What do you think?
Rate this book
Jaggers & Shad: ABC Is For Artificial Beings Crimes
From the seriously warped mind of author Barry B. Longyear. It's a world in which human engrams can be and are copied into bios that can be grown to resemble anything from movie stars to rats, and into mechanicals from lipstick-sized micros up to full-sized mechs. Although all self-aware AB's (Artificial Beings) in the United Kingdom had recently been granted full rights of citizenship, the crimes committed by and against AB's necessitated special laws and its own international branch of law Interpol's Artificial Beings Crimes Division. The cases recounted in Jaggers & ABC is for Artificial Beings Crimes are from the files of Exeter's Devon office, a law enforcement unit one must literally die to get Harrington Jaggers, an android that looks like Basil Rathbone; his amdroid partner Guy Shad, the former insurance duck; Jaggers's former partner, an incontinent gorilla amdroid, and running the unit a detective superintendent who is a dead ringer for John Dillinger. Foreword by Her Majesty, Queen Mehitabel. This is the complete award winning series that appeared in Analog plus two previously unpublished cases.
392 pages, Paperback
First published November 25, 2010
2 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Barry B. Longyear
120 books77 followersBarry Brookes Longyear was an American science fiction author who resided in New Sharon, Maine.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 13, 2024
Four hits, two misses
First four stories are pretty good stuff. The last two, I feel he gets a little too hokey with the plot. Just because it's fiction doesn't mean that just anything goes
First four stories are pretty good stuff. The last two, I feel he gets a little too hokey with the plot. Just because it's fiction doesn't mean that just anything goes
May 15, 2023
Interesting concepts - like the viewpoints of the characters. Good read.
October 3, 2012
Description Summary From Cover (review to follow after):
"Never Say 'well done to a duck"- Guy Shad
Its a world in which human engrams can be and are copied into bios that can be grown to resemble anything from movie stars to rats, and into mechanicals from lipstick-sized micros up to full-sized mechs. Although all self-aware AB's (Artificial Beings) in the United Kingdom had recently been granted full rights of citizenship, the crimes committed by and against AB's necessitated special laws and its own international branch of law enforment: Interpol's Artificial Beings Crimes Division.
The cases recounted in Jaggers & Shad: ABC is for Artificial Beings Crimes are from the files of Exeter's Devon office, a law enforcement unit one must literally die to get inot: DCI Harrington Jaggers, an android that looks like Basil Rathbone; his android partner DS Guy Shad, the former insurance duck; Jaggers former partner, an incontinent gorilla android, and running the unit a detective superintendent who is a dead ringer for John Dillinger. FOrword by Her Majesty, Queen Mehitabel. This is the complete award winning series that appeared in Analog plus two previously unpublished cases.
End Of Jacket Summary
Contains: The Good Kill, The Hangingstone Rat, The Purloined Labradoodle, The Collection Ghost (new), The Sheriff's Tale(new), and Murder in Parliament Street.
Jaggers & Shad will probably remain my favorite detectives of all time. Ever. The mystery aspect was well done, though the Hangingstone Rat was less of a who-done-it and more a race-against-the-clock variety thriller. There's a few modern references, but not as heavy as in the "Homecoming" so it won't feel dated to later readers. Moreover, American and British films are equally referenced, though equally well known across "the pond"
Jaggers (British) is a loner detective, and Shad (American Duck)is a former actor, and I'd rate the tone somewhere between "The Thin Man" meets "Bicentennial Man," though funny the stories touch on some very hard hitting emotional aspects. The sci-fi aspect is prominent, but clear descriptions make it very accessible for those who don't have a wide grasp of the more technical aspects sci-fi usually contains, and frankly makes it better paced.
I sincerely hope this isn't the last collection I'll see of Jaggers & Shad. I was heartbroken to finish "Parliament Street" knowing it'd be the last adventure, but I couldn't stop because it was so freaking awesome! And I can't remember feeling that way about a book in a very long time.
"Never Say 'well done to a duck"- Guy Shad
Its a world in which human engrams can be and are copied into bios that can be grown to resemble anything from movie stars to rats, and into mechanicals from lipstick-sized micros up to full-sized mechs. Although all self-aware AB's (Artificial Beings) in the United Kingdom had recently been granted full rights of citizenship, the crimes committed by and against AB's necessitated special laws and its own international branch of law enforment: Interpol's Artificial Beings Crimes Division.
The cases recounted in Jaggers & Shad: ABC is for Artificial Beings Crimes are from the files of Exeter's Devon office, a law enforcement unit one must literally die to get inot: DCI Harrington Jaggers, an android that looks like Basil Rathbone; his android partner DS Guy Shad, the former insurance duck; Jaggers former partner, an incontinent gorilla android, and running the unit a detective superintendent who is a dead ringer for John Dillinger. FOrword by Her Majesty, Queen Mehitabel. This is the complete award winning series that appeared in Analog plus two previously unpublished cases.
End Of Jacket Summary
Contains: The Good Kill, The Hangingstone Rat, The Purloined Labradoodle, The Collection Ghost (new), The Sheriff's Tale(new), and Murder in Parliament Street.
Jaggers & Shad will probably remain my favorite detectives of all time. Ever. The mystery aspect was well done, though the Hangingstone Rat was less of a who-done-it and more a race-against-the-clock variety thriller. There's a few modern references, but not as heavy as in the "Homecoming" so it won't feel dated to later readers. Moreover, American and British films are equally referenced, though equally well known across "the pond"
Jaggers (British) is a loner detective, and Shad (American Duck)is a former actor, and I'd rate the tone somewhere between "The Thin Man" meets "Bicentennial Man," though funny the stories touch on some very hard hitting emotional aspects. The sci-fi aspect is prominent, but clear descriptions make it very accessible for those who don't have a wide grasp of the more technical aspects sci-fi usually contains, and frankly makes it better paced.
I sincerely hope this isn't the last collection I'll see of Jaggers & Shad. I was heartbroken to finish "Parliament Street" knowing it'd be the last adventure, but I couldn't stop because it was so freaking awesome! And I can't remember feeling that way about a book in a very long time.
May 15, 2015
One of the Funniest Books I Have Read
While dealing in very serious and possibly accurate futurology, this collection presents serious situations that our technology might create. Yet it is presented as if it will be all rollicking good fun and easy to adjust to. The human spirit prevails.
In this future, engrams of humans can be copied into animals, and cloned human bodies, which creates a new class of crimes.
This is a collection of stories that tell an ongoing tale of a pair of homicide detectives who find a common language in very old movies. At one point they are copied into clones of the actors who played Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in old films.
In one story they are so involved in their roles of Holmes and Watson that the mystery is solved quickly. The story moves right on to Sherlock's explanation of the solution so fast that a reader might think there was text missing. But there is not one word missing, and no typos either. The Holmes and Watson section is just hilarious.
While dealing in very serious and possibly accurate futurology, this collection presents serious situations that our technology might create. Yet it is presented as if it will be all rollicking good fun and easy to adjust to. The human spirit prevails.
In this future, engrams of humans can be copied into animals, and cloned human bodies, which creates a new class of crimes.
This is a collection of stories that tell an ongoing tale of a pair of homicide detectives who find a common language in very old movies. At one point they are copied into clones of the actors who played Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in old films.
In one story they are so involved in their roles of Holmes and Watson that the mystery is solved quickly. The story moves right on to Sherlock's explanation of the solution so fast that a reader might think there was text missing. But there is not one word missing, and no typos either. The Holmes and Watson section is just hilarious.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews