What do you think?
Rate this book
The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl
In this debut novel, acclaimed short-story author Tim Pratt delivers an exciting heroine with a hidden talent—and a secret duty. Witty and suspenseful, here is a contemporary love song to the West that was won and the myths that shape us. . . .
As night manager of Santa Cruz’s quirkiest coffeehouse, Marzi McCarty makes a mean espresso, but her first love is making comics. Her claim to The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl, a cowpunk neo-western yarn. Striding through an urban frontier peopled by Marzi’s wild imagination, Rangergirl doles out her own brand of justice. But lately Marzi’s imagination seems to be altering her reality. She’s seeing the world through Rangergirl’s eyes—literally—complete with her deadly nemesis, the Outlaw.
It all started when Marzi opened a hidden door in the coffeehouse storage room. There, imprisoned among the supplies, she saw the face of something unknown . . . and dangerous. And she unwittingly became its guard. But some primal darkness must’ve escaped, because Marzi hasn’t been the same since. And neither have her customers, who are acting downright apocalyptic.
Now it’s up to Marzi to stop this supervillainous superforce that’s swaggered its way into her world. For Marzi, it’s the showdown of her life. For Rangergirl, it’s just another day. . . .
As night manager of Santa Cruz’s quirkiest coffeehouse, Marzi McCarty makes a mean espresso, but her first love is making comics. Her claim to The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl, a cowpunk neo-western yarn. Striding through an urban frontier peopled by Marzi’s wild imagination, Rangergirl doles out her own brand of justice. But lately Marzi’s imagination seems to be altering her reality. She’s seeing the world through Rangergirl’s eyes—literally—complete with her deadly nemesis, the Outlaw.
It all started when Marzi opened a hidden door in the coffeehouse storage room. There, imprisoned among the supplies, she saw the face of something unknown . . . and dangerous. And she unwittingly became its guard. But some primal darkness must’ve escaped, because Marzi hasn’t been the same since. And neither have her customers, who are acting downright apocalyptic.
Now it’s up to Marzi to stop this supervillainous superforce that’s swaggered its way into her world. For Marzi, it’s the showdown of her life. For Rangergirl, it’s just another day. . . .
402 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
19 people are currently reading
466 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
July 29, 2016
If, from the title of this book, you think it’s a graphic novel, you’re very close. The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl is a book about a woman who writes and illustrates a cowpunk (an odd combination of steampunk and a Western) comic book titled The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl. Her name isn’t Rangergirl, though, it’s Marzi (short for Marzipan), but her life does begin to take on some strange similarities to the main character of her comic book when she starts to see visions of her characters in the coffee shop where she is the night manager. She has a terrible fear of opening doors after suffering a nervous breakdown two years before, and to make things even worse, she begins to be pursued by a woman made entirely of mud, who believes that her goddess is commanding her to tear down the coffee shop.
Still with me? Good.
This is the first novel by Tim Pratt, and I’m awfully impressed with it. It has a very odd sensibility about it, but still manages to stay firmly rooted reality. Because of that, other people have termed this novel an urban fantasy, but whenever I think of those kinds of books, I think of Charles de Lint, and Tim Pratt has very little to do with de Lint. I find more similarities between Pratt and Cory Doctorow, or Damien Broderick, than I do other “urban fantasists”. For that reason, I would avoid labeling the book as either fantasy or science fiction, or urban fantasy or magic realism. The best label that comes to mind, for me, would be “imaginative fiction”, because this is certainly that.
Pratt is a vivid writer, and he brings a lot of life to his characters and settings. His imagery is stunning, as is his imagination, and the two combined make for a unque style of fiction. I’d love to give some examples of both, but the best examples come about halfway through the book and forward, and I would hate to spoil the story for anyone wanting to read the book. You’ll just have to trust me.
I’ve found that it’s much harder to review a book when it’s really good, as opposed to one that’s really bad. If a book is bad, I can see why — clunky narrative, unrealistic characters, or an inability to convey a sense of disbelief stand out. When a book is good, though, I tend to get so wrapped up in the story that much of the structure and mechanics of the story disappears. I can’t find much fault with this book.
If you enjoy science fiction that’s a little off kilter, or urban fantasies that are right on the fringe (or if you just like highly imaginative fiction), then I would recommend reading The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl. I think it would be well worth the effort.
Still with me? Good.
This is the first novel by Tim Pratt, and I’m awfully impressed with it. It has a very odd sensibility about it, but still manages to stay firmly rooted reality. Because of that, other people have termed this novel an urban fantasy, but whenever I think of those kinds of books, I think of Charles de Lint, and Tim Pratt has very little to do with de Lint. I find more similarities between Pratt and Cory Doctorow, or Damien Broderick, than I do other “urban fantasists”. For that reason, I would avoid labeling the book as either fantasy or science fiction, or urban fantasy or magic realism. The best label that comes to mind, for me, would be “imaginative fiction”, because this is certainly that.
Pratt is a vivid writer, and he brings a lot of life to his characters and settings. His imagery is stunning, as is his imagination, and the two combined make for a unque style of fiction. I’d love to give some examples of both, but the best examples come about halfway through the book and forward, and I would hate to spoil the story for anyone wanting to read the book. You’ll just have to trust me.
I’ve found that it’s much harder to review a book when it’s really good, as opposed to one that’s really bad. If a book is bad, I can see why — clunky narrative, unrealistic characters, or an inability to convey a sense of disbelief stand out. When a book is good, though, I tend to get so wrapped up in the story that much of the structure and mechanics of the story disappears. I can’t find much fault with this book.
If you enjoy science fiction that’s a little off kilter, or urban fantasies that are right on the fringe (or if you just like highly imaginative fiction), then I would recommend reading The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl. I think it would be well worth the effort.
August 28, 2008
This is amazing. Really amazing. I was born in Santa Cruz and have visted some friends that went to college out there and so I'm fairly familiar with the town and Pratt does a good job of making the town seem like it's filled with both normal and crazy people, but that's just to be expected. Which is true. It IS Santa Cruz after all.
This book is seriously one of the best books I've read in the past two years. It's exciting and has crazy stuff going on next to normal stuff and there's the "Magical Realism" thing going on, but with disbelief from the main characters which is good to see since that means that there's more room for growth for them.
It's simply amazing, seriously. Really well written and it gives characters believability in situations which are completely impossible.
I have to say that it really is a great novel. It's one of the best I've ever read. It's fantasy, but also realistic. It's a drama that's also funny. There's the on-going love story, but there's an undertone of sadness. It's amazingly well written and is another in a long line of books that are essentially about the power of story and the proper place for "story" and "art" in our lives.
Everyone should read this. Everyone. It's almost too good.
This book is seriously one of the best books I've read in the past two years. It's exciting and has crazy stuff going on next to normal stuff and there's the "Magical Realism" thing going on, but with disbelief from the main characters which is good to see since that means that there's more room for growth for them.
It's simply amazing, seriously. Really well written and it gives characters believability in situations which are completely impossible.
I have to say that it really is a great novel. It's one of the best I've ever read. It's fantasy, but also realistic. It's a drama that's also funny. There's the on-going love story, but there's an undertone of sadness. It's amazingly well written and is another in a long line of books that are essentially about the power of story and the proper place for "story" and "art" in our lives.
Everyone should read this. Everyone. It's almost too good.
December 14, 2022
I bought a copy based on favorable reviews and multiple award nominations. Sadly, it didn't work for me: I would read a chapter or three, set it aside.... After about three cycles of this, I gave up. Oh, well. It does have classy cover-art!
April 24, 2011
I found some of the concepts in this book really interesting - concepts of the genius loci - the spirit of a place - what I sometimes refer to as "the little gods". Also concepts about how reality is based on perception, even more so when dealing with such things.
I also really enjoyed the blending on the Wild West theme onto the modern setting.
But even though the premise was pretty awesome, and it deals with a lot of interesting concepts and plot ideas, the story, itself, seems like it could've been so much more than it was.
Partially I think this is because it's a bit belabored in points. I don't know if the author felt like the audience wouldn't get certain things unless they were repeated several times, or if he just wanted his heroine to be a bit thick, but there was a lot of repetition. Also, a lot of things are expositiony - we're either explained what happens, or we see what people think about certain things, but we don't feel what they're feeling all that often.
I liked the characters. I liked the story. I liked the plot, even if the narration gets a bit bogged down in places. But I also feel that the premise had so much more promise than what we're actually given.
I would say 4-stars for the story, and 3-stars for execution. (Some individual parts were really good, but the overall narration is a bit uncohesive. And the ending was a bit rushed and anti-climactic after all the set-up.)
That's still not bad, though, and the book's staying on my keeper shelf, at least for the time being.
I also really enjoyed the blending on the Wild West theme onto the modern setting.
But even though the premise was pretty awesome, and it deals with a lot of interesting concepts and plot ideas, the story, itself, seems like it could've been so much more than it was.
Partially I think this is because it's a bit belabored in points. I don't know if the author felt like the audience wouldn't get certain things unless they were repeated several times, or if he just wanted his heroine to be a bit thick, but there was a lot of repetition. Also, a lot of things are expositiony - we're either explained what happens, or we see what people think about certain things, but we don't feel what they're feeling all that often.
I liked the characters. I liked the story. I liked the plot, even if the narration gets a bit bogged down in places. But I also feel that the premise had so much more promise than what we're actually given.
I would say 4-stars for the story, and 3-stars for execution. (Some individual parts were really good, but the overall narration is a bit uncohesive. And the ending was a bit rushed and anti-climactic after all the set-up.)
That's still not bad, though, and the book's staying on my keeper shelf, at least for the time being.
January 20, 2009
Borrowed from a friend, who liked it a lot more than I did. It's an interesting premise, but I don't do well with books where the rules and realities change at the will of the character, for no discernible reason. I liked some of it a lot, but the ending ultimately didn't seem to make much sense, meaning that it didn't unfold naturally from the ongoing plot.
April 7, 2020
This was his first novel?? Wow.
Mythic, meta, and probably other words that begin with M. Delighted.
Mythic, meta, and probably other words that begin with M. Delighted.
May 6, 2010
Finally...I finished the book. Author sets up a vivid scene, and can take you place. But the book is odd. First half of book took a lot of wading through, because it was setting up the story. Last part of the story grabbed this reader and she wanted to finish the story to find out what happened.
The story is about a girl, Marzi, who draws comics and works in a coffee lounge in Santa Cruz. Two years ago, she had a bit of a break-down, dropped out of school, and started re-claiming her life. She has the odd assortment of friends and characters around her - a "best" friend, a new guy, a spaced out character, and other oddballs. I say oddballs, because one guy has an OCD complex with cleanliness and the number 9. Anywho, life is going along in its normal path when weird things start to happen, the spaced out guy comes in talking of his new god, the god of earthquakes. OCD guy looks to be weirding out, lately he is hanging about with a girl covered in mud. And Marzi is slowly wondering if she's going to have another breakdown. Then the outlaw from her comic escapes his prison and it's up to Marzi and her posse to put him back or put him down.
The story is about a girl, Marzi, who draws comics and works in a coffee lounge in Santa Cruz. Two years ago, she had a bit of a break-down, dropped out of school, and started re-claiming her life. She has the odd assortment of friends and characters around her - a "best" friend, a new guy, a spaced out character, and other oddballs. I say oddballs, because one guy has an OCD complex with cleanliness and the number 9. Anywho, life is going along in its normal path when weird things start to happen, the spaced out guy comes in talking of his new god, the god of earthquakes. OCD guy looks to be weirding out, lately he is hanging about with a girl covered in mud. And Marzi is slowly wondering if she's going to have another breakdown. Then the outlaw from her comic escapes his prison and it's up to Marzi and her posse to put him back or put him down.
February 2, 2017
A delightful story - one of those meta tales of a writer writing about herself writing. Marzi is a barista and a creator of comic books. Rangergirl is her main character, a heroic figure in a neo-western, confronting dastardly villains. Then the characters start to appear in her world, and the only way to defeat them is to travel to their world. Or is it really theirs? Who gets to define reality?
October 18, 2014
A fun and engaging book that has comic books, art theory, murders, coffee, fluid sexuality, Old West tale-telling, vision quests, oracles and an unstoppable protagonist in the form of Marzi, who is an awesome central character. Reading this, while you're in it (and you will be) feels like the longest buildup to a climax EVER, but it would be a mistake to consider it that way, since it really has more of a comic book issues leading up to the last issue - in the old mini-series format feel. The preceding is kind of like a sentence. Anyway, the whole thing is a genre-spanning lark with enough rude language and adult problems to keep it from feeling silly. This would make good sit-and-read for hours material.
September 15, 2016
A rather strange book.
Sort of a weird western, crossed with Buffy the Vampire slayer, with hints of some of the themes Charles de Lint plays with. (Manatou, Consent reality, artists, etc)
I was bored and ready for it to be done with by the time I was half done, yet at the same time, it's such an ODD book I kept reading cause I really wanted to know how it ended.
I'm not a comic book fan, but I think I would have preferred to read the (fictional) comic book rather than this novel.
So, to date, I've read 3 novels and 1 short story collection by Mr. Pratt. I remember enjoying the short story collection quite a bit, but have been disappointed by all 3 of the novels. I should probably steer clear of his work in the future or perhaps just stick to his short fiction.
Sort of a weird western, crossed with Buffy the Vampire slayer, with hints of some of the themes Charles de Lint plays with. (Manatou, Consent reality, artists, etc)
I was bored and ready for it to be done with by the time I was half done, yet at the same time, it's such an ODD book I kept reading cause I really wanted to know how it ended.
I'm not a comic book fan, but I think I would have preferred to read the (fictional) comic book rather than this novel.
So, to date, I've read 3 novels and 1 short story collection by Mr. Pratt. I remember enjoying the short story collection quite a bit, but have been disappointed by all 3 of the novels. I should probably steer clear of his work in the future or perhaps just stick to his short fiction.
June 4, 2010
Absolutely fantastic. I'd put a *bleep*ing in there too, if there weren't gentle readers with soft ears out there. Pratt's description and use of location really makes the book, though the hilarious characters and the inventive plot sure do help as well. Without a doubt, he's my new favorite fantasy author, and without a doubt this is the best of his full-length fiction out there (so far, anyway).
December 6, 2016
This book was unexpected. Weird. Adventure, fantasy - sorta. Almost too scary for me (I'm a whimp), but I'm glad I persevered. Elements of art & myths & archetypes... A lot to think about. So many interesting ideas.
The kind of book that gets reviewed in clauses instead of complete sentences.
The kind of book that gets reviewed in clauses instead of complete sentences.
August 18, 2020
I'm not sure what I thought of this book. I liked parts, and I wasn't a huge fan of others. I liked some of the characters and others I just didn't care one way or the other. The plot felt a bit forced. I have wanted to read this book for a long time, so I think I had built it up a bit in my mind and it didn't quite live up. Oh well.
July 28, 2008
I loved this book. It was so creative and just pulled you in. I would recommend to anyone looking for a creative, well written novel.
April 17, 2020
More like a 3.5. What a weird book!
April 21, 2023
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.5 of 5
I have recently enjoyed a few of the new Tim Pratt novels and I thought maybe I would go back and read some of his earlier works. As it turns out, this is apparently his first published novel (if my sources are correct).
This is the story of Marzipan ("Marzi") - a young woman who writes and illustrates a graphic novel by the title of The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl. That book is what one refers to as 'cowpunk' - a hybrid of Western fiction and steampunk.
As you might imagine, writing and illustrating your own graphic novel doesn't make for a big paycheck and Marzi does have another job as a night manager at a coffee shop. It is there that life gets a bit wonky for her when she begins seeing some of her characters (those she's created for her graphic novel) in the coffee shop.
One of the things that Pratt does nicely here is blend the reality and the fantasy so that we're always guessing. Is that really a crazy woman, or is this a flight of fantasy?
Pratt also makes the concept of Rangergirl and the graphic novel sound really fun. I don't currently, regularly read any graphic novels, but if this existed I'd definitely want to check it out.
I'm by no means a Pratt expert, but I do think one can tell that this is an early book in the author's career. It's not the tightest of narratives and there is a fair amount of over-explaining. Mansplaining? This pulls away from the concept just enough to take away some of the enjoyment.
'Cowpunk' may be a new moniker (for me) but the concept has certainly been around. Anyone ever watch The Wild Wild West?
This was a casually fun read but I'm glad it wasn't my introduction to Pratt - it would not have made me curious or anxious to read more of his work.
Looking for a good book? The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl by Tim Pratt is a fun, fast fantasy. Delightful in its own way, and good for a beach read, but not the sort of book you'll be thinking about much past the last chapter.
I have recently enjoyed a few of the new Tim Pratt novels and I thought maybe I would go back and read some of his earlier works. As it turns out, this is apparently his first published novel (if my sources are correct).
This is the story of Marzipan ("Marzi") - a young woman who writes and illustrates a graphic novel by the title of The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl. That book is what one refers to as 'cowpunk' - a hybrid of Western fiction and steampunk.
As you might imagine, writing and illustrating your own graphic novel doesn't make for a big paycheck and Marzi does have another job as a night manager at a coffee shop. It is there that life gets a bit wonky for her when she begins seeing some of her characters (those she's created for her graphic novel) in the coffee shop.
One of the things that Pratt does nicely here is blend the reality and the fantasy so that we're always guessing. Is that really a crazy woman, or is this a flight of fantasy?
Pratt also makes the concept of Rangergirl and the graphic novel sound really fun. I don't currently, regularly read any graphic novels, but if this existed I'd definitely want to check it out.
I'm by no means a Pratt expert, but I do think one can tell that this is an early book in the author's career. It's not the tightest of narratives and there is a fair amount of over-explaining. Mansplaining? This pulls away from the concept just enough to take away some of the enjoyment.
'Cowpunk' may be a new moniker (for me) but the concept has certainly been around. Anyone ever watch The Wild Wild West?
This was a casually fun read but I'm glad it wasn't my introduction to Pratt - it would not have made me curious or anxious to read more of his work.
Looking for a good book? The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl by Tim Pratt is a fun, fast fantasy. Delightful in its own way, and good for a beach read, but not the sort of book you'll be thinking about much past the last chapter.
June 23, 2021
A belated selection for the r/Fantasy 2016 Bingo for the 'Weird Western' square. Not only is it a weird western, it's also a portal fantasy. What was interesting for me is that it's set in Santa Cruz, which I'm quite familiar with, so it was fun to equate the adventures of Marzi(pan) and her friends to places I knew. This was Pratt's debut novel. I'd previously read his three science fiction novels in the Axiom series, and found that he has a writing style that my brain just laps up. Very easy to read, and this one was no different. The book suffers from the "why don't they just talk to each other" trope and things could have been a lot simpler if they had. The ending also felt a bit like a damp squib too.
February 17, 2023
Marzi McCarty is working at a coffee house at night and writes and draws comic book , The Adventures of Rangergirl, during the day. The coffee house, the Genius Loci, has murals done by Garamond Ray. Jonathan, a grad student, has come to Santa Cruz to do a paper on Ray. Jonathan and Marzi start a relationship. Strange things are going on in Santa Cruz. The villain from Marzi’s comic, the Outlaw, has come to life and is recruiting followers. Can Marzi, Jonathan and Marzi’s friends Lindsey stop the Outlaw. This is a nice story about fiction and the classic heroes journey tale. Marzi imagination may save the day. The characters and setting are well thought out. A great first novel.
March 7, 2021
It was a very odd, very twisted story, but I loved it!
August 7, 2015
This review and others posted over at
my blog.
What if characters from a comic you wrote suddenly began creeping their way into your life and were less than friendly? Would you take a stand against them or call a shrink? Marzi finds herself facing The Outlaw, a nemesis she created for her gun-toting, badass alter ego, Rangergirl, in her wild west themed comics. As The Outlaw and his minions force their way into her life and threaten to destroy her town she must face them and defend her home.
If you enjoy urban fantasy mixed with a healthy dose of western adventure, this is the book for you. I was reminded of Charles de Lint’s world building – where artwork and legends come to life in our modern time and try to integrate into or destroy our society. I was heading on vacation when I picked this up and I wanted something that would be light and fun and Pratt delivered. Engrossed, I read most of this book in a day. Marzi is a great lead character, and even more spectacular are the characters she created for her Rangergirl comic. I loved the mutable character of The Outlaw – everyone viewed him a bit differently and his personality began to change because of Marzi. He had a lot of wit and made a great villain.
I found it easy to imagine the world Marzi created in her comics as it came to life before her own eyes. In fact, I would love to see some actual Rangergirl comics. In fact, I think Pratt should team up with Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples and make an awesome comic series! They don’t even have to credit me for the idea!
This book has been on my shelf for years and years and my only regret is not picking it up sooner!
What if characters from a comic you wrote suddenly began creeping their way into your life and were less than friendly? Would you take a stand against them or call a shrink? Marzi finds herself facing The Outlaw, a nemesis she created for her gun-toting, badass alter ego, Rangergirl, in her wild west themed comics. As The Outlaw and his minions force their way into her life and threaten to destroy her town she must face them and defend her home.
If you enjoy urban fantasy mixed with a healthy dose of western adventure, this is the book for you. I was reminded of Charles de Lint’s world building – where artwork and legends come to life in our modern time and try to integrate into or destroy our society. I was heading on vacation when I picked this up and I wanted something that would be light and fun and Pratt delivered. Engrossed, I read most of this book in a day. Marzi is a great lead character, and even more spectacular are the characters she created for her Rangergirl comic. I loved the mutable character of The Outlaw – everyone viewed him a bit differently and his personality began to change because of Marzi. He had a lot of wit and made a great villain.
I found it easy to imagine the world Marzi created in her comics as it came to life before her own eyes. In fact, I would love to see some actual Rangergirl comics. In fact, I think Pratt should team up with Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples and make an awesome comic series! They don’t even have to credit me for the idea!
This book has been on my shelf for years and years and my only regret is not picking it up sooner!
March 5, 2017
Comics, the Old West and pre-historic creatures populate this story set in Santa Cruz, a place of neo-beatniks, earth feminists, agoraphobes and other assorted wildlife. This book is deadly serious in tone and yet I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of amusement at times. Marzi McCarty is no kind of heroine—she’d be the first to tell you that. But she’s a legend in her own mind and the artistic streak runs deep inside her.
Artistry of one kind or another fuels the people in this book from a mud-woman who erects enormous sandcastles to the long-lost Garamond Ray whose murals take on a life of their own. The book is at times surreal, grimly realistic and tainted with horror. But even if there are things who revel in chaos, destruction, mess or leveling, there are always the other kind—the creators and makers who build, the law-givers who rule.
This is one exciting ride with startling developments, tight dialogue and some of the most colorful characters you’ve ever met. Saddle up, cowgirls. It’s time to take out the bad guys.
Artistry of one kind or another fuels the people in this book from a mud-woman who erects enormous sandcastles to the long-lost Garamond Ray whose murals take on a life of their own. The book is at times surreal, grimly realistic and tainted with horror. But even if there are things who revel in chaos, destruction, mess or leveling, there are always the other kind—the creators and makers who build, the law-givers who rule.
This is one exciting ride with startling developments, tight dialogue and some of the most colorful characters you’ve ever met. Saddle up, cowgirls. It’s time to take out the bad guys.
May 13, 2008
This book was a bit stange for me at first, but then I started to like it. The main characters in this book are Marzi McCarty, (short for Marzipan) her friend Lindsay, her other friend Jonathan, Jane, Beej, Denis, and the Outlaw. Marzi is just working at the coffeehouse Genius Loci, when an earthquake hits and a regular Beej starts going on about some earthquake god, dressed like a Native American with skin like cracked sandstone. Marzi just thinks she's seeing things, again. Marzi has just met Jonathan when Jane Canarray shows up covered in mud and attacks Marzi, also babbling about some Goddess. Denis Jane's partial boyfriend, goes up to the mountains and tries to tie up lose ends.
September 21, 2013
Genius Loci: the pervading spirit of a place, or the guardian deity of a place.
The place is a well-known Santa Cruz Victorian coffeehouse, in the heart of my downtown, and renamed Genius Loci, by our author, for what transpires within its atmospheric walls and behind its mysterious doorways. I dig that eclectic café and its dedicated baristas. Here’s what else I dig: an urban fantasy set in my very own urban landscape, my beloved Santa Cruz, a place I have lived for over 27 years. Blend with the mythology of the Old West, strong characters including a kick-ass heroine, and her brave best friends, artists and hippies, and an unleashed demonic god, and you have the recipe for great fantastical story-telling.
The place is a well-known Santa Cruz Victorian coffeehouse, in the heart of my downtown, and renamed Genius Loci, by our author, for what transpires within its atmospheric walls and behind its mysterious doorways. I dig that eclectic café and its dedicated baristas. Here’s what else I dig: an urban fantasy set in my very own urban landscape, my beloved Santa Cruz, a place I have lived for over 27 years. Blend with the mythology of the Old West, strong characters including a kick-ass heroine, and her brave best friends, artists and hippies, and an unleashed demonic god, and you have the recipe for great fantastical story-telling.
August 19, 2007
Rangergirl. I want to write some intensely intelligent review of this book. I want to praise the coming of what I think could be one of the best books I've read in years. My brain is a bit too jumbled, though, from reading the last 369 pages in one go today.
Couldn't put it down for longer than a few minutes without it pulling me back in, through the dirty, grimy world it set up for us, an overlay of modern California and the rampaging Old West drawn so beautifully I could practically feel the grit in my mouth.
Good stuff. Thank you, Mr. Pratt. This is what Urban Fantasy is supposed to be and rarely is.
Couldn't put it down for longer than a few minutes without it pulling me back in, through the dirty, grimy world it set up for us, an overlay of modern California and the rampaging Old West drawn so beautifully I could practically feel the grit in my mouth.
Good stuff. Thank you, Mr. Pratt. This is what Urban Fantasy is supposed to be and rarely is.
March 2, 2009
Marzi McCarty works as a night manager at the Genius Loci coffeehouse in Santa Cruz and by day creates The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl, a cowpunk neo western comic book. Rangergirl is the best sort of heroine doling out her own brand of justice but things turn decidely strange when her imaginary Rangergirl world starts to alter the real world. Full of quirky, cool characters and a super deadly bad guy called the Outlaw this novel rocks! With imaginative, sharp writing, a heroine with sidekicks I really care about and some downright fascinating ideas I loved this and cannot wait to read more from Tim Pratt.
June 13, 2009
I picked this up at the library on a whim. It's marked as "sci-fi," but it was really more of a combination of fantasy and western, which in theory appeals to me. The story centers around Marzi, a comic book artist who must stop an ancient and evil god. Pretty standard fantasy fare, right? Right. And to be frank, a little too formulaic. I found myself wishing the comic book Marzi draws (about a Western hero named Rangergirl whose adventures parallel Marzi's own) was an actual thing, and that I could read that instead.
July 20, 2008
Takes a bit of time to introduce the characters and set everything up, but once the story gets going it really sucks you in. Quite literally.
The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl is a hugely impressive debut novel and one of the best I've read in a long time. A cracking story - peopled with well rounded characters and somne genuinely funny one-liners - that merrily tramples over a range of genres. Well worth checking out.
The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl is a hugely impressive debut novel and one of the best I've read in a long time. A cracking story - peopled with well rounded characters and somne genuinely funny one-liners - that merrily tramples over a range of genres. Well worth checking out.
April 19, 2010
Marzi, comic book artist and part-time barrista fights evil entity with the power of art! The actual comic creation side of it is a bit too vague for my liking, especially given how important the stories are, but at least what is given is reasonable.
Apart from the whole "art creates reality" trope which I always enjoy, it's also got some fun superhero/western mashup going on. It's very much in the zone of stuff I like.
Apart from the whole "art creates reality" trope which I always enjoy, it's also got some fun superhero/western mashup going on. It's very much in the zone of stuff I like.
April 16, 2010
Disclaimer: I generally don't like Westerns, even with sci-fi in them, so this one was a stretch for me. It was ok. I did like the Santa Cruz setting. I think his style is better-suited to short stories, so I recommend Hart & Boot & Other Stories, which I loved, instead.
December 29, 2010
I have been reading Tim Pratts short stories for a while this is his first novel.[return]The Coffee shop Genius Loci is a gateway to the spirit world. Our Heroine author of the Comic Book The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl finds herself fighting the spirit of desolation that wants to break through It isis already affecting those she knows. Can Art triumph over desolation?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews