Rating: 
Summary: Very wry and sarcastic- I LOVED IT!
Review: Here in Japan, where good, serious fiction is always in short supply, the true bibliophile always has an eye out for truly outstanding books. McCrumb delivers, and delivers big. I loved the book. I especially loved her characterization of Appin Dunganon, the demonic, diminutive troll who also happens to be a famous and successful writer of fantasy novels. His character was over the top. McCrumb is a master at characterization, snappy dialogue, and gives me, the neophyte in things SF and mystery, a cynical but balanced view of those who read the SF/Fantasy genres. I actually knew some people who acted like her characters back during my days at MIT. I give this book two thumbs up, as they say, and I really hope to see more of McCrumb's wit and style in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful satire disguised as a whodunnit.
Review: I have noticed a tendancy for reviewers of Ms. McCrumb's "Ballad Series" books to criticize her other, humorous, novels. I should like to ask if these folks can understand satire. This is an absolutely wonderful satire of science fiction conventions (as an old fan of the genre, I refuse to use cutesy pie nicknames). She uses a mystery plot to thinly disguise her rapier thrusts of satire and I laughed so hard that I had tears running down my face. This book is as wonderful in its lampoon of science fiction and its fans as her book "Highland Laddie Gone" is a satire of the American Scottish games circuit (the Scottish Liberation Army, indeed!). If you look at these novels as they must have been intended, they are hilarious.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put this book down!
Review: I thought that Highland Laddie Gone, in Ms. McCrumb's "Elizabeth MacPherson" series was one of the funniest mysteries I'd ever read. That was until I picked up this book and spent one side-splitting night reading it.As a person who has attended various science fiction conventions, I recognized many of the characters in the book. The characterizations are too funny and very realistic. Dr. James Owen Mega (aka Jay Omega) is an engineering professor at the local college, and the author of "Bimbos of the Death Sun", a new science fiction novel. He is attending his first science fiction convention as a guest author, and is bewildered to discover that he has literally entered another world. Guiding Dr. Mega through the world of sci fi fandom is english professor, Dr. Marion Farley, Emma Peel fan and Dr. Mega's significant other. The entire convention is thrown into a tailspin when the main guest of honor, author Appin Dungannon, is found murdered in his hotel room. Jay and Marion decide to help the police discover who would kill him. A must for anyone who has ever attended a science fiction convention.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put this book down!
Review: I thought that Highland Laddie Gone, in Ms. McCrumb's "Elizabeth MacPherson" series was one of the funniest mysteries I'd ever read. That was until I picked up this book and spent one side-splitting night reading it. As a person who has attended various science fiction conventions, I recognized many of the characters in the book. The characterizations are too funny and very realistic. Dr. James Owen Mega (aka Jay Omega) is an engineering professor at the local college, and the author of "Bimbos of the Death Sun", a new science fiction novel. He is attending his first science fiction convention as a guest author, and is bewildered to discover that he has literally entered another world. Guiding Dr. Mega through the world of sci fi fandom is english professor, Dr. Marion Farley, Emma Peel fan and Dr. Mega's significant other. The entire convention is thrown into a tailspin when the main guest of honor, author Appin Dungannon, is found murdered in his hotel room. Jay and Marion decide to help the police discover who would kill him. A must for anyone who has ever attended a science fiction convention.
Rating:
Summary: Funnier than the SF-Cons she parodies!
Review: I was immersed in the fannish lifestyle while in high school, and know people still in it. This is SO accurate of many of the people you see there, and like the author's comments say, I DID recognize people in the book that could have been from real life. Loved it loved it loved it! I like a large range of mysteries, but ones that can make me laugh at the same time are my favorites. I plan on reading the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Great read -- Even for outsiders
Review: I wasn't rolling over laughing, or even giggling to myself like many reviewers, but maybe that's because I'm a relative outsider to SF cons. I've been to horror cons and other cons, but never an SF con. I read this on a recommendation of a friend after I praised a horror con mystery (WORSE THAN DEATH by Barbara Ferrenz). Still, I've got to give it 5 stars. It kept my interest (couldn't wait to finish it), was funny, and gave me a good feel for the stereotypes one would meet at a con. Now I understand more about my friends who are into SF.
Rating: 
Summary: Biased, but sometimes accurate, picture of SF fandom
Review: I will admit, I was prejudiced against this book. I value my fannish friends, and dislike hostile caricatures by someone from outside. It's rather like how a member of an ethnic group can make ethnic jokes about that group in safety, while an outsider should not do so. To be sure, the caricatures in the book did resemble people I know, but not _everybody_ at a typical con resembles these stereotypes. Many of us do have decent jobs, fulfilling love-lives, and normal-range weight. Also, as a mystery, I found it rather contrived and the denouement extremely difficult-to-swallow.
Rating:
Summary: Great read -- Even for outsiders
Review: If you've never been to a science fiction convention that's all right, you'll still laugh your way through this fun murder mystery. If you have been to a sci fi con, you're going to die laughing. Sharyn McCrumb did a wonderful job capturing the flavor of the sci fi crowd with the gamers and the Star Trek weddings and the costumes and the filking (folk songs with sci-fi lyrics). This is a delightful book that pokes fun at the sf crowd without getting too mean. You'll have fun with this one.
Rating:
Summary: Laugh out loud funny!
Review: If you've never been to a science fiction convention that's all right, you'll still laugh your way through this fun murder mystery. If you have been to a sci fi con, you're going to die laughing. Sharyn McCrumb did a wonderful job capturing the flavor of the sci fi crowd with the gamers and the Star Trek weddings and the costumes and the filking (folk songs with sci-fi lyrics). This is a delightful book that pokes fun at the sf crowd without getting too mean. You'll have fun with this one.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Read this book in public :-) I have had so many friends try and steal this book from me to find out why I'm giggling. McCrumb is an excellent writer. It's amazing just how many people I know that I can see in these books. I also highly recommend Zombies of the Gene Pool, but it can't quite top this one.
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