aspirations of writing the Great American Novel, I get royally ticked any time someone else does so, especially on their first try.

And this is easily the best debut genre novel in years. Set in a future Atlanta (where magic, be it Christian, Native American or Wiccan, is commonplace), Gumshoe offers us more protagonists than I've seen in a while, and gives them amazingly unique voices, from the Witch (who works as a reporter during the day) to the Chosen (Benji, a teen who believes that God has chosen him as the butt of every cosmic joke), to the Lunatic (a Cherokee shaman who wonders why the totems she sees are as likely to look like Bugs Bunny or aliens from Star Trek as bears and monkeys). Having eleven (yes, eleven!) characters narrate in the first person is an amazing feat for any writer to pull off. The fact that Hartman manages to give them unique voice (I quite honestly didn't have to even look at the chapter headings after a while) is astounding.

Thick as it is in characters and plot, where Gumshoe really shines is as a social commentary. Although Hartman is coming from the left in general, he's not above poking fun at the excesses of anyone, ranging from homophobes who are willing to overlook their stance against abortion upon hearing that the fetus has tested positive for the 'gay gene,' to art snobs who are so caught up in their own pretentious world, they're incapable of recognizing real art when they see it. But for all the satire and commentary, Hartman gives us genuine characters-everyone, from the Baptists to the Quakers, the homosexuals to the heterosexuals, the Wiccans to the Cherokee, is portrayed as an individual, not just another icon in a group. And the world itself is fully believable, every little image extrapolated from contemporary society, with some absolutely brilliant visions of a future America. The little touches-a vending machine that offers brie and watercress sandwiches, a bondage-themed gym using a rack for pull-downs-override whatever touches of cliche (references to the Stallone and Heston presidencies) that creep in.

This is not a book for the faint of heart (the graveyard mutilation, as well as some of the later crime sequences, is easily gross enough to fit into a Laurell K. Hamilton novel), nor for those who might be easily offended, but if you want a great read and/or a book that actually makes you think (even while making you laugh out loud), this is a damned good novel.

Three final caveats: First, the editing, frankly, was pretty atrocious in the opening chapter or two-once you get past the third chapter, the grammar seems to have righted itself. Second, do not start this on a worknight, as it will keep you up all night reading. And finally, Hartman's next novel isn't due out until next June, meaning one heck of a wait until more of this great stuff!"-Adam

Rating:
Summary: Finally!!
Review: Allright, FINALLY a book that successfully combines Mystery, Science Fiction, and Comedy. The plot is complex, the characters are well written, and the whole thing is masterfully put together. I wouldn't recommend this book to Southern Baptists, however. I agree with another reviewer who said that this deserved more awards and readers. Trust me, if you never listen to another review, BUY THIS BOOK!! Also check out Gumshoe Gorilla, which wasn't as good, but still had me up till 2:00 am. I just hope that Hartman keeps writing, because if this is the beginning of his writing career, I can't wait to see his later stuff.

Rating:
Summary: Don't pick up this book if..
Review: Don't read this book if you're offended easily, if you're ignorant enough to think any social group in the story is entirely fiction, or if you're looking for something brief that doesn't need your thoughts to make you really understand it. Do read this book if you want to try something new, if you're willing to laugh at yourself and everyone else, if you believe in the unity of the human race, and if you think this description fits you and you want to admire the genius that is the first-timer Keith Hartman. I did the latter, and I haven't regretted it for a moment.

Rating:
Summary: Enthralling.
Review: Enthralling and extremely well-written. A real page-turner. (And no, that's not Fabio on the cover...)

Rating:
Summary: Spell Casting or Politics?
Review: Every once in a while one finds a book that is genuinely surprising. 'The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse' is a tale that manages to break every rule and still be not just a great first novel, but a great piece of detective fiction, period. The setting is Atlanta in 2025, a city divided along religious and sexual preference lines. Magic works and shamans coexist with high technology. Fundamentalists have their own political party and television shows are available in several grades of sex and violence. Fortunately for the reader, people still murder each other.

The first victim was already dead - for several months. The desecrated remains are found in a graveyard, crucified upside-down, with signs of a magical ritual all about. Detective Megan Strand finds herself in the midst of an ugly crime with the Baptist News Network screaming about a Satanic plot to take over the world. But the next crimes are murders, one after the other. And each has the overtones of witchcraft and Satanism. The large fundamentalist segment of Atlanta seethes with rumor and panic.

If Wiccans are suspects, they are also victims, and several members of a coven turn up dead or missing. One of these is Jen Gray, who is the partner of P.I. Drew Parker. Parker begins to investigate and finds a trail that leads to the hit religious singer Justin Weir. It also leads the P.I. into the hands of Ice-in-Summer, a Cherokee Shaman who has some very strange plans for the detective. Fleeing through this chaos are two teenagers, Benji Danvers and Summer Jacobs, one a Baptist and the other a Wiccan. Benji has somehow drawn the attention of an unidentified group of agents (Men In Black Suits) and Summer helps to keep him one step ahead of an unknown fate.

Lest I forget, the primary cast also includes a mad artist, a senator with dubious ethics, the aforementioned singer, and a news witch. For Hartman these are not just players on a stage, but active participants. Each takes turn after turn at first person narrative and it can truly be said that this is a novel with no main character. For all that I dislike this kind of shifting viewpoint, Keith Hartmann manages to make a great success of it, rarely allowing the possibility of narrative confusion. Here the technique creates a baroque plot that is in perpetual motion and still manages to create a great deal of connection with the characters. This tale is a great success, whatever its genre is, and I am anxious to read the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: Spell Casting or Politics?
Review: Every once in a while one finds a book that is genuinely surprising. 'The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse' is a tale that manages to break every rule and still be not just a great first novel, but a great piece of detective fiction, period. The setting is Atlanta in 2025, a city divided along religious and sexual preference lines. Magic works and shamans coexist with high technology. Fundamentalists have their own political party and television shows are available in several grades of sex and violence. Fortunately for the reader, people still murder each other.

The first victim was already dead - for several months. The desecrated remains are found in a graveyard, crucified upside-down, with signs of a magical ritual all about. Detective Megan Strand finds herself in the midst of an ugly crime with the Baptist News Network screaming about a Satanic plot to take over the world. But the next crimes are murders, one after the other. And each has the overtones of witchcraft and Satanism. The large fundamentalist segment of Atlanta seethes with rumor and panic.

If Wiccans are suspects, they are also victims, and several members of a coven turn up dead or missing. One of these is Jen Gray, who is the partner of P.I. Drew Parker. Parker begins to investigate and finds a trail that leads to the hit religious singer Justin Weir. It also leads the P.I. into the hands of Ice-in-Summer, a Cherokee Shaman who has some very strange plans for the detective. Fleeing through this chaos are two teenagers, Benji Danvers and Summer Jacobs, one a Baptist and the other a Wiccan. Benji has somehow drawn the attention of an unidentified group of agents (Men In Black Suits) and Summer helps to keep him one step ahead of an unknown fate.

Lest I forget, the primary cast also includes a mad artist, a senator with dubious ethics, the aforementioned singer, and a news witch. For Hartman these are not just players on a stage, but active participants. Each takes turn after turn at first person narrative and it can truly be said that this is a novel with no main character. For all that I dislike this kind of shifting viewpoint, Keith Hartmann manages to make a great success of it, rarely allowing the possibility of narrative confusion. Here the technique creates a baroque plot that is in perpetual motion and still manages to create a great deal of connection with the characters. This tale is a great success, whatever its genre is, and I am anxious to read the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: One of the wittiest debut novels in years.
Review: For the record, I hate Keith Hartman. I've never met the guy, don't know much about him, but what I do know is this: His debut novel, The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse, is better than any first novel has a right to be. Like anyone else with aspirations of writing the Great American Novel, I get royally ticked any time someone else does so, especially on their first try.

And this is easily the best debut genre novel in years. Set in a future Atlanta (where magic, be it Christian, Native American or Wiccan, is commonplace), Gumshoe offers us more protagonists than I've seen in a while, and gives them amazingly unique voices, from the Witch (who works as a reporter during the day) to the Chosen (Benji, a teen who believes that God has chosen him as the butt of every cosmic joke), to the Lunatic (a Cherokee shaman who wonders why the totems she sees are as likely to look like Bugs Bunny or aliens from Star Trek as bears and monkeys). Having eleven (yes, eleven!) characters narrate in the first person is an amazing feat for any writer to pull off. The fact that Hartman manages to give them unique voice (I quite honestly didn't have to even look at the chapter headings after a while) is astounding.

The plot? Well, we've got the Cherokee, attempting to get the United States to uphold the Supreme Court rulings of the early 19th century granting them North Georgia. We've got a gumshoe with some serious issues. We've got a Southern Baptist senator/televangelist who argues about a devil-worshiping anti-Christian conspiracy perpetrated by everyone from Jews to Wiccans to Unitarians (and if he can't find evidence of the conspiracy, he'll fake it). We've got a dead body in a graveyard that might have been carved up by Wiccans, or maybe by Christians. We've got the witch/investigative journalist looking into the mystery, as well as the Baptist News Network and the regular Atlanta police force. And we've got a missing psychic private eye who works with a number of these characters. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. What's amazing isn't the disparate plot elements; it's that Hartman manages to make them all work.

Thick as it is in characters and plot, where Gumshoe really shines is as a social commentary. Although Hartman is coming from the left in general, he's not above poking fun at the excesses of anyone, ranging from homophobes who are willing to overlook their stance against abortion upon hearing that the fetus has tested positive for the "gay gene," to art snobs who are so caught up in their own pretentious world, they're incapable of recognizing real art when they see it. But for all the satire and commentary, Hartman gives us genuine characters -- everyone, from the Baptists to the Quakers, the homosexuals to the heterosexuals, the Wiccans to the Cherokee, is portrayed as an individual, not just another icon in a group. And the world itself is fully believable, every little image extrapolated from contemporary society, with some absolutely brilliant visions of a future America. The little touches -- a vending machine that offers brie and watercress sandwiches, a bondage-themed gym using a rack for pull-downs -- override whatever touches of cliche (references to the Stallone and Heston presidencies) that creep in.

This is not a book for the faint of heart (the graveyard mutilation, as well as some of the later crime sequences, is easily gross enough to fit into a Laurell K Hamilton novel), nor for those who might be easily offended, but if you want a great read and/or a book that actually makes you think (even while making you laugh out loud), this is a damned good novel.

Two final caveats: First, the editing, frankly, was pretty atrocious in the opening chapter or two -- once you get past the third chapter, the grammar seems to have righted itself. Also, do not start this on a worknight, as it will keep you up all night reading.

Rating:
Summary: An action packed novel in an America balkanized by cultures.
Review: Hartman has broken many of the rules for a first novel an his book is glorious for it. He has multiple first-person characters, and rather than confuse the reader, these characters help illuminate just how America has disintergrated into a high-tech multi-sided cultural war.

His view of the gay subculture is fascinating, but so are his insights into the Baptists, Wiccans, and American Indians. I especially like his heterosexual teenage romance elements. They call to mind Heinlein juvies.

Rating:
Summary: this book was wonderful
Review: I can't believe how much I enjoyed this book. The way the society is fractured and still works. I was cheering when the bad guy got cought. The only problem with this book is that there were so many typos that it started to get annoying.

Rating:
Summary: this book was wonderful
Review: I can't believe how much I enjoyed this book. The way the society is fractured and still works. I was cheering when the bad guy got cought. The only problem with this book is that there were so many typos that it started to get annoying.