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Space Bug
A philosophical novel by K. Wholesaler, SPACE BUG tells the story of Grig, humble girl from the infernal slums of the Hoshk Empire. Grig rises from poverty to become a fierce warrior, only to fall into enemy hands where she is transformed into a nine foot tall insectoid deicide. Read, as The Grey Man and Zardoq wrestle for Grig's soul and hope to twist them to their own fanatical designs. Each believes the world hangs in the balance. What they do not know is that nothing less than the salvation of the universe is at stake!
313 pages, Paperback
Published January 2, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 16, 2022
I bought this book in part due to a distant association with the author. In all, the story is excellent, and the author has created a detailed and immersive world in which the story takes place. I genuinely think that the world created here gives enough history and depth to be a universe the author could continue to explore in other works and be riveting and engaging.
Where the book let me down though was the writing style itself. Elements of the story and structure are not made clear, making references at best murky, and at worst completely useless. Attempts are made at explaining some elements using footnotes, but they occur in the same awkward reference manner as the text so they aren’t great. Coupled with a propensity to write like they just discovered a thesaurus, some passages are simply difficult to follow, and description laden to the point of mind numbing. Perhaps the greatest sin though is the authors laissez faire approach to pronouns; the protagonist is referenced as she and they, which is straightforward, but the author will reference the protagonist and a group, using “they” and “they” again in the same sentence. The next sentence then when “they” is used is unclear who’s being referenced. This occurs repeatedly throughout the text.
In all, a solid book, but it loses a lot of ground because the best story in the history of the universe is worthless if it’s not readable for the audience.
Where the book let me down though was the writing style itself. Elements of the story and structure are not made clear, making references at best murky, and at worst completely useless. Attempts are made at explaining some elements using footnotes, but they occur in the same awkward reference manner as the text so they aren’t great. Coupled with a propensity to write like they just discovered a thesaurus, some passages are simply difficult to follow, and description laden to the point of mind numbing. Perhaps the greatest sin though is the authors laissez faire approach to pronouns; the protagonist is referenced as she and they, which is straightforward, but the author will reference the protagonist and a group, using “they” and “they” again in the same sentence. The next sentence then when “they” is used is unclear who’s being referenced. This occurs repeatedly throughout the text.
In all, a solid book, but it loses a lot of ground because the best story in the history of the universe is worthless if it’s not readable for the audience.
May 15, 2023
Any book with a chapter titled "Godphallus" deserves 4 stars.
An odd premise involving turning a person into a bug to kill a God, I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I'm glad I read it. My biggest qualm was that it definitely could have used another editor. Most typos I could skip over, but a few I had to read a couple of times.
This was the first book that I've read in a while where it felt like the author was having fun with the words. Early on, there were several sentences that brought up clear images in my mind, and others where it was just fun to say the words together and I read the same sentence back a few times. I hadn't realized until I read this book, but it's been a while since I read anything like that. The only similarity I can think of off the top of my head is Edgar Allen Poe and how some of his writing just rolls together and is fun to say out loud. Also just fun new words like "heresiarch".
In the second half I didn't notice this fun description as much, and I felt like the ending was a little rushed. The overall plot was interesting and engaging, but not groundbreaking. There were good philosophical thoughts scattered throughout and a neat idea for a different social structure of a civilization.
An odd premise involving turning a person into a bug to kill a God, I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I'm glad I read it. My biggest qualm was that it definitely could have used another editor. Most typos I could skip over, but a few I had to read a couple of times.
This was the first book that I've read in a while where it felt like the author was having fun with the words. Early on, there were several sentences that brought up clear images in my mind, and others where it was just fun to say the words together and I read the same sentence back a few times. I hadn't realized until I read this book, but it's been a while since I read anything like that. The only similarity I can think of off the top of my head is Edgar Allen Poe and how some of his writing just rolls together and is fun to say out loud. Also just fun new words like "heresiarch".
In the second half I didn't notice this fun description as much, and I felt like the ending was a little rushed. The overall plot was interesting and engaging, but not groundbreaking. There were good philosophical thoughts scattered throughout and a neat idea for a different social structure of a civilization.
March 7, 2022
I also bought this book " in part due to a distant association with the author" and I'm glad I did. It was exactly the kind of book I was needing. It has an engaging story that is told from various points of view, and as a story being told within a story being told. I enjoyed the journey as I read about different characters and situations but wasn't sure how it was going to end or come to a conclusion. I was surprised at how satisfying the ending was and everything came together very well. It is a rich world and a unique story.
It is hard to pin down what it reminds me of. It was a fun Kafka-esqe mixture of 80's science fiction, horror, and The Never-Ending Story, peppered with philosophy, religion, and mystery.
Another review points out a laissez-faire use of pronouns but I actually found the use to be quite purposeful. It begins to happen after Grig is first transformed and she is less referred to as a singular "she" and more as a "they", to show how she has become more than herself. It took a bit of getting used to but quickly became easy to understand once you knew what was going on.
Well worth reading for a unique story told in a unique way.
It is hard to pin down what it reminds me of. It was a fun Kafka-esqe mixture of 80's science fiction, horror, and The Never-Ending Story, peppered with philosophy, religion, and mystery.
Another review points out a laissez-faire use of pronouns but I actually found the use to be quite purposeful. It begins to happen after Grig is first transformed and she is less referred to as a singular "she" and more as a "they", to show how she has become more than herself. It took a bit of getting used to but quickly became easy to understand once you knew what was going on.
Well worth reading for a unique story told in a unique way.
June 7, 2022
I really enjoyed this book and I am excited for the next piece by Dr. Wholesaler, M.D.. The world created in this story is genuinely one of the more creative things I've ever seen, flips a lot on the world you expect in the day to day. I do think that Wholesaler could have slowed down a bit and explained a bit more, but filling in the mysteries leaves you wanting to read more, so it still works. This book has some incredibly descriptive sentences that show Wholesaler is a wordsmith, truly funny and introspective. The use of they/them pronouns serves a narrative purpose, as well as the times when she/her is used, but require understanding of the character. The genre and tonal switch in the middle caused a bit of whiplash, but gave many answers to questions I had and explained a world I eagerly wanted to learn more about. The overall themes were narratively focused, intriguing, and I don't want to say more cause I'd draw on specific examples and don't want to spoil it. I am very glad I read this, and it's worth the price of a physical copy.
April 4, 2022
Really great concept and some brilliant, entertaining, beautiful stuff in here -- But wasn't the easiest to read, and I think there's a large contrast between the parts that were necessary and some of the details that were confusing to parse until it became clear why they fit into the plot later.
There are some awesome ideas in here, and super impressive (and entertaining!) for something that seems self-published to me? I feel like if this had gone through a professional publishing process, it would have been an excellent sci-fi book. As is, it was merely a good one!
There are some awesome ideas in here, and super impressive (and entertaining!) for something that seems self-published to me? I feel like if this had gone through a professional publishing process, it would have been an excellent sci-fi book. As is, it was merely a good one!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews