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| Picture courtesy of http://pulpcovers.com/ |
Jane Carver is a big, no-nonsense biker chick who just wanted a few beers and a game of pool. But when somebody tried getting gropey in the car park she saw red. The guy went down and wasn't ever getting back up.
Hunted by helicopters, dogs and way too many police Jane ducked into a handy cave...
And woke up butt-naked on another world.
Before she can get back home, Jane has to deal with tiger-centaurs, pirates, slavers, gladiators and while she's at it, help a hapless, helpless groom get his bride back.
I was poking about on http://pulpcovers.com/ - a site I can heartily recommend -when one particular cover caught my eye. A ferocious redhead in the classic iron bra/dangly loincloth ensemble was laying into a tiger/man thingie with particular gusto.
"I would rather like to read this." I said to myself "To Amazon at once!"
As you've probably guessed, "Jane Carver..." can be best be described as "John Carter Of Mars" - but with a 6 foot plus, ex-army, biker broad in the starring role and is described as "both loving tribute and scathing parody"
I can't say I picked up on the parody although Jane's ongoing narration is frequently sardonic if not downright annoyed, especially when sidekick Sai is being an utter muppet.
If you like, try and picture one of the old-school pulp swashbucklers through the eyes of a 21st century woman.
Jane herself is easy to like. Sophisticated she's not, but that doesn't mean she's dumb either and her motivation is a blend of honest self-interest and wanting to do the right thing. Well, that and revenge on one particular asshole.
You get the impression she'd be a good buddy to go drinking with but not somebody you want to piss off.
The story moves through the usual cliches you always get in this kind of story. Jane arrives, realises she's not in Kansas anymore and then gets shunted from point to point meeting all sorts of interesting people and occasionally killing them. Pick up a cheapo paperback from the 1960s/1970s and if there's a bloke with a sword on the cover, chances are it's very similar to this. "Jane Carver" even uses the classic I-got-a- manuscript-in-the-mail device.
Luckily Nathan Long is good enough that he manages to make the whole thing entertaining while tipping the wink to the old-school. He also manages to take us through his new world without getting bogged down in the details. I need to know where our hero is and who's currently trying to kill her, not all the details of this cool new game the author has just created.
You' also be relieved to hear that Nathan Long doesn't fall prey to the same kinkiness certain other authors fall prey to. (Looking at you John Norman...)
Things move along at a steady pace enlivened by liberal splashings of swordplay, there's enough characterisation to make these people interesting and if Jane gets the bulk of the development, well it is her book.
To sum up: Not the sort of book you rave about but an entertaining read that makes me want to pick up the sequel.
And any book that has flying pirate ships is always worth checking out.
That's all folks.
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