Zombies of the Gene Pool [Mass Market Paperback]

Sharyn McCrumb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 23, 1993

In the 1950s, a group of young science fiction writers, dreaming of literary immortality and calling themselves the Lanthanides, buried a time capsule with their stories and relics from the time. Now, in the 1990s, when several of them have become famous, the surviving Lanthanides are getting together at a special convention to dig up the capsule and open it. But the convention is startled by the appearance of a writer who was supposed to have died thirty years ago. Then murder materializes to throw the agenda further into chaos. Now, Jay Omega, author of Bimbos of the Death Sun, and his significant other, Dr. Marion Farley, must separate science fact from fiction -- and unearth a killer with a story of his own to tell.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Continuing the delightful adventures begun in Bimbos of the Death Sun , engineering professor and famed science fiction author Jay Omega and his significant other, Marion Farley, a professor of SF, investigate the murder of another science fiction writer.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The world of science fiction fandom forms the background for this second outing featuring engineering professor/sf writer Jay Omega and his English professor ladyfriend Marion Farley. Invited by a colleague to an exclusive reunion of a once-famous clique of sf writers known as the Lanthanides, Jay and Marion uncover a bizarre mystery surrounding a 30-year-old time capsule and a twice-dead reunion crasher. The author of Bimbos of the Death Sun (TSR, 1987) pays affectionate tribute to the sf fannish phenomenon while unraveling a mystery whose roots lie in the halcyon days of science fiction. Highly recommended for both sf and mystery collections.
- Jackie Cassada, Asheville-Buncombe Lib. System, N.C.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (January 23, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345379144
• ISBN-13: 978-0345379146
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.6 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #966,814 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am an award-winning Southern writer. I am probably best known for my
Appalachian "Ballad" novels, set in the North Carolina/Tennessee mountains. These books include New York Times Best Sellers She Walks These Hills and The Rosewood Casket, which deal with the issue of the vanishing wilderness, and The Ballad of Frankie Silver, the story of the first woman hanged for murder in the state of North Carolina; The Songcatcher, a genealogy in music; and Ghost Riders, an account of the Civil War in the Appalachians.

My newest novel St. Dale, the Canterbury Tales set in NASCAR, was published by Kensington Books of New York in 2005, and is currently a nominee for the Library of Virginia Literary Award in Fiction and a finalist for its People's Choice Award.

Honors include: the 2003 Award for Literature given by the
East Tennessee Historical Society; AWA Outstanding Contribution to
Appalachian Literature Award; Chaffin Award for Achievement in Southern
Literature; Plattner Award for Short Story; and AWA's Best Appalachian
Novel.

I was the first writer-in-residence at King College in Tennessee. In 2001 I
served as fiction writer-in-residence at the WICE Conference in Paris, and
in 2005 I was honored as the writer of the year at the annual literary
celebration at Emory and Henry College. (And I was the first Southern writer to take along a NASCAR driver to that literary seminar. Thank you, Ward Burton!)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For SF/Fantasy FEN, this could be de ja vou..., April 16, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Bow, WA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zombies of the Gene Pool (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a recovering fan. This means I haven't been to a con or a SF club meeting in over 5 years, but I still crave them.

I personally have a hard time viewing this as 'satirical' mystery, because I have known ALL the people in the story. I have been part of a Fen-house, full of hopeful writers and Big Name Fan wanna be's. At one point I was active in 5 different fan groups. I editted the SF club newsletter. I helped plan a moderately sized local convention for 5 years. Of course, I was quite sophisticated and not nearly as silly as all the others I hung around with...

I love the Jay Omega books and I hope Ms McCrumb is forthcoming with more. I have to say that I also enjoyed Bimbos more, but this was a close 2nd.

A word of warning for other recovering fans, reading these two novels and Highland Laddie Gone (about Scottish Recreationists (closely akin to SCA-ers)) made me crave fannish activities intensely. Fortunately, my recovery support group was there for me. If you are still active in fandom, you will probably recognize most of your friends or at least their type.

A 'must read' for anyone with a sense of humor, though those not involved in sf/fantasy fandom may not 'get' all the satire.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A patronizing, but still somewhat insightful look at Science Fiction fans, May 18, 2006

By 

Elizabeth A. Root (Laurel, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zombies of the Gene Pool (A Jay Omega Mystery) (Hardcover)

This is a sequel to McCrumb's Bimbos of the Death Sun. The former was a dead-on, if somewhat patronizing view of the Fen, but this story combines the science fiction world with a wistful look at the destruction of Appalachian towns to build the dams that power so much of our modern world. I would have suggested doing one or the other - they are not meshed too well. Bimbos was a funny and witty look at science fiction fandom, in this book, too many sad and serious things are going on in this book to work with the same light-hearted style of parody.

The one flaw with Bimbos, and it is much worse in this book, is the extremely judgemental attitude of Marion Farley. Oh, it is fine to poke loving fun at eccentrics and employ stereotypes in this sort of satire. I simply get tired of Marion's huffing and puffing as if these people were somehow impinging on her rights, were personally offensive. She really ought to take her own advice and get a life. If she doesn't like them anymore, she shouldn't go to conventions. If McCrumb meant for us to take Marion as just another passenger on the ship of fools, or an amusing crank in her own way, it didn't come across to me. I thought she was to be taken very seriously as one of the few sane commentators on a crazy world. Jay is rather bemused himself, but he doesn't take the goings on so personally. Donna Andrews has much funnier takes on these sort of things in We'll Always Have Parrots (A Meg Langslow Mystery) and Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos (A Meg Langslow Mystery).

I do at least applaud McCrumb for letting us understand the costs of our electricity. I had always naively supposed that wilderness areas were used, not that families were torn from long established homes. One cannot help but wonder just how well they were rewarded for this involuntary sacrifice.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Quirky Characters, August 29, 2003

By 

A. Wolverton (Crofton, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zombies of the Gene Pool (Mass Market Paperback)

In the 1950's, a group of science fiction fans decided to drive to WorldCon to meet their writer idols (and basically to have a big blast). They didn't make it to WorldCon, but they did make it to Wall Hollow, Tennessee, where all the members each wrote a story and buried it in a time capsule.

30 years later, several of the members of the group have hit it big as SF writers. Their reunion at Wall Hollow becomes a huge media event, with publishers bidding on the rights to the stories buried in the time capsule. But just before the reunion starts, someone is murdered.

`Zombies of the Gene Pool' is an entertaining book which includes well-drawn, quirky characters straight out of the science fiction world. McCrumb's writing and characterization are right on target. The payoff, for me, wasn't as satisfying as the journey, which in itself was quite fun. Fans of science fiction will enjoy this humorous, sometimes bittersweet look at the world of science fiction authors.