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Rin, Tongue and Dorner
Take a delirious hyper-metaphorical ride with a love triangle into a fiery cosmos. Shapero’s outer space uncannily mirrors inner space, daring us to ditch our expectations and probe the depths of human desire.
348 pages, Hardcover
First published July 19, 2018
22 people are currently reading
679 people want to read
About the author
Rich Shapero
23 books289 followersRich Shapero’s novels dare readers with giant metaphors, magnificent obsessions and potent ideas. His casts of idealistic lovers, laboring miners, and rebellious artists all rate ideas as paramount, more important than life itself. They traverse wild landscapes and visionary realms, imagining gods who in turn imagine them. Like the seekers themselves, readers grapple with revealing truths about human potential. All of his titles—Beneath Caaqi's Wings, Dissolve, Island Fruit Remedy, Balcony of Fog, Rin, Tongue and Dorner, Arms from the Sea, The Hope We Seek, Too Far and Wild Animus—are available in hardcover and as ebooks. They also combine music, visual art, animation and video in the TooFar Media app. Shapero spins provocative stories for the eyes, ears, and imagination.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
August 20, 2018
On the street, I was handed a free copy of "Rin, Tongue, and Dorner". This is, I discovered, apparently the way most people receive books written by venture capitalist Rich Shapero. Here are my thoughts as I was reading it (with many spoilers):
February 25, 2019
Often, the author manages to separate themselves from the text and seamlessly immerse the reader in the world; however, Rich Shapero does not succeed in the slightest. I was handed the book on a street corner, never a good start, and as I flipped to the first page I could immediately tell that it was written by a straight, white, male. The main character is clearly just the author projecting a glorified version of himself into an undeveloped and confusing world.
This is erotica. Though one could defend it by saying something along the lines of, "it is metaphors for deeper meaning," or, "it is gracefully written," the author's refusal to simply use the word penis is unbearable.
This is erotica. Though one could defend it by saying something along the lines of, "it is metaphors for deeper meaning," or, "it is gracefully written," the author's refusal to simply use the word penis is unbearable.
March 19, 2019
Got handed this on my college campus. Read the first page. The author referred to a penis as a “hooked organ rising from my groin.” Had to put the book down because I couldn’t stop laughing. I threw the book away shortly after. Seems like this author’s book fails the bechdel test and all the other “feminist” tests. No wonder he has to give away his book for free.
September 2, 2018
Pompous, self important trash. Given out free at a festival, and really, I don't see any other way this author would be able to get his book read.
March 15, 2023
As infamously bad as they’re reported to be, it’s hard to deny there’s a mythical quality to venture capitalist, Rich Shapero’s novels, at least in acquisition. I was minding my business on a December morning when I was handed a free novel. The people handing them out were posted along the route with the most foot traffic on campus. Most students either declined the offer or took the books, only for them to be left abandoned all over campus that day. However, my interest was piqued and here I am.
If nothing else, I’m cautious, however. The blurb doesn’t instill much confidence. I can’t explain it because it makes sense now, but it just seemed so confusing and nonsensical at first, like a bunch of ideas simply thrown together. Besides that, getting a novel for free is so odd that it naturally raised suspicion. Here on Goodreads, a cursory glance revealed that this book is pretty reviled by nearly all who read it. This didn’t deter me, however. The book seemed to be my calling. I’m reviewing everything I read for leisure, but it’s most helpful to others to review books that are new. That way, I can warn them if the book is worth their time.
So, with that in mind, which adage reigns supreme in regards to Rich Shapero’s novel, Rin, Tongue, and Dorner? Do you get what you pay for or are the best things in life free?
The former, unquestionably the former. I acknowledge that my leniency may very well be due to my cash not being on the line. There’s only so much a non-existent price can do to soothe me, however. No matter its price, Rin, Tongue, and Dorner isn’t a very good book at all.
The novel’s title, Rin, Tongue, and Dorner reveals its principle characters. Dorner is a employee of the planning committee of Clemency, one of the domes that protects humanity from a post-apocalyptic ice age. He begins hearing female voices in his sleep. He tries to brush it off, but when the voices, known as Tongue, begin affecting the man’s personal life, Dorner consults a neuroscientist, Rin, in order for his mind to be probed and he can confront Tongue.
Maybe I’m just easily pleased, but, if nothing else, I found the story quite interesting at first. I still do. Initially, I wondered how the book could be considered so terrible. I like the post-apocalyptic setting, Dorner struggling with repressed sexuality, society’s repression as a whole, and the concept of interacting with inner demons and the mind’s psyche being a quasi-physical location. If nothing else, Shapero has some really interesting ideas that could make for a cool story. It’s too bad the potential was was squandered, however.
Cracks begin to show at the seams early on. First and foremost, while I describe society as repressed, I must admit I can’t do so with confidence. Dorner unquestionably is, and society is described as being repressed, but it seems like other people are fine enough with sex. This is a relatively minor issue, but it’s indicative of the Shapero’s larger problem that things often aren’t explained or fleshed out adequately.
The story’s pitfalls can be summarized in its three main characters.
Dorner starts off fine, if not a bit Gary-Stu-ish, seemingly loved by all. This becomes interesting when its revealed that Dorner isn’t as perfect as he seems and public opinion starts to change. However, this aspect of the story isn't fleshed out as much as I’d like. I do like Dorner’s demeanor: being haunted by his past, but this isn’t handled well either. We’re initially lied to about how Dorner became injured and it isn’t revealed until later why Dorner is so apprehensive about sex. The problem is that Dorner is a POV character, so naturally, we should know this information early on. It doesn’t make sense that we don’t know what Dorner is since we’re in his shoes for most of the story.
Dorner has very real demons, and they’re interesting, but, again, mishandled. Dorner has extremely unsettling and destructive sexual tendencies, but they’re ultimately treated as fine. Rin is all-forgiving of Dorner, so he never has to truly confront himself or change, making him feel pretty damn static.
Tongue is never adequately explained. We never find out exactly what she is or why she can do the things that she does. How and why is she so powerful? Is she really just a part of Dorner’s brain? Is she a greater power? A spirit? The author seemingly doesn’t know or care. The most frustrating this gets is when Tongue suddenly begins hijacking the real world, causing havoc in Clemency when it was in no way shown or implied beforehand that she could do such.
Rin is just plain insufferable to have to read. She’s a cardboard box with seemingly no motivation or character besides loving Dorner. To be clear, every character not named Dorner seems to suffer from this. However, this problem pronounced with Rin since we spend so much time with her. We don’t even really know why she loves Dorner. She’s very lovey-dovey with him with no explanation of her feelings. It’s quite bizarre and makes me not care at all when they have relationship struggles, because a relationship was barely built in the first place. However, unexplained the love is, it’s unbreakable to a ludicrous degree. Rin will throw away her career, look past Dorner’s grievous faults, throw away common sense to forgive him, and maim herself all in the name of love. It became sad to watch Rin spiral further and further downwards for Dorner. It says something about your so-called romance when your reader is cheering for Rin and Dorner to not get together. Not because there’s a character who he thinks is better, but because he cares more about Rin that you ever did.
The person handing out the book advertised it as not being political. While this could be a good thing to some, a dash of political or social commentary could have gone a long way to make the setting and plot more engaging. As is, I wonder what’s the point of anything. Sci-fi and fantasy are often a way to commentate on our world by creating a fantastical/exaggerated form of reality. Rin, Tongue, and Dorner was certainly on the right track with its concepts about desire, sexuality, repression, and morality. But these themes are not engaged in a satisfying way. Nothing seems to be said about them besides “do what you want no matter the consequences,” which is a quite gross and unhealthy theme to swallow.
Overall, I cannot say the book is irredeemable. Its ideas are quite interesting and they were enough to keep me interested. At the very least, Rin, Tongue, and Dorner wasn’t downright repulsive and I didn’t find it boring.
However, good ideas don’t maketh a good book. You also need good execution and unfortunately, the novel has a hard time fully realizing any of its ideas. Concepts aren’t explained, some characters aren’t engaging, and the rest can hardly be called “characters” at all. Topping it all off, the setting and ideas fail to make an impact, presumably because the author was afraid that being “political” would scare off readers when, often, its would retains them.
And you don’t get an “A” for a decent outline. I’m sorry, Mr. Shapero, but you get an F. Next time, do your homework.
4/10
F
If nothing else, I’m cautious, however. The blurb doesn’t instill much confidence. I can’t explain it because it makes sense now, but it just seemed so confusing and nonsensical at first, like a bunch of ideas simply thrown together. Besides that, getting a novel for free is so odd that it naturally raised suspicion. Here on Goodreads, a cursory glance revealed that this book is pretty reviled by nearly all who read it. This didn’t deter me, however. The book seemed to be my calling. I’m reviewing everything I read for leisure, but it’s most helpful to others to review books that are new. That way, I can warn them if the book is worth their time.
So, with that in mind, which adage reigns supreme in regards to Rich Shapero’s novel, Rin, Tongue, and Dorner? Do you get what you pay for or are the best things in life free?
The former, unquestionably the former. I acknowledge that my leniency may very well be due to my cash not being on the line. There’s only so much a non-existent price can do to soothe me, however. No matter its price, Rin, Tongue, and Dorner isn’t a very good book at all.
The novel’s title, Rin, Tongue, and Dorner reveals its principle characters. Dorner is a employee of the planning committee of Clemency, one of the domes that protects humanity from a post-apocalyptic ice age. He begins hearing female voices in his sleep. He tries to brush it off, but when the voices, known as Tongue, begin affecting the man’s personal life, Dorner consults a neuroscientist, Rin, in order for his mind to be probed and he can confront Tongue.
Maybe I’m just easily pleased, but, if nothing else, I found the story quite interesting at first. I still do. Initially, I wondered how the book could be considered so terrible. I like the post-apocalyptic setting, Dorner struggling with repressed sexuality, society’s repression as a whole, and the concept of interacting with inner demons and the mind’s psyche being a quasi-physical location. If nothing else, Shapero has some really interesting ideas that could make for a cool story. It’s too bad the potential was was squandered, however.
Cracks begin to show at the seams early on. First and foremost, while I describe society as repressed, I must admit I can’t do so with confidence. Dorner unquestionably is, and society is described as being repressed, but it seems like other people are fine enough with sex. This is a relatively minor issue, but it’s indicative of the Shapero’s larger problem that things often aren’t explained or fleshed out adequately.
The story’s pitfalls can be summarized in its three main characters.
Dorner starts off fine, if not a bit Gary-Stu-ish, seemingly loved by all. This becomes interesting when its revealed that Dorner isn’t as perfect as he seems and public opinion starts to change. However, this aspect of the story isn't fleshed out as much as I’d like. I do like Dorner’s demeanor: being haunted by his past, but this isn’t handled well either. We’re initially lied to about how Dorner became injured and it isn’t revealed until later why Dorner is so apprehensive about sex. The problem is that Dorner is a POV character, so naturally, we should know this information early on. It doesn’t make sense that we don’t know what Dorner is since we’re in his shoes for most of the story.
Dorner has very real demons, and they’re interesting, but, again, mishandled. Dorner has extremely unsettling and destructive sexual tendencies, but they’re ultimately treated as fine. Rin is all-forgiving of Dorner, so he never has to truly confront himself or change, making him feel pretty damn static.
Tongue is never adequately explained. We never find out exactly what she is or why she can do the things that she does. How and why is she so powerful? Is she really just a part of Dorner’s brain? Is she a greater power? A spirit? The author seemingly doesn’t know or care. The most frustrating this gets is when Tongue suddenly begins hijacking the real world, causing havoc in Clemency when it was in no way shown or implied beforehand that she could do such.
Rin is just plain insufferable to have to read. She’s a cardboard box with seemingly no motivation or character besides loving Dorner. To be clear, every character not named Dorner seems to suffer from this. However, this problem pronounced with Rin since we spend so much time with her. We don’t even really know why she loves Dorner. She’s very lovey-dovey with him with no explanation of her feelings. It’s quite bizarre and makes me not care at all when they have relationship struggles, because a relationship was barely built in the first place. However, unexplained the love is, it’s unbreakable to a ludicrous degree. Rin will throw away her career, look past Dorner’s grievous faults, throw away common sense to forgive him, and maim herself all in the name of love. It became sad to watch Rin spiral further and further downwards for Dorner. It says something about your so-called romance when your reader is cheering for Rin and Dorner to not get together. Not because there’s a character who he thinks is better, but because he cares more about Rin that you ever did.
The person handing out the book advertised it as not being political. While this could be a good thing to some, a dash of political or social commentary could have gone a long way to make the setting and plot more engaging. As is, I wonder what’s the point of anything. Sci-fi and fantasy are often a way to commentate on our world by creating a fantastical/exaggerated form of reality. Rin, Tongue, and Dorner was certainly on the right track with its concepts about desire, sexuality, repression, and morality. But these themes are not engaged in a satisfying way. Nothing seems to be said about them besides “do what you want no matter the consequences,” which is a quite gross and unhealthy theme to swallow.
Overall, I cannot say the book is irredeemable. Its ideas are quite interesting and they were enough to keep me interested. At the very least, Rin, Tongue, and Dorner wasn’t downright repulsive and I didn’t find it boring.
However, good ideas don’t maketh a good book. You also need good execution and unfortunately, the novel has a hard time fully realizing any of its ideas. Concepts aren’t explained, some characters aren’t engaging, and the rest can hardly be called “characters” at all. Topping it all off, the setting and ideas fail to make an impact, presumably because the author was afraid that being “political” would scare off readers when, often, its would retains them.
And you don’t get an “A” for a decent outline. I’m sorry, Mr. Shapero, but you get an F. Next time, do your homework.
4/10
F
April 18, 2019
Like most people who have read this book, I was handed a copy for free on a college campus. Like most people who have read this book, I thought it was awful. I am writing this review only to remind people that when you throw it out, and you will, please recycle.
April 30, 2019
This book isn’t worth any more of my time. I only read half of it before I had to use it for my compost heap. Literally the worst book I’ve read in years.
All I can tell you is don’t bother.
All I can tell you is don’t bother.
September 3, 2021
What the hell… DNF
I thought I’d give this book a go, even with all the negative reviews, and boy was that a mistake.
I made it to chapter 2, which starts at page 37. Long chapters are my nemesis. This book, while the first page literally references our main character Dorner having an erection to the thoughts of singing women in his vision, which is weird. After that, we have a really poor writing style which tells you rather than the preferred showing you, whilst also being so confusing. The amount of ‘arousal’ mentionings are also unsettling.
So, in short, Rin, Tongue and Dorner is a supposedly sci-fi novel with sexual references and sex scenes with poor writing and confusing plot. Overall, I’m glad I gave it up when I did, and it really wasn’t worth picking up.
I thought I’d give this book a go, even with all the negative reviews, and boy was that a mistake.
I made it to chapter 2, which starts at page 37. Long chapters are my nemesis. This book, while the first page literally references our main character Dorner having an erection to the thoughts of singing women in his vision, which is weird. After that, we have a really poor writing style which tells you rather than the preferred showing you, whilst also being so confusing. The amount of ‘arousal’ mentionings are also unsettling.
So, in short, Rin, Tongue and Dorner is a supposedly sci-fi novel with sexual references and sex scenes with poor writing and confusing plot. Overall, I’m glad I gave it up when I did, and it really wasn’t worth picking up.
November 22, 2020
Found this book on my car's windshield one morning. Should have known better.
March 23, 2021
video review is up!
Definitely, without a doubt, absolutely one of the worst books I've ever read. It might even take the crown for most unpleasant read of my life. I'll have to gather my thoughts on this one before I post a full review because it really just melted my brain.
Definitely, without a doubt, absolutely one of the worst books I've ever read. It might even take the crown for most unpleasant read of my life. I'll have to gather my thoughts on this one before I post a full review because it really just melted my brain.
November 25, 2020
I don’t have the willpower to unpack this at the moment, but all I’ll say is this: no. In quite literally every regard, no.
July 21, 2022
extremely unpleasant read….
February 25, 2019
I kept going on this book as long as I did, because I was hoping for redemption for Dorner. There is none. Dorner is a man haunted by the twisted sexual fantasies formed in him by an adult woman when he was 12. Wait, what? So, a pedofile. A pedofile who eventually left her family and life for him, who continues to stalk him, and who (somehow?) is so in his psyche that she can control his sexual urges from a distance. And Rin, the surgeon/psychologist who is in a sexual relationship with her patient, never has the sense to tell Dorner “hey you were manipulated as a child by a predator!”...but that’s just part of it.
The whole book is saturated in repressed sexuality, which gets expressed in the absolute worst ways. Dorner has sworn off sex in every way, as penance for thinking that intimacy was created by having sex while on fire. But repressed urges turn into Tongue, the literal flame of desire that lives deep in his psyche/soul, and is (literally) going to burn him down. But instead of getting salvation, or restoration, or at least peace, from Tongue, Dorner and Rin go on ahead and get sucked in completely. By lighting each other on fire during orgasm. Repeatedly.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t read the last 5th or so of the book. About the time Tongue becomes sentient outside of Dorner’s mind, and starts attacking other people, I had to know how this would end. Do Rin and Dorner bond together to overcome the twisted fantasies and deep psychological wounds? Well, on the last page, they are both in Dorner’s psyche, burning themselves alive. So, yeah, no.
I was interested in the alternative future of mankind in domed colonies along the equator. I was intrigued by a sci-fi nivel that wasn’t about the sci-fi, but was really a study in passion and intimacy. But this thing is just twisted. It’s about a twisted man still controlled by a sick sexual relationship as a child, never getting any real healing, and bringing his dream woman down into his firey vortex with him to, presumably, die. This one isn’t even going to a resale shop. It’s already in my garbage can.
The whole book is saturated in repressed sexuality, which gets expressed in the absolute worst ways. Dorner has sworn off sex in every way, as penance for thinking that intimacy was created by having sex while on fire. But repressed urges turn into Tongue, the literal flame of desire that lives deep in his psyche/soul, and is (literally) going to burn him down. But instead of getting salvation, or restoration, or at least peace, from Tongue, Dorner and Rin go on ahead and get sucked in completely. By lighting each other on fire during orgasm. Repeatedly.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t read the last 5th or so of the book. About the time Tongue becomes sentient outside of Dorner’s mind, and starts attacking other people, I had to know how this would end. Do Rin and Dorner bond together to overcome the twisted fantasies and deep psychological wounds? Well, on the last page, they are both in Dorner’s psyche, burning themselves alive. So, yeah, no.
I was interested in the alternative future of mankind in domed colonies along the equator. I was intrigued by a sci-fi nivel that wasn’t about the sci-fi, but was really a study in passion and intimacy. But this thing is just twisted. It’s about a twisted man still controlled by a sick sexual relationship as a child, never getting any real healing, and bringing his dream woman down into his firey vortex with him to, presumably, die. This one isn’t even going to a resale shop. It’s already in my garbage can.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2020
Incoherent plot, flat characters, turgid prose
I read a lot of dystopian science fiction; this is among the worst that I have encountered. It was handed to me for free on the street, which is apparently the only way that the self-published author, a wealthy silicon venture capitalist, can get into print. The absurd plot starts with the premise of an ice age reaching the equator (ever heard of climate change?), where glaciers threaten a floating domed city. It's then revealed that, to maintain a steady temperature inside the dome, all sexual urges are repressed (yes, really. Don't bother trying to make sense of it.) The novel revolves around the central character, Dorner, who is tall, handsome, brilliant, charismatic, admired by other men and irresistible to all women. The story is laced with oddly specific descriptions of the protagonists sexual urges and fantasies, jarring the reader out of the narrative to wonder if the author is working through his unresolved issues in print instead of a therapist's office. The characters are one-dimensional, the writing style is turgid, cartoonish, and reminiscent of 1930s pulps such as Doc Savage or John Carter on Mars. I've seen stacks of the author's previous books in the remainder bins of thrift stores; now I know why.
I read a lot of dystopian science fiction; this is among the worst that I have encountered. It was handed to me for free on the street, which is apparently the only way that the self-published author, a wealthy silicon venture capitalist, can get into print. The absurd plot starts with the premise of an ice age reaching the equator (ever heard of climate change?), where glaciers threaten a floating domed city. It's then revealed that, to maintain a steady temperature inside the dome, all sexual urges are repressed (yes, really. Don't bother trying to make sense of it.) The novel revolves around the central character, Dorner, who is tall, handsome, brilliant, charismatic, admired by other men and irresistible to all women. The story is laced with oddly specific descriptions of the protagonists sexual urges and fantasies, jarring the reader out of the narrative to wonder if the author is working through his unresolved issues in print instead of a therapist's office. The characters are one-dimensional, the writing style is turgid, cartoonish, and reminiscent of 1930s pulps such as Doc Savage or John Carter on Mars. I've seen stacks of the author's previous books in the remainder bins of thrift stores; now I know why.
March 3, 2019
Wow. This book is awful. And poorly written. There were too many commas. Too many words and none of them made any sense. Comma splices. Parts that were just VAGUE to a maximum. To help me understand I read through the first person to review this book's review and there's a wonderful review.
Worldbuilding: there was none. Places. People. They were brought up and you had no idea what was what or who was who.
Characters. Don't really care for any of them. They're dumbasses. And morons. And personality wise I just don't care. Also emotionless???
Sexualization. Ok everything was sexualized. What I didn't realize when picking up this book was tongue made him AROUSED. hell everything made dorner aroused. And his no sex pact? Gone as soon as he possibly could.
Poorly written
Overly sexual
This book.
Sigh.
Worldbuilding: there was none. Places. People. They were brought up and you had no idea what was what or who was who.
Characters. Don't really care for any of them. They're dumbasses. And morons. And personality wise I just don't care. Also emotionless???
Sexualization. Ok everything was sexualized. What I didn't realize when picking up this book was tongue made him AROUSED. hell everything made dorner aroused. And his no sex pact? Gone as soon as he possibly could.
Poorly written
Overly sexual
This book.
Sigh.
December 11, 2018
Next time I get a book for free on campus, I guess I can only hope it doesn't start with description of the main character's sex dreams. It's difficult to follow the plot/point of view, and the writing is lackluster even if the premise wasn't creepy as hell.
August 6, 2021
First up, I received a free copy of this book. I work in a library and noone could remember where the "red book with a record" came from, so when we moved offices I took it home to read, and to listen to the record. I never got around to listening to the record, so I can honestly say that the quality of the music has made no impact on my lack of enjoyment of this book.
I looked at the Goodreads rating before starting the book and thought "wow, a 1 star book, surely it cannot be that bad". At lunch I read the first half of the book which, although confusing, wasn't really deserving of 1 star, not more than 2 stars, but not 1 star. The next day I continued and things went rapidly downhill from my 2 stars. It then also took a month to read because I couldn't face reading anymore.
First half:
The world has become frozen for some reason (probably global warming) and now there's a city surrounded by a glass dome that a bunch of people live in. Dorner, the main character, helped save a bunch of people from another city being destroyed and is a hero in the city. He spends a lot of time trying not to masturbate (for some odd heat reason) and then realising he's got a crazy talking "thing" in his head called Tongue, goes to seek professional help from some lady called Rin who can see into his head. Through some totally unbelievable events, she decides she fancies him and they have a lot of sex. Also, pretty much every second word in the book sounds sexual.
Second half:
What the hell? Everything after this is a spoiler.
The best advice I can have is not to read this book. I cannot believe I finished it.
I looked at the Goodreads rating before starting the book and thought "wow, a 1 star book, surely it cannot be that bad". At lunch I read the first half of the book which, although confusing, wasn't really deserving of 1 star, not more than 2 stars, but not 1 star. The next day I continued and things went rapidly downhill from my 2 stars. It then also took a month to read because I couldn't face reading anymore.
First half:
The world has become frozen for some reason (probably global warming) and now there's a city surrounded by a glass dome that a bunch of people live in. Dorner, the main character, helped save a bunch of people from another city being destroyed and is a hero in the city. He spends a lot of time trying not to masturbate (for some odd heat reason) and then realising he's got a crazy talking "thing" in his head called Tongue, goes to seek professional help from some lady called Rin who can see into his head. Through some totally unbelievable events, she decides she fancies him and they have a lot of sex. Also, pretty much every second word in the book sounds sexual.
Second half:
What the hell? Everything after this is a spoiler.
The best advice I can have is not to read this book. I cannot believe I finished it.
June 2, 2024
“Do you think God stays in heaven because he too lives in fear of what he’s created?” -Steve Buscemi “Spy Kids 2”
After reading this book, this masterful quote had been resounding in my head. Why God would you let a man create a book this horrible!? Absolutely everything is an analogous to some sexual act pertaining to the main character. The plot seems to take a back seat to dorner’s sexual conquests/mommy issues. The whole furnace plot doesn’t even make full sense or have a cohesive theme. The quality of writing itself is largely inconsistent and worse than some of the shittiest fanfics in existence.
I spent eight hours of my life trying to read this book. EIGHT. FULL. HOURS. I will never get that time back and I urge anyone else considering reading this book to turn away. There are so many better ways that your time can be spent. Bake something, hug your children, go for a walk, but for the love of god do not read this book.
After reading this book, this masterful quote had been resounding in my head. Why God would you let a man create a book this horrible!? Absolutely everything is an analogous to some sexual act pertaining to the main character. The plot seems to take a back seat to dorner’s sexual conquests/mommy issues. The whole furnace plot doesn’t even make full sense or have a cohesive theme. The quality of writing itself is largely inconsistent and worse than some of the shittiest fanfics in existence.
I spent eight hours of my life trying to read this book. EIGHT. FULL. HOURS. I will never get that time back and I urge anyone else considering reading this book to turn away. There are so many better ways that your time can be spent. Bake something, hug your children, go for a walk, but for the love of god do not read this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2019
What started out intriguing ended up immensely unsatisfying - fitting I guess, for a book about repressed desires. There are interesting concepts in here - mankind surviving the next ice age, dangerous fetishes, being lost in one's mind. But it truly goes awry in many ways, leaving you with an empty feeling and many, many questions.
First, the writing is obtuse. It's very descriptive, and paints an interesting picture, but it beats you over the head with long, repetitive descriptions. It's too much, and you often feel like you're wading through molasses to get past the scenery and onto the plot.
But the much bigger issue for me is the author's choice to ground the story in reality for the first 2/3rds of the book, fleshing out real characters in a real world, then completely abandon said world for a fully metaphysical landscape towards the end, leaving you desperately wanting to know 'what really happened.'
The characters live out their lives in a no-longer-inhabitable future version of Earth, and also frequently visit their subconscious, trying to resolve a man's guilty past and unmet desires. The interesting settings, both real and in the characters' minds, work to a degree, and I enjoyed this part mostly. Then something bizarre occurs: First, the subconscious force they're fighting appears to infect the real world, turning this from a 'science' fiction story to 'fantasy' out of the blue. I'm still unsure if the events depicted were supposed to be real, or a delirious interpretation of something real, the true nature of which we're never clued into.
As the book progresses, this line between reality and mind is completely erased. I have no idea if any of the events of the last 3 chapters actually occurred in their world, or if it was all a dream, or some mix of both. The giant calamities, and the fates of the characters, are completely unresolved, and we're left wondering why we bothered reading any of it in the first place.
Stories that take place in a character's mind are often derided as a way to tell an incoherent story and explain all the inconsistencies away as 'it's just a dream'. But, they can still have an impact and be enjoyable, if, in the end, you offer the reader/viewer either a.) the knowledge of what's a dream and what's not (Vanilla Sky, Stay, Mulholland Drive), or b.) a compelling or interesting reason to wonder what was a dream and what wasn't (Inception, ... and Mulholland Drive). This story takes a much lazier and alienating path: the world is established as physical and real, then impossible things happen, the end. A single page bringing the reader back to the real world would have been the difference between hating and enjoying this trip. As presented, it's a mass of ideas that could and should lead to something meaningful, but instead leaves you stranded in the dark.
First, the writing is obtuse. It's very descriptive, and paints an interesting picture, but it beats you over the head with long, repetitive descriptions. It's too much, and you often feel like you're wading through molasses to get past the scenery and onto the plot.
But the much bigger issue for me is the author's choice to ground the story in reality for the first 2/3rds of the book, fleshing out real characters in a real world, then completely abandon said world for a fully metaphysical landscape towards the end, leaving you desperately wanting to know 'what really happened.'
The characters live out their lives in a no-longer-inhabitable future version of Earth, and also frequently visit their subconscious, trying to resolve a man's guilty past and unmet desires. The interesting settings, both real and in the characters' minds, work to a degree, and I enjoyed this part mostly. Then something bizarre occurs: First, the subconscious force they're fighting appears to infect the real world, turning this from a 'science' fiction story to 'fantasy' out of the blue. I'm still unsure if the events depicted were supposed to be real, or a delirious interpretation of something real, the true nature of which we're never clued into.
As the book progresses, this line between reality and mind is completely erased. I have no idea if any of the events of the last 3 chapters actually occurred in their world, or if it was all a dream, or some mix of both. The giant calamities, and the fates of the characters, are completely unresolved, and we're left wondering why we bothered reading any of it in the first place.
Stories that take place in a character's mind are often derided as a way to tell an incoherent story and explain all the inconsistencies away as 'it's just a dream'. But, they can still have an impact and be enjoyable, if, in the end, you offer the reader/viewer either a.) the knowledge of what's a dream and what's not (Vanilla Sky, Stay, Mulholland Drive), or b.) a compelling or interesting reason to wonder what was a dream and what wasn't (Inception, ... and Mulholland Drive). This story takes a much lazier and alienating path: the world is established as physical and real, then impossible things happen, the end. A single page bringing the reader back to the real world would have been the difference between hating and enjoying this trip. As presented, it's a mass of ideas that could and should lead to something meaningful, but instead leaves you stranded in the dark.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2022
I created an account on Goodreads for the express purpose of reviewing this one book.
The day I, and some of my unsuspecting peers were introduced to Rich Shapero's writing we were on a class trip-caught unawares while traveling to our next destination this 'book' was handed to us. Many of us were sensible enough to know not to take objects from strange men on crowded city streets, however, whether it be out of curiosity, politeness, or simple ignorance a great majority of my party did. When we arrived the all books were promptly confiscated from us, what happened to them I don't know; all I know is that they missed one. We, and by we I mean the group of 4 I shared a room with found that one of the books had slipped through the cracks right into our hands. After a drawn-out session of relying our dramatic disgust at the very idea of taking objects from strange men on street corners and checking the book for suspicious fluids, we sanitized the book and started reading.
Much like drinking, or watching a trash movie, the act of reading this book is only fun when done in a group environment. We had a grand old time, giving a dramatic reading and flipping to random pages and gawking at the usages of commas and the incomprehensibility of it all.
As for the content of this book.
It was bad.
Really bad.
and if I were to rate my experience reading this book it would be 5 stars.
But I could not, in good conscious recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading.
The day I, and some of my unsuspecting peers were introduced to Rich Shapero's writing we were on a class trip-caught unawares while traveling to our next destination this 'book' was handed to us. Many of us were sensible enough to know not to take objects from strange men on crowded city streets, however, whether it be out of curiosity, politeness, or simple ignorance a great majority of my party did. When we arrived the all books were promptly confiscated from us, what happened to them I don't know; all I know is that they missed one. We, and by we I mean the group of 4 I shared a room with found that one of the books had slipped through the cracks right into our hands. After a drawn-out session of relying our dramatic disgust at the very idea of taking objects from strange men on street corners and checking the book for suspicious fluids, we sanitized the book and started reading.
Much like drinking, or watching a trash movie, the act of reading this book is only fun when done in a group environment. We had a grand old time, giving a dramatic reading and flipping to random pages and gawking at the usages of commas and the incomprehensibility of it all.
As for the content of this book.
It was bad.
Really bad.
and if I were to rate my experience reading this book it would be 5 stars.
But I could not, in good conscious recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading.
July 8, 2019
One of the strangest books I have ever read in my lifetime. It is also really dumb.
The plot makes no sense and the characters are so bland that it is uncomfortable to read. It is also so long. 11 chapters, 348 pages!
There are two things I do like about this book. One is the whole concept of exploring where your deepest desires come from in your brain. And also the author, Rich Shapero, has a website that actually has music that goes with each chapter.
Even though there are some good things, I do not recommend you read this book. It is a figurative acid trip throughout the entire story.
The plot makes no sense and the characters are so bland that it is uncomfortable to read. It is also so long. 11 chapters, 348 pages!
There are two things I do like about this book. One is the whole concept of exploring where your deepest desires come from in your brain. And also the author, Rich Shapero, has a website that actually has music that goes with each chapter.
Even though there are some good things, I do not recommend you read this book. It is a figurative acid trip throughout the entire story.
July 15, 2019
I wasn't at all sure what to expect when I received this book, but what I discovered is that it is possible for a book to make me cringe so hard that my face hurts. I think this is meant to be sci-fi erotica, but that's not what's bad about it - it's the writing. It feels like the author purposefully wrote in a way no rational human being would think, which might have been intended to be cool and mysterious but it comes across as incompetent. The grammatical errors are peppered through every page. Again, this seems to be intentional, but it does not hit the mark. Worse than the errors and convoluted prose, though, is literally everything about the story itself. I could not finish this book.
February 22, 2022
There's a hint of a good horror story here, about abuse, shared psychosis and pyromania. If you really cling on to that idea, it's bearable for the most part.
Annoyingly, that idea is buried deep in layers and layers of a weird, confusing, horny sci-fi psychodrama featuring too many characters, tedious repeated descriptions of the same settings several times over, and gibbons.
I can't say I'd recommend it, but equally I didn't think it was as unreadable as some reviews suggest (though there is a lot to overlook/skim over so I may be being generous). If you want a story that will make you want to go and rewrite it while you're reading, this might be the one.
Annoyingly, that idea is buried deep in layers and layers of a weird, confusing, horny sci-fi psychodrama featuring too many characters, tedious repeated descriptions of the same settings several times over, and gibbons.
I can't say I'd recommend it, but equally I didn't think it was as unreadable as some reviews suggest (though there is a lot to overlook/skim over so I may be being generous). If you want a story that will make you want to go and rewrite it while you're reading, this might be the one.
November 17, 2018
The writing is just terrible. Genuinely terrible. It's wordy and the sentences run on and are confusing. And that's just the grammar. I will admit I didn't get through more than 2 pages of this book before having to skim the rest. It starts with...a weird scene. His dick is mentioned in the actual third paragraph and then again in the ninth. (Mind you this was given away for free (I can see why), at a CHILDRENS book fair with 11-17 year olds). The ending...what? Not to mention the awful cover design and font choice. Hard pass.
November 28, 2018
The only reason that I read this book is because they were handing it out on my campus and I had nothing better to do. As soon as I read the first page, I had a feeling that this wouldn’t be a book that I would enjoy, yet, for some reason, I kept reading. This book was confusing and most of what happened was pretty unnecessary. Nothing was really explained, and the things that could have been interesting were ignored entirely. The ending seemed to just go on for far too long and felt as if the book was just cut short of an actual ending.
December 30, 2018
Handed to me free outside a bookstore, this book was atrocious. It read as a thinly veiled description of the author's sexual fetishes (involving pain by fire); the actually interesting background plot was abandoned. The book also suggests the author has no understanding of healthy, consensual relationships (nor the medical ethics of the patient-provider relationship).
March 25, 2019
This novel was so bad, I'm writing a review to encourage people not to read it.
What started off as slightly intriguing with an interesting concept, was drowned in excessive details; dull, undeveloped characters; and an unnecessary, overtly sexualized theme.
There's a reason it was being handed out on the street for free, because who would pay to read this.
What started off as slightly intriguing with an interesting concept, was drowned in excessive details; dull, undeveloped characters; and an unnecessary, overtly sexualized theme.
There's a reason it was being handed out on the street for free, because who would pay to read this.
November 19, 2018
This novel follows Dorner on his quest to uncover the source of his internal haunter, Tongue. Set in a futuristic world, hinting to the possible outcome of our real life global warming, Dorner is responsible for keeping his community warm. However, he faces his own personal demons, rooted in his past which is referred to often to keep you guessing and interested in what extreme sexual encounters he must have had to make him turn to a life of abstinence.
For those of us that have very realistic and vivid dreams, like I do, you can fully imagine the stress these dreams puts on Dorner. He embarks on a mission to resolve the constant voices of longing he is hearing at night during his sleep. This leads him to meet Rin, a doctor who becomes too involved with her patient.
Rin struggles to find the meaning behind Dorner's visions. He brings Rin closer than anyone one else has been to his actual self, allowing her to become intimate with his deepest secrets. She becomes intertwined in his story and their developing relationship has to survive his damaged past. Much like all of us, Dorner has to learn to move on from his previous unhealthy relationships to try and make it work with someone new. Unfortunately his history has some deep set issues that are physically and mentally disturbing him.
The plot twists and turns, keeping the story unraveling in an interesting way. At first I found it difficult to follow the futuristic setting, but once I began to picture things I have seen in sci-fi movies I was able to imagine it. The story moves quickly and is an entertaining read.
For those of us that have very realistic and vivid dreams, like I do, you can fully imagine the stress these dreams puts on Dorner. He embarks on a mission to resolve the constant voices of longing he is hearing at night during his sleep. This leads him to meet Rin, a doctor who becomes too involved with her patient.
Rin struggles to find the meaning behind Dorner's visions. He brings Rin closer than anyone one else has been to his actual self, allowing her to become intimate with his deepest secrets. She becomes intertwined in his story and their developing relationship has to survive his damaged past. Much like all of us, Dorner has to learn to move on from his previous unhealthy relationships to try and make it work with someone new. Unfortunately his history has some deep set issues that are physically and mentally disturbing him.
The plot twists and turns, keeping the story unraveling in an interesting way. At first I found it difficult to follow the futuristic setting, but once I began to picture things I have seen in sci-fi movies I was able to imagine it. The story moves quickly and is an entertaining read.
December 15, 2018
Aside from the many grammatical errors, which bothered me horribly at the beginning, I really did enjoy this book. The book's title also confused me, but I have to put those things aside because the book wasn't that bad.
This book begins in a world of the future. I love a good sci-fi book, so I was pulled in immediately! Dorner is the main character and he is being haunted by a part of his own personality. (At least that's what I have gathered.) Tongue is haunting him and he is now on a journey to find out why. Dorner has many important roles in his community that he must keep up with though. One of those is to keep his community warm. In this society,global warming has been wreaking havoc on the world.
Dorner is plagued by some of the memories of his past though. Known as a sex fiend in his younger years, he has vowed a life of celibacy. That is, until he meets her. Rin. Rin is a doctor who is trying to figure out a lot about Dorner. She wants to know every little thing about him, including the reasons that he is being plagued by Tongue.
This book shares Dorner's sexual exploits and we even begin to see a blossoming relationship with him and Rin. If you like erotica, you will like this book. If you like reading futuristic sci-fi, this is a great read for you too. I thought it moved at the right speed and it has some great character development too.
This book begins in a world of the future. I love a good sci-fi book, so I was pulled in immediately! Dorner is the main character and he is being haunted by a part of his own personality. (At least that's what I have gathered.) Tongue is haunting him and he is now on a journey to find out why. Dorner has many important roles in his community that he must keep up with though. One of those is to keep his community warm. In this society,global warming has been wreaking havoc on the world.
Dorner is plagued by some of the memories of his past though. Known as a sex fiend in his younger years, he has vowed a life of celibacy. That is, until he meets her. Rin. Rin is a doctor who is trying to figure out a lot about Dorner. She wants to know every little thing about him, including the reasons that he is being plagued by Tongue.
This book shares Dorner's sexual exploits and we even begin to see a blossoming relationship with him and Rin. If you like erotica, you will like this book. If you like reading futuristic sci-fi, this is a great read for you too. I thought it moved at the right speed and it has some great character development too.
November 4, 2018
I like Dorner, he has a really good heart if helping people. The author reminded me about Sunday school back in the day when everything was said good and all we wanted to be was to be the hero. I have liked the book’s Idea and gave me something in my spirit, something that I should share. Is everything happening in the world happens at a good cause?? I just wonder when we call places evil words and names to make the places seem like they shouldn’t even exist. This creates animosity among people and mostly nations and as I can say it; it is really wrong sometimes. I recall one CNN journalist called Kenya, ‘a den of terrorism’ when the former president Barak Obama paid a visit to that nation and Kenyans were really upset with that term. So like Dorner, we should embrace good deeds sometimes, they matter a lot.
The grammar, language, plot and everything in the book is complicated if you don’t keep yourself on the story, when I first read it, I never understood because the author is deep. So my advice who readers to take this book into account, sit, relax and give it your concentration so that you can really understand the three names in the title are actually mingle scenes, making great story here.
The grammar, language, plot and everything in the book is complicated if you don’t keep yourself on the story, when I first read it, I never understood because the author is deep. So my advice who readers to take this book into account, sit, relax and give it your concentration so that you can really understand the three names in the title are actually mingle scenes, making great story here.
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