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Nuklear Age
This is just another one of those stories with killer robots, a giant monster from beyond time, evil toys, a mind control plot, sub-orbital death beams, kidnappers, bad movies, superpowered thugs, kidnapping, a megalomaniacal usurper, a maniacal genius hellbent on world domination, and an apocalypse. Not all at once, though. I mean, really, could you imagine coordinating the fight scene? Or reading it? You'd have to take notes just to keep track of who hit what and why.
662 pages, Paperback
First published September 14, 2004
12 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
About the author
Brian Clevinger
225 books94 followersBrian Clevinger is best known as the author of the most popular sprite webcomic, and one of the most popular webcomics overall, 8-Bit Theater. He is also the author of the self-published novel Nuklear Age. Clevinger has recently received attention for his Eisner-nominated print comic Atomic Robo.
Claiming that his "favorite comics are the ones where the jokes are on the reader," Clevinger is an expert in using anti-climax, interface alterations, and the occasional false ending to play with the reader's expectations. It is a testament to both his sense of humor and his writing skills that these "jokes on the reader" are usually beloved by his fanbase.
Claiming that his "favorite comics are the ones where the jokes are on the reader," Clevinger is an expert in using anti-climax, interface alterations, and the occasional false ending to play with the reader's expectations. It is a testament to both his sense of humor and his writing skills that these "jokes on the reader" are usually beloved by his fanbase.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 20, 2015
Absolutely interminable... until the last fifteen percent or so, when it unexpectedly turns impossible to put down. Was it worth the tedium? Hard to say. But it was an experience, and much laughter occurred.
July 14, 2008
I love 8-bit theater. It's one of the funniest webcomics I've come across, with enjoyably stereotypical charaters and plenty of laughs.
When I found out Clevinger had a novel, I promptly decided to buy it. I thought, since his webcomic is so great, his novel is probably great, too.
Nuklear Age is not a great novel. In fact, it probably would have made a better webcomic that a book. You see, so many things that make Clevinger's webcomic great make his book... unsatisfying.
One-dimensional characters are hillarious and easy to identify with. It's so easy to chuckle at the crazy antics of Nuklear Man and his crew. There are so many belly-laugh moments in this book. My personal favortie is a phone-call from the devil himself. And while it's hard to be bored while reading Nuklear Age, after 500 pages (this is one tremendously long book) you realize you've spent 50 pages of your life on...nothing. The book is a comedy, but it fails because it never delivers any satisfying plot development. Sure, some super-villians arose and were beaten down, but if all you wanted was the usual super-hero tale, couldn't you have picked up an anthology collection of Spider-man? You'd get the same effect, but you'd have pictures to look at, too. If Clevinger had focused a little more on plot, cut out 200 pages on drabble, and sent this thing to an editor (you can find a typo on every page), then this would have been a good book. Since he didn't, this is simply a so-so comic book without the panels.
Just stick with his webcomic, it's better quality anyway.
When I found out Clevinger had a novel, I promptly decided to buy it. I thought, since his webcomic is so great, his novel is probably great, too.
Nuklear Age is not a great novel. In fact, it probably would have made a better webcomic that a book. You see, so many things that make Clevinger's webcomic great make his book... unsatisfying.
One-dimensional characters are hillarious and easy to identify with. It's so easy to chuckle at the crazy antics of Nuklear Man and his crew. There are so many belly-laugh moments in this book. My personal favortie is a phone-call from the devil himself. And while it's hard to be bored while reading Nuklear Age, after 500 pages (this is one tremendously long book) you realize you've spent 50 pages of your life on...nothing. The book is a comedy, but it fails because it never delivers any satisfying plot development. Sure, some super-villians arose and were beaten down, but if all you wanted was the usual super-hero tale, couldn't you have picked up an anthology collection of Spider-man? You'd get the same effect, but you'd have pictures to look at, too. If Clevinger had focused a little more on plot, cut out 200 pages on drabble, and sent this thing to an editor (you can find a typo on every page), then this would have been a good book. Since he didn't, this is simply a so-so comic book without the panels.
Just stick with his webcomic, it's better quality anyway.
December 17, 2010
6 parts juvenile (but entertaining) comedy writing about superheros,
2 parts surprisingly good writing and characterization,
1 part tasteless and borderline offensive humor,
1 part wonderful, heartbreaking conclusion that makes the entire 400+ pages worth reading over and over.
2 parts surprisingly good writing and characterization,
1 part tasteless and borderline offensive humor,
1 part wonderful, heartbreaking conclusion that makes the entire 400+ pages worth reading over and over.
March 29, 2009
fantasticly funny, wonderfully odd
June 12, 2023
I’m not sure what reminded me that I had read this book, but nearly twenty years later I can confirm that I remember feeling disappointed, but not overwhelmingly so.
How I Use the Rating System
1: There is no 0 on the provided scale, so I use this as a 0. I find no redeeming qualities and would not suggest the title to anyone for any reason.
2: I hated the work and regret wasting my time reading it, but find or understand that it has some value.
3: Average. I don’t regret having read it, but what I received as an experience was nominal.
4: I enjoyed or found value in the title, but it’s not something I would recommend to everyone, or I would not consider rereading it, or there was a significant flaw that prevented it from being a 5.
5: I enjoyed it so thoroughly I would reread it and recommend it to just about anyone. Or I found it so valuable that I felt it deserved such a rating.
How I Use the Rating System
1: There is no 0 on the provided scale, so I use this as a 0. I find no redeeming qualities and would not suggest the title to anyone for any reason.
2: I hated the work and regret wasting my time reading it, but find or understand that it has some value.
3: Average. I don’t regret having read it, but what I received as an experience was nominal.
4: I enjoyed or found value in the title, but it’s not something I would recommend to everyone, or I would not consider rereading it, or there was a significant flaw that prevented it from being a 5.
5: I enjoyed it so thoroughly I would reread it and recommend it to just about anyone. Or I found it so valuable that I felt it deserved such a rating.
July 15, 2020
I got this because I was a huge fan of Eight-Bit Theater, the author's webcomic. This was my first time reading the book since I originally got it and it was tough to get through. It's a comic book written as a novel and it probably would have worked better as a comic. If you enjoyed Eight-Bit Theater I recommend at least taking a look, but the chapters are called Issues and I recommend you read it like several comic book issues rather than a full novel. Leave a week, or at least a day in between issues because the character personalities and dynamics get repetitive fast.
March 15, 2017
This wasn't a great book but then the ending came and it hurt me.
And then the sequel's never to be lost chapter came and it hurt me more.
So I'll give it 4 stars, what the hell
And then the sequel's never to be lost chapter came and it hurt me more.
So I'll give it 4 stars, what the hell
August 22, 2023
This book is AMAZING. it very much reads like a comic book, where anything is possible.
June 8, 2008
It needs 8bit illustrations =(
This is one helluva hilarious book. It's like the 8bit Theatre comic strip, but unillustrated and slightly more literate. Oh, and I guess it has characters? And drama or something. Whatever. I'm here for the hilarity, like when 50% of the people on the planet died instantly and for no reason!
Good times...
This is one helluva hilarious book. It's like the 8bit Theatre comic strip, but unillustrated and slightly more literate. Oh, and I guess it has characters? And drama or something. Whatever. I'm here for the hilarity, like when 50% of the people on the planet died instantly and for no reason!
Good times...
February 18, 2013
Not the worst thing I've read - by far, it still has less editing issues than most of the retro-self-pub-pulp out there, but it is nowhere near the current quality of the writer's work. Clevinger should probably give it a polish/re-edit and republish it...
May 4, 2011
Love. This. Book.
January 23, 2016
If you love 8 bit theater, you'll love this.
November 18, 2016
This book is so funny and absolutely fantastic the grammar isn't always great but this has to be one of my favorite books of all time!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews