The Sheriff of Yrnameer

by Michael Rubens and Rozan Rubens

Book Overview

In the spirit of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, "The Sheriff of Yrnameer" is sci-fi comedy at its best--mordant, raucously funny, and a thrilling page-turner. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307378470
• ISBN13: 9780307378477
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Pantheon Books
• Length: 269 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

A light-hearted and fun romp

Yrnameer is the last of the "Your Name Heres"--planets that haven't gotten corporate sponsors yet. It's pretty rare, so rare it's become a myth. Mentioning Yrnameer is a sure way to earn a laugh because it's a well known probability that Yrnameer, if it exists, is in some remote location; even if you wanted to reach it, you couldn't. Lucky for Cole--space pirate extraordinaire--he's just hijacked a spaceship on InvestCo3 with the coordinates for Yrnameer ready to program in and it's his next destination. Unfortunately, Cole has a few problems on his hands: Kenneth wants to lay his eggs in Cole's eye, his new crew wants to kill him, and bending space to reach Yrnameer won't be easy on a broken ship. Michael Rubens has written a hilarious satire from a studied understanding of how society uses and depends on advertising. Out of those depths comes a clever, witty, and uplifting story of survival and romance; action and hope; violence and zombie-turned corporate seminars. It's a book where the impossible becomes possible; humans can love aliens, Kenneth can survive pretty much anything Cole can throw at him, and it may just be Cole--the least likely candidate--who rises to the occasion and saves the day. The humor in The Sheriff of Yrnameer evokes something of Douglas Adams--a bit of the ridiculous juxtaposed against a plot that, despite its meandering (most likely because of it), is an enjoyable journey through the best and worst of humanity. Okay, maybe not that serious, but it is a lot of fun to read. There's so many tongue-in-cheek comments, you wonder if sometimes you didn't skip past a few to get to the next point of dialogue. For instance, there is a moment I almost missed where Cole sits in a room filled with "the faint radioactive glow coming from the commemorative chunk of Earth in its crystal cube, inscribed with the famous quote from the Administration. AT LEAST WE GOT THE TERRORISTS, it said" (p. 24). Just in case you were wondering what happened to Earth. It seems almost no one is safe from Rubens' sharp wit and keen eye for exploitation. Artists suffer a small blow when a jail functions as an art installation, corporate employees turn into zombies, and if advertising were suddenly gone, we'd probably be just as stupefied and confused as Cole. While the humor is strong and the jokes are punctuated by their unassuming deliveries, the characters are also dynamic enough to be believable. If John Scalzi has taught me anything, it's that a book can be fun and contemplative--Michael Rubens has definitely developed a talent for this, too. I was even pleasantly surprised with how Rubens treated the romance between Cole and--well, I won't spoil that for you. Trust me, though, when I say that the unexpected is the norm and he doesn't play into predictable conventions. It's part of the charm of the novel. It's also one of the many, many benefits to reading this, alongside calorie loss induced from laughter and an increased rate of concentratio

Great book, give it a chance!

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

Hilarious, well-written book by a first-time novelist.

I had high hopes for this book, as a huge fan of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and other authors that have successfully combined humor and excellent writing. I've tried novels that have tried to inject humor into genre fiction in the past, and have usually been disappointed. It just doesn't work all that often, unfortunately. My hopes were completely vindicated, in this case, which was a pleasant surprise. The plotting, character development, and twists and turns were all fantastic. The bits of humor were appropriately spaced and never over the top. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of humorous science fiction, or just sci fi in general. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Check it out, please. Any time a new novelist generates something of this quality, I'm shocked. As readers, we need to encourage this kind of talent. So please, please, try out this book. You won't regret it.