humor

Nov 1 2011

There Goes the Galaxy by Jenn Thorson

As you can see from the reviews below, I have been reading more non-fiction of late and not exactly fluff subjects either. So I figured it would be good to read something a little more lighthearted. So when Jenn Thorson tweeted about her new book There Goes the Galaxy, and there was a Kindle version for only a couple of bucks, I picked it up.

I turned out to be a sort of slap-stick science fiction adventure: earthling kidnapped by aliens only to find he is slated to save his home planet but must fight his way through the rather bizarre universe to do so.

It’s the age-old tale of boy meets alien abductor. Boy meets stun-gun. Boy learns he’s the only one who can save the Earth from Extreme World Makeover by interstellar landlords. Yeah: he thinks it’s a bit much, too. Like everyone else on his planet, Bertram Ludlow hasn’t paid much attention to fluctuations in the intergalactic real estate market. But as a cognitive psychology grad student, he has given some thought to what a complete mental breakdown looks like. And this is pretty close. Now he’s discovering space is a mad and mind-boggling place where interspecies communication rests on the power of a gumball. Where androids demand better work/life balance. Where crime is Art, technology still has its bugs, and lasers don’t actually go “pyew-pyew.” It’s also surprisingly easy to get on the Universe’s Most Wanted list. So with the weight of the world on his shoulders and the cosmic law on his tail, can Bertram outrun, outwit and out-bid to save the Earthling squatters from one spaced-out redevelopment plan?

And it is pretty funny; full of sarcastic retorts, one liners, absurd situations and lots of word play. A send up of the absurdities of earth culture through the lens of aliens. If you like smart aleck and playful sci-fi you will enjoy this one.

I did feel like it was drawn out a bit too much and the plot suffered. Interspersed with the narrative plot chapters are what you might call marketing guide book parodies.  In the guise of a book on famous examples of marketing success these chapters fill the reader in on the bigwigs who are the seeking to buy Earth in this Extreme World Makeover competition that threatens to either kill of the planet’s population or make them intergalactic slave baristas.  These chapters are clever, and were funny at times, but they really slowed the book down (as noted they did add some important background information but I am not sure they were the best vehicle or tool for this).

And the marketing and reality show aspect as a hook was a little thin at times; there are a lot of side characters and alien cultures to try and digest and they are rely all that developed. But, to be fair, you don’t read these kind of books to think to deeply about the plot and plausibility. And if this becomes a series, the author is working on book two I believe, then the details can get filled in as the story progresses I suppose.

My verdict: a genuinely funny intergalactic comic adventure that could use a little more polish and plot tightening.

By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 1 • Tags: , , ,

Oct 18 2011

Mercury Falls by Rob Kroese

Mercury Falls is yet another discounted Kindle book that enticed me by both its description and its price.  Here is the publisher’s overview:

Years of covering the antics of End Times cults for The Banner, a religious news magazine, have left Christine Temetri not only jaded but seriously questioning her career choice. That is, until she meets Mercury, an anti-establishment angel who’s frittering his time away whipping up batches of Rice Krispy Treats and perfecting his ping-pong backhand instead of doing his job: helping to orchestrate Armageddon. With the end near and angels and demons debating the finer political points of the Apocalypse, Christine and Mercury accidentally foil an attempt to assassinate one Karl Grissom, a thirty-seven-year-old film school dropout about to make his big break as the Antichrist. Now, to save the world, she must negotiate the byzantine bureaucracies of Heaven and Hell and convince the apathetic Mercury to take a stand, all the while putting up with the obnoxious mouth-breathing Antichrist.

I happened to be reading a commentary on the Book of Revelation (N.T. Wright‘s  Revelation for Everyone) at the time and so this seemed like the perfect fiction companion.

It turned out to be a witty and whimsical take on the end of the world and a fun read. It is full of dry humor, and winks at popular culture, that make you smile and even chuckle out loud. But for some reason it seemed to lack something – at least for me.

I guess it just seemed a little too much fluff and not enough craft. Don’t get me wrong, it is funny. But the constant plot turns and lack of any real tension whatsoever let the air out of the story quite often. It is as if the story is just a vehicle for jokes, and some clear pontificating against bureaucracy and for human choice, rather than the point of the writing.

You never really felt any of the central characters (Mercury or Christine) were at risk or that the conflict wouldn’t be resolved in a positive way – hence the lack of tension. And the characters also felt a little thin – vehicles for jokes rather than three dimensional people.  It was never clear exactly what motivated Mercury or what his history was. And Christine was a little hard to read as well. They just kind of get dropped into the story with little backstory or character development.

I know what you are saying. Relax it is just a slapstick comedy don’t critique it as if it were classic literature. Fine, point taken. But good stories, even funny ones, grab you and hold your attention because of the way the characters are developed and the way the plot is structured and resolved.

So, all in all found the book to be fun and entertaining read but I didn’t find it to be quite the “cult classic” so many reviewers did.  A lot of potential but without quite reaching the proverbial “next level” for me.

By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

Jan 11 2010

The Messiah Formerly Known as Jesus by Tom Breen

I won The Messiah Formerly Known as Jesus: Dispatches from the Intersection of Christianity and Pop Culture by Tom Breen in a Facebook or Twitter giveaway from the good folks at Baylor Press. I wasn’t sure exactly what to make of it but is sounded interesting and it was a quick read. So I bumped it up the TBR pile.

I am afraid I am going to offer one of my truisms again. What you think of it will have a lot to do with what you expect and the attitudes you bring to it.

Here is Publishers Weekly:

In this entertaining gem of religious satire, Breen, an AP journalist, skewers American Christianity from every imaginable angle. Calling himself the ‘Internet Theologian,’ Breen romps through the Bible, religious history, denominational differences. Halloween, contemporary Christian music and spectator sports, among other topics. Some of the book is pure silliness, but other sections achieve that elusive ‘perfect storm’ where humor is sharpened by raw intelligence and a keen knowledge of history and theology. Even Breen’s glossary of terms is hilarious. Heck, even his endnotes are funny and not to be missed. (One says merely, ‘Seriously. Wasn’t Calvin a nut?’) Readers seeking irreverent, laugh-out-loud musings on the sometimes ludicrous intersections between faith and pop culture will want to read this insouciant guide.

If you want satire, there is plenty of satire. And there is lot of humor that I found quite funny – from laugh out loud to quiet chuckle. But the larger question is whether the satire and humor adds up to something more than entertaining reading.

My take after the jump …

Keep Reading

By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 1 • Tags: , , , , , , ,

Jun 4 2009

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Napoleon by Gideon Defoe

Cover of "The Pirates! In An Adventure Wi...

Cover via Amazon

Instead of repeating myself, allow me to quote from my earlier review of Gideon Defoe’s The Pirates! series:

Last week I described the Eddie Dickens Trilogy as “over-the-top farcical romps” for children; a mix of Dickens, Monty Python, and Lemony Snicket.  Gideon Defoe’s The Pirates! adventure series is in many ways an adult version without the Dickens and with pirates instead.

I stumbled upon The Pirates! In An Adventure with Scientists at Half Price books.  As I am always on the lookout for short, well packaged, and humorous reading material I picked it up.

It wasn’t very long before I was laughing out loud as I read it.  And when I laugh out loud while reading my wife always makes me read the passage out loud to her (she hates to be left out).  Soon I was practically reading the book to her.  Luckily, the book was short.

The plot is rather hard to describe, but it involves The Pirate Captain and his band of merry men sailing the high seas arguing about shanties and looking for adventure.

Not surprisingly then, when I heard a new The Pirates! adventure was out I knew I needed to read it.  Luckily, I had a coupon and I bought myself a birthday present.

And The Pirates! In an Adventure with Napoleon sparked the same kind of laugh out loud process described above.

This particular adventure involved the Pirate Captain giving up the life of a pirate!  That’s right.  Despondent after losing the Pirate of the Year contest yet again, the Pirate Captain decides to give up adventures on high seas for the quiet contemplative life of a bee keeper.  Luckily, his nemesis Black Bellamy feels sorry for him and sells him the perfect place for such a life: the island of St. Helena.

Those of you who did well in history in school will recall that St. Helena was the island where Napoleon was exiled.  And that it isn’t the tropical locale perfect for bee keeping nor was it Bellamy’s to sell.  Shockingly, it seems Black Bellamy has tricked the Pirate Captain again.

The Pirate Captain is intent on sticking to his new life, however, and soon finds himself in a battle of egos and wills with the famous general as both figures want to be the star of St, Helena.  The problem is the Pirate Captain lacks the tools to battle the man who nearly conquered all of Europe; except his luxuriant beard and stentorian nose.

As in previous adventures, this involves a lot of silliness and slapstick humor including a variety of semi-educational – but still silly – footnotes.  Or as Kirkus calls it: “Relentlessly, aggressively, inventively and often hilariously silly.”

Looking for some light hearted entertainment this summer? What could make better “beach reading” than a book whose exciting climax involves the Pirate Captain and Napoleon wrestling on the beach at St. Helena and in danger of getting swept out to sea?!

Be careful, however, it could lead to frequent laughing out loud.  So be prepared to share what was so funny …

By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , ,