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The Big Sheep #1
The Big Sheep
Los Angeles of 2039 is a baffling and bifurcated place. After the Collapse of 2028, a vast section of LA, the Disincorporated Zone, was disowned by the civil authorities, and became essentially a third world country within the borders of the city. Navigating the boundaries between DZ and LA proper is a tricky task, and there's no one better suited than eccentric private investigator Erasmus Keane. When a valuable genetically altered sheep mysteriously goes missing from Esper Corporation's labs, Keane is the one they call.
But while the erratic Keane and his more grounded partner, Blake Fowler, are on the trail of the lost sheep, they land an even bigger case. Beautiful television star Priya Mistry suspects that someone is trying to kill her - and she wants Keane to find out who. When Priya vanishes and then reappears with no memory of having hired them, Keane and Fowler realize something very strange is going on. As they unravel the threads of the mystery, it soon becomes clear that the two cases are connected - and both point to a sinister conspiracy involving the most powerful people in the city. Saving Priya and the sheep will take all of Keane's wits and Fowler's skills, but in the end, they may discover that some secrets are better left hidden.
Kroese's The Big Sheep is perfect for fans of Philip Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Terry Pratchett's Guards! Guards!, and Scalzi's Old Man's War.
But while the erratic Keane and his more grounded partner, Blake Fowler, are on the trail of the lost sheep, they land an even bigger case. Beautiful television star Priya Mistry suspects that someone is trying to kill her - and she wants Keane to find out who. When Priya vanishes and then reappears with no memory of having hired them, Keane and Fowler realize something very strange is going on. As they unravel the threads of the mystery, it soon becomes clear that the two cases are connected - and both point to a sinister conspiracy involving the most powerful people in the city. Saving Priya and the sheep will take all of Keane's wits and Fowler's skills, but in the end, they may discover that some secrets are better left hidden.
Kroese's The Big Sheep is perfect for fans of Philip Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Terry Pratchett's Guards! Guards!, and Scalzi's Old Man's War.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 28, 2016
60 people are currently reading
2288 people want to read
About the author
Robert Kroese
70 books632 followersRobert Kroese's sense of irony was honed growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan - home of the Amway Corporation and the Gerald R. Ford Museum, and the first city in the United States to fluoridate its water supply. In second grade, he wrote his first novel, the saga of Captain Bill and his spaceship Thee Eagle. This turned out to be the high point of his academic career. After barely graduating from Calvin College in 1992 with a philosophy degree, he was fired from a variety of jobs before moving to California, where he stumbled into software development. As this job required neither punctuality nor a sense of direction, he excelled at it. In 2009, he called upon his extensive knowledge of useless information and love of explosions to write his first novel, Mercury Falls. Since then, he has written 18 more books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 228 reviews
March 23, 2016
Thank goes to Netgalley!
Perhaps I should say double-thanks? The novel more than lived up to all expectations and perhaps a great deal more. In fact, from the outset, I didn't really get the sense of a lot of promise. It seemed to be a pretty standard Private-Eye (sorry, Phenomenological Inquisitor) with a pretty heavy SF bent, full of light humor and quirky intent.
What it became, after a while, was anything but standard and anything but simple. In fact, even being a long-time reader of both genres, I thought I had things pretty well figured out by page 30, revise - page 80, revise - page 120, revise - oh hell... it did SEEM to lead me to the right, even cool conclusion! But no, I was reliably and enthusiastically proven wrong.
Can I tell you want a delight this is? It gets even better, too! The writing is crisp and it knows what it's about. Strong voice, clear plot developments, interesting characters, and tons of truly interesting twists that made great use of both mystery standards AND a couple of armloads of beautiful SF tropes while never feeling stale.
Indeed, I came out of this read feeling as if the one initial promise, that this was some sort of PKD successor, was entirely on the mark. It took a while to realize it, from a straight textual progression, but the entire novel, taken together, IS absolutely worthy.
I might even say that it's a better read than PKD, if I were to be so heretical. It's not quite as philosophical or religious, but it certainly has the bat-s*** crazy down. :)
The only thing that it took a bit to get used to was the humor. I just didn't think the banter was all that funny at first, but it did grow on me as the complexity of the tale grew.
Hell, I think the really funny jokes are all plot-driven, not limited to a line-by-line hit parade.
If you are looking for something with a lot of panache and crazy cool happenings in a great one-to-one genre mashup of Mystery/SF that leaves you feeling refreshed and elated, then by all means, GO GET THIS BOOK. :)
You cannot imagine how many spoilers I wanted to give away. There were SO many great scenes to discuss and laugh about, with tons of in-jokes I could be sharing with you... right this instant.
This is so aggravating. :) : ) :)
Perhaps I should say double-thanks? The novel more than lived up to all expectations and perhaps a great deal more. In fact, from the outset, I didn't really get the sense of a lot of promise. It seemed to be a pretty standard Private-Eye (sorry, Phenomenological Inquisitor) with a pretty heavy SF bent, full of light humor and quirky intent.
What it became, after a while, was anything but standard and anything but simple. In fact, even being a long-time reader of both genres, I thought I had things pretty well figured out by page 30, revise - page 80, revise - page 120, revise - oh hell... it did SEEM to lead me to the right, even cool conclusion! But no, I was reliably and enthusiastically proven wrong.
Can I tell you want a delight this is? It gets even better, too! The writing is crisp and it knows what it's about. Strong voice, clear plot developments, interesting characters, and tons of truly interesting twists that made great use of both mystery standards AND a couple of armloads of beautiful SF tropes while never feeling stale.
Indeed, I came out of this read feeling as if the one initial promise, that this was some sort of PKD successor, was entirely on the mark. It took a while to realize it, from a straight textual progression, but the entire novel, taken together, IS absolutely worthy.
I might even say that it's a better read than PKD, if I were to be so heretical. It's not quite as philosophical or religious, but it certainly has the bat-s*** crazy down. :)
The only thing that it took a bit to get used to was the humor. I just didn't think the banter was all that funny at first, but it did grow on me as the complexity of the tale grew.
Hell, I think the really funny jokes are all plot-driven, not limited to a line-by-line hit parade.
If you are looking for something with a lot of panache and crazy cool happenings in a great one-to-one genre mashup of Mystery/SF that leaves you feeling refreshed and elated, then by all means, GO GET THIS BOOK. :)
You cannot imagine how many spoilers I wanted to give away. There were SO many great scenes to discuss and laugh about, with tons of in-jokes I could be sharing with you... right this instant.
This is so aggravating. :) : ) :)
June 22, 2016
4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/06/22/...
I had a feeling I was really going to enjoy this book. A light, breezy read with a wildly entertaining premise, The Big Sheep deserves high marks for humor and excellent characterization, plus major bonus points for creativity. This was a truly unexpected but enjoyable sci-fi mystery which reminded me very strongly of Sherlock Holmes, with shades of Philip K. Dick and a nice heavy injection of bizarre twists.
It is the year 2039, and our story takes place in Los Angeles, opening with our main character Blake Fowler and his business partner, the great detective—er, I mean, the great “phenomenological inquisitor”—Erasmus Keane, investigating into a case about a missing sheep. But this sheep isn’t any ordinary sheep. Mary, as the wooly ruminant is called, stands about as tall as a grown man, weighs 300 pounds, and was specifically bioengineered by a genetic research company for an uncanny purpose. And now she has been stolen, presumably by a rival company for her secrets.
But Keane and Fowler aren’t so sure, especially when it’s clear that the company isn’t telling them the whole truth. The waters are further muddied when another case shows up on their office doorstep in the form of Priya Mistry, the hottest TV star in the country, who has come to hire the duo because she suspects someone is trying to kill her. Her evidence is a mysterious note sent to warn her, signed “Noogus”, the name of her childhood teddy bear. At first, Fowler is skeptical, thinking that the beautiful young celebrity has come unhinged or is just being paranoid, mistaking the usual attention for something more sinister. However, it soon becomes clear that something much stranger is going on, when Priya starts exhibiting troubling behavior like memory loss and confusion. Fowler and Keane do their best to protect her while also juggling the case of the stolen sheep, eventually coming to the realization that the two cases might have more to do with each other than they thought.
I’m so glad that I went into this book without knowing much more beyond the publisher’s description. It was a lot of fun discovering all of its unique charms and merits. As sci-fi novels go, The Big Sheep was very readable, and at first glance, it might even seem like your typical light and fluffy fare (I swear, no pun intended) but ultimately a number of deeper themes started emerging. Not to give away too much, but as with many of the works that inspired this book, you can expect to see some existentialist questions explored in here, as well as thought-provoking discussions of ethics in science and technology. Definitely not something I expected when I first picked up this book, which I thought would be a pretty standard detective story, about the hunt for a missing giant sheep no less.
The world-building is also fantastic. Though we don’t get to venture much outside Los Angeles where the bulk of this story takes place, what Robert Kroese does show us of the setting is extraordinary and well-constructed. His world of 2039 Los Angeles is a surreal place, a city still trying to recover from a catastrophic event called the Collapse which happened a little more than ten years ago. The disaster caused a big section of LA to be cordoned off, creating an area called the Disincorporated Zone where law, order, and infrastructure swiftly degenerated. After a while it became clear to government that the only way forward was to cut its losses, so the DZ was officially disowned by the city, creating a district that is separate from any other jurisdiction. In spite of this, the people who were inside the DZ before the Collapse managed to survive, living under crime bosses who are constantly vying for power.
I had a good time with the characters as well, enjoying Fowler’s personality and snarky narration. He is essentially the Watson to Erasmus Keane’s Sherlock Holmes, hired on by investigator to be his tether to reality. Keane is portrayed as something of a savant, but virtually hopeless in social interactions or any situation requiring a gunfight, which is why Fowler also provides security services and protection. The two of them have a very interesting relationship, which makes for great dialogue as well as a number of downright hilarious scenes.
Of course, at the heart of this novel is a mystery, and the duo intrigues of the missing sheep and paranoid TV star cases were what kept me reading. Even as the investigation went from ordinary to insane, I enjoyed following the clues and watching the brilliant Keane piece the whole puzzle together. I do appreciate a story that doesn’t take itself too seriously, touching briefly upon heavy topics while still endeavoring to be entertaining. Comedic elements are also handled deftly, so that the humor never became too campy.
All in all, The Big Sheep was a pleasure to read. I picked it up expecting a straightforward sci-fi detective story, but instead I got pulled into this genuinely fun and bizarre tale filled with humor and wild twists, which nonetheless tackled some deeper themes. Given the way the final chapter ended, there’s a good chance this is intended to be the first book of a series, and from what I’ve seen of the creative world-building and excellent characters, I can already see the potential for more great sequels.
I had a feeling I was really going to enjoy this book. A light, breezy read with a wildly entertaining premise, The Big Sheep deserves high marks for humor and excellent characterization, plus major bonus points for creativity. This was a truly unexpected but enjoyable sci-fi mystery which reminded me very strongly of Sherlock Holmes, with shades of Philip K. Dick and a nice heavy injection of bizarre twists.
It is the year 2039, and our story takes place in Los Angeles, opening with our main character Blake Fowler and his business partner, the great detective—er, I mean, the great “phenomenological inquisitor”—Erasmus Keane, investigating into a case about a missing sheep. But this sheep isn’t any ordinary sheep. Mary, as the wooly ruminant is called, stands about as tall as a grown man, weighs 300 pounds, and was specifically bioengineered by a genetic research company for an uncanny purpose. And now she has been stolen, presumably by a rival company for her secrets.
But Keane and Fowler aren’t so sure, especially when it’s clear that the company isn’t telling them the whole truth. The waters are further muddied when another case shows up on their office doorstep in the form of Priya Mistry, the hottest TV star in the country, who has come to hire the duo because she suspects someone is trying to kill her. Her evidence is a mysterious note sent to warn her, signed “Noogus”, the name of her childhood teddy bear. At first, Fowler is skeptical, thinking that the beautiful young celebrity has come unhinged or is just being paranoid, mistaking the usual attention for something more sinister. However, it soon becomes clear that something much stranger is going on, when Priya starts exhibiting troubling behavior like memory loss and confusion. Fowler and Keane do their best to protect her while also juggling the case of the stolen sheep, eventually coming to the realization that the two cases might have more to do with each other than they thought.
I’m so glad that I went into this book without knowing much more beyond the publisher’s description. It was a lot of fun discovering all of its unique charms and merits. As sci-fi novels go, The Big Sheep was very readable, and at first glance, it might even seem like your typical light and fluffy fare (I swear, no pun intended) but ultimately a number of deeper themes started emerging. Not to give away too much, but as with many of the works that inspired this book, you can expect to see some existentialist questions explored in here, as well as thought-provoking discussions of ethics in science and technology. Definitely not something I expected when I first picked up this book, which I thought would be a pretty standard detective story, about the hunt for a missing giant sheep no less.
The world-building is also fantastic. Though we don’t get to venture much outside Los Angeles where the bulk of this story takes place, what Robert Kroese does show us of the setting is extraordinary and well-constructed. His world of 2039 Los Angeles is a surreal place, a city still trying to recover from a catastrophic event called the Collapse which happened a little more than ten years ago. The disaster caused a big section of LA to be cordoned off, creating an area called the Disincorporated Zone where law, order, and infrastructure swiftly degenerated. After a while it became clear to government that the only way forward was to cut its losses, so the DZ was officially disowned by the city, creating a district that is separate from any other jurisdiction. In spite of this, the people who were inside the DZ before the Collapse managed to survive, living under crime bosses who are constantly vying for power.
I had a good time with the characters as well, enjoying Fowler’s personality and snarky narration. He is essentially the Watson to Erasmus Keane’s Sherlock Holmes, hired on by investigator to be his tether to reality. Keane is portrayed as something of a savant, but virtually hopeless in social interactions or any situation requiring a gunfight, which is why Fowler also provides security services and protection. The two of them have a very interesting relationship, which makes for great dialogue as well as a number of downright hilarious scenes.
Of course, at the heart of this novel is a mystery, and the duo intrigues of the missing sheep and paranoid TV star cases were what kept me reading. Even as the investigation went from ordinary to insane, I enjoyed following the clues and watching the brilliant Keane piece the whole puzzle together. I do appreciate a story that doesn’t take itself too seriously, touching briefly upon heavy topics while still endeavoring to be entertaining. Comedic elements are also handled deftly, so that the humor never became too campy.
All in all, The Big Sheep was a pleasure to read. I picked it up expecting a straightforward sci-fi detective story, but instead I got pulled into this genuinely fun and bizarre tale filled with humor and wild twists, which nonetheless tackled some deeper themes. Given the way the final chapter ended, there’s a good chance this is intended to be the first book of a series, and from what I’ve seen of the creative world-building and excellent characters, I can already see the potential for more great sequels.
July 18, 2016
Robert Kroese puts a fresh spin on the LA noir detective story with this tale of quirky private investigator Erasmus Keane and his assistant, Blake Fowler. The story is told from the POV of Fowler. It takes place circa 2039 in a section of Los Angeles that has been disowned by civil authorities after the economic collapse of 2028. The section is referred to as the Disincorporated Zone, or the DZ. Erasmus Keane, who prefers to be referred to as a “phenomenological inquisitor” rather than a P.I., has an office right on the edge of the zone and he takes on unlikely cases, giving each case his own unlikely name for it.
Erasmus takes on The Case of the Missing Sheep. The sheep in question is a large breed, female sheep named Mary, who has been genetically altered by researchers at Esper. But Mary has been stolen and the head honcho at Esper wants her found. As Keane and Fowler begin their investigation of the missing Mary, they are sidelined by beautiful actress Priya Minstry. Priya thinks someone may be out to kill her. Fowler thinks she might just be a little bonkers. As these two cases progress, they begin to realize that one may very well have to do with the other.
The Big Sheep is fast-paced, clever, atmospheric and funny in an absurd, tongue-in-cheek sort of way. I recommend sitting down and taking the afternoon to breeze through this little gem. It’s a good, fresh read for both sci-fi and detective mystery fans.
I want to thank the publisher (St. Martin’s Press) for providing me with the ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.
Erasmus takes on The Case of the Missing Sheep. The sheep in question is a large breed, female sheep named Mary, who has been genetically altered by researchers at Esper. But Mary has been stolen and the head honcho at Esper wants her found. As Keane and Fowler begin their investigation of the missing Mary, they are sidelined by beautiful actress Priya Minstry. Priya thinks someone may be out to kill her. Fowler thinks she might just be a little bonkers. As these two cases progress, they begin to realize that one may very well have to do with the other.
The Big Sheep is fast-paced, clever, atmospheric and funny in an absurd, tongue-in-cheek sort of way. I recommend sitting down and taking the afternoon to breeze through this little gem. It’s a good, fresh read for both sci-fi and detective mystery fans.
I want to thank the publisher (St. Martin’s Press) for providing me with the ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.
August 31, 2016
A big disappointment. Although it was easy to see the influences here, even the cover is reminiscent of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, as is the title, with the Big Sleep. One would think that with Dick’s bleak dystopian future and questions on what it means to be human combined with the gritty crime and twisting double-crossing nature of Chandler’s detective story we would have something, if not completely original, at least worthy of it’s influences. However, sadly, this is not the case.
Our narrator is the sidekick to super detective (phenomenological investigator) Erasmus Keane. Keane seems to be a combination of Sherlock Holmes and Dirk Gently, only lacking the cleverness of the former and wittiness of the latter. Like Holmes he seems to have little ability to interact with others in a socially acceptable way, however, unlike Holmes I was never impressed by his observational skill or his ability to make astounding deductions. Unlike Gently there was absolutely no method to his madness, beyond just being annoying and there was no humor to his antics, rendering him just a irritating nothing on the page. Even now, a mere day after finishing the book I am hard pressed to remember any point where Keane made some impression on me, beyond making some irritating mansplanation on a plot point I’d figured out chapters before anyway.
Besides the less than stellar characters the rest of the story doesn’t stand up too well either. There are a ton of plot holes, if you take two seconds to think about the science it doesn't make much sense (which is usually ok, I don't mind soft sci-fi, but this just jumps the shark), the mystery is easy to guess.
Beyond the not so great writing, not so great characters and overall meh-ness of the book as a whole, is the reprehensible and completely backwards message of the book. Women are either sheep to be controlled or insane seductresses who’ll do anything to maintain their youth and beauty, overall their only concerns are their looks and what men think of them. The two heroes of the story, Blake Fowler (who lost his gf and can’t get over her) and Erasmus Keane routinely manipulate those around them, especially women, to get to what they want. I can't even get into all the women characters in the book who were written according to tropes that support the subjugation and dehumanization of women.
The first woman we’re introduced to is the scientist who works with the research sheep. As a smart woman, readers know that she must somehow be broken, since only an asexual, flat chested, plain woman would end up working in the higher sciences. Erasmus Keane quickly points out that she’s a friendless work-aholic whose life revolves around the sheep and she would never do something to harm them, therefore she is not a suspect. Whereas the pretty, but chubby woman who was working as a secretary, is the one whose affair was used to steal scientific research, since as a ‘chubby’ woman, she’d be easy to manipulate due to her low intelligence and low self-esteem (all ‘chubby’ women are stupid and sad about how fat they are after all). Like the Big Sleep there are many characters who have different and conflicting motivations going on, all trying to reach their end objectives, even if that means stabbing each other in the back. However, the two that really stand out to me are both men whose obsession with possessing a sex object (I mean woman) drive them to steal, murder and betray everyone around them.
Due to those reasons I couldn’t enjoy this book in the least. It’s funny that I was reading the Geek Feminist Revolution interspersed with this book (because I couldn’t take all the mansplaining in one sitting and had to give my clenched fists a break every once and awhile). I don’t plan on reading any more books by this author, I’ve got way too much to read to spend it on books that take the political stance that women are chattel.
Our narrator is the sidekick to super detective (phenomenological investigator) Erasmus Keane. Keane seems to be a combination of Sherlock Holmes and Dirk Gently, only lacking the cleverness of the former and wittiness of the latter. Like Holmes he seems to have little ability to interact with others in a socially acceptable way, however, unlike Holmes I was never impressed by his observational skill or his ability to make astounding deductions. Unlike Gently there was absolutely no method to his madness, beyond just being annoying and there was no humor to his antics, rendering him just a irritating nothing on the page. Even now, a mere day after finishing the book I am hard pressed to remember any point where Keane made some impression on me, beyond making some irritating mansplanation on a plot point I’d figured out chapters before anyway.
Besides the less than stellar characters the rest of the story doesn’t stand up too well either. There are a ton of plot holes, if you take two seconds to think about the science it doesn't make much sense (which is usually ok, I don't mind soft sci-fi, but this just jumps the shark), the mystery is easy to guess.
Beyond the not so great writing, not so great characters and overall meh-ness of the book as a whole, is the reprehensible and completely backwards message of the book. Women are either sheep to be controlled or insane seductresses who’ll do anything to maintain their youth and beauty, overall their only concerns are their looks and what men think of them. The two heroes of the story, Blake Fowler (who lost his gf and can’t get over her) and Erasmus Keane routinely manipulate those around them, especially women, to get to what they want. I can't even get into all the women characters in the book who were written according to tropes that support the subjugation and dehumanization of women.
The first woman we’re introduced to is the scientist who works with the research sheep. As a smart woman, readers know that she must somehow be broken, since only an asexual, flat chested, plain woman would end up working in the higher sciences. Erasmus Keane quickly points out that she’s a friendless work-aholic whose life revolves around the sheep and she would never do something to harm them, therefore she is not a suspect. Whereas the pretty, but chubby woman who was working as a secretary, is the one whose affair was used to steal scientific research, since as a ‘chubby’ woman, she’d be easy to manipulate due to her low intelligence and low self-esteem (all ‘chubby’ women are stupid and sad about how fat they are after all). Like the Big Sleep there are many characters who have different and conflicting motivations going on, all trying to reach their end objectives, even if that means stabbing each other in the back. However, the two that really stand out to me are both men whose obsession with possessing a sex object (I mean woman) drive them to steal, murder and betray everyone around them.
Due to those reasons I couldn’t enjoy this book in the least. It’s funny that I was reading the Geek Feminist Revolution interspersed with this book (because I couldn’t take all the mansplaining in one sitting and had to give my clenched fists a break every once and awhile). I don’t plan on reading any more books by this author, I’ve got way too much to read to spend it on books that take the political stance that women are chattel.
July 13, 2016
Robert Kroese is a shocking talent. His last book, Starship Grifters was a hilarious story that surprised me with its complexity in the end. While that was labeled as a space opera satire, it really had a strong mystery element. That had me very excited for this future noir mystery in The Big Sheep, and I was more than impressed with how he delivered.
The story is a sheep kidnapping turned into a sneak peak in how cloning and a civil collapse within America might change the face of the entertainment industry, not to mention the power structure of authority. Within this very unique plot Kroese delivers witty and lighthearted humor, but the main strength is that we hit a plot climax halfway through that would have been good enough for some people to end on. Kroese instead builds level by level of unraveling mystery into the people we've met and the darkness of their plans and past, while also showing issues of the heart that really drive home our empathy and desire for them to either survive or be thrown off a cliff. I kept wondering if I was going to figure out a clue ahead of time, but Kroese stayed one step ahead all the way to the end. Even now I'm shocked at what just happened.
The narrator, Fred Berman, was equally as superb. Every voice and the tension and humor delivered in every scene made him the perfect compliment to Kroese's authorial voice.
I hate to say it, since Starship Grifters was so hysterical, but this is my favorite Kroese book to date.
The story is a sheep kidnapping turned into a sneak peak in how cloning and a civil collapse within America might change the face of the entertainment industry, not to mention the power structure of authority. Within this very unique plot Kroese delivers witty and lighthearted humor, but the main strength is that we hit a plot climax halfway through that would have been good enough for some people to end on. Kroese instead builds level by level of unraveling mystery into the people we've met and the darkness of their plans and past, while also showing issues of the heart that really drive home our empathy and desire for them to either survive or be thrown off a cliff. I kept wondering if I was going to figure out a clue ahead of time, but Kroese stayed one step ahead all the way to the end. Even now I'm shocked at what just happened.
The narrator, Fred Berman, was equally as superb. Every voice and the tension and humor delivered in every scene made him the perfect compliment to Kroese's authorial voice.
I hate to say it, since Starship Grifters was so hysterical, but this is my favorite Kroese book to date.
November 21, 2022
THE BIG SHEEP by Robert Kroese is probably the funniest detective novel I've read since Bubbles in Space: Tropical Punch by Sarah Jensen and may actually be even better, though it's a tight race.
Fundamentally, there's just something about cyberpunk and noir detective fiction that goes together exceptionally well. It worked very well in Blade Runner and I've never stopped enjoying stories where the Big City was a place full of high tech gizmos as well as dirty cops. It's the same reason I love the Easytown novels by Brian Parker. So with that introduction, I begin my review of this book: I love it.
The premise is Holmes and Watson-esque duo Erasmus Keane and Blake Fowler was private investigators (though Keane preferred a more elaborate title) in the post-Collapse world of 2039. The Collapse was when a good chunk of Los Angeles fell to anarchy like the opening of Demolition Man and was walled off like Escape from New York.
This book is full of oblique and less than oblique references like that and it's part of why I really enjoy it. Either way, our heroes receive a peculiar pair of cases in a missing genetically grown sheep named Mary as well as a beautiful star named Priya Mistry that insists that someone is trying to kill her.
As befitting neo noir fiction, both of these cases turn out to be far more closely tied together than might initially be assumed. Mary the Sheep is a marvel of science but no one knows why someone would want to steal a buffalo-sized sheep. Even if she's a very attractive sheep as Keane conspiratorially alludes to the widow of a deceased worker at the laboratory. Might that have been the motivation? No. Though Keane thinks it's hilarious to insinuate that it is. That's the kind of person that Erasmus Keane is.
The funniest thing about The Big Sheep is that it isn't a comedy book. It is humorous because everything is played so incredibly straight. There's a buffalo sized sheep, clones, Lord Humungous style warlords, and social satire about how Hollywood actresses often have only four or five years of shelf life before they're put down in a most literal manner. All of it merges together in something absolutely ridiculous and yet entirely coherent.
The characters are extremely likable, interesting, and deal with their circumstances (extreme as they are) in a believable manner. The story can get surprisingly bleak at times with some of the villains getting away with their crimes, characters unexpectedly dying, and other twists you wouldn't expect from such a fun light-hearted novel.
I strongly recommend this novel and I immediately picked up the sequel after finishing it. If you are a fan of detective novels, sci-fi, cyberpunk, and just oddball premises then this is certainly going to be right up your alley.
Fundamentally, there's just something about cyberpunk and noir detective fiction that goes together exceptionally well. It worked very well in Blade Runner and I've never stopped enjoying stories where the Big City was a place full of high tech gizmos as well as dirty cops. It's the same reason I love the Easytown novels by Brian Parker. So with that introduction, I begin my review of this book: I love it.
The premise is Holmes and Watson-esque duo Erasmus Keane and Blake Fowler was private investigators (though Keane preferred a more elaborate title) in the post-Collapse world of 2039. The Collapse was when a good chunk of Los Angeles fell to anarchy like the opening of Demolition Man and was walled off like Escape from New York.
This book is full of oblique and less than oblique references like that and it's part of why I really enjoy it. Either way, our heroes receive a peculiar pair of cases in a missing genetically grown sheep named Mary as well as a beautiful star named Priya Mistry that insists that someone is trying to kill her.
As befitting neo noir fiction, both of these cases turn out to be far more closely tied together than might initially be assumed. Mary the Sheep is a marvel of science but no one knows why someone would want to steal a buffalo-sized sheep. Even if she's a very attractive sheep as Keane conspiratorially alludes to the widow of a deceased worker at the laboratory. Might that have been the motivation? No. Though Keane thinks it's hilarious to insinuate that it is. That's the kind of person that Erasmus Keane is.
The funniest thing about The Big Sheep is that it isn't a comedy book. It is humorous because everything is played so incredibly straight. There's a buffalo sized sheep, clones, Lord Humungous style warlords, and social satire about how Hollywood actresses often have only four or five years of shelf life before they're put down in a most literal manner. All of it merges together in something absolutely ridiculous and yet entirely coherent.
The characters are extremely likable, interesting, and deal with their circumstances (extreme as they are) in a believable manner. The story can get surprisingly bleak at times with some of the villains getting away with their crimes, characters unexpectedly dying, and other twists you wouldn't expect from such a fun light-hearted novel.
I strongly recommend this novel and I immediately picked up the sequel after finishing it. If you are a fan of detective novels, sci-fi, cyberpunk, and just oddball premises then this is certainly going to be right up your alley.
June 29, 2016
+ Wise-cracking but super intelligent detective - check.
+ Trusty Watson like character good in a pinch, but never sure about what is going on - check.
+ Super complex Raymond Chandler-like noir - check.
+ A really big sheep - what?
This is a novel that is firing on all cylinders. Often when you have a comedic novel the plot is just a scaffold to string along jokes. What matters is how the characters react to the situation. This is not true at all in this case. The plot from start to finish would have provided an excellent SF mystery novel even if played straight. It was interesting enough just to see how the plots converged through the twists and turns.
Add on to that Kroese' humor and I enjoyed it all the more. I was chuckling audibly from start to finish. There is some seriously funny lines. One joke was like a blackjack to the head when I saw the effort at the layup for it. Well a humorous blackjack to the head.
Then there are nice touches like the P.I. does not stand for Private Investigator and what it stands for is perfect if you know philosophy. I really liked the whole idea for it. I quite enjoyed the characters and there is plenty of room to build a series on them.
Satisfying on so many levels and a book I will return to again.
+ Trusty Watson like character good in a pinch, but never sure about what is going on - check.
+ Super complex Raymond Chandler-like noir - check.
+ A really big sheep - what?
This is a novel that is firing on all cylinders. Often when you have a comedic novel the plot is just a scaffold to string along jokes. What matters is how the characters react to the situation. This is not true at all in this case. The plot from start to finish would have provided an excellent SF mystery novel even if played straight. It was interesting enough just to see how the plots converged through the twists and turns.
Add on to that Kroese' humor and I enjoyed it all the more. I was chuckling audibly from start to finish. There is some seriously funny lines. One joke was like a blackjack to the head when I saw the effort at the layup for it. Well a humorous blackjack to the head.
Then there are nice touches like the P.I. does not stand for Private Investigator and what it stands for is perfect if you know philosophy. I really liked the whole idea for it. I quite enjoyed the characters and there is plenty of room to build a series on them.
Satisfying on so many levels and a book I will return to again.
April 19, 2023
2.5 stars
In a futuristic, dystopian LA, Blake Fowler assists private investigator Erasmus Keane as they hired to look into the robbery of a genetically modified sheep from a laboratory. As the two try to figure out why a sheep would be a hot commodity, they are also approached by superstar Priya Mistry who is convinced someone is trying to kill her. It turns out there are connections between the two cases and things take a wild turn.
I've had this lined up on NetGalley for quite a while and I was always excited to read it as I really felt like it was something I would enjoy but unfortunately the writing and storyline fell flat for me due to a myriad of reasons. I think the dystopian aspect of this is good in theory and it actually reminded me a little bit of the cities and QZ zones in The Last of Us so picturing the city split down the middle was actually an easy thing for me but we got the Maelstrom information about why it all happened a little bit in a rush near the end, and it was slightly info-dumping.
I just thought the crime/mystery elements in this story were poor and there was nothing particularly exciting or surprising about the cases and I actually felt like it was all a bit ridiculous. I also really hated how all the women were written in this book and it very much felt like a case of 'women written by men.' Whenn Priya Mistry first arrives on the scene and describes why she believes someone is out to get her, she is immediately dismissed by our main character because she is a beautiful woman and obviously people would be watching her and because she was convinced someone was after her, she was therefore paranoid and crazy. How many times have women's fears over their safety or health being dismissed by people (mainly men) and ended up dead? Too many. And pretty much all the scenes with Priya felt a bit yucky as all the characters ever focused on was how beautiful she was and we never really ever got to know who she really was underneath it all.
I'm glad to have this checked off my list to read but I won't be continuing with the series and I don't think I'd recommend.
In a futuristic, dystopian LA, Blake Fowler assists private investigator Erasmus Keane as they hired to look into the robbery of a genetically modified sheep from a laboratory. As the two try to figure out why a sheep would be a hot commodity, they are also approached by superstar Priya Mistry who is convinced someone is trying to kill her. It turns out there are connections between the two cases and things take a wild turn.
I've had this lined up on NetGalley for quite a while and I was always excited to read it as I really felt like it was something I would enjoy but unfortunately the writing and storyline fell flat for me due to a myriad of reasons. I think the dystopian aspect of this is good in theory and it actually reminded me a little bit of the cities and QZ zones in The Last of Us so picturing the city split down the middle was actually an easy thing for me but we got the Maelstrom information about why it all happened a little bit in a rush near the end, and it was slightly info-dumping.
I just thought the crime/mystery elements in this story were poor and there was nothing particularly exciting or surprising about the cases and I actually felt like it was all a bit ridiculous. I also really hated how all the women were written in this book and it very much felt like a case of 'women written by men.' Whenn Priya Mistry first arrives on the scene and describes why she believes someone is out to get her, she is immediately dismissed by our main character because she is a beautiful woman and obviously people would be watching her and because she was convinced someone was after her, she was therefore paranoid and crazy. How many times have women's fears over their safety or health being dismissed by people (mainly men) and ended up dead? Too many. And pretty much all the scenes with Priya felt a bit yucky as all the characters ever focused on was how beautiful she was and we never really ever got to know who she really was underneath it all.
I'm glad to have this checked off my list to read but I won't be continuing with the series and I don't think I'd recommend.
September 14, 2016
(Audiobook) This book was brilliantly narrated by Fred Berman. If there was a description of Erasmus Keane I do not remember it because I instantly saw him in my mind as "Joe Pesci in a bouffant wig". Who wouldn't want to read a story where Joe Pesci is our eccentric Sherlock Holmes archetype trying to track down a genetically modified sheep? Berman's performance was pitch perfect, allowing every wisecrack to land. He did a good job voicing every single character in an impressive performance.
So the premise of the story is to mash up "The Big Sleep" (Humphrey Bogart detective noir) with Phillip K Dick's "Do androids dream of electric sheep" aka "Bladerunner". While a detective story in SF setting sounds like a great premise I have only been disappointed with this setup before. (I am looking at YOU Jack McDevitt).
We get a lot more of the comedy detective foibles then the cyberpunk stuff. Other then the mention of air cars, humanity surviving a "collapse" of civil war and anarchy there was very little Dick. I guess the idea of "are you still paranoid if your paranoia is real"? The only thing that really even makes this story SF is it's reliance on genetic engineering as a central part of the mystery.
The world building was surprisingly sparse. By using LA for the setting the reader can just imagine a post-downfall LA and we didn't get or need a lot of description. Even an Aussie like me gets the references to Wilshire boulevard and the LA suburbs.
The first joke in the book was whether The sheep called Mary had a little lamb...Seriously...The comedy picked up quite a bit from there I was laughing at the argument about whether the second case should be called "The case of the concerned Teddy bear" or "The case of the mysteriously well spoken and concerned Teddy bear". Having Joe Pesci around to wisecrack makes everything funnier.
So I was absolutely loving the first 60% of the book. I was listening to it whenever I had a spare moment absorbed in Berman's terrific performance and the witty writing.
Then when I woke up this morning excited to finish the last 4 hours at work it all kind of fell apart. I don't know if I was in a shitty mood (It has been known to happen on a Monday) or I just reached the point where all of the interesting foreplay was over and we were down to brass tacks.
It felt like every plot point was TELEGRAPHED so you could see it coming a mile away. That wasn't a huge problem as it wasn't presented like "here is an amazing reveal" but every "mystery" and twist was easily solvable by the reader long before Watson and Holmes got there.
The problem for me waS that things started whimsical and silly, then they got very silly but were presented in a serious life or death way. Douglas Adams writes ridiculous and funny things but it is not presented with very real violence and legitimate stakes and the sudden shift in tone mid way was jarring.
The other big issue I began having was it felt like almost every single character had a motivation problem or a plot contrivance. The geneticist Dr character had a whole range of issues that defied credibility. The main baddy doing terribly dumb things that reminded me of the villains in the 1960s TV Batman. Roy the bodyguard. WTF Roy? Roy's story is so silly it is eventually played up for laughs but first Kroese has to try and ground it in reality.
I can't believe "kickarse Watson" err Fowler stayed on the path he kept on after certain revelations that were telegraphed to the reader. Characters in untouchable positions of power gave up everything important to them after some smooth talking and empty assurances, shaking their fists the whole time.
The first 6 hours were 5 star enjoyment for me but the wrap up and landing had me rolling my eyes more then a few times. Overall it was still a fun and worthwhile ride but I think I enjoyed Berman's performance a lot more more then Kroeses' story.
So the premise of the story is to mash up "The Big Sleep" (Humphrey Bogart detective noir) with Phillip K Dick's "Do androids dream of electric sheep" aka "Bladerunner". While a detective story in SF setting sounds like a great premise I have only been disappointed with this setup before. (I am looking at YOU Jack McDevitt).
We get a lot more of the comedy detective foibles then the cyberpunk stuff. Other then the mention of air cars, humanity surviving a "collapse" of civil war and anarchy there was very little Dick. I guess the idea of "are you still paranoid if your paranoia is real"? The only thing that really even makes this story SF is it's reliance on genetic engineering as a central part of the mystery.
The world building was surprisingly sparse. By using LA for the setting the reader can just imagine a post-downfall LA and we didn't get or need a lot of description. Even an Aussie like me gets the references to Wilshire boulevard and the LA suburbs.
The first joke in the book was whether The sheep called Mary had a little lamb...Seriously...The comedy picked up quite a bit from there I was laughing at the argument about whether the second case should be called "The case of the concerned Teddy bear" or "The case of the mysteriously well spoken and concerned Teddy bear". Having Joe Pesci around to wisecrack makes everything funnier.
So I was absolutely loving the first 60% of the book. I was listening to it whenever I had a spare moment absorbed in Berman's terrific performance and the witty writing.
Then when I woke up this morning excited to finish the last 4 hours at work it all kind of fell apart. I don't know if I was in a shitty mood (It has been known to happen on a Monday) or I just reached the point where all of the interesting foreplay was over and we were down to brass tacks.
It felt like every plot point was TELEGRAPHED so you could see it coming a mile away. That wasn't a huge problem as it wasn't presented like "here is an amazing reveal" but every "mystery" and twist was easily solvable by the reader long before Watson and Holmes got there.
The problem for me waS that things started whimsical and silly, then they got very silly but were presented in a serious life or death way. Douglas Adams writes ridiculous and funny things but it is not presented with very real violence and legitimate stakes and the sudden shift in tone mid way was jarring.
The other big issue I began having was it felt like almost every single character had a motivation problem or a plot contrivance. The geneticist Dr character had a whole range of issues that defied credibility. The main baddy doing terribly dumb things that reminded me of the villains in the 1960s TV Batman. Roy the bodyguard. WTF Roy? Roy's story is so silly it is eventually played up for laughs but first Kroese has to try and ground it in reality.
I can't believe "kickarse Watson" err Fowler stayed on the path he kept on after certain revelations that were telegraphed to the reader. Characters in untouchable positions of power gave up everything important to them after some smooth talking and empty assurances, shaking their fists the whole time.
The first 6 hours were 5 star enjoyment for me but the wrap up and landing had me rolling my eyes more then a few times. Overall it was still a fun and worthwhile ride but I think I enjoyed Berman's performance a lot more more then Kroeses' story.
May 6, 2017
The year is 2039. Los Angeles “phenomenological inquisitor” Erasmus Keane and his faithful amanuensis Blake Fowler have been hired by the Esper Corporation to find Mary, a VERY big sheep that has been stolen from their research lab. They’ve barely begun on the case when gorgeous superstar Priya Mistry also wants to hire them because she thinks someone may be trying to kill her. Why does she think so? Because she has received a warning note signed “Noogus”. And who is Noogus? Her favorite teddy bear from childhood. She is perhaps even more distressed by bizarre memory lapses and wonders if these could be related; for example, she has seen herself in some commercials that she cannot remember making. Two unusual cases become even more so as Keane and Fowler’s investigations uncover the involvement of gang lords, unscrupulous media tycoons (Is there any other kind in fiction?), clandestine biomedical research, and even a secret from Keane’s own past. Along the way there is some of the lightheartedness one might expect from the opening, but there are also plenty of bodies and the kind of wrongdoing typical in a noir detective story (just in case you missed the allusion to Philip Marlowe’s first case).
I was attracted to this book because I had enjoyed two of Kroese’s other works, Schrodinger’s Gat, which has a lot to say about free will, determinism, and quantum physics, and Starship Grifters, a light-hearted space saga with lots of chuckles and laughs. Kroese himself has said that The Big Sheep is about halfway between these two works in theme and tone, and I would agree. There are a few quotes from people like Pascal and Nietsche but also scenes of people trying to coax a huge sheep into the back of a truck.
What all of the Kroese I have read has in common is an enjoyable wry tone, which is obvious even in the opening sentence: “That’s a really big sheep,” said Erasmus Keane, his observational powers functioning as flawlessly as ever.”
This is NOT hard SF. An oft-cited maxim of science fiction is that the author is allowed to throw one bit of rather unbelievable science at the reader to advance the story. There is rather more than one bit of unlikely biomedical progress in The Big Sheep, especially for a book set only a little more than 20 years in the future, but Kroese has set a tone that motivates the reader to suspend disbelief a bit more than usual and just go along for the fun of it.
With Keane and Fowler, Kroese has created a crime-solving duo in the classic style. Is this the beginning of a series? The author is too clever to let us know for sure. The ending has no cliffhangers and ties up all the loose ends nicely. But he has created some enjoyable characters with enough of a backstory that I’m eager to hear more and a future Los Angeles that I’d like to visit again (as long as I didn’t have to live there).
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was attracted to this book because I had enjoyed two of Kroese’s other works, Schrodinger’s Gat, which has a lot to say about free will, determinism, and quantum physics, and Starship Grifters, a light-hearted space saga with lots of chuckles and laughs. Kroese himself has said that The Big Sheep is about halfway between these two works in theme and tone, and I would agree. There are a few quotes from people like Pascal and Nietsche but also scenes of people trying to coax a huge sheep into the back of a truck.
What all of the Kroese I have read has in common is an enjoyable wry tone, which is obvious even in the opening sentence: “That’s a really big sheep,” said Erasmus Keane, his observational powers functioning as flawlessly as ever.”
This is NOT hard SF. An oft-cited maxim of science fiction is that the author is allowed to throw one bit of rather unbelievable science at the reader to advance the story. There is rather more than one bit of unlikely biomedical progress in The Big Sheep, especially for a book set only a little more than 20 years in the future, but Kroese has set a tone that motivates the reader to suspend disbelief a bit more than usual and just go along for the fun of it.
With Keane and Fowler, Kroese has created a crime-solving duo in the classic style. Is this the beginning of a series? The author is too clever to let us know for sure. The ending has no cliffhangers and ties up all the loose ends nicely. But he has created some enjoyable characters with enough of a backstory that I’m eager to hear more and a future Los Angeles that I’d like to visit again (as long as I didn’t have to live there).
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 5, 2016
4.5 Stars
The Big Sheep by Robert Kroese is a laugh out loud science fiction noir by a favorite author of mine. This is a fabulous summer read. Robert Kroese is one cool cat that writes about things that really interest me. I love his Mercury series, which is a dark comedy, satire, and it is filled with angels and demons. It is hilarious at times, loaded with light hearted witty dialogue, and is really a fun series to read. Kroese dabbles in science fiction as well and those stories are just as good as the ones about Mercury.
The Big Sheep is nothing at all like his Mercury series( a favorite of mine). This is a novel about sheep, about fame, about murder and mystery, and also about cloning. This is a sort of post apocalyptic science fiction novel crossed with a noir mystery. The book immediately shows just how much it was influenced by the Classic science fiction by Philip Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. The world building is stellar. The characters are fantastic and easy to like. It is however the writing style of Kroese that makes The Big Sheep special.
Kroese uses comedy, satire, and witty dialogue to drive all of his stories. His humor does not down play the story or the seriousness, it elevates it. Not since Terry Pratchett have I read an author that uses humor to this extent so successfully and as a driving style. He is really funny.
The Big Sheep is a futuristic Sherlock Holmes story with wit. It includes the head detective (well actually the Phenomenological Inquisitor) Erasmus Keane and his Watson named Blake Fowler.
I loved this book and give it along with all of what Kroese writes my highest recommendations.
The Big Sheep by Robert Kroese is a laugh out loud science fiction noir by a favorite author of mine. This is a fabulous summer read. Robert Kroese is one cool cat that writes about things that really interest me. I love his Mercury series, which is a dark comedy, satire, and it is filled with angels and demons. It is hilarious at times, loaded with light hearted witty dialogue, and is really a fun series to read. Kroese dabbles in science fiction as well and those stories are just as good as the ones about Mercury.
The Big Sheep is nothing at all like his Mercury series( a favorite of mine). This is a novel about sheep, about fame, about murder and mystery, and also about cloning. This is a sort of post apocalyptic science fiction novel crossed with a noir mystery. The book immediately shows just how much it was influenced by the Classic science fiction by Philip Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. The world building is stellar. The characters are fantastic and easy to like. It is however the writing style of Kroese that makes The Big Sheep special.
Kroese uses comedy, satire, and witty dialogue to drive all of his stories. His humor does not down play the story or the seriousness, it elevates it. Not since Terry Pratchett have I read an author that uses humor to this extent so successfully and as a driving style. He is really funny.
The Big Sheep is a futuristic Sherlock Holmes story with wit. It includes the head detective (well actually the Phenomenological Inquisitor) Erasmus Keane and his Watson named Blake Fowler.
I loved this book and give it along with all of what Kroese writes my highest recommendations.
February 7, 2017
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
To be clear, Robert Kroese's "phenomenological inquisitor" tale The Big Sheep is not much more than a well-written ripoff of Douglas Adams' "holistic detective" Dirk Gently novels, combined with the characterizations found in the cult movie The Zero Theorem and the alt-history universe-building of a typical "slow apocalypse" science-fiction book. But I happen to love the witty and smart Dirk Gently novels; and given that Adams died several years ago and won't be writing any more of them, I've got no problem at all with Kroese taking up the slack and putting out books nearly identical in both spirit and tone.
Set in a version of the 2030s that has already seen a cataclysmic event in America come and go, it has left behind a tougher and weirder Los Angeles that among other things now contains flying cars (since the old highways of pre-apocalypse LA are no longer navigable), as well as giant sections of the city that have essentially been walled off like Escape From New York and are their own anarchic demilitarized zones, the subject of the newest wave of popular gritty TV shows within an entertainment industry that has been permanently commingled with the journalism industry, so that there's virtually no difference any longer between the two. It's within such a setting that we follow the adventures of metaphysical private investigator Erasmus Keane, as well as his tough but perpetually bewildered assistant Blake Fowler, as they simultaneously take on cases of an intelligent sheep that's been kidnapped from a top-secret genetics facility, and a teenage TV star who's become convinced that someone is out to kill her, the two investigations slowly revealing their complicated connections as the story reaches its absurdist, violent conclusion.
To be fair, there are some problems with the novel, which is why it isn't getting a higher score than it is today; the characterizations are a bit inconsistent from one chapter to the next, there's way too much telling over showing, and the book simply isn't as funny as Kroese seems to think it is. But that said, I was thoroughly charmed by the ridiculous machinations that fuel this novel's day-after-tomorrow storyline, the premise getting more and more preposterous and convoluted with each passing chapter; and in general it was a fast and always entertaining page-turner that will immensely satisfy fans of bizarro literature, as well as those who like the wackier side of science-fiction (think Terry Pratchett). The first of what looks like is going to be an entire series of Keane/Fowler adventures, I certainly would not mind a franchise being made out of these two engaging and memorable characters; and while this first volume doesn't exactly come recommended to all, certainly those who enjoy the kind of novels I just described should pick it up with no delay.
Out of 10: 8.3
To be clear, Robert Kroese's "phenomenological inquisitor" tale The Big Sheep is not much more than a well-written ripoff of Douglas Adams' "holistic detective" Dirk Gently novels, combined with the characterizations found in the cult movie The Zero Theorem and the alt-history universe-building of a typical "slow apocalypse" science-fiction book. But I happen to love the witty and smart Dirk Gently novels; and given that Adams died several years ago and won't be writing any more of them, I've got no problem at all with Kroese taking up the slack and putting out books nearly identical in both spirit and tone.
Set in a version of the 2030s that has already seen a cataclysmic event in America come and go, it has left behind a tougher and weirder Los Angeles that among other things now contains flying cars (since the old highways of pre-apocalypse LA are no longer navigable), as well as giant sections of the city that have essentially been walled off like Escape From New York and are their own anarchic demilitarized zones, the subject of the newest wave of popular gritty TV shows within an entertainment industry that has been permanently commingled with the journalism industry, so that there's virtually no difference any longer between the two. It's within such a setting that we follow the adventures of metaphysical private investigator Erasmus Keane, as well as his tough but perpetually bewildered assistant Blake Fowler, as they simultaneously take on cases of an intelligent sheep that's been kidnapped from a top-secret genetics facility, and a teenage TV star who's become convinced that someone is out to kill her, the two investigations slowly revealing their complicated connections as the story reaches its absurdist, violent conclusion.
To be fair, there are some problems with the novel, which is why it isn't getting a higher score than it is today; the characterizations are a bit inconsistent from one chapter to the next, there's way too much telling over showing, and the book simply isn't as funny as Kroese seems to think it is. But that said, I was thoroughly charmed by the ridiculous machinations that fuel this novel's day-after-tomorrow storyline, the premise getting more and more preposterous and convoluted with each passing chapter; and in general it was a fast and always entertaining page-turner that will immensely satisfy fans of bizarro literature, as well as those who like the wackier side of science-fiction (think Terry Pratchett). The first of what looks like is going to be an entire series of Keane/Fowler adventures, I certainly would not mind a franchise being made out of these two engaging and memorable characters; and while this first volume doesn't exactly come recommended to all, certainly those who enjoy the kind of novels I just described should pick it up with no delay.
Out of 10: 8.3
July 8, 2016
Stars: 3 out of 5
Blake Fowler works for Erasmus Keane, a brilliant private detective. When they are called on a case of a missing sheep, he doesn't even suspect the depth of trouble they will get themselves into if they decide to take the case. And when a rising TV star comes to their agency to seek their help because she thinks someone wants to kill her, things only get more complicated. After all, there is only two of them, so working two cases at once can get complicated. Only the two cases turn out to be more connected then they suspect…
Mr. Kroese has created an interesting world here. One that I wouldn’t mind exploring further. After the Collapse of 2028, when the United States briefly descended into anarchy, Los Angeles is a city divided. There is the normal city where law and order rule again, and then there is the DZ or the Disincorporated Zone, a walled off portion of the city where warlords rule, police is none-existent, and human life is cheaper than a penny.
We get to explore both sides of LA in this book, but I would have loved to see how the rest of the US and the world fared as well. Does each city have their own DZ? How did other governments cope with the Collapse? Maybe we will learn about that if the author decides to continue this story.
So all in all, I liked this book and I really liked our protagonist, Blake Fowler. He isn't a genius investigator like Keane, but he has a good head on his shoulders. Besides, his function in this duo is not to spin crazy theories, but to keep Keane grounded when he digresses too much and to provide raw muscles when things get dangerous. And when it comes to kicking ass, Blake delivers.
Unfortunately, even though the protagonists are good, the same couldn't be said about the villain. I won't name names, because that would be big spoiler and certain to ruin the enjoyment of the book, but a lot of times I wanted to hand the antagonist Pete's Evil Overlord List and make them memorize it, especially the following points:
I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.
When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?" I'll say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought I'll shoot him then say "No."
I mean seriously, I have never seen an antagonist spend more time explaining their whole plan in specific details than in this book. Not only does that come across as unrealistic and frankly rather stupid on the villain's part, but it also gets annoying very quickly. You have several scenes full of action and tension… and then over 10 pages of exposition. Tension killed. Yawn fest begins. I admit that by the end, I skimmed over all that to get to the next action scene, because I didn't WANT to hear about the reasons behind all the actions anymore. I just wanted to know how it ended.
So all in all, it was an enjoyable read, even though it could have been so much better with a villain who didn't feel the need to tell their life story in great detail to the private investigators they were about to kill anyway.
PS. I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Blake Fowler works for Erasmus Keane, a brilliant private detective. When they are called on a case of a missing sheep, he doesn't even suspect the depth of trouble they will get themselves into if they decide to take the case. And when a rising TV star comes to their agency to seek their help because she thinks someone wants to kill her, things only get more complicated. After all, there is only two of them, so working two cases at once can get complicated. Only the two cases turn out to be more connected then they suspect…
Mr. Kroese has created an interesting world here. One that I wouldn’t mind exploring further. After the Collapse of 2028, when the United States briefly descended into anarchy, Los Angeles is a city divided. There is the normal city where law and order rule again, and then there is the DZ or the Disincorporated Zone, a walled off portion of the city where warlords rule, police is none-existent, and human life is cheaper than a penny.
We get to explore both sides of LA in this book, but I would have loved to see how the rest of the US and the world fared as well. Does each city have their own DZ? How did other governments cope with the Collapse? Maybe we will learn about that if the author decides to continue this story.
So all in all, I liked this book and I really liked our protagonist, Blake Fowler. He isn't a genius investigator like Keane, but he has a good head on his shoulders. Besides, his function in this duo is not to spin crazy theories, but to keep Keane grounded when he digresses too much and to provide raw muscles when things get dangerous. And when it comes to kicking ass, Blake delivers.
Unfortunately, even though the protagonists are good, the same couldn't be said about the villain. I won't name names, because that would be big spoiler and certain to ruin the enjoyment of the book, but a lot of times I wanted to hand the antagonist Pete's Evil Overlord List and make them memorize it, especially the following points:
I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.
When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?" I'll say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought I'll shoot him then say "No."
I mean seriously, I have never seen an antagonist spend more time explaining their whole plan in specific details than in this book. Not only does that come across as unrealistic and frankly rather stupid on the villain's part, but it also gets annoying very quickly. You have several scenes full of action and tension… and then over 10 pages of exposition. Tension killed. Yawn fest begins. I admit that by the end, I skimmed over all that to get to the next action scene, because I didn't WANT to hear about the reasons behind all the actions anymore. I just wanted to know how it ended.
So all in all, it was an enjoyable read, even though it could have been so much better with a villain who didn't feel the need to tell their life story in great detail to the private investigators they were about to kill anyway.
PS. I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 14, 2016
Whoa, what a ride. This book reminds me of the best of classic science fiction. Using the very basis of sci fi to explore radical ideas about humanity.
Yet it's extremely readable. Classic sci fi written in contemporary settings. Well close enough, it is set in a future Los Angeles that is somewhat dystopic. The synopsis does an excellent job describing the parameters of this world and setting the scene.
I'm a huge fan of Agent Pendergast, star of the long running series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Erasmus Keene possesses an equally sharp mind and penchant for odd mysteries. What sets him apart is his human flaws being more overt.
The various ideas and concepts examined, and even mocked, are: the entertainment industry from both inside and out, what makes someone a star, genetics, socio-political machinations, dramatic collapses of society (the dystopian angle), philosophies of humanity, and the accompanying psychological defects among some.
As I mentioned above, unlike classic science fiction, the world and language are in contemporary terms so it doesn't take a penchant for the genre to be able to read and enjoy the book.
In other words, a piece of literary fiction with highly speculative tones.
Highly recommended. I'm including it in my "best of 2016" reads because of the wide range of topics, any one of which has appeal to me.
Thank you to the publisher for the free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Yet it's extremely readable. Classic sci fi written in contemporary settings. Well close enough, it is set in a future Los Angeles that is somewhat dystopic. The synopsis does an excellent job describing the parameters of this world and setting the scene.
I'm a huge fan of Agent Pendergast, star of the long running series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Erasmus Keene possesses an equally sharp mind and penchant for odd mysteries. What sets him apart is his human flaws being more overt.
The various ideas and concepts examined, and even mocked, are: the entertainment industry from both inside and out, what makes someone a star, genetics, socio-political machinations, dramatic collapses of society (the dystopian angle), philosophies of humanity, and the accompanying psychological defects among some.
As I mentioned above, unlike classic science fiction, the world and language are in contemporary terms so it doesn't take a penchant for the genre to be able to read and enjoy the book.
In other words, a piece of literary fiction with highly speculative tones.
Highly recommended. I'm including it in my "best of 2016" reads because of the wide range of topics, any one of which has appeal to me.
Thank you to the publisher for the free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
November 13, 2017
Could not put this book down! Perfect blend of sci fi, detective noir, and humor.
September 24, 2018
3.5 stars
December 20, 2018
I was intrigued by the odd premise of this story, which is why I bought it. A humorous dystopian (for once), a detective story, and science fiction? Sign me up!
However, while I was engrossed in the story, and kept turning the pages, the implausibilities kept adding up and up. By the end, it avoided becoming a hot mess, but came close. There were moments of brilliance, though, which is why I end up giving this three stars.
I didn't think that highly of Keane by the end. It's not his motives necessarily (we find out more about him during the book). He's hyped to be a very original thinker, but he doesn't really add much to the resolution of the mystery. On the other hand the narrator is the one who actually accomplishes a lot, despite not being a big thinker. Sort of a role reversal of Watson and Holmes. Maybe it would have been better as a story told in the third person.
However, while I was engrossed in the story, and kept turning the pages, the implausibilities kept adding up and up. By the end, it avoided becoming a hot mess, but came close. There were moments of brilliance, though, which is why I end up giving this three stars.
I didn't think that highly of Keane by the end. It's not his motives necessarily (we find out more about him during the book). He's hyped to be a very original thinker, but he doesn't really add much to the resolution of the mystery. On the other hand the narrator is the one who actually accomplishes a lot, despite not being a big thinker. Sort of a role reversal of Watson and Holmes. Maybe it would have been better as a story told in the third person.
November 21, 2025
what the freak that was a good book
October 8, 2016
Not bad as a light read.
I have never much like stories that involve cloning. Too often they end up exploring the same moral dilemmas (how could they not?), and the resolution to having too many clones around is too predictable. This is no different.
Fowler is not Watson, not at all. He's much closer to Archie Goodwin, Nero Wolfe's sidekick, especialy when several times Keane asks him if he's figured it out yet.
Keane is a stock Genius Investigator. There are just too many of those out there. I'll bet I've seen ten of them this year. Won't someone write about an investigator who is smart but not eccentric, who figures things out fairly fast but not with mighty leaps of induction and intuition?
Interesting setting, 2039 LA after a barely-explained Collapse. Things aren't so bad that there aren't aircars and a thriving TV-movie industry, but this is more or less explained.
Wisecracks abound, and most of them are pretty good. I especially liked the "cold shoulder" one, which had all the subtlety of a pie in the face but still worked.
The plot's not bad, despite the tired old scene of the villain explaining his plot. And there are too many scenes of Keane being all, "Don't worry, they won't kill me" and the bad guys going, "I won't? Why not?"
There's an obvious sequel (sheepquel?) and I guess I'll have to read it.
I have never much like stories that involve cloning. Too often they end up exploring the same moral dilemmas (how could they not?), and the resolution to having too many clones around is too predictable. This is no different.
Fowler is not Watson, not at all. He's much closer to Archie Goodwin, Nero Wolfe's sidekick, especialy when several times Keane asks him if he's figured it out yet.
Keane is a stock Genius Investigator. There are just too many of those out there. I'll bet I've seen ten of them this year. Won't someone write about an investigator who is smart but not eccentric, who figures things out fairly fast but not with mighty leaps of induction and intuition?
Interesting setting, 2039 LA after a barely-explained Collapse. Things aren't so bad that there aren't aircars and a thriving TV-movie industry, but this is more or less explained.
Wisecracks abound, and most of them are pretty good. I especially liked the "cold shoulder" one, which had all the subtlety of a pie in the face but still worked.
The plot's not bad, despite the tired old scene of the villain explaining his plot. And there are too many scenes of Keane being all, "Don't worry, they won't kill me" and the bad guys going, "I won't? Why not?"
There's an obvious sequel (sheepquel?) and I guess I'll have to read it.
May 11, 2016
I can’t tell you how many times I laughed out loud and startled my husband while reading this book. This book went above any expectation I had for the dystopic sci-fi genre. I described it to my husband as Sherlock Holmes (the movie) mixed with Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy with some CSI thrown in to make it modern.
However, it isn’t quite imitation Sherlock. The main detective, Keane, (Phenomenological Inquisitor) stands apart on his own merits as does the equivalent Watson, or Fowler, in this story. I loved the banter between the two from the get-go.
I don’t think I could rave about this book enough. I haven’t read a comedy quite like this before. Much of the humor was built into the plot so when the punch line was delivered, it was all the more impacting.
I thought I had figured out the mystery only to be mis-led and proven wonderfully wrong over and over. It was just…amazingly complex yet easy to follow, which was in ways-disturbing.
Witty, eccentric, and sometimes concerning-the characters are well created and are easy to love/hate. I am definitely waiting on the sequel to this book.
P.S. Robert Kroese, logic kryptonite is now a part of sarcasm arsenal.
However, it isn’t quite imitation Sherlock. The main detective, Keane, (Phenomenological Inquisitor) stands apart on his own merits as does the equivalent Watson, or Fowler, in this story. I loved the banter between the two from the get-go.
I don’t think I could rave about this book enough. I haven’t read a comedy quite like this before. Much of the humor was built into the plot so when the punch line was delivered, it was all the more impacting.
I thought I had figured out the mystery only to be mis-led and proven wonderfully wrong over and over. It was just…amazingly complex yet easy to follow, which was in ways-disturbing.
Witty, eccentric, and sometimes concerning-the characters are well created and are easy to love/hate. I am definitely waiting on the sequel to this book.
P.S. Robert Kroese, logic kryptonite is now a part of sarcasm arsenal.
July 6, 2018
Kroese, Robert. The Big Sheep. Dunne, 2016.
I confess a weakness for noir science fiction like this. Combine unsubtle nods to Arthur Conan Doyle and Raymond Chandler; then add science fiction ideas like cloning, holography and genetic engineering to some high-tech weaponry, and you can’t help but get a nice confection. Here is the recipe. Take a hard-boiled detective from the mean streets of the Disincorporated Zone in post-collapse LA and put him together with a quirky, nerdy, genius (think Cumberbatch as Sherlock here) with zero social skills and a suspicious past in espionage. Send the boys and their faithful girl-Friday after a missing genetically modified sheep, and along the way, make them run into a ruthless woman who is the most powerful media mogul ever. Simmer with a large dollop of satirical snark and serve.
I confess a weakness for noir science fiction like this. Combine unsubtle nods to Arthur Conan Doyle and Raymond Chandler; then add science fiction ideas like cloning, holography and genetic engineering to some high-tech weaponry, and you can’t help but get a nice confection. Here is the recipe. Take a hard-boiled detective from the mean streets of the Disincorporated Zone in post-collapse LA and put him together with a quirky, nerdy, genius (think Cumberbatch as Sherlock here) with zero social skills and a suspicious past in espionage. Send the boys and their faithful girl-Friday after a missing genetically modified sheep, and along the way, make them run into a ruthless woman who is the most powerful media mogul ever. Simmer with a large dollop of satirical snark and serve.
March 21, 2018
A 3.5 rounded up to 4. I like Kroese's work. He gets diverse novels with actual stories out of what might seem like a pun. The writer in me thinks he might be working from the hook backwards, but whatever he's doing, it definitely works.
This story is set in a near future Los Angeles after there's been a devastating crash. It has a noir detective feel, and since it's told from the POV of the sidekick, there's a Sherlock Holmes feel to it. The two cases the team work on are the eponymous Big Sheep and the case of a starlet who thinks people are out to murder her. There's some great plotting, unexpected connections and weird logic leaps in here.
Not sure who to rec this to, but it was fun.
This story is set in a near future Los Angeles after there's been a devastating crash. It has a noir detective feel, and since it's told from the POV of the sidekick, there's a Sherlock Holmes feel to it. The two cases the team work on are the eponymous Big Sheep and the case of a starlet who thinks people are out to murder her. There's some great plotting, unexpected connections and weird logic leaps in here.
Not sure who to rec this to, but it was fun.
April 29, 2023
A futuristic noir story with everything you could want from that combination. The future is gritty, the people are always hiding something and nothing is quite what it seems. If you enjoy a good thriller with an interesting setting, grab this one!
April 10, 2018
Sherlock holmes set in a post-post-apocalyptic world of science fiction. I picked this book up at complete random, while looking for another, and did not expect to be so thrilled by it (especially with the title such that it is). I enjoyed it very much. The plot is difficult to predict. The characters are believable. The twists are heart wrenching.
May 8, 2021
It’s a great story, but whenever Keane monologued in his “I’m clever and I’ve solved this, how do you not see the obvious?” way, it got pretty annoying.
July 22, 2018
I love dystopian sci fi noir, so this was great fun for me. The ethical dilemma within the mystery was interesting to think about even though the science was bad. There are even appropriately placed puns in the narrative. I enjoyed this, bad neuroscience be forgotten.
June 17, 2016
ScienceThrillers.com review:
I first discovered author Robert Kroese when his independently published science thriller Schrodinger’s Gat came to me for review in 2013. I loved it and am kicking myself for not reading more of Kroese’s work (an ebook of his novel Starship Grifters languishes on my computer–so many books, so little time). Kroese is now a hybrid author; his new release is published by Thomas Dunne Books, one of the big players in the publishing world. I gave The Big Sheep a try and was totally hooked by the end of chapter one.
The Big Sheep is science fiction, set in a mildly dystopian (but quite recognizable) future Los Angeles. It’s also a mystery/suspense novel that shamelessly pays tribute to both LA noir crime fiction (Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep) and to Sherlock Holmes. By adapting those influences to SciFi, The Big Sheep is fresh and original.
Absurdity and humor (including moments when I laughed out loud) begin in the opening scene at a laboratory where we meet Erasmus Keane, self-described “phenomenological inquisitor” whose quirkiness and brilliance are a clear tribute to a Holmes-like private investigator. We see everything through the point of view of Keane’s Watson-like sidekick, Blake Fowler. Fowler’s voice carries the novel. He’s loyal, sensible, capable, snarky at the right times, and a force of sanity in Keane’s life. Like Watson, he also makes a good foil for Keane to show how clever he is. Heart and brain, these two make a great team.
The plot gets going when Keane and Fowler are visited by Priya Mistry, LA’s hottest starlet. In possibly my favorite scene of the whole book, Fowler is discombobulated by Mistry’s charisma while the oddly distracted young woman describes her fear that someone is trying to kill her. Questions abound as Keane and Fowler are drawn into a web of media powerhouses, warlords, scientists, and of course, sheep. Kroese’s storyline unfolds unpredictably and with plenty of delight. The author builds an interesting future world and creates future science that extrapolates nicely from what’s real today. Multiple plot threads come together for a satisfying climax that emphasizes words and thoughts over gunplay and chases.
I love Kroese’s writing style. To give you a sense of what he does, here are a few quotes:
“There had been a lot of technological advancements in firearms over the past twenty years, from biometric authentication devices to smart bullets that could go around corners, but for my money nobody in the past hundred years had really improved on the basic idea of making a hunk of metal go really goddamned fast in a straight line.”
“After all, paranoia was just the flip side of narcissism: it’s a short walk from ‘everybody loves me’ to ‘everybody is out to get me.'”
“I felt like hugging her, but something told me that would be wildly inappropriate–not to mention logistically difficult, since she was hunched down in a chair on the other side of my desk.”
The Big Sheep is an innovative and entertaining blend of science fiction and detective story. Smart readers of genre fiction will love the buddy pair of Erasmus Keane and Blake Fowler. With just enough snark and plenty of sheep jokes, Robert Kroese’s book will be a favorite for fans of Philip Dick, Terry Pratchett and Hitchhiker's Guide.
Note: The Big Sheep has much less foul language than Schrodinger’s Gat.
If you like science-themed fiction set in Los Angeles, you might enjoy: Petroplague by Amy Rogers
FCC notice: A free copy of this book was given to me for review.
I first discovered author Robert Kroese when his independently published science thriller Schrodinger’s Gat came to me for review in 2013. I loved it and am kicking myself for not reading more of Kroese’s work (an ebook of his novel Starship Grifters languishes on my computer–so many books, so little time). Kroese is now a hybrid author; his new release is published by Thomas Dunne Books, one of the big players in the publishing world. I gave The Big Sheep a try and was totally hooked by the end of chapter one.
The Big Sheep is science fiction, set in a mildly dystopian (but quite recognizable) future Los Angeles. It’s also a mystery/suspense novel that shamelessly pays tribute to both LA noir crime fiction (Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep) and to Sherlock Holmes. By adapting those influences to SciFi, The Big Sheep is fresh and original.
Absurdity and humor (including moments when I laughed out loud) begin in the opening scene at a laboratory where we meet Erasmus Keane, self-described “phenomenological inquisitor” whose quirkiness and brilliance are a clear tribute to a Holmes-like private investigator. We see everything through the point of view of Keane’s Watson-like sidekick, Blake Fowler. Fowler’s voice carries the novel. He’s loyal, sensible, capable, snarky at the right times, and a force of sanity in Keane’s life. Like Watson, he also makes a good foil for Keane to show how clever he is. Heart and brain, these two make a great team.
The plot gets going when Keane and Fowler are visited by Priya Mistry, LA’s hottest starlet. In possibly my favorite scene of the whole book, Fowler is discombobulated by Mistry’s charisma while the oddly distracted young woman describes her fear that someone is trying to kill her. Questions abound as Keane and Fowler are drawn into a web of media powerhouses, warlords, scientists, and of course, sheep. Kroese’s storyline unfolds unpredictably and with plenty of delight. The author builds an interesting future world and creates future science that extrapolates nicely from what’s real today. Multiple plot threads come together for a satisfying climax that emphasizes words and thoughts over gunplay and chases.
I love Kroese’s writing style. To give you a sense of what he does, here are a few quotes:
“There had been a lot of technological advancements in firearms over the past twenty years, from biometric authentication devices to smart bullets that could go around corners, but for my money nobody in the past hundred years had really improved on the basic idea of making a hunk of metal go really goddamned fast in a straight line.”
“After all, paranoia was just the flip side of narcissism: it’s a short walk from ‘everybody loves me’ to ‘everybody is out to get me.'”
“I felt like hugging her, but something told me that would be wildly inappropriate–not to mention logistically difficult, since she was hunched down in a chair on the other side of my desk.”
The Big Sheep is an innovative and entertaining blend of science fiction and detective story. Smart readers of genre fiction will love the buddy pair of Erasmus Keane and Blake Fowler. With just enough snark and plenty of sheep jokes, Robert Kroese’s book will be a favorite for fans of Philip Dick, Terry Pratchett and Hitchhiker's Guide.
Note: The Big Sheep has much less foul language than Schrodinger’s Gat.
If you like science-themed fiction set in Los Angeles, you might enjoy: Petroplague by Amy Rogers
FCC notice: A free copy of this book was given to me for review.
February 20, 2018
I devoured this book. A noir twist on SF, done pretty well. Good world building, interesting characters, twists that made sense, and - most importantly - an ending that didn't suck. (This has been a problem in my last batch of books.)
I'm going to have to look up more of his books.
I'm going to have to look up more of his books.
June 28, 2016
Robert Kroese is a funny guy and one of those improbable entrepreneurs that keep the Internet interesting: he's a blogger, a philosopher, a prolific Kindle author, and now he just might become my favorite mystery writer.
"The Big Sheep" is a hilarious twist on the established archetype of Holmes and Watson - or, in this case, Erasmus Keane and Blake Fowler. The former is an eccentric, brilliant, occasionally charismatic and frequently quotable private investigator with a shady past. (Or “phenomenological inquisitor," as he prefers to be called.) The latter is his sidekick and bodyguard - an average guy with a knack for guns and hand-to-hand combat, on a never-ending quest to find his missing girlfriend.
This dynamic duo works in Los Angeles in 2039, 11 years after the Collapse of 2028. The origins of the Collapse aren't explained, but it ended up dividing the country, creating demilitarized "DZ" zones (essentially, feudal kingdoms for aspiring warlords) and inspiring a hit TV show, DiZzy Girl.
The book begins with Keane and Bowler taking the case of a kidnapped hyper-intelligent sheep, followed by another case from the DiZzy Girl's starlet, one Priya Mistry, who is convinced her life is in danger. How are the two cases connected? Read on and find out for yourself!
The book's dialogue, that "make it or break it" element of every detective novel, is brilliantly written. The plot is original, the setting is mysterious and sufficiently noir-like, the narrative is funny, and action scenes are written well enough to grab your attention. The only downside I can think of is the lack of character descriptions. We never learn what our two heroes look like, aside from the fact that they're adult human males, and that was a bit of an oversight, in my opinion. Fortunately, that's the only flaw the book has. I highly recommend it for your reading pleasure and eagerly await more books in this great new series.
I give this book five out of five stars.
Full disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
"The Big Sheep" is a hilarious twist on the established archetype of Holmes and Watson - or, in this case, Erasmus Keane and Blake Fowler. The former is an eccentric, brilliant, occasionally charismatic and frequently quotable private investigator with a shady past. (Or “phenomenological inquisitor," as he prefers to be called.) The latter is his sidekick and bodyguard - an average guy with a knack for guns and hand-to-hand combat, on a never-ending quest to find his missing girlfriend.
This dynamic duo works in Los Angeles in 2039, 11 years after the Collapse of 2028. The origins of the Collapse aren't explained, but it ended up dividing the country, creating demilitarized "DZ" zones (essentially, feudal kingdoms for aspiring warlords) and inspiring a hit TV show, DiZzy Girl.
The book begins with Keane and Bowler taking the case of a kidnapped hyper-intelligent sheep, followed by another case from the DiZzy Girl's starlet, one Priya Mistry, who is convinced her life is in danger. How are the two cases connected? Read on and find out for yourself!
The book's dialogue, that "make it or break it" element of every detective novel, is brilliantly written. The plot is original, the setting is mysterious and sufficiently noir-like, the narrative is funny, and action scenes are written well enough to grab your attention. The only downside I can think of is the lack of character descriptions. We never learn what our two heroes look like, aside from the fact that they're adult human males, and that was a bit of an oversight, in my opinion. Fortunately, that's the only flaw the book has. I highly recommend it for your reading pleasure and eagerly await more books in this great new series.
I give this book five out of five stars.
Full disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
March 28, 2016
My initial reaction to the beginning of The Big Sheep could be described simply - "what?" Here we have Keane, a phenomenological investigator (holistic detective) who has been called in by Esper Corp to find a missing sheep. It is a strange place to start that puts the reader a bit off-kilter. Next, a popular starlet who is clearly a bit delusional comes to Keane and his Watson-figure Fowler, saying that someone is trying to kill her. You wouldn't expect the two to be related but it is.
The further I read, the more fascinated I became. Robert Kroese is an amazing storyteller. The plot is intricate, but as you read the more everything makes sense. I simply had to keep reading page after page to find what would be revealed next. There is a lot of fast-paced action, but at the same time there is a cerebral component that is extremely satisfying. The Big Sheep poses important questions. Can an identity, like a character in a story be owned? How much of a role does media play in infrastructure? How much power does one who controls the media have? - to influence law? Government? Even criminal structure? Does a person whose mind is transferred to an artificial or engineered being retain rights? Is having a human brain enough to be considered human? Ownership, media, and individual identity are all concepts that play an important role in The Big Sheep.
Whether you view The Big Sheep simply as an unusual scifi/mystery, or read it for the questions it examines, my point is simple -Read It! The Big Sheep is an amazing novel.
5/5
The Big Sheep is available for preorder and will be released June 28, 2016.
I received a copy of The Big Sheep from the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
--Crittermom
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