Mendoza in Hollywood: A Novel of the Company

by Kage Baker

Book Overview

This is the third novel in what has become one of the most popular series in contemporary SF, now back in print from Tor. In the 24th century, the Company preserves works of art and extinct forms of life, for profit, of course. It recruits orphans from the past, renders them all but immortal, and trains them to serve the Company, Dr. Zeus. One of these is Mendoza the botanist. The death of her lover has been followed by centuries of heartbreak. She...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765315300
• ISBN13: 9780765315304
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.4" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Isn't that where Psycho was filmed?

Time is once again moving forward (has it ever moved backward?). In the third Company novel by Kage Baker, Mendoza in Hollywood, our illustrious immortal Mendoza has to deal with some hard issues. When we last left her in Sky Coyote, she had gone off into early 18th century northern California where she could be alone and study her plants, away from the strange and disgusting mortals (that would be us normal human beings) that surrounded her. I found Sky Coyote to be a flawed but interesting sequel, but I love Baker's writing so I figured that she would rebound in her third book. Boy, did she ever. Mendoza in Hollywood is a masterpiece, having everything from social commentary to fascinating characters to mystery and beyond. We get a brief glimpse of the future, but we see nothing but agonizing hints to what is going on. Baker uses some of the tricks she used in Sky Coyote, but this time they work. It feels like Baker was maturing as a writer, determined to correct her mistakes and do it right this time. The result is a very entertaining read that will keep all Company fans engrossed and may even attract some new fans.The story is quite simple in its complexity (yes, I do mean that). Character interaction is the name of the game in Mendoza in Hollywood and what wonderful characters Baker has to use. Every one of them is vivid, from the young Juan Batista, who is tasked with collecting rare birds but becomes too attached to them, to the film buff Einar, who brings in the entertainment for the staff at the outpost. This usually consists of rare movies, including the original 8 hour cut of Erich Von Stroheim's Greed and D.W. Griffith's Intolerance. The latter movie is a wonderful character set piece, as the soundtrack is gone and Einar (along with Imarte, who actually lived in ancient Babylon) does the commentary for the entire film. The sequence is a magical bit of comedy and character development, and is everything that the show in Sky Coyote wasn't. It goes on for just as long (though Mendoza in Hollywood is a longer book, so the portion is smaller) but is much better written. I really enjoyed it.Other cast members are equally well done, with Porfirio (the outpost's security officer and commander) being the most bland. He is given some history that helps define Mendoza's character though, as she finds out that not all immortals have cut their familial ties with the mortal world. Oscar is a real treat, though. He's a salesman who is supposed to study living conditions of people in the area. He goes door to door, trying to sell items and get a look inside the domestic life of his customers. Mendoza accompanies him on some of his jaunts, and the scenes are just delightfully funny.While there is a running subplot of a British conspiracy with the Confederates for control of California (sparked by the neglectful act of leaving his briefcase by one of Imarte's johns), most of the story is about Mendoza and her interactions with thes

A non-stop read

In Mendoza In Hollywood, Ms. Baker's talent and ingenuity shine through making for an irresistible, non-stop read. As in her previous works, we are treated to the not so perfect lives of Dr. Zeus's immortal operatives in colorful details. Through her imagery and observations, we are shown the being immortal may not be all it is cracked up to be. With Mendoza's failed love life, Imarte's loss of Babylon, Porfirio's family trouble. These details and commentaries by the immortals on the silent movies, help to bring the fact while immortal cyborgs, there is a core to them that still feels like the human mortals they once were. Ms. Baker's extensive knowledge of the time period and locations put most history professors to shame and make for a most enjoyable reading and learning experience. Her ability to take little known historical events, and weave them into the fabric of Dr. Zeus operations make the reader take stock and wonder what exactly was being plotted 150 years ago. Looking back on the pervious works of In The Garden Of Iden and Sky Coyote, I am hard pressed to pick a favorite. I find the series premise to be full of possibilities, and Ms. Baker's wit and ability to engage the reader make for exciting and interesting reads. The only disappointment that I have is that I will have to wait for the next installment!

Best of the three(so far)in "The Company" series.

In the third of a projected eight titles in Kage Baker's "The Company" series, the author returns to the cyborg Mendoza, star of the first book "In the Garden of Iden." Fans of early California history and silent film will especially be delighted with the cyborgs' dealings with the humans of the really wild, wild, west of 1860's California, and their take on some of the big classics of silent film. Baker delivers with the mix of humor and seriousness that made the first book of the series so memorable. Baker also reveals just enough more about "The Company" as she did in "Sky Coyote" to whet our appetites for the next books and the fate of Mendoza and her fellow cyborgs in the future, especially in the mysterious year 2355.

Better & Better

I was lucky enough to obtain an advance copy of this book, and it is WONDERFUL! I loved the first two novels by Baker - this one not only lives up to their promise, but takes the story to new and more fascinating heights. We resume the story of Mendoza, this time in Old California, and Baker displays her usual marvellous blend of history and fiction: she's generous with details of historical fact, which she then weaves into a wild tapestry of speculation and conspiracy. Not only are the interior workings of Dr. Zeus revealed in yet more sinister detail, she manages to suggest some really astonishing things about the goals of the British Empire. The lives of several of Mendoza's fellow cyborgs are revealed in hilarious and/or tragic chapters, the history of Catalina Island is shown in an entirely unexpected light, it's made appallingly obvious that the problem of urban violence in Los Angeles hasn't changed in the last 150 years, and Mendoza's love life takes a turn for the better, the worse and the really strange. Don't dismiss this as a reincarnation cliche - the intimations make it plain that there's nothing so ordinary involved in the existance of the delicious Edward Alton Bell-Fairfax. As usual, Baker is laugh out loud funny and yet pitiless when it comes to the hard cruel facts of life; and she ambushes you at several turns with both lyrical spirituality and cunning surrealism. Buy this book and settle down for a really wild and vastly enjoyable ride.