What do you think?
Rate this book
Doc Sidhe #1
Doc Sidhe
Olympic kickboxer Harris Greene's career has just self-destructed, and both his manager and his fiance, Gaby, have dumped him. While looking for Gaby, he interrupts a bizarre trio as they are kidnapping her, and he is hurled into another, very weird, universe. His only hope is Doc Sidhe, this Art Deco universe's greatest champion of justice.
337 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1995
3 people are currently reading
495 people want to read
About the author
Aaron Allston
175 books374 followersAaron Dale Allston was an American game designer and author of many science fiction books, notably Star Wars novels. His works as a game designer include game supplements for role-playing games, several of which served to establish the basis for products and subsequent development of TSR's Dungeons & Dragons game setting Mystara. His later works as a novelist include those of the X-Wing series: Wraith Squadron, Iron Fist, Solo Command, Starfighters of Adumar, and Mercy Kill. He wrote two entries in the New Jedi Order series: Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream and Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand. Allston wrote three of the nine Legacy of the Force novels: Betrayal, Exile, and Fury, and three of the nine Fate of the Jedi novels: Outcast, Backlash, and Conviction.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
August 18, 2009
My old review for this didn't thrill me so here's the one I wrote as Dangerous Dan for BlackPigeonPress.com.
It's no secret that the pulps get Dangerous Dan as hot and bothered as a hillbilly with a jug of moonshine and two eager cousins, and a twist on an old favorite puts a little extra spring in his step. Doc Sidhe is no exception.
Doc Sidhe (pronounced She, the Irish word for Faerie) has the classic elements of Doc Savage but with twists and the twists are all things Dangerous Dan likes in his fiction.
Slacker/screw-up as one of the protagonists? Check.
Parallel worlds? Check.
Writing that's descriptive without being overly wordy? Check.
Fantasy story that isn't a Tolkien rehash? Check.
Couple this with tons of action and a character modelled after Doc Savage but stripped of the things that annoy me about the original Doc Savage tales and we have a winner on our hands.
The plot is pretty straightforward. Harris Greene, a down on his luck kick boxer and the aforementioned slacker, sees some guys trying to abduct his recently ex girlfriend and intervenes, following them into an alternate world resembling 1930's Earth, but with magic instead of technology. Dwarves, elves, and assorted Fae abound. Doc Sidhe, leader of the Sidhe Foundation, is a powerful wizard and warrior, and leads a crew resembling Doc Savage's crew. It turns out Harris's girlfriend's kidnapping is part of a plot cooked up by Doc's arch-nemesis who wants to rule both worlds. Excited yet?
The author of Doc Sidhe is Aaron Allston, a trusted name in gaming circles. Allston has written assorted supplements for various RPGs, as well as novels set in the Star Wars universe. How does his writing stack up to Kenneth Robeson's, you ask? It's better. There, I said it. Allston's writing surprised the hell out of Dangerous Dan. It's descriptive without being overly wordy and suits the action perfectly. It's not as predictable as you'd think, either. Some of Doc's crew die, unlike Doc Savage's crew. The ending is satisfying and there's also a sequel, Sidhe Devil, and rumors of a second sequel abound.
Dangerous Dan gave Doc Sidhe an easy 4.25 out of five. If you don't believe Dangerous Dan, as if he'd ever lie to you, go check out the publisher's website, where you can read the entire novel FOR FREE! Don't say Dangerous Dan never did you any favors.
Doc Sidhe at Baen
That's it for Dangerous Dan. Until next time, keep your gun oiled and your lies simple enough that you can remember them later.
It's no secret that the pulps get Dangerous Dan as hot and bothered as a hillbilly with a jug of moonshine and two eager cousins, and a twist on an old favorite puts a little extra spring in his step. Doc Sidhe is no exception.
Doc Sidhe (pronounced She, the Irish word for Faerie) has the classic elements of Doc Savage but with twists and the twists are all things Dangerous Dan likes in his fiction.
Slacker/screw-up as one of the protagonists? Check.
Parallel worlds? Check.
Writing that's descriptive without being overly wordy? Check.
Fantasy story that isn't a Tolkien rehash? Check.
Couple this with tons of action and a character modelled after Doc Savage but stripped of the things that annoy me about the original Doc Savage tales and we have a winner on our hands.
The plot is pretty straightforward. Harris Greene, a down on his luck kick boxer and the aforementioned slacker, sees some guys trying to abduct his recently ex girlfriend and intervenes, following them into an alternate world resembling 1930's Earth, but with magic instead of technology. Dwarves, elves, and assorted Fae abound. Doc Sidhe, leader of the Sidhe Foundation, is a powerful wizard and warrior, and leads a crew resembling Doc Savage's crew. It turns out Harris's girlfriend's kidnapping is part of a plot cooked up by Doc's arch-nemesis who wants to rule both worlds. Excited yet?
The author of Doc Sidhe is Aaron Allston, a trusted name in gaming circles. Allston has written assorted supplements for various RPGs, as well as novels set in the Star Wars universe. How does his writing stack up to Kenneth Robeson's, you ask? It's better. There, I said it. Allston's writing surprised the hell out of Dangerous Dan. It's descriptive without being overly wordy and suits the action perfectly. It's not as predictable as you'd think, either. Some of Doc's crew die, unlike Doc Savage's crew. The ending is satisfying and there's also a sequel, Sidhe Devil, and rumors of a second sequel abound.
Dangerous Dan gave Doc Sidhe an easy 4.25 out of five. If you don't believe Dangerous Dan, as if he'd ever lie to you, go check out the publisher's website, where you can read the entire novel FOR FREE! Don't say Dangerous Dan never did you any favors.
Doc Sidhe at Baen
That's it for Dangerous Dan. Until next time, keep your gun oiled and your lies simple enough that you can remember them later.
April 12, 2012
Okay, it might not be the best-written book I've ever read, but it was a hell of a lot of fun, and exactly what I wanted/needed to read at the moment!
Your fairly standard "two twinned worlds" story, with a twist - one world belongs to the fair folk, the traditional fae, and one is ours, and the fair world lags behind activiities in the grim world by a few decades. Which means that, yes, this is a semi-steampunk 1930s-ish noir-esque romp through an alternate pulp-inspired world. It's Dick Tracy come to life, in all its technicolour glory, plus magic and fae and redcaps and two-way televisions and golems.
It is exactly as awesome as that sounds.
The grimworld characters we're supposed to care about are actually quite dull and one-dimensional, although the author gives us just enough of a taste of the nuance of his fairworld characters and their backgrounds that we know he's capable of doing much better. Honestly, I didn't care a whit about Harris, Gaby, their relationship, etc. I loved the fairworlders, and especially the more mysterious ones - the capable and affable Alastair, the elusive Noriko - and wanted to explore their personalities and exploits more. Doc was interesting, although the setup with his arch enemy was pretty predictable, and the arch-enemy himself (and his compatriots) would've been interesting to explore in more depth.
The action scenes were slam-bang, and there was actually a REASON for the main character to be so good at kicking butt, which was nice for a change.
Really, though, the attraction of this book is CLASSIC PULP FAERIES. Read it for that. It's worth it.
Your fairly standard "two twinned worlds" story, with a twist - one world belongs to the fair folk, the traditional fae, and one is ours, and the fair world lags behind activiities in the grim world by a few decades. Which means that, yes, this is a semi-steampunk 1930s-ish noir-esque romp through an alternate pulp-inspired world. It's Dick Tracy come to life, in all its technicolour glory, plus magic and fae and redcaps and two-way televisions and golems.
It is exactly as awesome as that sounds.
The grimworld characters we're supposed to care about are actually quite dull and one-dimensional, although the author gives us just enough of a taste of the nuance of his fairworld characters and their backgrounds that we know he's capable of doing much better. Honestly, I didn't care a whit about Harris, Gaby, their relationship, etc. I loved the fairworlders, and especially the more mysterious ones - the capable and affable Alastair, the elusive Noriko - and wanted to explore their personalities and exploits more. Doc was interesting, although the setup with his arch enemy was pretty predictable, and the arch-enemy himself (and his compatriots) would've been interesting to explore in more depth.
The action scenes were slam-bang, and there was actually a REASON for the main character to be so good at kicking butt, which was nice for a change.
Really, though, the attraction of this book is CLASSIC PULP FAERIES. Read it for that. It's worth it.
August 8, 2007
One of my biggest complaints about the fantasy genre is the lack of thinking-outside-the-box. Dwarves live underground and mine for gold. Elves are reedy forest-dwellers. Technological innovation is unheard of except as quaint affectations.
Doc Sidhe changes all that. Take 1930s New York City, add in a blend of magic (called devisement), golems, gangsters, and a scientist/mage/adventurer with a team of bizarre experts and you have what I can only call a pulp fantasy. If you ever read Doc Savage stories, or liked the Indiana Jones movies, you'll enjoy Doc Sidhe.
Doc Sidhe changes all that. Take 1930s New York City, add in a blend of magic (called devisement), golems, gangsters, and a scientist/mage/adventurer with a team of bizarre experts and you have what I can only call a pulp fantasy. If you ever read Doc Savage stories, or liked the Indiana Jones movies, you'll enjoy Doc Sidhe.
Read
July 27, 2014Picked up as part of the Baen Free Library; written by someone whom I've read before in RPG books; a fun cover and a fun-sounding blurb; and a bit of a let-down.
That is, there's a fun idea here: Mixing pulp heroes in the vein of Doc Savage with (mostly) Irish fairy-tales. So we have a 1930s-style Art Deco New York where so many people are pointy ears.
OK, maybe you can see where that premise falls down a bit: pointy ears aren't all that interesting (and Art Deco is better as a visual style). On top of that, the plot here involves crossing over between our world (of the 90s) and this fairy-world, which drains a lot of energy out of the idea of a fairy world. When all of Earth's countries and history is repeated in the fairy world with just a name-change, the fairy world seems pretty silly. When the main POV character and hero is a mopey expert in Tae Kwon Do, it feels almost parodically 90s. (That this guy, Harris Greene is both an expert fighter and a theater major makes him sound a little bit like nerdbait wish-fulfillment: interested in artsy things, he can still kick your ass, just like all RPG-players and SCA performers secretly can.)
Maybe what really gets me down on this book, besides the fact that the premise seems so thinly explored (with this fairy world basically being 1920s-30s with pointy ears), is that the plot and the premise here are so unrelated: you could tell a similar story mixing just about any neat-o setting with just about any nerd-trope. It's the Renaissance but with Ninjas--and someone has to save the connections between worlds! It's the 1930s pulps but with mecha--and someone has to...! It's the...
And it's really fun to come up with those mixes and Doc Savage/fairies is really a fun idea. But if you're going to do any of that, I'd like to see a little more exploration of what that premise would really be like; and I'd like to see some more connection between the setting and the plot.
Now, some of this might sound like I'm complaining that this book doesn't match the blurb/cover; or that the book doesn't fit what I wanted it to be. So, to put it more directly: for me, this was a bland adventure with some Art Deco decoration. I have some ideas about how to un-bland-ify it, which would mostly involve not using the portal fantasy set-up and the "save two parallel worlds" plot. But whether or not my ideas would actually result in a better (to me) book--and I could be wrong about those--we're still left with a book where people with pointy ears shoot tommy guns. Which is a fun image, but not enough to sustain a novel.
That is, there's a fun idea here: Mixing pulp heroes in the vein of Doc Savage with (mostly) Irish fairy-tales. So we have a 1930s-style Art Deco New York where so many people are pointy ears.
OK, maybe you can see where that premise falls down a bit: pointy ears aren't all that interesting (and Art Deco is better as a visual style). On top of that, the plot here involves crossing over between our world (of the 90s) and this fairy-world, which drains a lot of energy out of the idea of a fairy world. When all of Earth's countries and history is repeated in the fairy world with just a name-change, the fairy world seems pretty silly. When the main POV character and hero is a mopey expert in Tae Kwon Do, it feels almost parodically 90s. (That this guy, Harris Greene is both an expert fighter and a theater major makes him sound a little bit like nerdbait wish-fulfillment: interested in artsy things, he can still kick your ass, just like all RPG-players and SCA performers secretly can.)
Maybe what really gets me down on this book, besides the fact that the premise seems so thinly explored (with this fairy world basically being 1920s-30s with pointy ears), is that the plot and the premise here are so unrelated: you could tell a similar story mixing just about any neat-o setting with just about any nerd-trope. It's the Renaissance but with Ninjas--and someone has to save the connections between worlds! It's the 1930s pulps but with mecha--and someone has to...! It's the...
And it's really fun to come up with those mixes and Doc Savage/fairies is really a fun idea. But if you're going to do any of that, I'd like to see a little more exploration of what that premise would really be like; and I'd like to see some more connection between the setting and the plot.
Now, some of this might sound like I'm complaining that this book doesn't match the blurb/cover; or that the book doesn't fit what I wanted it to be. So, to put it more directly: for me, this was a bland adventure with some Art Deco decoration. I have some ideas about how to un-bland-ify it, which would mostly involve not using the portal fantasy set-up and the "save two parallel worlds" plot. But whether or not my ideas would actually result in a better (to me) book--and I could be wrong about those--we're still left with a book where people with pointy ears shoot tommy guns. Which is a fun image, but not enough to sustain a novel.
May 8, 2012
Another eBook selection available from the Baen Free Library. The premise is simple, parallel worlds, one mechanical and one magical, and a evil genius who threatens both. Only our hero, in this case a failed MMA fighter/theater major, can save everyone, if he can figure out the magical world he's been transported to and use his mechanical knowledge to surprise/defeat the villian.
So about now you are probably wondering why I gave this 4-stars if it is so cliche. And the answer is, there's a reason this plot became a cliche, it's a good plot. It makes for a good book. I love rooting for a loser with potential. I love watching him win (and get the girl) in the end. Is this a book you could write a term paper on for a literary analysis class? Uhh, no. But is it a fun read, that would likely make a decent summer action movie? Heck, yeah!
So I gave it four stars. It took a little while for me to get into it, but the ending flew along. And, it's the book equivalent of comfort food, so while I enjoyed it, I can't give it 5.
So about now you are probably wondering why I gave this 4-stars if it is so cliche. And the answer is, there's a reason this plot became a cliche, it's a good plot. It makes for a good book. I love rooting for a loser with potential. I love watching him win (and get the girl) in the end. Is this a book you could write a term paper on for a literary analysis class? Uhh, no. But is it a fun read, that would likely make a decent summer action movie? Heck, yeah!
So I gave it four stars. It took a little while for me to get into it, but the ending flew along. And, it's the book equivalent of comfort food, so while I enjoyed it, I can't give it 5.
April 25, 2016
Harris Greene's life is falling apart -- he loses both his manager as a kick-boxer and his fiancee Gaby -- when he stumbled on an attempt to kidnap her. He rescues her, but is trapped himself when the kidnappers jump to another world.
One like 1940s Earth, with a few elements from Irish folklore. You can even figure out which countries are which, though they go by different names. He falls in with Doc Sidhe and the Sidhe Foundation, doing good in the world. They find him interesting and disconcerting, especially when he proves that they speak English -- it's not some translation sideeffect of the shifting worlds. And they look into why the kidnappers were interested in Gaby. There's trouble behind that.
It involves the magical dangers of owing someone, a eight-legged stuffed horse, a wooden airplane, the dangers of iron, airships, inventing blue jeans, and more.
One like 1940s Earth, with a few elements from Irish folklore. You can even figure out which countries are which, though they go by different names. He falls in with Doc Sidhe and the Sidhe Foundation, doing good in the world. They find him interesting and disconcerting, especially when he proves that they speak English -- it's not some translation sideeffect of the shifting worlds. And they look into why the kidnappers were interested in Gaby. There's trouble behind that.
It involves the magical dangers of owing someone, a eight-legged stuffed horse, a wooden airplane, the dangers of iron, airships, inventing blue jeans, and more.
July 5, 2016
This is one of those frustrating books I loved the first time through (4.5 stars easily) but rereading when the concept isn't fresh, I'm much more aware of the cracks. The concept is great, though: pulp hero Doc Savage reimagined as a pureblood sidhe in a parallel world resembling an alt.1930s, pitting against his evil counterpart. There's plenty of action and fun, and Allston does a good job on his alt.world, showing it as appealing but not utopian. The crack is that Doc and his team aren't the focus—that job goes to Harris, a kickboxer from our Earth, and Gaby, his girlfriend, and neither of them are as interesting as Doc or his aide Noriko (who reminds me of DC's Katana). Harris is a stock zero-to-hero type, and Gaby has almost no personality. Hence the lower stars this time around.
September 2, 2016
A story of magic, and mayhem, and alternate worlds. Well, only one alternate world, really, but it manages.
It gets some points for making a decent magic-and-steampunk world, loses them for some plot devices that were obviously pulled out of the author's ass to make the story kinda cohesive, then loses some more for the fact that many of the plot twists can be seen coming from miles away, but gets them back for nice action scenes, but...
Overall it's a fairly entertaining romp, with curious characters and pretty backdrops, and while it's probably not worth anywhere near the $15 amazon wants for it, it's a pretty good deal for a buck at a used-book store.
It gets some points for making a decent magic-and-steampunk world, loses them for some plot devices that were obviously pulled out of the author's ass to make the story kinda cohesive, then loses some more for the fact that many of the plot twists can be seen coming from miles away, but gets them back for nice action scenes, but...
Overall it's a fairly entertaining romp, with curious characters and pretty backdrops, and while it's probably not worth anywhere near the $15 amazon wants for it, it's a pretty good deal for a buck at a used-book store.
November 5, 2011
Enjoyable pulp, with an interesting universe. However, Allston is a head-hopper. the story jumps from viewpoint to viewpoint to viewpoint.
September 23, 2017
"Doc Sidhe is a surprisingly good book about life on "Earth 2", an earth almost like the earth we know. Somehow ALlston managed to keep it interesting and avoid it all drifting into absurdity.
June 5, 2017
Ok. I thought several years ago that this was a good book. I never managed to go beyond half of it and I always had a regret, because it was the first "Sidhe who are not assholes" fantasy novel I ever read and it looked interesting. So I found it again and I said: "man, I'm so glad to read it again".
I regret this decision.
You see, when I read it I was in another time, another place when my reading habits for this kind of literature was very, very poor. After my second reading, I realised how poor both in setting and in characters this novel was.
But what made me just be disgusted by this story was Gabrielle.
I honestly found Gabrielle to be one of the worst female protagonists I had ever read and her relationship with Harris to be extremely unhealthy. Twilight levels of unhealthy.
But what makes me curl was.... the airship scene.
That goddam scene.
That and all the homophobic jokes.
But that scene in particular.
Spoiler alert******************
So you see, Pierre has just died and Harry, who was indirectly responsible, is feeling terrible. So Gabriella went to his bunk and told him that he should "go the grim world" to be safe and that when this was over, she would return to because she wanted to continue with the relationship. Harry just feel even more horrible, because he couldn't go and told her goodbye again. Gabrielle smiles and told him in so very few words that it was a test, that if he had gone back to the grim world she would have stayed in the fairy world and never see him again.
ARE
YOU
FUCKING
KIDDING
ME.
You, when the guy was feeling survivor guilt, decided to manipulate his feelings, knowing, KNOWING that the guy who had risked his life dozens of times for you, still loved you, just to see if he was worthy because, as per her words, "She needs somebody to challenge her". Are you that horrible of a person? Yes, he was wrong when he got drunk and decided to go to her apartment to convince to take him back (which by the by, was the only reason he managed to save her). Even he admits that in mid-strife and after that, he never ever pressured you to "still love him" or be anything than a friend (when it was killing him but less than a day had occurred the break-up and the guy was seriously not in his head) for you. He even accepted that you will have another partner and make peace with it.
AND YOU DECIDED TO MANIPULATE HIM TO SEE IF HE WAS WORTHY OF YOU.
After all the help, after saving your life over and over again, after helping you reunite with your half soul, your response is "I'm going to tell you I love you and then stab you again (Which by the way, could have ended with him in prison if she never came back) if I found you are not a worthy mate?
Fuck, you. Simply fuck you, you manipulate, snivelling, horrible monster.
And Harry is "Oh babe, I'm so happy that you take me back. That I'm now a man worthy of you".
It sicked me. NOW I understand why so many women hate this type of template in the romance novels, why Twilight was so derided and why so many of them are just so exasperated with tv shows and movies. It sickens you seeing it. It makes you feel horrible.
No, no, no, no.
This book is beyond outdated. His vision of the world. The gender roles. The ideas of adventure and romance. It's outdated in the same way that racist jokes in the workplace or "harmless trolling" on the net is outdated.
I regret this decision.
You see, when I read it I was in another time, another place when my reading habits for this kind of literature was very, very poor. After my second reading, I realised how poor both in setting and in characters this novel was.
But what made me just be disgusted by this story was Gabrielle.
I honestly found Gabrielle to be one of the worst female protagonists I had ever read and her relationship with Harris to be extremely unhealthy. Twilight levels of unhealthy.
But what makes me curl was.... the airship scene.
That goddam scene.
That and all the homophobic jokes.
But that scene in particular.
Spoiler alert******************
So you see, Pierre has just died and Harry, who was indirectly responsible, is feeling terrible. So Gabriella went to his bunk and told him that he should "go the grim world" to be safe and that when this was over, she would return to because she wanted to continue with the relationship. Harry just feel even more horrible, because he couldn't go and told her goodbye again. Gabrielle smiles and told him in so very few words that it was a test, that if he had gone back to the grim world she would have stayed in the fairy world and never see him again.
ARE
YOU
FUCKING
KIDDING
ME.
You, when the guy was feeling survivor guilt, decided to manipulate his feelings, knowing, KNOWING that the guy who had risked his life dozens of times for you, still loved you, just to see if he was worthy because, as per her words, "She needs somebody to challenge her". Are you that horrible of a person? Yes, he was wrong when he got drunk and decided to go to her apartment to convince to take him back (which by the by, was the only reason he managed to save her). Even he admits that in mid-strife and after that, he never ever pressured you to "still love him" or be anything than a friend (when it was killing him but less than a day had occurred the break-up and the guy was seriously not in his head) for you. He even accepted that you will have another partner and make peace with it.
AND YOU DECIDED TO MANIPULATE HIM TO SEE IF HE WAS WORTHY OF YOU.
After all the help, after saving your life over and over again, after helping you reunite with your half soul, your response is "I'm going to tell you I love you and then stab you again (Which by the way, could have ended with him in prison if she never came back) if I found you are not a worthy mate?
Fuck, you. Simply fuck you, you manipulate, snivelling, horrible monster.
And Harry is "Oh babe, I'm so happy that you take me back. That I'm now a man worthy of you".
It sicked me. NOW I understand why so many women hate this type of template in the romance novels, why Twilight was so derided and why so many of them are just so exasperated with tv shows and movies. It sickens you seeing it. It makes you feel horrible.
No, no, no, no.
This book is beyond outdated. His vision of the world. The gender roles. The ideas of adventure and romance. It's outdated in the same way that racist jokes in the workplace or "harmless trolling" on the net is outdated.
October 22, 2017
Our world is the Grim World, the alternate world is the Fair world (where once our fairy tales came from); in this Fair world magic still exist, as do non-humans. Doctor Desmond MeqqRee runs the Sidhe Foundations, and his friends call him Doc. He designs building and bridges, and fights crime with his aides. He is the Fair world’s Doc Savage; in this case he’s Doc Sidhe.
Harris Greene is a kick boxer, trained in tae kwon do. The night he loses his latest fight his manager drops him, then his girlfriend Gaby Donohue dumps him. He gets drunk and wants to make up with her; when he sees men abducting her, he follows and attacks the men giving Gaby time to escape, and then he finds himself in an alternate world.
Gab Donohue is gifted, and Duncan Blackletter wants to study her. He needs to take her to the Fair world to do that. But then Harris Greene and his new friend, Doc shows up to rescue her again, and she ends up in the Fair world where strangely she feels at home.
The author even gives credit to Lester Dent and Walter Gibson, two giants of the pulp universe from which he drew his characters for this book. The story was a lot of fun, with excitement on every page. Although maybe patterned after Doc Savage, Doc Sidhe was much different. He’s vulnerable, his people kill, and they die in battle; something Doc’s aides never did. But this new universe isn’t supposed to be a rip off of Doc Savage and his aides; these are great characters in their own right. But if you love the Doc Savage adventures, you’ll definitely like Doc Sidhe and his adventure in this fast-paced yarn. Highly recommended.
Harris Greene is a kick boxer, trained in tae kwon do. The night he loses his latest fight his manager drops him, then his girlfriend Gaby Donohue dumps him. He gets drunk and wants to make up with her; when he sees men abducting her, he follows and attacks the men giving Gaby time to escape, and then he finds himself in an alternate world.
Gab Donohue is gifted, and Duncan Blackletter wants to study her. He needs to take her to the Fair world to do that. But then Harris Greene and his new friend, Doc shows up to rescue her again, and she ends up in the Fair world where strangely she feels at home.
The author even gives credit to Lester Dent and Walter Gibson, two giants of the pulp universe from which he drew his characters for this book. The story was a lot of fun, with excitement on every page. Although maybe patterned after Doc Savage, Doc Sidhe was much different. He’s vulnerable, his people kill, and they die in battle; something Doc’s aides never did. But this new universe isn’t supposed to be a rip off of Doc Savage and his aides; these are great characters in their own right. But if you love the Doc Savage adventures, you’ll definitely like Doc Sidhe and his adventure in this fast-paced yarn. Highly recommended.
January 8, 2024
The late Aaron Allston was a deft, engaging and thoughtful writer who deserves more recognition. I know him from his licensed Star Wars and Terminator book & I was intrigued to explore his original fiction. This book shows a command of pulp adventure literature in the best possible way. The characters are vivid, the story moves fast and the world-building is creative. In short, Allston seems to creates a Shadowrun-but-in-1930s-pulp-New-York. The long, long action sequences were not to my taste and feel like a product of RPG gaming fiction (eg: I can 'hear the dice roll' as I read), but his writing chops still dazzle. Joss Whedon would kill (or maybe just ruthlessly bully someone) to have this ability to write engaging adventure fiction
April 5, 2021
This came up in conversation with the kiddo as the sort of thing she'd like, so I pulled it off the shelf... and then snagged it when she was asleep 40 pages from the end to tear through it.
Does it read unashamedly like someone's Pulp Hero campaign? Yuppers! But it's also a ripping fun homage to the pulp era classics tinged with the deliberate late 20th century genre mixing via a recipe rather than the free form styling of pulp SF/F. This is likely my 3rd time through the book and I enjoyed it just as much this time as the past two.
Does it read unashamedly like someone's Pulp Hero campaign? Yuppers! But it's also a ripping fun homage to the pulp era classics tinged with the deliberate late 20th century genre mixing via a recipe rather than the free form styling of pulp SF/F. This is likely my 3rd time through the book and I enjoyed it just as much this time as the past two.
September 26, 2023
Fun setting! The parallel world that our protagonist ends up in is the fair world but it's all Art Deco 1930s with gangsters and tommy guns, and Doc Sidhe and his associates work better for me than the original Doc Savage ever did.
However, the "grim world" characters that we follow--Harris the down-on-his-luck kickboxer and his ex-GF Gaby--are pretty dull and two-dimensional compared to the fae folk they encounter.
However, the "grim world" characters that we follow--Harris the down-on-his-luck kickboxer and his ex-GF Gaby--are pretty dull and two-dimensional compared to the fae folk they encounter.
July 30, 2018
The end was a bit of an anti-climax.
October 6, 2018
A hard hitting tough guy hero. Sorta reminiscent of some of Robert E. Howard's work.
It has some humor and some mystery and the action is quite good.
It has some humor and some mystery and the action is quite good.
May 8, 2020
Fun pulpy action, with just enough characterization to keep you interested. A fun ride throughout but nothing earth shattering.
November 29, 2021
Light hearted fast read. Full of action and adventure. I am still a little puzzled about this other world thing...cross dimentional travel?
September 7, 2012
When I raided the Baen Free Library for books, I more or less took a title at random from as many authors as I could. I wasn't really concerned about particular authors for the most part, though it was only some time later that I realized this one sounded familiar, and is actually one my husband enjoys for his Star Wars tie-in novels. This original book of his is about a down-and-out tae kwon do champion who is drawn into an epic battle when he mistakenly gets transported to an alternate version of New York City brimming with magic and populated by strange people.
Sounds familiar, right? There are a number of well-used concepts in this book, but the way they are implemented and woven together makes a satisfyingly unique story. It was a little bleak to start, but as the story progressed, I found it was easy to get drawn into it. The characters were interesting and well fleshed out, the world was rich, and the writing style was simple but very effective. A lot seemed to happen in a relatively short space and the way the story unfolded kept me wanting to find out more. The characters all turned out to be surprisingly complex, as well, and the interactions between them really kept my interest. It was a very entertaining and enjoyable book, and I certainly recommend you go download and read it as well - it's free!
Sounds familiar, right? There are a number of well-used concepts in this book, but the way they are implemented and woven together makes a satisfyingly unique story. It was a little bleak to start, but as the story progressed, I found it was easy to get drawn into it. The characters were interesting and well fleshed out, the world was rich, and the writing style was simple but very effective. A lot seemed to happen in a relatively short space and the way the story unfolded kept me wanting to find out more. The characters all turned out to be surprisingly complex, as well, and the interactions between them really kept my interest. It was a very entertaining and enjoyable book, and I certainly recommend you go download and read it as well - it's free!
July 11, 2007
This is a fun book in Allston's humorous, quirky style. If you took an insane mingling of the Sidhe myths and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, you'd probably wind up with something vaguely similar to this.
Not a book to read if you're looking for Great Literature, but my experience with Great Literature is that most of it is dreadful, anyway (Hemingway, anyone?). It is, however, a book to read if you like adventure, humour, romance and a cast of characters that will totally redefine your concept of "strange".
Not to say that it's all fun and games - there are serious elements to it as well. Allston has an ability to write a wide range of emotions. You'll find scenes that will have you laughing out loud, those that will have you biting your nails (or whatever other nervous habit you have) in anxiety, and maybe even find a tearjerker or two in there.
Those who like urban fantasy adventure stories with a humorous element will love this one.
Not a book to read if you're looking for Great Literature, but my experience with Great Literature is that most of it is dreadful, anyway (Hemingway, anyone?). It is, however, a book to read if you like adventure, humour, romance and a cast of characters that will totally redefine your concept of "strange".
Not to say that it's all fun and games - there are serious elements to it as well. Allston has an ability to write a wide range of emotions. You'll find scenes that will have you laughing out loud, those that will have you biting your nails (or whatever other nervous habit you have) in anxiety, and maybe even find a tearjerker or two in there.
Those who like urban fantasy adventure stories with a humorous element will love this one.
March 7, 2010
As a take-off on the original Doc Savage novels from the 1930's this wasn't bad. Allston took the formula of Doc Savage, made him a long-lived "elf" and placed all the action in a parallel "fairworld." The main characters of Gaby and Harris are the focus of the story, and they are good characters, while Doc and his associates are not quite as fully drawn, but they don't need to be. It is Gaby and Harris who hold our interest in how they adjust to this new world they find themselves in and how they will react to being thrust into this titanic struggle between Doc and Duncan Blackletter (the revelation about Blackletter late in the novel doesn't come as much of a surprise, at least to me).
All in all if you're looking for a fun, action-packed novel to read over the weekend pick this up from Baen Publishing's free library.
All in all if you're looking for a fun, action-packed novel to read over the weekend pick this up from Baen Publishing's free library.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 2, 2014
This was almost a text book example of how to land a reader (in the visual sense). The front cover intrigued me enough to give it a look and the cover blurb reeled me in. Other than that it's a book that blends aspects of celtic myth with dime pulp basics with a touch of sci-fi.
"Doc Sidhe" is an elf (yeah, that kind of elf) who is his world's equivalent of Doc Savage - a sort of peak mortal/super genius with a thirst for adventure - who has to come in and save the day when two mortals from "our" Earth (the world he and his team of adventurers are from is connected to via a clever plot device) come in contact with his longtime enemy. There are twists and turns aplenty in this world, time and era spanning blend of genres.
"Doc Sidhe" is an elf (yeah, that kind of elf) who is his world's equivalent of Doc Savage - a sort of peak mortal/super genius with a thirst for adventure - who has to come in and save the day when two mortals from "our" Earth (the world he and his team of adventurers are from is connected to via a clever plot device) come in contact with his longtime enemy. There are twists and turns aplenty in this world, time and era spanning blend of genres.
February 1, 2021
I found this one in the Baen Free Library CD and had it on my Nook. Having never read anything by Mr. Allston before, it seemed like a great opportunity to check him out. I am sorry to report I couldn't finish this one; didn't get more than about 75 pages into it. It's an alternate universe story with the Sidhe living on the other side. Hapless fool falls into the alternate universe by mistake, where bad guys want to kidnap and either make use of or kill his girlfriend or her doppleganger on the other side. Couldn't get into either the story or the characters, and there was nothing new or exciting here to hold my interest. Maybe Allston's later work gets better.
September 1, 2012
Take a standard tale about someone travelling from our world to faerie, and dress it up in more modern contrivances (our world is in modern time, and faerie-land in approximately 1930s tech), add in enough adventure and daring-do to make Lester Dent or Ian Fleming blush, and you've got Doc Sidhe.
If you can imagine Neil Gaiman wanting to do a Doc Savage homage in Sandman, or Warren Ellis putting a faerie story into Planetary, that's roughly what you have here in temperment. Add in likeable characters and a plot that puts the fate of two worlds at risk, and you've got a winner.
If you can imagine Neil Gaiman wanting to do a Doc Savage homage in Sandman, or Warren Ellis putting a faerie story into Planetary, that's roughly what you have here in temperment. Add in likeable characters and a plot that puts the fate of two worlds at risk, and you've got a winner.
December 14, 2011
(Original review: http://hill-kleerup.org/blog/2009/04/...)
While touted as a fantasy-driven Doc Savage knock-off, this tale of has more fun with the setting than with the genre — a Faerie connected to our own world with its own Depression Era tech (and magic) base. There’s lots of cool stuff in here, but the story is much more of the 90s pulp tradition (e.g., the Destroyer) than the 30s.
While touted as a fantasy-driven Doc Savage knock-off, this tale of has more fun with the setting than with the genre — a Faerie connected to our own world with its own Depression Era tech (and magic) base. There’s lots of cool stuff in here, but the story is much more of the 90s pulp tradition (e.g., the Destroyer) than the 30s.
January 9, 2016
This book was entirely too much fun. As an unashamed Doc Savage fan, I enjoyed it thoroughly and recommend it to anyone that likes action/adventure pulp-style fare. The first quarter was build-up and the rest was non-stop action with just enough information given to keep the pages turning without overloading the reader with unessentials. There is a sequel which I'm hoping will equal my anticipation.
July 18, 2008
How best to describe this? Sort of a Doc Savage in an alternate world where magic works and steel is deadly to the touch. A kick-boxer from this world (the grimworld) is thrown into the fairworld in search of his girlfriend who just dumped him. He meets Doc Sidhe, a fairworld "devisor", and togethor, with his friends, they save the girl and the world. Rousing adventure in the pulp tradition.
January 24, 2013
took me a while as I got side tracked over the Christmas period but thoroughly enjoyed this one. Would have made a cool film back in the 80s with Dolf Lungdren or Jean Claude Van Dame playing Harris and maybe Arnie playing Doc Sidhe. Propper blokes read.
Monsters, Steam punk, magic, guns, car chases, fist fights. Who could ask for more? :)
Monsters, Steam punk, magic, guns, car chases, fist fights. Who could ask for more? :)
February 9, 2014
Having been a fan of Aaron's work since my teens, I've been meaning to read Doc Sidhe for years. I'm so glad I finally read it, and wish I hadn't waited so long. It was an absolute delight from start to finish - pulp, fantasy, faeries, the modern world, vintage, kickboxing - I mean it had everything! OK, no dragons, but still REALLY good. Can't wait to read Sidhe Devil!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews