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String Theory - the Novel
Think "Alice in Wonderland" meets "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" meets the characters and locales of modern, traveler friendly, Southeast Asia!"String Theory-the Novel" is a science fiction/fantasy comedy adventure which ranges across Thailand, the mystical temple complexes of Cambodia, the beaches of Bali, and then into the far future. Johnny Local, a young American quietly living in Bangkok, finds himself the centerpiece of a plot to destroy Time and reverse the universe back to before the Big Bang. Who is the villain? The Jackalope - that tall tale of Texas saloons who doesn't exist, and so selfishly and fiendishly, he wants to see the whole Universe not exist also. Fortunately for his evil ambition, the way to accomplish this is simple-kill Johnny Local! Backing the Jackalope is the Council of Seven-a group of evily funny talking animals from the future who secretly control our modern world. They are The Rat King, the Peacock King, Beaver and Pussy, and 2 more. With assassins like the Circus Bear -riding his tricycle of death- and Mr Whiskers, the Hell Bound Cat, hunting Johnny, our hero is in big trouble!The situations and action range through the streets and markets of Bangkok, the temples of Angkor Wat, and other exotic locales, giving the reader an armchair vacation along with a very odd yet very understandable story.If you like escapist, uniquely imaginative, upbeat, relaxing entertainment, get this book..If you have ever traveled in Southeast Asia, you'll love this book!It is, to quote Mahatma Gandhi, "A laugh riot!""
162 pages, Paperback
First published June 4, 2012
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 20, 2016
Smart, Jazzy Bizarro
I really like bizarro fiction, but sometimes the pickings are pretty slim. That's why this book was such an excellent find. Here's the Wikipedia description of bizarro fiction, which hits the nail right on the head - "Bizzaro fiction is a contemporary literary genre, which often uses elements of absurdism, satire, and the grotesque, along with pop-surrealism and genre fiction staples, in order to create subversive, weird, and entertaining works." Bingo; that's exactly what you get here.
We follow the adventures of Johnny Local, (and spend lots of time inside his head). Often in bizarro the hero/narrator is confused, disoriented and a bit overcome. Sometimes that can get tedious. Here, Johnny is mostly bemused and is a bit detached from his own story, so he adopts more of a roll-with-the-punches attitude as the plot rollicks along. That works especially well because Johnny Local is a smart and observant character, not a Bill-and-Ted slacker. As a consequence the narration is clever, insightful, fast and pointed. The book reads a bit like a collection of monologues. There is a very good plot, but the action moves along as a series of episodes. Johnny narrates each episode - introducing the supporting characters, setting the scene, and advancing the story. He also provides wry general commentary and spices the whole concoction up with loads of amusing and interesting throwaway lines.
The upshot is that you have a perfectly coherent, if weird, story, but it is jazzed up and spiced with all sorts of neat riffs. I had at least a dozen favorite secondary characters, (I especially enjoyed Mr. Possible Futures), and I noted at least one really tasty throwaway line on every other page. Our author doesn't go for violence or sex. He doesn't go for mystic or poetical. He isn't into ambiguity or incoherence. The story is bizarre, but perfectly logical and coherent. It's smart and it is powered by a certain "oh wow!" association of unrelated ideas, neat scenes, funny dialogue, absurd juxtapositions and clever set ups. All in all a great fun read.
(Please note that I found this book while browsing Amazon Kindle freebies. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
I really like bizarro fiction, but sometimes the pickings are pretty slim. That's why this book was such an excellent find. Here's the Wikipedia description of bizarro fiction, which hits the nail right on the head - "Bizzaro fiction is a contemporary literary genre, which often uses elements of absurdism, satire, and the grotesque, along with pop-surrealism and genre fiction staples, in order to create subversive, weird, and entertaining works." Bingo; that's exactly what you get here.
We follow the adventures of Johnny Local, (and spend lots of time inside his head). Often in bizarro the hero/narrator is confused, disoriented and a bit overcome. Sometimes that can get tedious. Here, Johnny is mostly bemused and is a bit detached from his own story, so he adopts more of a roll-with-the-punches attitude as the plot rollicks along. That works especially well because Johnny Local is a smart and observant character, not a Bill-and-Ted slacker. As a consequence the narration is clever, insightful, fast and pointed. The book reads a bit like a collection of monologues. There is a very good plot, but the action moves along as a series of episodes. Johnny narrates each episode - introducing the supporting characters, setting the scene, and advancing the story. He also provides wry general commentary and spices the whole concoction up with loads of amusing and interesting throwaway lines.
The upshot is that you have a perfectly coherent, if weird, story, but it is jazzed up and spiced with all sorts of neat riffs. I had at least a dozen favorite secondary characters, (I especially enjoyed Mr. Possible Futures), and I noted at least one really tasty throwaway line on every other page. Our author doesn't go for violence or sex. He doesn't go for mystic or poetical. He isn't into ambiguity or incoherence. The story is bizarre, but perfectly logical and coherent. It's smart and it is powered by a certain "oh wow!" association of unrelated ideas, neat scenes, funny dialogue, absurd juxtapositions and clever set ups. All in all a great fun read.
(Please note that I found this book while browsing Amazon Kindle freebies. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
Displaying 1 of 1 review