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Bimbos Of The Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb
reviewed by John McCarthy
First appearance
In spite of the title, this book is a real lark and not offensive in the slightest. It isn't really SF either --- rather, it's a humorous murder mystery set at a minor SF convention ("Rubicon"). It has a great deal of very realistic material about how conventions are run, and what sort of problems are likely to arise (except for murder, I guess). In the foreword, McCrumb reports:
At book signings in Hollywood, cast members of science fiction television programs turned up with battered copies of Bimbos of the Death Sun. "We use it as a survival manual," o e of them told me. " t s the best way to explain to guest stars what they'll experience when they go to a fan convention."
There are a number of characters in the book --- too many, probably, but it doesn't really matter. The main character is a mild-mannered engineering professor who happens to have written a minor SF novel in his spare time, with the considerable help of his girlfriend, an english professor who teachs SF in the same college. He is one of the two guests of honor at Rubicon, which is being held near his home near Washington, DC. The title of his book, for which he gladly renounces all credit, is Bimbos of the Death Sun. Also present at the convention is Appin Dungannon, an entirely unlikeable but highly successful writer of a very popular swords-and-sorcery series; it is he who gets murdered. As he has spent every available instant up to that point being as obnoxious as possible, there is no dearth of suspects. Eventually, though, the culprit is tricked into revealing himself, getting killed in the process. Exeunt omnes ... etc.
This brief description doesn't do the work justice, however. There are a large number of recognisable fan types, and they are gently and compassionately (Robert Silverberg's description) handled. There is also a large collection of clever one-liners which help maintain the humorous tone of the book. Make no mistake about it --- this book is fun from cover to cover, and well worth the read.
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