The Influencer

by Alex Grass

A Romanian sorcerer.
A nudist limo driver obsessed with Back to the Future.
A ten-foot-tall vigilante who mutilates their victims.

…and one old man who has been keeping a secret for half a century.

Out in the desert, a chasm opens that glows crimson below.
The possessed, cellphones drilled into their heads, run wild through the streets of New York.
And, a 24-hour MDMA-fueled dance party surrounding a site of ancient evil.

All this and more, in:

THE INFLUENCER!

Genres: Science Fiction, Horror, Fiction, Graphic Novels

126 pages, Paperback

Published November 25, 2020

About the author

Born in Harrisburg, PA, Alexander Grass lived in Philadelphia, Israel, and a few other places before settling in Brooklyn with his wife and three kids.

As a teenager, Alex was in a thrash-metal band called Shock Syndrome. He later worked in construction, landscaping, driving in a car auction, and worked in parts and shipping for a Honda dealership.

After obtaining his GED, he went to Penn State online before attending Cardozo Law School on scholarship. While at Cardozo, Alex was a Floersheimer Student Fellow in Constitutional Law, and a law clerk for the Institute for Justice and for the New York County Defenders. After a stint in rehab, he dropped out of law school to become a full-time author.

Reviews

[Richard Dominguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the blurb: "A Romanian sorcerer.
A nudist limo driver obsessed with Back to the Future.
A ten-foot-tall vigilante who mutilates their victims.
…and one old man who has been keeping a secret for half a century."

This was all I needed to get the juices of curiosity going and I wasn't disappointed.
At 115 pages the story is a fast read that flows smoothly from start to finish. The story while a Sci-fi also has a real "noir" feel to it reminding me of Dark City. There is a lot going on in this story and every drop of it kept me glued to the book. The story is original (I thought so), like the characters.
The characters are well written and complex, i especially liked the humor imbued in Major Defazio. All the characters have depth as well as being unique. Throw in some well thought out villains an interesting plot and you have the stuff of great story telling.
I'm also so very glad that there is more to come as this book is only the first part, ending with the promise of better to come.
A terrific read for fans of multiple genres and great story telling. All in all this is one readers are going to enjoy.

[Sigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the Goodread's Giveaway and this is a voluntary review; a note from the author did make me bump it up my reading list, which is why I'm giving a in-depth review.

Rating: 2/5 - This novella (total: 115 pages) reads like a crude fever dream and really needed to be a graphic novel instead; if this had been a graphic novel, I would have given it a 3/5 because the elements of it would have worked with that medium much better and I would have been a bit more accepting with the choices made for the plot. In the current state, it's just okay.

Short Review: There is a lot of good ideas in this novella (and I think the author has potential going forward), but it needed fleshed out and better organized.

= = =

Full Review

Title: It's clever for the plot of this novella. However, this is The Influencer [Part 1]; there's a preview of Part 2 at the end, and I thought this was a full novel upon starting it.

Cover: The artwork on the cover is awesome and professional; my only gripe is the title is difficult to read because of the font selection.

The Great:
1) Writing style - It's not going to be for everyone, but I like the writing style because it feels personable like the Author and I are just hanging out while he tells me this wild story; I appreciate the wisecracks outside the dialogue.
2) Yoma and Hezekiah's relationship - They have chemistry as a mentor-mentee/found fam; this did almost make me tear-up in Chapter 11, and I have to give credit for that.
3) Yoma - I love this big, biker "beat 'em up" bitch! She is the best character in this entire novella.


The 'Eh':
1) Back To The Future - I'm not sure why Back to the Future mania takes over several chapters in the middle suddenly; it is very random. I do like that this is where the plot starts going bonkers, but it's like a mental whiplash at that point and going forward.
2) Dialogue - Some of the dialogue works really well to make the characters feel more authentic, and then some of it is just a slog or outright unpleasant to read.
3) Similes/metaphors - Like the dialogue, I caught myself grinning at some of them and physically in pain at the other portion of them.
4) Plot-device characters - A lot of characters are introduced, show off something to do with the plot, and then die; it is distracting (and why Chapter 5 exists).
5) Pig-tailed, Gas-masked Girls - speaking of plot device characters, I love what of their design is described, but I hate that they're just there to look sexy, giggle, and give Carl subordinates.
6) Unnecessary filler(?) - there's occasionally explanations/comments that are just not necessary (or wanted)
7) Italics used for thoughts and word emphasis - this is a make or break for some readers; I can ignore it for the most part and continue on, but it can be disruptive when overused.

The Awful:
1) Morgan-Amber (pg. 14-23) - I know she was designed to be hated, but I was so happy she didn't last more than the part she was featured in because her dialogue is viscerally awful and her character is infuriating/insulting. I almost gave up reading right there (and I would have missed Yoma!).
2) The amount of time/location skips - We skip around way too much; 4-5 times in a single chapter is too much with the length the chapters are. If this was a graphic novel, this wouldn't be a problem because that medium is designed for that; in the novella, it disrupts the flow and emersion.

The WTF I just Read:
1) I know I'm supposed to hate Timmity and DeFazio (and I do), but it felt like being suddenly smacked over the head with a chair when they have dialogue because, while it was probably designed to make the reader instantly fucking angry, it was also just a sudden swerve into racists out of the blue with no real build-up to it. It's good commentary on the media, politicians, and general arses that are like that (and I've been on the receiving end of DeFazio type behavior), but I did go "WHAT THE FUCK TIMMITY?!?"
2) The amount of dicks and sex humor(?) - I was ready for Carl being nude from the synopsis; was not ready for the rest of it.

What I would like to see the author improve on:
1) The ideas - the ideas (the Cellheads and how they're created, the fact people set up a party around the site of ancient evil, the whole situation of The Strix/The Owl, interdimensional limos, the rat spies) are creative, but they are not fleshed out or explained well. Some of that I can infer or guess about, but a majority of it just leaves readers in the dark, and that's just unsatisfying. I'm hoping a good deal of it is explained in Part 2.
2) Organization and flow - The jumping time/locations doesn't work well with novella formats at this amount of jumping around at the current length of the chapters; either less jumping has to happen, the chapters have to be longer, or the jump has to be the start of a new chapter.
3) Character/Setting descriptions - One of the major gripes I have with this novella is there's not much description when a character or setting is introduced, so they're hard to picture. I don't need Alexander Dumas' levels of description where I'm being told the history of every street in Paris, but I do need more than what I was getting. There is a really good description portion of the ancient evil in the epilogue, so I know it can be done; it just needs to be done throughout.

[Sadie Forsythe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Standard 'elitist' attempt at erudition that just comes off as smug and self-important instead. It feels very much as if the author expected to throw out a lot of random, drug-fueled ideas and be called the newest Hunter S. Thompson. He takes pot shots at several groups of people, inferring 'we're' smarter than they are and therefore they deserve their horrible fate.

I very much liked Yuma and her relationship with the men of the VFW. But she's the only positive representation of women in the whole book. And I'll note she's very butch, so positively portrayed for enacting traditionally male traits, rather than for actually being female. The only other women of note are literally faceless and included solely for the sexual reward and gratification of a male character. (How very original. *eyeroll*)

The writing and editing are quite clean and the book is easily readable. There are a few stylistic decisions that readers will have to choose for themselves if they like, but they're consistent throughout. But at 115 pages (the last bit being a preview of part II, though you'll note that nowhere does this book say part I) this is ~1/3 of an actual story/book. Why do authors do this? It's the true reason for my low rating. I understand breaking a 1500 page tome into parts for publication, but why a standard, probably 300ish page one? It left me with NO PAYOFF for having read it. No conclusion. Nothing significant learned? No significant desire for more, honestly. What's the point of giving only the beginning?

[Joel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received my copy of this book via Goodreads giveaway, which has no bearing on my review.

From the blurb, I assumed this would be a farce in the vein of Christopher Moore whose work I enjoy. This wasn't on the same level, but there were a few brief moments when one could see the point the author was trying to make. Unfortunately, these were infrequent and the book was hampered by typos and subpar editing.

Also, it should be noted that the brevity of this book is due to it being one part of a greater whole.

I did enjoy the point the author seemed to be making on the USA's current state of doing anything for Internet fame and followers, so that kept it from being a total wash.

2 out of 5 stars.

[Kea4 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like this would have been a good graphic novel instead of a short story. It is a very fast read with lots of events happening and some very odd/complex characters. So much so that I wasn’t sure who was good or bad at first. But seeing people willing to sell their soul for more social media followers was well done.

The best part was Mayor DeFazio which the things that he says had me laughing.

I was disappointed that this turned out to be book 1 of 2 (?). I kind of wanted the entire story.

https://theworldisabookandiamitsreade...

[Ezra Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book via a Goodreads giveaway a couple months ago and finally had the time to pick it up. It was a quick read (I finished it in just a couple of hours) and definitely a wild ride. I will separate this into what I did and did not enjoy about the book.
What I enjoyed:
The length--It is really fun to finish a book in a single sitting, and The Influencer was the perfect length to do just that (115 pages).
The plot--The plot was just chaotic enough to make me question my sanity, but not so much as to detract from the storytelling. It was fast-paced and engaging, almost like a rollercoaster ride.
The writing--I enjoyed the author's writing style, as it brought the story to life.
What I disliked:
The characters--I felt that there were a few too many characters for such a short story; a lot of them felt flat, and others were too inconsistent in their actions and thought patterns for me to connect with and enjoy them.
The plot (pt. 2)--There were a number of plot jumps in order to relate the viewpoints of the major characters. At first, this seemed creative, and, were the book longer, it would have been an entirely effective method of storytelling; however, in a mere 115 pages this became a bit confusing and did not afford enough time with each storyline to become comfortable with the plot as a whole.
All told, I enjoyed the book, and it was definitely worth picking up.

[Bobbi Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a Good Reads Give away book, 123 pages short book and hand signed to me personally. He wrote in a wild print "Enjoy this short but wild ride" "Alex Grass" and came complete with two official looking transport tickets to take me where I need to go? for the price of my soul!! I could never have prepared myself for how wild it truly was. A modern setting in and throughout the East Coast... me being a lifelong N.W. recluse. Including many voices or at least dropped names of businesses as well as well-known people and in some cases even their strange affiliation with these aliens that had somehow been infiltrating our world without too much shock or trauma??? Even with people disappearing right and left! Their intent was not a good one, they came across somewhat like the Mafia (comparative to, The Black Hand) and complete with Earthly, East Coast accents. It was both confusing and quite funny in places. It probably had a lot to do with my age, being just a little too old for the Hippie like street slang and more. Don't get me wrong, normally I love Sci-Fi and Fantasy, but this was something else.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received this book as a giveaway from Goodreads in late November. alex Grass was very kind and not only signed the book, but included a personal letter.

This book did a couple things right, but a few things very wrong. Grass’s well thought out diction makes this short read worth your time! After reading the synopsis, I was not too keen on starting the Sci-Fi story, but I found myself intrigued with the authentic dialogue and engaged with his word choice throughout. Many phrases stuck out to me in the book and I was thrilled with how well he strung words together like…"The gall of this mouth-breathing imbecile was unbearable.” 19 (I ran to my mom, proclaimed the phrase, and we shared a few chuckles). That being said it took me months to read the book - not just because of my busy schedule as a college student - but I was not intrigued at all. The characters were hard to keep track of and I struggled to find the motivation to finish the novel. Grass did a great job with the syntax, but fell short of giving his readers a fluid plot or solid character development.

[Melissa]

An interesting view of what could happen to society as a whole. It is easy to see how it is already happening in some small ways. Not sure where the next book will lead us.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow folks seem angry about this book, or confused about “too many characters”? I’m confused how they are confused. I won it in a goodreads giveaway and it was an easy read that is sort of scifi but rooted enough in today’s world to be accessible. The writing is really strong, detailed and easy to quickly understand characters and places, I enjoyed it.

[Maney Wu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I got this book through the giveaway on Goodreads. I was honestly surprised at how thin/short it was when it came in the mail. It’s definitely not something I would get normally but the description on the back of the book was very intriguing. The note attached from the author helped motivate me to write this review.

Pros:

1.) One of the recurring themes I agreed with was the current climate of the Internet and the obsession with social media and it was interesting to see that being implemented through Hezekiah’s “victims” and the Cellheads. The Cellheads are basically like zombies, they have phones drilled into their heads (hence the name), and hunt in packs in a blood-thristy frenzy. They can be a metaphor for keyboard warriors or blind fans because of their nature.
2.) Yoma and Hezekiah’s relationship: I loved their mentor/mentee relationship. It was very sweet and wholesome. I got chills in that scene where Hezekiah passes the torch of responsibility to Yoma, and his goodbye.



Cons:

1.) Inconsistent: Multiple times throughout the book, "Karjiel" and "Mr. Donomak" are used interchangeably in the same paragraph, which makes it kind of weird to read. For example, on pg.60, I know that Carl, the driver, addresses Karjiel as “Mr. D” but why are the non-dialogue paragraphs not consistent?
2.)Too many characters: There are a lot of filler characters here and there who I’m not even sure they give much of a presence to earn a name. Besides the 4 main players: Karjiel, Carl, Hezekiah, and Yoma, everyone else just comes and goes. You’ll see someone in one chapter and you’ll never see them mentioned again.
3.)Characters need to be more fleshed out: This is mostly about 4 main characters but they also pertain to the side/supporting characters as well. I wish it was more descriptive in the sense where I’m not filling in the blanks myself trying to understand their backgrounds or lack of backgrounds to know their motivations and why they’re doing what they do. For example, I understand what Hezekiah does and his relationship with Yoma but that doesn’t happen until Ch.10, which is almost the end, but at least there’s something. There’s not much background to Karjiel. I don’t know how he got his magic ball or why he decided to go down this path of sorcery, etc. Or more importantly, why isn't Carl fazed at all with all that's been going on around him?



Nitpicks:

1.) I feel like this story has more potential as a graphic novel or an animation. I liked the cover art and some of the ideas would be better portrayed through pictures and words. As it is, it’s acceptable but kind of crude and unpolished. Throughout the book, I noticed that there were a lot of times where the author was straight up telling me what’s going on rather than show me so that also contributed to the idea of having the story in graphic novel form instead. Either that or increase the length of the book to include more details, character development, and interactions.



Overall: 2/5

1.) This book was a mess of great ideas. It had potential but the execution left more to be desired. The reviews posted before mine basically summed up what I said/wanted to say so there's not much new info to go off of.



Thank you Alex Grass and Goodreads Giveaways for the opportunity to read this work!

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay book. The plot is interesting, but since it is the first of a series it is hard to tell if it all falls together. There seemed to be characters that kind of showed up with no explanation of who they are or their background.
Might be a better read if all the books of the series were combined into one story.

[Diana N. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this from a goodreads giveaway and was interested in the overall concept of the story. This was a short book and was hard to follow because of how much it jumped around. I was hoping to connect with the characters more like I did with Alex's book "Black River Lantern." I think this story would have worked out with more character detail and development with less jumping around or in a graphic novel style to really show the imagery that is being portrayed.

[Stacy Kingsley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Look through the other reviews as they pretty much say what I would. Too much going on in this book, too many characters, not enough definition in what was happening, and sorry, I didn't care for Yomo.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from a GoodReads giveaway. The author signed and personalized the book, which was a very cool touch. A little custom bookmark relevant to the story was included as well. A+ touch.

The idea of this book is cool - almost Steven King-ish, but the writing style was distracting and frantic. I appreciate the way the voice of the author came through. The tone was consistent, but it was a little aggressive for me. Lots of words in all caps, italics, extra letters for emphasis, and plenty of accents written out phonetically. At times the scenarios - especially the Back to the Future references - felt like some sort of fever dream. I also wasn't certain why some real things - Back to the Future, for example, were included, but other people and companies had slightly altered names: "TwitTier" and "YouBoub."

I also also disappointed that this book stopped abruptly and dumps you off with a dramatic cliffhanger. There's absolutely no sort of closure.

I agree with another comment that this would make a fun graphic novel.

TL;DR : The plot is fun, but this book feels like a very frantic fever dream that was just a little too bizarre for me.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from a goodreads giveaway and the author kindly signed the book for me and included a themed ticket stub that worked great as a bookmark.

I think this author has potential and the book was overall fairly enjoyable. I think it would have been better if there was more of less. I would have enjoyed more character development, scene building, and more information about the fantasy elements. The book was only 115 pages long which in itself was not an issue. The issue was that the amount of ideas included in those pages was too ambitious. In addition, sometimes the characters and dialogue were over the top and and crossed into caricature and not believable characters. The imagination was there, there just needs to be a bit more execution.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story in itself wasn't bad but what was distracting to me were the racist comments about Asians sprinkled throughout the book.
There was a reference to "women and men (and these days, whatever else)" that didn't sit well with me.
There was a "joke" about AIDS that was juvenile.

I understand that these are characters in a story and the words they use are done so to paint a picture of their character but I feel like this could have been done in a better way.

Minus the hurtful comments, I think this story would make an excellent graphic novel.

[WY_reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Grimm's fairy tale for the technological age, this story was original and engaging. The characters are unique and, while not likeable and certainly not politically correct, they are fascinating. My only complaint is that this book is really only Part 1. It has a great build-up but the climax doesn't happen. I do intend on reading Part 2.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in a Goodreads giveaway. All opinions are my own.

[Terra Sanden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strong beginning, great imagery, the characters are a mystery still. The pacing was great, very fast-paced! Parts of it were a little confusing, but other than that it was a really great read and I cannot wait to read the sequel!

[Tom Larke · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a younger person this is absolutely the kind of novel I would have eaten up. As it stands today I was entertained, but it was pretty short, all things considered. Still, a lot of fun to read and would recommend.

[Richard Bankey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is part one of a series. It is a quick read and makes you eager for part two. I'm not sure what genre I would call this book. It is psychedelic. That's probably the best way I could describe it. It would probably be enjoyed the most if you read it while on an acid trip.

[Jody Ketcham · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won this book from a goodreads giveaway, and that is the only reason I finished it so I could fulfill my duty and write a review.
This book was so disorganized I could barely follow it. A jumbled mess of incoherent ideas thrown together.

[Randi-Lee Bowslaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy how he crafts the world and the characters within it. The story itself is strange, and I wasn’t sure why things were happening until closer to the end. But it all comes together!

I enjoyed the concept that social media and cell phones are more important in this society than (sorry, I can’t tell you that would be a spoiler).

The main problem with this book is that I didn’t know it was just the beginning. The book ends just as it is getting good, and I have to impatiently wait for the next installment. We are left with a cliffhanger making this book a bit of a letdown, but I still suggest you pick up a copy because the story, writing, and world are worth it.

[CDWB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Influencer

What a story! I loved the book but, I just want so bad to look into the mind of this author. It's got to be utter chaos but yet a structured one. There are Cellheads, a Vampiric man, the Owl, Strix, and a host of so many crazy characters. Each are explained in detail so you get to know about their inner workings.

I read it in one sitting and then re-read it just because I wanted to understand what the author was trying to convey. I'm eagerly waiting for part two of this tale so Alex get writing.

[Benjamin A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a fun, easy read. It took me about 150 minutes while on my daily commute. The characters and motivations were well explained, even if the idea of people nailing cell phones to their heads was an odd choice.
Didn’t quite understand the selling of one’s soul for the phone but went with it anyway.
In the end, i was frustrated it was just a part one of a story, but I’ll try to remember to keep an eye out so i can see where the next book takes me.
Thanks!

[Franchesca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read jam packed with a lot of characters and stuff going on. I felt multiple times while reading this that it would probably be better as a graphic novel. The end kind of left me feeling like I was just dropped off mid-story.

Thank you to Alex Grass and Goodreads giveaways for the signed copy!

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodreads Giveaway: This imaginative book has an almost Blade Runner feel, futuristic science fiction down in the streets. There's play on social media and politics, and saucy language, but that's necessary to build the setting and characters. Not for children. Recommend for fans of scifi, horror and modern subject matter.

[Zee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Change of Pace

I picked up this book as a change to my normal reading genres. I would describe it as a quick read, irreverent, but engaging. My only complaint is the rather abrupt ending ,

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll be honest, I couldn't finish this. I got a few chapters in and couldn't keep going. It's a very out of date "phones and social media bad" story that sounded REALLY INTERESTING and didn't hold up.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was written for someone 50 years younger than me. It’s for a punk from the hood so I didn’t find it very interesting.