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Entry tags:	50-books-2009, books, review

A Review of Book II: The Pyramid Scheme
The Pyramid Scheme (Book 1)
This is the second book I read in 2009. It took a bit longer to read (almost 2 weeks) than I thought it would, and longer to post the review... but it's here now and I'm already on to reading books 3 and 4 of the new year. To read 50 books this year I have to read 4 and a bit books a month. Here goes.

• Rating: 2 stars out of 4 (Enjoyed it, recommend it, won't read it again, won't buy it if I lose it/willing to sell it)
• Author: Dave Freer & Eric Flint
• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Baen; Reprint edition (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743435923
• ISBN-13: 978-0743435925
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches

Every once in a while a novel can be two things, serve two masters - and do it well. The Pyramid Scheme, by Dave Freer & Eric Flint, is one such novel.

Fantasy is difficult. Too often it leans heavily on the myths of lore without adding, or contradicting its base. Rarely does it so change its pragmatic and known heritage so as to cause librarians to quibble when trying to classify it.

Stories set in Mythological Greece are no different from stories set in Arthurian Britain in that their structure is almost pre-determined, and their outcome easily guessed by the attentive reader who's perhaps, read too much of the genre and is looking for something different. Traditionally speaking, mythological Greece is ruled by the petty tyrants on Mount Olympus and the story is set amidst the struggling humanity, often aided by a half-god, or at least one so favored by some of the gods as to make a difference.

The Pyramid scheme combines the presence of an alien device that won't stop growing, the mystery of disappearance of a select few within the device's ever-growing sphere of influence, and a version of Mythological Greece and Egypt that are both familiar and yet changed in very important ways. The adventurous romp through what should be familiar territory explores the dangers of current-day people trying to live in the ancient world (with slight changes made to their equipment to avoid giving guns to Odysseus and his band of noble and surley brigand adventurers).

Along the way the group is forced to work together. While their interactions are a bit stereotypical, the individuals are sufficiently susinct to avoid sounding like the author in four to six different guises. The language barrier is overcome fairly early in the novel, but the inital attempts at communication are interesting and used to the benefit of both sides; for while the newcomers of our current-day adventure are willing to work together -- the adventurers of Mythological Greece are not nearly so trusting.

As with the more traditional mythological fantasy stories, it's the adventurers versus the gods; but in this case the gods aren't quite themselves. While they are the same scheming, petty-minded, tyrannical, over-bearing and ridiculously powerful individuals we've all come to remember and laugh at -- there's something wrong, and it's up to the current-day adventurers to figure out what's going on. The humor is subtle at times and filled with bad puns and worse misunderstandings at others. The odd-handed combination had me expecting the current-day adventurers to meet up with either Bob Hope or Bing Crosby; especially when the party takes a ride to Egypt. Unfortunately the novel does have a few musical numbers, but from the description -- Bob Hope sings much better than any who tried (other than the Sirens that is).

Granted fantasy comedy may not be the most complicated or deep set topics to read, but it does provide a light and fun alternative that never quite takes itself too seriously. The themes of this novel are difficult to determine. One could say that stereotypical are examined and (a few) debunked; but in reality that would be giving credence to something meant to be enjoyable and funny rather than educational. The authors do provide a list of the gods and heroes that our current-day adventures meet, and therein they are careful to explain where and how artistic licence was used, cracking Mythological Greece like a sledgehammer against a watermelon. The result is tasty, but very messy.