What do you think?
Rate this book
Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent #1
The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent
Have you ever seen a planet invaded by rampaging space mutants from another dimension or Nazi dinosaurs from the future? Don't let this happen to you! Rifts happen, so you should be ready when universes collide. A policy with Stranger & Stranger can cover all of your interdimensional insurance needs. Rated "Number One in Customer Satisfaction" for three years running, no claim is too big or too weird for Tom Stranger to handle. But now Tom faces his greatest challenge yet. Despite being assigned the wrong—and woefully inadequate—intern, Tom must still provide quality customer service to multiple alternate Earths, all while battling tentacle monsters, legions of the damned, an evil call center in Nebraska, and his archnemesis, Jeff Conundrum. Armed with his Combat Wombat and a sense of fair play, can Tom survive? And will Jimmy the Intern ever discover his inner insurance agent? It's time to kick ass and adjust claims. Adam Baldwin ( Firefly , Chuck ) performs Larry Correia's madcap interdimensional tale of underwriting and space travel, where the only thing scarier than tentacle monsters is a high deductible.
2 pages, MP3 CD
First published May 24, 2016
47 people are currently reading
1510 people want to read
About the author
Larry Correia
121 books4,397 followersLarry Correia (born 1977) is the New York Times bestselling author of the Monster Hunter International series, the Grimnoir Chronicles, and the thriller Dead Six.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 964 reviews
July 25, 2016
This is what would happen if The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy were re-interpreted by your doomsday-prepper uncle who gets all his news from Alex Jones and chain e-mails. But the political aspect is only slightly annoying and would’ve been tolerable if it weren’t for the stunningly bad humor. Every single joke in this story is a hack, outdated cliché pandering to internet geek culture and conservative libertarians, and people from both of those groups should be insulted by it. Here’s a sampling of Correia’s idea of fresh, topical comedy:
-Drooling over Chuck Norris(!!!), Bear Grylls, and Firefly
-Windows Vista, Gangnam Style, Nazi dinosaurs
-Comic convention nerd dressed as a wizard yelling “You shall not pass!” to a Balrog
-“Blank-est. Blank. Ever.” jokes
-Constant use of words like “badass,” “epic,” and “awesomeness”
-Obama has a Karl Marx bobblehead on his desk
-Mocking participation trophies, self-esteem, gender studies, Occupy Wall Street, universal healthcare, and the fact that modern first-world children are spoiled because they don’t have to fight daily for survival
Basically, Correia seems to think it’s hilarious just to state old pop-culture references and his political beliefs, clumsily shouting “Hey! Here’s the name of a thing you probably recognize!” instead of making an actual joke. It’s the Seltzer-Friedberg approach to comedy, but even sadder because every reference was run into the ground years ago. Especially Chuck Norris (I yelled “f**k” and had to turn it off for a while at that part). And even if you agree with his ideology, his political humor is so cheap, lazy and hamfisted that I couldn’t imagine finding it funny. It’s no more clever or original than what you’d hear from an old drunk ranting about millenials and immigrants during last call at a dive bar.
So only buy this if you want Adam Baldwin to collect some royalties, because he and the audio production team are the only ones who put any effort into this thing. Aside from that, it is extremely, shockingly bad.
-Drooling over Chuck Norris(!!!), Bear Grylls, and Firefly
-Windows Vista, Gangnam Style, Nazi dinosaurs
-Comic convention nerd dressed as a wizard yelling “You shall not pass!” to a Balrog
-“Blank-est. Blank. Ever.” jokes
-Constant use of words like “badass,” “epic,” and “awesomeness”
-Obama has a Karl Marx bobblehead on his desk
-Mocking participation trophies, self-esteem, gender studies, Occupy Wall Street, universal healthcare, and the fact that modern first-world children are spoiled because they don’t have to fight daily for survival
Basically, Correia seems to think it’s hilarious just to state old pop-culture references and his political beliefs, clumsily shouting “Hey! Here’s the name of a thing you probably recognize!” instead of making an actual joke. It’s the Seltzer-Friedberg approach to comedy, but even sadder because every reference was run into the ground years ago. Especially Chuck Norris (I yelled “f**k” and had to turn it off for a while at that part). And even if you agree with his ideology, his political humor is so cheap, lazy and hamfisted that I couldn’t imagine finding it funny. It’s no more clever or original than what you’d hear from an old drunk ranting about millenials and immigrants during last call at a dive bar.
So only buy this if you want Adam Baldwin to collect some royalties, because he and the audio production team are the only ones who put any effort into this thing. Aside from that, it is extremely, shockingly bad.
October 20, 2016
I laughed. I snorted. I giggled. I may have even chortled once. This is the funniest thing I have heard in a long long time. Look, it has Adam Baldwin making noises like a Manatee for God's sake! Best two hours of entertainment I've had in a long while. It's also free, so go get it! (edit: was at the time of this review... not now).
As for content, well it is as anti-PC as you can get. It is balls-to-the-wall action from start to finish. It's Larry Correia. It even HAS Larry Correia IN IT! Just... just go get it! Stop reading this and go get the dang thing!
As for content, well it is as anti-PC as you can get. It is balls-to-the-wall action from start to finish. It's Larry Correia. It even HAS Larry Correia IN IT! Just... just go get it! Stop reading this and go get the dang thing!
November 19, 2021
My original The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
While listening to The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent, one word kept popping into my head – ridiculous. Although this audiobook is billed as a comedy, ‘ridiculous’ is not necessarily a compliment. Comedy, you see, is largely subjective. I’ll take George Carlin over Adam Sandler any day of the week, and, unfortunately, this Audible Original was a lot like mainlining a Sandler production – it’s ridiculous, but not in a good way.
Tom Stranger is an insurance agent for the multiverse. He’s been mistakenly paired with a yuckster of an intern who reminded me of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, and who has a pathetic GPA in his Gender Studies degree track (this, by the way, is an example of one of the running gags that The Adventures of Tom Stranger has to offer). Stranger voyages across multiple Earth’s in search of his proper intern, squaring off against his rival, the insurance agent Jeff Conundrum. Along the way, there’s a few dashes of Chuck Norris hero-worship, purple people eaters who harvest men’s scrotums, and a meta guest-appearance by the author Larry Correia, who finds himself in need of rescuing by the ubiquitous, bow-tie loving insurance agent.
Correia sets the tone immediately in the opening chapter, which involves Adam Baldwin, President of the United States and celebrated star of the long-running Firefly, grappling with a global crises as the scrotum-collecting purple people eater’s devour Europe. A deranged, loud-mouthed Secretary of Defense loses it over a computer glitch, shoots the computer, and then acts like a massive buffoon while drawing stick figures of the alien creatures gathering their victims genitals. Along the way, we get some dated humor about Windows Operating Systems and John Tesh. The rest of the book follows a similar path for the next two hours, with much of the humor focused on hitting cheap, easy marks like Today’s Youth, Telemarketers, Obama, and Occupy Protestors. Although the setting and premise are most certainly unique, none of the jokes are particularly original or funny.
Narrating Tom Stranger is not-President Adam Baldwin, from the short-lived TV series Firefly. Although the story itself didn’t do much for me, Baldwin’s narration is pretty good and he’s clearly having a fun time hamming it up with the material. He delivers a pretty broad range of character voices here, from the overly-aggressive Secretary of Defense to the level-headed Stranger, with dashes of milquetoast in between. He also does a damn effective manatee. On the production quality end of things, the sound is crisp and clean, and on par with the handful of other Audible Originals; in this regard, it’s as excellent as I expected.
Audible is currently offering The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent for free until June 21, 2016. Not a bad deal to hear Adam Baldwin imitate a manatee.
Final verdict: 1.5 stars.
[Audiobook provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com]
While listening to The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent, one word kept popping into my head – ridiculous. Although this audiobook is billed as a comedy, ‘ridiculous’ is not necessarily a compliment. Comedy, you see, is largely subjective. I’ll take George Carlin over Adam Sandler any day of the week, and, unfortunately, this Audible Original was a lot like mainlining a Sandler production – it’s ridiculous, but not in a good way.
Tom Stranger is an insurance agent for the multiverse. He’s been mistakenly paired with a yuckster of an intern who reminded me of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, and who has a pathetic GPA in his Gender Studies degree track (this, by the way, is an example of one of the running gags that The Adventures of Tom Stranger has to offer). Stranger voyages across multiple Earth’s in search of his proper intern, squaring off against his rival, the insurance agent Jeff Conundrum. Along the way, there’s a few dashes of Chuck Norris hero-worship, purple people eaters who harvest men’s scrotums, and a meta guest-appearance by the author Larry Correia, who finds himself in need of rescuing by the ubiquitous, bow-tie loving insurance agent.
Correia sets the tone immediately in the opening chapter, which involves Adam Baldwin, President of the United States and celebrated star of the long-running Firefly, grappling with a global crises as the scrotum-collecting purple people eater’s devour Europe. A deranged, loud-mouthed Secretary of Defense loses it over a computer glitch, shoots the computer, and then acts like a massive buffoon while drawing stick figures of the alien creatures gathering their victims genitals. Along the way, we get some dated humor about Windows Operating Systems and John Tesh. The rest of the book follows a similar path for the next two hours, with much of the humor focused on hitting cheap, easy marks like Today’s Youth, Telemarketers, Obama, and Occupy Protestors. Although the setting and premise are most certainly unique, none of the jokes are particularly original or funny.
Narrating Tom Stranger is not-President Adam Baldwin, from the short-lived TV series Firefly. Although the story itself didn’t do much for me, Baldwin’s narration is pretty good and he’s clearly having a fun time hamming it up with the material. He delivers a pretty broad range of character voices here, from the overly-aggressive Secretary of Defense to the level-headed Stranger, with dashes of milquetoast in between. He also does a damn effective manatee. On the production quality end of things, the sound is crisp and clean, and on par with the handful of other Audible Originals; in this regard, it’s as excellent as I expected.
Audible is currently offering The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent for free until June 21, 2016. Not a bad deal to hear Adam Baldwin imitate a manatee.
Final verdict: 1.5 stars.
[Audiobook provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com]
July 7, 2019
The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent by Larry Correia and narrated by Adam Baldwin is a corny but funny short audible book. Tom Stranger is a insurance agent you definitely want to have. Some how he ends up with a new partner afraid of his shadow. Meanwhile chaos and mayhem continues on many dimensions. It is silly, snarky, and funny. Adam Baldwin does a great job and is featured in the story, ummmm, how did that happen? Stranger things have happened!
January 14, 2020
You ever lose your TV remote? Sucks, doesn't it? Imagine that TV also happened to stop on Fox News channel too. You would get pretty angry as well, huh?
Clearly that is exactly the series of events that lead to this epic failure.
I don't disagree with some of the politics that Mr. Correia espoused [shoved] in this story, and I can see that he's blowing off steam at his perception of the state of American politics. Some of it could be funny. The part that made this story so incredibly tacky is a simplification and condescension of some current and complex political & social sticking points.
The Occupy Wall Street movement portions of this book show a Fox News level of understanding of the events that happened. The irony of their occupation and non-statement flew right over Mr. Correia's head, so he grasped onto anything that would make it make sense to him... hence the TV channel stuck on Fox News... and hence making him becoming angry since that's Fox's preferred mode of communication.
Further, Mr. Correia's personification of the American health care system as some insurance salesmen-cum-superheroes is so har-har jokey that it drips with tackiness. He, in the 2 hours it took to listen, consistently, and with maximum condescension, diminishes the struggle that an American has with our healthcare systems. Personally, I was a victim in a car accident, and lost a lot during the recession (my job, my healthcare, my house, nearly $1 million in car accident hospital bills). Mr. Correia displayed epic levels of righteousness, almost like he's flaunting his personal lack of adversity in the face of his fans and listeners. As if he deserves better treatment than I do, since he hasn't suffered personal trauma on the level that takes years of physical and financial recovery.
I wish I never heard of this book. I was really enjoying some of Mr Correia's books, and I hope I can again. Now, I can't think of his work separate from his asinine level of entitlement.
1 extra star for the amazingly good narration.
Clearly that is exactly the series of events that lead to this epic failure.
I don't disagree with some of the politics that Mr. Correia espoused [shoved] in this story, and I can see that he's blowing off steam at his perception of the state of American politics. Some of it could be funny. The part that made this story so incredibly tacky is a simplification and condescension of some current and complex political & social sticking points.
The Occupy Wall Street movement portions of this book show a Fox News level of understanding of the events that happened. The irony of their occupation and non-statement flew right over Mr. Correia's head, so he grasped onto anything that would make it make sense to him... hence the TV channel stuck on Fox News... and hence making him becoming angry since that's Fox's preferred mode of communication.
Further, Mr. Correia's personification of the American health care system as some insurance salesmen-cum-superheroes is so har-har jokey that it drips with tackiness. He, in the 2 hours it took to listen, consistently, and with maximum condescension, diminishes the struggle that an American has with our healthcare systems. Personally, I was a victim in a car accident, and lost a lot during the recession (my job, my healthcare, my house, nearly $1 million in car accident hospital bills). Mr. Correia displayed epic levels of righteousness, almost like he's flaunting his personal lack of adversity in the face of his fans and listeners. As if he deserves better treatment than I do, since he hasn't suffered personal trauma on the level that takes years of physical and financial recovery.
I wish I never heard of this book. I was really enjoying some of Mr Correia's books, and I hope I can again. Now, I can't think of his work separate from his asinine level of entitlement.
1 extra star for the amazingly good narration.
September 14, 2016
Given that this audiobook was free to pre-order, and given the fact that it was narrated by Adam Baldwin, what did I have to lose by giving it a try? Nothing!
Not having ever read anything written by Larry Correia, I had no idea what to expect. I still don't, really. This was a humorous science-fiction parody type story, but the humor sort of ran out after about 10 minutes. It seemed kind of juvenile and silly for the most part. I will admit to laughing out loud a few times and I did listen to the whole thing, so it wasn't that bad.
I think the narration by Adam Baldwin is what kept me listening. Over the top and silly? Yes! But somehow oddly compelling as well.
Thanks to the author and to Audible for the free audio.
Not having ever read anything written by Larry Correia, I had no idea what to expect. I still don't, really. This was a humorous science-fiction parody type story, but the humor sort of ran out after about 10 minutes. It seemed kind of juvenile and silly for the most part. I will admit to laughing out loud a few times and I did listen to the whole thing, so it wasn't that bad.
I think the narration by Adam Baldwin is what kept me listening. Over the top and silly? Yes! But somehow oddly compelling as well.
Thanks to the author and to Audible for the free audio.
November 16, 2019
What the bloody shrinking shrimp of the stinking fish did I just listen to? I mean, I usually 💕lurves💕 all things weird and silly and wacky and deliciously OTT, but this is WEIRD and SILLY and WACKY and SUPERLATIVELY OTT. And a teensy little bit way too much, even for nefarious little me. Okay, so yes, Adam Baldwin does a great manatee impersonation (don't ask). But is that enough to counterbalance the Lame Jokes and Ridiculously Ridiculous Gags Extravaganza (LJaRRGE™) that is this story? I think not. Ergo, rather than continue listening to Mr Stranger's most...err...delightfully subtle insurance adventures, I shall resume playing with my favorite toys and stuff.
Ah, puny humans! You can always count on them to provide endless hours of first quality entertainment!
Ah, puny humans! You can always count on them to provide endless hours of first quality entertainment!
May 26, 2016
I ordered this through Audible for the mere fact that Adam Baldwin was narrating it.
His performance is so over-the-top but that is the whole point of the story - it's supposed to be read like that and Baldwin does an excellent job.
I really enjoyed the story, I found it very funny and loved the references to cult programmes such as Doctor Horrible and Firefly. I can confirm that describing a call centre as 'hell' is indeed an accurate description.
The writing style reminded me of Jaspar Fforde and I will be keeping an eye out for more by Correia. I also hope Baldwin narrates more books.
His performance is so over-the-top but that is the whole point of the story - it's supposed to be read like that and Baldwin does an excellent job.
I really enjoyed the story, I found it very funny and loved the references to cult programmes such as Doctor Horrible and Firefly. I can confirm that describing a call centre as 'hell' is indeed an accurate description.
The writing style reminded me of Jaspar Fforde and I will be keeping an eye out for more by Correia. I also hope Baldwin narrates more books.
August 12, 2016
This was funny but a little too silly for me overall. I liked the general concept of the piece. The narration was very well done. I just found everything to be way over the top by the end of the story.
July 5, 2019
It was free and short. Those were the good things.
May 30, 2016
First, a disclaimer: I am a HUGE Larry Correia fan. Read/listened to everything he has written, follow on twitter, anxiously await with bated breath for each new book. In short, total fan-boy. So I was a little disappointed when I saw he had wasted valuable Monster Hunter writing time on a 2 hour sci-fi novella. But I pre-ordered it anyways because, hey, it’s free! But, in all honesty, I was pre-disposed to not liking it from the git-go…
I read a review of this audiobook novella, “Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent”, last night and it was not favorable. Blasphemy! But, since I hadn’t listened to it yet, I couldn’t rebuke it (assuming it deserved rebuking), so I plugged in my earbuds and began killing weeds.
I normally don’t do novellas because I have found they just don’t allow for enough character or plot building for me to care. That DEFINITELY is not the case here. It grabbed me immediately and I wouldn’t have been able to hit pause even if I had wanted to. In a surprisingly short time (immediately), this novella built characters we can love or hate and a storyline that we can understand and relate to. But make no mistake: this novella is a very fun, irrelevant spoof of society, politics, Chuck Norris, tele-marketers, Obama-care, comic conventions, colleges, liberals, scrotum hunting, Firefly, North Korea, Adam Baldwin, and the author himself, Larry Correia.
If you are not familiar with Mr Correia, he is an unashamed, unapologetic, gun-toting libertarian and damn proud of it. A lot of his books reflect his views and he drives his detractors (liberals) into a frothing frenzy when he points out that he is successful despite them controlling the publishing industry. I had to give the short synopsis above so that you understand that Mr Correia has a lot of prospective targets that need (NEED) made fun of. It was very funny that the narrator, Adam Baldwin, also got in some significant jabs in on Fox executives.
About the narration: I was pleasantly surprised (actually, amazed!) at the performance of Adam Baldwin. He COMPLETELY went hog-wild with his narration. He demonstrated an impressive range of voices and was over-the-top (in a good way) with injecting emotion and feeling in each voice. Not one character’s voice was “just read”; each and every one was portrayed with feeling, even abandon. Listen to the first minute and you will immediately know what I am talking about. This novella is a spoof and Mr Baldwin’s performance was perfect for it. It was surprising to me that he was able to be so flippant and his performance was as much a reason for this novella’s success as the writing was.
Bottom line: As long as you have a sense of humor and are not a POS liberal, you will enjoy this 2 hour foray into the exciting world of inter-dimensional insurance coverage. I loved the hell out of it. I rate this a 10 on the customer satisfaction scale.
I read a review of this audiobook novella, “Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent”, last night and it was not favorable. Blasphemy! But, since I hadn’t listened to it yet, I couldn’t rebuke it (assuming it deserved rebuking), so I plugged in my earbuds and began killing weeds.
I normally don’t do novellas because I have found they just don’t allow for enough character or plot building for me to care. That DEFINITELY is not the case here. It grabbed me immediately and I wouldn’t have been able to hit pause even if I had wanted to. In a surprisingly short time (immediately), this novella built characters we can love or hate and a storyline that we can understand and relate to. But make no mistake: this novella is a very fun, irrelevant spoof of society, politics, Chuck Norris, tele-marketers, Obama-care, comic conventions, colleges, liberals, scrotum hunting, Firefly, North Korea, Adam Baldwin, and the author himself, Larry Correia.
If you are not familiar with Mr Correia, he is an unashamed, unapologetic, gun-toting libertarian and damn proud of it. A lot of his books reflect his views and he drives his detractors (liberals) into a frothing frenzy when he points out that he is successful despite them controlling the publishing industry. I had to give the short synopsis above so that you understand that Mr Correia has a lot of prospective targets that need (NEED) made fun of. It was very funny that the narrator, Adam Baldwin, also got in some significant jabs in on Fox executives.
About the narration: I was pleasantly surprised (actually, amazed!) at the performance of Adam Baldwin. He COMPLETELY went hog-wild with his narration. He demonstrated an impressive range of voices and was over-the-top (in a good way) with injecting emotion and feeling in each voice. Not one character’s voice was “just read”; each and every one was portrayed with feeling, even abandon. Listen to the first minute and you will immediately know what I am talking about. This novella is a spoof and Mr Baldwin’s performance was perfect for it. It was surprising to me that he was able to be so flippant and his performance was as much a reason for this novella’s success as the writing was.
Bottom line: As long as you have a sense of humor and are not a POS liberal, you will enjoy this 2 hour foray into the exciting world of inter-dimensional insurance coverage. I loved the hell out of it. I rate this a 10 on the customer satisfaction scale.
May 24, 2016
Review crossposted from my book review blog.
NAZI DINOSAURS! PRESIDENT ADAM BALDWIN! EVIL GARFIELD-WORSHIPING TENTACLE MONSTERS! FAULTY POWERPOINT! CHUCK NORRIS’S MANLY BEARD! SHEER BADASSITUDE! UNINSURED BALROG! CLERICAL MIX-UPS! A SACK OF RABID RACCOONS!
The most epically hilarious story ever told.
I don’t think words can adequately describe how amazing this story is. Its only flaw is that it’s only two hours long instead of a full-length novel. Flawlessly written and flawlessly narrated. The fact that alternate universe versions of the author and the narrator are actually characters in the story adds a whole extra layer of hilarious.
I should warn, though: this story isn’t for everybody. If you’re someone who thinks a Gender Studies degree is a totally legit educational choice, you probably won’t like this story.
If you ever wanted to hear an argument between President Barack Obama and President Adam Baldwin, as read by Adam Baldwin, well . . . this story has it.
If you’re a fan of Larry Correia, obviously get this story. If you’re politically conservative, get this story. If you like crazy humor that is seriously out there, get this story. It’s free on Audible for now, but it’s worth paying for even if you miss that window. There’s probably a sample you can listen to, and that will give you a very good idea of what the story’s like, in case you’re not sure if you’ll like it or not.
Quotes
I don’t want to quote very many lines so as not to spoil them (and if I quoted all the funny ones, I’d just be quoting the entire story), but here are a couple that give an idea what you can expect from this story.
When monsters are attacking a fan convention:
“We may slay these beasts if we can but liberate our stores in the marketplace and thus arm the entire vanguard with halberds and falchions.”
“What are sandwiches and birds supposed to do?”
The SCA guy switched back to normal English. His nametag read “Sir Galen”. “I said there are a bunch of axes and swords over in the sales room. If we grab those, we can kill the snot outta those douchenozzles.”
Now that, Larry could understand. “Okay. You guys go do that while the rest of us do something useful. I meant who’s got real weapons?”
It turned out most of his fans had concealed weapons permits, as did everyone in a Jayne Cobb hat.
On Cookie Monster:
“Our client?”
“Yes. Do not let the adorable children’s programming of your universe fool you. He is the most feared and deadly mercenary in the multiverse. Big Blue, as he is called in the mercenary community, is paid in cookies, and wherever he treads, there is blood and bodies. When he is spun up, he leaves a path of devastation and crumbs across worlds. To look into his googly eyes is to know madness.”
NAZI DINOSAURS! PRESIDENT ADAM BALDWIN! EVIL GARFIELD-WORSHIPING TENTACLE MONSTERS! FAULTY POWERPOINT! CHUCK NORRIS’S MANLY BEARD! SHEER BADASSITUDE! UNINSURED BALROG! CLERICAL MIX-UPS! A SACK OF RABID RACCOONS!
The most epically hilarious story ever told.
I don’t think words can adequately describe how amazing this story is. Its only flaw is that it’s only two hours long instead of a full-length novel. Flawlessly written and flawlessly narrated. The fact that alternate universe versions of the author and the narrator are actually characters in the story adds a whole extra layer of hilarious.
I should warn, though: this story isn’t for everybody. If you’re someone who thinks a Gender Studies degree is a totally legit educational choice, you probably won’t like this story.
If you ever wanted to hear an argument between President Barack Obama and President Adam Baldwin, as read by Adam Baldwin, well . . . this story has it.
If you’re a fan of Larry Correia, obviously get this story. If you’re politically conservative, get this story. If you like crazy humor that is seriously out there, get this story. It’s free on Audible for now, but it’s worth paying for even if you miss that window. There’s probably a sample you can listen to, and that will give you a very good idea of what the story’s like, in case you’re not sure if you’ll like it or not.
Quotes
I don’t want to quote very many lines so as not to spoil them (and if I quoted all the funny ones, I’d just be quoting the entire story), but here are a couple that give an idea what you can expect from this story.
When monsters are attacking a fan convention:
“We may slay these beasts if we can but liberate our stores in the marketplace and thus arm the entire vanguard with halberds and falchions.”
“What are sandwiches and birds supposed to do?”
The SCA guy switched back to normal English. His nametag read “Sir Galen”. “I said there are a bunch of axes and swords over in the sales room. If we grab those, we can kill the snot outta those douchenozzles.”
Now that, Larry could understand. “Okay. You guys go do that while the rest of us do something useful. I meant who’s got real weapons?”
It turned out most of his fans had concealed weapons permits, as did everyone in a Jayne Cobb hat.
On Cookie Monster:
“Our client?”
“Yes. Do not let the adorable children’s programming of your universe fool you. He is the most feared and deadly mercenary in the multiverse. Big Blue, as he is called in the mercenary community, is paid in cookies, and wherever he treads, there is blood and bodies. When he is spun up, he leaves a path of devastation and crumbs across worlds. To look into his googly eyes is to know madness.”
May 25, 2016
Only made it 15 minutes or so. Bad overly emoted narration. I think it's supposed to be over-the-top funny, maybe 13 year old boys would think it is, but that's probably disrespecting the taste of 13 year old boys.
June 15, 2016
I suppose if you're a gun toting libertarian who hates Obama, commies and Gender studies idiots who occupy wallstreet, this book might be hilarious.
But if you aren't one... well you'll still have a few snorts of laughter, but... yeah. Meh.
But if you aren't one... well you'll still have a few snorts of laughter, but... yeah. Meh.
January 26, 2020
I’ve read a couple of Larry Correia’s series. He’s a master of writing hard-driving action with credible heroic characters. So when Audible offered The Adventures of Tom Stranger as one of their free picks of the month, I scooped it up without hesitation. The short novel has a bit of fun with the old-style pulp adventures sort of halfway parodying some of the more extreme versions of the genre. It is obviously intended to be funny.
Tom Stranger is an insurance agent who tackles his job with religious fervor, saving client worlds from interdimensional havoc. He’s also breaking in a new intern while engaging in such tasks as fending off invasions by giant purple people eaters and a balrog’s horde. His nemesis is rival insurance agent, Jeff Conundrum, who has the crazy idea that insurance is about making a buck and wiggling out of paying benefits whenever possible.
I had a little trouble getting into this book at first, but about halfway through I finally found myself fully engaged and eager to find out how Correia would resolve Tom’s problems. The best parts of the novel are when we encounter on the many interdimensional earths various iterations of author Larry Correia. It’s always a good thing when a writer can poke fun at himself and it’s probably in these scenes that I found myself really enjoying the book to the point that I’m seriously considering reading the next story in the series.
As a final note, Adam Baldwin offers a wonderful performance in this audiobook. He brings the characters to vivid life and really packs them with emotion. His narration was part of the reason I hung on long enough to discover I liked the book.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
Tom Stranger is an insurance agent who tackles his job with religious fervor, saving client worlds from interdimensional havoc. He’s also breaking in a new intern while engaging in such tasks as fending off invasions by giant purple people eaters and a balrog’s horde. His nemesis is rival insurance agent, Jeff Conundrum, who has the crazy idea that insurance is about making a buck and wiggling out of paying benefits whenever possible.
I had a little trouble getting into this book at first, but about halfway through I finally found myself fully engaged and eager to find out how Correia would resolve Tom’s problems. The best parts of the novel are when we encounter on the many interdimensional earths various iterations of author Larry Correia. It’s always a good thing when a writer can poke fun at himself and it’s probably in these scenes that I found myself really enjoying the book to the point that I’m seriously considering reading the next story in the series.
As a final note, Adam Baldwin offers a wonderful performance in this audiobook. He brings the characters to vivid life and really packs them with emotion. His narration was part of the reason I hung on long enough to discover I liked the book.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
January 9, 2017
It would appear that the author wrote this book just so he could poke fun of and insult the insurance industry and the Obama administration. Larry Correia is an entertaining author but this one was lost on me.
June 12, 2016
My introduction to Larry Correia, and I am hooked!!
September 7, 2016
Crazy and funny. Very imaginative and at times hysterical. Adam Baldwin's narration pushed this book over the top. Great fun. And you can get it for free on Audible. Worth the listen.
June 1, 2016
I am always a little bit sad when I learn that a person has values and ethics that clash with mine. It really colours my opinion of that person's character, and when that person is an artist, I can see those values and ethics in their work, and that, predictably, prevents me from enjoying the work, whether it be a movie, a painting, or a book.
I think have to stop reading Correia's books, even though I absolutely loved The Grimnoir Chronicles and two of the Monster Hunter International books. He has legions of fans, though, and won't miss me at all.
I think have to stop reading Correia's books, even though I absolutely loved The Grimnoir Chronicles and two of the Monster Hunter International books. He has legions of fans, though, and won't miss me at all.
August 26, 2019
This is pure camp! Adam Baldwin narrates this funny punny space adventure. The politics lean right but I saw if as similar to Stephen Colbert’s Comedy Central show (the name eludes me right now) so I found it funny though I’d probably be considered a bit of a snowflake by those who found it funny for the opposite reason. Either way it’s fun stuff and Baldwin does a super job with the narration.
May 25, 2016
Really fun shlocky comedy, recommended for sad puppies I guess? It's a freebee audiobook that has very obvious conservative/libertarian bent to it that pokes fun at a lot of current events and some industry jokes. Personally I loved it and it was a blast but I imagine everyone who this audiobook is targeting generally already knows about it.
May 27, 2016
Fantastical story filled with outrageous characters, sci-fi references and political commentary, not to mention a flawless narration by the Man They Call Jayne: Mr. Adam Baldwin.
Can't wait to listen to it again!
Can't wait to listen to it again!
June 5, 2016
So very meta (is that the word? I think that's the word), I loved it, and Adam Baldwin's narration was perfect...
July 11, 2019
This was so much fun, it had me laughing out loud. The audiobook was really well done and the story was just plain silliness.
May 30, 2022
Larry Correia is a local author I’ve met a few times, so I am used to his strange ways. I listened to the audiobook of The Complete Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent, which is not in the GR database, so I’m posting my review here. But it also includes the novellas A Murder of Manatees and #1 in Customer Service The Complete Adventures of Tom Stranger and a couple short stories. The book is narrated by Adam Baldwin, one of the few actors I actually like as a person, and is actually a character in some of the stories (as president of the United States in one multiverse.)
Tom provides insurance to various versions of earth in the multiverse. Sometimes one invades another, or some catastrophe spills from one dimension to another, and that’s what the coverage is for. Tom is single-mindedly obsessed with providing the best customer service possible.
The stories are really over-the-top bizarre. They are cartoonish—silly, strange, satirical. Mr. Correia makes fun of a lot of politicians and public figures (including Obama, Biden, and Trump), so the easily offended should steer clear. I found it quite funny with lots of giggle-snort moments.
Adam Baldwin does a brilliant job. He does tons of different voices, including manatees’ and dolphins’. It was darn impressive.
Language: Some moderate language
Sexual Content: None
Violence: Plenty of cartoonish violence, occasionally graphic
Harm to Animals:
Harm to Children:
Other (Triggers):
Tom provides insurance to various versions of earth in the multiverse. Sometimes one invades another, or some catastrophe spills from one dimension to another, and that’s what the coverage is for. Tom is single-mindedly obsessed with providing the best customer service possible.
The stories are really over-the-top bizarre. They are cartoonish—silly, strange, satirical. Mr. Correia makes fun of a lot of politicians and public figures (including Obama, Biden, and Trump), so the easily offended should steer clear. I found it quite funny with lots of giggle-snort moments.
Adam Baldwin does a brilliant job. He does tons of different voices, including manatees’ and dolphins’. It was darn impressive.
Language: Some moderate language
Sexual Content: None
Violence: Plenty of cartoonish violence, occasionally graphic
Harm to Animals:
Harm to Children:
Other (Triggers):
May 27, 2016
Wow.
Wow.
I got the audible, and it was only about 2 hours, but wow. It's hilarious. I love it. And it understands one of the critical rules of such broad farce. If you are going for over the top, ridiculous, you have to have the characters within the story have to play it completely straight. If they start winking at the camera, so to speak, it ruins it. For a great example, look at the movies Men In Black vs. Men In Black II. The first movie was incredible, partly because Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones took the story seriously, despite the insanity happening around them. The second didn't work, because they were trying to make jokes too much. Ok, so I'm wandering a bit afield, but it's a pet peeve of mine. I really enjoy broad humor, when it is done well.
In any case, if you are looking for insightful commentary or a deeper lesson on the meaningless of existence, I doubt you even finished reading this review, much less that you would enjoy the book. If you just want to laugh at one outrageous, ludicrous situation after another, this book is for you.
Wow.
I got the audible, and it was only about 2 hours, but wow. It's hilarious. I love it. And it understands one of the critical rules of such broad farce. If you are going for over the top, ridiculous, you have to have the characters within the story have to play it completely straight. If they start winking at the camera, so to speak, it ruins it. For a great example, look at the movies Men In Black vs. Men In Black II. The first movie was incredible, partly because Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones took the story seriously, despite the insanity happening around them. The second didn't work, because they were trying to make jokes too much. Ok, so I'm wandering a bit afield, but it's a pet peeve of mine. I really enjoy broad humor, when it is done well.
In any case, if you are looking for insightful commentary or a deeper lesson on the meaningless of existence, I doubt you even finished reading this review, much less that you would enjoy the book. If you just want to laugh at one outrageous, ludicrous situation after another, this book is for you.
December 30, 2019
The worst thing I ever listened to on Audible. It was part of July's free selection, and the cover looked offputting, but the reviews were very positive and promised a lot of laughs. The humour turned out to be flat; it feels like something 10-year-old boys would find funny, except those boys are well in their forties. It also is very political, and right-wing at that. It is a bit strange that Audible promotes human-rights works and diversity (June selection was all about pride), and then offers you this "science-fiction" (science has not even approached to this book). I guess it's good though, as everyone has a right to representation and invisibility creates further divide?
The book is bad though. I was tempted to leave it half-way several times, but kept listening hoping those "hilarious jokes" will appear eventually. They did not!
The book is bad though. I was tempted to leave it half-way several times, but kept listening hoping those "hilarious jokes" will appear eventually. They did not!
May 25, 2016
This is free on Audible for now. This was absolutely hilarious from start to finish and Adam Baldwin's narration was perfect. I was smiling and grinning throughout. Certainly not for everyone, but lots of conservative red meat and some inside stuff for anybody familiar with Correia's blog.
July 23, 2017
Will review at www.fantasyliterature.com
January 23, 2019
2nd Read: Jan 23
Even the 2nd time around - still LOVE this story and the narration. I hope the author is able to put out a 3rd audio book to this series :D
=========================================================
1st Read: March 22
Not much to say about this without spoiling the whole thing so just going to keep it short and brief.
I FREAKING LOVE THIS BOOK!
I try to wait for books to go on sale and not pay full price, but I enjoyed this so much I went ahead and got the next book in the series. Can't wait! And I hope there is more in the near future :D
P.S. Adam Baldwin as the narrator ROCKS!
Even the 2nd time around - still LOVE this story and the narration. I hope the author is able to put out a 3rd audio book to this series :D
=========================================================
1st Read: March 22
Not much to say about this without spoiling the whole thing so just going to keep it short and brief.
I FREAKING LOVE THIS BOOK!
I try to wait for books to go on sale and not pay full price, but I enjoyed this so much I went ahead and got the next book in the series. Can't wait! And I hope there is more in the near future :D
P.S. Adam Baldwin as the narrator ROCKS!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 964 reviews