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Violence Without Plot
In this dark comedy, Jesse Daniels believes all the world's a Sony Motion Picture, and that he is the protagonist of it all. He's a killer. He's looking for the Bonnie to his Clyde. He's going to rock the world. Follow along (in parody of screenplay format) as his delusions are crushed by a series of wild women who truly drive the story. They will even drive the story straight off a cliff with Jesse Daniels inside, if it suits them.
Rated R for adult themes, excessive drug use, and Violence Without Plot.
Rated R for adult themes, excessive drug use, and Violence Without Plot.
69 pages, Paperback
Published August 22, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 14, 2023
Trigger Warnings: Mentions of drugs, murder, suicide, and predators.
I didn't know what to expect from this one but, upon finally reading it wow, I'm blown away. I've never read a book written like a stage play but, although it took some getting used to, after the first couple of pages, it had me completely hooked!
Violence Without Plot is a dark comedy (quite dark as a fair warning) that makes fun of and wonderfully criticizes the glorification and romanticization of characters such as Patrick Batman, or, more of the "serial killer" lover trope, along with many other similar concepts. With its self-awareness and wit, it's hard to know what will come next, but every twist had me laughing as much as they had me surprised. This book doesn't miss a beat in making fun of many of the harmful cliches that have permeated media over the years, and tackles a lot of them quite skillfully despite its short read time. As a parody of them, it blows itself out of the water.
With its character, Jesse Daniels, a wonderfully conceited jerk that idolizes Patrick Bateman at the forefront, Violence Without Plot feels like a perfect "so bad it's good" movie but in book form. Subversive with the tackling of its subject matters while making an actual point, its lack of a cohesive feeling plot is just the cherry on top. Using Jesse's tumbling status as the main character to allow the story to become more and more unhinged over time, Violence Without Plot allows the quirks of its colorful cast of characters to drive the helm instead. If you adore character-focused pieces, you'll adore this as every character here feels fully on display without being smothered.
Speaking of which, these characters were fantastic and will stay with me long after I finish writing this review. Although all the characters presented are meant to be twisted and messed up in one way or another, they were not unlikable in the least! If anything, the book manages to keep its humorous tone by giving the characters charming and lovable personalities/quirks, while keeping most of their bad behaviors perfectly absurd. It got to the point that, as a reader, it was hard to take them too seriously and I was just enjoying the ride. I usually don't enjoy comedies with blood or violence but, this one plays it off hilariously to the point I wasn't really bothered. My favorites were Bunny and Possum, and it's a shame they were only in a short segment of the book as I would have loved to have seen more from them. Still, all the characters stuck out to me regardless.
This can be read in one sitting, and yet, contains so much weight and substance I could have sworn it took more. Not only would I highly recommend this to fans of dark satire and movie buffs alike thanks to all the references, but I personally can not wait until my next re-read. Because, despite being in written form, Violence Without Plot still manages to be wonderfully snappy and I'm sure there were some references or jokes I accidentally overlooked the first time around. In short I really recommend this, it was hilarious, entertaining, and one Hell of a ride.
I didn't know what to expect from this one but, upon finally reading it wow, I'm blown away. I've never read a book written like a stage play but, although it took some getting used to, after the first couple of pages, it had me completely hooked!
Violence Without Plot is a dark comedy (quite dark as a fair warning) that makes fun of and wonderfully criticizes the glorification and romanticization of characters such as Patrick Batman, or, more of the "serial killer" lover trope, along with many other similar concepts. With its self-awareness and wit, it's hard to know what will come next, but every twist had me laughing as much as they had me surprised. This book doesn't miss a beat in making fun of many of the harmful cliches that have permeated media over the years, and tackles a lot of them quite skillfully despite its short read time. As a parody of them, it blows itself out of the water.
With its character, Jesse Daniels, a wonderfully conceited jerk that idolizes Patrick Bateman at the forefront, Violence Without Plot feels like a perfect "so bad it's good" movie but in book form. Subversive with the tackling of its subject matters while making an actual point, its lack of a cohesive feeling plot is just the cherry on top. Using Jesse's tumbling status as the main character to allow the story to become more and more unhinged over time, Violence Without Plot allows the quirks of its colorful cast of characters to drive the helm instead. If you adore character-focused pieces, you'll adore this as every character here feels fully on display without being smothered.
Speaking of which, these characters were fantastic and will stay with me long after I finish writing this review. Although all the characters presented are meant to be twisted and messed up in one way or another, they were not unlikable in the least! If anything, the book manages to keep its humorous tone by giving the characters charming and lovable personalities/quirks, while keeping most of their bad behaviors perfectly absurd. It got to the point that, as a reader, it was hard to take them too seriously and I was just enjoying the ride. I usually don't enjoy comedies with blood or violence but, this one plays it off hilariously to the point I wasn't really bothered. My favorites were Bunny and Possum, and it's a shame they were only in a short segment of the book as I would have loved to have seen more from them. Still, all the characters stuck out to me regardless.
This can be read in one sitting, and yet, contains so much weight and substance I could have sworn it took more. Not only would I highly recommend this to fans of dark satire and movie buffs alike thanks to all the references, but I personally can not wait until my next re-read. Because, despite being in written form, Violence Without Plot still manages to be wonderfully snappy and I'm sure there were some references or jokes I accidentally overlooked the first time around. In short I really recommend this, it was hilarious, entertaining, and one Hell of a ride.
April 16, 2024
I read this on lunch in my past workplace, which I'm sure looked very normal and psychologically stable. The entire read felt like a drug trip, and struck the balance between batshit hilarious and fucked up.
Highly recommend!
Highly recommend!
January 4, 2024
I've read this multiple times. It is clever and amusing, especially if you are familiar with the references.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews