The Sheriff of Yrnameer

By Michael Rubens
Pantheon Books, $22.95, 269 pages

In his debut novel, Michael Rubens attempts to channel the spirit of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams, and he does not quite pull it of  The Sheriff of Yrnameer takes place in the distant future when everything is sponsored by something from planets to scuffing up dirt on the sidewalk, except for one planet called Yrnameer, which stands for “Your Name Here.”  The planet is full of artists, pacifists, and travelers; they are threatened by a group of bandits, and to stop this group of bandits, they need a sheriff.  In comes a sheriff named Cole, a part-time thief and petty crook who is not very good at his job.  He steals a ship that already has orphans going to Yrnameer and drops into the bandit situation, becoming the sheriff and trying to save his own skin while the people of Yrnameer think Cole is going to save them.

The problem with this book is that it is one-dimensional.  All the characters are stock types that you would find in any funny science fiction/fantasy novel, except that this book is not that funny.  It goes from one awkward moment to the next, you feel no sympathy for any of the characters, and the romantic scenes between Cole and MaryAnn are overdone and feel awkward—and not in a good way.  This would have worked better as a television show.  It does not work just in the printed word.

Reviewed by Kevin Winter