Nick Bones Underground

by Phil M Cohen

Shmulie Shimmer promised he’d call his father, Abe, but he never did. And Shmulie never broke a promise to his father.

Professor Nick Friedman takes a wild ride through a dystopic and dangerous New York City searching for his old high school buddy Shmulie Shimmer. Shmulie is the inventor of Lerbs, the most popular designer drug ever. Friedman and his wisecracking AI computer, Maggie, encounter a world of odd and sometimes deadly characters above and below ground. 

Told with sardonic humor, Nick Bones Underground offers an imaginative world and asks thought provoking Is it possible to overcome the burden of past deeds? What is the nature of being human? Can an AI computer change gender and convert to Judaism? How did Nick Friedman become Nick Bones? Who is Robbie the Rabbi? Is it possible to get a good cup of coffee at the Outtaluck Café?

376 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 30, 2019

Reviews

[D. Thrush · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story takes place in a dystopian future that exists after the Great Debacle, which is never explained. Nick Bones begins a search for a former friend after the father makes this request. His son has possibly gone into hiding due to his involvement in a designer drug that ruined lives including Nick’s daughter’s. Maggie is Nick’s AI sidekick, who too conveniently provides information and rescues Nick at just the right moments. This book is clever and well written, but I found it a bit jarring as it went from lighthearted fun to darkness such as shootings and Nick’s daughter. I didn’t get a sense of Nick’s age or appearance. He’s a Professor who rides a bike. I didn’t buy the Simone part. This character wasn’t developed enough to get a sense of her and her actions. The female characters, other than AI Maggie, seem to end up on the short end of things. Yet, overall, it was a good entertaining story, and I liked the messages.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who says you can't have a little humor in a dystopian future? There is a cast of quirky characters: Maggie, the computer golem of Brooklyn, helps and nags Nick; Mingus/Ezekiel who sometimes sleeps in the foyer of the building and sometimes speaks to God; even Bob Dylan puts in a guest appearance at Torah study. Knowledge of Jewish culture and religion help in appreciating this story and lack of knowledge sent me looking up names to see if there really was Kobliner or Schmeltzer.
There are also some great lines and maybe some truths:
"Life's too complicated. The existence of what we can't see is too uncertain, and the existence of what we do see is so loathsome it's impossible to talk about a diving order of things. So, we become accountants of knowledge, we know everything and believe none of it."
"If everyone possesses a piece of the nudnik...then mishegas is universal..."

Enjoy reading this story!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I was reading this book, I kept thinking that it would make a great film. In a not to distant NYC in a world falling apart our hero Nick Friedman, aka Nick Bones, private detective along with his sidekick Maggie who is AI and believes she's human, who sometimes looks like Marlene Dietrich, leads us through a mystery that has us examine lifes purpose, love, loyalty and what it means to be human. The characters in this book linger with me like people I've met at a dinner party and I want to know more.

[Laura Chabrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cohen serves up a cast of delightfully quirky characters in a near-future urban dystopia. Clever, imaginative, and extremely well written.