Over the past couple of years I have been making a point of
broadening my reading experience, departing from favorite authors to try
new folks, both big names and small press and indies. I confess, the
big names have mostly disappointed, but I have been pleasantly impressed
with a lot of small press books. They offer a cornucopia of stuff that
is off the beaten path of what the Big 6 New York houses are competing
with each other to publish. And that stuff is starting to all look the
same.
Magic, Mensa, and Mayhem by Karian L.
Fabian is a sly delight from Swimming Kangaroo Books, and winner of the
the 2010 INDIE award for fantasy. Get past the cheesy cover and you have
a fun, fast-moving tale told by a dragon, Vern. Vern is a private
investigator paired with a nun, both of whom work for the Faerie
Catholic Church, though in Vern's case, he was dragooned into it by St.
George. He has neither all of his size nor all of the powers he was
created with, having to earn them back through good works over the
centuries. For an immortal dragon, this is a drag, but Vern bears up
well. He is cynical, a punster, and suffers fools not at all. This makes
him delightfully blunt, a character I can truly get behind.
In
this adventure (there are several Vern books and stories), the bishop
sends our duo to Florida to keep an eye on the magical folk who have
been invited to attend a Mensa convention along with a bunch of wary
mortals. There is, of course, an accompanying mystery for Vern and Grace
to solve, though not a strong one. Mostly Vern spends his time dealing
with magical incidents caused by his fellow attendees: pixie pranks and
the like, while pursuing the uber-clean trail left by brownies rampaging
through the guest rooms and trying to figure out what the elves are up
to. Fabian's imagination in this regard set me laughing on several
occasions. She is very good at taking existing mythology and making it
her own.
She also manages to work in a plausible set of
problems related to the intersection of Faerie and the "real" world of
mortals, and what happens when magic and technology mix in worlds that
have never known the other. Ordinary stuff becomes dangerous; the
dangerous becomes a trap for the ignorant. I especially liked poor Vern
dealing with the obnoxious tourists who thought he was a coin-operated
kiddie ride. The underlying plot involving a get-rich scheme in Faerie
has appropriate side effects and drawbacks. I could wish this plot
thread had been brought out more strongly throughout, as it seems to
just appear toward the second half of the book and does not really drive
the action.
However, that is my biggest quibble. If
you are looking for New York Deep Meaning and polished phrasing, keep
looking. This is straightforward, fast storytelling, aimed at laughs
that it gets, and does not purport to be anything else. I like that!
Fabian's style is eminently readable, and her world is sufficiently
different, as is Vern, to offer something to even the most jaded dragon
aficionado. She has solid foundations for many tales to come, and I
intend to read them.
I recommend Magic, Mensa, and Mayhem to
anyone looking for a light read and some laugh-out-loud moments with an
offbeat character. A great book for a dreary winter afternoon.
indoor play area equipment
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