Customer Reviews

Rude Mechanicals

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Set in 1934 Hollywood, this short novel pairs two old Company characters - Joseph and Lewis - to recover the "lost" Tavernier Violet diamond, which has been hidden in the hills above the Hollywood Bowl since the 19th century. The diamond is accidentally found by mortals during a major renovation of the Bowl stage for the production of Max Reinhardt's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Too big and gaudy to be considered anything but fake, the diamond nevertheless keeps getting handed off or stolen by various mortals whom Joseph and Lewis are at wits' end trying to chase down while trying to maintain their mortal covers as helpers in Reinhardt's production, wherein the comedy ensues.

The story uses anecdotal sub-plots from the early Hollywood era (think wild Prohibition parties and Harold Lloyd directing a porn film) as foils for the central plot of recovering the Tavernier diamond. "Oh what fools these mortals be . . ."

This story might be an interesting read to fans of Baker's other Company stories, and reminds me of the vintage comedy "Road to . . ." films made by the odd-couple team of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. But the well-worn premise sometimes drags a bit.

In Baker's other Company stories, the characters of Joseph and Lewis tend shine as standalones, or while interacting with Mendoza - another immortal Company operative with a tortured past - who is not included in this novel. Both Joseph and Lewis are smitten by Mendoza; Joseph as a father-figure, Lewis with unrequited puppy-love. It would be interesting, before the Company series finally winds down, to see if Baker would throw all three - Mendoza, Joseph and Lewis - into a story together just to see what kind of chemistry might ensue.

I was born in Hollywood, worked at Paramount Pictures, and came from a film producing family. This book is beautifully researched and really gets the Hollywood scene of the 1930s. I was taken back to the Hollywood I know, with the added taste of an earlier Hollywood. I loved the scenes at the Hollywood Bowl -- been there dozens of times and I could just picture everything. Plus, this book is an absolute riot. The chase scenes had me laughing out loud! It's almost slapstick.

But you've got to have a sense of humor to appreciate this book. It's not hard-core science fiction. It's a chapbook. It's Hollywood history. And it's signed and numbered. I read it in one sitting, couldn't put it down.

On a personal note, she mentions Immaculate Heart High School. I went to Immaculate Heart College, right next door, at the foothills of Griffith Park. Her details are so great, so well researched. She writes like a real insider. If you really want to know what Hollywood was like, you have to read this book.

This novella is a treat for Company fans. Lewis is alive, well and at his suave best in 1930s Hollywood. And Joseph is, at times, hilarious. (The Mr. Peanut costume section is worth the price of the book.) My friends and I think that Leslie Howard would have been the perfect Lewis, and I'm holding out for a younger version of Al Pacino for Joseph. When will the movies be coming out?

Kage Baker's Company novels always rise to the top of my 'read first' pile but Rude Mechanicals was, sadly, disappointing. There were a few flashes of her trademark wit and mordant humor, but all in all it never quite took off to be the wacky, goofy adventure I think she was aiming for. At least that's what I was looking for and expecting from the description of the novella. Louis and Joseph are two of my favorite cyborgs, and although I can't quite remember where they are now (in hiding, 'on ice,' or whatever -- the books are getting incredibly complicated, and who has time to re-read them all to figure out who's who and who's through?) I hope they survive whatever big disaster is coming. And perhaps get re-teamed again in an adventure worthy of their characters.

I find this to be a minor effort in Baker's series on "The Company," i.e., Dr. Zeus, Inc., which has discovered (or stolen) the technologies of time travel and immortality, and has created various kinds of immortal cyborgs to loot "lost" treasures, botanicals, art works, etc. from our past, present and future, so Dr. Zeus, Inc., can "find" them a couple of centuries from now to sell for immense profits. The cyborgs must allow -- and sometimes cause -- human suffering to unfold as per recorded history.
This novella finds two of Baker's popular characters, cyborgs Literature Specialist Lewis and Facilitator Joseph, dashing madly about Hollywood, CA, in 1934, chasing after an illusive McGriffin. Although it is a comedy, I had few LOL moments. The plot's string of unlikely coincidences goes beyond my suspension of disbelief; Joseph strikes me as remarkably inept, compared to his other appearances in this series. In my opinion, only hard-core Baker fanatics should pay full price for this novella -- which I believe belongs in, say, Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine rather than between hard covers at a premium price.

The book is in fine shape, and was signed by the author. A wonderful surprise.

Kage Baker and her publisher owe her fans an apology for this one. This "Deluxe Hardcover Edition. . . signed [and] numbered" is 114 pages short, mostly a car chase through 1934 Los Angeles as cyborgs Joseph and Lewis try to retrieve a stolen diamond for the Company. Ther are a few funny lines, but nothing to put it in a class with the other Company stories. I have no idea what the title refers to, and don't much care.