50 Book Challenge #8: The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl by Tim Pratt. Got this book originally as a gift from Drew. Now I imagine the plot of "real-life person's life intersecting with their fantasy reality to save the world" (which is actually one I read whenever given the option anyway) and its fantasy reality of an old west comic book was the first draw of the book in Drew's decision to get it for me (knowing I love me my comic books and my cowboy genres), an interesting bit of serendipity is also that the novel takes place in my childhood backyard of Santa Cruz. A huge plus reading this was the personal intersection I was able to supply for myself with the setting of the novel. Setting, and its accuracy, really boosted enjoyment of this novel. Nicely, it was also a fairly fast-paced read.
The general plot's been done before (but what general plot hasn't?), but it was still fun. The story is engaging, though sometimes predictable. Come the end, my only gripe is that the climax seemed both rushed and anti-climactic. Otherwise I'd give the book a solid A grade, instead I give it an A-/B+ and definitely recommend it to anyone who's a fan of westerns, comics, girl power narratives, alternate realities. . .
Thanks, Drew.
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4 comments:
Glad you liked it as much as you did.... And yes I got it for you because of a) Comic Book references B) Possible Deadlands connection and c) It takes place in Ca. Didn't know that you actually lived near Santa Cruz, which was I guess a bit of a bonus...
And I often find that authors seem to have a problem with endings... either I feel the ending is rushed or drawn out to make a single book a trilogy( or add an extra 50 to 100 pages of padding).
brain fuzzy otherwise I might say more... for now, will just leave it by again saying I'm glad you liked it. I try to share the good stuff with you.
Well the last two books from you that I've been able too tackle (this one and the Nancy Collins) were definite winners.
Thanks again
Glad you like the book! Also very glad to hear you found the setting accurate. I lived in Santa Cruz for a year, but you know, as a non-native I always worry I'll screw something up...
The book was a lot of fun, and the fastest read I've had all year (which is a compliment--meaning I liked it enough to devote the time to reading it quickly instead of my 1-2 chapter a day reading rate these days).
Accuracy wasn't perfect (when is it ever?), but it was still very spot-on and you should always give fiction a little lee-way.
Thanks for commenting, Tim.
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