Content

Content Comedy Extravaganza #1

by Sam Clemens

Timothy Dent has made the big time. Amidst a lifetime of rudderless drifting, he has lucked into a job at the most prestigious content creation company in the world, ContentRanch.com. The work may be lowbrow—and frankly, often brain-dead—but the role has perks, and Tim is primed to enjoy them. He notices an immediate boost in social status from his new job title, and dives headfirst into the electric nightlife offered to Content Ranch employees, which includes a weekly, booze-soaked party funded by the company’s eccentric boss.

But throughout the fast work and faster living, something Timothy Dent never expected starts to happen: he succeeds. Despite his average talent and questionable commitment to the job, Tim’s content does outstanding numbers, and the higher-ups begin to notice. Initially thwarted by jealous middle management, Tim nevertheless rises through the ranks. Soon he lands a coveted invite to CEO Barry Corn’s penthouse suite, and comes to a pivotal crossroads: will Tim be exposed for the fraud that he is, or will he win over the boss and be vaulted into the stratosphere of the content world?

Join Timothy Dent on an unforgettable and rambunctious comedy ride through a world in which content really is king.

Genres: Fiction, Humor

226 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 5, 2020

Reviews

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Rating

I enjoyed this book more than I would have expected. I’m not a techie, and the world of Content Creation is not something I would have considered. This novel skewers those who live for the internet, following every ridiculous story that appears. The idea that an entire industry could subsist on worthless blurbs pounded out by bored and rudderless people in cubicles is foreign to me.

However, Tim and his friends do just that in the new Silicon Valley/Hollywood that is Denver now that California has fallen off into the ocean. They create nothing, submit no new ideas or theories. They merely regurgitate what they’ve seen and read elsewhere, for good pay and great benefits. The Thursday Extravaganza, produced by the CEO, is a disgusting display of glut and consumerism. They’ve all died and gone to heaven.

Except none of them are happy. Even Tim, on a meteoric rise through the company for no apparent reason, wonders what it all means. Why has he been singled out by the eccentric CEO for stardom?

An interesting parody on millennials, their dreams, and the culture that feeds them. Definitely worth a read.

[Raghav · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted the book to be good. After all, I am a content writer and somewhat have an idea of what the industry is all about. Unfortunately, “content” has nothing to do with the story. You can take the exact same characters and put them in a call-center setting or that of a hedge fund management company, and the story would more or less remain the same. There’s so much to content writing that I hoped the author would include more about the business and what it is like to be churning out multiple articles day in and day out.

Speaking of characters, whether it is the protagonist Tim, his colleagues, or his boss, everyone has a predictable, uninteresting personality. The story as a whole lacks substance, big time! And the promised humor is non-existent. The only saving grace about the book is that it reads fast.

Note: I received an advance review copy of the book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good. I liked the satire on clickbait.

[Rick Farlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excessive profanity is a real negative for this book. Although Sam Clemens is s talented writer, and creative with his sense of humour, he just needs to clean it up... ( Isn’t that what a decent editor is for???). Had the vocabulary been more imaginative, it may have rated a 5 star recommendation and better suited for a much larger audience.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four minus stars - not great, but quite good and let's face it, it's written for entertainment and it certainly achieved that! The setting is contemporary - with Trump and clickbait on the internet. I had never heard of Content creators but now I know that I interact with them multiple times per day. These are the folks who create the true, false, funny, indifferent, etc. content that shows on your screen when you click on an intriguing (partial) headline. Frequently you find the headline to be clearly misleading and you may move on to the next headline or you may find yourself reading the 'content'. I guess people like this exist because how else would the stuff get written and posted? And that's the story - Dent, the content writer, who has so-so skills but was born under a great set of stars and finds himself repeatedly recruited by the competition, promoted over and over again and even has favorable social interfaces. It was a fun, easy to read trip into an unknown area for me and I will probably read more of this series.

[Elizabeth Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun read! Tim Dent gets a job as a content creator at the Content Ranch and soon rises thru the ranks. Why does he keep getting promoted? Why does Barry Corn, the owner, like him so much? Tim has no idea. Even he cant figure it out.

The book starts with Tim's first day on the job. He just needs a job and figures how hard can it be to create content? The firm he works at has a play hard, work hard rule. At first, tim struggles a bit to meet his quotas. Before long he hits his stride and becomes something of a rising star in the content world.

This was a fun, quick read. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a book that is easy to read and doesn't require any sort of emotional investment to the characters or plot.

*disclaimer* I am voluntarily leaving this review in exchange for a free copy of the book.

[Claudete Takahashi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam Clemens in a hillarious way describes how information is "produced" nowadays. Content is a relaxing, with very relatable characters and very relatable corporate life. If you take the extremes off we see much of what he describes in corporations throughout the world and this is what makes the book even more funny.... in a certain way we can see all the rights and wrongs about leadership and people management.
Loved the drescription of the parties and after parties problems!!!! They are as crude as life!!!
I received a free copy of this book from the author/Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest reply.

[Daniel Deitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a bit of fun or....

I left the world of High technology around 20 years ago with the feeling that everything in that world was completely skewed. The higher I went up the corporate ladder the less I worked with the office politics getting worse and worse. I look upon myself as a recovering Hitech junkie. My life has a lot more meaning and although I earn about 20% of my previous salary my children know what I look like and I’m no longer a high risk heart patient. Maybe the author has a point

[Sharla Elcock · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am still waiting on the laugh

This book was not funny. I am still waiting on the point and the joke. There was also one line I found quite offensive which gave me pause. One colleague described the other as a "cotton-picking savage" and I am still trying to figure out what the hell that meant. That phrase has me questioning the author But you be the judge. I am striking this author off my list.

[Kenneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good; not great. Humourous rather than laugh out loud funny. On the mark about particular types of click-bait content. There's a reference to something that happened in California and the omission of a well known internet brand that's not fully explained. Perhaps more is revealed in the later books. I enjoyed reading it but I'm not convinced that I'll read on to find out more.

[Kindle Chris]

Silliness is what is called for in our virus world. This book answers that call. Tim is the only same character and I want to be him. He knows how to remain steadfast in chaos. We all must learn to do this.

[Thomas Mihalchick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkably fun

This is a fun quick read. It reminded me of my time in the corporate world. The time and industries are different, but the situations are all too similar. If you're ready for a laugh, this is a great place to get one.

[David M. Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather entertaining depiction of life today.

This book seemed to be a rather accurate example of how some people quickly become rich and famous in spite of not having any real talent or much intelligence to explain why.

[Mrs L Robinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Comedy???

From starting at page 1, I have waited for the comedy content of the book to hit me, here I am at the last page and I have yet to raise even a smile! Totally unfunny if you want a light hearted laugh out loud comedy novel, look elsewhere...

[Sharla Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not even funny

The one good thing, the story flowed, but it made no sense. I kept waiting to find out more about the characters but it never came.

Just a guy who started a job, and in 3 months he's running the company with barely any experience at all.

[Holly Klopstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different

Funny at times unbelievable at times but kept my interest during the whole book because some was believeable I could see how the little lines to catch your attention are real. Thankyou

[Connie Zinsmeister · Rating 5 out of 5]

FUN!

A story of nothing articles about nothing, that abound by the thousands, day and night at the top news company. It doesn't need to make sense, it just needs to be there. So why does Dent get promoted over and over for no obvious reason? Who knows!!

[Judi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could have been so much funnier if it had been written with more attention to the plot. The subject is near and dear to my heart and this is an excellent, over-the-top parody. But it tried so hard to portray superficial and that ended up overcoming the comedy.

[Todd]

Sam has written a very humorous and thoroughly enjoyable book depicting the 'click-thru' online industry. The character development was well rounded which made it a pleasure to read.

[Colin Parfitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ted has started a weird new job - his immediate supervisor hates him, the boss of the company loves him. I was fascinated to find out why - but it’s never explained.

[Nicola Burt-Skinner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice easy read even if it didn't go anywhere.

[Charlie]

Charming

It's comedy, but more of an ironic sort. I never laughed out loud, but a wry snicker or two escaped. Definitely an entertaining beach or commute read.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but kind of went nowhere

[Allen Russell · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book with little content

This is a book about luck and people without purpose. Not humorous just frustrating Writing was simple but to the point if there was one

[E.A. Briginshaw · Rating 1 out of 5]

I abandoned this book about 35% in because it wasn't funny, unless bathroom humor is your thing.

[Daniel Meaney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Silly

Silly _ a wast of my time. I stopped reading this drivel and wrote this review because Amazon forces the reader to write reviews.😖

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

What was described as a comedy is only a sad commentary of the low depths that the internet content of bait clips show us each and every day.

[Andrea Elkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange short book, it felt more like a prequel than anything else.

[Les · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty well written. The characters are pretty stereotypical, but that may just be me. I have a feeling this is aimed at a much younger audience than 60+.

[Nina Sonner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unique novel

Sam Clemens is an author who creates characters which produce some realistic and some unrealistic ideas which cause mindful thoughts.