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Sparks
When Paul Sparks is dumped by Alison, he decides to use a gateway into a million parallel universes to look for a new girfriend - an Alison who won't dump him. It's a simple plan - he's a simple man - except for the forces of the Random, a man called Joseph Kaye, and a cockroach that doesn't exist. Sci-fi comedy.
- GenresScience FictionFantasy
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 25, 2012
I downloaded this novel earlier this afternoon based on an off-chance recommendation from Neil Gaiman's Twitter feed and in the hours since have been passing the time while manning (womaning?) the reference desk immersed in the world of Sparks and his artless forays into alternate realities, all written in the snarky British tone I do so love, as in:
"She disliked email, thought phones were germy, and found text messaging a bit lugubrious. Not that she had said any of this to Sparks; they never sat up nights while Alison smoked a cheroot and said, "The thing is, Sparks, I find text messaging a bit lugubrious."
It reminds me quite a lot of Douglas Adams, even down to the occasional revelations when I realize how Quantick has described a phenomenon to the letter. So far (35% through on my kindle reader) the experience has been quite enjoyable and amusing. Looking forward to discovering how Sparks fares in his quest to find the world where Alison and he can reunite and if he will manage to avoid the nefarious Jeff and his assistant, Duncan.
"She disliked email, thought phones were germy, and found text messaging a bit lugubrious. Not that she had said any of this to Sparks; they never sat up nights while Alison smoked a cheroot and said, "The thing is, Sparks, I find text messaging a bit lugubrious."
It reminds me quite a lot of Douglas Adams, even down to the occasional revelations when I realize how Quantick has described a phenomenon to the letter. So far (35% through on my kindle reader) the experience has been quite enjoyable and amusing. Looking forward to discovering how Sparks fares in his quest to find the world where Alison and he can reunite and if he will manage to avoid the nefarious Jeff and his assistant, Duncan.
September 15, 2012
I mainly think of David Quantick as a funny bloke I follow on Twitter, although in fact he's written for many of the best British TV comedies of the past few years. So when he announced that he had a self-published sci-fi comedy novel available on kindle for a piffling £1.93, it seemed worth a punt. And I wasn't completely blown away by it, but I certainly enjoyed it enough.
If you're wondering, it's only slightly sci-fi: parallel universes as a plot device, rather than robots and spaceships.
If you're wondering, it's only slightly sci-fi: parallel universes as a plot device, rather than robots and spaceships.
October 9, 2012
Paul Sparks has an unsuccessful retro T-shirt business and has been dumped by his girlfriend Alison. He stumbles on a website called the Random Life Generator, which gives the locations of portals to alternative realities. Without thinking it through (this is Sparks' trademark) he sets off to find an alternative Alison who won't leave him.
What follows involves, among other things: tall dentists, unfamiliar police cars, thin men and bears as Sparks discovers that alternative realities can be strange and dangerous places - especially when thin men are trying to hurt you.
It's very funny in a Douglas Adamsy kind of way - more Dirk Gently than Hitchhiker's Guide - with some nice off-beat twists. There were rather more typos than I'd like but they don't detract too much from a plot that rattles along from one absurdity to the next.
What follows involves, among other things: tall dentists, unfamiliar police cars, thin men and bears as Sparks discovers that alternative realities can be strange and dangerous places - especially when thin men are trying to hurt you.
It's very funny in a Douglas Adamsy kind of way - more Dirk Gently than Hitchhiker's Guide - with some nice off-beat twists. There were rather more typos than I'd like but they don't detract too much from a plot that rattles along from one absurdity to the next.
January 23, 2018
Paul Sparks, commonly known even to his nearest and dearest as Sparks, is a waster. An overgrown man-child, he’s a lazy aficionado of videos, junk food and the pub closest to his ‘office’, where his job involves (infrequently) replicating 1970s t-shirts. It’s a sorry state of affairs, but it has always suited Sparks and it’s only when his girlfriend Alison dumps him in exasperation that Sparks realises he could have handled things a bit better. When he stumbles across a very esoteric website, which suggests the possibility of alternate universes, Sparks comes to a decision. He might have lost Alison in this world, but if there really are parallel worlds out there, he’s determined to search through them until he’s found the one, perfect world, in which he can win her back forever...
For the rest of the review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2018/01/18/s...
For the rest of the review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2018/01/18/s...
May 24, 2017
Imagine Richard Curtis' "About Time" but funny, exciting and with interesting characters. Thats not even slightly near to doing this book justice so get today's code and hop into a portal where they're selling it.
January 7, 2020
Pleasant whimsy
A totally fine book with a whimsical plot and some amusing scenes. A bit too much inconsequential dialogue at times that was merely filler but it was a pleasant enough read.
A totally fine book with a whimsical plot and some amusing scenes. A bit too much inconsequential dialogue at times that was merely filler but it was a pleasant enough read.
October 16, 2023
Rounded up from 3.5.
Very funny sci-fi comedy. Originally self-published, and I think with the benefit of copy-editing for consistency, this would be an easy 4.5.
Very funny sci-fi comedy. Originally self-published, and I think with the benefit of copy-editing for consistency, this would be an easy 4.5.
April 30, 2016
David Quantick was one of the best things about the NME when I began buying it; in conjunction with the exuberant Steven Wells they were funny, provocative and unafraid to touch a nerve with artists or readership. He’s also been part of some of the best British TV comedy of the last couple of decades; The Day Today, Brass Eye and The Thick of It. I’ll always give a chance to a reliably funny writer, particularly when it’s cheaper than chips (apart from the fries in McDonalds).
It’s a well-worn premise; man (Sparks) loses girlfriend and looks for a way to get her back. Quantick’s SF twist is the Random Life Generator, which allows access to alternative universes with splendidly mundane premises (no Nazis won WW2 dullness here). It’s a good ramble which gives Quantick the excuse for some typically great one-liners but it often feels meandering and simply an excuse to fit in a few more jokes until the author works out how to end it all. Which, in fairness, he does rather well and not too abruptly, unlike this review.
It’s a well-worn premise; man (Sparks) loses girlfriend and looks for a way to get her back. Quantick’s SF twist is the Random Life Generator, which allows access to alternative universes with splendidly mundane premises (no Nazis won WW2 dullness here). It’s a good ramble which gives Quantick the excuse for some typically great one-liners but it often feels meandering and simply an excuse to fit in a few more jokes until the author works out how to end it all. Which, in fairness, he does rather well and not too abruptly, unlike this review.
September 8, 2015
Sparks is one of those books that causes you to constantly reassess your opinion. One page 3, I thought, "Oh, it's one of those witty stream-of-consciousness novels along the lines of Mr Philips books..." and put it down for a bit to decide if it was really worth reading.
By page 10 I thought "Oh, it's one of those man-child loses girlfriend and reassesses life," books and mentally downgraded it to something that would pass the time and probably couldn't be recommended to anyone. By page 30 it was quite obviously a SF caper with shades of Good Omens. So far, so-so, I decided as I chuckled aloud on my flight to Amsterdam, still determined to rate it a two-star book.
It wasn't until the end, when the book didn't finish quite as I expected and I was pleasantly surprised, that it earned its third star. In fact, I was so surprised by the ending that I may have to read the book again and see how it feels when I'm not thinking of it as a two-star book for most of its duration.
By page 10 I thought "Oh, it's one of those man-child loses girlfriend and reassesses life," books and mentally downgraded it to something that would pass the time and probably couldn't be recommended to anyone. By page 30 it was quite obviously a SF caper with shades of Good Omens. So far, so-so, I decided as I chuckled aloud on my flight to Amsterdam, still determined to rate it a two-star book.
It wasn't until the end, when the book didn't finish quite as I expected and I was pleasantly surprised, that it earned its third star. In fact, I was so surprised by the ending that I may have to read the book again and see how it feels when I'm not thinking of it as a two-star book for most of its duration.
October 31, 2014
Oh dear... That was a tough slog to finish.
Very disappointing effort from someone whose work I am usually a huge fan of. I actually feel a little disloyal writing this!
This book could have been great, but sadly smacks of being a first draft that he just couldn't be bothered working on (yathink maybe that's why the publishers rejected it and you had to self-publish as an e-book??...)
Some sections were jarring because they were so badly written, and sounded like a school pupil's efforts - and not an A grade pupil at that. e.g. "... [he] sat down next to him and fell immensely asleep". Pardon? "fell immensely asleep"??
Sorry to say, but I can't recommend this book. I'm hoping the new one will be a little more polished...
Very disappointing effort from someone whose work I am usually a huge fan of. I actually feel a little disloyal writing this!
This book could have been great, but sadly smacks of being a first draft that he just couldn't be bothered working on (yathink maybe that's why the publishers rejected it and you had to self-publish as an e-book??...)
Some sections were jarring because they were so badly written, and sounded like a school pupil's efforts - and not an A grade pupil at that. e.g. "... [he] sat down next to him and fell immensely asleep". Pardon? "fell immensely asleep"??
Sorry to say, but I can't recommend this book. I'm hoping the new one will be a little more polished...
December 26, 2012
Slow.
Main character looks like a sad loser without backbone, but somehow you can't be moved to feel sorry for him, unlike Pratchett great losers-soon-to-be-heroes.
There's lots of plot devices (every time Sparks is in danger!). Regarding the main argument I am not sure how the multiverse was in danger, nor how it was saved...
Also, the repetition of "sparks did .." "Sparks fell.. " "sparks thought ..." Sparks sparks sparks! Tiresome!
So far can't understood Gaiman's tweet unless it was only an statement about what was reading and not an opinion of value.
Main character looks like a sad loser without backbone, but somehow you can't be moved to feel sorry for him, unlike Pratchett great losers-soon-to-be-heroes.
There's lots of plot devices (every time Sparks is in danger!). Regarding the main argument I am not sure how the multiverse was in danger, nor how it was saved...
Also, the repetition of "sparks did .." "Sparks fell.. " "sparks thought ..." Sparks sparks sparks! Tiresome!
So far can't understood Gaiman's tweet unless it was only an statement about what was reading and not an opinion of value.
August 18, 2013
Very funny, in that snarky urban British way. I found myself laughing out loud many times, especially at grammar-based jokes and other clever plays on language. The whole thing would have been even better, though, if not so casually androcentrist.
May 24, 2016
"Sparks" is way, way, WAY too long. Getting to the end of it left me utterly exhausted and deserving of a medal. Recommended only if you're into long distance running. And then again not even that. Not sci-fi and definitely not comedy - best avoided.
December 13, 2012
I enjoyed it, but really think it does need some more work. Not sure why no publishing house would pick it up (it is self-published), as I think with some polishing it would be really good.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews