The Shootout Solution

Genrenauts #1

by Michael R. Underwood

Leah Tang just died on stage. Well, 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 assignment 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 a catastrophe on Earth.

But the story's hero isn't interested in winning, and the safety of Earth hangs in the balance...

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Novella, Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Westerns, Audiobook

164 pages, Paperback

First published November 17, 2015

About the author

Support Mike's writing at https://www.patreon.com/michaelrunder...

Mike's books include:

Genrenauts - a r/Fantasy Stabby Award-finalist science fiction adventure series in novellas. A group of storytellers travel between dimensions to the worlds where genres live to fix broken stories. Starts with The Shootout Solution. Collections available: Genrenauts - The Complete Season One

The Ree Reyes urban fantasy series (Geekomancy, Celebromancy, Attack the Geek, Hexomancy) about magicians who channel the power of popular culture. Starts with Geekomancy.

Born to the Blade, a political action fantasy about duelist diplomats vying for their nation's interests in a world on the brink of war. Co-written with Marie Brennan, Malka Older, and Cassandra Khaw for Serial Box Publishing. Collections available: Born to the Blade Season One.

Shield and Crocus, a superheroes-meets-epic fantasy novel where an aging revolutionary makes a deal with his most deadly foe to turn the tide of a fifty-year-long fight to free his city.

The Younger Gods, a supernatural thriller starring the white-sheep member of a family of demon-worshippers as he tries to stop his big sister from ending the world.

Mike started telling stories when he learned to talk and hasn't seen a reason to stop yet. He grew up playing video games, CCGs, RPGs, and many other delightful games with acronyms. As a teenager, the friendly local game store was his home away from home, and the site of his apprenticeship in geekdom.

Mike earned a B.A. in Creative Mythology and in East Asian Studies from Indiana University, and a M.A. in Folklore Studies from the University of Oregon. Basically, destined to be a novelist. He is also a graduate of the 2007 Clarion West Writers Workshop.

Properly equipped with lots of ways to develop story ideas, Mike has been a barista, a bear builder, a sales representative, and the North American Sales & Marketing Manager for Angry Robot Books.

Mike lives with his wife and their dog in Baltimore, MD.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is SF. Well, actually, it's Western, but since I don't want to bother making a shelf for that and it really is SF without being Westworld, I'll leave it as SF.

Except. It's also a writing manual, giving us all the insides of How To Write A Story as the means to live while being inside one. Or three. Or eighteen stories. Or however many Tau-Heinleinesque The Number of the Beast alternate universes there are when genres spin into umbrella universes that split even further into sub-genres that split into yet more subgenres...

And the whole point is that the GENRES ARE MIXING AND BREAKING DOWN... oh my god... the universe is breeching!

Damn cool concept, and I think I'm gonna like this even more than Geekomancy, because it's not only tapping into nostalgia, but it's also going to tap into archetypes in a BIG way in order to Get Things Done. Hell, it's written in such a way that even the ultra-conscious way that the story is written gets sublimated into the characters who consider the fine points of storytelling just so they can manipulate a whole worldview inside the genre. And then, underneath that, or above it, I can't really decide where that layer belongs, we've got Leah transforming from Reluctant Hero, to Kid, to Sidekick, back to Reluctant Hero in her own tale that is, in itself, a metafiction of all these alternate realities.

And is it easy to follow, unlike my review's narrative? Hell yes. It's all story, tongue-in-cheek pure adventure.

It's good all by itself.

The only thing that could make it better is an ongoing series of novellas doing the same thing and enlarging the concept...

But Oh, Wait! It is!

I'm tickled pink. :) And thanks to Tor, I recently got Episode 2 as an ARC. Guess what I'm going to do in 2 minutes?

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our world is surrounded by genre worlds only slightly removed from us in the dimension of narrative, and they have an effect on us via a thematic-semiotic (lol!) resonance. And there's a group of people whose job it is to keep the genres stable. That's where Leah Tang comes in. She's just been recruited to help out and her first job is to help out a team with a routine Western story.

This is a light, fun read with a focus on diversity and a massive awareness of tropes and the problems with tropes. Or the problem tropes. Something like that.

I will be continuing with them.

[wishforagiraffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The premise is simple, yet somehow ended up hitting me really hard- there's our regular everyday world, and there are "story worlds" that exist in another dimension in space "orbiting" Earth, impacting Earth based on which story world that's at issue. Problems in the story worlds cause problems on Earth, so if you can fix problems on the story worlds, you can solve Earth's problems. For me, someone who is pretty damn worried about Earth's problems on a pretty regular basis, this simple solution that is also so much wish fulfillment as a geek was really rather poignant. I had to actually put my Kindle down for a moment and take a break because of how happy the concept made me, and how sad I was that we don't have such an easy fix.

The cast of characters will probably be dismissed by folks who hate "diversity for diversity's sake" or "checking off boxes on the SJW checklist" but honestly, it was really refreshing to see so many non-white non-male characters. They all felt like solid characters, not tokens, and for being a novella, what we saw of each character's motivations made sense and worked.

So far as the plot went, I saw the twist coming about a mile away, but I was happy that was where the story went, and I was definitely pleased with how the ending was wrapped up on Western world.

I'm impressed with the pacing and the plotting, because there's a lot of ground to cover and really not all that much space to do it in. These could easily be much longer books, but the episodic nature and short time span (addressed in text by "staying too long in story worlds = Bad News Bears") means the story has to be tight, and it is. There are still, however, plenty of mentions of real world issues and current events. This is very much a book that is of-this-moment: "this moment" being 2015/2016, with all the socio-political, class, race, gender, environmental issues that conjures up. They don't all get mentioned overtly, but it's obvious that the issues are apparent and important to the characters, and I expect some of them will come up in later books in the series.

It's certainly not for everyone, and the folks who it would immediately turn off have probably long stopped reading this review. If you're looking for a fun adventure that's socially aware and culturally relevant, I think this would be a good book for you.

I was provided with a copy of this book for review by the author.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A preposterously creative idea, with the writing talent and humor to back it up. Light-hearted, and very rewarding. I'm looking forward to the the future 'episodes'.

As a side note, the wonderful Mary Robinette Kowal *crushes* the audiobook narration of this one, continuing to win at life as she always has.

[Mohsen M.B · Rating 2 out of 5]

این جلد بیشتر به معرفی دنیای عجیب و نه چندان جذاب نویسنده گذشت و پر بود از اصطلاح‌های علمی خسته‌کننده و مزه‌پرانی‌ها و ارجاع به آثاری که احتمالا برای خواننده‌ی ایرانی جذاب نیستن. داستان نه هیجانی داشت و نه ساختاری، فقط پیش می‌رفت که شخصیت‌ها و قوانین حاکم بر دنیا رو معرفی کنه.ـ
چنین کتابی احتمالا اون‌قدر حذفیات داره که اگر ترجمه بشه، معلوم نیست چی ازش مونه.

[Michael Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first Genrenauts novella - aka "The Pilot Episode."

Meet struggling stand-up comic Leah Tang as she is invited to join The Genrenauts.

When a story breaks on one of the other worlds (based on a genre, like Western, Romance, Science Fiction, etc.), the Genrenauts deploy to find and fix the broken story to protect our so-called 'real world.'

I listened to a ton of Westerns as books-on-tape as a kid, and I love thinking about how formative the Western is for American storytelling. We see its influence in Action movies, Superheroes, and more. It's a genre that has been immensely popular, but waned in popularity for quite some time. It's making a comeback now, and I'm excited to take part in this new wave of stories re-examining and re-framing the western, especially in terms of looking at gender, race, and sexuality.

If you're a fan of the Ree Reyes Geekomancy books, I think you'll love Genrenauts, too.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You never choose to be the Chosen One. You just are.”

First, do not read the blurb on this book; read the book. Especially of you like books or writing. As the name Genrenauts implies, this story is as much about story telling as it is about the story. If I explain why, it’ll spoil your delight. Trust me.

Imagine a semi-normal person is enlisted to help keep the genre worlds--and ours--safe. What are the genre worlds? What do you think? That’s all I’m telling.

The relatively short novel is stuffed with pop culture and literary references. Obvious acronyms are not spelled out. The obligatory PC is deftly served. In other words, Underwood credits the reader with having a brain. Genre expectations, archetypes, and time-honored tropes are visited and occasionally turned upside down.

Well designed, well told. Maybe not quite five stars, but I’m rounding up because it’s so much fun.

Think “counter narrative.”

[Beth Cato · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an early copy of this novella through NetGalley.

I confess right from the start: I'm biased. I read this as an early draft and loved it, and I was overjoyed when Genrenauts was announced as part of a new novella series at Tor. The concept is a delightful and original mash-up of Quantum Leap and Sliders and so many other fun shows: Earth has parallel worlds that echo tropes of literary genres, and if a story on such a world goes off kilter, it impacts people on Earth. Leah is recruited straight out of her stand-up show and dropped into a bucketful of weird and unbelievable. It's a fun ride as they jaunt off to western world, where troublesome tropes do exist but are delightfully subverted by Underwood's deft plotting. I can't wait for the next installment!

[Michael Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

The genrenauts are the literary equivalent of The A-Team by way of Star Trek, Quantum Leaping their way through alternate dimensions defined entirely by genre tropes. There’s our Earth, Earth Prime, and in the vast dimensions beyond there are strange worlds of stories constantly in motion – Romance World, Sci-Fi, World, and, in this initial episode, Western World. When things awry in the story worlds, they cause ripple effects that bleed over into our own world. It’s the job of the genrenauts to fix these broken stories before Earth suffers the consequences.

Michael R. Underwood has crafted what looks to be a very promising, very entertaining bit of light, concept-driven science fiction presented in episodic format. The Shootout Solution is very much a pilot episode – we’re introduced to the concept and the crew through the eyes of a new recruit, hurtled through her initial adventure, and given hints of way more tumultuous events to keep us hooked into coming back for the next episode.

There’s enough geeky references and nods to genre tropes to keep me entertained, and I love the ideas taking shaping in the framework of this particular narrative. The sci-fi shows of my youth have clearly had a tremendous influence on Underwood, and this novella hits that particular sweet spot left unfulfilled since Quantum Leap and Sliders went off the air. It’s a jolly bit of fun where entertainment is the central goal, wrapped up inside an easily digested Big, Brilliant Idea.

That said, I found myself wishing for a little bit more depth and exploration of the central conceits, particularly around the idea of the broken stories that activate the genrenauts’ missions. I’m hopeful we’ll get some deeper explorations of the minutiae in future installments, as the overarching story arc that is alluded to in this novella’s closing moments promises all kinds of wonderful hijinks.

Funny, smart, and with a wonderfully diverse cast, I’m eager for more Genrenauts, and I happen to be in luck. Episode 2 is already on my Kindle, so that’s up next. Stay tuned for more, trope troops.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHERE'S EPISODE II?

[Hobart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because he didn't have enough series/irons in the fire already, here's a new series from Michael R. Underwood -- the man behind the Ree Ree/Geekomancy series, Shield and Crocus and The Younger Gods (which may be a series or may be a stand alone). This one is sort of familiar territory, but differs enough that it doesn't feel tired.

So, Leah is trying to make it as a stand-up comic in Baltimore. I didn't realize that Baltimore was a good place for this, but sure, why not? So, the stand-up isn't working for her, her day job is as a receptionist and isn't the basis for a future. So she can't help but be interested when some mysterious man who seems to appreciate her act approaches her and says:

I’m Dr. Angstrom King, Department of Comparative Literature. I run a narrative immersion laboratory, and I’m looking for new staff. I think you might be an excellent fit.

The reality behind that gobbledygook is tough to explain in a paragraph, but I'll try -- there are several parallel universes to ours ("Earth Prime"), and each of these correlates to a genre in fiction (not just books), so there's a Science Fiction World, a Romance World, A Horror World, and so on. Each of these universes impacts ours in the narratives we tell each other. And when something goes wrong the World's narrative, it spills over in our reality. So there's a group of people like Quantum Leap or Voyagers! who pop in, fix the problem, and pop out once stability to the narrative returns. The people that are aware of these worlds and that travel between are called Genrenauts -- catchy, eh?

So, Leah tries it out, traveling to Western World to clean up a sticky situation. While there, she meets some more of King's team, helps some people out, and get a real baptism by fire into this strange new world. There's some fun with tropes, character types, a shootout, bad whiskey -- pretty much everything you'd want sans a squinty-Eastwood character.

It's told with a light touch -- the debt to Leverage and The Librarians is obvious (and readily acknowledged), with a good dose of action, a hint of a looming catastrophe/conspiracy. There's a good deal of literary/narrative theory under-girding this whole project -- it's not as frivolous as it may seem.

There's so much emphasis on the premise of this series, and with the adventure in Western World, that we didn't get a good introduction to the characters. In addition to Leah, there was King and 2 teammates, some references to a couple of others, 2 people from the Western world. But Leah's the only one that I could say has more than 1 dimension to them. I'm confident when I say that'll be taken care of in short order in the future, though. But for now, the team is full of types, not people.

Leah is further on her way to being a fully developed character, primarily a collection of characteristics and tics at the moment -- but close. She's smart, savvy, quick on her feet, a pop culture junkie. Unlike, Ree, Leah's a professional smart aleck -- or aspires to be one, anyway. Not that anyone needs a justification to be quippy and snarky in the face of danger in SF, but it's nice that she has one. I enjoyed meeting her, and want to get to know her better while watching these collection of characteristics congeal into a character.

I'm giving this 4 Stars, I think it earns a 3 -- it's so pilot episode-y that it's hard to tell. I really enjoyed it and I'm in for at least a handful of books, so I'll give it a one-star bump for the premise. I'm eager, really eager, to get the next one.

[Terminally · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Copy of this Novella was provided to me by Netgalley in exchange for an Honest Review

First up, as always, we have the blurb: "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..."

So this caught my eye. I had heard whispers here and there about this concept, this idea. A series where the idea that all genres of fiction, from Romance to Fantasy to Historical Fiction were real, and that there were people who would police them.

This is the first in a series of Novella's exploring a team whose job is to go into these places, and correct the Story.

The basic idea is that each of these worlds follow the general Genre conventions of their particular style. Western's are categorized as being gritty, with clear Heroes and Villains. Fantasy has your wizards and dragons. Sci-Fi with its spaceships. Spy World would have non stop skullduggery. And each of these places affect Earth via Ripples. When a world gets out of balance, we get affect, generally in a negative way.

In this book, the Western world goes off the rails, with the Bad Guys actually defeating the Hero and making off with a ton of loot. Its up to the Genrenauts, and their new recruit Leah Tang to fix it.

While the book is short (it is a novella after all) I could not help but get sucked right into the concept. Everything is explained just enough to get me going. The characters are great and interesting, and they included both our main character who is an Asian Female (this is rare as hell) and even had a Transgender lady (male to female). It comes up briefly, and then just moves right on. Its well done, and fun.

And thats the biggest draw here. The entire book is just FUN. Its not deep, or meaningful. You won't find answers to your own self doubt or anything here. But you will find action, adventure, and just a generally fun time.

I honestly can't wait for the next book in this series. I want to see where things go!

I rate this a solid 4/5. If the concept interests you I urge you to grab this up, read it, and become a fan like me. Also its like $3 for the Kindle edition, so no excuses folks! Bookworms really should give this a read!

[Mark Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best things I can say about this story is that there is great potential for serialization. Now, normally, I find serialization to be a weak attempt to grab more money from the reader, The Shootout Solution wrapped the story up nicely. I didn’t feel cheated, and I hope TOR puts more of the “genrenauts” stories up on NetGalley, because I’m game for reading more.

This story happened to be an old west genre, but it was encapsulated in sci-fi in such a way, that it reminds me of the original Star Trek in 1966. The $2.99 price on Amazon seems a bit high for such a short read, but if the rest of the genrenauts stories are as good as this one, I’d be a happy purchaser of an omnibus or collection.

This story deserves 4.5 stars, and I want more to read, like, yesterday!

[Peter Tieryas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second Tor.com novella I’ve read and Mike Underwood has written one of the most entertaining explorations of genre in his exposively fun Shootout Solution. It’s somewhat metafiction, but at the same time, seamlessly integrated into the writing where the self-awareness becomes part of its charm. The novella asks the question: What if the genre worlds were real, teeming, and even dangerous? Storytelling with fangs and real life repercussions, the way they were meant to be.

https://tieryas.wordpress.com/2015/12...

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting idea. Imagine being headhunted to go and adventure in a genre; fantasy world here I come!!

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

As the end of the year draws closer, I find myself reading more and more books off of my TBR, which I am very proud of. I feel like the more of my TBR I read by the end of the year, the more I will be able to experience new books in 2019. Last year, I read Michael R. Underwood's Geekomancy series and loved it. This year, I got his Genrenauts series, and recently had the chance to read the first book. I really enjoyed it.

One of the things that I loved about the first book in the series, The Shootout Solution, was that it was so unique. I know this might sound cliche, but I don't think I've ever read anything like it before. The author not only had to do some world building, but he also had to do some more world building within that world. It was almost like there were two settings because of the unique way the premise is presented. He pulled it off very well. He also created a great cast of characters. I found myself caring for them almost instantly, and being concerned for what was going to happen to them. Not only was I emotionally involved in the main character, Leah, but I really liked the side characters as well. That can be hard for a writer to do at times, but Michael R. Underwood nailed it.

I did have a couple of problems with The Shootout Solution. The western world was a bit too over the top and cliche at times. It made sense for the plot, but it still made me want to roll my eyes at times when I was reading. My other problem was that the book was boring at times. Don't get me wrong, like I said, the premise is one of the most interesting things I've heard of in a long time. However, there were certain parts, especially in the middle, where I found myself losing concentrating, and daydreaming while I was reading. I had to reread a couple paragraphs several times because I just couldn't focus on what was going on.

I found The Shootout Solution ot be an enjoyable first book in what I'm sure will become a fantastic series. As soon as I finished the book, I immediately downloaded the second one. I had to know right away what other worlds the Generenauts were going to go to, and what other adventures they were going to get into. I forsee myself binge reading the rest of this series back to back if the other books are as good as The Shootout Solution.

[Denise Mullins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't really resonate with me as the writing quality seemed pretty substandard and the story's attempts at humor proved forced and amateurish. Western meets Sci-Fi sounds like a concept with potential (like "Cowboys and Aliens") but this one just doesn't sustain the dynamics to go the distance.

[Jasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted at: http://thebookplank.blogspot.com/2015...

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.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aha, nifty. A seriously nifty premise. I like it. The execution leaves some things to be desired, but you just gotta love the idea of a team of story menders and meddlers. To paraphrase Men in Black…Protecting the Earth from disasters of the narrative multiverse. Because, as you learn in this first episode of on ongoing serial, all these things are interconnected. Something’s off in one of the worlds and it has a direct effect on Earth. To minimize or eradicate that altogether there are Genrenauts, traveling distant genreworlds and sorting out their glitches and snafus, so that the Earth functions at its best. Basically, taking the ever condescending colonial mentality of we know what’s best for you and can help you get there approach of so many science fiction plots, but optimizing and spinning it for the book nerds. Sounds like fun…because it is fun. Though possibly not as much fun as it might have been. Seems like there are a lot of missed opportunities to poke fun at and satirize various genre premises. You know that thing John Scalzi did so awesomely in Redshirts. But still, this is very entertaining. You got the pretty standard team of different yet complimentary personalities and, because this is all very hip and woke, there are various genders and sexualities too. Each has their specialty and all are very generously compensated to do what they do…save the world, one genre at a time. Our introduction to all of this is through Leah Tang, the intrepid protagonist, a notably unfunny comedienne, who gets recruited into Genrenauts following a passionate and very unfunny rant on stage about her love for Fantasy genre. Presumably the idea is that Leah’s improv experience should prove to be very practical on various missions. And what do you know, she fits right in. Like a fantasy character plucked (sorry, chosen) from the population at large for the grand mission. First mission launches immediately into a world of Western Genre. So you got all of that ne kid thing plus the world traveling thing plus all the introductions plus all the explanations plus the dust at high noon. And it works. And it’s fun. And it takes your mind off your mind in just the right way. Which is to say I’m definitely continuing with these episodes. All of which are conveniently novella length for easy digestion. On to the next one.

[Bob Reiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Episode 1

The first episode of The Genrenauts was everything I hoped it would be, fast and fun and a choosing the classic western set up was a great platform to introduce us to the plot and characters. I love how Underwood embraced the tropes in the story within the story but subtle subverted them in the overall premise. This mix of sci-fi and everything else will be a great world to play in. I’ll be visiting it again soon.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A geek-tastic premise marred by plodding pace and lackluster writing. This is the first time I've read anything by Michael R. Underwood, and I've been meaning to read Geekomancy and his other titles which all have some geek and genre heavy premise and crazy combinations. This serial's premise is that there is a secret government that oversees parallel worlds that built on a genre and its subgenre, and agents sometimes have to go correct a story to stay within its genre tropes and prevent it from causing ripples in the other genre worlds and the "real" world. Leah has just been recruited and is offered a chance at adventure and a better pay and benefits than her boring receptionist job. Her team is sent to Western world after another team has failed to to correct the story.

This title is mercifully a short read at just over a 150 pages, but it feels lacking. After reading Indexing by Seanan McGuire, which also had a serial format and a similar premise but with fairy tales, this one does not even compare or stand out. Indexing's serial was an adventure to each chapter at about 20 or so pages, while this one took 150 pages for one adventure, even with more events and steps to reach the resolution. It may not be fair to compare, but the pacing dragged. Just having to introduce a newbie agent meant infodumps of what the genrenauts were and what they do, plus a presentation to read through, and then explanations to catch the newbie up, while she is skeptical and questioning it all the way (since the story is in her point of view, readers see all her questions and doubts). For a premise that should be geek and genre heavy, there weren't enough references or pun-heavy dialogue or punchlines referencing geekdom and genre tropes (another place where Indexing excelled). Maybe because it was set in a Western world, and I don't read much Westerns to catch all the references? But still this is a science fiction premise, and I expected more than just reading about a lame Western adventure , like there should have been some metatextual and genre-referencing elements. The characters are boring and undeveloped with little personality though they should have some with the descriptions. There is a nice nod to diversity with an Asian female and wannabe stand-up comedian, transgender Middle Eastern woman, African American, and an Afrikaans speaking American. The Western story has a nice little twist that also gives a nod to diversity and subverting genre tropes.

The only thing is the debrief with the Council who supervises all Genrenaut activity is suspicious, like Agent Fury disobeying his shadowy bosses vibe in Avengers, with how they make the decisions and have been around for decades--maybe some interesting development from there? Though I'm not sure if I will bother reading the sequel. Maybe I'll still give his other titles a chance.

[Aitor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aprovechando que mañana sale a la venta, hoy toca hablar de The Shootout Solution de Michael R. Underwood, otra de las novelas cortas de la nueva colección de la editorial Tor. Por ahora esta colección está siendo todo un acierto, y aunque esta novella que nos ocupa no llega al nivel excelente de The Builders y The Last Witness, sí que es un libro más que entretenido y que gracias a su planteamiento contará con cinco novelas cortas en total.


Y es que en The Shootout Solution nos encontraremos con los Genrenauts, un servicio secreto (secreto incluso para los propios gobiernos) encargado de mantener a raya los muchos mundos existentes, representando un tipo de género literario cada uno de ellos, y los cuales pueden provocar perturbaciones en nuestro mundo si las cosas se desvían de su curso normal y, por ejemplo, son los malos los que empiezan a ganar, matando o poniendo a la carrera al héroe de la historia.

En este primer libro, como podéis imaginar por su portada, viajaremos al mundo de los Westerns, dónde la banda de los Williamsons están aterrorizando un pueblo sin nadie que les pueda parar los pies. Será misión de Leah (protagonista principal, cómica en horas bajas y recién incorporada al grupo) y sus nuevos compañeros quienes tengan que buscar a alguien para detener la amenaza y convertirlo así en el héroe que cada historia necesita.

Pero por desgracia, y debido a la longitud limitada de una novela corta, esta historia de western se ve ensombrecida por la necesidad del autor de explicarnos tanto el mundo(s) en el que nos encontramos, personajes y funcionamientos de este servicio secreto de los Genrenauts, siendo esta primera misión un tanto simple y predecible. Aún así, y como decía al principio, The Shootout Solution es una novella más que entretenida y que se lee ávidamente en una sola tarde, y que sobretodo, nos hace imaginar en la gran cantidad de posibilidades y situaciones con los que nos podemos llegar a encontrar. Además este pequeño "pero" de la novela ya no lo tendremos en los siguientes libros al ya estar hechas todas las presentaciones, con lo que la historia y el mundo visitado tendrán un mayor peso en las siguientes entregas que lo que ha tenido en esta primera.

Así, como todas las anteriores que he leído, puedo recomendar sin problemas esta nueva novela corta que nos ofrece Tor, por ahora sinónimo de calidad y diversión asegurada. Por mi parte, ya estoy esperando con ganas la siguiente entrega de los Genrenauts.

NOTA: 3,5 / 5

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leah Tang is a stand-up comedienne and part-time administrative assistant trying to get a full-time gig on the stage. One night, a strange man attended her act and then offered her a job, a job joining his team in keeping alternative universes with storylines in check. Because when the genre universes go off-course in their genres, strange ripples occur in our world, making it a dangerous place. And, they are willing to show her one of their missions before she decides. Will she decide that this type of irregular life is for her, or will she stick with the normal?

I was a little leery about asking for this book because I wasn’t sure what to expect from the description. Boy, am I glad I did! It was a fun, short read with very entertaining characters. Characters you get to know well, even in a novella. Don’t expect this to be a really deep or dark book because it isn’t. It is exactly what I described: a fun, highly entertaining read. The plot was interesting and different, and the world-building was simple. I always try to find a flaw because perfect books don’t exist, and would probably be boring if they did. I wish we did have a little more information about the world, but maybe in the following books we’ll learn more. However, please do get this book! It is well worth it, and I am really, really looking forward to the next one!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, fast-paced piece of meta-sf, it's knowledge and critique of genres, specifically Westerns, is clever and interesting. The central premise, that specially trained operatives have to travel into genre-specific worlds to fix stories, is neat as heck, and the characters are good company, if a little bland.
There are problems, but they're primarily nitpicky. Our main character, Leah, is an aspiring stand-up, and I'll tell you now, her material is awful. The author may know it, and I hope so, because if she gets onstage again... Let's just say I hope not.
There are also a couple of infodumps, but the lead is being trained into the job, so they do fit the story. The twists are both broad and telegraphed, but we're dealing with genre as a whole, so it is perfectly acceptable. Some of the humor works, although quips are not Mr. Underwood's strong suit.
The action, however, is solid, and genre tropes are used and upended properly. This is nothing world-changing, but it is a lot of fun. I've already started the second installment, or episode, of what the author hopes will be a five-season run. Bring it on, I say.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shootout Solution is a different take on a core component of MIke's Ree Reyes series. In that series, genre knowledge is used as a source of magical power. In this one, genre's are their own separate world and genre knowledge allows you to navigate those worlds, and fix them when they get off track.

It's an interesting concept, and Mike definitely has the broad swath of knowledge to pull it off. First up is the Western genre, and there are a lot of little things that pop out to me, and I'm not even really a Western fan. I'm super looking forward to later books in the series where I'm better able to see the sly nods to genre.

This is the fourth of the Tor.Com novellas that I've read. It's very close in tone to Matt Wallace's Envy of Angels (another book I highly recommend) and both authors have a lot of the same strengths. The humor in Shootout is a little lighter than the more sardonic Envy, but both were great fast reads I thoroughly enjoy.

Highly recommended for fans of genre based works like Mark Fabi's Wyrm, Jim Hines Libriomancer series, and Terry Pratchett.

[Meagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though it's missing the wordplay and madcap humor, I think this is the type of book that could appeal to fans of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series. It's got the same insider's love of books and reading, as well as the slightly science fiction-y premise, but in the Genrenauts series the focus is not on books in general, but specifically on genre fiction. Book one takes place in Western world, but future books promise Science Fiction world, Fantasy world, Romance world, Pulp Fiction world, etc. It's a fun premise that could last for ages if it's done well, and genre fans should have a lot of fun looking for the tried-and-true tropes as they're celebrated in all their absurd fun. Sure, the shootout in front of the bank as the townfolk peer through their curtains is a total cliché. It's been done a million times. But we still love it, even as we recognize that it's not that original. And Genrenauts lets us poke affectionate fun at our favorite genres. And the length is so short it can be read in one sitting. Win win!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike's lively dialogue and sense of humor which are so winning in the REE REYES series are again evident in this genre mashup of Westerns and Science Fiction. The genius conceit of the series is that balance in the world is determined by various genre-convention-governed parallel dimensions. This makes for lots of meta-awareness of the themes, stereotypes, memes, and tropes of iconic stories --for this novella, it's the stories of the American West. Whether you are a fan of classic cowboy novels, cinema, or TV shows about the West, you'll smile in recognition of the quandaries the Genrenauts face when people don't play by the rules. I hope you'lll enjoy it. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment in this series.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leah cuts loose on stage and ends up with a job offer - travel to different genres and help fix stories gone wrong. How could a wanna-be comedian and nerdest refuse, besides, there was the offer of getting her a standing comedy gig. So off Leah went in a rocketship to Western world to help find a marshal that could stand-up to the outlaws. Michael R. Underwood manages to produce another interesting heroine who is not a copycat of Reye from Geekomancy, but engages the reader with her own brand of snark. Looking forward to the next episode.

[Blaine Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading "The Shootout Solution" and I was not disappointed! Michael is fast becoming one of my favorite authors; joining my all time faves; Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Piers Anthony, Stephen King, Mark Twain and Dave Barry - to name a few. I fell in love with Ree Reyes from the first chapter and now Leah has joined my list of folks I can't wait to travel with again. Great job mixing humor and narrative and making us care about the characters. I hope Michael continues to write for a very long time!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The start of a wonderful new series of novellas. I found the whole concept fascinating and great fun. I am always reluctant to call a concept unique but it certainly seems unique to me. Also very well written with many LOL moments.
I cannot wait for future novellas in this series!