Pyramid Scheme (Mass Market Paperback)

by Dave Freer (Author), Eric Flint (Author) "The new NESOT (Near Earth Space Object Tracking) satellite paid dividends less than three months after its launch..." (more)
Key Phrases: Anibal Cruz, Jerry Lukacs, Professor Tremelo (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In this SF-fantasy romp through classical myth, the authors of Rats, Bats, and Vats offer a charmingly picaresque journey that begins when an artifact of the alien Krim lands in the University of Chicago library and starts abducting people. Few of the artifact's victims return alive, and some do not return at all. Among those abducted into a Krim-twisted version of the ancient Mediterranean world are street-smart university custodian Lamont Jackson, biologist Elizabeth De Beer, paratrooper sergeant Anibal Cruz and, most crucially, mythological scholar Jerry Lukacs. Weedy and absent-minded, Lukacs is the only one who can advise the exiles on how to outwit Odysseus (who has the ethics of a junk-bond dealer) or win the good will of Medea (much maligned, but accompanied by two dragons who need a lot to eat). Assembling allies from different mythologies as they go along, the exiles must strive to undo the Krim's corruption of the Olympians before they can hope to effect a return to their own world. The novel is full of historical, mythological and folkloric erudition, as well as wit (usually laced with puns), coincidences, broadly painted characters and a vast profusion of the verbal equivalent of sight gags. Since the individual parts are sufficiently entertaining, the reader won't worry much about the whole's lack of integrity.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal
When a mysterious black pyramid from outer space crash-lands inside Chicago's Regenstein Library, a mythographer, a marine biologist, two soldiers, and the library's maintenance man are tagged by the U.S. to investigate the phenomenon only to find themselves in the company of Odysseus and his bewildered crew. The coauthors of Rats, Bats and Vats combine ancient history with alien encounters in a rollicking cross-genre adventure that belongs in most libraries.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Baen; Reprint edition (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743435923
• ISBN-13: 978-0743435925
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #628,876 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Major Galumphing Fun!!!, October 10, 2001

By	Geoffrey Kidd (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Pyramid Scheme (Hardcover)

Many years ago, L. Sprague deCamp and Fletcher Pratt created "The Incomplete Enchanter", the beginning of a series of wonderful romps in which modern humans got dropped into alternate worlds where myth and magic were real and the Norse Gods just happened to be heading into Ragnarok. After that first episode, things got REALLY weird. The stories have since gone on to become classics.

Now Flint and Freer have revived this tradition of riotous fun. Our unlikely band of heroes consists of a U. of Chicago Professor who specializes in ancient myths, a lady guest researcher from South Africa who happens to be A: stacked, B: very tough and C: has a purse which is a survival kit in itself,
and a couple of bewildered U.S. Army soldiers, all of whom have been drafted for a trip through both Greek and Egyptian mythologies. I'll save you from having to guess: EVERYTHING surrounding them is a death trap and the Gods themselves are looking for our band's collective butts.

How they deal with all of this, figure out whattheheck is really going on, cope with the REAL heroes behind the Iliad, etc, and try to get out with minimal damage, was a barrel of laughs. There are some events in the "outside world", as well, involving serious disrespect for Established Authority that were worth the reading even without our heroes' doings.

This one is in my permanent collection. You can't have it. Go get your own copy. :)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Laugh at the gods, August 2, 2003

By	WFK "alt historian" (Wolfsberg, Austria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pyramid Scheme (Hardcover)

As a boy I loved reading those ancient tales about Odysseus and his adventures. As a grown-up I realize that he did survive it all because he was the meanest SOB of them all. A fact he could conveniently forget to tell his biographer Homer because he was the only survivor. And the gods were even worse.

So when an alien probe arrives at the university of Chicago and snatches people to send them into the realm of Greek mythology most quickly reappear dead. Except for one group who manages to survive and boy, do they really have adventures to tell.

The experience of living in South Africa probably shaped the humor of Dave Freer in a way similar to that of Tom Sharpe: the world is crazy, people are crazy, so do not worry but go on living. And do not mind the gods, they are crazy too.

The book is an ongoing joke, funny and not to be taken seriously. People who know the Greek mythology will appreciate the lighter view at it. The excursion to Egypt and its gods was unnecessary and could have waited for the next book. I hope there will be another one because the world is so much better when you can laugh at the gods?

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, great look at myth, with some plot holes, December 21, 2001

By	booksforabuck "BooksForABuck.com" (Dallas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Pyramid Scheme (Hardcover)

A black pyramid descends from space onto the University of Chicago campus and starts to grow, swallowing people and spitting many, but not all, of them out as corpses. One group, including two soldiers, a policeman, two professors, and a repairman, is the exception. They don't die. Inside the pyramid, they find an entire universe derived from ancient myth. Wily Odysseus (from Homer's Odyssey) wants to enslave them, the Olympian Gods want them dead, and some pyramid-related force is trying to control all of their actions while simultaneously attempting to provoke a nuclear attack by the U.S. government.

Authors Dave Freer and Eric Flint offer a fast-paced and largely light-hearted romp through the underside of the Greek myths. Rather than the sugar-coated version, Freer and Flint go back to the unvarnished originals where Zeus perpetually punishes Prometheus for his gift of fire to man, and where wise Athena turned a woman into a spider for daring to think that her weaving could compete with that of a god. At the same time, they develop characters that are both likable and believable.

While PYRAMID SCHEME is a likable romp, several plot holes weaken the story by making it seem episodic rather than fully integrated. The Olympian conflict between the present-day humans and the Olympian Gods is clearly a critical element in the story, yet it is unclear exactly how this conflict resolves the problems for the protagonists, nor how it impacts the pyramid-masters. The Odyssey elements don't really advance the plot at all. Finally, the escape from the pyramid could have been achieved without all of the rest of the story (and by the way, whatever happened to Police Lieutenant Salinas?).

Flaws aside, PYRAMID SCHEME is an enjoyable read. Likable characters and an action-filled story line certainly compensate for any structural problems and make this novel worth the investment.