80's sci-fi/fantasy con murder mystery.

Yes, you read that right. But the awesomeness of this book isn't from the murder--that doesn't even occur until halfway through. Instead, it's the look at the state of fandom in the 1980s.

The story follows engineering professor and sci-fi author Jay Omega, author of the well-written but unfortunately-titled "Bimbos of the Death Sun." If you're in any sort of "fandom" now, you'll recognize with glee a lot of the things that Omega is seeing for the first time: "fandom," cosplaying, BNFs ("Big Name Fans") the general reputation of con-goers as unwashed geeks...

And then there's the stuff that's changed. Before the internet, there were 'zines. Lots of 'zines. And don't forget the advanced floppy disks that you can see in the computer room!

Anyone with experience in fandom will love this. It's a light read and quite humorous...and if you haven't been to a convention before, this is still a good guide.

Just something to keep it mind: it is set in, and was written in, the 1980s. It's not a modern take on old-school fandom. It's still wonderful, but I wouldn't want you to have the wrong idea.