Bimbos of the Death Sun    by Sharyn McCrumb Order:  USA  Can Ballantine, 1997 Paperback, e-Book      Reviewed by Marian Powell Ever been to a science fiction convention or wondered what goes on behind the scenes at one? Did you enjoy the movie Galaxy Quest? Then you'll thoroughly enjoy Bimbos of the Death Sun, which takes place at the annual Rubicon science fiction convention. A very serious Professor of Engineering, Jay Owens Mega, wrote a very serious science fiction novel '... in relation to polymer acrylic on capacitive interaction among high frequency microcomponents ...' His publishers gave it the title Bimbos of the Death Sun, with an appropriately lurid cover that has nothing to do with the story. While he now spends his time struggling to keep his students from finding out that he wrote the book, this is only one of the plot strands. Jay, who's at the convention as a guest speaker, feels rather like Alice in Wonderland amongst all the strangely dressed people. We learn about the lives of some of the fans and why they attend each year. There's also the very famous author, Appin Dungannon, who does things like throw chairs at his fans, whom he hates. Then there's the convention organizer struggling to cope with endless crises, such as what to do about this famous chair hurling guest of honor and then, even more important, what to do when the same man ends up murdered. The novel won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Original Paperback Mystery. Even though it is technically a mystery, it is likely that science fiction fans will enjoy it the most Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more SF books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews