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Big Egos
From the author of Lucky Bastard and Breathers --"one of today's very best writers" (Jonathan Maberry).
Does your lifestyle not fit the person inside of you? Then try someone else on for size!
Call him whatever. Call him whom ever. He can be any legally authorized fictional character or dead celebrity he wants for six-to-eight hours, simply by injecting a DNA-laced cocktail into his brain stem. It's called Big Egos, and it's the ultimate role-playing fantasy from Engineering Genetics Organization and Systems (aka EGOS.) And, as one of the quality controllers for EGOS,he's the ultimate ego-tripper, taking on more artificial identities than advisable--and having a hell of a time doing it. Problem is,he's starting to lose the ability to separate fact from fiction. His every fantasy is the new reality. And the more roles he plays, the less of him remains. Sure, it's dangerous. Yes, he's probably losing his mind. Okay, hundreds of others could be at risk. But sometimes who you are isn't good enough. And the truth is, reality is so overrated. . .
With his insightful wit, smart humor, and electrifying narrative, acclaimed author S.G. Browne ("One of America's best satiric novelists" --Kirkus Reviews) takes readers on a satirical and provocative trip into the not-too-distant future, where, for some, pretending to be someone you're not is just another day at the office.
Does your lifestyle not fit the person inside of you? Then try someone else on for size!
Call him whatever. Call him whom ever. He can be any legally authorized fictional character or dead celebrity he wants for six-to-eight hours, simply by injecting a DNA-laced cocktail into his brain stem. It's called Big Egos, and it's the ultimate role-playing fantasy from Engineering Genetics Organization and Systems (aka EGOS.) And, as one of the quality controllers for EGOS,he's the ultimate ego-tripper, taking on more artificial identities than advisable--and having a hell of a time doing it. Problem is,he's starting to lose the ability to separate fact from fiction. His every fantasy is the new reality. And the more roles he plays, the less of him remains. Sure, it's dangerous. Yes, he's probably losing his mind. Okay, hundreds of others could be at risk. But sometimes who you are isn't good enough. And the truth is, reality is so overrated. . .
With his insightful wit, smart humor, and electrifying narrative, acclaimed author S.G. Browne ("One of America's best satiric novelists" --Kirkus Reviews) takes readers on a satirical and provocative trip into the not-too-distant future, where, for some, pretending to be someone you're not is just another day at the office.
367 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2013
6 people are currently reading
583 people want to read
About the author
S.G. Browne
27 books437 followersS.G. Browne is the author of the novels Less Than Hero, Big Egos, Lucky Bastard, Fated, and Breathers, as well as the eBook short story collection Shooting Monkeys in a Barrel and the heartwarming holiday tale I Saw Zombies Eating Santa Claus. His new short story collection, Lost Creatures, blends fantasy, science fiction, dark comedy, and magical realism.
He's an ice cream connoisseur, Guinness aficionado, cat enthusiast, and a sucker for dark comedies. You can learn more about S.G. Browne and his writing at www.sgbrowne.com
He's an ice cream connoisseur, Guinness aficionado, cat enthusiast, and a sucker for dark comedies. You can learn more about S.G. Browne and his writing at www.sgbrowne.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
September 27, 2013
Earlier this week I reviewed Lawrence in Arabia which was about how the political plotting during World War I helped create an unstable situation in the Mid-East, and I was writing that up as President Obama was addressing the UN about the crisis in Syria. Now here I am writing a review regarding a book about an evil corporation engaging in unscrupulous behavior that involves erasing the original personalities of its customers.
Wow, I’m sure glad that there’s nothing like that going on at the moment! *wink*
Moving on…. In the near future our unnamed narrator is a mid-level manager of a group of product testers at Engineering Genetics Organization and Systems (EGOS). What EGOS sells is a DNA infused chemical concoction that will temporarily allow the user to become someone else. Any yahoo can become Elvis or Indiana Jones or JFK or James Bond or Captain Kirk. With a great job, a beautiful girlfriend and almost unlimited access to EGOS, our hero is living the good life, or lives depending on how you look at it.
Then the narrator gets an offer from his boss. Black market EGOS offer cheaper options for users, and the company is worried that the knock-off product will hurt their brand so they want our hero to secretly dose any illicit users with an antidote that will prevent harmful side effects. So he attends a variety of themed parties as other famous celebrities or fictional characters and administers the antidote to those he sees using the black market stuff. Only things aren't quite as advertised.
I absolutely loved S.G. Browne’s Breathers and Fated, but Lucky Bastard disappointed me, mainly because it involved characters drinking urine repeatedly. I was hoping for a big rebound here, and it’s a rebound. It just didn't bounce quite as high as I was hoping for.
Browne’s like a slightly toned done Chuck Palahniuk or a slightly rawer Christopher Moore. He’s got a style and sense of humor that works extremely well with these plots that have elements of sci-fi and/or horror, but he never forgets that the most important thing is that you care about the characters. He accomplishes that easily here with a great backstory about our narrator having a father who lived to give him practical advice while crushing his dreams even in childhood.
As you’d expect in a book about regular people who are constantly taking on the personas of others, there’s some funny stuff about celebrity worship, identity and escaping the reality of daily life. I particularly liked the party scenes the narrator attends which are usually themed. So at the fictional detective party he goes as Phillip Marlowe and hobnobs with everyone from Sherlock Holmes to Mike Hammer to Columbo to Nancy Drew. Or at the writer’s party, he watches Faulkner and Hemingway wrestle while he attended as Philip K. Dick, which makes it even better.
So this was funny, touching and intelligent. Why only 3 stars? Because it’s a story which revolves around how acting like other people becomes a giant escape hatch for society in general, but we never quite get the full scope of it because we’re limited to a first person narrator who grows increasingly unreliable as it goes. That adds some nice surreal sections in the later part of the book and makes it more personal maybe, but I was a little more intrigued about the idea about all these people who think they’re spies or rock stars or presidents or legendary writers are all just wandering the streets interacting with each other. I would have liked to have seen more of what that looked like.
Wow, I’m sure glad that there’s nothing like that going on at the moment! *wink*
Moving on…. In the near future our unnamed narrator is a mid-level manager of a group of product testers at Engineering Genetics Organization and Systems (EGOS). What EGOS sells is a DNA infused chemical concoction that will temporarily allow the user to become someone else. Any yahoo can become Elvis or Indiana Jones or JFK or James Bond or Captain Kirk. With a great job, a beautiful girlfriend and almost unlimited access to EGOS, our hero is living the good life, or lives depending on how you look at it.
Then the narrator gets an offer from his boss. Black market EGOS offer cheaper options for users, and the company is worried that the knock-off product will hurt their brand so they want our hero to secretly dose any illicit users with an antidote that will prevent harmful side effects. So he attends a variety of themed parties as other famous celebrities or fictional characters and administers the antidote to those he sees using the black market stuff. Only things aren't quite as advertised.
I absolutely loved S.G. Browne’s Breathers and Fated, but Lucky Bastard disappointed me, mainly because it involved characters drinking urine repeatedly. I was hoping for a big rebound here, and it’s a rebound. It just didn't bounce quite as high as I was hoping for.
Browne’s like a slightly toned done Chuck Palahniuk or a slightly rawer Christopher Moore. He’s got a style and sense of humor that works extremely well with these plots that have elements of sci-fi and/or horror, but he never forgets that the most important thing is that you care about the characters. He accomplishes that easily here with a great backstory about our narrator having a father who lived to give him practical advice while crushing his dreams even in childhood.
As you’d expect in a book about regular people who are constantly taking on the personas of others, there’s some funny stuff about celebrity worship, identity and escaping the reality of daily life. I particularly liked the party scenes the narrator attends which are usually themed. So at the fictional detective party he goes as Phillip Marlowe and hobnobs with everyone from Sherlock Holmes to Mike Hammer to Columbo to Nancy Drew. Or at the writer’s party, he watches Faulkner and Hemingway wrestle while he attended as Philip K. Dick, which makes it even better.
So this was funny, touching and intelligent. Why only 3 stars? Because it’s a story which revolves around how acting like other people becomes a giant escape hatch for society in general, but we never quite get the full scope of it because we’re limited to a first person narrator who grows increasingly unreliable as it goes. That adds some nice surreal sections in the later part of the book and makes it more personal maybe, but I was a little more intrigued about the idea about all these people who think they’re spies or rock stars or presidents or legendary writers are all just wandering the streets interacting with each other. I would have liked to have seen more of what that looked like.
December 26, 2020
Been wanting to read something by S.G Browne for a while, have saved almost all his novels on my book app and today I finally did it. Big egos was a great deal of fun, written with a lot of humor and thought fullness is was very entertaining and I'm definitely excited in reading more by S.G Browne.
August 31, 2013
REVIEW ALSO ON: http://bibliomantics.com/2013/08/30/i...
I first read the short story form of Big Egos in author S.G. Browne's eBook anthology Shooting Monkeys in a Barrel and immediately fell in love. The premise was straightforward enough, it's the future and you can become a famous fictional character (be they real or cartoon), historical figure or dead celebrity for the night by injecting a product full of specifically configured DNA into your body. That part didn't change from short story to novel but it certainly did get fleshed out, with our narrator working for EGOS (Engineering Genetics Organization and Systems) and trying to deal with his disjointed memories.
There are 3,000 Big Egos currently in production and the well to-do can purchase a brand new personality that's effective for six to eight hours for only $3,000, and at 10 uses per bottle it's not so bad to get to be Han Solo or Katniss Everdeen for a while. Plus I imagine it would be make Comic-Con that much more awesome seeing as Egos are touted as "the ultimate role-playing game."
By imbibing the Egos (or injecting it into your brain stem like our narrator) slight physiological differences occur but it's mostly your personality which changes. Which is why it's recommended for the full effect that you pick an Ego who is somewhat close to your physical appearance. At least if you want to win first prize at the Big Egos parties which are sweeping the nation. But not most karaoke bars, they frown against such things.
Our narrator works in the Investigations Department at EGOS and as an added bonus that extends past job security and making money is that he's able to take home and test out as many Big Egos as he wants. He is also tasked with investigating complaints. For example, if you find the Fox Mulder to be borish, addicted to porn and paranoid, he's who would look into the problem.
In addition to the various church groups who oppose the company and the FDA who want to classify Egos as a drug, there's also the problem of Black Market Egos which use RNA rather than DNA and can do adverse damage to your brain. However, it's a cheap way to get more affordable Egos and how you can buy non-licensed Egos, living celebrities or even the more infamous Egos such as serial-killers. After all, no one wants Jack the Ripper running the streets again. Or more than one Miley Cyrus for that matter.
As the novel progresses, several themes starts to weave within the narrative, explored by a society who is doing everything they can not to be living their own perceived pathetic existence. In public we pretend to be others on a regular basis, wearing our own masks, taking up different roles depending on the situation. As Shakespeare, or crazy Egoed out Shakespeare would say, all the world is stage and we play many roles while on it. Egos are just a more popular and acceptable way to hide oneself. After all, you can't truly know a person unless you are that person, or see how they behave when they are alone and let their guard down. (Which is the entire purpose of Chuck Klosterman's novel The Visible Man. Read it for a novel entirely based on that idea.)
This runs hand in hand with the idea that you are how people perceive you. As Browne explains, "perception is reality" you are what you own, society views you how your are viewed by others, the good thing is if you can project a completely different mask of yourself that view can change. Regardless of how you perceive yourself. Somehow I don't think Tyler Durden would agree with that statement because you are not the car you drive (except you totally are) from society's perspective.
So yes, it's no coincidence that our narrator stays both nameless and featureless throughout the novel while those around him remain fully fleshed out individuals. It's not how they perceive themselves or how they truly are, it's how he and society sees them.
In essence, the book is a fun look at some highly imaginative world-building, but it also serves a purpose too. Yay painful introspection! Yay existential thoughts! Yay life! Yay dissatisfaction!
Inter-spliced with these contemplations of the self and the roles we play are fun stories in which our narrator visits Big Ego parties as various characters and the interactions he witnesses there. It's like one giant crossover of life and fandom. Which of course make these bits my favorite ones in the tome.
For example, he goes to a detective themed Ego party where everyone's a sleuth. Nancy Drew rubs elbows with Colombo, Marlowe, Sam Spade, Sherlock Holmes and the Scooby Gang. The original Scooby Gang. He goes to a science-fiction party and narrates as Captain Kirk, all while Doc Brown talks time travel with the Doctor and Sarah Connor arm wrestles with Ripley over Mad Max.
The narrator even enters the literary sphere. Particularly when as Holden Caufield he goes to a literary character get-together. I loved this section, and it had nothing to do with me being a phony who loves Catcher in the Rye because, and I know this makes me a terrible person, but I've never read it. While there he spots Hester Prynne flirting with Patrick Bateman (yikes), Willy Wonka handing out candy to Alice and Lolita as Humbert Humbert creepily watches from afar (double yikes) and Rhett Butler and Jay Gatsby (Gatsby? What Gatsby?) laughing at drunkards.
This is only second to a section in which deceased authors do drugs and have sex with each other at a wild party in LA. Seems Bram Stoker hits things off with Mary Shelley while J.R.R. Tolkien is the Dungeon Master in a game with Ray Bradbury and H.G. Wells and Lewis Carroll and C.S. Lewis dare each other to climb into a wardrobe while William Goulding runs around holding a conch and yelling. Sounds about right.
Thankfully, one not need to get invited to an Egos party to see such nonsense. If you're lucky you could glimpse Hemingway and Faulkner having a row in a Starbucks about the ocean and the need for complex sentences before getting in a fist fight about the Pullitzer.
Now can you see why one would want to live in such a hilarious and fantastical place? But since we don't have such a wondrous, albeit terrifying scientific invention like Egos laying around you'll just have to read the book instead. Which all and all isn't a bad trade off.
I first read the short story form of Big Egos in author S.G. Browne's eBook anthology Shooting Monkeys in a Barrel and immediately fell in love. The premise was straightforward enough, it's the future and you can become a famous fictional character (be they real or cartoon), historical figure or dead celebrity for the night by injecting a product full of specifically configured DNA into your body. That part didn't change from short story to novel but it certainly did get fleshed out, with our narrator working for EGOS (Engineering Genetics Organization and Systems) and trying to deal with his disjointed memories.
There are 3,000 Big Egos currently in production and the well to-do can purchase a brand new personality that's effective for six to eight hours for only $3,000, and at 10 uses per bottle it's not so bad to get to be Han Solo or Katniss Everdeen for a while. Plus I imagine it would be make Comic-Con that much more awesome seeing as Egos are touted as "the ultimate role-playing game."
By imbibing the Egos (or injecting it into your brain stem like our narrator) slight physiological differences occur but it's mostly your personality which changes. Which is why it's recommended for the full effect that you pick an Ego who is somewhat close to your physical appearance. At least if you want to win first prize at the Big Egos parties which are sweeping the nation. But not most karaoke bars, they frown against such things.
Our narrator works in the Investigations Department at EGOS and as an added bonus that extends past job security and making money is that he's able to take home and test out as many Big Egos as he wants. He is also tasked with investigating complaints. For example, if you find the Fox Mulder to be borish, addicted to porn and paranoid, he's who would look into the problem.
In addition to the various church groups who oppose the company and the FDA who want to classify Egos as a drug, there's also the problem of Black Market Egos which use RNA rather than DNA and can do adverse damage to your brain. However, it's a cheap way to get more affordable Egos and how you can buy non-licensed Egos, living celebrities or even the more infamous Egos such as serial-killers. After all, no one wants Jack the Ripper running the streets again. Or more than one Miley Cyrus for that matter.
As the novel progresses, several themes starts to weave within the narrative, explored by a society who is doing everything they can not to be living their own perceived pathetic existence. In public we pretend to be others on a regular basis, wearing our own masks, taking up different roles depending on the situation. As Shakespeare, or crazy Egoed out Shakespeare would say, all the world is stage and we play many roles while on it. Egos are just a more popular and acceptable way to hide oneself. After all, you can't truly know a person unless you are that person, or see how they behave when they are alone and let their guard down. (Which is the entire purpose of Chuck Klosterman's novel The Visible Man. Read it for a novel entirely based on that idea.)
This runs hand in hand with the idea that you are how people perceive you. As Browne explains, "perception is reality" you are what you own, society views you how your are viewed by others, the good thing is if you can project a completely different mask of yourself that view can change. Regardless of how you perceive yourself. Somehow I don't think Tyler Durden would agree with that statement because you are not the car you drive (except you totally are) from society's perspective.
So yes, it's no coincidence that our narrator stays both nameless and featureless throughout the novel while those around him remain fully fleshed out individuals. It's not how they perceive themselves or how they truly are, it's how he and society sees them.
In essence, the book is a fun look at some highly imaginative world-building, but it also serves a purpose too. Yay painful introspection! Yay existential thoughts! Yay life! Yay dissatisfaction!
Inter-spliced with these contemplations of the self and the roles we play are fun stories in which our narrator visits Big Ego parties as various characters and the interactions he witnesses there. It's like one giant crossover of life and fandom. Which of course make these bits my favorite ones in the tome.
For example, he goes to a detective themed Ego party where everyone's a sleuth. Nancy Drew rubs elbows with Colombo, Marlowe, Sam Spade, Sherlock Holmes and the Scooby Gang. The original Scooby Gang. He goes to a science-fiction party and narrates as Captain Kirk, all while Doc Brown talks time travel with the Doctor and Sarah Connor arm wrestles with Ripley over Mad Max.
The narrator even enters the literary sphere. Particularly when as Holden Caufield he goes to a literary character get-together. I loved this section, and it had nothing to do with me being a phony who loves Catcher in the Rye because, and I know this makes me a terrible person, but I've never read it. While there he spots Hester Prynne flirting with Patrick Bateman (yikes), Willy Wonka handing out candy to Alice and Lolita as Humbert Humbert creepily watches from afar (double yikes) and Rhett Butler and Jay Gatsby (Gatsby? What Gatsby?) laughing at drunkards.
This is only second to a section in which deceased authors do drugs and have sex with each other at a wild party in LA. Seems Bram Stoker hits things off with Mary Shelley while J.R.R. Tolkien is the Dungeon Master in a game with Ray Bradbury and H.G. Wells and Lewis Carroll and C.S. Lewis dare each other to climb into a wardrobe while William Goulding runs around holding a conch and yelling. Sounds about right.
Thankfully, one not need to get invited to an Egos party to see such nonsense. If you're lucky you could glimpse Hemingway and Faulkner having a row in a Starbucks about the ocean and the need for complex sentences before getting in a fist fight about the Pullitzer.
Now can you see why one would want to live in such a hilarious and fantastical place? But since we don't have such a wondrous, albeit terrifying scientific invention like Egos laying around you'll just have to read the book instead. Which all and all isn't a bad trade off.
August 6, 2013
I thought I was going to like this story (because it touches on many things I'm interested in, like psychology and RPGs), but I had no idea how much I was going to like it. I was blown away. For the sake of full disclosure I should mention that S.G. is a friend of mine, but I should also mention that I'm friends with a lot of people who've written books I've given less than stellar reviews to ;)
Big Egos is set in the near future when you can buy Egos -- drug/DNA cocktails which allow you to become someone else for a while. It's like roleplaying games but taken to the extreme. In this book everything is going well until our main character (who works for the company which creates Egos) begins to notice a few side effects of using. Dun dun dun!
S.G.'s portrayal of so many celebrities and his ability to shift the voice of his story to match whichever ego his main character is channeling at any given time was amazing. I loved it. I also thought that his grasp on the way Egos would be used and how society would react was fantastic.
As I read Big Egos my inner editor was banished to the closet and reality slipped away while I turned the pages. I read this quickly, in part because the story unraveled so smoothly and in part because I didn't want to put the book down. I think this is S.G.'s best book yet.
Oh, and Hollywood? I'd really love to see this one made into a movie. Kthxbai.
Big Egos is set in the near future when you can buy Egos -- drug/DNA cocktails which allow you to become someone else for a while. It's like roleplaying games but taken to the extreme. In this book everything is going well until our main character (who works for the company which creates Egos) begins to notice a few side effects of using. Dun dun dun!
S.G.'s portrayal of so many celebrities and his ability to shift the voice of his story to match whichever ego his main character is channeling at any given time was amazing. I loved it. I also thought that his grasp on the way Egos would be used and how society would react was fantastic.
As I read Big Egos my inner editor was banished to the closet and reality slipped away while I turned the pages. I read this quickly, in part because the story unraveled so smoothly and in part because I didn't want to put the book down. I think this is S.G.'s best book yet.
Oh, and Hollywood? I'd really love to see this one made into a movie. Kthxbai.
June 13, 2013
I'm a huge fan of S.G. Browne: his books are always unique, fantastical, and sarcastic, unlike anything I've ever read before. "Big Egos" does not disappoint! It tells the story of a not-so-distant future where people can "be" other famous people for a few hours at time (how would you like to be Marilyn Monroe? Or James Bond?), but such adventures are not without consequences. Long-time Browne fans will enjoy every page of this engrossing and thought-provoking read, and new fans will wonder what they've been missing all this time!
May 30, 2015
As I expected, it's another keeper. I don't think I was even 4 pages in before I had to write on the author's fan page "You had me a Vinnie Barbarino!" Keeping up with all the characters & celebrities he names, I realized someone did as much TV/movie watching as I had! I always love his MC's personality. It's a fun/new idea with it's own unique twists and turns. I eagerly wait for more from SG Browne!
June 30, 2020
IMO Browne’s most thought provoking book. This was a fast read. I loved all the famous quotes spoken through the different characters dialogue. Several times throughout the book I had to stop and ponder the bigger questions here. After reading all Scott’s other books I expected his funny satirical view on life. But this one really surprised me in a good way on making me take pause and think. Good read!
August 15, 2013
Big Egos. Corporate life, DNA cocktails, regular cocktails, conspiracy theories, and peanut butter banana sandwiches. What isn't to like?
I did enjoy this book, however, Fated and Lucky Bastard are still my top 1 and 2. Big Egos is an interesting concept. I just didn't love the protagonist in my usual S.G. Browne fan way. It is worth the read.
I did enjoy this book, however, Fated and Lucky Bastard are still my top 1 and 2. Big Egos is an interesting concept. I just didn't love the protagonist in my usual S.G. Browne fan way. It is worth the read.
January 12, 2015
Browne is a very smart author who writes thinking man's fantasy. This is a very good book about the lesson of being careful of what you wish for, because you might get it. Concept of this book is brilliant. Being able to be anyone you want, from history or contemporary life for 12 hours. Unintended consequences.
August 20, 2013
It gets a four star rating for the humor. Not so sure the story itself would get 4 stars. I've enjoyed all of Browne's other works so I will always give him a chance.
January 12, 2022
This was a recommendation and total cold read. The premise was interesting; engineered DNA for living or dead historical, fictional or celebrities is ingested, and the user is temporarily transformed into that person with their characteristics. Our narrator works for the company that created the EGOS (Engineering Genetics Organization and Systems). He and his girlfriend are heavy users of the product.
The beginning was shaky since it seemed like a list of names of people or characters and people who used their temporary identities to hook up with other fakes. I was more interested after side effects from the injections began and the narrator begins questioning the products safety and the reasons users are addicted to living their lives (short term) as someone else. It was comically scary look into our celebrity obsessed culture.
The beginning was shaky since it seemed like a list of names of people or characters and people who used their temporary identities to hook up with other fakes. I was more interested after side effects from the injections began and the narrator begins questioning the products safety and the reasons users are addicted to living their lives (short term) as someone else. It was comically scary look into our celebrity obsessed culture.
May 25, 2018
The beginning was meh - the idea of people being able to turn into other people was so underdeveloped. It's unbelievable that people would use their new identities for drinking and having sex only. Because possibilities would be endless.
I was hooked on the middle part though, it was very interesting to watch how the main character was losing his mind and what was happening around him.
Finally, the ending ruined it all completely. No resolution of childhood flashbacks, meaningless actions and unsatisfying "happy end".
Together with annoying smash up descriptions of ego parties, this got down to 2 stars from 4 that I wanted to give initially.
I was hooked on the middle part though, it was very interesting to watch how the main character was losing his mind and what was happening around him.
Finally, the ending ruined it all completely. No resolution of childhood flashbacks, meaningless actions and unsatisfying "happy end".
Together with annoying smash up descriptions of ego parties, this got down to 2 stars from 4 that I wanted to give initially.
October 8, 2015
Open your mind.. and DNA to the possibility of being someone else
Ever feel like you're not the person you're supposed to be? Or that you're living in the wrong time? Well, why not be someone else for a while and see if you're right? That's now possible with EGOS. EGOS is a biotechnology company who has manufactured a cocktail that will turn you into someone else for about 8 hours. It is limited though. You have to be someone of the same gender and skin tone since the stuff changes your whole body into that character and sometimes the side affects are a more John Wayne like nose or a more Marilyn Monroe hourglass figure. To be an EGOs is not cheap, so of course, there's a black market filled with knock offs and egos that the name brand refuses to create. You can't be a EGOS brand villain or bad guy from history. So the black market creates the Jack the Rippers, the Darth Vaders and the Napoleons. And of course, you need someone to clean up the black market since EGOS has cornered the office and will not allow any competition to be out there. Our narrator is just the guy to clean up the mess. He is sent out with missions with hunt down the black market egos and give them an antidote since using a black market EGOs is risky business and can leave you with stutters, twitches and perhaps, trapped in the glitching ego.
Are you intrigued yet? I was. I ordered this book with one of my B&N coupons because I love SG Browne but have not been keeping up with his books. I am a slacker. I loved Fated and Breathers, so I knew I would love anything written by him. I decided to take it along with me on my road trip to Boise. I think my fiance grew tired of me being absorbed in novel since I just wanted to read and not drive or talk. I did manage to finish it during the course of our road trip weekend though and when I had the time to read, it was a page turner. I won't lie, it was hard to put down. And I think I babbled to Dan about all the neat characters that were incorporated into the book. The creativity is perfect!
Our nameless narrator works in the investigator department of EGOS, which means he gets paid a lot and he gets to test out unlimited EGOS. With 3,000 on the market, he has lots of choices. His team looks into glitches, oddities and complaints from customers with their EGOS. He has a girlfriend he shares his EGOS with who is mostly using him for his access to toe EGOS and to go to all the EGO parties with him. The only thing he seems to get out of the relationship is fun EGO sex. It's like role-playing in the bedroom on steroids. You don't have to pretend to be Cleopatra and Marc Anthony - you are them. And you can mix up combos like Indiana Jones and Jessica Rabbit just to see what happens. There is also a best friend, Nate in the picture, who is a poor school teacher and is against the use of EGOS until he is pressured to try it and then becomes an addict. The narrator works with a motley crew and each person has a quark that is endearing.
One day, our anti-hero meets with one of the top execs of EGOS. They ask him to carry out a secret mission of giving the antidote to black market egos. Over the course of the novel, reality and imagination blend, lending the novel to have an unreliable narrator at best. While the mission unfolds, the darkness of EGOS is discovered as well as insight into the narrator's past. While past and present blend together, the lessons learned in childhood of how to blend in and be who your audience wants to you be (duplicity of his dad having two families and living two different lives is revealed) and to not rely on others to be happy come into play in the present. So our narrator accepts his mission and is horrified when he discovers the unintended consequences of the antidote.
In the end, a very Mission Impossible theme emerges as our anti-hero turns against the conglomeration he works for and fights for freedom from EGOS. Of course, Tom Cruise and James Bond feature big roles in the end as we see the destruction of all EGOS had built and stood for. (He also single-handily takes out some of the black market as well.)
I cannot rave enough about this book. If you love movies, books and cartoons, pick it up and read it. You won't be disappointed and you may even exclaim at who you "see" in the novel. While part of me wishes EGOS were real, this book does a great job at showing just how bleak the world becomes when everyone wants to be everyone but themselves and what happens to our own egos when we use other people's EGOS too much. Moral of the story: Be yourself and be happy with who you are.
P.S. I loved how the end of one chapter flowed into the start of the next chapter. You're just going to have to read it to see what I am talking about.
"Instead of being defined by your actions, you're defined instead by your smile. Your sexual performance. Your percentage of body fat."
"But when you think about it, one way or another, we're all actors and actresses. And everyone plays the role of the hero in his or her own story."
"I wonder why anyone would chose a shih tzu over a Great Dane or an old English mastiff. I guess some people lack the skills to own a real dog."
"My father always said that if you act like you're supposed to be somewhere and exude an aura of confidence, most people accept that you are who you say you are and that you have the authority to be doing what you're doing. The trick is to make people believe you are who they think you are. Or at least who they think you're supposed to be. Play your role and everything will fall into place."
Ever feel like you're not the person you're supposed to be? Or that you're living in the wrong time? Well, why not be someone else for a while and see if you're right? That's now possible with EGOS. EGOS is a biotechnology company who has manufactured a cocktail that will turn you into someone else for about 8 hours. It is limited though. You have to be someone of the same gender and skin tone since the stuff changes your whole body into that character and sometimes the side affects are a more John Wayne like nose or a more Marilyn Monroe hourglass figure. To be an EGOs is not cheap, so of course, there's a black market filled with knock offs and egos that the name brand refuses to create. You can't be a EGOS brand villain or bad guy from history. So the black market creates the Jack the Rippers, the Darth Vaders and the Napoleons. And of course, you need someone to clean up the black market since EGOS has cornered the office and will not allow any competition to be out there. Our narrator is just the guy to clean up the mess. He is sent out with missions with hunt down the black market egos and give them an antidote since using a black market EGOs is risky business and can leave you with stutters, twitches and perhaps, trapped in the glitching ego.
Are you intrigued yet? I was. I ordered this book with one of my B&N coupons because I love SG Browne but have not been keeping up with his books. I am a slacker. I loved Fated and Breathers, so I knew I would love anything written by him. I decided to take it along with me on my road trip to Boise. I think my fiance grew tired of me being absorbed in novel since I just wanted to read and not drive or talk. I did manage to finish it during the course of our road trip weekend though and when I had the time to read, it was a page turner. I won't lie, it was hard to put down. And I think I babbled to Dan about all the neat characters that were incorporated into the book. The creativity is perfect!
Our nameless narrator works in the investigator department of EGOS, which means he gets paid a lot and he gets to test out unlimited EGOS. With 3,000 on the market, he has lots of choices. His team looks into glitches, oddities and complaints from customers with their EGOS. He has a girlfriend he shares his EGOS with who is mostly using him for his access to toe EGOS and to go to all the EGO parties with him. The only thing he seems to get out of the relationship is fun EGO sex. It's like role-playing in the bedroom on steroids. You don't have to pretend to be Cleopatra and Marc Anthony - you are them. And you can mix up combos like Indiana Jones and Jessica Rabbit just to see what happens. There is also a best friend, Nate in the picture, who is a poor school teacher and is against the use of EGOS until he is pressured to try it and then becomes an addict. The narrator works with a motley crew and each person has a quark that is endearing.
One day, our anti-hero meets with one of the top execs of EGOS. They ask him to carry out a secret mission of giving the antidote to black market egos. Over the course of the novel, reality and imagination blend, lending the novel to have an unreliable narrator at best. While the mission unfolds, the darkness of EGOS is discovered as well as insight into the narrator's past. While past and present blend together, the lessons learned in childhood of how to blend in and be who your audience wants to you be (duplicity of his dad having two families and living two different lives is revealed) and to not rely on others to be happy come into play in the present. So our narrator accepts his mission and is horrified when he discovers the unintended consequences of the antidote.
In the end, a very Mission Impossible theme emerges as our anti-hero turns against the conglomeration he works for and fights for freedom from EGOS. Of course, Tom Cruise and James Bond feature big roles in the end as we see the destruction of all EGOS had built and stood for. (He also single-handily takes out some of the black market as well.)
I cannot rave enough about this book. If you love movies, books and cartoons, pick it up and read it. You won't be disappointed and you may even exclaim at who you "see" in the novel. While part of me wishes EGOS were real, this book does a great job at showing just how bleak the world becomes when everyone wants to be everyone but themselves and what happens to our own egos when we use other people's EGOS too much. Moral of the story: Be yourself and be happy with who you are.
P.S. I loved how the end of one chapter flowed into the start of the next chapter. You're just going to have to read it to see what I am talking about.
"Instead of being defined by your actions, you're defined instead by your smile. Your sexual performance. Your percentage of body fat."
"But when you think about it, one way or another, we're all actors and actresses. And everyone plays the role of the hero in his or her own story."
"I wonder why anyone would chose a shih tzu over a Great Dane or an old English mastiff. I guess some people lack the skills to own a real dog."
"My father always said that if you act like you're supposed to be somewhere and exude an aura of confidence, most people accept that you are who you say you are and that you have the authority to be doing what you're doing. The trick is to make people believe you are who they think you are. Or at least who they think you're supposed to be. Play your role and everything will fall into place."
November 11, 2021
This is closer to a 3.5 that I rounded up.
I see the mix of Vonnegut and pop culture that the author is aiming for, but the main character fails it. It's hard to really be engaged into a descent into loss of self when the character starts off so ambivalent to begin with. Without that unifying thing, the book floats away too easily to re-engage the reader.
I see the mix of Vonnegut and pop culture that the author is aiming for, but the main character fails it. It's hard to really be engaged into a descent into loss of self when the character starts off so ambivalent to begin with. Without that unifying thing, the book floats away too easily to re-engage the reader.
December 27, 2017
While the premise of this book was to astound and entertain... It frightened me. While society hasn't quite hit the drastic level of Big Egos, we're well on our way. This gives us a hyperbolic glimpse of what could happen. I thought it spoke volumes that the protagonist's name was never mentioned.. A decent (yet terrifying) read. I enjoyed the little Death cameo, Dennis is the man and was by far my favorite immortal from Fated.
December 4, 2024
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. Its a good concept, the characters are good and compelling and it is entertaining and fun. It just struggled to keep a good pace over the entirety and the ending was ‘eh’ for me.
May 10, 2017
Started out good but then just got weird and muddled.
January 10, 2019
Good book. Excellent ending
He is a very good writer. I’ve read several of his other books.
I really enjoy reading his books. The end.
He is a very good writer. I’ve read several of his other books.
I really enjoy reading his books. The end.
December 14, 2019
Well-written and thought-provoking without being overbearing. A fun read.
September 25, 2013
"And who can blame them? Most people lead lives of quiet desperation and spend their days and nights wishing they could be something else while failing to live the lives they'd imagined. Thoreau said that. Or something like that. Or maybe it was this guy I met at an Ego party in Hollywood Hills who was channeling Thoreau and it just sounded good."--S.G. Browne, Big Egos
I was really excited to read S.G. Browne's latest satirical offering, Big Egos. There's just something about reading Browne that makes me wish I was back in a college classroom with a bunch of other lit-geeks like me, over-analyzing the ever loving hell out of what the author was thinking, what statement he was trying to make about society, what lessons we could take from the words on the page. Browne takes me back to that place every time I read one of his books, to the casual, yet oh-so-serious college classroom, because this is social satire at its literary finest and people really should be talking about S.G. Browne in college classrooms.
Set in the not-so-distant future, the nameless hero of Big Egos is an investigator for Engineering Genetics Organization and Systems (EGOS), a company that provides society with the ultimate ego-trip. Allowing their customers to inject a DNA-laced cocktail of their favorite dead celebrity or fictional character, it's hard to tell anymore who anyone really is, but for a price you can be just about anyone you want. And if you can't get the legitimately contained cocktails that meet FDA requirements and steer clear of still-living celebrities, you can always find your fix on the black market.
Browne's incredibly self-aware protagonist seems worried early on that he's starting to lost touch with who he was before he started testing EGOS, that his memories are getting more and more distorted by the minute, more crowded with the EGOS he's injected into his brain stem for the last three years. Is he Elvis Presley? Is he James Bond? Is he Captain Kirk? Indian Jones? Phillip K. Dick? Sometime it's impossible to tell, and those rare moments of personal awareness seem to be growing fewer and further between one another... or do they? Is it possible that all this EGO hopping has been a clear and direct path to self-discovery? An awakening of sorts?
The message I took home from Big Egos was simplified by the Oscar Wilde quote printed at the very beginning of the book:
"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
It seems simple enough, and it's something we all know deep down in our hearts from the very moment we're old enough to start worrying about what everyone else is doing, what they think of us, how much easier their life looks than ours. And from there we start daydreaming about what it would be like if we could be someone else, someone with an easier, potentially more glamorous life than the one we were given. Someone special, someone fabulous, someone who doesn't have to do their own dishes or take out their own garbage. Someone free...
From the depths of such rampant discontent, we often find ourselves striving to become someone else, anyone else, just so long as it's not the boring person inside whose life feels so very mundane.
Social satire at its finest, S.G. Browne sits you right down in the muck of the world with a magnifying glass and a Groucho Marks mustache and says, "Look around. Aren't we absurd?"
Five out of five stars for Big Egos. In all seriousness, people, you should be reading this book!
I was really excited to read S.G. Browne's latest satirical offering, Big Egos. There's just something about reading Browne that makes me wish I was back in a college classroom with a bunch of other lit-geeks like me, over-analyzing the ever loving hell out of what the author was thinking, what statement he was trying to make about society, what lessons we could take from the words on the page. Browne takes me back to that place every time I read one of his books, to the casual, yet oh-so-serious college classroom, because this is social satire at its literary finest and people really should be talking about S.G. Browne in college classrooms.
Set in the not-so-distant future, the nameless hero of Big Egos is an investigator for Engineering Genetics Organization and Systems (EGOS), a company that provides society with the ultimate ego-trip. Allowing their customers to inject a DNA-laced cocktail of their favorite dead celebrity or fictional character, it's hard to tell anymore who anyone really is, but for a price you can be just about anyone you want. And if you can't get the legitimately contained cocktails that meet FDA requirements and steer clear of still-living celebrities, you can always find your fix on the black market.
Browne's incredibly self-aware protagonist seems worried early on that he's starting to lost touch with who he was before he started testing EGOS, that his memories are getting more and more distorted by the minute, more crowded with the EGOS he's injected into his brain stem for the last three years. Is he Elvis Presley? Is he James Bond? Is he Captain Kirk? Indian Jones? Phillip K. Dick? Sometime it's impossible to tell, and those rare moments of personal awareness seem to be growing fewer and further between one another... or do they? Is it possible that all this EGO hopping has been a clear and direct path to self-discovery? An awakening of sorts?
The message I took home from Big Egos was simplified by the Oscar Wilde quote printed at the very beginning of the book:
"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
It seems simple enough, and it's something we all know deep down in our hearts from the very moment we're old enough to start worrying about what everyone else is doing, what they think of us, how much easier their life looks than ours. And from there we start daydreaming about what it would be like if we could be someone else, someone with an easier, potentially more glamorous life than the one we were given. Someone special, someone fabulous, someone who doesn't have to do their own dishes or take out their own garbage. Someone free...
From the depths of such rampant discontent, we often find ourselves striving to become someone else, anyone else, just so long as it's not the boring person inside whose life feels so very mundane.
Social satire at its finest, S.G. Browne sits you right down in the muck of the world with a magnifying glass and a Groucho Marks mustache and says, "Look around. Aren't we absurd?"
Five out of five stars for Big Egos. In all seriousness, people, you should be reading this book!
September 30, 2013
3.5
I really enjoyed the beginning of this story about memory and the nature of the self, but as the story wound on Browne seemed to spend more and more time hitting the reader over the head with the character's many literary references and mind-blowing discoveries about the nature of "Truth". (Capitalized). In the beginning I was invested in the story, I wanted to find out the cause behind the mysterious symptoms of prolonged Ego use and became somewhat disillusioned when Browne turned the story from something original into a Sci-Fi version of Fight Club. Complete with Palahniuk's favorite device, a line repeated so often by the narrator that the reader becomes increasingly sickened by the sight of it.
That line, in particular, became bothersome. It usually went something like, "Truth is, subjectivity is the only truth" or "Truth is, no one really knows what the truth is." This totally unreliable narrator constantly delivering quips about the 'Truth' was a bit much for me. At one point he quotes Oscar Wilde saying, "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask and he will tell you the truth." Then the narrator adds, "Truth is we're all just looking for the right mask." To me, that didn't fit at all. Wilde was speaking more to the value of anonymity, of protecting the public image of self, rather than of pretending to be someone else, another Ego instead of one's own.
A better quote would have been something about "All the World's A Stage" or something that would focus on the fact that we all play roles all the time and perhaps we are all looking for the right role, the right mask.
Overall, although I enjoyed the premise of the story, the author was a bit too pretentious to make it an immersing reading experience. The Holden Caulfield chapter was especially painful. The aspects of the story that interested me, the characters other than the narrator, quickly drop off, leaving the reader in the sad company of a self-obsessed Ego-Maniac (and I mean that both in the sense of his overuse of Big Egos the product of the book, but also just in the well-known and simple fact of the characters narcissism.)
In the Acknowledgements section Browne starts out, not by thanking anyone, but by telling anyone reading how much research he put in and how many important works he's read to write this thing. He lists a paragraph of name and lit drops, "Just to name a few." He says that since he needed no help to use the Internet there's no one to thank aside from the anon compilers of that info, "Whoever you are." Then, only after he's thanked himself and told us what a genius he is, does he name the little people, like his editor, for their help.
I don't usually care about authors personal lives, when they write well, frankly I don't care. But when the author seems present in the work to the extent Browne is, it does bother me. I feel like he wants readers to know, not that the story is good, but that he did a lot of hard work to make it the literary masterpiece it is. Oh, and that he's much more well-read and intelligent than we'll ever be. That does not make for a happy reader.
I really enjoyed the beginning of this story about memory and the nature of the self, but as the story wound on Browne seemed to spend more and more time hitting the reader over the head with the character's many literary references and mind-blowing discoveries about the nature of "Truth". (Capitalized). In the beginning I was invested in the story, I wanted to find out the cause behind the mysterious symptoms of prolonged Ego use and became somewhat disillusioned when Browne turned the story from something original into a Sci-Fi version of Fight Club. Complete with Palahniuk's favorite device, a line repeated so often by the narrator that the reader becomes increasingly sickened by the sight of it.
That line, in particular, became bothersome. It usually went something like, "Truth is, subjectivity is the only truth" or "Truth is, no one really knows what the truth is." This totally unreliable narrator constantly delivering quips about the 'Truth' was a bit much for me. At one point he quotes Oscar Wilde saying, "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask and he will tell you the truth." Then the narrator adds, "Truth is we're all just looking for the right mask." To me, that didn't fit at all. Wilde was speaking more to the value of anonymity, of protecting the public image of self, rather than of pretending to be someone else, another Ego instead of one's own.
A better quote would have been something about "All the World's A Stage" or something that would focus on the fact that we all play roles all the time and perhaps we are all looking for the right role, the right mask.
Overall, although I enjoyed the premise of the story, the author was a bit too pretentious to make it an immersing reading experience. The Holden Caulfield chapter was especially painful. The aspects of the story that interested me, the characters other than the narrator, quickly drop off, leaving the reader in the sad company of a self-obsessed Ego-Maniac (and I mean that both in the sense of his overuse of Big Egos the product of the book, but also just in the well-known and simple fact of the characters narcissism.)
In the Acknowledgements section Browne starts out, not by thanking anyone, but by telling anyone reading how much research he put in and how many important works he's read to write this thing. He lists a paragraph of name and lit drops, "Just to name a few." He says that since he needed no help to use the Internet there's no one to thank aside from the anon compilers of that info, "Whoever you are." Then, only after he's thanked himself and told us what a genius he is, does he name the little people, like his editor, for their help.
I don't usually care about authors personal lives, when they write well, frankly I don't care. But when the author seems present in the work to the extent Browne is, it does bother me. I feel like he wants readers to know, not that the story is good, but that he did a lot of hard work to make it the literary masterpiece it is. Oh, and that he's much more well-read and intelligent than we'll ever be. That does not make for a happy reader.
September 12, 2013
I've been thinking a lot about what I wanted to write about Big Egos. It’s taken me several days to sort out my thoughts. After much deliberation, I've decided the most succinct thing I can say is that it’s somewhat interesting, but incredibly derivative of other artist’s ideas. It's almost as if S. G. Browne wasn’t clearly focused when he wrote this book. Like trying a new entree by a respected chef, I could taste hints of Palahniuk, and Philip K. Dick, and the plots of several decent movies or television shows (Dexter, and the Bourne trilogy – derived from Lindsay and Ludlum), but the flavors didn't mesh well, so I feigned interest without really appeasing my appetite. It doesn’t help that almost every character in the novel isn’t very likeable.
Of course, I realize that some of the chapters written under the influence of an EGO injection were meant to reflect the character's POV - most notably, and brilliantly, the chapters as James T. Kirk and Holden Caulfield - but the other chapters from these perspectives were inconsistent and not always very well written. Also, you really need to be a book, movie and music nerd to understand all the different characters and references in this novel. How many people can identify Nurse Ratched, Tyler Durden, Kilgore Trout, "Hot Lips" Houlihan, Steve Gaines and Ronnie van Zant, among others, from memory? Browne's grasp of the famous, and semi-famous is dizzying, but it all seemed like a little too much for me. I'm not a celebrity junky, though. If you are, you might like this book.
I actually think that S.G. Browne was striving, in a modestly erudite way, to mock modern society’s fascination and worship of fame. If I was the editor of this book, or the director of a movie adaptation, I would ask, “Hey S.G. It seems like your novel approaches your concept from a literary angle, but attempts to connect with the informal People Magazine reading crowd. The two don’t mesh, bro. Which is it going to be?” From the protagonist’s childhood memories, we learn that people wish they were someone else, or pretend to be someone they’re not. The novel is rife with the absentee father’s paternal advice about masquerades and leading a double life, and the protagonist’s misgivings about his job working for a company that facilitates total escapism from their humdrum lives, to live momentarily as someone else - someone famous - for a few hours. But the author’s efforts don’t hit their mark. I kept waiting for some deeper insight, or an Epiphany, but we end up with a Rambo/Tom Cruise/James Bond action-flick ending, complete with fireballs and explosions. Huh? Really? After all that?
Basically, despite the premise of the plot being original - which it is at face value - the novel is such an amalgam of so many different literary and cinematic influences that I didn't really like it. It was a good effort, but it lacks a clear voice, so I wouldn’t recommend reading this book except for the biting commentary about society’s obsession with fame, and the occasional passages where the protagonist channels famous people, or characters, from literature, music and cinema.
Of course, I realize that some of the chapters written under the influence of an EGO injection were meant to reflect the character's POV - most notably, and brilliantly, the chapters as James T. Kirk and Holden Caulfield - but the other chapters from these perspectives were inconsistent and not always very well written. Also, you really need to be a book, movie and music nerd to understand all the different characters and references in this novel. How many people can identify Nurse Ratched, Tyler Durden, Kilgore Trout, "Hot Lips" Houlihan, Steve Gaines and Ronnie van Zant, among others, from memory? Browne's grasp of the famous, and semi-famous is dizzying, but it all seemed like a little too much for me. I'm not a celebrity junky, though. If you are, you might like this book.
I actually think that S.G. Browne was striving, in a modestly erudite way, to mock modern society’s fascination and worship of fame. If I was the editor of this book, or the director of a movie adaptation, I would ask, “Hey S.G. It seems like your novel approaches your concept from a literary angle, but attempts to connect with the informal People Magazine reading crowd. The two don’t mesh, bro. Which is it going to be?” From the protagonist’s childhood memories, we learn that people wish they were someone else, or pretend to be someone they’re not. The novel is rife with the absentee father’s paternal advice about masquerades and leading a double life, and the protagonist’s misgivings about his job working for a company that facilitates total escapism from their humdrum lives, to live momentarily as someone else - someone famous - for a few hours. But the author’s efforts don’t hit their mark. I kept waiting for some deeper insight, or an Epiphany, but we end up with a Rambo/Tom Cruise/James Bond action-flick ending, complete with fireballs and explosions. Huh? Really? After all that?
Basically, despite the premise of the plot being original - which it is at face value - the novel is such an amalgam of so many different literary and cinematic influences that I didn't really like it. It was a good effort, but it lacks a clear voice, so I wouldn’t recommend reading this book except for the biting commentary about society’s obsession with fame, and the occasional passages where the protagonist channels famous people, or characters, from literature, music and cinema.
March 31, 2024
Another brilliant novel from S. G. Browne that amply showcases the author's trademark flair for humorous speculative fiction. This high-concept science fiction romp is utterly engrossing and hilarious and should be mandatory reading for everyone.
August 21, 2013
Humor, murder, mystery, romance, best-friends, the office life, drugs...When I first started the story of Big Egos I was having a hard time getting involved, because all I could concentrate on was all the different EGO names that were popping up. I'm a picture person and had to do research on each dead actor/actress or fictional character that I did not know. So I took a star off, because there was too many characters. So many names..so little time. However, I don't think S.G. Browne could of got his point across if he did not write it this way.
I'm a sucker for LIFE quotes.
S.G. Browne made a lot of wonderful LIFE quotes in Big Egos:
1)"It's up to me to figure out what my role is going to be."
2)"Diverge from the norm and you're frowned upon. Questioned. Shunned. So people earn a college degree so they can get a job. They work at a job they hate just to earn a living. They spend two months salary on an engagement ring. They pop out a couple of kids they don't really want just so they can fit in."
3)"What matters isn't how you see yourself. What matters is how others see you. The trick is to make them see what you want them to see."
4)"That's one of the problems with being a man. We're total idiots."
5)"Every truth passes through three stages before it's recognized. In the first it's ridiculed. In the second it's opposed. And in the third it's regarded as self-evident."
6) "You need to embrace the opportunities that are given to you if you want to get what you want out of life."
7)"But win or lose, success or failure eventually everyone ends up here." The father speaking in the grave yard.
8) "After all, it's never too late to be the person you were meant to be."
9) "That's the thing about people. Everybody wants to have the latest fad so they can feel like they belong. So they can feel like they're hip. No one wants to be original, an individual, make a statement. They'd rather let someone dictate their fashion trend and follow the masses."
Lastly, I need to explain why I took off the last star. I know as a reader it is hard to please everyone in your audience, but I felt like this was a big one. It was left open for a "possible" sequel so I'm treading lightly on this accusation. I want to know the ending to Delilah's, Nat's, and the Protagonist mother's story. Not to mention if the Protagonist ever snaps out of his ever ending personality disorder. Crossing fingers for a sequel to completely finish this story.
#FatedFan
I'm a sucker for LIFE quotes.
S.G. Browne made a lot of wonderful LIFE quotes in Big Egos:
1)"It's up to me to figure out what my role is going to be."
2)"Diverge from the norm and you're frowned upon. Questioned. Shunned. So people earn a college degree so they can get a job. They work at a job they hate just to earn a living. They spend two months salary on an engagement ring. They pop out a couple of kids they don't really want just so they can fit in."
3)"What matters isn't how you see yourself. What matters is how others see you. The trick is to make them see what you want them to see."
4)"That's one of the problems with being a man. We're total idiots."
5)"Every truth passes through three stages before it's recognized. In the first it's ridiculed. In the second it's opposed. And in the third it's regarded as self-evident."
6) "You need to embrace the opportunities that are given to you if you want to get what you want out of life."
7)"But win or lose, success or failure eventually everyone ends up here." The father speaking in the grave yard.
8) "After all, it's never too late to be the person you were meant to be."
9) "That's the thing about people. Everybody wants to have the latest fad so they can feel like they belong. So they can feel like they're hip. No one wants to be original, an individual, make a statement. They'd rather let someone dictate their fashion trend and follow the masses."
Lastly, I need to explain why I took off the last star. I know as a reader it is hard to please everyone in your audience, but I felt like this was a big one. It was left open for a "possible" sequel so I'm treading lightly on this accusation. I want to know the ending to Delilah's, Nat's, and the Protagonist mother's story. Not to mention if the Protagonist ever snaps out of his ever ending personality disorder. Crossing fingers for a sequel to completely finish this story.
#FatedFan
August 28, 2013
Ever wish you can walk in someone else’s shoes? In Browne’s latest novel, Big Egos an unnamed narrator and countless of other people do just that…they become anyone they want to be whether it is a celebrity, or a fictional character for a couple of hours and three thousand dollars. Our nameless narrator works as a quality controller for EGOS (Engineering Genetics Organization and Systems). His job is to personally test out all the Big Egos to make sure there isn’t any side effects/ or deficiencies, and monitor which Big Egos are the most popular. This might be another satire novel from Browne but it does get serious toward the last half of the book when our nameless narrator and others starts to experience problems from using too much of ‘Big Egos’. Things go from happy-go-lucky to the total opposite when Big Egos related deaths start to occur.
The concept for Big Egos is so creative and fun. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like it, nor seen anything currently published with a similar idea.‘Big Egos’ which is also what the product is called is a DNA-laced liquid that is injected at the base of one skull. Then for about six to eight hours the person can be whoever they want to be. Some of the fun celebs and fictional characters mentioned in the book were; James Bond, Jane Eyre, Harry Potter, Jessica Rabbit, and Elvis to name a few.
What I really enjoyed about this novel is how Browne tied his unique story to relatable real life situations and society/modern culture today. Identity is the main theme of the novel. Everyone at one point in their life tried to search for their identity. Asking themselves: who are they or who do they want to be? Some people try to set themselves apart, to be different/ original or to jump on the band-wagon to feel like they’re a part of something. I think Browne does an excellent job exploring this idea of Identity, and while this book had me cracking up from start to finish I also learned a lot from it which I didn’t expect (thought this book was going to be more for like brain candy).
With so many celebrities and fictional characters possibilities and an ambitious plot, there is never a dull moment. I highly recommend Big Egos to those looking for something different and fun to read. Anyone who loves pop-culture will also enjoy this book.
*Disclosure: I received a review copy from the publicist in exchange for an honest review.
The concept for Big Egos is so creative and fun. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like it, nor seen anything currently published with a similar idea.‘Big Egos’ which is also what the product is called is a DNA-laced liquid that is injected at the base of one skull. Then for about six to eight hours the person can be whoever they want to be. Some of the fun celebs and fictional characters mentioned in the book were; James Bond, Jane Eyre, Harry Potter, Jessica Rabbit, and Elvis to name a few.
What I really enjoyed about this novel is how Browne tied his unique story to relatable real life situations and society/modern culture today. Identity is the main theme of the novel. Everyone at one point in their life tried to search for their identity. Asking themselves: who are they or who do they want to be? Some people try to set themselves apart, to be different/ original or to jump on the band-wagon to feel like they’re a part of something. I think Browne does an excellent job exploring this idea of Identity, and while this book had me cracking up from start to finish I also learned a lot from it which I didn’t expect (thought this book was going to be more for like brain candy).
With so many celebrities and fictional characters possibilities and an ambitious plot, there is never a dull moment. I highly recommend Big Egos to those looking for something different and fun to read. Anyone who loves pop-culture will also enjoy this book.
*Disclosure: I received a review copy from the publicist in exchange for an honest review.
August 10, 2016
Imagine Morticia Addams welcomes you to a party where Betty Boop flirts with Winston Churchill, where Einstein, Picasso, Houdini, Chaplin, and Poe interact. Imagine that you’re slipping something that isn’t a roofie into Jayne Mansfield’s martini glass.
The protagonist of S.G. Browne’s Big Egos frequently attends such celebrity meet and drinks. Sometimes there’s a logic in associations. Impersonating Jim Morrison, he lingers among members of the 27 Club (Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain) and other dead glitterati (Bob Marley, Roy Orbison, John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, Elvis Presley, and Karen Carpenter). He never does account for the incongruity of Mick Jagger’s presence at this function, though the reader may generate semi-plausible explanations for that.
While Big Egos does revolve around a corporate plot that rises to thriller status by novel's end, the narrative’s main appeal rests in its author’s imaginative minglings of popular icons. I can already imagine a film version that would feature CGI transformations of live actors into famous celebrities (some fictional, some real—or as real as big screen personas ever get).
Sure, you may have attended your share of masquerades or Halloween costume parties. But what if biogenetically-concocted substances could allow you to temporary shape-shift into Tarzan or James Bond, Jessica Rabbit or Nancy Drew? And what if you and your mate could liven up your relationship by becoming someone elses for an evening’s sexcapades? Who would you want to be if chemicals could provide an opportunity to impersonate your fantasies in a manner more convincing than cosplay?
Browne has a lot of fun with the possibilities—and Big Egos is certainly entertaining. However, I suspect that some of its allusions might be lost on anyone younger than Generation X, or anyone who isn’t up on the pop culture of years past. (Some of my students don’t know who Kurt Cobain is. They would be utterly baffled by references to Romper Room’s magic looking glass.) I’m grateful to be old enough to catch most of the laughs. Thanks to First Reads Giveaways for providing me a free pass.
January 24, 2014
S. G. Browne, author of Breathers and Lucky Bastard, is back with his next book and this one’s a real humdinger, pushing the reader’s believability into the arena of compelling science fiction. Big Egos feels like a possible future that could well happen, and like most books of this nature, it is a cautionary tale from which we have much to learn.
Big Egos is the ultimate company that can make your dreams come true. For a considerable fee you can become just about anyone you want to, especially if you share some of said person’s looks and characteristics. With the injection of a DNA-laced cocktail for six to eight hours you can become your favorite dead celebrity and live that life you’ve always wondered about. It’s the ultimate role-playing fantasy from Engineering Genetics Organization and Systems, aka EGOS.
Our main character is one of Big Egos’ favorite employees and everything is seen through his eyes. As an employee he is also required to sample the product and readers get a taste of the Elvis ego, among others. The problem is there is a growing black market of egos, but the quality isn’t as good and sometimes the person using it doesn’t recover all the way, they can be left changed.
And now bodies are starting to show up. Big Egos announces that it’s all because of these pirated black market egos, but our main character is brought in to investigate and find out where and how these black market egos are turning up, only things are starting to get a little fuzzy around the edges. Is it because he’s been sampling too many egos too often? And why is his boss totally refuting their clandestine meeting about his secret job? And why are some important people at Big Egos now starting to turn up dead?
Browne has a lot of fun with the various egos, setting the stage with descriptive action of all these celebrities and how they might interact with each other, even though they may have never met. It’s another great example of one of his fun novels, original and enthralling that keeps you reading to the end.
Originally written on September 23, 2013 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews, check out the BookBanter site.
Big Egos is the ultimate company that can make your dreams come true. For a considerable fee you can become just about anyone you want to, especially if you share some of said person’s looks and characteristics. With the injection of a DNA-laced cocktail for six to eight hours you can become your favorite dead celebrity and live that life you’ve always wondered about. It’s the ultimate role-playing fantasy from Engineering Genetics Organization and Systems, aka EGOS.
Our main character is one of Big Egos’ favorite employees and everything is seen through his eyes. As an employee he is also required to sample the product and readers get a taste of the Elvis ego, among others. The problem is there is a growing black market of egos, but the quality isn’t as good and sometimes the person using it doesn’t recover all the way, they can be left changed.
And now bodies are starting to show up. Big Egos announces that it’s all because of these pirated black market egos, but our main character is brought in to investigate and find out where and how these black market egos are turning up, only things are starting to get a little fuzzy around the edges. Is it because he’s been sampling too many egos too often? And why is his boss totally refuting their clandestine meeting about his secret job? And why are some important people at Big Egos now starting to turn up dead?
Browne has a lot of fun with the various egos, setting the stage with descriptive action of all these celebrities and how they might interact with each other, even though they may have never met. It’s another great example of one of his fun novels, original and enthralling that keeps you reading to the end.
Originally written on September 23, 2013 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews, check out the BookBanter site.
September 13, 2013
Big Egos is a bit of a departure from S.G. Browne's other novels. In this novel, he dips into the not too distant future set in a superficial society where people are no longer interested in living their own lives and feel compelled to be other people. The characters in the novel have shallow lives and yearn to get lost in the lives of fictional characters and dead celebrities. To feed this fixation is EGOS, a biotech company that has created a formula using engineered DNA that allows people to transform into somebody else for a brief period of time.
Our main character works as a customer service manager at the company. He uses so many egos that he begins to lose his own identity. Eventually, he can't tell reality from fiction and gets so confused that he hardly knows who he is, where he's at, and what's going on in his life. When his best friend Nat is nearly killed after stealing black market egos, he vows to put an end to all of this fictitious living.
S.G. Browne is a master of satire. In his previous novels, his social commentary is more masked within the story. This time, his social commentary is more in your face, and can come across heavy handed. The narrator is a likeable character. I very much enjoy Browne's prose. He has a nice, easy going style that makes reading a breeze. What I didn't like so much in terms of the writing in this novel is that he jumps from past to present to dream like states and it's very disorienting. This may have been Browne's intention, but ultimately it mostly served to confuse me. The novel starts off in Browne's usual light-hearted style, but about half way through really turns dark, perhaps a little too dark. Despite some of the flaws, it was a strong novel with a good pace and interesting characters, well worth reading.
Carl Alves - author of Blood Street
Our main character works as a customer service manager at the company. He uses so many egos that he begins to lose his own identity. Eventually, he can't tell reality from fiction and gets so confused that he hardly knows who he is, where he's at, and what's going on in his life. When his best friend Nat is nearly killed after stealing black market egos, he vows to put an end to all of this fictitious living.
S.G. Browne is a master of satire. In his previous novels, his social commentary is more masked within the story. This time, his social commentary is more in your face, and can come across heavy handed. The narrator is a likeable character. I very much enjoy Browne's prose. He has a nice, easy going style that makes reading a breeze. What I didn't like so much in terms of the writing in this novel is that he jumps from past to present to dream like states and it's very disorienting. This may have been Browne's intention, but ultimately it mostly served to confuse me. The novel starts off in Browne's usual light-hearted style, but about half way through really turns dark, perhaps a little too dark. Despite some of the flaws, it was a strong novel with a good pace and interesting characters, well worth reading.
Carl Alves - author of Blood Street
August 28, 2014
Check out all my reviews at My Blog
So many of us have wished we were someone else, usually some one famous, to leave our boring mundane life behind if only for a little while. Now thanks to Big Egos, you can do just that. For $10k, you can buy a vial of substance that will allow you to imitate anyone of numerous famous people or fictional characters for a few hours. Live it up and enjoy stepping outside of your own life. What can it hurt?
Our narrator works for Big Egos and is a major user of his product. It's getting the point where he spends more time as someone else than he does as himself. Now he has his best friend hooked on them but since he can't afford the real deal, Nat's been picking them up on the black market. Now it appears that there is a problem with the black market egos that is causing dangerous side-effects and our narrator has been asked to find those who have been using them and give them an antidote on the sly to keep things out of the news. Of course, that means going to more and more Ego parties and it's getting to the point where he's not always sure who he is any more. Can you lose your mind while becoming several other people? He may be on his way to finding out.
There was so much going on in this book that I don't even know where to start. It's insightful in strange ways, satirical, macabre in it's own way, with enough humor to keep it from ever getting overwhelming but you find yourself thinking back to the themes it brings up.
So many of us have wished we were someone else, usually some one famous, to leave our boring mundane life behind if only for a little while. Now thanks to Big Egos, you can do just that. For $10k, you can buy a vial of substance that will allow you to imitate anyone of numerous famous people or fictional characters for a few hours. Live it up and enjoy stepping outside of your own life. What can it hurt?
Our narrator works for Big Egos and is a major user of his product. It's getting the point where he spends more time as someone else than he does as himself. Now he has his best friend hooked on them but since he can't afford the real deal, Nat's been picking them up on the black market. Now it appears that there is a problem with the black market egos that is causing dangerous side-effects and our narrator has been asked to find those who have been using them and give them an antidote on the sly to keep things out of the news. Of course, that means going to more and more Ego parties and it's getting to the point where he's not always sure who he is any more. Can you lose your mind while becoming several other people? He may be on his way to finding out.
There was so much going on in this book that I don't even know where to start. It's insightful in strange ways, satirical, macabre in it's own way, with enough humor to keep it from ever getting overwhelming but you find yourself thinking back to the themes it brings up.
August 13, 2013
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This book has everything you could ask for in an adventure: conspiracy, multi-millions, mysterious deaths, cover-ups, the black market, and no one is who they say they are. So who do they say they are? Celebrities, fictional characters, almost anyone you can think of. Does it still count as undercover if everyone is in on the disguise?
The idea for this book is really interesting and creative, who wouldn’t want to be their favorite celebrity or fictional character for a night? Anyone remember those creepy plastic surgery shows where people would go under the knife to look like his or her idol celebrity? Big Egos doesn’t require surgery but it doesn’t require injecting foreign DNA into your neck. Creepy, huh? But now the fun starts.
What I didn’t like about the book is that I felt there was almost too much name dropping. The narratives of the Ego parties he’d go to, all the different combinations of dozens of celebrities doing crazy things, it all got a little much for me. I’m fine with a scene or two, but I found myself glossing over those passages towards the end.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun and fast-paced read. This book definitely never gets boring!
This book has everything you could ask for in an adventure: conspiracy, multi-millions, mysterious deaths, cover-ups, the black market, and no one is who they say they are. So who do they say they are? Celebrities, fictional characters, almost anyone you can think of. Does it still count as undercover if everyone is in on the disguise?
The idea for this book is really interesting and creative, who wouldn’t want to be their favorite celebrity or fictional character for a night? Anyone remember those creepy plastic surgery shows where people would go under the knife to look like his or her idol celebrity? Big Egos doesn’t require surgery but it doesn’t require injecting foreign DNA into your neck. Creepy, huh? But now the fun starts.
What I didn’t like about the book is that I felt there was almost too much name dropping. The narratives of the Ego parties he’d go to, all the different combinations of dozens of celebrities doing crazy things, it all got a little much for me. I’m fine with a scene or two, but I found myself glossing over those passages towards the end.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun and fast-paced read. This book definitely never gets boring!
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