Mendoza in Hollywood

Mendoza in Hollywood follows a cyborg botanist in 1862 California who works for the mysterious Company. After 150 years of solitary plant collection in the Pacific forests, Mendoza receives orders to join a special mission at an inn near Los Angeles. The story takes place against the backdrop of the American Civil War, as Mendoza and her fellow cyborg operatives conduct their work from a strategic location in Cahuenga Pass. Their mission involves preserving specimens and knowledge that would otherwise be lost to approaching drought, disease, and environmental changes. The novel centers on Mendoza's activities at the inn alongside other Company agents, including a facilitator, anthropologists, and various scientific specialists. While their cover as innkeepers allows them to monitor passing traffic, tensions exist between team members, particularly between Mendoza and her colleague Imarte. This third installment in Baker's Company series explores themes of isolation, duty, and the complex relationship between immortal cyborgs and the mortal world they observe but cannot fully join.

Readers view this as a solid entry in Baker's Company series that expands on the character of Mendoza while delivering historical details about 1800s Hollywood. Many note it has a slower pace than previous books. Readers appreciated: - Rich descriptions of early California landscape - The humor and wit in Mendoza's observations - Technical details about how the Company operatives function - Character interactions between the immortal cyborgs Common criticisms: - Plot meanders with less action than other Company novels - Too much focus on old Hollywood film references - Some found Mendoza's character too bitter and angry Ratings: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (1,427 ratings) Amazon: 4.3/5 (31 ratings) Multiple readers mentioned struggling with the middle section but finding the ending satisfying. One reviewer noted: "The Hollywood film history lectures can get tedious, but the character development makes it worthwhile."

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🔹 The Cahuenga Pass, where much of the novel is set, became a crucial transportation route linking Los Angeles to the San Fernando Valley and remains one of LA's most important thoroughfares today. 🔹 Kage Baker worked as a teacher at the Living History Centre, which likely influenced her detailed and immersive approach to historical storytelling in this and other novels. 🔹 The book is part of "The Company" series, which spans 24,000 years of human history, from the dawn of agriculture to the 24th century. 🔹 The real drought of 1862-1865 in California, which features in the novel, was so severe it transformed the state's economy from ranching to farming and bankrupted approximately one-third of the state's ranchers. 🔹 The author created the concept of immortal cyborgs after reading about real scientific developments in nanotechnology and human longevity research.