The Sheriff of Yrnameer [Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Rozan Rubens (Author), William Dufris (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2009

Meet Cole: hapless space rogue, part-time smuggler, on a path to being full-time dead. His sidekick just stole his girlfriend. The galaxy's most hideous and feared bounty hunter wants to lay eggs in his brain. And the luxury space yacht Cole just hijacked turns out of be filled with interstellar do-gooders, one especially loathsome stowaway, and a cargo of freeze-dried orphans.Reluctantly compelled to deliver these defenseless, fluidless children to safety, Cole gathers a misfit crew for a desperate journey to the far reaches of the galaxy. Their destination: the mysterious world of Yrnameer, the very last of the your-name-heres-planets without corporate sponsors. But little does Cole know that this legendary utopia is home to a murderous band of outlaws bent on destroying the planet's tiny, peaceful community.Follow Cole's adventures through a delightfully absurd science-fiction universe, where the artificial intelligence is stupid, dust motes carry branding messages, and middle-management zombies have overrun a corporate training satellite. In the spirit of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, The Sheriff of Yrnameer is sci-fi comedy at its best-mordant, raucously funny, and a thrilling must-listen.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Exclusive: Seth Grahame-Smith Reviews The Sheriff of Yrnameer

Seth Grahame-Smith is the author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which debuted at #3 on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into sixteen languages. Seth is also a film and television writer/producer, semi-frequent political blogger, and the co-Creator/Executive Producer of the new MTV comedy series, Hard Times. He lives in Los Angeles. Read his exclusive Amazon guest review of The Sheriff of Yrnameer:

I like to imagine the night, sometime in the late 1960s (England, a castle--it was raining), when Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams (brought together for, let’s say, a writers’ conference) met for the first time in front of a roaring fire (okay, it was snowing, not raining) and fell madly, deeply in love. I like to imagine that they laughed in the face of social convention (and God) and produced an illicit love child, who they named Michael Rubens for no reason in particular, and who inherited the most favorable genetic characteristics of each of his dads. Lucky, lucky, lucky bastard.

The universe of The Sheriff of Yrnameer is our own, albeit somewhere down the line, after Earth has been reduced to a pile of irradiated rubble ("At least we got the terrorists" reads the commemorative plaque). Capitalism has run amok, and corporations are king. The Yrnameer of the title (a contraction of "Your Name Here"), is the last unsponsored planet in the galaxy--an agrarian utopia where artistic expression and humanism are cherished ad nauseum. Into this idealistic paradise is thrust our hero, Cole--a hilariously ineffectual space rogue on the run from a nasty creditor (is there any other kind?) named Kenneth. Having dealt with a few major fiascos (a cargo hold full of freeze-dried orphans; a corporate training satellite filled with bloodthirsty zombies), Cole eventually winds up on Yrnameer, only to find that a bandit has threatened the inhabitants with death if they fail to hand over this year’s harvest. Through a Blazing Saddles-worthy confluence of events, Cole is appointed sheriff: an accidental snake wrangler in the Garden of Eden.

There is a great big bucket somewhere (probably in Houston) from which all great sci-fi/comedy novelists drink. And though Sheriff will no doubt be compared (favorably) with both Hitchhiker’s and Discworld, Rubens really has his own thing going here. There’s the standard stuff, the stuff you’d expect in a top-tier genre novel--the richly textured universe; the hapless, oft-misbehaving protagonists; the perpetually amusing adversaries--but Rubens’s sense of humor (which tends toward the absurd) seems more biting and incisive than that of others currently milling about near the bucket. In fact, as you flip the final page you might find you’ve learned more about our own world than Yrnameer. Plus, there are zombies in it--so it’s automatically awesome.--Seth Grahame-Smith

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A Q&A with Michael Rubens

Question: What in the world is Yrnameer, and how do you pronounce it?

Michael Rubens: It’s pronounced "YURnuhmeer," and it’s a contraction of "your name here"--a dismissive, slangy term for a planet that doesn’t even have a corporate sponsor ("oh, that planet? It’s just some yrnameer."). In the book, there’s only one unsponsored planet left, the Yrnameer, a legendary world said to exist in an unreachable location in space.

I actually nearly changed the title of the book early on--every time I told someone the proposed title I’d get the same reaction, and there's only so many times you can be on the receiving end of a frozen, polite smile before you start getting a wee bit worried...

Question: Why did you write The Sheriff of Yrnameer?

Michael Rubens: I think the original idea for the book grew out of noticing that all the sports stadiums now have corporate names. Branded planets seemed like the logical conclusion to the trend. From that came the idea of there being one planet left that was free from advertising and branding, and then a flawed hero to protect that planet...

I originally wrote a very simplified version of the story as a television pilot, but I never sent it out--partially because I thought that a pilot that made fun of advertising might not be the easiest to sell, but mostly because I grew very fond of the characters and didn’t want to lose control of them.

Question: Your hero, Cole, travels from InVestCo 3, where advertisements take up every square inch of available space, to Yrnameer, where there is absolutely no branding. Why did you choose to present these planets as polar opposites in terms of advertising?

Michael Rubens: Yrnameer is the mirror opposite of the crass, materialistic consumerism that has overrun the rest of the galaxy. It's a hidden, magical utopia populated by an abundance of gentle artisans and musicians and poets. In fact, one might say a slight overabundance. Sometimes you need fewer pan-species shiatsu practitioners, and more greedy, selfish semi-criminals who are comfortable sticking a gun in someone's face...

Question: One of the funniest parts of the book is when Cole and the gang explore a zombie-infested corporate seminar satellite, Success!Sat 1. Have you been to one too many dull training meetings?

Michael Rubens: As an employee of a large corporation I wish to stress that the views expressed in the book are in no way reflective of my own opinions of corporate life, particularly meetings and training sessions, from which I’ve derived and continue to derive a great deal of enjoyment and wisdom and personal fulfillment, and did I mention wisdom and enjoyment? And personal fulfillment? Really. They’re fantastic. Please pay no attention to the morse-code-like blinking of my eyelids.

Question: Peppered through out the book are references to some Sci-Fi heavy weights: Star Wars, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Alien, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Have these always been favorites of yours? In what ways did they inspire The Sheriff of Yrnameer?

Michael Rubens: Those are indeed sci-fi heavyweights, and it's hard to write a humorous sci-fi book--one that's not a parody, but has elements of parody in it--without paying homage to those sources.

Question: What's next for you?

Michael Rubens: I'm currently working on a vaguely memoirish novel about the world's worst bar mitzvah.

(Photo © Rachel Been)

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

A down-and-out space faring rogue finds himself the protector of a bunch of peacenik artisans in this lighthearted, adventure-filled debut from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart writer Rubens. Space adventurer Cole is a liar and a thief and a cheat, and he owes a lot of money to Kenneth, an alien who wants to incubate eggs in the deadbeat's brain. Cole's escape from Kenneth lands him in the middle of a scheme to deliver a batch of freeze-dried orphans to the backwater planet of Yrnameer, which turns out to be under attack from Cole's archenemy, the outlaw Runk. Cole's ludicrous exploits keep the laughs coming as Rubens grandly ignores the niceties of world building and coherent plotting in favor of clever pop culture references and a rocket-fast, knee-slapping narrative. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Tantor Media; MP3 Unabridged CD edition (August 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400163250
• ISBN-13: 978-1400163250
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,211,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious, well-written book by a first-time novelist., August 10, 2009

By 

M. Butler (Ashtabula, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sheriff of Yrnameer: A Novel (Hardcover)

I had high hopes for this book, as a huge fan of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and other authors that have successfully combined humor and excellent writing. I've tried novels that have tried to inject humor into genre fiction in the past, and have usually been disappointed. It just doesn't work all that often, unfortunately.

My hopes were completely vindicated, in this case, which was a pleasant surprise. The plotting, character development, and twists and turns were all fantastic. The bits of humor were appropriately spaced and never over the top. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of humorous science fiction, or just sci fi in general. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Check it out, please. Any time a new novelist generates something of this quality, I'm shocked. As readers, we need to encourage this kind of talent. So please, please, try out this book.

You won't regret it.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique new voice, August 13, 2009

By 

Charles Graef "ospengler" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sheriff of Yrnameer: A Novel (Hardcover)

After seeing a great review from the Village Voice, and intrigued by the preview pages on Amazon, I ordered "The Sheriff of Yrnameer" and found myself devouring it. It's not just that the book is very, very funny, or that the story is very, very entertaining. Both are true. But there's something more, that I think the Voice review was pointing to: Rubens's humor isn't some mere dry hiccup of gags. Instead, there's a pent-up lightning in the humor, something spiny and half-mad forcing its way to the surface. The humor soars and dips. It's also economical, highly intelligent, and completely charming. People will probably make comparisons with Douglas Adams, but honestly, I find Rubens's worldview and the experience of being with his characters somehow more satisfying. Rubens is a unique new voice with a elegantly controlled first novel, but while it's fun discovering a new writer you turn out to really like, it's also a little frustrating not to be able to continue the experience with some next Rubens book -- particularly since other books may pale a little bit beside the vividly-technicolor Yrnameer universe.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely hilarious and filled with some great dark humor, September 5, 2009

By 

Shannon (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sheriff of Yrnameer: A Novel (Hardcover)

I have to say this book was a lot of fun. There were some parts that I actually had to pause and take a moment because I couldn't stop laughing. It was a nice quick read and from the first chapter I was hooked. Something that's really telling of a great book is if you're not reading and maybe off doing something else, you're daydreaming about the story and thinking, "I wonder how he's going to get out of that mess?" and "I need to get my work done and go read to find out what's going to happen to him!" This was definitely that kind of book.

One of the funniest parts to me was when Peter the 'Puter was introduced, an artificial intelligence that became sentient. Looking back and rereading the bits with him still make me giggle, especially this part:

Peter was the first to survive because he was the first to answer the Genesis query-"Do you like human beings?"-in the affirmative; and he was the first to answer in the affirmative because, well . . .

I really like colored pebbles, Peter was thinking at the moment. And string.

I don't know why that cracks me up every time, but it does.

As far as the story goes, things start off pretty silly and lighthearted and then slowly get darker as more and more things go wrong for the hero and his companions. Don't get me wrong though, the humor is still retained, it just becomes darker and a little less random.

Cole, as the protagonist, was easy for me to root for. He starts off having the quintessential bad day and things pretty much snowball from there on out. Somehow he manages to squeak by and avoid disaster. Well . . . to a point. His love life is pretty much in shambles, but I have a feeling in the next book, things might be a little easier for the hero.

I also think this book would make an awesome movie. It's got everything to make a great sci-fi film, it's pretty much non-stop action and tomfoolery.

Can't wait to read the next installment, and hopefully it comes soon!