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A Detective on Squid World: A Comic Science Fiction Mystery
308 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 10, 2026
About the author
Mark Cain
32 books224 followersWriter living in Austin, Texas.
My work could best be described as satire, with a little fantasy thrown in. This is a good characterization of my comic fantasy series, CIRCLES IN HELL.
Here is a link to the series page.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017...
My work could best be described as satire, with a little fantasy thrown in. This is a good characterization of my comic fantasy series, CIRCLES IN HELL.
Here is a link to the series page.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017...
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 9, 2026
I only hoped, as an official nice guy, I would not finish last.
3 ½ stars. "A Detective on Squid World" by Mark Cain, perhaps best known for his 'Circles in Hell' series, is a fun if not somewhat flawed wee tale about life on Klmpfh - a planet in the Tau Ceti system - where a race of advanced cephalopods runs a planet-wide resort catering to immortals from different religions and mythologies (I think that's redundant but let's not go there for the time-being, despite the availability of free public transport). There are more than a few 'stiffs' or 'boners' - both derogatory statements by the way - also known as spine-containing hominids (e.g. humans), most of whom were brought here to help out with the tourist industry. Funny how opposable thumbs and not looking like a man-eating kraken can come in handy sometimes when providing accomodations for beings from around the galaxy. Doesn't mean the humans typically get paid very well but still…
I am what I am. And that’s all that I am. I am not a squid.
This book reminded me of more than quite a few of my favorite scyfy tales of the past years that also dealt with multi-being-slash-alien situations that needed the help of a good detective - or spy or person with, say, a conveniently well-armed spaceship - to solve. For example, there's some to choose from such widely known authors as that guy named Heinlein (was his name Robbie?) to even a couple of my own personal faves, among them being Jonathan Nevair (see his "Agent Renault" series) or even Nicholas Sansbury Smith's exciting "Galaxy in Flames" stories! "Squid World" is maybe arguably not quite as serious - in the latter case I mentioned before, a LOT of different lifeforms get killed in many nasty ways - but still entertaining for its unique approach to someone else besides just us hairless apes being in charge of the highest lifeform responsibilities and whatnot.
When in Rome, do as the Romans. When on Klmpfh, at least below the surface, breathe water.
Dan Didispawn (or Didspawn as it's also spelled several times!) is our protagonist in this case and in his own words "I am human, just like you." Well, that's not probably true in ANY cases, as Dan was rescued from drowning as a young boy, teleported to Klmpfh and adopted by a loving family of squid (noting his mom and dad truly are wonderful beings). This seems to have been the case for a number of humanoids which makes me wonder just how "accidental" some of these drowning situations truly were. At least they have snacks though, right ("Skittles and other bite-sized junk food, like Sluggos [candy-coated sea slugs]…")? However, thanks to various "upgrades" our Dan has had over the years, he can breathe underwater and regenerate severed limbs much like, well, any other cephalopod can do. Trust me, there's a great wee Deadpool 2 moment you'll eventually come across that will have you giggling more than Drop Bear (note caps… and he is indeed THE Drop Bear) after a few dozen pints, oops, I mean oil cans of Fosters. Still, there's no arguing that DB is indeed the Koala that Kares in this tale, right mate?
Sheilas beware. Drop Bear is here!
Anywho, Dan is a hotel detective - and also part-time taxi driver but don't let that distract you - and boy does he have his hands full once things get tetchy between and/or with some of the visiting deities. This time we turn to the Norse flavor of mythology, where we quickly come face-to-face - or face-to-other extremely nice body parts ("… she was too spectacularly endowed to be a mortal.") with Lady Sif, Lady Freya (I think she was a lady, um, Lady in terms of rank, again with the lady part being inconsistently capitalized), Loki ("… the Norse god of mischief. He reminded me of a cockroach. An intelligent one."), and Thor with his tiny hands, too ("Odin did that — shrunk Thor’s hands down to toddler size— to teach his son humility." Hint: didn't work!!). Oh and indeed, Odin is somewhere on the grounds as well, however, he's got a bad case right now of pink eye, "an especially debilitating condition for a god with only one peeper." But it doesn't take long before Dan is searching for a priceless lost (read: stolen) golden wig, a incalcuably valuable necklace (also "stolen" he said making obnoxious air quotes), and even trying to figure out who beat the crud out of the local kraken celebrity (and oldest of his kind mind you!), Dudley, who actually originated on Earth many, many moons ago.
I regularly encountered preternaturally pulchritudinous females…
Yeah, the names in this story run the gamut from strangely mundane to very strange, I mean, extremely native in their flavor (see Dan's office mate Klff or his boss, Slrrpy). But having said that, naturally, we have to get some conflict up and going - no, having Loki and Thor on the same planet at the same time doesn't entirely qualify. This unfortunately then involves Dan directly, as he's framed for this, arrested for that, tempted as no mortal ever should be (though I'd like to still have the opportunity), and owes money to the local loan shark, who is "appropriately named Sharky" but is a 40-foot tall kraken rather than an actual shark. Dan is fortunate, however, in that the aforementioned Drop Bear comes quickly to his aid, as does dear old Dad and his youngest brother Happy, who is a typical sulky teenager despite being the last spawned squidling in his family and getting more than his fair share of love and attention. Which totally sucks, dude!
Collin? What an absurd name for a cuttlefish.
Cain does handle the intrique part of the tale very well. We're never quite sure who has done what and definitely not why, so there are lots of "could it be's" and "did Thor just pee on me in the pool?" situations to deal with. As a moderately amusing detective novel then, it's a lot of fun. Where I was less thrilled was with some situational errors, including often confusing the stolen wig with the stolen necklace, or vice versa. For example, even once the necklace is returned to Lady Freya ("Accusing a goddess of perfidy is something done at one’s peril…"), we still have someone decrying various accusations, including asking "why would I steal Sif’s necklace?" So yeah, there are some hiccups throughout, including of particular note that they're called "tighty whities" and not "tidy whities", which - honestly - makes no sense at all, particularly after observing the state of Dan's apartment.
My dad had more layers than a wedding cake. He was a squid of mystery.
So, yeah, overall a fun and very quick read with some interesting situations and relationships being formed (or revealed) that should be pretty fun to see play out once this rolls around towards Book 2! Cain has invented a really fascinating and unique half-on-land, half-under-the-sea place and even managed to make it easy for the god(s) of your choice to drop in from any part of the galaxy. Oh, remind them in your prayers that the City Zoo is free one day a month, even though it seems to be limited to animals from Earth. But you don't need to rely on my input; after all, Klmpfh is well-covered by Frommer's Travel Guides. Never leave your version of deity-filled fluffy clouds without your copy in hand!
3 ½ stars. "A Detective on Squid World" by Mark Cain, perhaps best known for his 'Circles in Hell' series, is a fun if not somewhat flawed wee tale about life on Klmpfh - a planet in the Tau Ceti system - where a race of advanced cephalopods runs a planet-wide resort catering to immortals from different religions and mythologies (I think that's redundant but let's not go there for the time-being, despite the availability of free public transport). There are more than a few 'stiffs' or 'boners' - both derogatory statements by the way - also known as spine-containing hominids (e.g. humans), most of whom were brought here to help out with the tourist industry. Funny how opposable thumbs and not looking like a man-eating kraken can come in handy sometimes when providing accomodations for beings from around the galaxy. Doesn't mean the humans typically get paid very well but still…
I am what I am. And that’s all that I am. I am not a squid.
This book reminded me of more than quite a few of my favorite scyfy tales of the past years that also dealt with multi-being-slash-alien situations that needed the help of a good detective - or spy or person with, say, a conveniently well-armed spaceship - to solve. For example, there's some to choose from such widely known authors as that guy named Heinlein (was his name Robbie?) to even a couple of my own personal faves, among them being Jonathan Nevair (see his "Agent Renault" series) or even Nicholas Sansbury Smith's exciting "Galaxy in Flames" stories! "Squid World" is maybe arguably not quite as serious - in the latter case I mentioned before, a LOT of different lifeforms get killed in many nasty ways - but still entertaining for its unique approach to someone else besides just us hairless apes being in charge of the highest lifeform responsibilities and whatnot.
When in Rome, do as the Romans. When on Klmpfh, at least below the surface, breathe water.
Dan Didispawn (or Didspawn as it's also spelled several times!) is our protagonist in this case and in his own words "I am human, just like you." Well, that's not probably true in ANY cases, as Dan was rescued from drowning as a young boy, teleported to Klmpfh and adopted by a loving family of squid (noting his mom and dad truly are wonderful beings). This seems to have been the case for a number of humanoids which makes me wonder just how "accidental" some of these drowning situations truly were. At least they have snacks though, right ("Skittles and other bite-sized junk food, like Sluggos [candy-coated sea slugs]…")? However, thanks to various "upgrades" our Dan has had over the years, he can breathe underwater and regenerate severed limbs much like, well, any other cephalopod can do. Trust me, there's a great wee Deadpool 2 moment you'll eventually come across that will have you giggling more than Drop Bear (note caps… and he is indeed THE Drop Bear) after a few dozen pints, oops, I mean oil cans of Fosters. Still, there's no arguing that DB is indeed the Koala that Kares in this tale, right mate?
Sheilas beware. Drop Bear is here!
Anywho, Dan is a hotel detective - and also part-time taxi driver but don't let that distract you - and boy does he have his hands full once things get tetchy between and/or with some of the visiting deities. This time we turn to the Norse flavor of mythology, where we quickly come face-to-face - or face-to-other extremely nice body parts ("… she was too spectacularly endowed to be a mortal.") with Lady Sif, Lady Freya (I think she was a lady, um, Lady in terms of rank, again with the lady part being inconsistently capitalized), Loki ("… the Norse god of mischief. He reminded me of a cockroach. An intelligent one."), and Thor with his tiny hands, too ("Odin did that — shrunk Thor’s hands down to toddler size— to teach his son humility." Hint: didn't work!!). Oh and indeed, Odin is somewhere on the grounds as well, however, he's got a bad case right now of pink eye, "an especially debilitating condition for a god with only one peeper." But it doesn't take long before Dan is searching for a priceless lost (read: stolen) golden wig, a incalcuably valuable necklace (also "stolen" he said making obnoxious air quotes), and even trying to figure out who beat the crud out of the local kraken celebrity (and oldest of his kind mind you!), Dudley, who actually originated on Earth many, many moons ago.
I regularly encountered preternaturally pulchritudinous females…
Yeah, the names in this story run the gamut from strangely mundane to very strange, I mean, extremely native in their flavor (see Dan's office mate Klff or his boss, Slrrpy). But having said that, naturally, we have to get some conflict up and going - no, having Loki and Thor on the same planet at the same time doesn't entirely qualify. This unfortunately then involves Dan directly, as he's framed for this, arrested for that, tempted as no mortal ever should be (though I'd like to still have the opportunity), and owes money to the local loan shark, who is "appropriately named Sharky" but is a 40-foot tall kraken rather than an actual shark. Dan is fortunate, however, in that the aforementioned Drop Bear comes quickly to his aid, as does dear old Dad and his youngest brother Happy, who is a typical sulky teenager despite being the last spawned squidling in his family and getting more than his fair share of love and attention. Which totally sucks, dude!
Collin? What an absurd name for a cuttlefish.
Cain does handle the intrique part of the tale very well. We're never quite sure who has done what and definitely not why, so there are lots of "could it be's" and "did Thor just pee on me in the pool?" situations to deal with. As a moderately amusing detective novel then, it's a lot of fun. Where I was less thrilled was with some situational errors, including often confusing the stolen wig with the stolen necklace, or vice versa. For example, even once the necklace is returned to Lady Freya ("Accusing a goddess of perfidy is something done at one’s peril…"), we still have someone decrying various accusations, including asking "why would I steal Sif’s necklace?" So yeah, there are some hiccups throughout, including of particular note that they're called "tighty whities" and not "tidy whities", which - honestly - makes no sense at all, particularly after observing the state of Dan's apartment.
My dad had more layers than a wedding cake. He was a squid of mystery.
So, yeah, overall a fun and very quick read with some interesting situations and relationships being formed (or revealed) that should be pretty fun to see play out once this rolls around towards Book 2! Cain has invented a really fascinating and unique half-on-land, half-under-the-sea place and even managed to make it easy for the god(s) of your choice to drop in from any part of the galaxy. Oh, remind them in your prayers that the City Zoo is free one day a month, even though it seems to be limited to animals from Earth. But you don't need to rely on my input; after all, Klmpfh is well-covered by Frommer's Travel Guides. Never leave your version of deity-filled fluffy clouds without your copy in hand!
Displaying 1 of 1 review