Casual Rex: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Audio Version - If you can find it - GET IT!
Review: Picked this up on eBay recently, and was astounded at what an absolutely fantastic reader Jim Hanks (brother of Tom - Yes, THAT Tom Hanks) was. This guy understands that audiobooks are a separate medium that require specific skills, particularly in the humor genre. It's not enough to know how to read, you must be able to perform and bring the words on the page to life. The reader must also be matched to the material in the same way animated chracters are in films. Jim Hanks is a PERFECT match. It's a shame he didn't get the job for the other 'Rex' novels.

Five stars, Jim! You do the Hanks name proud.

Rating:
Summary: Jurassic...
Review: Vincent Rubio is a velociraptor and private investigator working in Los Angeles. If that sentence doesn't sound a bit off to you, then you should read Casual Rex by Eric Garcia. Casual Rex is the second book about Vincent Rubio, P.I., but takes place before the story told in the first book, Anonymous Rex. Vincent and his partner Ernie take on the Progressives, a church/cult that sounds a lot like a religion based in Hollywood, California that attracts some very famous people crossed with the Church Universal and Triumphant. Figuring out this alternative world where dinosaurs didn't go extinct and disguise themselves as humans isn't difficult. Even though Casual Rex and Anonymous Rex have been marketed mainly as mysteries, I think SF fans and dino fans will find a lot to like Mr. Garcia's weird world. I enjoyed Casual Rex even more than Anonymous Rex and look forward to Hot And Sweaty Rex when it comes out. I read paperback copies of both books so that I could preserve my first printing hardbacks in mint condition. I'm betting that Mr. Garcia's early books in the Rex series will be highly collectible, not that my opinion is worth all that much. About my book collecting habit...don't ask, don't ask.

Rating:
Summary: Dino Noir - Part 2
Review: Vincent Rubio is a velociraptor and private investigator working in Los Angeles. If that sentence doesn't sound a bit off to you, then you should read Casual Rex by Eric Garcia. Casual Rex is the second book about Vincent Rubio, P.I., but takes place before the story told in the first book, Anonymous Rex. Vincent and his partner Ernie take on the Progressives, a church/cult that sounds a lot like a religion based in Hollywood, California that attracts some very famous people crossed with the Church Universal and Triumphant. Figuring out this alternative world where dinosaurs didn't go extinct and disguise themselves as humans isn't difficult. Even though Casual Rex and Anonymous Rex have been marketed mainly as mysteries, I think SF fans and dino fans will find a lot to like Mr. Garcia's weird world. I enjoyed Casual Rex even more than Anonymous Rex and look forward to Hot And Sweaty Rex when it comes out. I read paperback copies of both books so that I could preserve my first printing hardbacks in mint condition. I'm betting that Mr. Garcia's early books in the Rex series will be highly collectible, not that my opinion is worth all that much. About my book collecting habit...don't ask, don't ask.

Rating:
Summary: mating, herbs and rock & roll
Review: Vincent Rubio is back in a second romp through the seamy, scandalous, sleazy and occasionally slippery world of the dino PI. Sure it's really a 'pre-quel' to Anonymous Rex but in a world where dinosaurs lived long enough past the KT Boundary to be driving a Lincoln down the freeways of Los Angeles you have to muster up a little belief in the unlikely. In this case it's more than worth it with everyone's favorite saurischian Sam Spade making deductions and wisecracks at every turn. There aren't that many books you can recommend to just about anyone and feel like you've done them a favor; this is one of those books.