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The Story Eaters of Yamm
Not yet published
Expected 17 Jun 26An irreverent, suspenseful, profoundly original novel about a group of science fiction writers hired to gameplan an alien invasion, led by Larry Palczewski, a struggling novelist who can't perceive time.
What starts for Larry as a desperately needed source of free lunches turns sinister and inconvenient when the alien snails the group is fictionalizing actually launch an invasion, and begin taking over humanity's novels. Then it is up to Larry, unlikeliest of protagonists, to author a new ending before humankind is eaten by the ultimate bad story: his own.
“Read this hilarious, profound, outsider sci-fi, where neurodivergence is just one of many alternative worldviews. By the end you’re so enmeshed in Larry’s brain you’re predicting his thoughts.”
What starts for Larry as a desperately needed source of free lunches turns sinister and inconvenient when the alien snails the group is fictionalizing actually launch an invasion, and begin taking over humanity's novels. Then it is up to Larry, unlikeliest of protagonists, to author a new ending before humankind is eaten by the ultimate bad story: his own.
“Read this hilarious, profound, outsider sci-fi, where neurodivergence is just one of many alternative worldviews. By the end you’re so enmeshed in Larry’s brain you’re predicting his thoughts.”
322 pages, Paperback
Expected publication June 17, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 14, 2025
3 ⭐️ I’m 100% the target audience for this book. If you like straight up bizarre, humorous, self referential sci fi this one’s for you! If you want your stories to make sense or have all questions answered by the end, walk away because this one will enrage you.
What worked the best was the author wasn’t afraid to be silly. He took sci fi tropes & exaggerated them to the extreme, then he took all those exaggerated tropes tossed them into the book & imagined them bumping up against each other. It gets weird and varies in how effective it is. There were moments where I was giggling while reading. Any of the sci fi author mob moments really got me. Other times the jokes just didn’t land. I do think parts of it could have easily been cut down but it was only slightly bloated.
Do you ever read a book & think depending on the ending this will be a 1 or a 5 star book? That was me all the way up to the end. I don’t want to spoil things so I’ll try to talk around it. The author chose a middle ground ending & wound up with a middle rating. The rest of the book was pushed to the extreme & I wanted the ending to do that too. Part of the reason why I was disappointed in the ending is it left me feeling like what was the point of reading that…
What worked the best was the author wasn’t afraid to be silly. He took sci fi tropes & exaggerated them to the extreme, then he took all those exaggerated tropes tossed them into the book & imagined them bumping up against each other. It gets weird and varies in how effective it is. There were moments where I was giggling while reading. Any of the sci fi author mob moments really got me. Other times the jokes just didn’t land. I do think parts of it could have easily been cut down but it was only slightly bloated.
Do you ever read a book & think depending on the ending this will be a 1 or a 5 star book? That was me all the way up to the end. I don’t want to spoil things so I’ll try to talk around it. The author chose a middle ground ending & wound up with a middle rating. The rest of the book was pushed to the extreme & I wanted the ending to do that too. Part of the reason why I was disappointed in the ending is it left me feeling like what was the point of reading that…
November 23, 2025
A mad-cap, metafictive romp with Douglas Adams-esque phrasing and surreal landscapes and plotting that keep you guessing what’s going on, what happened up until this point, and when on Earth Larry’s going to get his next meal.
I found this an enjoyably bizarre read, peppered with humour and straight-up baffling descriptions that meant I had to actively strap in and pay attention to every word to have any idea how a scene was unfolding and what was happening to any of the characters. I really enjoyed the non-linear chapter numeration and the concept of Larry’s temporal dysphasia - something I’ve yet to come across in any other book, film, or show as explored in some much detail, and something which not only caused a lot of amusement and frustration throughout the story but actually had some plot relevance in the end. The writing reminded me strongly of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in its absurd juxtaposition of aliens, utterly random images, and mundanity. The characters, though occasionally tiresome, were nonetheless distinct from each other and I particularly rooted for Demetrius (grey or otherwise). They each had their own quirks and voices, and Larry himself was a worthy protagonist that - despite his eccentricity - I never really tired of. Honourable mention goes to Dosia, too, who may be the most dangerous woman on the planet but seems (vaguely?) to have a heart and sense of heroism inside her. Perhaps deep, deep down.
However. Reading this book was, in many ways, like stroking a globulous alien snail: oddly satisfying, but almost impossible to hold on to. It leaves your hand coated in a slimy residue that allows you an impression of what the book is about, without ever fully clueing you in. And, most importantly, once you stop stroking the snail - and once you’ve spent a while scrutinising the alien slime, making sensible shapes out of it and feeling almost content with what’s just happened - it’s very hard to galvanise yourself to start stroking the snail again.
In other words, once I put it down, I found it very challenging to find the motivation to want to continue reading it. I think the problem lies in the fact that, despite all its wonderful Hitchhiker’s stylings and novel concepts, the overarching setting and plot (an obscure tech company hiring science fiction writers for a top-secret project) just aren’t that interesting. While I’ve never really connected with the (admittedly very loose) plot of Hitchhiker’s either, the mind-boggling aliens and space travel and everything in between did have a robust charm to them that unfortunately I think Story Eaters of Yamm, for want of a more interesting story arc, lacks. Yes, there are some aliens. But they only really show up towards the very end, during a sequence which is far too exciting to last only 20 pages. All the metafictive stylings between Larry and the AI, all the speculative genre pushings that try to pull everything together just… fell a little flat, for me.
Does it work? In many ways, yes. Is it an enjoyable read? If you’ve had your morning coffee, and maybe a few more just in case. I very much liked the ending, and I thought the concept of the story eaters themselves was excellent. Unfortunately, for me, this falls into the pile of books about books - where the book it’s about (though in this case they are one and the same) is actually a lot more interesting than the one I’m reading.
Thank you to NetGalley and the story eaters for the advance copy of this book!
I found this an enjoyably bizarre read, peppered with humour and straight-up baffling descriptions that meant I had to actively strap in and pay attention to every word to have any idea how a scene was unfolding and what was happening to any of the characters. I really enjoyed the non-linear chapter numeration and the concept of Larry’s temporal dysphasia - something I’ve yet to come across in any other book, film, or show as explored in some much detail, and something which not only caused a lot of amusement and frustration throughout the story but actually had some plot relevance in the end. The writing reminded me strongly of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in its absurd juxtaposition of aliens, utterly random images, and mundanity. The characters, though occasionally tiresome, were nonetheless distinct from each other and I particularly rooted for Demetrius (grey or otherwise). They each had their own quirks and voices, and Larry himself was a worthy protagonist that - despite his eccentricity - I never really tired of. Honourable mention goes to Dosia, too, who may be the most dangerous woman on the planet but seems (vaguely?) to have a heart and sense of heroism inside her. Perhaps deep, deep down.
However. Reading this book was, in many ways, like stroking a globulous alien snail: oddly satisfying, but almost impossible to hold on to. It leaves your hand coated in a slimy residue that allows you an impression of what the book is about, without ever fully clueing you in. And, most importantly, once you stop stroking the snail - and once you’ve spent a while scrutinising the alien slime, making sensible shapes out of it and feeling almost content with what’s just happened - it’s very hard to galvanise yourself to start stroking the snail again.
In other words, once I put it down, I found it very challenging to find the motivation to want to continue reading it. I think the problem lies in the fact that, despite all its wonderful Hitchhiker’s stylings and novel concepts, the overarching setting and plot (an obscure tech company hiring science fiction writers for a top-secret project) just aren’t that interesting. While I’ve never really connected with the (admittedly very loose) plot of Hitchhiker’s either, the mind-boggling aliens and space travel and everything in between did have a robust charm to them that unfortunately I think Story Eaters of Yamm, for want of a more interesting story arc, lacks. Yes, there are some aliens. But they only really show up towards the very end, during a sequence which is far too exciting to last only 20 pages. All the metafictive stylings between Larry and the AI, all the speculative genre pushings that try to pull everything together just… fell a little flat, for me.
Does it work? In many ways, yes. Is it an enjoyable read? If you’ve had your morning coffee, and maybe a few more just in case. I very much liked the ending, and I thought the concept of the story eaters themselves was excellent. Unfortunately, for me, this falls into the pile of books about books - where the book it’s about (though in this case they are one and the same) is actually a lot more interesting than the one I’m reading.
Thank you to NetGalley and the story eaters for the advance copy of this book!
December 9, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
This was an odd but increasingly interesting story, which I ended up enjoying as it progressed, but I have one big problem with it, and that is Larry.
I don't know, I don't think having the neurodivergent protagonist of the story be obnoxious, still living with his mother well into adulthood (and then being an ass to his mother), basically harrassing his agent, constantly pondering people's ethnicities, and generally being THE worst stereotype of an autistic person was very #woke #representation of Hincker, but what do I know. My first note on the book was literally "also idk how i feel about the neurodiv protagonist being a weirdo who can't take a no and still lives with his mum whom, it seems, he expects to do everything for him", and sadly, it didn't get better during the novel, instead it got even worse (such as him being a grown ass man and having some kind of weird feelings??? for his literary agent (who's no longer his literary agent, but he ignores that and says she is just playing hard to get, basically) whom he then assumes to not even have finished high school yet??? The emails he writes to her are SO uncomfortable to read).
Also, some of the weird quirks of the novel just... made no sense. The chapters were given random numbers, but the story still progressed linearly, which... I don't know, it felt like a choice made to be ~quirky~ without actually having any bearing on the novel.
(Also, I find the example constantly given to illustrate Larry's Temporal Dysphasia kind of nonsensical - he says he has no idea if 10am is later or earlier than 11am, but does not appear to have issues with numbers otherwise, and thus should know that 11 follows 10, and 11am thus logically has to be after 10am, even if he does not understand the concept of "late". It doesn't make sense to have him be alright with numbers in all other contexts but then forget the sequence of numbers here.)
The idea of the story itself was interesting, though, and I ended up enjoying the novel once the plot picked up, but I was very close to just not ever finishing it because of the above-mentioned Larry Issues. Which would have kind of been a shame, as the idea for the story was unique and very interesting, and I am ultimately glad I finished this novel. I'd just advise the author to write less of an autistic caricature next time.
This was an odd but increasingly interesting story, which I ended up enjoying as it progressed, but I have one big problem with it, and that is Larry.
I don't know, I don't think having the neurodivergent protagonist of the story be obnoxious, still living with his mother well into adulthood (and then being an ass to his mother), basically harrassing his agent, constantly pondering people's ethnicities, and generally being THE worst stereotype of an autistic person was very #woke #representation of Hincker, but what do I know. My first note on the book was literally "also idk how i feel about the neurodiv protagonist being a weirdo who can't take a no and still lives with his mum whom, it seems, he expects to do everything for him", and sadly, it didn't get better during the novel, instead it got even worse (such as him being a grown ass man and having some kind of weird feelings??? for his literary agent (who's no longer his literary agent, but he ignores that and says she is just playing hard to get, basically) whom he then assumes to not even have finished high school yet??? The emails he writes to her are SO uncomfortable to read).
Also, some of the weird quirks of the novel just... made no sense. The chapters were given random numbers, but the story still progressed linearly, which... I don't know, it felt like a choice made to be ~quirky~ without actually having any bearing on the novel.
(Also, I find the example constantly given to illustrate Larry's Temporal Dysphasia kind of nonsensical - he says he has no idea if 10am is later or earlier than 11am, but does not appear to have issues with numbers otherwise, and thus should know that 11 follows 10, and 11am thus logically has to be after 10am, even if he does not understand the concept of "late". It doesn't make sense to have him be alright with numbers in all other contexts but then forget the sequence of numbers here.)
The idea of the story itself was interesting, though, and I ended up enjoying the novel once the plot picked up, but I was very close to just not ever finishing it because of the above-mentioned Larry Issues. Which would have kind of been a shame, as the idea for the story was unique and very interesting, and I am ultimately glad I finished this novel. I'd just advise the author to write less of an autistic caricature next time.
October 22, 2025
~ Vielen Dank an den Autor für das Netgalley-Rezensionsexemplar. Alle Meinungen meine eigenen. ~
Also, versuchen wir, das zusammenzufassen: Larry, seines Zeichens SciFi-Autor (er überarbeitet seinen Roman gerade zum 28. Mal und da er seit der 4. Revision nichts geändert hat, muss er nun perfekt sein), wird von seiner Mutter gezwungen, sich einen Job zu suchen. Welcher wäre da perfekter als der eines ominösen Konzerns, der SciFi-Autorys sucht, damit sie sich für die Kundschaft eine kreative Zukunft für den Fall einer Alieninvasion ausdenken? Das Problem dabei ist: Larry kann keine Zeit wahrnehmen, er organisiert sein Leben in Küchenweckern - das treibt seine Chefin natürlich in den Wahnsinn und auch seine Mitstreitenden bei dem Projekt sind reichlich ... fasziniert. Dass seine Schreibgruppe am Ende von einer AI kontrolliert wird, stößt nicht nur mir sauer auf.
"I am a Protagonist now. Do you understand? A motley crew of idiots depends on me for guidance."
Okay, dafuq did I just read? Auf der Suche nach anderen abgedrehten Büchern, die das Loch, das "Running close to the Wind" hinterlassen hat, stopfen könnten, bin ich auf dieses Werk gestoßen. Beworben wurde es als laugh-out-loud funny mit neurodivergenten Charakteren und ja, das kann ich so unterschreiben. Die völlig abstrusen Plotlines, die da reinspielen, sind jedoch ein ganz anderes Kaliber. Ein Beispiel? Larry ist der festen Überzeugung, dass eine Literaturagentin, die sein Manuskript diverse Male abgelehnt hat, nur die scheue Schönheit spielt und schreibt ihr jeden Abend E-Mails. Ich konnte mir nicht helfen, als das von ihrer Perspektive aus zu sehen - also entweder hat sie ihn blockiert oder sie ruft bald die Polizei. Außerdem wird er in seiner Schreibgruppe dann zum Anführer erwählt - nennt sich aber nicht Moderator o.ä. sondern Protagonist. Klar soweit. Oder dieser Plot: Seine Mutter ist eine Hoarderin, das ganze Haus ist voller Kram, den Larry nicht anfassen darf. Um sie davon abzuhalten, weitere dubiose Tauschgeschäfte einzugehen, engagiert er zwei Eskorts, die seine Mutter kontrollieren sollen - doch die machen lieber Party mit der Alten. Und dann taucht das FBI auf ...
Ein spannender Hinweis war, dass Larrys Hirnströmungen ausschließlich Delta-Wellen sind, also Traumwellen, obwohl er wach ist. War für mich total plausibel - Mann kommt von Arbeit nach Hause und seine Mutter hat das ganze Haus voller Aquarien gestellt. Eindeutig ein Traum, nur dass es für Larry Realität ist. Was das wohl bedeuten könnte...? Gegen Ende sind alle zeitlich verwirrt, könnte Larry mit seiner temporalen Dysphasie also Recht gehabt haben?!
Nicht nur die Story ist komplett abgedreht, auch das Buch selbst ist ... sagen wir individuell: Es beginnt mit dem Inhaltsverzeichnis. Jawohl, da startet der Wahnsinn mit Kapiteln wie "16.5" oder "319" (zwischen Kapitel 56 und Kapitel 1). Zudem endet jedes Kapitel (von dem ihr nicht wisst, ob es 3 Minuten oder 47 Minuten dauern wird) mit einem unvollständigen Satz (weil Larry abdriftet) sowie einer absichtlich leeren Seite (Sinn wird sich noch erschließen).
Falls ihr ein Buch wollt, das euch genau sagt, wo ihr gerade steht ("you're officially in the soggy middle here") oder dringend Tipps braucht, welche SciFi-Autor*innen ihr gelesen haben müsst (Heinlein), dann ist das euer Buch. Ich habe es innerhalb von 24 Stunden weggelesen. Kevin Hincker muss komplett gaga sein - das ganze Buch strotzt vor Szenen, in denen ich das Gefühl hatte, er hat sein Ideen-Notizbuch einfach auf die Seiten gekippt. Es gibt diverse Szenen, in denen Larry, auf der Suche nach Inspiration, durch seine Kreativlandschaft wandert und die sind einfach eine durchgedrehte Idee nach der nächsten.
Besonders schön fand ich die rigorose Verteidigung von Autorenschaft gegenüber der künstlichen Intelligenz:
"Storytelling is exclusively a human gift. A story is an experience - can an AI have an experience that it can impart to anyone?"
Soviel kann ich sagen: Dieses Buch war eine Erfahrung.
Achtung, Verwechslungsgefahr:
Titel nicht verwechseln mit "The Book Eaters", eine komplett andere, komplett abgedrehte Story.
Außerdem: Cover nicht verwechseln mit "Of Monsters and Mainframes", das auch noch auf meiner Liste steht.
Das Buch erscheint im Juni 26 im Selfpublishing.
"Story, the highest expression of human spirit, was the sole domain of human intelligence."
~ 22.10.2025
Also, versuchen wir, das zusammenzufassen: Larry, seines Zeichens SciFi-Autor (er überarbeitet seinen Roman gerade zum 28. Mal und da er seit der 4. Revision nichts geändert hat, muss er nun perfekt sein), wird von seiner Mutter gezwungen, sich einen Job zu suchen. Welcher wäre da perfekter als der eines ominösen Konzerns, der SciFi-Autorys sucht, damit sie sich für die Kundschaft eine kreative Zukunft für den Fall einer Alieninvasion ausdenken? Das Problem dabei ist: Larry kann keine Zeit wahrnehmen, er organisiert sein Leben in Küchenweckern - das treibt seine Chefin natürlich in den Wahnsinn und auch seine Mitstreitenden bei dem Projekt sind reichlich ... fasziniert. Dass seine Schreibgruppe am Ende von einer AI kontrolliert wird, stößt nicht nur mir sauer auf.
"I am a Protagonist now. Do you understand? A motley crew of idiots depends on me for guidance."
Okay, dafuq did I just read? Auf der Suche nach anderen abgedrehten Büchern, die das Loch, das "Running close to the Wind" hinterlassen hat, stopfen könnten, bin ich auf dieses Werk gestoßen. Beworben wurde es als laugh-out-loud funny mit neurodivergenten Charakteren und ja, das kann ich so unterschreiben. Die völlig abstrusen Plotlines, die da reinspielen, sind jedoch ein ganz anderes Kaliber. Ein Beispiel? Larry ist der festen Überzeugung, dass eine Literaturagentin, die sein Manuskript diverse Male abgelehnt hat, nur die scheue Schönheit spielt und schreibt ihr jeden Abend E-Mails. Ich konnte mir nicht helfen, als das von ihrer Perspektive aus zu sehen - also entweder hat sie ihn blockiert oder sie ruft bald die Polizei. Außerdem wird er in seiner Schreibgruppe dann zum Anführer erwählt - nennt sich aber nicht Moderator o.ä. sondern Protagonist. Klar soweit. Oder dieser Plot: Seine Mutter ist eine Hoarderin, das ganze Haus ist voller Kram, den Larry nicht anfassen darf. Um sie davon abzuhalten, weitere dubiose Tauschgeschäfte einzugehen, engagiert er zwei Eskorts, die seine Mutter kontrollieren sollen - doch die machen lieber Party mit der Alten. Und dann taucht das FBI auf ...
Ein spannender Hinweis war, dass Larrys Hirnströmungen ausschließlich Delta-Wellen sind, also Traumwellen, obwohl er wach ist. War für mich total plausibel - Mann kommt von Arbeit nach Hause und seine Mutter hat das ganze Haus voller Aquarien gestellt. Eindeutig ein Traum, nur dass es für Larry Realität ist. Was das wohl bedeuten könnte...? Gegen Ende sind alle zeitlich verwirrt, könnte Larry mit seiner temporalen Dysphasie also Recht gehabt haben?!
Nicht nur die Story ist komplett abgedreht, auch das Buch selbst ist ... sagen wir individuell: Es beginnt mit dem Inhaltsverzeichnis. Jawohl, da startet der Wahnsinn mit Kapiteln wie "16.5" oder "319" (zwischen Kapitel 56 und Kapitel 1). Zudem endet jedes Kapitel (von dem ihr nicht wisst, ob es 3 Minuten oder 47 Minuten dauern wird) mit einem unvollständigen Satz (weil Larry abdriftet) sowie einer absichtlich leeren Seite (Sinn wird sich noch erschließen).
Falls ihr ein Buch wollt, das euch genau sagt, wo ihr gerade steht ("you're officially in the soggy middle here") oder dringend Tipps braucht, welche SciFi-Autor*innen ihr gelesen haben müsst (Heinlein), dann ist das euer Buch. Ich habe es innerhalb von 24 Stunden weggelesen. Kevin Hincker muss komplett gaga sein - das ganze Buch strotzt vor Szenen, in denen ich das Gefühl hatte, er hat sein Ideen-Notizbuch einfach auf die Seiten gekippt. Es gibt diverse Szenen, in denen Larry, auf der Suche nach Inspiration, durch seine Kreativlandschaft wandert und die sind einfach eine durchgedrehte Idee nach der nächsten.
Besonders schön fand ich die rigorose Verteidigung von Autorenschaft gegenüber der künstlichen Intelligenz:
"Storytelling is exclusively a human gift. A story is an experience - can an AI have an experience that it can impart to anyone?"
Soviel kann ich sagen: Dieses Buch war eine Erfahrung.
Achtung, Verwechslungsgefahr:
Titel nicht verwechseln mit "The Book Eaters", eine komplett andere, komplett abgedrehte Story.
Außerdem: Cover nicht verwechseln mit "Of Monsters and Mainframes", das auch noch auf meiner Liste steht.
Das Buch erscheint im Juni 26 im Selfpublishing.
"Story, the highest expression of human spirit, was the sole domain of human intelligence."
~ 22.10.2025
November 28, 2025
Well, that was… something. If you like a weird read, you’ll probably enjoy this one.
“If you survive the day and are still able to speak, you will have a story you can use to terrify other people’s children.”
Desperate for a free lunch, Larry—a rather broke science fiction novelist—applies for a job at Sky Company, an organisation that specialises in predicting the future with the help of science fiction writers. When his attempt to quit fails, he is promoted to the leader of the Alien Invasion Cohort. Needing someone to take care of his hoarding natural disaster of a mother, he rents his house out to a group of sex workers who will look after his mum.
Makes sense, right?
Would wonders ever cease?
To start off, this book was labelled as having neurodivergent representation, which is true…kind of. Larry had audio processing disorder and Temporal Dysphasia, the latter not being completely made up—which is fine. It’s fiction, after all. However, how it was executed rubbed me the wrong way. Temporal Dysphasia would be an extreme time blindness, rendering Larry unable to tell time or even understand its concept—Cool! I can get on board with that. What bothered me though, was Larry’s unwillingness to admit that time exists, just because he can’t understand it.
Additionally, he didn’t utter a serious word throughout the entirety of the book. With everything and everyone, he had to disagree. At some point, I started to wonder if our beloved main character was on drugs.
But, in all fairness, I wondered that about most of the characters.
He would ride his crippled keyboard to victory like a knight atop a lathered horse, and then collapse to the floor beneath his des, where he would probably take a nap. Nothing would stop him.
Furthermore, the plot felt a bit formulaic: Larry is late to work-> the cohort does anything but the work they’re getting paid for-> Tanya (their supervisor) scolds them-> they go home early-> Dosia (Larry’s mother) has turned their apartment upside down and filled it with one new collection or the other-> he sends Becky (a publisher) a rather delusional email.
In addition, the book progressed rather slowly. I was promised alien snails! Where are the alien snails?! I was almost at three quarters and we were still not through what was set up in the synopsis.
“Doing nothing is a science fiction novelist’s natural state.”
However, I will admit, Hincker does have a good sense of humour. His jokes made me laugh, which made up for some of the dragging plot. Yet, I think I would have preferred it if the silliness was dosed a little better. It was constantly a ten on the silly scale, which became a bit exhausting at times. Alternating the comedy with more serious paragraphs would have made the jokes hit harder in my opinion.
The Sky Company complex revealed itself in layers, like a confusing, attractively designed onion where nobody worked.
Perhaps this book is just not for me.
Still, if you love a book that’s weird, silly, and crammed with jokes, The Story Eaters of Yamm is a great read!
Though if you’re looking for something with a bit more depth or tension… maybe skip this one.
“Give yourself a round of applause—you’re the Alien Invasion Cohort!”
“If you survive the day and are still able to speak, you will have a story you can use to terrify other people’s children.”
Desperate for a free lunch, Larry—a rather broke science fiction novelist—applies for a job at Sky Company, an organisation that specialises in predicting the future with the help of science fiction writers. When his attempt to quit fails, he is promoted to the leader of the Alien Invasion Cohort. Needing someone to take care of his hoarding natural disaster of a mother, he rents his house out to a group of sex workers who will look after his mum.
Makes sense, right?
Would wonders ever cease?
To start off, this book was labelled as having neurodivergent representation, which is true…kind of. Larry had audio processing disorder and Temporal Dysphasia, the latter not being completely made up—which is fine. It’s fiction, after all. However, how it was executed rubbed me the wrong way. Temporal Dysphasia would be an extreme time blindness, rendering Larry unable to tell time or even understand its concept—Cool! I can get on board with that. What bothered me though, was Larry’s unwillingness to admit that time exists, just because he can’t understand it.
Additionally, he didn’t utter a serious word throughout the entirety of the book. With everything and everyone, he had to disagree. At some point, I started to wonder if our beloved main character was on drugs.
But, in all fairness, I wondered that about most of the characters.
He would ride his crippled keyboard to victory like a knight atop a lathered horse, and then collapse to the floor beneath his des, where he would probably take a nap. Nothing would stop him.
Furthermore, the plot felt a bit formulaic: Larry is late to work-> the cohort does anything but the work they’re getting paid for-> Tanya (their supervisor) scolds them-> they go home early-> Dosia (Larry’s mother) has turned their apartment upside down and filled it with one new collection or the other-> he sends Becky (a publisher) a rather delusional email.
In addition, the book progressed rather slowly. I was promised alien snails! Where are the alien snails?! I was almost at three quarters and we were still not through what was set up in the synopsis.
“Doing nothing is a science fiction novelist’s natural state.”
However, I will admit, Hincker does have a good sense of humour. His jokes made me laugh, which made up for some of the dragging plot. Yet, I think I would have preferred it if the silliness was dosed a little better. It was constantly a ten on the silly scale, which became a bit exhausting at times. Alternating the comedy with more serious paragraphs would have made the jokes hit harder in my opinion.
The Sky Company complex revealed itself in layers, like a confusing, attractively designed onion where nobody worked.
Perhaps this book is just not for me.
Still, if you love a book that’s weird, silly, and crammed with jokes, The Story Eaters of Yamm is a great read!
Though if you’re looking for something with a bit more depth or tension… maybe skip this one.
“Give yourself a round of applause—you’re the Alien Invasion Cohort!”
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
It is rare to find a story that feels chaotic but meaningfully constructed. The Story Eaters of Yamm manages to toe that line from the outset. Immediately the book is strange, playful, and unafraid to take risks. It commits fully to a wonderful chaos. The first emails Larry sends had me truly laughing out loud. As this is a novel that embraces absurdity while still asking its reader to stay emotionally engaged. Although this balance does fall short on occasion.
At the heart of the story is Larry, whose temporal dysplasia shapes his character, and the entire reading experience. His fractured relationship with time is often hilarious, offering moments of sharp, unexpected comedy. However, it is also deliberately frustrating. Conversations loop, events interrupt themselves, and arrive out of order, mirroring Larry’s own disorientation. This choice is bold though intermittently effective, it will test some readers’ patience. At times, the confusion feels purposeful and playful but it borders on overwhelming. This discomfort feels intentional, as the reader’s rising tension and frustration come to mirror Larry’s own. Whether or not readers will enjoy this narrative style will boil down to personal preference. Personally, I yo-yoed between loving and loathing it.
The use of AI, while unnerving at times, comes off as stale in the beginning but unfurles as the tale carries on. The idea of stories as sustenance is explored in inventive ways, allowing the author to comment on memory, time, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. When the book slows down enough to let these ideas breathe, it really shines. There are moments of genuine poignancy hidden beneath the humour and chaos, rewarding readers who are willing to ride the rollercoaster to the end.
Uneven pacing does lower the book's rating. The narrative momentum surges and stalls in unexpected places, which can make it difficult to fully immerself yourself in the emotional arcs of the supporting cast. Most characters feel more like ideas than people, painted vividly on the page but left just out of reach. A little more time spent developing these relationships would have strengthened the story’s impact. Although, Dosia may be one of the most outlandish characters I've ever read, this developement alone is worth reading for.
Despite these issues, The Story Eaters of Yamm is undeniably memorable. It is inventive, funny, and unapologetically bizarre, offering something genuinely different in a market often crowded with familiar structures. Readers who enjoy experimental storytelling and don’t mind feeling slightly unmoored will find a lot to love here. When the book works, it works brilliantly. Embracing the messy, clever, and full of heart beneath the madness is the only way to enjoy this tale.
At the heart of the story is Larry, whose temporal dysplasia shapes his character, and the entire reading experience. His fractured relationship with time is often hilarious, offering moments of sharp, unexpected comedy. However, it is also deliberately frustrating. Conversations loop, events interrupt themselves, and arrive out of order, mirroring Larry’s own disorientation. This choice is bold though intermittently effective, it will test some readers’ patience. At times, the confusion feels purposeful and playful but it borders on overwhelming. This discomfort feels intentional, as the reader’s rising tension and frustration come to mirror Larry’s own. Whether or not readers will enjoy this narrative style will boil down to personal preference. Personally, I yo-yoed between loving and loathing it.
The use of AI, while unnerving at times, comes off as stale in the beginning but unfurles as the tale carries on. The idea of stories as sustenance is explored in inventive ways, allowing the author to comment on memory, time, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. When the book slows down enough to let these ideas breathe, it really shines. There are moments of genuine poignancy hidden beneath the humour and chaos, rewarding readers who are willing to ride the rollercoaster to the end.
Uneven pacing does lower the book's rating. The narrative momentum surges and stalls in unexpected places, which can make it difficult to fully immerself yourself in the emotional arcs of the supporting cast. Most characters feel more like ideas than people, painted vividly on the page but left just out of reach. A little more time spent developing these relationships would have strengthened the story’s impact. Although, Dosia may be one of the most outlandish characters I've ever read, this developement alone is worth reading for.
Despite these issues, The Story Eaters of Yamm is undeniably memorable. It is inventive, funny, and unapologetically bizarre, offering something genuinely different in a market often crowded with familiar structures. Readers who enjoy experimental storytelling and don’t mind feeling slightly unmoored will find a lot to love here. When the book works, it works brilliantly. Embracing the messy, clever, and full of heart beneath the madness is the only way to enjoy this tale.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley.
I’m really unsure where to begin with this one. I will start out by saying that I enjoy “weird” books. Do you want to stand out and be like no other book? Yeah, I’m your girl. This book seemed to fit the bill – and, for sure, it should be categorized in that fashion. Taking the most extreme Science Fiction tropes along with the current heightened concern about AI in every aspect of our lives, throwing them together with a main character who is completely unhooked from any reality and you have the setting for The Story Eaters of Yamm.
The Story Eaters of Yamm reads like a cross between The Confederacy of Dunces and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. With a nod to Confederacy on initial plot line and character relationship, the story quickly devolves (intentionally) as our …ahem…. protagonist… navigates his somewhat delusional and maladjusted life. However, the reader is left a little behind in the stream of consciousness that is Larry Palczewski, with no oar to help navigate for many chapters (which are not in order, by design?). Whether it’s his obsession with his never-was agent, Rebecca, or his codependent and dysfunctional relationship with his mother, Dosia, or his new-found friendship(?) with a effusive madam on the city bus, you are swept from shore to shore of his reality before you can truly get a sense of any of it.
Without giving too much of the core part of the book away, it’s safe to say that this book will likely have a cult-like following upon release. However, the ability to ride the wave of cohesion is inherently imperative to any reading and it was lacking in most of the prose. Larry’s dysfunctional persona was on full display, as were the members of his cohort.
Each of his cohort, however, were uniquely written without any overlapping characteristics, other than they were all science fiction writers. With an intentional over-the-top dramatic flair, they cavorted through the narrative, each with their own brand of crazy. The attention paid to the details of each personality as it affected the story is praiseworthy. Similarly, while disjointed from a plot perspective, the colorful, vibrant and specific details in each scene made pieces of each scene jump off the page to be seen in the reader’s mind.
Lastly, my version appears to still need some editing from a missed-word and grammar/spelling perspective, but it’s quite possible that this would be complete before the final version is available to the general public. I was not the biggest fan, but I can see where it will have a niche following.
I’m really unsure where to begin with this one. I will start out by saying that I enjoy “weird” books. Do you want to stand out and be like no other book? Yeah, I’m your girl. This book seemed to fit the bill – and, for sure, it should be categorized in that fashion. Taking the most extreme Science Fiction tropes along with the current heightened concern about AI in every aspect of our lives, throwing them together with a main character who is completely unhooked from any reality and you have the setting for The Story Eaters of Yamm.
The Story Eaters of Yamm reads like a cross between The Confederacy of Dunces and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. With a nod to Confederacy on initial plot line and character relationship, the story quickly devolves (intentionally) as our …ahem…. protagonist… navigates his somewhat delusional and maladjusted life. However, the reader is left a little behind in the stream of consciousness that is Larry Palczewski, with no oar to help navigate for many chapters (which are not in order, by design?). Whether it’s his obsession with his never-was agent, Rebecca, or his codependent and dysfunctional relationship with his mother, Dosia, or his new-found friendship(?) with a effusive madam on the city bus, you are swept from shore to shore of his reality before you can truly get a sense of any of it.
Without giving too much of the core part of the book away, it’s safe to say that this book will likely have a cult-like following upon release. However, the ability to ride the wave of cohesion is inherently imperative to any reading and it was lacking in most of the prose. Larry’s dysfunctional persona was on full display, as were the members of his cohort.
Each of his cohort, however, were uniquely written without any overlapping characteristics, other than they were all science fiction writers. With an intentional over-the-top dramatic flair, they cavorted through the narrative, each with their own brand of crazy. The attention paid to the details of each personality as it affected the story is praiseworthy. Similarly, while disjointed from a plot perspective, the colorful, vibrant and specific details in each scene made pieces of each scene jump off the page to be seen in the reader’s mind.
Lastly, my version appears to still need some editing from a missed-word and grammar/spelling perspective, but it’s quite possible that this would be complete before the final version is available to the general public. I was not the biggest fan, but I can see where it will have a niche following.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
=====================================
The Story Eaters of Yamm is a ridiculously absurd tale about a neurodivergent, wannabe science fiction writer with "Temporal Dysphasia" who leads a ragtag group of equally eccentric struggling authors in crafting a story about an alien invasion. Imagine John Scalzi colliding with Douglas Adams, and you’ll have a sense of just how wildly bizarre this book can be.
Where do I even begin with Larry Palczweski, the self-proclaimed “Protagonist”? He evokes the same unsettling ambiguity as Ted from Catriona Ward’s "The Last House on Needless Street", in that you’re never quite sure what’s real and what’s a product of his warped imagination. At least Larry isn’t suspected of being a serial killer, but his 90-year-old mother, Dosia… well, that’s another story entirely!
Larry is currently on version 28 of his debut novel, "How Many Times, Times Twenty Eight" . He’s convinced that his latest rejection is not a failure but a test of his resolve—a secret vote of confidence in his talent. His rewriting spree comes to an abrupt halt when his mother locks up the food and forces him to find a job. A Craigslist ad lands him in a cohort of science fiction writers at Sky Company Consulting, overseen by an AI who has an expressed interest in Larry. Their assignment? Create a story where Earth is invaded by a hostile alien species called "The Story Eaters of Yamm."
What follows is a surreal mash-up of escorts, snails, psychoactive spores, ninjas, pirates, and laser battles. Yes, it’s ridiculous, but that’s the point.
If you’ve ever dreamed of becoming a science fiction writer but struggled to figure out where to start, you’ll feel right at home here. You might even question why you’d want to join the ranks at all—because if this book is to be believed, they’re all quite mad.
Hincker peppers the narrative with nods to genre giants like Robert Heinlein, Ursula K. Le Guin, Orson Scott Card, Neal Stephenson, and William Gibson. There’s even a four-legged sidekick named Anne McCaffrey. Fans of John Scalzi will likely appreciate the humor. Personally, I found the"soggy middle " bogged down the story before it eventually sprinted toward its predictable climax. But never fear, the writer was able to pull out a final twist that delivered a satisfying end.
=====================================
The Story Eaters of Yamm is a ridiculously absurd tale about a neurodivergent, wannabe science fiction writer with "Temporal Dysphasia" who leads a ragtag group of equally eccentric struggling authors in crafting a story about an alien invasion. Imagine John Scalzi colliding with Douglas Adams, and you’ll have a sense of just how wildly bizarre this book can be.
Where do I even begin with Larry Palczweski, the self-proclaimed “Protagonist”? He evokes the same unsettling ambiguity as Ted from Catriona Ward’s "The Last House on Needless Street", in that you’re never quite sure what’s real and what’s a product of his warped imagination. At least Larry isn’t suspected of being a serial killer, but his 90-year-old mother, Dosia… well, that’s another story entirely!
Larry is currently on version 28 of his debut novel, "How Many Times, Times Twenty Eight" . He’s convinced that his latest rejection is not a failure but a test of his resolve—a secret vote of confidence in his talent. His rewriting spree comes to an abrupt halt when his mother locks up the food and forces him to find a job. A Craigslist ad lands him in a cohort of science fiction writers at Sky Company Consulting, overseen by an AI who has an expressed interest in Larry. Their assignment? Create a story where Earth is invaded by a hostile alien species called "The Story Eaters of Yamm."
What follows is a surreal mash-up of escorts, snails, psychoactive spores, ninjas, pirates, and laser battles. Yes, it’s ridiculous, but that’s the point.
If you’ve ever dreamed of becoming a science fiction writer but struggled to figure out where to start, you’ll feel right at home here. You might even question why you’d want to join the ranks at all—because if this book is to be believed, they’re all quite mad.
Hincker peppers the narrative with nods to genre giants like Robert Heinlein, Ursula K. Le Guin, Orson Scott Card, Neal Stephenson, and William Gibson. There’s even a four-legged sidekick named Anne McCaffrey. Fans of John Scalzi will likely appreciate the humor. Personally, I found the"soggy middle " bogged down the story before it eventually sprinted toward its predictable climax. But never fear, the writer was able to pull out a final twist that delivered a satisfying end.
November 28, 2025
This was one of those strange books that, halfway through, you are wondering what I'm reading and then end up thinking about it for a couple of weeks. And I like such books because they present you with a different point of view. For me, this was an interesting way to describe trauma and psychological problems in a setting that actually requires such for the task to be done.
Everyone was on the odd train called "Larry," even though in a normal situation his behaviour would have been considered bizarre, but here it was the fuel they needed. And it was weird, funny, and enjoyable. It was like a fever dream, and it had no intention to be something else.
The characters were strange, hence the story (but normal characters wouldn't work here, let's be honest), and at some point, I wasn't sure if those things happened for real or not.
If you like strange sci-fi stories full of absurdly funny conversations and situations where you are questioning either character's sanity or your own, you will like this.
Thank you to the author and Net Gallery for giving the assess to the advance copy of this book.
Everyone was on the odd train called "Larry," even though in a normal situation his behaviour would have been considered bizarre, but here it was the fuel they needed. And it was weird, funny, and enjoyable. It was like a fever dream, and it had no intention to be something else.
The characters were strange, hence the story (but normal characters wouldn't work here, let's be honest), and at some point, I wasn't sure if those things happened for real or not.
If you like strange sci-fi stories full of absurdly funny conversations and situations where you are questioning either character's sanity or your own, you will like this.
Thank you to the author and Net Gallery for giving the assess to the advance copy of this book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!
Larry Palczewski is a science fiction novelist, bombarding an agent with demands for a contract and hiding out from his lunatic mother. One day she turfs him out of the house to get a job: working with other science fiction novelists to brainstorm an alien invasion: how they do it, how to respond etc etc etc. Larry wants to resign but gets promoted instead. Hilarity ensues.
And hilarity does ensue. Other Goodreads reviews called out the homage to Douglas Adams, which I wasn't really getting until the final act. I did, however, get lashings of Kurt Vonnegut. Either way, this is a book that does not take writing, science fiction, science fiction novelists, or itself terribly seriously at all, and has immense fun with all of these things.
I will admit I found the saggy middle really rather saggy and episodic - only partially helped by the author hanging a lantern on the fact - but altogether this is a kinetic, anarchic romp of a novel, and I had a blast.
Larry Palczewski is a science fiction novelist, bombarding an agent with demands for a contract and hiding out from his lunatic mother. One day she turfs him out of the house to get a job: working with other science fiction novelists to brainstorm an alien invasion: how they do it, how to respond etc etc etc. Larry wants to resign but gets promoted instead. Hilarity ensues.
And hilarity does ensue. Other Goodreads reviews called out the homage to Douglas Adams, which I wasn't really getting until the final act. I did, however, get lashings of Kurt Vonnegut. Either way, this is a book that does not take writing, science fiction, science fiction novelists, or itself terribly seriously at all, and has immense fun with all of these things.
I will admit I found the saggy middle really rather saggy and episodic - only partially helped by the author hanging a lantern on the fact - but altogether this is a kinetic, anarchic romp of a novel, and I had a blast.
November 17, 2025
A highly eccentric, newly penniless, science fiction writer is forced by his terrifying mother to take a job at a mysterious company. His job? Train an AI to write science fiction...or so it first appears.
I thoroughly enjoyed the main character's atypical point of view. He's daft, but has a good heart. The supporting characters are varied and utterly lost in their own worlds. The on the mark jokes about sci-fi and it's authors made me laugh out loud. And the plot contains several mysteries and subplots and a twist. High marks for the prose, clever observations, and strange but astute asides.
Toss Confederacy of Dunces, Son of a Grifter, Severance, and Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series in a blender then add aliens and laser battles. This novel may appeal to readers of humorous science fiction and corporate work place dramas, Science fiction writers will also enjoy this novel, but only if they have a sense of humor about themselves and their chosen genre.
I thoroughly enjoyed the main character's atypical point of view. He's daft, but has a good heart. The supporting characters are varied and utterly lost in their own worlds. The on the mark jokes about sci-fi and it's authors made me laugh out loud. And the plot contains several mysteries and subplots and a twist. High marks for the prose, clever observations, and strange but astute asides.
Toss Confederacy of Dunces, Son of a Grifter, Severance, and Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series in a blender then add aliens and laser battles. This novel may appeal to readers of humorous science fiction and corporate work place dramas, Science fiction writers will also enjoy this novel, but only if they have a sense of humor about themselves and their chosen genre.
December 7, 2025
Disclaimer: this book wasn’t for me, but if you’re a sci-fi enjoyer you might have fun
Publishing June 16th, 2026
Thank you to @netgalley for providing me with this book.
⭐️⭐️.5
Looking for a book that consists of exclusively tropes? Well here you go, this book is for you. Literally tropes on tropes on tropes (sci-fi only) and meta too.
I do think the premise is interesting, and I was intrigued to see where it would go but it took a while. At 30% I seriously considered dnf-ing it, because the narrator was so insufferable.
Give it a try if you’re a sci-fi nerd and if you think it sounds interesting.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DR9oMURDa...
Publishing June 16th, 2026
Thank you to @netgalley for providing me with this book.
⭐️⭐️.5
Looking for a book that consists of exclusively tropes? Well here you go, this book is for you. Literally tropes on tropes on tropes (sci-fi only) and meta too.
I do think the premise is interesting, and I was intrigued to see where it would go but it took a while. At 30% I seriously considered dnf-ing it, because the narrator was so insufferable.
Give it a try if you’re a sci-fi nerd and if you think it sounds interesting.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DR9oMURDa...
November 24, 2025
Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!
3.5/5 stars - I overall enjoyed the premise and the prose of this book. I typically really enjoy the weird Hitchhiker's flavored writing, so this was right up my alley. Despite my enjoyment of the premise and prose, I struggled to care about the characters. I didn't quite dislike them but I also didn't like them either. I also felt that the bit with the publisher was a little weird and not in the fun weird way the rest of the book was. Overall, though, it was an enjoyable read and definitely fit the funky type of sci fi genre. I could see how people would not enjoy the ending but I thought it was a fun ending to the whole book.
3.5/5 stars - I overall enjoyed the premise and the prose of this book. I typically really enjoy the weird Hitchhiker's flavored writing, so this was right up my alley. Despite my enjoyment of the premise and prose, I struggled to care about the characters. I didn't quite dislike them but I also didn't like them either. I also felt that the bit with the publisher was a little weird and not in the fun weird way the rest of the book was. Overall, though, it was an enjoyable read and definitely fit the funky type of sci fi genre. I could see how people would not enjoy the ending but I thought it was a fun ending to the whole book.
December 4, 2025
I was immediately immersed by the Confederacy of Dunces meets Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy energy this book had, and for the first half, I laughed a lot and was generally engrossed. But as the plot continued and the meta commentary became more explicit and the same joke about how much science fiction writers like doing everything but write science fiction appeared on every 5th page, the book became distinctly less charming. I appreciated the frantic, paranoid potential of this book but thought it needed something more to tie it together in the end.
Read
December 14, 2025Firstly I would like to thank netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel.
I really wanted to like this book.
Alas, it began to feel like a chore to the point I decided to give up on it. I really struggled to connect with the characters.
Sadly, I was unable to finish this.
However! Just because this book was not for me does not mean it is not for others; I think I am not the target audience and that's okay.
I really wanted to like this book.
Alas, it began to feel like a chore to the point I decided to give up on it. I really struggled to connect with the characters.
Sadly, I was unable to finish this.
However! Just because this book was not for me does not mean it is not for others; I think I am not the target audience and that's okay.
December 1, 2025
What a delightfully strange novel.
For sci-fi fans, it is dripping in nostalgia and references, nods to the genre.
The Story Eaters of Yamm is a fever dream with an unreliable narrator that test the boundaries of what is reality, what is time, and what is the purpose of story? There were times where I was completely unsure what was real, and what was in Larry's head.
The ending is certainly one of those WTF moments. Overall a great concept and I enjoyed my time following Larry through his adventure with the story eaters, and his rag-tag group of writers.
Thank you NetGalley & Kevin Hincker for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
For sci-fi fans, it is dripping in nostalgia and references, nods to the genre.
The Story Eaters of Yamm is a fever dream with an unreliable narrator that test the boundaries of what is reality, what is time, and what is the purpose of story? There were times where I was completely unsure what was real, and what was in Larry's head.
The ending is certainly one of those WTF moments. Overall a great concept and I enjoyed my time following Larry through his adventure with the story eaters, and his rag-tag group of writers.
Thank you NetGalley & Kevin Hincker for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an Advanced Copy of this book!
Full review to come
Full review to come
November 15, 2025
Thank you to the publisher and author - Kevin Hincker – for giving me access to this book as an E-ARC via Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
I believe that it’s always good to challenge yourself in your reading and try things you normally wouldn’t read. Sometimes you find books and stories that really work for you. This book was not one of those revelations for me personally. I found it too bizarre, and I found it to be confusing with the overall structure.
I cannot fault it on that alone though. You can tell that the author has a clear idea of what he wanted the story to be. Just because it didn’t work for me doesn’t mean the book is bad.
I believe that it’s always good to challenge yourself in your reading and try things you normally wouldn’t read. Sometimes you find books and stories that really work for you. This book was not one of those revelations for me personally. I found it too bizarre, and I found it to be confusing with the overall structure.
I cannot fault it on that alone though. You can tell that the author has a clear idea of what he wanted the story to be. Just because it didn’t work for me doesn’t mean the book is bad.
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