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The Doomsayer Journeys #1
The Last Volunteer
“Wetherell writes like a modern Douglas Adams with a darker, more fantastical bent. The Doomsayer Journeys is stiff upper lip, prim and proper madness – like a nice cup of tea spiked with malicious nanobots and mescaline.” – Robert Brockway, A Tale of Electronegativity
The planet Bersch is in big trouble. Not only is it ruled by a psychotic emperor, but it's also about to be destroyed by somebody's nuclear garbage. Now it's up to Bip Plunkerton- failed psyentist and reluctant adventurer- to leave his isolated community and warn civilisation of its impending doom. Unfortunately, in a world populated with angry krackens, hungry yetis and unhelpful seagulls, saving the day is nowhere near as easy as you'd first imagine...
The Last Volunteer is the first of three books in the Doomsayer Journeys series.
The planet Bersch is in big trouble. Not only is it ruled by a psychotic emperor, but it's also about to be destroyed by somebody's nuclear garbage. Now it's up to Bip Plunkerton- failed psyentist and reluctant adventurer- to leave his isolated community and warn civilisation of its impending doom. Unfortunately, in a world populated with angry krackens, hungry yetis and unhelpful seagulls, saving the day is nowhere near as easy as you'd first imagine...
The Last Volunteer is the first of three books in the Doomsayer Journeys series.
188 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 25, 2012
49 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
About the author
Steve Wetherell
38 books45 followersSteve Wetherell has written for Maxim, Cracked and CBS Local, and is a regular on the Authors and Dragons podcast. He is affiliated with Falstaff books and wrote the fantasy comedy series The Doomsayer Journeys, which he'd love you to read. He lives in Northamptonshire, England, and enjoys beer, rock music and writing about himself in the third person.
(source: Amazon)
Writes primarily as Steve Wetherell. Some covers say "Steven Wetherell."
(source: Amazon)
Writes primarily as Steve Wetherell. Some covers say "Steven Wetherell."
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
September 24, 2014
Really not a bad book, but not a GREAT book either. It's funny, and silly, but oftentimes a bit too much of either. Which is odd since in other regards, namely detailing the world, action, and whatnot, it takes itself very seriously. It's a bit wordy in its descriptions, and there's a repetitious nature to the plotting (how often do we need to meet a new character that sees "a stranger" when we very well know that the stranger in question is one of our heroes?)
I like that it follows essentially two parallel protagonists, but their stories never connect. This is the first book in a trilogy, sure, but I was hoping I'd get some answers before having to read further books. I always hate that excuse: well, it'll come later. But I don't feel like reading the other two after having read this one, so I guess that later will never come?
Owes a lot to Douglas Adams. But don't be mislead: this is a fantasy book through and through. Young, reluctant hero, magic powers (you can call it "psyence" if you want, it's still magic) and a wealth of beasties including gnomes, yeti and kraken. Kind of a smorgasbord of fantasy ideas with some sci-fi mixed in, all thrown together to see what sticks. If you're into that sort of thing, with a dry British wit and some anachronistic barbs, you'll enjoy this. Again, by all means not a bad book, just didn't grab me.
I like that it follows essentially two parallel protagonists, but their stories never connect. This is the first book in a trilogy, sure, but I was hoping I'd get some answers before having to read further books. I always hate that excuse: well, it'll come later. But I don't feel like reading the other two after having read this one, so I guess that later will never come?
Owes a lot to Douglas Adams. But don't be mislead: this is a fantasy book through and through. Young, reluctant hero, magic powers (you can call it "psyence" if you want, it's still magic) and a wealth of beasties including gnomes, yeti and kraken. Kind of a smorgasbord of fantasy ideas with some sci-fi mixed in, all thrown together to see what sticks. If you're into that sort of thing, with a dry British wit and some anachronistic barbs, you'll enjoy this. Again, by all means not a bad book, just didn't grab me.
April 23, 2014
I don’t like giving out five star reviews, it feels too much like I’m inflating the scale. Four stars ought to make anyone happy. Hell, everyone should start with three and work their outward depending on how bad or good their novel is. Okay, before I devolve into a dissertation on total quality principles versus inevitable graduated scale inflation when applying management assessment methodology, I’m just going to say I gave this novel five stars. Why? If my wife has to ask me to stop reading because my laughing is disturbing her Candy Crush game, congrats, your book just earned five stars. Scientific enough for you? Good. Because THE LAST VOLUNTEER made me laugh, and kept me laughing.
What’s THE LAST VOLUNTEER about? It’s about reluctant heroes setting forth with one set of expectations, and stumbling into wildly unexpected outcomes. And that’s pretty much what happens to the reader, too. Our hero Bip is a lovable loser trying to find what he’s good at. We follow Bip’s epic journey of self-discovery, which includes trying not to get eaten or setting himself on fire. At the end of this soul-wrenching journey, Bip has a startling insight...he really isn’t good at anything.
Not that any of that matters, he still has to save the world anyway.
Steve Wetherell takes a dash of science fiction, mashes it together with some fantasy tropes (which he mercilessly,and delightfully, abuses), and then mixes it together with designer jeans and some dry, irreverent British humor. His style echoes faintly of Gary Adams, and will appeal to any Hitchhiker’s or Python fan. However, Wetherell’s voice and delivery are unique.
Don’t pick up this book with any preconceived notions and don’t try to guess where its going. You’ll just fail. Its best to simply find a nice, quiet place to read it (preferably far away from any Candy Crush activity) and go along for the ride. Along the way, watch out for the krakens, don’t talk to the sea gulls, read the hieroglyphs before you drink, and, please, be nice to the harpies.
What’s THE LAST VOLUNTEER about? It’s about reluctant heroes setting forth with one set of expectations, and stumbling into wildly unexpected outcomes. And that’s pretty much what happens to the reader, too. Our hero Bip is a lovable loser trying to find what he’s good at. We follow Bip’s epic journey of self-discovery, which includes trying not to get eaten or setting himself on fire. At the end of this soul-wrenching journey, Bip has a startling insight...he really isn’t good at anything.
Not that any of that matters, he still has to save the world anyway.
Steve Wetherell takes a dash of science fiction, mashes it together with some fantasy tropes (which he mercilessly,and delightfully, abuses), and then mixes it together with designer jeans and some dry, irreverent British humor. His style echoes faintly of Gary Adams, and will appeal to any Hitchhiker’s or Python fan. However, Wetherell’s voice and delivery are unique.
Don’t pick up this book with any preconceived notions and don’t try to guess where its going. You’ll just fail. Its best to simply find a nice, quiet place to read it (preferably far away from any Candy Crush activity) and go along for the ride. Along the way, watch out for the krakens, don’t talk to the sea gulls, read the hieroglyphs before you drink, and, please, be nice to the harpies.
May 30, 2014
Reads like a bit more of a fantasy-focused Douglas Adams, and that's a much harder feat to pull off than you might think. Charming, funny and inventive.
July 22, 2016
Is it good? No, it's very good!
But: The Last Volunteer is not a (complete) novel, just the (fairly short) first part of a trilogy. The narrative just reaches a certain part of a journey, but no (satisfying) end or conclusion.
I'm not sure I would have started reading it, if I had known beforehand, but I'm very glad I did, because it's well worth reading; and while I do not like the way it is being published, it got me.
I will reserve judgement until I have read the whole trilogy (and I certainly will!), but if this first part is anything to go by, I highly recommend it. It's overall well written, the 2 1/2 main characters and the world are interesting and not stereotypical, the back-story has some meat on it and works well, and most of all - IT'S FUNNY!
It's near impossible to avoid the usual comparisons to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett when it comes to humour in fantasy & SF because both authors have obviously influenced Steven Wetherell. What I liked most about Wetherell's humour is that he finds his own unique voice and it's a good balance between silly and sophisticated.
On to part two.
But: The Last Volunteer is not a (complete) novel, just the (fairly short) first part of a trilogy. The narrative just reaches a certain part of a journey, but no (satisfying) end or conclusion.
I'm not sure I would have started reading it, if I had known beforehand, but I'm very glad I did, because it's well worth reading; and while I do not like the way it is being published, it got me.
I will reserve judgement until I have read the whole trilogy (and I certainly will!), but if this first part is anything to go by, I highly recommend it. It's overall well written, the 2 1/2 main characters and the world are interesting and not stereotypical, the back-story has some meat on it and works well, and most of all - IT'S FUNNY!
It's near impossible to avoid the usual comparisons to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett when it comes to humour in fantasy & SF because both authors have obviously influenced Steven Wetherell. What I liked most about Wetherell's humour is that he finds his own unique voice and it's a good balance between silly and sophisticated.
On to part two.
August 7, 2018
A fun mix of sci-fi, fantasy, and humor that reminded me of Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy.
October 12, 2015
Make me laugh
A tricky demand, and Wetherell pulls it off with a dry wit and droll approach to the absurd as he tackles the tropes of science fiction.
Readers of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams will be familiar with the type of humor: present an insane situation and calmly show how it came about, using the misadventures of the hapless main character as the primary viewpoint, then find some way of resolving the situation in a way that is internally consistent with the logic of the universe, while evoking laughter from the reader looking in from outside.
Wetherell presents a team of psyentists whose ship has crashed on the frozen wasteland of an alien planet that inexplicably boasts regions out a classic fantasy novel. The psyentists have their own problems, specifically getting word to civilization about the planet’s impending doom by way of a ball of nuclear garbage hurtling their way.
The psyentists are an odd group in and of themselves, possessing powerful psionic abilities used to both understand and manipulate matter, thus making each a scientist carrying his or her own laboratory and research equipment around in the skull.
The requisite hapless hero’s journey is paralleled by that of another character in a flashback narrative of original crashed ship’s crew.
With books like these, the interrelations and reactions of the characters make or break the story, and I’m happy to say Wetherell succeeds in presenting believable characters whose reactions on encountering oddities outside their ken I accepted right away. The use of the naïve fish out of water main character is a great tool in pulling this off. Particularly upon entering a town where thievery is an accepted part of the economy.
If there is a flaw, it is that the book ended on too much of a cliffhanger, with some of the best parts saved up, I suspect, for further volumes. I eagerly awaiting seeing more of the brutal and tyrannical fantasy empire that rules the world, as well as the fabulously mad emperor of the same.
A tricky demand, and Wetherell pulls it off with a dry wit and droll approach to the absurd as he tackles the tropes of science fiction.
Readers of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams will be familiar with the type of humor: present an insane situation and calmly show how it came about, using the misadventures of the hapless main character as the primary viewpoint, then find some way of resolving the situation in a way that is internally consistent with the logic of the universe, while evoking laughter from the reader looking in from outside.
Wetherell presents a team of psyentists whose ship has crashed on the frozen wasteland of an alien planet that inexplicably boasts regions out a classic fantasy novel. The psyentists have their own problems, specifically getting word to civilization about the planet’s impending doom by way of a ball of nuclear garbage hurtling their way.
The psyentists are an odd group in and of themselves, possessing powerful psionic abilities used to both understand and manipulate matter, thus making each a scientist carrying his or her own laboratory and research equipment around in the skull.
The requisite hapless hero’s journey is paralleled by that of another character in a flashback narrative of original crashed ship’s crew.
With books like these, the interrelations and reactions of the characters make or break the story, and I’m happy to say Wetherell succeeds in presenting believable characters whose reactions on encountering oddities outside their ken I accepted right away. The use of the naïve fish out of water main character is a great tool in pulling this off. Particularly upon entering a town where thievery is an accepted part of the economy.
If there is a flaw, it is that the book ended on too much of a cliffhanger, with some of the best parts saved up, I suspect, for further volumes. I eagerly awaiting seeing more of the brutal and tyrannical fantasy empire that rules the world, as well as the fabulously mad emperor of the same.
April 21, 2017
Interesting Premise
As the first book in the series I can honestly say my curiosity is piqued. The premise is fresh and the characters have a decent amount of depth. The e-book edition suffers from some editing issues and the shifts between perspectives does create some issues on the readability front but the story is compelling enough to overlook these minor issues and go on the next book.
I really like the overall world building and the occasional galaxy wide perspective. Bip, while starting out as a bit of a whiney git ends up being pretty likable. His teachers are properly amusing and the trope of teenage boy selected by fate to save the world is handled quite nicely.
The parallel past and present storylines are something I'm hoping resolve in to a more coherent piece of the picture and I wish that Wetherell had done a bit more to show why they're necessary. I have faith that the reason will be revealed but it doesn't do this book any favors to have held off revealing it.
I decided to read this series after listening to the Authors and Dragons podcast and I'm happy that I did. While I've mentioned some faults, they don't really take away from the story being pretty amusing overall. I don't think I'd call this comedic fantasy but it is just the type of snarky I enjoy.
As the first book in the series I can honestly say my curiosity is piqued. The premise is fresh and the characters have a decent amount of depth. The e-book edition suffers from some editing issues and the shifts between perspectives does create some issues on the readability front but the story is compelling enough to overlook these minor issues and go on the next book.
I really like the overall world building and the occasional galaxy wide perspective. Bip, while starting out as a bit of a whiney git ends up being pretty likable. His teachers are properly amusing and the trope of teenage boy selected by fate to save the world is handled quite nicely.
The parallel past and present storylines are something I'm hoping resolve in to a more coherent piece of the picture and I wish that Wetherell had done a bit more to show why they're necessary. I have faith that the reason will be revealed but it doesn't do this book any favors to have held off revealing it.
I decided to read this series after listening to the Authors and Dragons podcast and I'm happy that I did. While I've mentioned some faults, they don't really take away from the story being pretty amusing overall. I don't think I'd call this comedic fantasy but it is just the type of snarky I enjoy.
May 22, 2014
Top Pick!
If you’ve read any of my recent articles here on Underground Book Reviews, you know I’m reluctant to hand out five star reviews. It feels too much like I'm inflating the scale. Four stars ought to make anyone happy. Heck, everyone should start with three and work their way outward depending on how bad or good their novel is. Okay, before I devolve into another dissertation on total quality principles versus inevitable graduated-scale inflation when applying management assessment methodology (deep breath), I'm just going to say I gave this novel five stars. Why? If my wife has to ask me to stop reading because my laughing is disturbing her Candy Crush game, congrats, your book just earned five stars. Scientific enough for you? Good. Because THE LAST VOLUNTEER made me laugh, and kept me laughing.
...read more at UndergroundBookReviews (dot) com!
If you’ve read any of my recent articles here on Underground Book Reviews, you know I’m reluctant to hand out five star reviews. It feels too much like I'm inflating the scale. Four stars ought to make anyone happy. Heck, everyone should start with three and work their way outward depending on how bad or good their novel is. Okay, before I devolve into another dissertation on total quality principles versus inevitable graduated-scale inflation when applying management assessment methodology (deep breath), I'm just going to say I gave this novel five stars. Why? If my wife has to ask me to stop reading because my laughing is disturbing her Candy Crush game, congrats, your book just earned five stars. Scientific enough for you? Good. Because THE LAST VOLUNTEER made me laugh, and kept me laughing.
...read more at UndergroundBookReviews (dot) com!
April 13, 2017
I bought this as a fan of the Authors and Dragons podcast, in which Wetherell participates. His witty humor voiced on the podcast permeated this book as well. The quest of his protagonist takes the reader through a variety of humorous and original environs populated with interesting and hilarious characters. There's plenty of adventure to balance out the silly stuff, and I look forward to reading the others in the series. I highly recommend this book, especially for fans of Douglas Adams or Grant Naylor.
February 20, 2017
This was a lot of fun as a SF adventure to save the world with a nice comic touch. Lots of good laugh lines that support a good story.
Got this one for free and then bought the second two books for .99.
Got this one for free and then bought the second two books for .99.
July 6, 2018
A lovely, cute, dry, little adventure tale in the English humorist vein. It's a ton of fun. Wetherell writes like I think, so it was easy reading the whole way through for me. The only knock I have is that this is nowhere near a full story. It stops. Just. Stops.
December 18, 2021
Take a pinch of Douglas Adams, add a dash of Terry Pratchett and a smidgeon of Monty Python then simmer it gently in a pan of boiling lunacy. Bake in the mind of Steve Wetherall for a few months at 450 degrees Fahrenheit and allow to cool
The result is possibly the funniest book I’ve read this year (bear in mind it is the middle of December so this is no faint claim)
This is book one in the Doomsayer Journeys series and follows two journeys to save the world set 1000 years apart.
The characters are well drawn and the dialog is witty and fresh throughout.
If you enjoyed Hitchhikers Guide, Dirk Gently or the Color of Magic then this’ll be right up your street.
I’m writing this while watching Strictly Come Dancing so to quote judge Craig Revel-Horwood this book was FAB-U-LOUUS
The result is possibly the funniest book I’ve read this year (bear in mind it is the middle of December so this is no faint claim)
This is book one in the Doomsayer Journeys series and follows two journeys to save the world set 1000 years apart.
The characters are well drawn and the dialog is witty and fresh throughout.
If you enjoyed Hitchhikers Guide, Dirk Gently or the Color of Magic then this’ll be right up your street.
I’m writing this while watching Strictly Come Dancing so to quote judge Craig Revel-Horwood this book was FAB-U-LOUUS
July 10, 2019
The planet of Bersch is in trouble. A massive bundle of nuclear weapons is heading straight for it. There is only one group of people who knows this secret, living in the ice plains on the north of the planet. Every generation someone is sent to warn the rest of the planet. Now time is running out, only one year remains until doomsday, and Bip is their last hope to warn the rest of Bersch.
This book teeters on the edge between serious and completely ludicrous and hilarious. I feel like I need to listen to it three more times so I can catch all the innuendo and references and dirty jokes. It was fantastic, I loved it the whole way through. I hope they come out with the second one in audio book form soon.
This book teeters on the edge between serious and completely ludicrous and hilarious. I feel like I need to listen to it three more times so I can catch all the innuendo and references and dirty jokes. It was fantastic, I loved it the whole way through. I hope they come out with the second one in audio book form soon.
July 6, 2017
Although this book ended in the middle of action (it is after all the first in a series) it provoked the same response as Wodehouse - a curvature of the nasolabial folds. Honestly, it takes a lot to amuse me when I read and I find most attempts at humor annoying. This book tickled my funny bone from the very beginning, although I never committed the cardinal sin of laughing out loud in public. I found myself trying to find the joke in character names and even enjoyed the minor episodes showing the progress of the deadly object.
June 25, 2021
A fun, original and unique journey, which claims to be a mix of Good Omens and Hitchhiker's.
I don't actually agree, but not in a bad way - Steven Wetherell has his own voice, and what a funny and unique voice it is!
The narration and absurdity of the story are great. I found out about it while listening to the Authors and Dragons podcast, Wetherell being by far my favorite charecter - and this story didn't disappoint.
A bit short, but the entire trilogy is out there so I won't have to wait for the continuation of the story.
Reccomended, fun read, with great funny and bizzare moments.
I don't actually agree, but not in a bad way - Steven Wetherell has his own voice, and what a funny and unique voice it is!
The narration and absurdity of the story are great. I found out about it while listening to the Authors and Dragons podcast, Wetherell being by far my favorite charecter - and this story didn't disappoint.
A bit short, but the entire trilogy is out there so I won't have to wait for the continuation of the story.
Reccomended, fun read, with great funny and bizzare moments.
December 27, 2017
A great read
Wetherell's tale of an unlikely hero is full of laugh out loud moments, with Pratchett-esque grasp of imagery and an almost tangible undercurrent of dry British wit that makes this book a pleasure to read. Well-constructed, relateable characters and a nicely put-together world, with plot hooks that intrigue. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!
Wetherell's tale of an unlikely hero is full of laugh out loud moments, with Pratchett-esque grasp of imagery and an almost tangible undercurrent of dry British wit that makes this book a pleasure to read. Well-constructed, relateable characters and a nicely put-together world, with plot hooks that intrigue. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!
December 31, 2018
The humor in this book appeals to me as a Terry Pratchett fan. Don't look for logic about the various inhabitants of the planet Bersch, which include various monsters and mythological beings imagined on Earth. There's plenty of mystery and adventure, too. The ending was rather abrupt and nothing was wrapped up; it was just a convenient stopping point along a journey. So, there was no resolution.
September 23, 2019
Wasn't the book I was expecting but was actually pretty enjoyable. A humerus romp of Sci-Fi and fantasy my only real issue was it ended a bit abruptly. Will definitely read the next in the series.
September 24, 2019
I grew tremendously bored just 14 minutes in.
February 2, 2020
Interesting book that follows failure Pip, as the last hope for survival, were all doomed!! Not a complete story, so nothing is resolved, has its funny moments.
May 2, 2020
Silly and sometimes absurd but always entertaining.
March 2, 2017
Slow action
I just couldn't force myself to read further. I was at 43% of book and apart from one crash of the spaceship nothing happened. I did not feel any suspense and was not much interested in the outcome since I did not understand why should I care about characters. Style was very descriptive and lengthy. Not sure if I will finish. There is potential but needs more engaging backstory in order to focus on main one...
I just couldn't force myself to read further. I was at 43% of book and apart from one crash of the spaceship nothing happened. I did not feel any suspense and was not much interested in the outcome since I did not understand why should I care about characters. Style was very descriptive and lengthy. Not sure if I will finish. There is potential but needs more engaging backstory in order to focus on main one...
April 6, 2019
First off the style of this book is very British Comedy. It is very Red Dwarf, very Terry Pratchett. The comedy got me chuckling a few times and Steve Wetherell is just good at writing comedy. From listening to one of his pod casts, I feel that he writes the way that he talks.
Plot:
An alien planet that is filled with fantasy troupes is about to be destroyed a great big ball of death. The plot centres around two main figures who are on an epic journey on telling the man in charge of the planet that his planet is about to be destroyed.
This is a series and this book feels like the opening act similar to Lord of the Rings with the book focusing on world building and the journey. In other words the characters getting from point A to point B while not dying.
Characters:
Bip: Bip is a young boy who is chosen to save the world by telling the emperor that the planet is about to be obliterated. He is the lucky, reluctant, and inexperienced hero troupe and the author seems to have fun making Bip the stereotypical underdog hero. Father missing, powers that he can't control, luck, luck, dumb bloody luck.
This guy is so under prepared and inexperienced that you would swear that his village elders were trying to use him as a human sacrifice.
Haddon, (I think that's how you spell his name): Haddon is the security officer who gets the fun task of being the first volunteer to go out and tell everyone that they are dead. While Bip is the underdog that we route for, Haddon is on the other side of the hero spectrum.
He is the white knight in shining armour. The traditional prince that has to brave dragons, damsels in distress, and minotaurs every morning in order to get milk for his coffee.
What I like:
Again it is the humour. Steve Wetherell uses comedy gold.
What I don't like:
There is a lot of going back and forwards with this. It's jarring going from Bip to Haddon as neither of them operate in the same century. And I feel that it would have made for a stronger story if the author just stuck to one character and used the other character for the sequel. Or if he just separated the book into two parts.
Plot:
An alien planet that is filled with fantasy troupes is about to be destroyed a great big ball of death. The plot centres around two main figures who are on an epic journey on telling the man in charge of the planet that his planet is about to be destroyed.
This is a series and this book feels like the opening act similar to Lord of the Rings with the book focusing on world building and the journey. In other words the characters getting from point A to point B while not dying.
Characters:
Bip: Bip is a young boy who is chosen to save the world by telling the emperor that the planet is about to be obliterated. He is the lucky, reluctant, and inexperienced hero troupe and the author seems to have fun making Bip the stereotypical underdog hero. Father missing, powers that he can't control, luck, luck, dumb bloody luck.
This guy is so under prepared and inexperienced that you would swear that his village elders were trying to use him as a human sacrifice.
Haddon, (I think that's how you spell his name): Haddon is the security officer who gets the fun task of being the first volunteer to go out and tell everyone that they are dead. While Bip is the underdog that we route for, Haddon is on the other side of the hero spectrum.
He is the white knight in shining armour. The traditional prince that has to brave dragons, damsels in distress, and minotaurs every morning in order to get milk for his coffee.
What I like:
Again it is the humour. Steve Wetherell uses comedy gold.
What I don't like:
There is a lot of going back and forwards with this. It's jarring going from Bip to Haddon as neither of them operate in the same century. And I feel that it would have made for a stronger story if the author just stuck to one character and used the other character for the sequel. Or if he just separated the book into two parts.
February 3, 2019
Note: a free copy of this e-book was made available by the publisher, and I appreciated the opportunity to read and review the book!
This is one of those books that seems like it was certainly a lot of fun to write. Some books like that turn out to be rambling and lacking in focus - that’s not the case here. Wetherell clearly did the work of exploring interesting concepts and then plotting things out so the story unfolds in a logical and fairly engaging way. There are two separate timelines that at first have no clear connection, but as things proceed, a potential eventual convergence begins to appear.
Unfortunately, for me, the writing style was less polished than I prefer, with a few too many awkward turns of phrase, and the humorous aspects didn’t quite work for me. As I’ve mentioned in other reviews, every reader brings one’s own sense of humor to a book, and it’s not surprising that not everyone’s matches what the story presents. While I’ve enjoyed speculative fiction that borders on the absurd, it’s tough to do that in a way that invokes literal laugh out loud humor in every reader. For me, the humor in this book, and especially the eccentricities of the characters, came across as more silly than clever, but surely some readers will get it in a way that I didn’t.
Also, even for books written as part of a longer series, I think it’s reasonable to expect a conclusion in each volume that brings some level of resolution, even while leaving things open to continue in a subsequent book. In this case the cliffhanger arrives without that sort of satisfying resolution.
Again, no doubt some will enjoy this book, but overall, it wasn’t for me.
This is one of those books that seems like it was certainly a lot of fun to write. Some books like that turn out to be rambling and lacking in focus - that’s not the case here. Wetherell clearly did the work of exploring interesting concepts and then plotting things out so the story unfolds in a logical and fairly engaging way. There are two separate timelines that at first have no clear connection, but as things proceed, a potential eventual convergence begins to appear.
Unfortunately, for me, the writing style was less polished than I prefer, with a few too many awkward turns of phrase, and the humorous aspects didn’t quite work for me. As I’ve mentioned in other reviews, every reader brings one’s own sense of humor to a book, and it’s not surprising that not everyone’s matches what the story presents. While I’ve enjoyed speculative fiction that borders on the absurd, it’s tough to do that in a way that invokes literal laugh out loud humor in every reader. For me, the humor in this book, and especially the eccentricities of the characters, came across as more silly than clever, but surely some readers will get it in a way that I didn’t.
Also, even for books written as part of a longer series, I think it’s reasonable to expect a conclusion in each volume that brings some level of resolution, even while leaving things open to continue in a subsequent book. In this case the cliffhanger arrives without that sort of satisfying resolution.
Again, no doubt some will enjoy this book, but overall, it wasn’t for me.
September 16, 2023
Steve Wetherell presents an excellent yarn for the Comedic Science Fiction genre, a genre woefully underrepresented in the fictional field, except for a few standouts like Isaac Asimov's short stories filled with puns and, the giant whale in the field, Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
The story satires gaming (both computer games and roleplaying), politics, criminal activity, education, the job market, weather, travel, and anything else which strikes Wetherell's fancy, while providing laugh-out-loud descriptions of people and places. Following our heroic hero Bip, and an anti-hero adventuring alien Hostility Advisor Haden, and a semi-sentient Massive Ball of Death, and the truly-sentient Answer to Everything, the Universal Theory, or just Ted to friends, and the rest of the erratic group of point-of-view characters, creates a kaleidoscope of improbabilities that become probable in their collective existence.
As an editing note: I am impressed with Wetherell's ability to blend three (or more) different timelines into a coherent narrative, using each of the POV characters to reveal more of the world/universe, develop characters, and drive the plot forward. All the while being funny.
The story satires gaming (both computer games and roleplaying), politics, criminal activity, education, the job market, weather, travel, and anything else which strikes Wetherell's fancy, while providing laugh-out-loud descriptions of people and places. Following our heroic hero Bip, and an anti-hero adventuring alien Hostility Advisor Haden, and a semi-sentient Massive Ball of Death, and the truly-sentient Answer to Everything, the Universal Theory, or just Ted to friends, and the rest of the erratic group of point-of-view characters, creates a kaleidoscope of improbabilities that become probable in their collective existence.
As an editing note: I am impressed with Wetherell's ability to blend three (or more) different timelines into a coherent narrative, using each of the POV characters to reveal more of the world/universe, develop characters, and drive the plot forward. All the while being funny.
December 3, 2015
This was more dull than anything else. While not entirely awful, the author is content to let insipid ideas and writing saturate this book. Probably good enough to read on a really boring train ride, but then, why would you?
August 12, 2017
I'm not great at reviews but this series was wonderful. The author manages the subtle, absurd and interesting wonderfully and the characters were very well developed.
Read
September 18, 2017I won't rater this because I only lasted through 1/3 of it, but it just was not holding my interest. I think he was trying to build suspense and questions in my mind, but it seemed ham-handed.
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