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1st out of 54 books
—
16 voters
Geekomancy (Ree Reyes #1)
by
Michael R. Underwood (Goodreads Author)
Clerks
meets Buffy the Vampire the Slayer in this original urban fantasy eBook about Geekomancers—humans that derive supernatural powers from pop culture. Ree Reyes’s life was easier when all she had to worry about was scraping together tips from her gig as a barista and comicshop slave to pursue her ambitions as a screenwriter.
When a scruffy-looking guy storms into the s...more
When a scruffy-looking guy storms into the s...more
ebook, 255 pages
Published
July 10th 2012
by Pocket Star
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Have you ever read such a good [fantasy] book that by the end of it you believed in magic…if only a little? Or maybe watched Star Wars, episode 2 and walked away from it feeling that if you only found a Master and practiced your latent Jedi powers would manifest? What about reading one of Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden novels and then find yourself shopping for a trench coat and a skull? Or walking away from an episode of Firefly itching for a sixshooter and a spaceship…?
http://bookslifewine.wordpr...more
http://bookslifewine.wordpr...more
So, you know the usual Urban Fantasy book?
The one that(probably) has a woman in strange, uncomfortable and maybe even physically impossible pose on the cover? Wearing little in the way of clothing and perhaps even holding a weapon of some kind? You know, the one with a main character full of snark, who flings magic and kicks asses in a world hidden beneath the 'real' one?
That Urban Fantasy book? Get that book.
Got it? Ok. Good.
Now drown that fucker in a vat composed of the pure essence of geekdo...more
The one that(probably) has a woman in strange, uncomfortable and maybe even physically impossible pose on the cover? Wearing little in the way of clothing and perhaps even holding a weapon of some kind? You know, the one with a main character full of snark, who flings magic and kicks asses in a world hidden beneath the 'real' one?
That Urban Fantasy book? Get that book.
Got it? Ok. Good.
Now drown that fucker in a vat composed of the pure essence of geekdo...more
Nov 12, 2012
Eric
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Geeks, dorks, nerds, and other table-top gamers
Recommended to Eric by:
Sword and Laser
Shelves:
urban-fantasy
A fracking geek explosion for all the Scoobies, Jedis, and Browncoats out there who wish to wield their D20s and replica LoTR swords to do battle against the eternal forces of doom.
While the constant use of geek terms can at points be overmuch, the story of twenty-something barista Ree's journey down the rabbit-hole into a Neverwhere-esque underworld of geek magic is an enchanting blend of adventure, humor, urban fantasy and geek wish-fulfillment.
It also doesn't hurt that I got a digital copy...more
While the constant use of geek terms can at points be overmuch, the story of twenty-something barista Ree's journey down the rabbit-hole into a Neverwhere-esque underworld of geek magic is an enchanting blend of adventure, humor, urban fantasy and geek wish-fulfillment.
It also doesn't hurt that I got a digital copy...more
According to a friend of mine, if you don't love this book then you have to hand in your geek card... so I guess consider my card revoked?
Here's the thing: I can - and do - enjoy geek references and in-jokes and things as a sort of icing on top of a cake, but I still need the cake to be good.
For instance - I enjoy the TV series Castle. It's a pretty standard police procedural, but I like the characters. They have good chemistry and work well together. I already enjoy the show. And when they thr...more
Here's the thing: I can - and do - enjoy geek references and in-jokes and things as a sort of icing on top of a cake, but I still need the cake to be good.
For instance - I enjoy the TV series Castle. It's a pretty standard police procedural, but I like the characters. They have good chemistry and work well together. I already enjoy the show. And when they thr...more
As someone else wrote, this is full of Geek-fu. If you get the world of d20 dice and played D&D until dawn, you buy both the monthly AND trade paperback versions of your favorite comics, you watched the DVDs of Buffy and Battlestar Galactica with the directors' voice-over (twice), AND you know the difference between Boba and Jango Fett, you'll have a blast reading this. OK-- I don't play games with d20 dice and I only watched a few episodes of BG, but I once had hundreds of comics and I took...more
This is a cute urban fantasy. A LOT of fannish references are made so if you like that kind of thing it's fun to play spot the reference. Ree's place of employment, Cafe Xombi, is a cool sounding game & comic store combined with a coffee shop and I would like that to be an actual place near my house. I had to purchase it for my Nook in order to read it and am not sorry I spent money for it.
Feb 27, 2013
Nyssa
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Comic and TV fans & geeks!
Recommended to Nyssa by:
MrsJoseph
That was a LOT of Fun! Talk about Pop Culture Nirvana; especially for the Fantasy and SciFi set!!
Admittedly, some of the references were over my head and above my pay grade, but I don't think that was necessarily a bad thing. The sheer amount of geekiness could easily have turned into overkill.
Ree is funny, smart, incredibly lucky and occasionally, quite unbelievable, but, the reader really doesn't care about that last part. You just want her to succeed, kick butt, win, and stay alive.
I think...more
Admittedly, some of the references were over my head and above my pay grade, but I don't think that was necessarily a bad thing. The sheer amount of geekiness could easily have turned into overkill.
Ree is funny, smart, incredibly lucky and occasionally, quite unbelievable, but, the reader really doesn't care about that last part. You just want her to succeed, kick butt, win, and stay alive.
I think...more
Hello, my name is Joe and I'm a geek. My latest geeky thing I've done was to read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, to fully enjoy the book you need to be a bit of a geek. If you don't know who the browncoats are or have never traveled the time/space continuum in the TARDIS with Dr. Who, then this probably isn't for you. That being said, this is a really fun read without having to "get" every reference. So, unless you have to know everything to enjoy a book, don't let a lack of game playi...more
A good mix of comedy and action as the heroine discovers she is one of a select group of people able to obtain temporary superpowers by immersing herself in geek culture. There's a good deal more to the urban fantasy universe this is set in than that - there are supernatural beings, and there are people who gain magical abilities in other ways - but that's the angle the book approaches things from. The result is a comedic tour of geekdom, with lots of sly references in among the more obvious one...more
"Geekomancy" is aiming for the same sort of audience as "Ready Player One" - readers who have soaked deep in SFF culture and to whom half the fun of reading will be in spotting references - to D&D, to comics, to movies. [Presumably to books and computer games as well, but these were far less common.] Part of what made "Ready Player One" work was the straightforward joy in the genre the book conveyed. Even though the main character had soaked himself in 80s/90s culture in order to win a prize...more
This book I felt was a little slow to start. You learnt so much about Ree to give you a feel for her there was no real action until Clint came into the picture. However, once Clint appeared as did the action and more humour.
I love Ree's relationship with her dad and especially loved the references to films - especially the Princess Bride, one of my favourite classic films (Couldn't agree more with Ree's love or description of the film!).
This book won't be for everything; for starters you have to...more
I love Ree's relationship with her dad and especially loved the references to films - especially the Princess Bride, one of my favourite classic films (Couldn't agree more with Ree's love or description of the film!).
This book won't be for everything; for starters you have to...more
Jul 15, 2012
Cyndy Aleo
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Cyndy by:
Andrew Shaffer
Shelves:
urban-fantasy
I don't have to imagine being a twenty-something nerd working as a barista with a serious addiction to sci-fi and other forms of geekdom, because I was one. But Michael R. Underwood's
Geekomancy
takes my former pathetic existence to a whole new level: Imagine all that geek trivia you have stored in your brain -- you know, the brain that can provide you with minute trivia from the reboot of Battlestar Galactica but has you misplacing your car keys regularly -- could turn you into a superhero of...more
This isn't going to do the book justice. But, it's the best I can do...What didn't I love about this book? Practically nothing. Possibly not the best book I've read in the last year--but I can't think of a book that was more fun. (yeah, am trying not to gush here, so that's why I'm throwing so many negatives around here). Rather than just declare my love for every page (and practically every line), let me focus on three critical elements.
First, you have a Ree, a very unconventional UF heroine. S...more
First, you have a Ree, a very unconventional UF heroine. S...more
Mon avis en Français
My English review
I didn’t expect a book like this one. I can tell you that the ideas we find here are totally unique. I did expect something a little different with this kind of topic but maybe not at this point. Don’t not think it’s a bad thing, not at all! It was a pleasure to follow the Michael R. Underwood’s ideas all along the book and to try to understand all the little things he perfectly included in his story.
Ree is a young woman who dreams to become a scenarist but f...more
My English review
I didn’t expect a book like this one. I can tell you that the ideas we find here are totally unique. I did expect something a little different with this kind of topic but maybe not at this point. Don’t not think it’s a bad thing, not at all! It was a pleasure to follow the Michael R. Underwood’s ideas all along the book and to try to understand all the little things he perfectly included in his story.
Ree is a young woman who dreams to become a scenarist but f...more
What if Kevin Smith wrote an urban fantasy novel?*
If that question intrigues you, this book should shoot straight to the top of your TBR pile. If that sounds like it might be a little too heavy or meta, "Geekomancy" is still worth the read--but it might yield diminished returns if you're not highly fluent in geek culture. Since geek culture has gone pretty far mainstream, however, I doubt there will be many readers scratching their heads over lines such as "You *are* the droid they're looking fo...more
If that question intrigues you, this book should shoot straight to the top of your TBR pile. If that sounds like it might be a little too heavy or meta, "Geekomancy" is still worth the read--but it might yield diminished returns if you're not highly fluent in geek culture. Since geek culture has gone pretty far mainstream, however, I doubt there will be many readers scratching their heads over lines such as "You *are* the droid they're looking fo...more
You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/07/...
Ree Reyes is a struggling screenwriter that is biding her time by working as a barista at Café Xombie. It’s not a bad gig, and she loves the people, but life could be a little more exciting. Be careful what you wish for, because when Eastwood comes into her life, nothing will be the same. She manages to witness him fighting otherworld baddies in the alley outside the shop and is sucked into a world of all kinds of supernat...more
Ree Reyes is a struggling screenwriter that is biding her time by working as a barista at Café Xombie. It’s not a bad gig, and she loves the people, but life could be a little more exciting. Be careful what you wish for, because when Eastwood comes into her life, nothing will be the same. She manages to witness him fighting otherworld baddies in the alley outside the shop and is sucked into a world of all kinds of supernat...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Prelim Review: I won't lie this book may have been too pop culture laden even for me to handle. I like it as much as the next obsessive person--Whedon is my God and shows like Buffy, Farscape and Eureka top my list of favs, but Underwood packed so much pop culture ('geek') knowledge into this book it too often distracted from the plot.
I believe there is not a single 'page' (as this is an e-book, your page may vary dependent on your device) that goes by without half a dozen geek references. I can...more
I believe there is not a single 'page' (as this is an e-book, your page may vary dependent on your device) that goes by without half a dozen geek references. I can...more
Jul 21, 2012
Ben
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Geeks everywhere
Recommended to Ben by:
Ala
I've been grooving the urban fantasy genre for a bit now. Dresden Files caught me and swallowed me whole. A few others have touched the right vein. For me, there needs to be action, humor, and fun characters.
This one checks all three boxes and takes it to a different level of awesome!
Extremely unique and creative. Underwood takes everything that geeks love and hope for, and brings it to life in a funny and action-packed ride with trolls, lightsabers, underground sewers full of unmentionables, a...more
This one checks all three boxes and takes it to a different level of awesome!
Extremely unique and creative. Underwood takes everything that geeks love and hope for, and brings it to life in a funny and action-packed ride with trolls, lightsabers, underground sewers full of unmentionables, a...more
I was very sceptical when I first saw this. Was someone trying to make a quick buck from geek society? Was it someone just trying to ram as many references into a book as they could? Well it might be a bit of both but it's also a fun, entertaining action-adventure read.
The magic system is great, something fresh and different to most fantasy. The characters were enjoyable but a tad cliché though as this is all about references and tropes the characters fit the story. The story wasn't the stronges...more
The magic system is great, something fresh and different to most fantasy. The characters were enjoyable but a tad cliché though as this is all about references and tropes the characters fit the story. The story wasn't the stronges...more
Messy, in-progress review:
3.5 stars. I jumped on this one because it sounded different. I was hoping for some Ready Player One type humor, but the book was just ok. The author tries too hard with the pandering sometimes. I also think this was probably aimed at a different brand of geek than me, as a matter of fact the book probably should have been called nerdomancy. Oh and of course the protagonist dated girls for a couple of years, because that's normal.
"Now we'll see if the lock-picking kit d...more
3.5 stars. I jumped on this one because it sounded different. I was hoping for some Ready Player One type humor, but the book was just ok. The author tries too hard with the pandering sometimes. I also think this was probably aimed at a different brand of geek than me, as a matter of fact the book probably should have been called nerdomancy. Oh and of course the protagonist dated girls for a couple of years, because that's normal.
"Now we'll see if the lock-picking kit d...more
Geekomancy tells the story of Ree a barista and wanna-be film writer. Ree lives a somewhat idyllic young, adult geek life. She learns that there is a shadow world of monsters and magic that most of us just not notice due to some built in abilities of the human mind to forget or ignore. Moreover she has powers in this world that feed off of geek pop culture. Ree is pulled into the world to investigate a string of suicides. As a result she meets many interesting characters and loses almost all sem...more
I really like this author's voice and enjoyed the story's premise--that magic can be manipulated through obsessive immersion in pop culture (among other paths). I had a number of problems with the book, though. Eastwood's actions didn't make much sense, in my opinion. Why involve Ree (the main character) at all, aside from that the plot required it? By the end of the story I loathed him and would have been happy to see him die a fiery death. Also, a whole slew of Ree's friends are introduced (co...more
What prompted me to purchase this book was 1.) The title, and 2.) a review on Amazon that favorably compared it to Ready Player One, which I adored.
Now, I'd be lying if I said it was as good as Ready Player One...I felt like all the geeky references were getting to be a bit much, and the titular geekomancy hardly factored into the story. It seemed like every time the main character would watch a show or movie, she would then lose all the abilities she gleaned from it a little while later before...more
Now, I'd be lying if I said it was as good as Ready Player One...I felt like all the geeky references were getting to be a bit much, and the titular geekomancy hardly factored into the story. It seemed like every time the main character would watch a show or movie, she would then lose all the abilities she gleaned from it a little while later before...more
The term "geek" is used pretty broadly these days... and I won't go into debate about what makes a geek or not. I'm not that pretentious. If, for any reason, you consider yourself a geek, can at least understand references from science fiction series/movies, comic books and RPGs, and find a story about "magic wielding geeks that draw their powers from geek culture" interesting, then this book might be right up your alley. It was a great read for me. A fun premise with a likable heroine that was...more
Geekomancy is a dream come true for a classic Geek such as myself. It basically becomes a 284-page ego stroke based on the number of obscure references the reader can recognize. I certainly have nothing against the new wave of fly-by-night geeks (fans of the new Batman movies, Angry Bird-ers, the Harry Potter devotees, etc), but this book will probably be too advanced for them (I saw that somewhat facetiously with the hard-earned pride of a self-righteous, nerdier-than-thou lifer).
The book is me...more
The book is me...more
This book ended the Great Reading Drought of 2012 and for that I can't thank it enough. Over the past few years I've slowly been stepping out of the geek closet, emmersing myself in the shows, movies and books my friends had been raving about and discovering that a lot more people shared my ultranerdy tastes than I'd ever realized. This book is for all residents of geekdom, whether your tastes run to gaming, comics, movies or TV. Having recently marathoned both Firefly and How I Met Your Mother...more
Michael R. Underwood's Geekomancy is pretty much exactly what you've read about it. It's a fun romp through geekdom with enough references to the culture that someone probably ought to be chronicled and categorized for the completionists out there.
I wasn't terribly thrilled with the overall plot, and there were definitely a couple of twists along the way that had me scratching my head. I think perhaps the overall storyline took a backseat occasionally to getting in the pop culture references, bu...more
I wasn't terribly thrilled with the overall plot, and there were definitely a couple of twists along the way that had me scratching my head. I think perhaps the overall storyline took a backseat occasionally to getting in the pop culture references, bu...more
I needed something light, fun and fluffy after digesting way to many poorly written/edited mommy porn books. So far I am hooked :D
I am done and sad that this fun geeky romp is over. I loved the humour and the idea of gaining magical abilities by watching media in the geeky genre of a Sci-Fi/Fantasy or picking up a loved light saber or Magic card. My favourite part is when Ree gained BBC Sherlock abilities complete with txt pop ups :D One of he cons was emulating genre abilities didn't last very...more
I am done and sad that this fun geeky romp is over. I loved the humour and the idea of gaining magical abilities by watching media in the geeky genre of a Sci-Fi/Fantasy or picking up a loved light saber or Magic card. My favourite part is when Ree gained BBC Sherlock abilities complete with txt pop ups :D One of he cons was emulating genre abilities didn't last very...more
I wavered between a three and four star rating. Great actions scenes, good writing, but a lot of obscenities and vulgarities (though few profanities). I loved the strong female main character (and her relationship with her dad). I'm waffling on whether I'll read more in the series or not because 1) I'm still unsure of the "rules" of the magic, which makes me think there aren't any and the magic either works or doesn't work based on whether or not the plot needs it to work at that point and 2) a...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Sword and Laser: Geekomancy | 46 | 304 | Mar 29, 2013 11:36am | |
| Belletristernas b...: Geekomancy | 7 | 6 | Mar 02, 2013 04:42pm | |
| Fantasy Aficionados: Geekomancy | 5 | 51 | Dec 19, 2012 12:16pm |
Mike is the author of Geekomancy, the first in a comedic urban fantasy series about magicians who channel the power of popular culture. Geekomancy was published July 2012 by Pocket Star, and the sequel, Celebromancy, is coming 7/15/2013.
Mike started telling stories when he learned to talk and hasn't seen a reason to stop yet. He grew up playing video games, CCGs, RPGs, and many other delightful ga...more
More about Michael R. Underwood...
Mike started telling stories when he learned to talk and hasn't seen a reason to stop yet. He grew up playing video games, CCGs, RPGs, and many other delightful ga...more
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“Right now. Living. Aiming to misbehave or just trying not to fade away.”
—
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“The room continued to spin though she was standing still, but her ears were hot. She felt like she'd just slammed three doubles of tequila and needed a fistfight chaser.”
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You should see my library... O_o No such thing as too many books...
Dec 20, 2012 02:12pm
Feb 24, 2013 02:28pm