The Shootout Solution by Michael R. Underwood, Genrenauts #1 Leah Tang just died on stage.
Not literally.
Not yet.
Leah's stand-up career isn't going well. But she understands the power of fiction, and when she's offered employment with the mysterious Genrenauts Foundation, she soon discovers that literally dying on stage is a hazard of the job!
Her first job takes her to a Western world. When a cowboy tale slips off its rails, and the outlaws start to win, it's up to Leah - and the Genrenauts team - to nudge the story back on track and prevent major ripples on Earth.
But the story's hero isn't interested in winning, and the safety of Earth hangs in the balance...
There are a few themes in book that really work wonders. Stories that focus on alternate dimensions of fiction, or that deal with librarian with supernatural powers. I read the works of Jasper Fforde, Genevieve Cogman, I started with the Bookburners led by Max Gladstone and there is plenty more. Michael R. Underwood also made the first step into this theme, though people have made this step before him, Michael R. Underwood has given the multidimensional traveling a unique twist of it's own. Added to this comes that The Shootout Solution is a novella based story, a short fast paced story.
The story of The Shootout Solution begins with Leah Tang, a stand up comedian who is down on her luck career wise. She doesn't have that much success in that world. One night when she is having a gig, someone approached her and offers her a completely new job to join the Genrenauts Foundation. Actually Michael R. Underwood kicks off the story with a decent set of action. That of Agent Mallery York who is battling some bandits. But back to Leah. She has always loved her fiction. And thus she is the best suited person for the Genrenauts. So now Leah finally has some perspectives with her new job, but also she got into more than she has bargained for. Because the Genrenauts makes sure that planet Earth stays just the way it is.
As I said, there are multiverses next to Earth. Not just any multiverses though. Genre-Multiverses. Meaning to say that for every fictional genre there is an dimension. there is one for Fantasy, Science Fiction Westerns, and so forth. When changes in these universes occur, they can affect the living on Earth. The Genrenauts are there to keep everything as is. Leah, the latest recruit is thrown headfirst in such a dealing. The Western dimension is going of balance. The bad guys seem to win ground and this has to be corrected with some new sheriffs in town!
The concept of Genrenauts is awesome. As I already said, Michael R. Underwood has competition, but his concept is new and fresh. Instead of chracters of books making a rufus, complete Genreworlds are involved. It is only further bolstered by the multiversing universe.
The story is quite a short one, just under 100 pages. This is is actually a bonus, as the concept with the Genrenauts is basically running missions. It reminded me a lot of the UF detective series from Simon R. Green. It is thus with such a concept running the missions on different multiverses that a lot is and even more is possible!
If you want to have a quick, quirky and above all fun read get The Shootout Solution.
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