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Nevada
When a giant cave appears in the Mojave Desert, the public watches in fascination as police expect to resolve a notorious child disappearance and instead make a discovery that forever changes the world. The cave becomes a doorway for prehistoric reptiles known as the the Ziz to infiltrate society and bring their own brand of reform and revival to Washington, D.C. and Hollywood, California. Narcissism is nobility, patriotism is religion, and celebrity culture is spiritualized as the Ziz rise in power and the American public bow low before them.
Only a band of subversive conspirators would dare challenge the utopian dream of the Ziz. So when these rebels are discovered attempting to spawn mutiny within the machine, they must be dealt with harshly, lest the people begin to ask “What are we doing?”
Told through the eyes of an adulterous wife, an insufferable misogynist, a mentally handicapped man, a sociopath, a schizophrenic, a manic depressive, and more, Nevada's ambitious scale is embellished by its fascinatingly flawed narrators. As bleak as Nevada's satire paints the American herd mentality, the story's redemptive edge is undeniable. Reader's will be provoked, shocked, amused, and emotionally wrecked as they traverse the landscape of a bizarre world bearing startling similarities to their own.
Only a band of subversive conspirators would dare challenge the utopian dream of the Ziz. So when these rebels are discovered attempting to spawn mutiny within the machine, they must be dealt with harshly, lest the people begin to ask “What are we doing?”
Told through the eyes of an adulterous wife, an insufferable misogynist, a mentally handicapped man, a sociopath, a schizophrenic, a manic depressive, and more, Nevada's ambitious scale is embellished by its fascinatingly flawed narrators. As bleak as Nevada's satire paints the American herd mentality, the story's redemptive edge is undeniable. Reader's will be provoked, shocked, amused, and emotionally wrecked as they traverse the landscape of a bizarre world bearing startling similarities to their own.
227 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
2 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
About the author
Joshua S. Porter
10 books214 followersJoshua S. Porter is pastor of teaching and creative vision at Van City Church in Vancouver, Washington. He is also a former member of the experimental art-punk band, Showbread, and the author of With All Its Teeth, Death to Deconstruction, novel Punk Rock Vs. the Lizard People.
Find out more and connect with Joshua at joshuasporter.com.
Find out more and connect with Joshua at joshuasporter.com.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 7, 2023
Maybe this particular book is just not my cup of tea, but given my love for Porter's musical career and my deep appreciation for his two most recent written works, I was shocked by how much I disliked this.
The overall story is quite interesting, though I'm not quite sure if it was intended to be "literal" science-fiction or an allegory. If it's the former, it's a concept ripe with potential; as the latter, it's heavy-handed metaphor but still quite prescient. Porter's execution of this story leaves much to be desired, though, as he goes all-in for shock value at the expense of nearly everything else. The gratuitous amount of gore and graphically described torture and mutilation is simply sickening, and (in my opinion) encourages the very desensitization that Porter rails against in his other work. The portrayal of women and sex in this novel is simply sadistic. The execution is just so flat-out gross that it quickly overwhelms whatever efficacy of the plot's already heavy-handed message.
Now, to be fair, this was written at a much earlier stage in his life and probably reflects a level of immaturity and "edginess" that Porter's grown out of. In fact, given several of his reflections in his 2022 memoir/treatise "Death to Deconstruction" I imagine that Porter would write a much different novel if he were to rewrite "Nevada" now. Perhaps I just dislike this earlier work of his because I have perpetually seen how great Porter could be (in 2009 when this written, his musical work was even then top-tier for the genre), and Nevada seems like too much indulgence in his darker tendencies without enough self-control or finesse.
The overall story is quite interesting, though I'm not quite sure if it was intended to be "literal" science-fiction or an allegory. If it's the former, it's a concept ripe with potential; as the latter, it's heavy-handed metaphor but still quite prescient. Porter's execution of this story leaves much to be desired, though, as he goes all-in for shock value at the expense of nearly everything else. The gratuitous amount of gore and graphically described torture and mutilation is simply sickening, and (in my opinion) encourages the very desensitization that Porter rails against in his other work. The portrayal of women and sex in this novel is simply sadistic. The execution is just so flat-out gross that it quickly overwhelms whatever efficacy of the plot's already heavy-handed message.
Now, to be fair, this was written at a much earlier stage in his life and probably reflects a level of immaturity and "edginess" that Porter's grown out of. In fact, given several of his reflections in his 2022 memoir/treatise "Death to Deconstruction" I imagine that Porter would write a much different novel if he were to rewrite "Nevada" now. Perhaps I just dislike this earlier work of his because I have perpetually seen how great Porter could be (in 2009 when this written, his musical work was even then top-tier for the genre), and Nevada seems like too much indulgence in his darker tendencies without enough self-control or finesse.
February 11, 2013
This is one of those books that is not for the faint of heart. Full of gross imagery throughout and tough to read situations, it is hard to believe that the writer is a christian. However that is why I love this book so much. I had up until this book only read one other book (by the same author) that dealt with such taboo (in the christian world) situations. Adultery, rape, murder etc, all of these are highlighted in this book. The fact of the matter is to me that we need to stop trying to pretent like we have it all together. For so long I know I was just pretending to have my shit together when really I wasnt dealing with what was actually happening to me in my heart. A healthy dose of the reality of the world around us helped me understand the conditions of sin and its effects on the human heart.
The 'apocalypse' never seemed so tangible as it did in this book. It makes more sense to me that some hole would open up out of the ground in Nevada and birth the anti-christ in the form of a ziz. I know that this may never actually be the case, but all this talk in the 'church' seems to me to convey that everyone knows how the 'end' will look, when really we can't predict what is actually going to take place. It was refreshing to read a story that was meant to poke fun at the idea that we can know so much about the future.
The 'apocalypse' never seemed so tangible as it did in this book. It makes more sense to me that some hole would open up out of the ground in Nevada and birth the anti-christ in the form of a ziz. I know that this may never actually be the case, but all this talk in the 'church' seems to me to convey that everyone knows how the 'end' will look, when really we can't predict what is actually going to take place. It was refreshing to read a story that was meant to poke fun at the idea that we can know so much about the future.
October 31, 2025
Content warning:
- Children’s faces being eaten, and children being shot in the head.
- A talking animal digging out an 8 month old fetus from its mother’s belly, eating it, and then making a joke about it.
- Forced abortions of third trimester babies.
- Those same aborted babies being staked for a backdrop for a news broadcast.
- caged and drugged women whose vaginas are basically destroyed while being impregnated by oviraptor dinosaurs.
- The same women being thrown out in the dumpster when they die (named celebrities are among these).
- Women are whores that are only good for breeding. I seriously think this author hates women and children.
- Lots of dogma. Political speeches that sound evangelical but are completely anti-religious, anti-good, being preached by a creature with one of the names of the devil, and who is the most evil character I’ve ever read about.
- Surgery so a man can have both a dick and a vagina so that he can screw himself.
- A husband and wife being turned into conjoined twins (sharing from the hips down) because she is unable to take care of herself.
- a beloved pet being stomped to death.
- a very graphic kind of C- section after the mother was murdered with a drill to the head.
- Lots of brain splatter, grey matter, gore, intestines being pulled out, genitals being hacked off, etc.
- A receptionist asking everyone if they are a retard.
- People and creatures doing and saying things in the most awful way. True psychos.
- Oh and in case you missed it, dinosaurs breeding with humans to create giant killing machines.
- Children’s faces being eaten, and children being shot in the head.
- A talking animal digging out an 8 month old fetus from its mother’s belly, eating it, and then making a joke about it.
- Forced abortions of third trimester babies.
- Those same aborted babies being staked for a backdrop for a news broadcast.
- caged and drugged women whose vaginas are basically destroyed while being impregnated by oviraptor dinosaurs.
- The same women being thrown out in the dumpster when they die (named celebrities are among these).
- Women are whores that are only good for breeding. I seriously think this author hates women and children.
- Lots of dogma. Political speeches that sound evangelical but are completely anti-religious, anti-good, being preached by a creature with one of the names of the devil, and who is the most evil character I’ve ever read about.
- Surgery so a man can have both a dick and a vagina so that he can screw himself.
- A husband and wife being turned into conjoined twins (sharing from the hips down) because she is unable to take care of herself.
- a beloved pet being stomped to death.
- a very graphic kind of C- section after the mother was murdered with a drill to the head.
- Lots of brain splatter, grey matter, gore, intestines being pulled out, genitals being hacked off, etc.
- A receptionist asking everyone if they are a retard.
- People and creatures doing and saying things in the most awful way. True psychos.
- Oh and in case you missed it, dinosaurs breeding with humans to create giant killing machines.
October 19, 2023
For fans of Hellraizer, the Book of Eli, and the Bible. Insane from cover to cover. I've never read anything that made me feel so nauseous that I had to take smoke breaks or cry so hard I couldn't read through the tears. Not for the faint of heart, especially when it comes to sexual violence and body horror.
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July 27, 2024Does anyone have a copy of this book they are willing to sell? I am such a Josh Dies fan
July 29, 2020
I have always had a morbid curiosity with eschatological fiction. Growing up Roman Catholic but surrounded by fundamentalist nondenominational evangelicals, I took up a perverse fascination with how their illiberal politics and somewhat convenient dogma feed into one another and ultimately culminate in the belief that The Big One is near: the religious End Times. Nevada (self-published, out-of-print) is far from one of Pat Robertson's forays into fiction - author and screamo artist Josh S. Porter AKA Josh Dies is a self-described Christian anarchist - but the world he creates in this novel is noticeably reflected through that parti pris lens. Atheists are portrayed as having the utmost contempt for the faithful, the entire world seems to hold esoteric Christian knowledge (would everybody r e a l l y know where the term "Belial" comes from?) and there is almost obsessive preoccupation with abortion. I appreciated the splatterpunk genre tropes - not always my cup of tea - and there are points where you have to applaud Mr. Porter for "going there." The Bible, after all, is quite gory. But overall, the fact that all of the women characters are either devoted mothers or (referred to as) whores never failed to cause teeth-grinding, and I could have done without the (angelic) developmentally atypical character's narration being written with fractured misspellings. An obscure curiosity at best.
December 5, 2012
The writing could be improved, but the use of diaries and video logs is a very interesting way to reveal the story. The surrealism is right up my alley too. It is the most graphically violent book I have ever read, so it is not for the faint of heart, but the characters and plot are what hold the book up. I recommend this book if you have a strong stomach, enjoy talking dinosaurs, and are more concerned with story than groundbreaking writing.
September 23, 2015
I don't remember the last book I finished so quickly. I put off reading it for years but I'm glad I finally picked it off my shelf. The plot and format, told by journal entries and media snippets, really drives the novel. The author's writing is not the best (why I didn't give a 5 star) but doesn't distract from the story. Not for the faint of heart, it's gross and emotionally disturbing, but intriguing.
September 19, 2016
Okay, so I would have to say, this is probably one of my favorite books. I absolutely loved it. I won't spoil it for you though! I just hate I can't read the next one! Hopefully I will get the chance!
February 1, 2012
I love this book!! I can't wait for the second one. Josh is a truly talented writer, definitely one of my favorites.
July 17, 2015
This book is not for the faint of heart! But if you can power through some grisly scenes it had a powerful message that remains with you long after you turn the last page.
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September 11, 2015Incredible.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews