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The Rainbow Connection
One FBI Agent One geekette One dead Muchkin Parallel worlds galore An interdimensional conspiracy When Matt Anders stumbles across the body of a dead munchkin in a suspect's apartment, a conspiracy begins to unravel that leads him on a reality-jumping adventure to the magical Land of Oz... and beyond!
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 11, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 16, 2016
The premise of this book sounds so good, how could I pass up the opportunity to review it?!
Then I finally read it, and struggled to get through it. If it wasn't for my sense of obligation to read and review it, I wouldn't have bothered finishing it. It was that bad for me.
Really this story could have come together better. I'm not sure what it is missing or lacks but I just didn't feel it came together in an interesting way. I really couldn't get into it, no matter how hard I tried.
So no favorites here, and no recommendation. I wouldn't waste my time or money.
Then I finally read it, and struggled to get through it. If it wasn't for my sense of obligation to read and review it, I wouldn't have bothered finishing it. It was that bad for me.
Really this story could have come together better. I'm not sure what it is missing or lacks but I just didn't feel it came together in an interesting way. I really couldn't get into it, no matter how hard I tried.
So no favorites here, and no recommendation. I wouldn't waste my time or money.
December 23, 2024
A fun read! Found it at the charity shop and the bookcover intrigued me. I dont usually read books like this but i still decided to go for it. An interesting, short story that didnt make me bored but didnt amaze me either. It was just good. I would still recommend though to anyone who wants a break from big heavy books! Cute!!!!
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February 12, 2026review text for 1899
October 2, 2016
I knew by the second page that I was going to enjoy this book. It has a playfulness about it that is engaging.
Our main character is an FBI agent assigned to investigating interdimensional smuggling related to copyright violation--people selling copies of movies not yet finished in our universe, or episodes from television series that were cancelled here before they reached that point, or similar products that technically are violating someone's rights somewhere in the multiverse. I had trouble with this--for that to be a crime under the jurisdiction of the FBI, it has to be the violation of a copyright valid in the United States. The interdimensional sales of product produced here and shipped to other dimensions for sale without paying royalties to the copyright holder would be such a crime; importing materials not copyrighted here would not be. However, he skates over this with a vague reference to laws passed to protect publishing and movie empires in our universe, which at least suggests that he knows he's stretching the concept. He gets embroiled in a very complicated investigation, though, when in following up a lead he winds up with his suspect dead and a fellow agent shooting a fleeing witness--who is apparently a munchkin. This gets him investigating whether there is some illegal smuggling between our reality and Oz, and very quickly running from some rogue FBI agents who are behind an operation moving extract from poppies (which, if you remember, put Dorothy to sleep) into worlds where it is purchased as an illegal narcotic. It is processed by prisoners confined by flying monkeys on trumped up charges essentially to serve as slave labor. The agent is paired with a female computer geek who he found following leads from his first scene.
The whimsy continues as the pair escapes Oz in a balloon that carries them through an apparent natural bridge to a very dull world known as Kansas, where they work with the local Scientifiction Club to find a way back to our world with their collected evidence to make their arrest. It is an action-packed story with a fair amount of silliness, but all done very seriously. As Will Smith once said of the Men in Black films, what made them really funny was that Tommy Lee Jones played them as if they were completely serious. That is happening here, and it makes for a very enjoyable book. I might complain that it was over too soon, and admit that the book I have started reading is suffering by comparison (I keep hoping I'm returning to the story I was reading), but it finished the story nicely and tied up the loose ends well.
I will footnote here that a passing comment caused me to write my web log post #117: The Prime Universe http://www.mjyoung.net/weblog/index.p... to consider the issue of how to identify such an entity under various theories of a multiverse; it has only passing connection to the book.
I see there is another book by the author in my queue; I look forward to reading it when it reaches the top of the electronic pile.
Our main character is an FBI agent assigned to investigating interdimensional smuggling related to copyright violation--people selling copies of movies not yet finished in our universe, or episodes from television series that were cancelled here before they reached that point, or similar products that technically are violating someone's rights somewhere in the multiverse. I had trouble with this--for that to be a crime under the jurisdiction of the FBI, it has to be the violation of a copyright valid in the United States. The interdimensional sales of product produced here and shipped to other dimensions for sale without paying royalties to the copyright holder would be such a crime; importing materials not copyrighted here would not be. However, he skates over this with a vague reference to laws passed to protect publishing and movie empires in our universe, which at least suggests that he knows he's stretching the concept. He gets embroiled in a very complicated investigation, though, when in following up a lead he winds up with his suspect dead and a fellow agent shooting a fleeing witness--who is apparently a munchkin. This gets him investigating whether there is some illegal smuggling between our reality and Oz, and very quickly running from some rogue FBI agents who are behind an operation moving extract from poppies (which, if you remember, put Dorothy to sleep) into worlds where it is purchased as an illegal narcotic. It is processed by prisoners confined by flying monkeys on trumped up charges essentially to serve as slave labor. The agent is paired with a female computer geek who he found following leads from his first scene.
The whimsy continues as the pair escapes Oz in a balloon that carries them through an apparent natural bridge to a very dull world known as Kansas, where they work with the local Scientifiction Club to find a way back to our world with their collected evidence to make their arrest. It is an action-packed story with a fair amount of silliness, but all done very seriously. As Will Smith once said of the Men in Black films, what made them really funny was that Tommy Lee Jones played them as if they were completely serious. That is happening here, and it makes for a very enjoyable book. I might complain that it was over too soon, and admit that the book I have started reading is suffering by comparison (I keep hoping I'm returning to the story I was reading), but it finished the story nicely and tied up the loose ends well.
I will footnote here that a passing comment caused me to write my web log post #117: The Prime Universe http://www.mjyoung.net/weblog/index.p... to consider the issue of how to identify such an entity under various theories of a multiverse; it has only passing connection to the book.
I see there is another book by the author in my queue; I look forward to reading it when it reaches the top of the electronic pile.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2013
This is part science fiction, part fairytale, and part parody. I loved it. The setting is a contemporary world in which portals to alternate realities exist. The protagonist is an FBI agent in charge of copyright enforcement—that is, making sure other-world copies of things like the fourth season of Star Trek TOS aren’t being brought over. One day while on a seemingly routine assignment, he and his partner discover a munchkin, which his partner, quite unnecessarily, shoots dead. Thus begins a well-told tale of mystery and corruption.
The world-building, or should I say worlds-building (there are a few visited in the story) is quite good. I enjoyed the allusions to various works of speculative fiction, from Oz to Star Trek. The characters are likeable. The plot makes sense and unfolds logically. I also found no major editing issues other than some kind of transcription error. It’s the only negative comment I have on this book, but it turned some of the punctuation (apostrophes, single quotes, and emdashes) into little boxed question marks, at least in the Kindle edition I read. I found this a bit distracting at first, but I was enjoying the story and stuck with it. I’m so glad I did. It’s charming. It’s fun. It’s different. It’s engaging. It’s simply a good read. I highly recommend it.
The world-building, or should I say worlds-building (there are a few visited in the story) is quite good. I enjoyed the allusions to various works of speculative fiction, from Oz to Star Trek. The characters are likeable. The plot makes sense and unfolds logically. I also found no major editing issues other than some kind of transcription error. It’s the only negative comment I have on this book, but it turned some of the punctuation (apostrophes, single quotes, and emdashes) into little boxed question marks, at least in the Kindle edition I read. I found this a bit distracting at first, but I was enjoying the story and stuck with it. I’m so glad I did. It’s charming. It’s fun. It’s different. It’s engaging. It’s simply a good read. I highly recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews