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geekwayne's review
4.0
'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.
samrushingbooks's review
5.0
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.
dantastic's review
I 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.
ericbuscemi's review
4.0
If you read and liked [b:Geekomancy|13609386|Geekomancy (Ree Reyes, #1)|Michael R. Underwood|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1334886014s/13609386.jpg|19206590], 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.
innowen's review
4.0
Disclaimer: I received a eARC from netgalley in exchange for this review.
I love the Geekomancy series. Smartly written, filled with tons of pop culture (and geek!) references, each story is just a delight to read. And when I got to read this story I squealed. I knew we'd be in for a treat. And I was right, this "side quest" was fun.
I've seen other reviewers give this story weird and mixed reviews; saying that they didn't get this story or how it fits into the series. The key to understanding this narrative is in the description. "side quest." Like a small interlude of a D&D campaign, Attack the Geek, gives us a rip roaring good trip through the world of Ray Reyes. The world in this tale broadens to include many of the other supporting characters. They all come together to snark, fight, and work together to defeat the quest's "big bad." And Ree, Eastwood, Grognard, and Drake survive and manage to take it down.
However, like all side quests, this story does have it's twists and turns, and I wonder how the revelations in this book will play out in the greater series for Ree and her stalwart companions.
Bottom Line: Geeks rejoice. Crossing geek references and urban fantasy magic, Attack the Geek is a heck of a good story. Read it and smile along with the references for this side quest isn't just a short story!
I love the Geekomancy series. Smartly written, filled with tons of pop culture (and geek!) references, each story is just a delight to read. And when I got to read this story I squealed. I knew we'd be in for a treat. And I was right, this "side quest" was fun.
I've seen other reviewers give this story weird and mixed reviews; saying that they didn't get this story or how it fits into the series. The key to understanding this narrative is in the description. "side quest." Like a small interlude of a D&D campaign, Attack the Geek, gives us a rip roaring good trip through the world of Ray Reyes. The world in this tale broadens to include many of the other supporting characters. They all come together to snark, fight, and work together to defeat the quest's "big bad." And Ree, Eastwood, Grognard, and Drake survive and manage to take it down.
However, like all side quests, this story does have it's twists and turns, and I wonder how the revelations in this book will play out in the greater series for Ree and her stalwart companions.
Bottom Line: Geeks rejoice. Crossing geek references and urban fantasy magic, Attack the Geek is a heck of a good story. Read it and smile along with the references for this side quest isn't just a short story!
nancyotoole's review
3.0
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.
ruzgofdi's review
4.0
Solves a lot of the problems that I had with the last outing in the series. That may be due to page count though. It's under one hundred fifty pages, so the author couldn't really waste much time before getting to the meat of the story. On some levels it feels like it's ignoring the second book in the series. I think it mentions a few minor things that happened, but it skips over the bigger plot elements. So it feels much more like the first book in the series, which I think is a good thing. And while I would say it's self-contained, I feel like the ending is being used to set up more plot points for the next full installment in the series.
jen1110's review
4.0
These books are written by one of our people. So good. So very, very good.
ETA: The Audible version is adorable. SMOOCH HIM ALREADY!
ETA: The Audible version is adorable. SMOOCH HIM ALREADY!
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