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A review by liesljrowe
The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente
3.0
This book really is a love-letter to fandom and comic cons. Anyone who spends time in the world of comics will recognise many of the little asides here: there's a reference to the "Captain America is a HYDRA agent" scandal; religious protestors at cons and cosplayers' witty responses to it; as well as Comic-con's Comic Village and the endless queues. It's great fun trying to spot the references and adds a nice meta level of enjoyment to the whole thing.
The story is a fun, quick read too as comic artist Mike runs around trying to solve a murder, as well as trying to keep on top of his obligations as a con guest. The solution wasn't immediately obvious and I loved a lot of the fact-finding scenes: Mike bluffing his way through the religious protestors by saying his name was Danny Rand was a particular highlight. It's always a tough one when writing about fandom to show some of the absurdities of fandom without ridiculing fans as a whole, but this book manages it.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!
The story is a fun, quick read too as comic artist Mike runs around trying to solve a murder, as well as trying to keep on top of his obligations as a con guest. The solution wasn't immediately obvious and I loved a lot of the fact-finding scenes: Mike bluffing his way through the religious protestors by saying his name was Danny Rand was a particular highlight. It's always a tough one when writing about fandom to show some of the absurdities of fandom without ridiculing fans as a whole, but this book manages it.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!