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    Bimbos of the Death Sun
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    Bimbos of the Death Sun
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    Bimbos of the Death Sun
    Audiobook5 hours

    Bimbos of the Death Sun

    Written by Sharyn McCrumb

    Narrated by Ruth Ann Phimister

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Edgar Award-winning author Sharyn McCrumb brings her storytelling talent and keen eye for satire to this hilarious spoof of the bizarre culture surrounding sci-fi/fantasy fandom. It all takes place at Rubicon, the science fiction and fantasy convention of your nightmares. Join the merriment, as medieval fantasy characters, tech geeks, and role playing gamers take over an innocent hotel for a weekend of nerdy, misfit fun. Just when you think things can’t get any wilder, the guest of honor—gnome-like giant of fantasy literature Appin Dungannon—is murdered. But who wouldn’t want to kill Appin Dungannon? The celebrity sword-and-sorcery writer is a dedicated prima donna who’s gone out of his way to offend his fawning fans. Lt. Ayhan has to find out which of the troubled trekkies, buxom bimbos, and fiendish elves has actually done Dungannon in. Luckily, he has help. With Ruth Ann Phimister’s perfect comic delivery adding just the right zing, when you’re not snickering to yourself, you’ll be laughing out loud.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books Audio
    Release dateJan 1, 1999
    ISBN9781449802554
    Author

    Sharyn McCrumb

    Sharyn McCrumb is the New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed Ballad novels. She has received numerous honors for her work, including the Mary Frances Hobson Prize for Southern Literature, the AWA Book of the Year, and Notable Books in both The New York Times and Los Angeles Times. She was also named a Virginia Woman of History for Achievement in Literature. She lives and writes in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, fewer than one hundred miles from where her family settled in 1790.

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    Reviews for Bimbos of the Death Sun

    4/5

    269 ratings17 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This was a fun book, a murder mystery romp through comic con culture in the late 80's.
    • 5/5
      You know, I'm not usually a mystery reader. I approached Bimbos of the Death Sun as more of a fantasy-type book, to be honest, and I wasn't disappointed. The mystery aspect of it wasn't too "mystery-y" for me either.Since the book takes place at a sci-fi con, I knew I would like it, because I'm into sci-fi and geekdom. Even though a murder is committed in the book and there's a bit of that "whodunnit" aspect, it is not dark at all. McCrumb keeps things light and quite entertaining. It boosted my mood and kind of reminded me of Terry Pratchett in a way.I loved all of the references to D&D and that the climax takes place during a D&D campaign. I felt right at home with all of that, as a D&D player myself.This is certainly not an overly esoteric read, but it's fun, funny, and cool. I really enjoyed myself and found no flaws with it.
    • 4/5
      Dr. James Owens Mega, professor of engineering, is also Jay Omega, author of a serious and technicalscience fiction novel, which his publishers called Bimbos of the Death Sun. Jay's SO is Dr. Marion Farley, professor of English and recovering Trekkie, and much my favorite character, even moreso than Chip Livingstone. Together they attend Rubicon, a local SF convention. The primary star of Rubicon is Appin Dungannon, author of a series of horrible fantasies. Dungannon is irascible, obnoxious, inconsiderate, demanding, and generally poor company. He is murdered during theconvention, leaving Jay to act as the featured author. Jay uses his knowledge of computers--note that these are early-nineties computers, and few things have aged lessgracefully--and his position as dungeon master of a role-playing game to ferret out the killer.From my limited experience (two conventions), I'd say that McCrumb gives us a pretty good picture of a small fan-run group. If you've been to one, you'll recognize some of the characters. Her tongue is firmly in cheek throughout; she's having a good time and isn't really concerned about providing a great mystery or great insights. Her maincharacters are likeable and sharp enough to move things along. Highly recommended for those who have some familiarity with the milieu, as well as a sense of humor.
    • 3/5
      I stumbled over Bimboes of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb misfiled in the fantasy/science fiction section of the new branch of The Frugal Muse, one of our local independents. The mistake was perfectly understandable, given the title. I've read several of Sharyn McCrumb's mysteries and enjoyed them tremendously. I had heard of Bimbos of the Death Sun, but I can't remember any of the particulars. It never occurred to me to connect these dots, so it was a serendipitous find.The edition that I bought opened with an author's preface explaining the origins and ultimate cult status of this story. It is at least as good as the novel itself. The premise: our protagonist is a mild-mannered computer science (engineering?) professor who pseudonymously publishes a science fiction story that explores an interesting thought concept related to sunspots and computers. To his intense embarrassment, the publishers decide to title the book Bimbos of the Death Sun, and to his further embarrassment, he is asked to participate in a local science fiction convention as guest author. Sadly, he's not the star attraction, just a convenient fill-in when the famous author of a long-running fantasy series (and legendary asshole) causes crises and ultimately winds up dead. The book is a hilarious exploration of fan culture from the perspective of the clueless outsiders including our hero, a Scottish folk singer passing through, and the police investigating the murder. The book is very entertaining and many of the characterizations are doubtless still apt today, but the computer technology and know-how portrayed in the story are quite dated. Admittedly, floppy disks are something of a mystery today too, but that's because they've come and gone.The characters are essentially shallow stereotypes (or archetypes if you want to be kind), and the dialogue and prose are adequate. There's a fair amount of internal exposition, which goes along with the lack of depth. Not surprisingly, the vast, vast majority of characters are white and male and straight. But still very entertaining, much like the beginning of Tim Allen's Galaxy Quest movie.
    • 1/5
      I had heard that this was pretty funny and I think I have the actual book laying around here somewhere. It's set at a Con and I've been to many sci-fi/fantasy conventions, (though it's been a while since I had the entire experience of staying overnight) So I thought I would enjoy it a lot. Unfortunately it was terrible and the only reason I finished it was because it was short (5 cds) and it let me vicariously live at a Con for a week or so.The story was REALLY dated and every time the narrator said, "Put the disk in the IBM-PC" I flinched. Basically she seemed to enjoy educating the reader on "new" computer technology, including a precursor to e-mail and to fandom in general. Everything was written like it was a big surprise and she was sure you had never heard of anything like it before. Considering the main audience for the book was probably fans, it doesn't seem to make sense. This seemed more like a book written about fandom from an outsider's perspective and even the main character was an author who knew nothing about fandom (and then was able to be a Dungeon Master without knowing the rules until a couple hours before the game). Other than the "hey I know exactly the kind of person they're talking about" there's not much thrill to it. The mystery seemed rather amateurish and the characterizations of the fans were never positive. Really Con people (or fans) are the only group of people that I've been around who didn't disappoint me once I got to know them.
    • 5/5
      By no means the only murder mystery to take place at a fan convention, but probably one of the first.A funny send up of early 80s media fan culture. Some of the characters and scenarios will appear obviously dated to anyone familiar with the scene, but others are longstanding, universal truths. The victim, who is a celebrity guest of honor, is a truly hateful little man and not at all based on any actual hateful authors. Nope.
    • 2/5
      I'm guessing this is much more funny if you are into the whole comicon eco-system. The plot was so-so, and the technology references are extremely dated.
    • 5/5
      Hilariously funny! If you are sci-fi or fantasy fan and enjoy attending cons as much as I do, then this mystery will be doubly funny. Anyone who knows ANYTHING about science fiction will easy recognize exactly which famous writer Appin Dungannon is modeled on. Read this book if you are a fan of mysteries or if you prefer science fiction; it should be read regardless of the reason.
    • 4/5
      This is just a fun romp through the precursors of Comicon. In this case, a fictional mixed-genre fan convention in the 1980s. The victim is the abusive, egotistical author of a famous series of fantasy novels. The everyone-hates-him kind of victim.

      The main protagonist is an engineer who has author a serious Indie hard scifi novel that the publisher embarrassingly called "Bimbos of the Death Sun".

      I suspect that the main reason someone who enjoy this is the setting and characters, right down to the Scottish filk singer and the D&D group playing in the hallway. If the idea of a serious murder mystery set at a 1980s genre Con doesn't titillate you, then I'm sure this is a pass.

      Also, I found the writing to be incredibly comfortable to slip into.
    • 4/5
      Great fun. McCrumb totally nails the fantasy/sci-fi convention crowd. I've been to and helped organize a few of these types of events and it made me feel like I was there again. Light writing style and a lean story meant I finished this one way too quickly. I wanted more!
    • 1/5
      I read this book, hoping for bimbos. Because, goddamnit, there's fucking bimbos right there in the motherfucking title. So, you'd think, that there would be plenty of skanky-ass bimbos in this book. But no.

      Don't get your hopes up. There are absolutely NO bimbos in this fucking book. Not one. I mean, unless you count geeky fangirls as bimbos, which I certainly don't.

      I mean, come on... We all know what bimbos are. They're hot, big-breasted women, who are dumber than a box of rocks. If they're smart, they're not bimbos. If they got itty-bitty titties, they're not bimbos, goddamnit.

      More to the point, this book isn't even ABOUT bimbos. Or even a motherfucking 'Death Sun', for that matter. It's a goddamn murder mystery. Set in and around a fucking comic con.

      It seemed like this book was just an excuse for the author to make fun of sci-fi and fantasy fans. Because that's really what this book is about. it's about how fucking pathetic those fans are, sitting in their mom's basement, eating cheetos, and getting fatter by the minute.

      Of course it doesn't just make fun of the fat-ass guys, it also makes fun of the fangirls who write pathetic fan fiction, and would do anything to just be seen with an author. I mean, anything.

      Come on, man. Don't bash those poor girls. The world needs fangirls who just happen to be total sluts. Without them groupies, what's the point in writing fantasy and sci-fi? To get rich? Please. Those books don't sell.

      It's for the pussy, right? So maybe that's why this skank author decided to write this book. Because she was sick and tired of watching her fellow authors getting panties thrown in their faces.

      So, come on you dirty dogs... This author needs a good deep-dicking. So the next time you're at a comic con, wipe those cheeto crumbs off your shirt and throw that nasty never-been-washed jock strap in this bitch's face. Maybe you'll get lucky.
    • 3/5
      I picked this up because I fell in love with the title--"Bimbos of the Death Sun" is just so very, very perfect. I've read one of McCrumb's Appalachian books, and thought that she would treat her subject, the world of science fiction and fantasy conventions, with respect and humanity.
      I was so very, very wrong. The book is somewhat cute and definitely funny, but it is also very cruel.

      I've never been to a "con"(convention), so I can't actually attest to the accuracy--and since the book is quite dated and was written about the time I was born, I suspect no one who went to one in the last twenty years or so can either. Fandom is an interesting and (as far as I can tell) relatively recent phenomenon, and I can see why McCrumb would be fascinated by it. However, she is clearly writing from the perspective of an outsider: she portrays the fantasy authors as jaded and nasty, the female con goers are desperate, oversexualised, and man-mad, and the men (or rather, boys) are pimpled, obese, awkward outcasts, desperate for approval and to become authors themselves. Obese characters are repeatedly mocked as "weighing more than an average calf," but women of this variety are still prized because cons are filled with desperate engineers--McCrumb calls them "losers,...runty little nerds, fat intellectuals,[and] misfits," who are happy to find anything at all female, no matter how overweight and plain--because clearly men only pick women based on traditional superficial beauty, and if they end up with a fat and/or unattractive woman, they must have been desperate. The main characters, the ones we are supposed to empathize with, are themselves outsiders and rather bemused by the excesses of the fans.

      Admittedly, I found certain moments hilarious--like when the author of Bimbos of the Death Sun, an engineering professor, considers what would happen to him if SWE (the Society of Women Engineers) ever found out about his literary experiments. (I suspect H2SO4, computer viruses, and capacitors would be involved--they sure would be if I were there.) I also found it interesting to compare the feminism of the eighties with contemporary feminism--or at least, with my peculiar and rather extreme flavour of it. One of my favourite examples was when the female protagonist, a professor, comments that as a child, she didn't dream about being a housewife like most of her peers-- she wanted to be a superhero's action girl. Trailing after an "intelligent man" and playing Girl Friday during his adventures? Yeah, that's definitely equality, honest. As for the mystery, it was both painfully obvious and absolutely ridiculous, as was the policework. As one of those legend/mythos-obsessed nerds that McCrumb so deftly denigrates, I'll also add that her Celtic/Norse mythology, although portrayed as accurate in the book, is woefully faulty. It makes me doubt the validity of McCrumb's research in her other works.

      The book was interesting because it caused me to examine my own feelings about comedy. For a book to feel solid and fun, I think the author must be part of the community he pokes fun at, and the humour must have a self-deprecating, rueful feel. A book like this, which picks a group of outsiders and relentlessly mocks it, will always just leave a bad taste in my mouth.
    • 4/5
      This book is very funny, if you are not too fond of the excesses of Sci-Fi Fandom. Simply a hoot!
    • 3/5
      I'm reliably informed that mystery writer Sharyn McCrumb had attended only one science fiction convention (probably the now defunct RoVaCon, which her fictional "Rubicon" resembles quite closely) before writing this tale of the murder of a con Guest of Honor and the aspiring SF novelist who is thrust into the role of amateur detective to solve the case. Readers who know much about what goes on behind the scenes at a convention may be annoyed by the frequent lapses in verisimilitude, but, as a synopsis of fannish clichés about the lesser breeds of fandom, circa the late 1980's, the book isn't bad. Certainly fans liked it; booksellers at conventions could barely keep it in stock. Judged purely as a detective story, it's so-so.
    • 3/5
      I learned a valuable lesson. Never judge a book by its cover—or its title. Hubby came back from our son’s Monday night house bringing this book he said Marty had sent to me. Tuesday I had my first completely free day in ages and I planned to read. But I had just finished Franny and Zooey so I couldn’t get into another novel and all I really wanted was something light and mindless—and preferably funny. This one looked perfect in spite of the title and horrible cover so I decided to try it. My son knows my reading taste pretty well so if he recommended it I would probably like it (he knows me better than the LT “will you like it?” bar!). Besides, it won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best original paperback mystery in 1988—how bad could it be? As it turns out it was perfect for my mood. The mystery part was minor and not very puzzling but the “fantasy con” where it takes place was a hoot. The story is dated because it takes place in the 80’s so the technology is prehistoric as are some of the language and ideas. It helped me that in the 80’s my other son was hugely into Dungeons and Dragons (D&D in the book) and into all kinds of fantasy although he was not old enough for me to let him go to the cons—but he read about them and talked about them, incessantly. The author does a superb job recreating this venue and peopling it with really great characters—the good, the bad, and the ugly. I became very fond of some of them as I laughed myself silly. This wouldn’t be for everyone, but I found it an enjoyable afternoon’s read—for readers who aren’t so slow it could be read in a couple of hours. The kicker is, it was given to Marty by his brother a few years ago but he has never read it. He sent it to our house because he had some friends coming over and he didn’t want them to accidentally discover it on his shelves!
    • 4/5
      Entertaining book, parodies archetypes of convention goers. This is not science fiction, it more like fiction about science fiction fans – and a mystery novel at the same time. One of the few gripes is that it is just too clear that this book was first published by TSR. Dungeons and Dragons is mentioned over and over and over again.
    • 4/5
      Dr. James Owens Mega, electrical engineering professor, has written a science fiction novel under the pseudonym Jay Omega and titled by his publishers Bimbos of the Death Sun. He has been asked to appear as a guest author at his first local science fiction convention, Rubicon. With his girl friend Dr. Marion Farley, who is a professor of literature and recovering science fiction fan as his guide, Jay enters a world full of elves, warriors, and Trekkers. His fellow guest author Appin Dungannon has written a popular series of fantasy novels. To bad he is an egomaniac who hurls insults and metal chairs at his fans. When Dunngannon is found died the question isn’t who would kill him but who wouldn’t.This is a fun little mystery that is more about science fiction fandom than about a murder.