Saturday 2 November 2024

Gapman - Karina Fabian - DragonEye, PI Book 9

Idol Speculations
DragonEye, PI Book 8.0
Karina Fabian
Laser Cow Press
ISBN 9781956489224
ASIN B0DJV4K531

Gapman - Karina Fabian - DragonEye, PI Book 9

Every time I read a book by Fabian, no matter the series, I think ‘it can’t get better than this’ and yet somehow it almost always does. This story blew my socks off. It is an amazing read in a wonderful series. But I will get back to that in a minute.

I read this volume over a few days during a very busy time at work and home, otherwise it would have been devoured in a day. I had a hard time putting it down. It is such a fun story. The way Fabian pulled it off was masterfully executed. 

I believe that with each new book I read from Karina Fabian’s masterful pen I am more and more impressed with her writing. To date, I have loved all the books and all the series I have read by her. And this marks the 34th time I have read a book by her. This new story is another excellent offering. 

I have been reading stories from Karina Fabian since 2008. But in the last three years I have read or reread over 40 books and stories published by her. In that time I have read stories across most of her series, some a few times. I usually read her books and then often listen to them a second time using adaptive technology. My understanding is that this is the order of the series at least at the time of writing this review:

9.0 Gapman
10.0 Magic, Mensa and Mayhem (Revised edition forthcoming)
11.0 Live and Let Fly (Revised edition forthcoming)

But back to this story. The description of this book is:

“Some men are born greatness. Others have greatness thrust upon them. And others fall into a vat of toxic waste.

When Ron Engleson wakes up with superpowers, he’s determined to do good for the city of Los Lagos. Being the first superhero in the world is hard enough—but on the border town of the Faerie and Mundane worlds? Forget gang fights and bank thieves—he’s also fighting murder hornets and possessed geese. On top of that, he’s adopted by the local dragon, Vern, who’s under orders to train him up and keep him out of the police’s way. At least there’s a chance for romance with the local reporter—but does she want the man, the hero, or the story?

Join Gapman as he defends his mom against sleezy exes, rescues an ill-tempered chihuahua, and faces mortal danger on the Conveyor Belt of Doom!

“Yes, I’m in this book, but it really is about my padawan. Enjoy.” --Vern”

The chapter tiles in Fabians books are often very important, the chapters in this volume are:

Call Me Ron
Gapman Falls Into His Role
A Hero Rises
Gapman’s First Rescue
Vern Gets a Super-headache
Gapman Stops a Shooting
Vern Comes Up Empty
Gapman Stops a Seduction
Gapman Gets His Supersuit
Gapman’s Baby Buggy Rescue
Vern Gets an Assignment
Gapman Gets Shadowed
Gapman Meets His Lois Lane
Gapman Gains a Mentor
Gapman Begins His Training
Gapman Gets a Lunch Date
Gapman vs the Queen of the Midsummer Court
St. George Sides With Gapman
The Self-Made Gapman
Gapman Squashes a Bug
Gapman Does a Podcast
Gapman Gets in a Fight
Gapman Charges Up
Gapman and Vern Get Pucked
Gapman & Vern Vs Cobra Chickens
Gapman’s Left Hanging
Gapman Makes a Decision
Gapman’s Identity Confession Fail
Gapman Gets the Girl
Gapman’s Kryptonite
Gapman’s Red-Hot Rescue
Gapman Gets Monologued
Gapman and the Conveyor Belt of Doom
Gapman and the Femmes of Phi Epsilon Phi
Gapman Deals With U
Gapman Begins

It is 36 chapters of fun, adventure, and an epic battle. Though there are more than a few mishaps with a new superhero, infused with power in the Gap back home in the mundane trying to figure this all out. This story ties in well with the series and sets up the Superhero, and Vern and Grace being at Mensa convention, elements in the next volume. In this one Vern and Sister Grace must take on a new challenge, training up someone to live their potential, to become the best version of themself. It’s bad enough that Grace is encouraging and challenging Vern to do so but when Saint George makes an appearance things change in a huge way for both Vern and for Ron aka Gapman. 

Gapman’s debut causes way more harm than good, he just doesn’t realize it yet. When the chief of police commands Vern and Grace to get things under control it is a task that maybe not even all of Vern’s wit can handle. Throw in a side trip to the summer court and trick to become the champion and we are in and an excellent epic adventure. 

This story is yet another masterfully written tale of Vern and Sister Grace, and our introduction to Gapman. The three of them must work together to help forge Gapman into an effective agent for good. Gapman needs to learn from the dragon and accept the assistance of Sister Grace. They need to navigate the nemesis who’s each encounter appears to up the ante.  And we get to watch Vern have such fun playing with the new hero as he trains him and pushes himself in ways he had not been in a while. 
  
This book is another greatly entertaining read, in an excellent series. It is another wonderful offering from Fabian’s pen. Even if you have not read any of the other DragonEye PI stories I can easily recommend this book to you. I have said it before, and I say it again in many ways it reads like a catholic version of Robert Apsrin’s MYTH series and his Phule’s Company and also the works of Tom Holt, especially Holt’s Nothing but Blue Skies. Give this book or the series a try; I am certain you will be entertained. Another fantastic read in a great series that I can easily recommend.     

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2024 Catholic Reading Plan!


Dex Hollister Series:
The Old Man and the Void
Dex's Way
...

Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator Series :
Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator
I Left My Brains in San Francisco
Shambling in a Winter Wonderland
…

DragonEye PI Series:DragonEye PI Short Stories:
DragonEye PI Novels:
9.0 Gapman
10.0 Magic, Mensa and Mayhem (Revised edition forthcoming)
11.0 Live and Let Fly (Revised edition forthcoming)
...

DragonEye PI Original First Editions:
Live and Let Fly
...

Space Traipse Series:
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 1
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 2
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 3
Space Traipse Stories
…

Mind Over Series:
Mind Over Mind
Mind Over Psyche
Mind Over All
Hearts Over Mind
…

Edited by: Karina Fabian:
Infinite Space, Infinite God I
Leaps of Faith
Infinite Space, Infinite God II
...


Contributed to:
Firestorm of Dragons
The Zombie Cookbook
The Book of Tentacles
Twisted Fayrie Tales
FRIGHTLINER: And Other Tales of the Undead
Mother Goose is Dead
Word by Word: Slowing Down with the Hail Mary
Image and Likeness Literary Reflections on the Theology of the Body
Corrupts Absolutely? Dark Metahuman Fiction
Weird Noir
The Complete Guide to Writing Paranormal Novels
Manifesto UF
Avenir Eclectia
Planetary Anthology: Jupiter
Planetary Anthology: Pluto
Planetary Anthology: Luna
Planetary Anthology: Uranus
FlagShip Science Fiction and Fantasy v2i5
My Little Book of Headdesks
To Be Men: Stories Celebrating Masculinity
...


DragonEye PI Books 1-9


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