What do you think?
Rate this book
Ree Reyes #2.5
Attack the Geek
A side quest novella in the bestselling Geekomancy urban fantasy series—when D&D style adventures go from the tabletop to real life, look out!
Ree Reyes, urban fantasy heroine of Geekomancy, is working her regular barista/drink-slinger shift at Grognard's when it all goes wrong. Everything.
As with Geekomancy (pop culture magic!) and its sequel Celebromancy (celebrity magic!), Attack of the Geek is perfect for anyone who wants to visit a world “where all the books and shows and movies and games [that you] love are a source of power, not only in psychological terms, but in practical, villain-pounding ones” (Marie Brennan, award-winning author of the Onyx Court Series).
Ree Reyes, urban fantasy heroine of Geekomancy, is working her regular barista/drink-slinger shift at Grognard's when it all goes wrong. Everything.
As with Geekomancy (pop culture magic!) and its sequel Celebromancy (celebrity magic!), Attack of the Geek is perfect for anyone who wants to visit a world “where all the books and shows and movies and games [that you] love are a source of power, not only in psychological terms, but in practical, villain-pounding ones” (Marie Brennan, award-winning author of the Onyx Court Series).
194 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2014
6 people are currently reading
267 people want to read
About the author
Michael R. Underwood
36 books263 followersSupport Mike's writing at https://www.patreon.com/michaelrunder...
Mike's books include:
Genrenauts - a r/Fantasy Stabby Award-finalist science fiction adventure series in novellas. A group of storytellers travel between dimensions to the worlds where genres live to fix broken stories. Starts with The Shootout Solution. Collections available: Genrenauts - The Complete Season One
The Ree Reyes urban fantasy series (Geekomancy, Celebromancy, Attack the Geek, Hexomancy) about magicians who channel the power of popular culture. Starts with Geekomancy.
Born to the Blade, a political action fantasy about duelist diplomats vying for their nation's interests in a world on the brink of war. Co-written with Marie Brennan, Malka Older, and Cassandra Khaw for Serial Box Publishing. Collections available: Born to the Blade Season One.
Shield and Crocus, a superheroes-meets-epic fantasy novel where an aging revolutionary makes a deal with his most deadly foe to turn the tide of a fifty-year-long fight to free his city.
The Younger Gods, a supernatural thriller starring the white-sheep member of a family of demon-worshippers as he tries to stop his big sister from ending the world.
Mike started telling stories when he learned to talk and hasn't seen a reason to stop yet. He grew up playing video games, CCGs, RPGs, and many other delightful games with acronyms. As a teenager, the friendly local game store was his home away from home, and the site of his apprenticeship in geekdom.
Mike earned a B.A. in Creative Mythology and in East Asian Studies from Indiana University, and a M.A. in Folklore Studies from the University of Oregon. Basically, destined to be a novelist. He is also a graduate of the 2007 Clarion West Writers Workshop.
Properly equipped with lots of ways to develop story ideas, Mike has been a barista, a bear builder, a sales representative, and the North American Sales & Marketing Manager for Angry Robot Books.
Mike lives with his wife and their dog in Baltimore, MD.
Mike's books include:
Genrenauts - a r/Fantasy Stabby Award-finalist science fiction adventure series in novellas. A group of storytellers travel between dimensions to the worlds where genres live to fix broken stories. Starts with The Shootout Solution. Collections available: Genrenauts - The Complete Season One
The Ree Reyes urban fantasy series (Geekomancy, Celebromancy, Attack the Geek, Hexomancy) about magicians who channel the power of popular culture. Starts with Geekomancy.
Born to the Blade, a political action fantasy about duelist diplomats vying for their nation's interests in a world on the brink of war. Co-written with Marie Brennan, Malka Older, and Cassandra Khaw for Serial Box Publishing. Collections available: Born to the Blade Season One.
Shield and Crocus, a superheroes-meets-epic fantasy novel where an aging revolutionary makes a deal with his most deadly foe to turn the tide of a fifty-year-long fight to free his city.
The Younger Gods, a supernatural thriller starring the white-sheep member of a family of demon-worshippers as he tries to stop his big sister from ending the world.
Mike started telling stories when he learned to talk and hasn't seen a reason to stop yet. He grew up playing video games, CCGs, RPGs, and many other delightful games with acronyms. As a teenager, the friendly local game store was his home away from home, and the site of his apprenticeship in geekdom.
Mike earned a B.A. in Creative Mythology and in East Asian Studies from Indiana University, and a M.A. in Folklore Studies from the University of Oregon. Basically, destined to be a novelist. He is also a graduate of the 2007 Clarion West Writers Workshop.
Properly equipped with lots of ways to develop story ideas, Mike has been a barista, a bear builder, a sales representative, and the North American Sales & Marketing Manager for Angry Robot Books.
Mike lives with his wife and their dog in Baltimore, MD.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
Read
March 11, 2014I got this from Netgalley and could not finish it.
The Short Version: It was too concerned with being a GEEK book and not concerned enough with being a geek BOOK. Too many geek references, not enough plot, the end.
The Much Longer Version: Back when I was a never-getting-laid fifteen year old, I would have thought this book was the shit and probably the toilet paper, too. The very things that make me unpopular make me powerful enough to smite my enemies? It's a geek boy's wet dream. Throw in a bisexual hot gamer girl as the lead and it's time to start fapping.
However, as an occasionally-getting-laid thirty-six year old, the book annoyed the living crap out of me. I've seen the book described as Harry Dresden meets Ready Player One. That's true if it combines the worst aspects of both works, I guess.
The reason the pop culture references in Ready Player One worked for me and these didn't was that the references in RPO had already stood the test of time, for the most part. The ones this book are going to seem dated in 5-10 years. They were also critical to RPO's plot. All the geek stuff in this seemed like it was being mentioned in case I'd forgotten I was reading a geek book in the two sentences since the last geek reference.
At the 25% mark, I still had no inkling of what the plot was going to be and I was beyond annoyed with the barrage of geek references. Copious pop culture references are fine but there needs to be something resembling a plot too. As near as I can tell, the plot is spout as many geek references as possible. Also, there are gnomes involved in some way.
I caught most of the geek references but to the uninitiated, this book will resembled the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Darmok, where Picard meets that alien that can only speak in quotes from a story.
Maybe if I was more of a hard core geek, I would have appreciated this more but I get the feeling it's meant for a 20-something gamer. That's all I've got to say about that.
The Short Version: It was too concerned with being a GEEK book and not concerned enough with being a geek BOOK. Too many geek references, not enough plot, the end.
The Much Longer Version: Back when I was a never-getting-laid fifteen year old, I would have thought this book was the shit and probably the toilet paper, too. The very things that make me unpopular make me powerful enough to smite my enemies? It's a geek boy's wet dream. Throw in a bisexual hot gamer girl as the lead and it's time to start fapping.
However, as an occasionally-getting-laid thirty-six year old, the book annoyed the living crap out of me. I've seen the book described as Harry Dresden meets Ready Player One. That's true if it combines the worst aspects of both works, I guess.
The reason the pop culture references in Ready Player One worked for me and these didn't was that the references in RPO had already stood the test of time, for the most part. The ones this book are going to seem dated in 5-10 years. They were also critical to RPO's plot. All the geek stuff in this seemed like it was being mentioned in case I'd forgotten I was reading a geek book in the two sentences since the last geek reference.
At the 25% mark, I still had no inkling of what the plot was going to be and I was beyond annoyed with the barrage of geek references. Copious pop culture references are fine but there needs to be something resembling a plot too. As near as I can tell, the plot is spout as many geek references as possible. Also, there are gnomes involved in some way.
I caught most of the geek references but to the uninitiated, this book will resembled the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Darmok, where Picard meets that alien that can only speak in quotes from a story.
Maybe if I was more of a hard core geek, I would have appreciated this more but I get the feeling it's meant for a 20-something gamer. That's all I've got to say about that.
December 16, 2015
A note to readers: This is a shorter work, about 1/2 the size of a normal Ree Reyes novel. It should be accessible to readers of either GEEKOMANCY or CELEBROMANCY, so if you've read either of the previous works, then dive on in to ATTACK THE GEEK!
ATTACK THE GEEK leads directly into the third novel, HEXOMANCY.
ATTACK THE GEEK leads directly into the third novel, HEXOMANCY.
March 27, 2014
**Thank you to Pocket Books and Netgalley for providing this copy in exchange for an honest review**
This was my first encounter with the Ree Reyes series. I missed that this was a later in series when I requested it. I was completely lost for the first few pages and thought I'd have to put this aside until I read at least the first book. Thankfully, I stuck it out. I came to the title for chapter one and found out I was supposed to be unsure of what was going on. The author does a little recap of who all the major characters are and gives you a little back story of what's happened in the series so far. You don't need to be submerged in the Geek culture to understand this book. I just barely skim the top of the Geek world. I knew all the TV, movie, comic, and book references they made. I will admit most of the game references were Greek to me. I have a (very) basic understanding of the card games and D&D. I knew only a couple of the computer and video games references. Even with a some of the jokes going over my head, I really enjoyed this story. It has a really unique twist on the UF genre.
The action starts on the first page and continues right to the end. I like what I saw of the secondary characters. I absolutely loved Ree. She's smart, strong, and hysterical. I really liked the magical system. It's nothing like anything I've seen before. There is a situation between Ree and Eastwood that I'm pretty sure will be a big spoiler for one of the previous books. It seems like the type of the that was probably the main story. I now plan to buy the other two books in this series.
This was my first encounter with the Ree Reyes series. I missed that this was a later in series when I requested it. I was completely lost for the first few pages and thought I'd have to put this aside until I read at least the first book. Thankfully, I stuck it out. I came to the title for chapter one and found out I was supposed to be unsure of what was going on. The author does a little recap of who all the major characters are and gives you a little back story of what's happened in the series so far. You don't need to be submerged in the Geek culture to understand this book. I just barely skim the top of the Geek world. I knew all the TV, movie, comic, and book references they made. I will admit most of the game references were Greek to me. I have a (very) basic understanding of the card games and D&D. I knew only a couple of the computer and video games references. Even with a some of the jokes going over my head, I really enjoyed this story. It has a really unique twist on the UF genre.
The action starts on the first page and continues right to the end. I like what I saw of the secondary characters. I absolutely loved Ree. She's smart, strong, and hysterical. I really liked the magical system. It's nothing like anything I've seen before. There is a situation between Ree and Eastwood that I'm pretty sure will be a big spoiler for one of the previous books. It seems like the type of the that was probably the main story. I now plan to buy the other two books in this series.
March 21, 2014
If you read and liked Geekomancy, the first book in the Ree Reyes urban fantasy series, then be assured you will enjoy this novella length "side-quest," which is, for the most part, self contained. It actually could easily serve as an entry point into the series for someone not inclined to read a full novel, but you would miss the "origin" story of our pop-culture powered super heroine.
The set-up for this adventure, which feels an awful lot like a D&D module, puts our heroes in a pub right before it is attacked by a number of nasty minions under the direction of a mysterious, and most definitely evil, adversary. This leads to a series of skirmishes, battles, and other trials for our adventuring party -- which consists of Ree, her former mentor Eastwood, master-brewer/bar-owner/old-timer Grognard, the swashbuckling inter-dimensional inventor Drake, and a few other various geeky types.
My only criticism is that at points, the geeky banter and references get to be a bit overmuch -- and this is coming from someone that got 85% of them. While it didn't hinder my ability to read this novella, it would be a welcome change in future Ree Reyes adventures, which I look forward to reading -- and make no mistake, the end of this sets up further adventures for our heroes.
Full disclosure: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
The set-up for this adventure, which feels an awful lot like a D&D module, puts our heroes in a pub right before it is attacked by a number of nasty minions under the direction of a mysterious, and most definitely evil, adversary. This leads to a series of skirmishes, battles, and other trials for our adventuring party -- which consists of Ree, her former mentor Eastwood, master-brewer/bar-owner/old-timer Grognard, the swashbuckling inter-dimensional inventor Drake, and a few other various geeky types.
My only criticism is that at points, the geeky banter and references get to be a bit overmuch -- and this is coming from someone that got 85% of them. While it didn't hinder my ability to read this novella, it would be a welcome change in future Ree Reyes adventures, which I look forward to reading -- and make no mistake, the end of this sets up further adventures for our heroes.
Full disclosure: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
April 7, 2014
Want A wild ride on the geek side ? Here it is, comics, card games, movies, steampunk and all their powers and weapons. I was a happy giggling fangirl at all the pop culture references. A fun spirited magical read.
This was my first look at the series I did not realize it was not the first book. I was a bit lost in the beginning and nearly quit but a light saber pulled me back and I started ti really enjoy the ride. What to do when the bar you are attacked at work,Grognard's Grog and Games by sewer gnomes ? Pull out all the magic you can get from anywhere you can and run.
I plan on getting the first books in this fun series to find out what I missed.
This was my first look at the series I did not realize it was not the first book. I was a bit lost in the beginning and nearly quit but a light saber pulled me back and I started ti really enjoy the ride. What to do when the bar you are attacked at work,Grognard's Grog and Games by sewer gnomes ? Pull out all the magic you can get from anywhere you can and run.
I plan on getting the first books in this fun series to find out what I missed.
April 6, 2014
*Genre* Urban Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5
**I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**
*Thoughts*
Attack the Geek is a Ree Reyes side project that Michael Underwood is releasing in lieu of a third book. At 194 pages, I personally think that Underwood perhaps could have written a bit more and made it a full length novel instead, but who am I to complain about more Ree and gang? I surely hope we do get a THIRD book soon because there is more than enough stories to go around.
Our main character is Ree Reyes a screen writer, gamer girl, barista, and Geekomancer newbie having only come into her powers over the past NINE months. I will say that I DO, actually suggest that you read the first two books in this series, Geekomancy and Celebromancy in order to understand what this world is all about.
You see, Ree's world is an Urban Fantasy world filled with individuals who can use various "Pop Culture" references, including movies, books, and games, to get their powers to vanquish the evil villains. Ree herself has a lightsabber, a phaser, and swords that she uses to get the upper hands on her enemies, but she also uses movies, especially Spider Man, Buffy, and the Die Hard franchise to get her mojo on.
The story MOSTLY takes place within the confines of Grognard's Grog and Games and Pearson's sewers where Ree works slinging drinks and food for the customers and her boss Grognard, a Geekomancer old timer who also brews his own drinks and spells. Most of the main characters like Eastwood, Ree's former mentor, and British steampunk inventor Drake Winters make appearances as they try to stay alive against an evil Hexomancer intent on killing Eastwood and anyone else who tries to protect him.
Attack the Geek is action packed, and you will need to put aside any misconceptions in order to enjoy this story. The world is a bit off kilter and if you are not into games, or movies, or adventures, or the ability to gain super powers from the before mentioned, then you probably will not enjoy this as much as others.
I like this series because of Ree, and Drake. I like Ree's snark, while smiling at Drake trying to fit into a world that he wasn't born into. I pity Ree because she just doesn't get any breaks when it comes to her love life, and hope that one day soon, Underwood gives her someone she can relate, love, and feel happy with. I also hope that Underwood does find a way to tie up an extremely important loose end that has been lingering below the surface since Geekomancy was released.
*Recvd 02/28/2014 via NetGalley/Pocket Star* Expected publication: April 7th 2014 by Pocket Star
*Rating* 3.5
**I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**
*Thoughts*
Attack the Geek is a Ree Reyes side project that Michael Underwood is releasing in lieu of a third book. At 194 pages, I personally think that Underwood perhaps could have written a bit more and made it a full length novel instead, but who am I to complain about more Ree and gang? I surely hope we do get a THIRD book soon because there is more than enough stories to go around.
Our main character is Ree Reyes a screen writer, gamer girl, barista, and Geekomancer newbie having only come into her powers over the past NINE months. I will say that I DO, actually suggest that you read the first two books in this series, Geekomancy and Celebromancy in order to understand what this world is all about.
You see, Ree's world is an Urban Fantasy world filled with individuals who can use various "Pop Culture" references, including movies, books, and games, to get their powers to vanquish the evil villains. Ree herself has a lightsabber, a phaser, and swords that she uses to get the upper hands on her enemies, but she also uses movies, especially Spider Man, Buffy, and the Die Hard franchise to get her mojo on.
The story MOSTLY takes place within the confines of Grognard's Grog and Games and Pearson's sewers where Ree works slinging drinks and food for the customers and her boss Grognard, a Geekomancer old timer who also brews his own drinks and spells. Most of the main characters like Eastwood, Ree's former mentor, and British steampunk inventor Drake Winters make appearances as they try to stay alive against an evil Hexomancer intent on killing Eastwood and anyone else who tries to protect him.
Attack the Geek is action packed, and you will need to put aside any misconceptions in order to enjoy this story. The world is a bit off kilter and if you are not into games, or movies, or adventures, or the ability to gain super powers from the before mentioned, then you probably will not enjoy this as much as others.
I like this series because of Ree, and Drake. I like Ree's snark, while smiling at Drake trying to fit into a world that he wasn't born into. I pity Ree because she just doesn't get any breaks when it comes to her love life, and hope that one day soon, Underwood gives her someone she can relate, love, and feel happy with. I also hope that Underwood does find a way to tie up an extremely important loose end that has been lingering below the surface since Geekomancy was released.
*Recvd 02/28/2014 via NetGalley/Pocket Star* Expected publication: April 7th 2014 by Pocket Star
May 28, 2015
★ ★ ★ 1/2
It's a typical Saturday night at Grognard's Grog and Games -- "V: TES tournament, half-priced Jaeger, and Grognard getting morose." Ree's got her hands full serving the crowd, which happens to include our friends Eastwood and Drake. This is pretty handy because while things are still going strong, the bar falls under a pretty serious attack. They're able to hold it off for a bit, but before long, it becomes a night-long siege. It was only missing a few Uruk-Hai (or a reference to them) to be a veritable Helm's Deep. There's a bit more than just the siege, but I've gotta leave a little to you to find out for yourself.
On the one hand this is pretty much just one long-knockdown fight. But there's more going on -- and not just because it's really a series of fights with strategic retreats to regroup, refresh, heal and strategize. But there's more than that -- Ree seems a lot more certain in her abilities, confident and capable (although she should really have learned to carry spare batteries for her phone by now). There is a little character development, a little push toward the next novel, but mostly this is action. Which does make the small character moments shine a bit brighter -- you expect them in a full-fledged novel, and while Underwood usually does these moments right, here they stand out more. Most importantly, the voice is there -- Underwood's eye for action, Ree's snark, and the 17 pop culture references per inch of text are fully present.
Because the action is limited to the events of one night, a lot of the things that would be minuses for me, actually work. For example, Ree hits the same note of lament over her romantic situation too often for a book that takes place over a couple of weeks -- but over a night? Yeah, we've all been there. A couple of Grognard's patrons don't act in ways that would work/wouldn't be suspicious over the long hall -- but in the midst of a battle? Sure, absolutely.
Unlike a lot of .5 works, I don't know if this one can be skipped in your voyage from Ree Reyes #2 to Ree Reyes #3. Even if it turns out that you can (won't know until #3 releases -- which I won't wait to read), you shouldn't. Grab something to drink and/or snack on and watch Ree and the gang open up a few cans of whoop-ass.
It's a typical Saturday night at Grognard's Grog and Games -- "V: TES tournament, half-priced Jaeger, and Grognard getting morose." Ree's got her hands full serving the crowd, which happens to include our friends Eastwood and Drake. This is pretty handy because while things are still going strong, the bar falls under a pretty serious attack. They're able to hold it off for a bit, but before long, it becomes a night-long siege. It was only missing a few Uruk-Hai (or a reference to them) to be a veritable Helm's Deep. There's a bit more than just the siege, but I've gotta leave a little to you to find out for yourself.
On the one hand this is pretty much just one long-knockdown fight. But there's more going on -- and not just because it's really a series of fights with strategic retreats to regroup, refresh, heal and strategize. But there's more than that -- Ree seems a lot more certain in her abilities, confident and capable (although she should really have learned to carry spare batteries for her phone by now). There is a little character development, a little push toward the next novel, but mostly this is action. Which does make the small character moments shine a bit brighter -- you expect them in a full-fledged novel, and while Underwood usually does these moments right, here they stand out more. Most importantly, the voice is there -- Underwood's eye for action, Ree's snark, and the 17 pop culture references per inch of text are fully present.
Because the action is limited to the events of one night, a lot of the things that would be minuses for me, actually work. For example, Ree hits the same note of lament over her romantic situation too often for a book that takes place over a couple of weeks -- but over a night? Yeah, we've all been there. A couple of Grognard's patrons don't act in ways that would work/wouldn't be suspicious over the long hall -- but in the midst of a battle? Sure, absolutely.
Unlike a lot of .5 works, I don't know if this one can be skipped in your voyage from Ree Reyes #2 to Ree Reyes #3. Even if it turns out that you can (won't know until #3 releases -- which I won't wait to read), you shouldn't. Grab something to drink and/or snack on and watch Ree and the gang open up a few cans of whoop-ass.
April 7, 2014
I have been out geeked. That’s right I thought it was impossible but it has happened. I have an immense well of pop culture, gaming and fandom knowledge but even I had a semi difficult time keeping up with all of the references throughout the story. This is not geek lite, it is a gauntlet of continual fight sequences with movie, magna, magic, gaming, comic book and fantasy references all over the place. That isn’t a bad thing I liked many of them it is just pepper very heavily throughout the entire story.
The concept of the story is that games, movies, books and shows or anything with a fandom of sorts can give you bursts of magical power. I love the concept but perhaps my geek knowledge base wasn’t as diverse as I thought it was because some of the references were totally lost on me. If you are not familiar of D&D, magik, MMORPG, Buffy, Die Hard, Spiderman and Fantastic Four then you will probably encounter this issue as well. But the gist of the story is there. This has a ton of action, basically the entire novella is ripe with it. If that is your cup of tea then this is right up your alley.
Ree is working at the gaming bar/nerd heaven when they are attacked by an onslaught of creatures. Ree along with a group of other geekomancers must work together to defeat them all, save the bar and find the source to stop it. Between the bar and the labyrinth they must travel through there are a lot of great ideas and images. But a little too much action not enough story for this girl.
Unlike Fred Savage, I wanted this to be a kissing book. Not entirely but at least a little bit. There is a hint of attraction between Ree and Drake but since Drake is dating her friend nothing seems to be coming from that other than a little pining. I don’t need a romance in my fantasy but I like a hint of it non-the-less.
If you are not sure whether to jump into this series I think this novella will give you a clear idea, on the world and the magic system involved, to see if you would like the other books in the series. This is for people who like a lot of action in their books and anything geeky.
Provided by Pocket Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
The concept of the story is that games, movies, books and shows or anything with a fandom of sorts can give you bursts of magical power. I love the concept but perhaps my geek knowledge base wasn’t as diverse as I thought it was because some of the references were totally lost on me. If you are not familiar of D&D, magik, MMORPG, Buffy, Die Hard, Spiderman and Fantastic Four then you will probably encounter this issue as well. But the gist of the story is there. This has a ton of action, basically the entire novella is ripe with it. If that is your cup of tea then this is right up your alley.
Ree is working at the gaming bar/nerd heaven when they are attacked by an onslaught of creatures. Ree along with a group of other geekomancers must work together to defeat them all, save the bar and find the source to stop it. Between the bar and the labyrinth they must travel through there are a lot of great ideas and images. But a little too much action not enough story for this girl.
Unlike Fred Savage, I wanted this to be a kissing book. Not entirely but at least a little bit. There is a hint of attraction between Ree and Drake but since Drake is dating her friend nothing seems to be coming from that other than a little pining. I don’t need a romance in my fantasy but I like a hint of it non-the-less.
If you are not sure whether to jump into this series I think this novella will give you a clear idea, on the world and the magic system involved, to see if you would like the other books in the series. This is for people who like a lot of action in their books and anything geeky.
Provided by Pocket Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
March 11, 2014
I received an early reviewer ebook through the publisher via NetGalley.
This novelette takes place in the same world as Underwood's previous novels, Geekomancy and Celebromancy. He offers a cool, fresh take on urban fantasy where fandom means power. Geekomancers pull magic from pop culture--watch an episode of BBC's Sherlock, and for a brief time, you see as Sherlock. Others can tear a Magic: the Gathering Card and absorb that skill. Ree Reyes is still new at this geekomancer gig but she's survived many unsurvivable scrapes so far.
The pacing on this is both delightful and exhausting. The whole thing is really one big battle sequence. There's a lot of humor mixed in, and many, many references to culture, but for the most part it's a marathon of near-death experiences. This means it's a fast read. Ree uses her skills and know-how to scrape through, but it's not about developing her character arc. I did miss that. That said, it's still a fun book and a total geek-out thriller.
This novelette takes place in the same world as Underwood's previous novels, Geekomancy and Celebromancy. He offers a cool, fresh take on urban fantasy where fandom means power. Geekomancers pull magic from pop culture--watch an episode of BBC's Sherlock, and for a brief time, you see as Sherlock. Others can tear a Magic: the Gathering Card and absorb that skill. Ree Reyes is still new at this geekomancer gig but she's survived many unsurvivable scrapes so far.
The pacing on this is both delightful and exhausting. The whole thing is really one big battle sequence. There's a lot of humor mixed in, and many, many references to culture, but for the most part it's a marathon of near-death experiences. This means it's a fast read. Ree uses her skills and know-how to scrape through, but it's not about developing her character arc. I did miss that. That said, it's still a fun book and a total geek-out thriller.
June 4, 2014
Even without having read the two preceding novels in this series, Geekomancy and Celebromancy, I was eager to check out this novella by Michael R. Underwood, because playing with pop culture within an urhan fantasy universe sounded like it was right up my alley.
Before reading it, I wondered how much I'd be left in the dark about, having not read those first two books. Well, the story is pretty straight-forward, even promoted as a "side quest" in the series, but even with that sentiment there is plenty of winks and nods that established fans of the series are going to appreciate a lot more than newcomers.
Ree Reyes is grinding it out as a barista, nothing out of the norm, until a ceaseless wave of trolls and anthropomorphic objects attack the coffee shop. Along with her friends, and even her boss, she has to use her magical abilities, which include being able to summon the qualities of certain TV & movie stars, but also wield fantastical items from genre books and such. Great if you can find a way to Rambo with a light saber. Not so much if you can only go Mr. Darcy with a bowl of figgy pudding.
I dare you to tick off all the winks and nods to nerdy idoltry. You could make a game out of it. As for Underwood's own characters, they're fun and easy to root for, particularly Ree, and there is thankfully not too much dependent on reading the previous books. The story is fairly self-contained as far as action goes, but the motivations of certain characters will be better appreciated with a familiarity with the series. But with so much action taking place in this relatively short excursion, there's more sizzle than steak when it comes to character development.
Attack the Geek is like the secret bonus level on a video-game, or maybe some DLC to entice you into the rest of the franchise. If that's the case, then mission accomplished.
Before reading it, I wondered how much I'd be left in the dark about, having not read those first two books. Well, the story is pretty straight-forward, even promoted as a "side quest" in the series, but even with that sentiment there is plenty of winks and nods that established fans of the series are going to appreciate a lot more than newcomers.
Ree Reyes is grinding it out as a barista, nothing out of the norm, until a ceaseless wave of trolls and anthropomorphic objects attack the coffee shop. Along with her friends, and even her boss, she has to use her magical abilities, which include being able to summon the qualities of certain TV & movie stars, but also wield fantastical items from genre books and such. Great if you can find a way to Rambo with a light saber. Not so much if you can only go Mr. Darcy with a bowl of figgy pudding.
I dare you to tick off all the winks and nods to nerdy idoltry. You could make a game out of it. As for Underwood's own characters, they're fun and easy to root for, particularly Ree, and there is thankfully not too much dependent on reading the previous books. The story is fairly self-contained as far as action goes, but the motivations of certain characters will be better appreciated with a familiarity with the series. But with so much action taking place in this relatively short excursion, there's more sizzle than steak when it comes to character development.
Attack the Geek is like the secret bonus level on a video-game, or maybe some DLC to entice you into the rest of the franchise. If that's the case, then mission accomplished.
April 11, 2014
3.5/5
Mon avis en Français
My English review
I must admit that I enjoyed the first volume as we had such a highly original world, but I was a little disappointed by the second novel. So when the author proposed a novella, I was immediately curious to see how it was going to be. And I must say that this novella was finally a nice surprise.
I was quite impressed by the pace of the story as everything happens really fast. There is no downtime and it is true that there is always something going on for Ree. Indeed, our heroine finds herself working when an attack occurs, and while they think they can get by, it seems that everything is much more complicated than expected. Whenever a threat is resolved, a new one appears even more terrible than the previous and the young woman and her friends will soon have to find solutions.
I admit that I was curious to see how our characters would get out of this event, because I have to say that they have plenty to do. Fortunately for them, they still have artifacts on hand, as well as movies or comics to help them to defeat their enemies. But they also learn that this attack has a fairly specific purpose which I think ultimately will be reflected in the next novels. So a new idea appears here and I’m curious to see what will happen. Of course we also have questions about the relationship between Drake and Ree as it is quite complicated, especially for Ree … To be continued in the next episode.
Mon avis en Français
My English review
I must admit that I enjoyed the first volume as we had such a highly original world, but I was a little disappointed by the second novel. So when the author proposed a novella, I was immediately curious to see how it was going to be. And I must say that this novella was finally a nice surprise.
I was quite impressed by the pace of the story as everything happens really fast. There is no downtime and it is true that there is always something going on for Ree. Indeed, our heroine finds herself working when an attack occurs, and while they think they can get by, it seems that everything is much more complicated than expected. Whenever a threat is resolved, a new one appears even more terrible than the previous and the young woman and her friends will soon have to find solutions.
I admit that I was curious to see how our characters would get out of this event, because I have to say that they have plenty to do. Fortunately for them, they still have artifacts on hand, as well as movies or comics to help them to defeat their enemies. But they also learn that this attack has a fairly specific purpose which I think ultimately will be reflected in the next novels. So a new idea appears here and I’m curious to see what will happen. Of course we also have questions about the relationship between Drake and Ree as it is quite complicated, especially for Ree … To be continued in the next episode.
May 1, 2015
'Attack the Geek' by Michael R. Underwood is numbered 2.5 in the series. It's a fun series with lots of references to geek culture.
Ree Reyes is working her shift at Grognard's, a bar where geeks hang out to drink and play boardgames. The usual crowd is in the place and it seems to be a normal night until something starts pounding on the door. When the Grognard crowd looks into the hallway, they find themselves under attack by all manner of magical beings. For those unfamiliar with the series, these geeks gather magical powers from different geek artifacts, like replica weapons, or ccg cards, or movie clips. Before long, they are ripping up magic cards, shooting phasers, and climbing and quipping like Spider-Man. The bad guys have more tricks up their sleeves though and the battle rages on for most of the almost 200 pages of the book.
I wasn't familiar with this series, and that might be recommended, but I wasn't lost. Ree is a pretty likeable character, and I liked her power of channeling movie characters. I like that there are different types of geek magic for different types of geeks. I liked the bar owner, Grognard, and grouchy Eastwood, and wanted more of them, but maybe they feature more in the regular series. It's a quick read, and I thought it was fun.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Gallery, Threshold Pocket Books, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
Ree Reyes is working her shift at Grognard's, a bar where geeks hang out to drink and play boardgames. The usual crowd is in the place and it seems to be a normal night until something starts pounding on the door. When the Grognard crowd looks into the hallway, they find themselves under attack by all manner of magical beings. For those unfamiliar with the series, these geeks gather magical powers from different geek artifacts, like replica weapons, or ccg cards, or movie clips. Before long, they are ripping up magic cards, shooting phasers, and climbing and quipping like Spider-Man. The bad guys have more tricks up their sleeves though and the battle rages on for most of the almost 200 pages of the book.
I wasn't familiar with this series, and that might be recommended, but I wasn't lost. Ree is a pretty likeable character, and I liked her power of channeling movie characters. I like that there are different types of geek magic for different types of geeks. I liked the bar owner, Grognard, and grouchy Eastwood, and wanted more of them, but maybe they feature more in the regular series. It's a quick read, and I thought it was fun.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Gallery, Threshold Pocket Books, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
May 14, 2014
Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy
ATTACK THE GEEK is a delightfully quick and geeky adventure in the life of our favorite geekomancer, Ree Reyes. Like the full length books in the Ree Reyes series, ATTACK THE GEEK oozes geekiness into giant puddles of geek. Whatever genre you can think of this book makes references to it. Ree and her friends use science fiction and fantasy pop culture to gain certain powers in order to combat monsters of various kinds.
While I enjoyed the references I got overwhelmed by so many geeky references happening so close together. They also require a lot of time to get their powers from absorbing media through watching a movie clip or absorbing something by touch which isn’t realistically practical when in combat. Nitpicking over the time it takes to prepare for combat I really enjoyed the quick action and expanding of this world. worldbuilding of this novella. ATTACK THE GEEK is an exciting escape into a world where all of the geeky things you love can give you amazing powers to defend the world.
ATTACK THE GEEK far too short which only intensifies my anticipation for the next full length novel in the Ree Reyes series.
ATTACK THE GEEK is a delightfully quick and geeky adventure in the life of our favorite geekomancer, Ree Reyes. Like the full length books in the Ree Reyes series, ATTACK THE GEEK oozes geekiness into giant puddles of geek. Whatever genre you can think of this book makes references to it. Ree and her friends use science fiction and fantasy pop culture to gain certain powers in order to combat monsters of various kinds.
While I enjoyed the references I got overwhelmed by so many geeky references happening so close together. They also require a lot of time to get their powers from absorbing media through watching a movie clip or absorbing something by touch which isn’t realistically practical when in combat. Nitpicking over the time it takes to prepare for combat I really enjoyed the quick action and expanding of this world. worldbuilding of this novella. ATTACK THE GEEK is an exciting escape into a world where all of the geeky things you love can give you amazing powers to defend the world.
ATTACK THE GEEK far too short which only intensifies my anticipation for the next full length novel in the Ree Reyes series.
June 27, 2014
Attack the Geek is a "side quest" novella in the Ree Reyes series that takes place after Celebromancy. I don't think you have to have read Geekomancy, or Celebromancy to understand this novella, but I think having read the novels, and already being emotionally involved in the characters helped me enjoy it more. Attack the Geek provides the geeky, action packed fun you'd expect from a Ree Reyes story, and it also does a good job at touching on existing character relations and hinting about future developments for the series. It's one weakness is that it can feels too focused on action. Don't get me wrong, most of it is enjoyable, but it eventually gets to the point where it feel like just more of the same. Once again, I chose to listen to the audiobook and Mary Robinette Kowal does a very good job with the reading.
If you've enjoyed Celebromancy and Geekomancy, I would recommend picking up Attack the Geek as well.
If you've enjoyed Celebromancy and Geekomancy, I would recommend picking up Attack the Geek as well.
May 1, 2014
Attack the Geek is, in a lot of ways, a short D&D one-shot campaign in capsule book form. With the first two books doing a good job establishing the existing magic with the new novella offering what might actually be a more fun way to handle the systems on a whole. In some ways, I enjoyed the novella more due to the pacing, even though it loses out on characterization somewhat (as everyone's already established).
March 24, 2014
Firstly, the cover is gorgeous. Secondly, I loved this little adventure with Ree and the gang. It seems like a nice way to bridge the gap between Celebromancy and the forthcoming third book of the series. I absolutely love all the geekery. The idea of Geekomancy from this series and Libriomancy by Jim C. Hines are both abilities I would love to have. Completely awesome.
December 30, 2014
I love this series, it speaks to my inner geek. :) I can see the next full novel picking up where this novella ends.
April 7, 2014
Awesome, as always!
April 14, 2019
Reviewing the series as a whole as well as individual installments.
This one is labeled as the third proper installment in the series though it runs only a novella's length, however it still manages to pack an entire properly contained story in without sacrificing the developed character focus and world atmosphere that the author hammered into shape in the first two books. While some may consider it being too short, I found the contained narrative worked in doing just what it needed to do and didn't overstay its welcome for what the actual plot was.
At the same time however, it manages to put a deep, engaging sense of immersion into the story as the contained siege centered plot is very quickly paced in the proper moments in battle, yet also drawn out in the uneasy tedium of waiting and desperately trying to rally and recover in a bottleneck situation. It also engages a few more of the previously untouched aspects of the world's alternate realms quite intensively yet manages to fit it to the pacing of the plot without it feeling bogged down in exposition.
I found this book long after its release and was more than pleased to find sequels to it, though only to a certain point and the author himself has stated that despite his own eagerness to continue the story and expand the world further, poor sales showing on the current books of the series have made it unfeasible to the current day. I do hope this will continue into the future
This one is labeled as the third proper installment in the series though it runs only a novella's length, however it still manages to pack an entire properly contained story in without sacrificing the developed character focus and world atmosphere that the author hammered into shape in the first two books. While some may consider it being too short, I found the contained narrative worked in doing just what it needed to do and didn't overstay its welcome for what the actual plot was.
At the same time however, it manages to put a deep, engaging sense of immersion into the story as the contained siege centered plot is very quickly paced in the proper moments in battle, yet also drawn out in the uneasy tedium of waiting and desperately trying to rally and recover in a bottleneck situation. It also engages a few more of the previously untouched aspects of the world's alternate realms quite intensively yet manages to fit it to the pacing of the plot without it feeling bogged down in exposition.
I found this book long after its release and was more than pleased to find sequels to it, though only to a certain point and the author himself has stated that despite his own eagerness to continue the story and expand the world further, poor sales showing on the current books of the series have made it unfeasible to the current day. I do hope this will continue into the future
Read
January 5, 2020I'm just choosing not to rate this book because I swear I have no idea what I just read. I don't think it would have mattered had I read the first two books in the series either. I can't say the story was not good because in fact a few passages even had me laughing but it's just really that I don't feel it was my type of read. It was totally not what I had in mind when I picked it up.
*I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
*I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 25, 2017
I liked the main series but this not so much. minus one star for the silly schoolgirl crush - I hated every mention and at the end was hoping Drake would get killed.
The book just is too hard to really get into, but I still liked Rees apart from othe previously mentioned ridiculous crush.
Not recommended - read the main arc
The book just is too hard to really get into, but I still liked Rees apart from othe previously mentioned ridiculous crush.
Not recommended - read the main arc
October 9, 2019
This was a cool side adventure (sort of) in the Geekomancy universe. It leads directly into the third book, but also takes the chance to develop a lot of the "down time" activities of the characters we've seen before. Until everything goes horribly wrong, of course.
If you liked the other books, you'll like this one. Looking forward to reading the next one!
If you liked the other books, you'll like this one. Looking forward to reading the next one!
October 17, 2019
Good, but ...
I enjoy these characters and this universe. I love the criticisms and random geek references and puns. The non-stop battle in this story was pretty exhausting to read, with no gaps or breaks, and little to no character development. So, I'm glad I read it for community's sake, but I wish it was less of a high energy slog to read.
I enjoy these characters and this universe. I love the criticisms and random geek references and puns. The non-stop battle in this story was pretty exhausting to read, with no gaps or breaks, and little to no character development. So, I'm glad I read it for community's sake, but I wish it was less of a high energy slog to read.
September 5, 2017
Great series
Love this series and the idea that some people are able to access magic through their beloved geeky passions, series, movies, props ect.
Love this series and the idea that some people are able to access magic through their beloved geeky passions, series, movies, props ect.
April 11, 2014
Don’t get me wrong: I’m a geek. I’m a nerd. I’m a dork. I may even occasionally be a dweeb. As culture-specific books go, this is right up my alley. The attack run to my Death Star if you will. I feel fairly confident that I got nearly every single reference in this book, and probably more of them than most people would. That said, when you have more references than you have pages, and more references than you have lines of dialogue, things are getting a little out of hand. This is where the book would have said ‘out of hand like tribbles’ or something. There are nerd culture references literally everywhere in this book. Underwood seems to have set out with the goal of referencing as many things as possible first, and actually writing a compelling story second.
In the same way that a lot of crap gets ticket sales because it hits that nostalgia button on people who don’t know better yet, this shotgun approach to references is going to make it so you get at least some of the nods and callbacks and callouts and references, which might be enough to keep you going in the book. However, the problem with pop culture references is that they only work while the culture is actually popular. I very honestly feel that this book will be utterly incomprehensible to anybody in ten years. There was a Homestarrunner reference for goodness sakes. And not even a direct reference! An indirect oblique reference requiring you to not only know Homestar, but to know the Teen Girl Squad, and a particular (arrow’d!) reference therein. If none of that rang any bells, don’t worry, it’s old. I’m old. And in a few more years (more so with every passing moment) this book will be old.
The story itself is, lets say ‘not bad’ but it loses out on any chance to be good under the sheer weight of the references. I read another review of this book which raises the distinction that so much effort was made to make this a GEEK book, that not enough effort was made to make it a geek BOOK, and that is very true.
One thing is very clear though: Michael R Underwood is either as much of a geek as I am, or he has some very geeky researchers, because the depth and breadth of the references in this book was actually quite impressive. It may have read more like John Cleese in the Cheese Shop for Geeks than an actual story, but don’t let that detract from the impressiveness of shoehorning four or five references per page, every page, into a story that actually has characters and a storyline.
What I would really like in a book is the same concept for a magic system, but toned down a little on the references. Maybe the full-length novels, starting with Geekomancy do this, but unfortunately I’m not sure I want to try just in case. This felt like a natural extension of the general book-based magic system of Jim C Hines’ Libriomancer, which would be a good choice to check out for an Urban Fantasy with a slightly nerdy magic system only without the constant need to generate nerd cred by references as Attack the Geek has.
If you consider yourself to be a nerd of the higher orders, this is a great book to test the actual breadth of your knowledge. I think this book would better serve the purpose of having your fellow nerds read it and count how many references they got to compare with each other than anything else. Definitely do NOT read this book if you are not up on a lot of nerd culture, as you will just be confused all the time, or else gloss over the references, and be left with maybe 20 pages of text.
Dan received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Pocket Star via NetGalley.
In the same way that a lot of crap gets ticket sales because it hits that nostalgia button on people who don’t know better yet, this shotgun approach to references is going to make it so you get at least some of the nods and callbacks and callouts and references, which might be enough to keep you going in the book. However, the problem with pop culture references is that they only work while the culture is actually popular. I very honestly feel that this book will be utterly incomprehensible to anybody in ten years. There was a Homestarrunner reference for goodness sakes. And not even a direct reference! An indirect oblique reference requiring you to not only know Homestar, but to know the Teen Girl Squad, and a particular (arrow’d!) reference therein. If none of that rang any bells, don’t worry, it’s old. I’m old. And in a few more years (more so with every passing moment) this book will be old.
The story itself is, lets say ‘not bad’ but it loses out on any chance to be good under the sheer weight of the references. I read another review of this book which raises the distinction that so much effort was made to make this a GEEK book, that not enough effort was made to make it a geek BOOK, and that is very true.
One thing is very clear though: Michael R Underwood is either as much of a geek as I am, or he has some very geeky researchers, because the depth and breadth of the references in this book was actually quite impressive. It may have read more like John Cleese in the Cheese Shop for Geeks than an actual story, but don’t let that detract from the impressiveness of shoehorning four or five references per page, every page, into a story that actually has characters and a storyline.
What I would really like in a book is the same concept for a magic system, but toned down a little on the references. Maybe the full-length novels, starting with Geekomancy do this, but unfortunately I’m not sure I want to try just in case. This felt like a natural extension of the general book-based magic system of Jim C Hines’ Libriomancer, which would be a good choice to check out for an Urban Fantasy with a slightly nerdy magic system only without the constant need to generate nerd cred by references as Attack the Geek has.
If you consider yourself to be a nerd of the higher orders, this is a great book to test the actual breadth of your knowledge. I think this book would better serve the purpose of having your fellow nerds read it and count how many references they got to compare with each other than anything else. Definitely do NOT read this book if you are not up on a lot of nerd culture, as you will just be confused all the time, or else gloss over the references, and be left with maybe 20 pages of text.
Dan received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Pocket Star via NetGalley.
March 11, 2014
I picked up this book because, as an alpha geek, everything about the series speaks to me, and I wanted an introduction before committing. For the most part, I really liked this. Strong female heroine? Check. Awesome magic system? Check. Cool pop and sub-culture references? Check... but not checked well enough, in my opinion. As a free-floating nerd, I loved the many call outs, but there were just too many, too quickly. I felt less appreciative and more pressured to feel appreciative: my reaction was exactly the same as old money's when confronted with the excesses of the noveau riche (and yes, Old Money is my rap name, for a myriad of terrible reasons.) Michael R Underwood knows his stuff, but the display of such knowledge was both overwhelming and a wee bit vulgar. Maybe it's just the limitations of the novella format -- though I think that with a little padding this side quest could easily have been made into a full novel of its own -- but I felt that a more leisurely approach would have served the story much better. And it's a fun story, action-packed and detailed. The only downside of all that action was that it occasionally felt like an interminable series of combats in a hack and slash tabletop campaign: fun in small- to medium-sized doses, but obnoxious when the combat overwhelmed the plot.
Another very large problem I had with the book was the dialogue. I don't necessarily expect my genre fiction to have high literary merit (though could we please stop it with the constant mention of neck and back cracking? It's a writing crutch that Mr Underwood doesn't need,) but some of the writing was excessively wooden. Drake's dialogue was particularly bad, sounding less British and more British-by-way-of-translations-from-Japanese-video-games. And I found the conversations between Ree and Wickham appalling, as they read more like a series of bitchy soliloquys than actual back-and-forth. Ree certainly doesn't come off the better for them: I know there's supposed to be some sort of contrast between her and Wickham here, but I found no organic reason to like one over the other beyond the author's ham-handed efforts to paint them as good vs bad guy. Maybe it's because Wickham comes across as more paper doll than actual character: her further development would have been an awesome basis for turning this 2.5 into a fully fledged 3.0, as would more background on the ostensible reason for the attack on Grognard's. I really do think that this book was done a disservice by being squashed into a novella instead of being developed fully, especially since so many of the flaws smoothed themselves out as Attack The Geek progressed.
What I liked best about this book was how spot-on Mr Underwood depicted the culture of geeks, and especially of CCG players. I truly felt for Uncle Joe, having to go through his binder like that. I'm still on the fence about getting into the rest of the series, though. Maybe if I hear more good things about it, because there's certainly a basis for awesome here.
Another very large problem I had with the book was the dialogue. I don't necessarily expect my genre fiction to have high literary merit (though could we please stop it with the constant mention of neck and back cracking? It's a writing crutch that Mr Underwood doesn't need,) but some of the writing was excessively wooden. Drake's dialogue was particularly bad, sounding less British and more British-by-way-of-translations-from-Japanese-video-games. And I found the conversations between Ree and Wickham appalling, as they read more like a series of bitchy soliloquys than actual back-and-forth. Ree certainly doesn't come off the better for them: I know there's supposed to be some sort of contrast between her and Wickham here, but I found no organic reason to like one over the other beyond the author's ham-handed efforts to paint them as good vs bad guy. Maybe it's because Wickham comes across as more paper doll than actual character: her further development would have been an awesome basis for turning this 2.5 into a fully fledged 3.0, as would more background on the ostensible reason for the attack on Grognard's. I really do think that this book was done a disservice by being squashed into a novella instead of being developed fully, especially since so many of the flaws smoothed themselves out as Attack The Geek progressed.
What I liked best about this book was how spot-on Mr Underwood depicted the culture of geeks, and especially of CCG players. I truly felt for Uncle Joe, having to go through his binder like that. I'm still on the fence about getting into the rest of the series, though. Maybe if I hear more good things about it, because there's certainly a basis for awesome here.
September 3, 2016
One's Reach Should Exceed One's Grasp, or What's A Meta For?
This deeply cool book has everything - it's a fantasy actioner; it's set in a brilliantly conceived fantasy world; it's full of whip-smart banter and sly observations. Running beneath it all is a dialogue about how we consume, in this book literally, our popular culture.
"Geekomancy" is an urban fantasy series featuring "geekomancers" in which the hook is that items of pop culture, (books, games, cards, figurines, movie clips), are actual sources of magical power, and allow possessors to use weapons and skills that are based on those cultural artifacts. (So, our heroine uses a lightsaber, while someone else has a nail gun from a first person shooter). The running discussion addresses the fact that these artifacts must be consumed, and thus lost, to power up items.
This book covers a side quest by Ree Reyes, heroine of "Geekomancy". She and some of the regulars at Grognard's are trapped in the bar by villainous beasts and have to fight and think their way out. The book is a bit longer than a novella, but short for a full novel, so it it offers a very nice entry to the Geekomancy world. You don't need to be familiar with the other books in the series; you'll pick up enough to follow the action and characters within the first chapter or two.
The book has a rat-a-tat feel. Some geekiness, a battle, smart-ass dialogue, another battle, an argument about what steampunk really is, a reminiscence about some pop icon, another battle, Ree thinking about her life, a conflict with another geek, a berserker rampage, then a quiet moment with magical med kits and health potions. It's rich - loaded with every kind of geek and tabletop reference imaginable - but that's all icing and the central action is always easy to follow no matter how obscure or elaborate the references are.
Everything in the book is a sideways commentary on some aspect of geekiness. The relative power of different artifacts tells you what the author thinks about the merits of their sources. Each character is a version of some aspect of geekiness. Each argument between characters is a little highbrow, or lowbrow, cultural debate. Everybody in the book is a fanboy, or loves fanboys, or hates fanboys, or embraces the idea of fanboys, or rejects fanboydom, so that the whole effort sometimes reads like a poorly moderated flame war on someone's blog. But then the trolls attack again and all is forgiven.
Bottom line - if you like or are interested in or are curious about any of this stuff, you really need to try a Geekomancy book. (Try to get a first edition; first editions and mint editions of things have more power.)
Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
This deeply cool book has everything - it's a fantasy actioner; it's set in a brilliantly conceived fantasy world; it's full of whip-smart banter and sly observations. Running beneath it all is a dialogue about how we consume, in this book literally, our popular culture.
"Geekomancy" is an urban fantasy series featuring "geekomancers" in which the hook is that items of pop culture, (books, games, cards, figurines, movie clips), are actual sources of magical power, and allow possessors to use weapons and skills that are based on those cultural artifacts. (So, our heroine uses a lightsaber, while someone else has a nail gun from a first person shooter). The running discussion addresses the fact that these artifacts must be consumed, and thus lost, to power up items.
This book covers a side quest by Ree Reyes, heroine of "Geekomancy". She and some of the regulars at Grognard's are trapped in the bar by villainous beasts and have to fight and think their way out. The book is a bit longer than a novella, but short for a full novel, so it it offers a very nice entry to the Geekomancy world. You don't need to be familiar with the other books in the series; you'll pick up enough to follow the action and characters within the first chapter or two.
The book has a rat-a-tat feel. Some geekiness, a battle, smart-ass dialogue, another battle, an argument about what steampunk really is, a reminiscence about some pop icon, another battle, Ree thinking about her life, a conflict with another geek, a berserker rampage, then a quiet moment with magical med kits and health potions. It's rich - loaded with every kind of geek and tabletop reference imaginable - but that's all icing and the central action is always easy to follow no matter how obscure or elaborate the references are.
Everything in the book is a sideways commentary on some aspect of geekiness. The relative power of different artifacts tells you what the author thinks about the merits of their sources. Each character is a version of some aspect of geekiness. Each argument between characters is a little highbrow, or lowbrow, cultural debate. Everybody in the book is a fanboy, or loves fanboys, or hates fanboys, or embraces the idea of fanboys, or rejects fanboydom, so that the whole effort sometimes reads like a poorly moderated flame war on someone's blog. But then the trolls attack again and all is forgiven.
Bottom line - if you like or are interested in or are curious about any of this stuff, you really need to try a Geekomancy book. (Try to get a first edition; first editions and mint editions of things have more power.)
Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
April 7, 2014
TALK SUPE REVIEW
One quiet Saturday afternoon at Grognard's Grog and Games turned into one heck of a hunt where Geekomancers were attacked, injured, betrayed by a friend and sold out by a Steampunk Lieutenant. ATTACK THE GEEK concluded in the Minotaur's maze with the perp in custody only to discover that this is the first of coming attacks. One of the Geekomancers is a moving target because of a "noble" deed done in the past which upset the balance of time. Now the time police are on a mission to set things right and that means one of them has to die... ok this is a lame Geekomancer imitation but you get the point right?
Anyway, once again Michael R. Underwood had me wanting to be a Geekomancer. I wish I was more knowledgeable in some of these pop culture staples and icons he incorporated in the story but even if I'm handicapped, I was still able to appreciate the storyline and fight scenes so I can only imagine the level of awesomeness from a fanboy/fangirl's POV. ATTACK THE GEEK is a fast paced "side quest" novella filled with fun geek-o-mancing. At first I thought this won't have any bearing on the overall arc of the series but I was wrong so don't make the mistake of skipping this one if you're following Ree Reyes, there's an important revelation in the end that will be the premise for book 3 (I think).
Ree surprised me once again. Just when I thought I got this chick figured out, she keeps on growing and evolving, making me like her even more. Ree really turned on her Snarky Bitch meter in this one, I can't help but laugh when she went head to head with the arrogant and self-entitled Steampunk "Lieutenant", Abigail Wickham:
Yup. Hard not to be intimidated by Ree at this point, can't help but have a lady boner for her when those words left her mouth. Anyway, ATTACK THE GEEK is such a fun-filled novella with new characters, myths worth exploring and a good teaser for the coming book. Ree Reyes breaks the urban fantasy mold of a heroine in that she's bi-curious, latina, a geek and a killer barista! And in case you're unfamiliar with this series, Ree Reyes by Michael R. Underwood is every magic fangirl/fanboy's novel where every classic, pop and cult franchise can be found in one contemporary epic fantasy and adventure story, it's an adrenalin rush you won't want to miss. Recommended pleasure read to fans of Star Trek, Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons and other pop culture fantasy franchises.
One quiet Saturday afternoon at Grognard's Grog and Games turned into one heck of a hunt where Geekomancers were attacked, injured, betrayed by a friend and sold out by a Steampunk Lieutenant. ATTACK THE GEEK concluded in the Minotaur's maze with the perp in custody only to discover that this is the first of coming attacks. One of the Geekomancers is a moving target because of a "noble" deed done in the past which upset the balance of time. Now the time police are on a mission to set things right and that means one of them has to die... ok this is a lame Geekomancer imitation but you get the point right?
Anyway, once again Michael R. Underwood had me wanting to be a Geekomancer. I wish I was more knowledgeable in some of these pop culture staples and icons he incorporated in the story but even if I'm handicapped, I was still able to appreciate the storyline and fight scenes so I can only imagine the level of awesomeness from a fanboy/fangirl's POV. ATTACK THE GEEK is a fast paced "side quest" novella filled with fun geek-o-mancing. At first I thought this won't have any bearing on the overall arc of the series but I was wrong so don't make the mistake of skipping this one if you're following Ree Reyes, there's an important revelation in the end that will be the premise for book 3 (I think).
Ree surprised me once again. Just when I thought I got this chick figured out, she keeps on growing and evolving, making me like her even more. Ree really turned on her Snarky Bitch meter in this one, I can't help but laugh when she went head to head with the arrogant and self-entitled Steampunk "Lieutenant", Abigail Wickham:
F8ck you, you worthless piece of sh!t. You belittle my friends, you can't be bothered to pick a real weapon for a fight, and you've got your head stuck so far up your own a$s that you can your boobs for goggles.
Yup. Hard not to be intimidated by Ree at this point, can't help but have a lady boner for her when those words left her mouth. Anyway, ATTACK THE GEEK is such a fun-filled novella with new characters, myths worth exploring and a good teaser for the coming book. Ree Reyes breaks the urban fantasy mold of a heroine in that she's bi-curious, latina, a geek and a killer barista! And in case you're unfamiliar with this series, Ree Reyes by Michael R. Underwood is every magic fangirl/fanboy's novel where every classic, pop and cult franchise can be found in one contemporary epic fantasy and adventure story, it's an adrenalin rush you won't want to miss. Recommended pleasure read to fans of Star Trek, Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons and other pop culture fantasy franchises.
March 26, 2014
By the time I finished this book I was thinking wow, that was so fun! I should give it four stars! Then I thought about it and I thought about how I almost stopped on the first chapter and gave it a one star. Then my review rating went down a star.
The reason I almost stop at the beginning was the overload of references to different fandoms, the random introduction from the middle of the story that really confused me, the overload of characters right from the start, and the character "stats" that seemed to randomly interrupt the story. It reminded me somewhat of Scott Pilgrim, but It didn't have the flashy movie going for it. I felt like the beginning was just a mess of I don't understand what is going on.
I am a geek. I hang out with game designers and play video games, fangirl over the Whedon verse, watch and read Star wars, and watch Star Trek. I even have done some stuff with the SCA. There were references in here I just didn't get. The author sometimes just referenced things expecting us to know what they were, but I completely didn't understand it. I go to a school filled with Geeks and Nerds. Maybe I am not enough of a Geek, but I feel like a book that wants to sell to anyone more than the really hard core geeks needs to be slightly easier for a regular person to understand.
All that being said I loved the system of magic. I thought the fact that you could draw powers from movie clips or tear cards in half for spells was awesome. I loved the rules of magic in the universe.
The action was fairly well written, but the entire book was basically one giant action sequence without much character development leaving the characters fairly flat. I didn't even understand what the plot was until I was about 70 or 80% of the way through the book. By the end of the book though I was quickly reading my way through unable to put the book down.
Did I enjoy this book? Yes. Would I recommend it to others? Only if you are a hard core Geek or willing to accept that there will be references to things you simply don't understand. Do I plan on getting the other books from this series? Yes. I love this book. Yes there was a small part of me screaming "PENSIC WAR!" when I got to that part. (For non SCA members, Pensic is a giant battle in NY with about 10000 people dressed up from the medieval ages having a giant battle.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books in return for an honest review.
The reason I almost stop at the beginning was the overload of references to different fandoms, the random introduction from the middle of the story that really confused me, the overload of characters right from the start, and the character "stats" that seemed to randomly interrupt the story. It reminded me somewhat of Scott Pilgrim, but It didn't have the flashy movie going for it. I felt like the beginning was just a mess of I don't understand what is going on.
I am a geek. I hang out with game designers and play video games, fangirl over the Whedon verse, watch and read Star wars, and watch Star Trek. I even have done some stuff with the SCA. There were references in here I just didn't get. The author sometimes just referenced things expecting us to know what they were, but I completely didn't understand it. I go to a school filled with Geeks and Nerds. Maybe I am not enough of a Geek, but I feel like a book that wants to sell to anyone more than the really hard core geeks needs to be slightly easier for a regular person to understand.
All that being said I loved the system of magic. I thought the fact that you could draw powers from movie clips or tear cards in half for spells was awesome. I loved the rules of magic in the universe.
The action was fairly well written, but the entire book was basically one giant action sequence without much character development leaving the characters fairly flat. I didn't even understand what the plot was until I was about 70 or 80% of the way through the book. By the end of the book though I was quickly reading my way through unable to put the book down.
Did I enjoy this book? Yes. Would I recommend it to others? Only if you are a hard core Geek or willing to accept that there will be references to things you simply don't understand. Do I plan on getting the other books from this series? Yes. I love this book. Yes there was a small part of me screaming "PENSIC WAR!" when I got to that part. (For non SCA members, Pensic is a giant battle in NY with about 10000 people dressed up from the medieval ages having a giant battle.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books in return for an honest review.
July 27, 2016
WaaHoo! Strap yourself in and hold on tight, this is a wild Geek ride!
I'm new to the 'Geekomancy' world of Ree Reyes, but if this is any indication what the first two books might be like, count me in!
Essentially, this is a world in which all the books, comics, movies, television shows, and games (board and video) come to life in the hands of those few 'Geeks' who have found the way to tap into the tremendous geek powers. But with great powers come great dangers and equally powerful villains and monsters.
Imagine fighting off a hoard of goblins with a Star Wars lightsaber and a Star Trek phaser, or attacking a Sewer Troll with the powers of a Pokemon card! Or watch a snippet of a Spiderman episode and have the ability to climb walls or shoot webs to restrain your attackers. These are the sorts of abilities that author Michael R. Underwood's geeks possess. But the powers have limits and are not always renewable.
This particular book is a novella -- the author/publisher call it a "Side-Quest." It is not fully developed, and often feels that way. Essentially, this is one very large, long battle sequence. It was a great initiation for someone like me...a long time geek not familiar with the particulars of this world, but even someone such as myself, who was smiling ear to ear at all the geeky reference (patting myself on the back for picking up on so many of them), started to grow weary at the battle after battle after battle. I wanted something other than another form of geek-fighting to happen. It does, but it 1) relies on some prior knowledge to the series, and 2) it took just a tad too long. I suspect that any shorter and they have had a tough time packing it to sell as a book, and any longer would have required much more detailed plotting.
Still...this was an awesome introduction to the series and I can't wait to pick up the first two books, and I'll now be on the look-out for any subsequent Ree Reyes novels.
Looking for a good book? If you are in any way a literary/gaming geek, this is a must. If you just like good sci-fi/adventure, you'll quickly be drawn in to the world of geekdom.
This review originally published in the blog Looking For a Good Book.
I'm new to the 'Geekomancy' world of Ree Reyes, but if this is any indication what the first two books might be like, count me in!
Essentially, this is a world in which all the books, comics, movies, television shows, and games (board and video) come to life in the hands of those few 'Geeks' who have found the way to tap into the tremendous geek powers. But with great powers come great dangers and equally powerful villains and monsters.
Imagine fighting off a hoard of goblins with a Star Wars lightsaber and a Star Trek phaser, or attacking a Sewer Troll with the powers of a Pokemon card! Or watch a snippet of a Spiderman episode and have the ability to climb walls or shoot webs to restrain your attackers. These are the sorts of abilities that author Michael R. Underwood's geeks possess. But the powers have limits and are not always renewable.
This particular book is a novella -- the author/publisher call it a "Side-Quest." It is not fully developed, and often feels that way. Essentially, this is one very large, long battle sequence. It was a great initiation for someone like me...a long time geek not familiar with the particulars of this world, but even someone such as myself, who was smiling ear to ear at all the geeky reference (patting myself on the back for picking up on so many of them), started to grow weary at the battle after battle after battle. I wanted something other than another form of geek-fighting to happen. It does, but it 1) relies on some prior knowledge to the series, and 2) it took just a tad too long. I suspect that any shorter and they have had a tough time packing it to sell as a book, and any longer would have required much more detailed plotting.
Still...this was an awesome introduction to the series and I can't wait to pick up the first two books, and I'll now be on the look-out for any subsequent Ree Reyes novels.
Looking for a good book? If you are in any way a literary/gaming geek, this is a must. If you just like good sci-fi/adventure, you'll quickly be drawn in to the world of geekdom.
This review originally published in the blog Looking For a Good Book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews