Tower

by Jack BC

We have chased meaning away; in its place grows The Tower, always expanding into the world around it and leaving blissfully-fulfilled employees in its wake.

I am a doctor who specialises in souls; a potent advertising slogan leaves ripples in the world of the spirit.

Love is remembered; maybe S. was responsible for everything, but who else do I have?

Blending Franz Kafka, Mikhail Bulgakov, Jacques Ellul and Shadow of Chernobyl, Tower is a search for meaning in a world no longer organised for humans.

323 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 6, 2023

Reviews

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A worthwhile read if for no other reason than the striking symbolic imagery of the surreal dream world Jack has created. This completely absurd world is played more or less straight, though it definitely gave me a few chuckles in the first half at least.

The book definitely struggles to stay engaging in the middle section and overall it probably could have used a trim of about 50-10p pages. ultimately the book is at its strongest when it leans into the absurdity and dream logic full-force , and the final act as well as the lead up to it thankfully end the book on a fairly high note.

[Patrick K.]

I read The Tower after stumbling across the author's podcast, The Bookclub from Hell, by accident. It makes sense that Jack is, per podcast lore, a disillusioned former doctor with a penchant for psychedelics, since his debut novel is a surreal fantasy in which the medical imaging of a patient's soul is a routine procedure, and in which an omniscient and omnipotent corporation turns people into literal objects. The satire is sometimes a bit obvious, but there were some memorable dreamlike images, particularly the titular tower, a kind of urban highrise Barad-dûr. It may also be an allusion to the tarot card of the same name, which in the Rider-Waite deck features a burning edifice on the verge of ruin after being struck by lightning, signifying a major change. In that spirit, I wish Jack all the best in his new career as novelist, podcaster, and almologist.

[James Randal Augustine · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's an old saying that you should only, "Write what you know", and this author knows about the medical world, having a girl-boss wife, and existential dread about the future of humanity under machine capitalism. Tower is an absurd and hilarious piece of fiction that will have you giggling when you're not experiencing horrific dread. The High-Performers are a bunch of sigma grindset money maxxers and I hope there will be Twitter fanart of these chads. The book feels like it would be adapted into a 90's adventure game.
This book would be perfect for an overworked nurse or a philosophy weirdo who needs a chuckle.

[Liam Blackford · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Not answering, I recognised my plate: a former patient of mine, a chronically objectified. I thought of Hat and Briefcase again and fought down curiosity. At first this plate found his objectifications disturbing, but each time he became a plate, he resented his human form a little more. His interests began to centre on holding things, and old hobbies not involving supporting, elevating or otherwise keeping objects stationary fell away. He was found at work, furtively holding coworkers’ lunch in his hands without moving. He would bashfully apologise, but was always drawn back. He lost weight: his interest in food was not of a nutritive sort. I only began to see him once the repeated objectification syndrome had truly set in. He would tearfully describe his ennui and lack of purpose. A human life offered him little - he was to be a plate in The Tower or nothing at all. The souls of the repeatedly objectified are strange things. Malleable in the beginning, softening with each objectification, until a point is reached and then they harden, wrought into whatever shape The Tower needs. If plates had souls, would they look like that of my patient? But only human plates have souls. My patient smiled softly; I’m not sure if he recognised me. He made me uncomfortable, so I covered his face with a bread roll."

[Hugo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t read fiction but I read this and there was a talking brief-case, people turning into tables and a bunch of flying teeth which were also walls in a meadow or something like that. But it was very good 4/5!

[Lachlan Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant debut novel

[Anna Bohac · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have read in a long time.

[Christobel Botten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly engaged by its dark pathos and absurdity. A bleak yet comically engaging take on the dictates of work and workings of our world.

[agrumpyoldman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love you Jack