Merciful Flush

by Lance Manion

The irreverent union of George Carlin and Dave Barry with a just a hint of Tucker Max. Something to entertain, inspire and offend everybody. "A rambling collection of essays, anecdotes, and assorted madness. The humor often borders on the demented, sort of a cross between David Sedaris and Happy Tree Friends. If you're looking for something well outside the mainstream, this will probably amuse you." -Melydia Utter Randomonium "Here we have a collection of strange little tales, fully of the wacky and the wild. Now, some are hilarious, others are quirky and strange, like the author says, it's like a video montage." -Martin Gibbs Voltaire's Reviews "Each small story that makes up the book is filled with dark satirical humor, and the stories in Merciful Flush are morbidly addicting." -Olivia Morley The Univ. of New Hampshire "It isn’t often that I pick up a book and feel that it’s so wrong and yet so right. The stories all have a certain amount of quirkiness and snark that makes them fun to read." -Donald L Pitsiladis Casa de Pitsiladis "Humor is realizing the frankness and humility in our lives. "Merciful Flush" is a fine pick for those looking for mirth and memoir." -Midwest Book Review " An easy and compulsive read, Merciful Flush by Lance Manion is a blogging success story and definitely worth picking up for any travel reading. Very very very very imaginative, I can’t believe what is now in my mind that wasn’t there before." -Anya On Starships and Dragonwings "So, if you enjoy David Sedaris, Tina Fey or movies like The Hangover, Bridesmaids, or even Your Highness, it is quite likely that you’ll enjoy Lance Manion’s collection." -Zserilyn Finney The John Hopkins News-Letter "Funny. Twisted. Real." -Nanci Page Readers "The humor at times is way out there and may be a bit much for some readers. This is certainly one of those books that at time had me rolling with laughter while other times I was cringing." -Rita Rita Reviews "They are off-putting but also entertaining, and you cannot look away. If you enjoy black humor then definitely give this short story compilation a read." -Dan Lanelotti The Millersville University

Genres: Bizarro Fiction

154 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 2012

About the author

Lance Manion was not born a poor black child. That was Navin R. Johnson. Neither was he born to run, to be wild and the last thing he needs is to be born again. I'm certain his mother would have none of it. and pardon him if he got it right the first time (as did Dennis Miller who I must credit with that line).

Reviews

[Martin Gibbs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here we have a collection of strange little tales, fully of the wacky and the wild. Now, some are hilarious ("the amazing spider man" for instance, when the gives them a moth and spider a right bloody what-for), others are quirky and strange, like the author says, it's like a video montage.

The e-book version it really needs some tweaking for formatting (see below) on Kindle. Additionally, the entire collection needs some editing and proofreading. There were numerous mistakes and usage issues—not enough to kill the story, but enough to really push it down the ranking scale.

The stories are not bad, some are funny, others so-so. It's not everyone's cup of tea and that is OK. As I say in my guide, I'm not going to give poor reviews based on taste—you may be on the floor laughing while I just sit there and stare at you. But with the editing/proofreading issues aside, much of this writing is somewhat puerile (and gosh I hate to say that, but, well...)—there is always room for disjointed, casual, colloquial writing in bizarro. This story has it in bundles, and it often detracts from the story. Again, this is my opinion, your mileage may vary.

I feel really, really bad at having to mark something so low, but that is part of the bargain when soliciting reviews. Lance needs to tighten up his work and maybe go back through and clean some of the passages up. It can get four stars, it really can. This iteration just doesn't have it, but the potential is there.

[melydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rambling collection of essays, anecdotes, and assorted madness. The punctuation leaves a lot to be desired, but despite that it's still quite readable. The humor often borders on the demented, sort of a cross between David Sedaris and Happy Tree Friends. There were parts where I laughed, parts where I cringed, and even a few parts where I was tempted to skim - but most of it was quite unforgettable either way. I may think of one story in particular every time I take a shower for the rest of my life. If you're looking for something well outside the mainstream, this will probably amuse you. I'd like to read more of Manion's blather because much of it is really quite funny, but I think I'll wait until it's visited a proofreader first.