Customer Reviews

The Sheriff of Yrnameer

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

I purchased this book after the Philadelphia Inquirer praised Rubens as a worthy successor to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. But Rubens had far to go before reaching those exalted heights. Characters are 2-dimensional, written to move the plot rather than the other way around. Which is why I was reminded more of the movie "The Fifth Element" than Hitchhiker's Guide or Discworld. It isn't a lame sci-fi book, I've read much worse. But Rubens has to start writing three-dimensional characters if I'm going to care about them enough to buy another "Sheriff" book.

I enjoyed the story, but the voice actor in the audiobook version really makes it. At first I wasn't sure, but after a few chapters I was hooked and laughing out loud.

Instead of giving you a plot summary - here's what I was reminded of when I read it:
Imagine Nathan Fillion's Firefly character as a morally lazy schemer traveling through the celluloid mythology of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Shaun of the Dead, Idiocracy, and the Fifth Element - all the while sparsed with the brilliance of your favorite corporate training program and your favorite reality tv show...resulting in the comedic irony, witty dialogue, and inescapable situations in The Sheriff of Yrnameer.

A very enjoyable read. Lots of humorous little asides and twists that I really enjoyed. They indicate that the author has a very twisted mind. As a listener to NPR, I especially liked the IPR (Intergalactic Public Radio) tote bags. Has anybody started making some yet? The story was fun, enjoyable and had few enough characters that I didn't get lost trying to keep track of them. Not to be a spoiler, but I like the ending that is brazenly open enough to provide for sequels. My first thought after finishing the book was "Will there be a 4-volume trilogy?" I'll read them.
As a fan of Douglas Adams, the license plate on my car reads "6X9IS42"

Yrnameer is the last of the "Your Name Heres"--planets that haven't gotten corporate sponsors yet. It's pretty rare, so rare it's become a myth. Mentioning Yrnameer is a sure way to earn a laugh because it's a well known probability that Yrnameer, if it exists, is in some remote location; even if you wanted to reach it, you couldn't.

Lucky for Cole--space pirate extraordinaire--he's just hijacked a spaceship on InvestCo3 with the coordinates for Yrnameer ready to program in and it's his next destination. Unfortunately, Cole has a few problems on his hands: Kenneth wants to lay his eggs in Cole's eye, his new crew wants to kill him, and bending space to reach Yrnameer won't be easy on a broken ship.

Michael Rubens has written a hilarious satire from a studied understanding of how society uses and depends on advertising. Out of those depths comes a clever, witty, and uplifting story of survival and romance; action and hope; violence and zombie-turned corporate seminars. It's a book where the impossible becomes possible; humans can love aliens, Kenneth can survive pretty much anything Cole can throw at him, and it may just be Cole--the least likely candidate--who rises to the occasion and saves the day.

The humor in The Sheriff of Yrnameer evokes something of Douglas Adams--a bit of the ridiculous juxtaposed against a plot that, despite its meandering (most likely because of it), is an enjoyable journey through the best and worst of humanity. Okay, maybe not that serious, but it is a lot of fun to read. There's so many tongue-in-cheek comments, you wonder if sometimes you didn't skip past a few to get to the next point of dialogue. For instance, there is a moment I almost missed where Cole sits in a room filled with "the faint radioactive glow coming from the commemorative chunk of Earth in its crystal cube, inscribed with the famous quote from the Administration. AT LEAST WE GOT THE TERRORISTS, it said" (p. 24). Just in case you were wondering what happened to Earth.

It seems almost no one is safe from Rubens' sharp wit and keen eye for exploitation. Artists suffer a small blow when a jail functions as an art installation, corporate employees turn into zombies, and if advertising were suddenly gone, we'd probably be just as stupefied and confused as Cole. While the humor is strong and the jokes are punctuated by their unassuming deliveries, the characters are also dynamic enough to be believable. If John Scalzi has taught me anything, it's that a book can be fun and contemplative--Michael Rubens has definitely developed a talent for this, too. I was even pleasantly surprised with how Rubens treated the romance between Cole and--well, I won't spoil that for you. Trust me, though, when I say that the unexpected is the norm and he doesn't play into predictable conventions. It's part of the charm of the novel. It's also one of the many, many benefits to reading this, alongside calorie loss induced from laughter and an increased rate of concentration from Rubens' gripping prose (really, I'm not lying--you won't want to put this book down).

One of my favorite characters was Joshua. Joshua undergoes an alarming transformation throughout the course of the novel--a funny example of what exposure to guns, violence, and a not-so-reliable mentor can do to a young, sheltered, impressionable boy. From the moment you meet Joshua to the point where you first realize hey, he's not so sweetly innocent anymore, is something of an eye-opener to Rubens' talent for comedic timing and character development. Nora was another favorite, mostly because she's a great foil for Cole and, like everyone else, has fun watching him make a fool of himself and has no problem pointing it out in the most embarrassing and sarcastic ways.

I'm incredibly lucky to have read this book. I feel bad for saying it, but until Suvudu's Holiday Extravaganza Sweepstakes (ok--until I won this book as one of the prize packs and it showed up on my doorstep), I'd never heard of Michael Rubens, much less his book, The Sheriff of Yrnameer. Clearly I'm not hanging around in the right circles. If it's obscure, it shouldn't be because really, a book with this many nods to "Star Wars," The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and 2001: A Space Odyssey--among others--deserves a spot on your shelf next to all of those.

The Sheriff of Yrnameer isn't for everyone. The humor alone eliminates readers with other, more narrow tastes (or is this humor the narrowly defined type?). You should also not expect a terrible amount of world-building. Rubens tosses his readers into the story in media res and you either swim along with the tide or get lost and drown. There's a lot the reader has to pick up and buy into. The novel hinges on your ability to believe in the ridiculous and believe in it quickly. I think this book deserves to be read by more people--it's a great gem as long as you don't expect to read something too serious. It came to me at a difficult time in my life recently. When our kitty was sick and cozied up to my lap for the last time to read with me, it was with this book. It should be noted she approved, albeit the page turns at times made her jump. I might have been a bit too enthusiastic to progress into the narrative, but it helped distract me and cheer me up intermittently in the days leading up to and those that followed her sudden death. The Sheriff of Yrnameer will always have a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf.

It's worth the read. Don't pass it up! Thanks Suvudu, and thank you, Michael Rubens (who, in addition to writing a fun book, sent me a kind private message on GoodReads mentioning how nice it was to know that Jawas read, too. Yes they do, Michael Rubens. Yes they do).

Story was interesting but some chapters were hard to follow as they seemed to be a slightly different story line and didn't flow as easily as the others did. The chapters that actually included Cole and Kenneth were better, than when the two main characters were missing. However, if it wasn't for my local NPR station interviewing the author, I never would have heard about the story, and this prompted me to purchase the book.

This is Michael Rubens' first novel, and it's reminiscent of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I'm looking forward to more from Rubens. I still can't decide who my favorite character is, but I think I've got it narrowed down to Peter the 'Puter or Kenneth, a bounty hunter with an odd sense of humor and eggs to lay. Definitely give this one a try if you enjoy humorous fiction.