Sharyn McCrumb, Bimbos of the Death Sun

Sharyn McCrumb, Bimbos of the Death Sun
Ballantine Books , 1996 (reprint of 1988 original))
ISBN-13: 978-0345483027

I recently read something that encouraged me to re-read Sharyn McCrumb's fourth mystery novel (which won the Edgar for Best Paperback Original), which I remembered as an extraordinarily good book.  The sequel, Zombies of the Gene Pool, while OK, was not nearly as good (according to my memory).  McCrumb then left Jay Omega behind to concentrate  on the Elizabeth McPherson books, and, later, the Spencer Arrowood books. 

My re-read of Bimbos did not turn out well.  While the book is well written, and the plot holds together, I was somewhat surprised to discover that there were only a couple of more-or-less sympathetic characters in the book--Marian Farley (who teaches a course in science fiction as literature and is Jay's love) and the Scottish folk-singer Dory McRory (who is stuck in the hotel for the weekend and really wants as little to do as possible with the strange folk he finds all around).  By and large, the depiction of the organizers and attendees of Rubicon--the con being held in the hotel--shows them as people without lives outside the world of fandom, as unpleasant or narcisistic or both, as unattractive and unlovable.  

And the main focus of the con, best-selling author of Celtic fantasy novels, Appin Dungannon, is a mean-spirited, nasty piece of work who hates not only his fans, but his work, and, it seems, himself.  Even Jay, who is portrayed in a relatively neutral manner, does not compel our attention (even if he does, with Marian's help, unravel the mystery).  The book remains funny, and the narrative is fairly strong.  But, in the end, I was struck more by the mean-spiritedness than by anything else.  (I will note that I quit reading the McPherson books with Missing Susan, by which time it seemed to me that McCrumb had tired of the character and wanted her to go away.  I never started on the Arrowood books.)