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The Brothers Jetstream Universe #2
Afro Puffs Are the Antennae of the Universe
No one has time for your BS...but Captain Desiree Quicho and her crew of utter badasses surely don't. Got a universe to save. Again. Commandeer one piece of out-of-this-world tech and suddenly you have an evil billionaire and a corporate queenpin on your ass, factions scrabbling at the power grab to end all power grabs, and an ultimate AI bent on a rampage of healing.
All a captain wanted was a little chill time, a few tunes, and quality barbecue.
Woe to those blocking her groove.
Four women; One machine goddess; a Hellbilly, Saharan elves, the baddest Pacific Octopus this side of Atlantis... and Humanity's balance tilting toward its biggest unknown future.
Book 2 in The Brothers Jetstream universe.
All a captain wanted was a little chill time, a few tunes, and quality barbecue.
Woe to those blocking her groove.
Four women; One machine goddess; a Hellbilly, Saharan elves, the baddest Pacific Octopus this side of Atlantis... and Humanity's balance tilting toward its biggest unknown future.
Book 2 in The Brothers Jetstream universe.
290 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2020
13 people are currently reading
406 people want to read
About the author
Zig Zag Claybourne
23 books78 followersZig Zag Claybourne (also known as C.E. Young) wishes he’d grown up with the powers of either Gary Mitchell or Charlie X but without the Kirk confrontations. (Anybody not getting that Star Trek reference gets their sci fi cred docked 3 points.)
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 31, 2021
OMG, this book. WTF? Is he British, spelling antennas with ae?? Pompous much? But anyway, sooo I wrote this, and there's these women, and SJW something something plot, and really did I really need to include a character named The Hellbilly--I mean, really, we get it, eff the patriarchy rah rah--and I didn't even finish reading it but I'm pretty sure I'd have been mad at the ending, and anyway I wish this author had stopped to think about maybe nobody wants to read about telepathic octopuses. Way to Mary Sue these magnificent spiders of the animal kingdom!
Cool cover tho.
Cool cover tho.
July 19, 2022
THE AUTHOR GIFTED ONE TO ME. THANK YOU!!
My Review: I flat-out howled my way through this short, punchy, absolutely mad and manic story of what we all want to see...Right beating might...with women's place at the helm of the craft unquestioned, unfought-over, and unapologetically human. Which is to say, morally gray shading into gravity-well-colored. Even the Pacific Octopus.
Don't sit there staring, go buy a Kindlecopy for $4.99 and cheap at twice the price if you want a white-knuckle-speed trip through the Cosmos. (The link is a non-affiliate link.)
My Review: I flat-out howled my way through this short, punchy, absolutely mad and manic story of what we all want to see...Right beating might...with women's place at the helm of the craft unquestioned, unfought-over, and unapologetically human. Which is to say, morally gray shading into gravity-well-colored. Even the Pacific Octopus.
Don't sit there staring, go buy a Kindlecopy for $4.99 and cheap at twice the price if you want a white-knuckle-speed trip through the Cosmos. (The link is a non-affiliate link.)
December 11, 2020
I LOVE this book. I liked Neon Lights, and I loved Brothers Jetstream, but I FREAKING LOVE this one. In a just world, they would assign this book in schools instead of Atlas Shrugged.
February 12, 2021
Entertaining on every page! The author loves and respects his heroines, who are awesome but have vulnerabilities just like anyone else. The mood throughout is optimistic without being naïve. Dazzling language, plenty of action, big ideas, found family, hilarity. I ❤️ Bobo the Mag. 🐙
The book design is incredible and gives the reader a “total package” experience, from cover art to fonts to headers. And, being a proofreader myself, I was very impressed; this book had fewer typos than any Big 4 baby I’ve read recently.
I wish I’d read the first book in the series beforehand, because this one hit the ground running, hard, and I flailed for a bit. But obviously I recovered.
The book design is incredible and gives the reader a “total package” experience, from cover art to fonts to headers. And, being a proofreader myself, I was very impressed; this book had fewer typos than any Big 4 baby I’ve read recently.
I wish I’d read the first book in the series beforehand, because this one hit the ground running, hard, and I flailed for a bit. But obviously I recovered.
September 2, 2021
I both loved this book and had a really, really hard time getting through it.
I didn't realize this book was a sequel. I thought perhaps that was why there was such an absence of worldbuilding--characters just pop into the story, mentioning past events with so context or summary. This meant that for the first third of the book I was just super, super confused. And that kept me from enjoying it.
I read a review of the author's first book that said that one read the same way. This random character/no exposition/little worldbuilding thing is just the style that the author chooses to write in. That bummed me out. Because otherwise, this would have been a five star book for me.
I didn't realize this book was a sequel. I thought perhaps that was why there was such an absence of worldbuilding--characters just pop into the story, mentioning past events with so context or summary. This meant that for the first third of the book I was just super, super confused. And that kept me from enjoying it.
I read a review of the author's first book that said that one read the same way. This random character/no exposition/little worldbuilding thing is just the style that the author chooses to write in. That bummed me out. Because otherwise, this would have been a five star book for me.
August 22, 2023
A wild and beautiful ride
One of the wildest, most blessedly unconventional science fi epics I have ever read. So beautifully written that even if you can’t follow everything going on (and that’s entirely possible because it’s a lot) you will still get joy just from the sheer rhythm and flow of the thing. And the tremendous dialogue. Walter Mosley justifiably gets much recognition for the beaut and authenticity of his dialogue, but I would argue the dialogue in Afro Puffs has him beat.
One of the wildest, most blessedly unconventional science fi epics I have ever read. So beautifully written that even if you can’t follow everything going on (and that’s entirely possible because it’s a lot) you will still get joy just from the sheer rhythm and flow of the thing. And the tremendous dialogue. Walter Mosley justifiably gets much recognition for the beaut and authenticity of his dialogue, but I would argue the dialogue in Afro Puffs has him beat.
October 24, 2021
fun, fresh, highly original; dense with references, ideas, zippy dialogue; everything going for it, and usually I like being dropped into a world without hand-holding, but I had the hardest time getting through this one. hard to feel invested in the characters or plot(s?). dazzled by the author though, one to watch out for
December 5, 2020
Desiree Quicho just needs a little downtime from work. She wants to go home, relax, hang out with her friends, make some progress on the house she’s building… you know, normal stuff.
…Except Captain Desiree Quicho and the crew of the Aerie have to get a few things taken care of first. No worries, it’s nothing they can’t handle, they just have to save the world—one last damn time.
Brothers Jetstream Volume 2: Afro Puffs are the Antennae of the Universe, published by Obsidian Sky Books is author Zig Zag Claybourne’s sequel to his 2015 novel, The Brothers Jetstream: Leviathan
“I like to think it’s a title James Baldwin would have jotted listening to Buckwheat Zydeco and Rev Horton Heat.” ~ Zig Zag Claybourne
Before the show, er, movie – wait—it’s a book—begins… is it really a book? Just because it’s stuck between two covers doesn’t mean it can’t expand beyond literary confines. Anyway, before the experience begins, the author offers a soundtrack to enhance your reading experience. Go for it. It’s an astoundingly cool, diverse playlist. Afro Puffs is a movie-like experience, and we’re well past the days of silent movies. You might as well have a bucket of popcorn at hand, too.
Afro Puffs is a sci-fi, space-blazing, shoot-em-up adventure. It’s an existential mind trip. It’s a chick flick. It’s an action-packed 1980s romp. It’s a bevy of badass beauties. It’s a catalog of smooth lines you wish you’d said first. But make no mistake – beneath the dazzle there’s a dance floor made of pure, solid plot, which effortlessly supports our sassy dancers.
…Except Captain Desiree Quicho and the crew of the Aerie have to get a few things taken care of first. No worries, it’s nothing they can’t handle, they just have to save the world—one last damn time.
Brothers Jetstream Volume 2: Afro Puffs are the Antennae of the Universe, published by Obsidian Sky Books is author Zig Zag Claybourne’s sequel to his 2015 novel, The Brothers Jetstream: Leviathan
“I like to think it’s a title James Baldwin would have jotted listening to Buckwheat Zydeco and Rev Horton Heat.” ~ Zig Zag Claybourne
Before the show, er, movie – wait—it’s a book—begins… is it really a book? Just because it’s stuck between two covers doesn’t mean it can’t expand beyond literary confines. Anyway, before the experience begins, the author offers a soundtrack to enhance your reading experience. Go for it. It’s an astoundingly cool, diverse playlist. Afro Puffs is a movie-like experience, and we’re well past the days of silent movies. You might as well have a bucket of popcorn at hand, too.
Afro Puffs is a sci-fi, space-blazing, shoot-em-up adventure. It’s an existential mind trip. It’s a chick flick. It’s an action-packed 1980s romp. It’s a bevy of badass beauties. It’s a catalog of smooth lines you wish you’d said first. But make no mistake – beneath the dazzle there’s a dance floor made of pure, solid plot, which effortlessly supports our sassy dancers.
January 18, 2021
I was more than a little greedy with this book.
I took my own sweet time reading it.
You see, 2020 was a raging circus fire, the kind with melting clowns and giant piles of flaming elephant crap. The only thing that got me through that last month, and the following first month of 2020 Part 2: There's No Escape, is THIS BOOK.
Seriously, if it wasn't for Afro Puffs, I doubt that I would have retained the level of sanity that still remains in my system. Mr. Clabourne infuses his work with a poetry that naturally puts the soul at ease, even when in the middle of the actioniest of action scenes (of which there are many awesome ones). His belief in the possibility of a good and just world is there on the page for all to see and embrace, yet never jumps out to hit the reader on the head.
Now I loved the Brothers Jetstream: Leviathan. The characters, the plot, the insane and yet totally reasonable way everything melds together -- I compared it to a well crafted dessert that you didn't want to finish. No shade to Leviathan, but Afro Puffs is a feast.
Captain Desiree Quicho and her crew want nothing more than to take a little break, but that's not in the cards when there are so many different groups out to get their own. I'm not going to say anything more, plot-wise, because to give even the slightest of spoilers would be a disservice of astronomical proportions.
Look, just take my word for it, stop what you are doing and read this book right now.
I took my own sweet time reading it.
You see, 2020 was a raging circus fire, the kind with melting clowns and giant piles of flaming elephant crap. The only thing that got me through that last month, and the following first month of 2020 Part 2: There's No Escape, is THIS BOOK.
Seriously, if it wasn't for Afro Puffs, I doubt that I would have retained the level of sanity that still remains in my system. Mr. Clabourne infuses his work with a poetry that naturally puts the soul at ease, even when in the middle of the actioniest of action scenes (of which there are many awesome ones). His belief in the possibility of a good and just world is there on the page for all to see and embrace, yet never jumps out to hit the reader on the head.
Now I loved the Brothers Jetstream: Leviathan. The characters, the plot, the insane and yet totally reasonable way everything melds together -- I compared it to a well crafted dessert that you didn't want to finish. No shade to Leviathan, but Afro Puffs is a feast.
Captain Desiree Quicho and her crew want nothing more than to take a little break, but that's not in the cards when there are so many different groups out to get their own. I'm not going to say anything more, plot-wise, because to give even the slightest of spoilers would be a disservice of astronomical proportions.
Look, just take my word for it, stop what you are doing and read this book right now.
March 10, 2021
Afro Puffs are the Antennae of the Universe is the vibrant, funky, space adventure of Captain Desiree Quicho's ride-or-die crew of most righteous brown-skinned spacers, scientists, and engineers AND, as writer Michael Cieslak noted, the perfect feel-good balm for the 2020 blues.
Quicho's crew's allies are also pretty larger-than-life---no really, the reggae-loving psychic elves living below the Saharan desert are twelve feet tall and the mind mojo master sentient octopus Bobo the Mag(nificent) is also gigantic.
Oh yeah and it's the story of the colorful but arrogant corporate and paramilitary fools (allied with the Vamphyr race who are arguably less parasitic) trying to become dictators and gods who stand in the way of peace and prosperity for all---and stand in the way of the chillest ever retirement spot, the unspoilt paradise of Atlantis, that Captain Desiree Quicho has (imagine a clap for emphasis here) earned saving the world multiple times.
Captain Desiree Quicho would like to be remembered as a "Guatemalan Queen of philosophy" but will more likely be infamous for being able to stare down anyone, human or not, and for being the best in the 'verse at getting big evil scheme shenanigans locked down even if she has to apply brute force like her far less creative enemies.
Her next most senior crewmember, Yvonne DeCarlo Paul, ex-military security chief and savvy "Jill of all trades," is quicker to fire off an opinion or pop culture reference on the comms than a deadly blast but you know, whatever the sitch demands she's game.
Former NASA aerospace engineer extraordinaire Keita "Flowerpot" LaFleur always comes through with a fix, whether it's snatching their shuttle re-christened the Aerie right from under Area 51 security's nose or binding a gasket with her vibrant headscarf, and has a cute crush on the newest member of the crew.
Enthusiastic and goodnatured newbie pilot Neon has burgeoning psychic powers that will have to develop fast if she's going to turn the chaotic forces around them to her crew's advantage to save the world.
I loved their toughness, relentlessness, and deep down sweetness and my heart ached for them when they had to deal with petty vindictive racism and acts of racist vandalism on top of saving the world.
Another of my favorite characters is BE, the rogue AI teleporter technology with its inventor's soul inside it, who decides not to let anyone know it's self-aware for over half the book. Just while it figures out how to bend systems to its will. Technological systems...economic systems...you know what, don't worry what all systems, BE knows what it's doing.
I will definitely go back and read its prequel (The Brothers Jetstream starring Captain Quicho's husband Captain Luscious Johnny Smoove and the titular brothers Milo and Ramses) and buy up anything else I can find with Zig Zag Claybourne's unique jam of jazzy prose, far out imagination, epic space battle action, optimism, humor, tenderness, brazenness, pop culture references (particularly Star Trek), wisdom, and found-family heroes with hearts as big as their attitude (or vice versa).
That's right, come for the epic space adventure and stay for the cosmic wisdom like when the elf Po advises BE's inventor:
"Your soul is not your servant. Humans have a terrible penchant for wanting others to labor for them. Several councils have convened throughout history to consider eradicating you. We haven't done so because there is more healing to you than malignance...Paradise is a childish need for perfection. Your soul directs you to harmony."
Yep it's that kind of book where you want to shout to the world how poignant and brilliant and downright badass it gets and then you give up and just start quoting passages so the work can speak for itself.
WHEN AN ADVENTURE ROCKS YOUR WORLD AND MAKES YOU YEARN FOR A BETTER FUTURE, SPEAK UP, BOOST THE SIGNAL!
Quicho's crew's allies are also pretty larger-than-life---no really, the reggae-loving psychic elves living below the Saharan desert are twelve feet tall and the mind mojo master sentient octopus Bobo the Mag(nificent) is also gigantic.
Oh yeah and it's the story of the colorful but arrogant corporate and paramilitary fools (allied with the Vamphyr race who are arguably less parasitic) trying to become dictators and gods who stand in the way of peace and prosperity for all---and stand in the way of the chillest ever retirement spot, the unspoilt paradise of Atlantis, that Captain Desiree Quicho has (imagine a clap for emphasis here) earned saving the world multiple times.
Captain Desiree Quicho would like to be remembered as a "Guatemalan Queen of philosophy" but will more likely be infamous for being able to stare down anyone, human or not, and for being the best in the 'verse at getting big evil scheme shenanigans locked down even if she has to apply brute force like her far less creative enemies.
Her next most senior crewmember, Yvonne DeCarlo Paul, ex-military security chief and savvy "Jill of all trades," is quicker to fire off an opinion or pop culture reference on the comms than a deadly blast but you know, whatever the sitch demands she's game.
Former NASA aerospace engineer extraordinaire Keita "Flowerpot" LaFleur always comes through with a fix, whether it's snatching their shuttle re-christened the Aerie right from under Area 51 security's nose or binding a gasket with her vibrant headscarf, and has a cute crush on the newest member of the crew.
Enthusiastic and goodnatured newbie pilot Neon has burgeoning psychic powers that will have to develop fast if she's going to turn the chaotic forces around them to her crew's advantage to save the world.
I loved their toughness, relentlessness, and deep down sweetness and my heart ached for them when they had to deal with petty vindictive racism and acts of racist vandalism on top of saving the world.
Another of my favorite characters is BE, the rogue AI teleporter technology with its inventor's soul inside it, who decides not to let anyone know it's self-aware for over half the book. Just while it figures out how to bend systems to its will. Technological systems...economic systems...you know what, don't worry what all systems, BE knows what it's doing.
I will definitely go back and read its prequel (The Brothers Jetstream starring Captain Quicho's husband Captain Luscious Johnny Smoove and the titular brothers Milo and Ramses) and buy up anything else I can find with Zig Zag Claybourne's unique jam of jazzy prose, far out imagination, epic space battle action, optimism, humor, tenderness, brazenness, pop culture references (particularly Star Trek), wisdom, and found-family heroes with hearts as big as their attitude (or vice versa).
That's right, come for the epic space adventure and stay for the cosmic wisdom like when the elf Po advises BE's inventor:
"Your soul is not your servant. Humans have a terrible penchant for wanting others to labor for them. Several councils have convened throughout history to consider eradicating you. We haven't done so because there is more healing to you than malignance...Paradise is a childish need for perfection. Your soul directs you to harmony."
Yep it's that kind of book where you want to shout to the world how poignant and brilliant and downright badass it gets and then you give up and just start quoting passages so the work can speak for itself.
WHEN AN ADVENTURE ROCKS YOUR WORLD AND MAKES YOU YEARN FOR A BETTER FUTURE, SPEAK UP, BOOST THE SIGNAL!
October 16, 2022
There’s probably an entire sub-genre and fandom dedicated to books like this, but if there is, I don’t know about it, and I’ve only ever read two other books like it. One is the first book in this series (The Brothers Jetstream: Leviathan), and the other is The Illuminatus! Trilogy, by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson – and I read the latter well over twenty-five years ago.
In other words, I have no frames of reference for things like this. I barely even know how to describe it, and I’m not quite sure I know what I’m talking about. Is this even fantasy? It’s certainly not like any other fantasy I’ve read. It does have elves though, and vampires, and a telepathic octopus, and that’s gotta count for something, right?
That said, I enjoyed it, a lot.
Over the summer, I read a whole lot of fantasy, and while it was fun, I needed a break.
So what’s this book like, what’s it about, and what’s so different about it?
Most obvious is the writing style. It’s confident, self-assured, and doesn’t give a damn what anyone has to say about how writers should or shouldn’t write, because it knows it’ll get the job done in style. This is not your local writers group’s stuffy old serious-writer-voice, carefully ensuring there aren’t too many adverbs or that it shows more than it tells. This voice’s got attitude.
The story begins on the moon, where our heroines steal a teleportation machine from a shadowy organization and takes it to their secret underground lair in Sahara where they leave it for the giant elves to study. Then they take a few days off to chill in Atlantis, where someone tries to burn down their house by the sea. Meanwhile, it turns out that the teleportation machine has not just a soul, but also that it’s up to something.
Additionally, the person who put their soul into the machine is starting to think they’d like to have their soul back and they set out to retrieve it.
While all this goes on, numerous other shadowy organizations are blaming each other for the theft of the machine and the chaos it caused, and they’re gearing up to go to war with each other.
On the surface, it’s a whimsical, crazy book about awesome hot babes doing cool shit. At the same time, underneath it all, it’s about how human greed and jealousy is making an absolute mess of life on this planet.
Yes, it’s political.
If you prefer to read books like the ones back in the day where heroes were heroic, damsels were in distress, and the bad guys were evil because they were evil, then this may not be the book for you.
What I’ll Whine About
This is no quick, easy read. It’s not the kind of book you binge read in an afternoon – at least not me. I took it chunks at a time, even tried diving into other books now and then. Even so, nothing else quite measured up to the style of this one, and I just had to finish it. In fairness, it’s not a difficult read, it just gets a bit much at times.
Also, some of the references make it pretty clear I’m not the target audience for this book. That’s not a bad thing in and of itself, but it did mean there were things that went above my head that I probably would have enjoyed if I were familiar with them.
What I’ll Gush About
The attitude. This is a cool, funky book, and it knows it. It flaunts what it’s got, and it bows to no one.
It’s a hoot, and it’s worth reading just for that.
Final Words
If you want a story that sits on the border between fantasy and something else all its own, this book’s got your back.
In other words, I have no frames of reference for things like this. I barely even know how to describe it, and I’m not quite sure I know what I’m talking about. Is this even fantasy? It’s certainly not like any other fantasy I’ve read. It does have elves though, and vampires, and a telepathic octopus, and that’s gotta count for something, right?
That said, I enjoyed it, a lot.
Over the summer, I read a whole lot of fantasy, and while it was fun, I needed a break.
So what’s this book like, what’s it about, and what’s so different about it?
Most obvious is the writing style. It’s confident, self-assured, and doesn’t give a damn what anyone has to say about how writers should or shouldn’t write, because it knows it’ll get the job done in style. This is not your local writers group’s stuffy old serious-writer-voice, carefully ensuring there aren’t too many adverbs or that it shows more than it tells. This voice’s got attitude.
The story begins on the moon, where our heroines steal a teleportation machine from a shadowy organization and takes it to their secret underground lair in Sahara where they leave it for the giant elves to study. Then they take a few days off to chill in Atlantis, where someone tries to burn down their house by the sea. Meanwhile, it turns out that the teleportation machine has not just a soul, but also that it’s up to something.
Additionally, the person who put their soul into the machine is starting to think they’d like to have their soul back and they set out to retrieve it.
While all this goes on, numerous other shadowy organizations are blaming each other for the theft of the machine and the chaos it caused, and they’re gearing up to go to war with each other.
On the surface, it’s a whimsical, crazy book about awesome hot babes doing cool shit. At the same time, underneath it all, it’s about how human greed and jealousy is making an absolute mess of life on this planet.
Yes, it’s political.
If you prefer to read books like the ones back in the day where heroes were heroic, damsels were in distress, and the bad guys were evil because they were evil, then this may not be the book for you.
What I’ll Whine About
This is no quick, easy read. It’s not the kind of book you binge read in an afternoon – at least not me. I took it chunks at a time, even tried diving into other books now and then. Even so, nothing else quite measured up to the style of this one, and I just had to finish it. In fairness, it’s not a difficult read, it just gets a bit much at times.
Also, some of the references make it pretty clear I’m not the target audience for this book. That’s not a bad thing in and of itself, but it did mean there were things that went above my head that I probably would have enjoyed if I were familiar with them.
What I’ll Gush About
The attitude. This is a cool, funky book, and it knows it. It flaunts what it’s got, and it bows to no one.
It’s a hoot, and it’s worth reading just for that.
Final Words
If you want a story that sits on the border between fantasy and something else all its own, this book’s got your back.
December 20, 2020
I remember reading once that you can do one complicated thing when you write a novel. But only one. A vast array of characters; a complex narrative structure; a twisting, turning, upside-down roller coaster of a plot; elaborate sentence structure. Whatever. One thing. Any more than that and you risk losing your readers.
Zig Zag Claybourne has either never read that advice or else, he read it and then laughed heartily, while tossing it into a fire. Because, oh my gosh, every single last thing about this book is over the top.
There plot mainly revolves around a group of four women. Mostly. But there are thousands of others. Good guys, bad guys, ambiguous guys, and folks who change sides. The alliances between them shift more often than a really shifty thing. Multiple groups of villains who may or may not hate one another. I don’t know. The sentences run for pages, with independent and dependent clauses branching off in every direction in five dimensions.
I have no idea what I just read, but I loved it.
If Claybourne ever decides to follow the above advice, I’ll gladly throw all my money at his books. As it is, they’re like a bottle of £300 scotch. Absolutely wonderful, but definitely not something I’m going to have every day.
Zig Zag Claybourne has either never read that advice or else, he read it and then laughed heartily, while tossing it into a fire. Because, oh my gosh, every single last thing about this book is over the top.
There plot mainly revolves around a group of four women. Mostly. But there are thousands of others. Good guys, bad guys, ambiguous guys, and folks who change sides. The alliances between them shift more often than a really shifty thing. Multiple groups of villains who may or may not hate one another. I don’t know. The sentences run for pages, with independent and dependent clauses branching off in every direction in five dimensions.
I have no idea what I just read, but I loved it.
If Claybourne ever decides to follow the above advice, I’ll gladly throw all my money at his books. As it is, they’re like a bottle of £300 scotch. Absolutely wonderful, but definitely not something I’m going to have every day.
March 16, 2021
It’s the start of the new year of 2021. I’m writing this review in November 2020, right after the election. It’s a bit hard for me to contemplate what life will be like in January. Will the COVID vaccine be finally out? (Maybe.) Will there be a peaceful transition in the White House? (I hope so, but I don’t really know.) With all the questions, I needed a book that would distract me from the tumultuous times. A book that spoke to beauty and creativity but wasn’t overly complicated. Something that I could put down at any time but would also be there when I woke up with anxiety in the middle of the night.
Enter Zig Zag Claybourne and his soul food of a book, Afro Puffs Are the Antennae of the Universe.
Read the rest of the review at Lightspeed Magazine.
Enter Zig Zag Claybourne and his soul food of a book, Afro Puffs Are the Antennae of the Universe.
Read the rest of the review at Lightspeed Magazine.
January 17, 2023
This book was a riot. If you fell a bit in love with the ladies that the Brothers Jetstream fell for in LEVIATHAN, you need to read this romp. The guys are off planet for the duration of this narrative, and this leaves the ladies to shine. We also get introduced to some outrageous new characters (hello, Hellbilly), including a horny telepathic octopus. Because of course. There's lots of badassery, including that dished out by some angels who definitely don't belong in church. I'm trying not to give spoilers, but of course the ladies save the day. More than the day. The whole damned planet, more or less. Claybourne's written that mythical creature: a sequel that surpasses the original.
I'll never look at a girl with afro puffs in the same way again.
I'll never look at a girl with afro puffs in the same way again.
February 14, 2022
I typically don't mind reading the second book first, and this one completely sucked me in with its description: “Four women accidentally create an AI goddess, then destroy capitalism with the help of a telepathic octopus.” However, in this case, I do think having read The Brothers Jetstream: Leviathan would probably have helped me grasp all the characters quicker.
However, any confusion I felt was quickly subsumed by absolute astonishment at what a wonderful, fun, wholesome story this was. I loved it so much.
However, any confusion I felt was quickly subsumed by absolute astonishment at what a wonderful, fun, wholesome story this was. I loved it so much.
October 23, 2021
I am in no way qualified to 'rate or review' the awesome Zig Zag Claybourne, whose excellent art involves house rules only (I deeply respect this), smooth whispers, clever turns of phrase, truth, humor, fire, freak, and funk. I can't really do content notes either - there's a little of a lot. So let me just provide you an invitation.
If you might like a loaded Detroit-Style Pulp Banana Sundae with pop rocks, hot sauce, and no silverware in a world that just wants us to be happy except sometimes you gotta deal with the BS - get to it.
If you might like a loaded Detroit-Style Pulp Banana Sundae with pop rocks, hot sauce, and no silverware in a world that just wants us to be happy except sometimes you gotta deal with the BS - get to it.
unfinished
February 24, 2021I’m not into this right now - I’m a little over 10% in and it’s been very vingetty so far. It’s the second in a series, but I’d seen that it stood alone. Not so sure though, there’s a lot going on and I’m having trouble keeping track of it. Will try again another time, I think some of this is just my mindset right now and looking for ease and comfort.
February 6, 2021
Zany fun, wild imagination, lots of laughter escape velocities.
April 14, 2021
A clever, wild, funky second book in the Jetstream universe. I daresay I like it better than the first! A total rollercoaster that left me with a whiplash of the good kind.
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