Password Incorrect

by Nick Name

25 short, sometimes funny and sometimes mean stories ideal to rediscover the joy of reading a book as shiny and beautiful as a brand new cell phone. A look from a distance at the absurdity of our present day fights with the less and less comprehensible equipment, pursuit of the latest technological news, pitfalls of our modern lifestyle, useless inventions and issues racing in all directions at a breakneck speed. A lot of entertainment and a little food for thought. Just perfect for the moment when you're finally bored with exploring the alarm settings on your new iPhone.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Science Fiction, Humor

80 pages, Paperback

First published May 27, 2008

Reviews

[Moxie Mezcal · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I love about Nick Name's stories is the nuanced, sophisticated relationship presented between human beings and technology, which is often belied by the absurdity of the humor. He seems to present technology not as a boogey-man, but rather as the tools human beings create to fill real needs, whether they be emotional, spiritual, sexual, etc. The problem, of course, arises from humans' preternatural abilities to epically fuck up even the best intentions.

[Steve Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some strange little stories. There are a few issues with the translation from Polish and some characters didn't display properly on my reader, but those didn't detract too much.

The stories are mostly based around possible (or impossible) future technologies. Some interesting ideas, but mostly played for humour rather than plausibility. Some play as moral stories.

Amusing enough, but not essential.

[yacoob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect book to show, that absurdity isn't always funny. Still, it wasn't a bad read. Polish names of people and places were kind of sticking out of the rest of the text. I guess they add to the feeling of absurd - provided that you're not Polish, then they're just plain weird :D

[Leanne Kael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Difficult to read in places, not sure if due to style or poor translation, felt very disjointed. Some very funny moments but overall not enjoyable

[Cindy B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Absurdity isn’t always funny - and this read wasn’t.

*quoted from a previous review.

[Ayush · Rating 1 out of 5]

A total waste of time. Do not pick it up.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m all for concise works, but this is just not good. I understand short stories do not have much on character development, but there is a clear cut Beginning-Middle-End. None of these stories have that. I felt my brain was being assaulted by the rapid fire of incoherent nonsense.

The language is awkward, and I’m not sure if that is due to the translation (from Polish) or it is just bad writing. Perhaps this is the style he's going for; short, quick and abrupt, just like our technologies (and lives), but it didn’t work. I was left frustrated – just like when my password IS incorrect.

The only reason I didn’t give this one star was due to one story that captured my attention. “A Man Called Desk”. Maybe I was drawn to it because I can relate, however, this is not a well written piece either, but at least it got a small chuckle out of me.

It is a good thing many of us do not publish what we write, or the free domain book sites would be filled with this garbage.

[Debbie J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Password Incorrect resembles a series of satirical Twilight Zone episodes wherein technology seems to gain harmful self-awareness. Computer-based development intended to improve its creators’ and users’ lives manages instead to wreak havoc.

While reading, I wondered whether this book originated in a language other than English because the narrative seemed like a bad translation of something. (Possibly Polish.)

The ebook edition I read also contained puzzling symbols within words and at times the text resembled hieroglyphics. Considering the subject--technological mishaps--perhaps the odd formatting was deliberate?

Author “Nick Name” shows a keen sense of the absurd in Password Incorrect. One wonders how much better his work might have turned out had it enjoyed the benefit of professional editing.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection features a set of short flash pieces that combine ideas that could be ripped from the headlines of a newspaper published next Tuesday with a wonderfully absurdist sense of humour. It combines two things - humour and science fiction - that both are often described as social mirrors, used to point out the foibles of our own time, but which are rarely combined to that effect outside of satirical, poking fun at the genre Hitchhiker's Guide... type stories. The combination here, with a strong intent towards some social commentary, makes each of them stronger.

[Namitha Varma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm quite disappointed with the book. I mean, the stories are incredibly satiric - but many of them fail to make an impact because they are too short - we do not get enough time to process the irony. I think the book also suffers from the "lost-in-translation" problem. However, this is a strong critique of a technologically debauched society - Password Incorrect, A Man Called Desk, Happiness in a Four-Pack, Micro-Hockey, Nose Number 32, Mr. Copypaste, etc are among the good stories in this collection.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories were interesting, some were actually funny and original, but there were many stories that just tried way too hard to be funny, were too off the boat crazy or plainly said annoying to read.
The feel of this collection was a bit amateuristic; the stories could have been better, but now feel a bit unbalanced within themselves.

Admittedly some stories were very entertaining! And I guess it is also a matter of taste, therefore I gave 3 stars based on my enjoyment.

[Tom Lichtenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love these stories of wild impossible inventions, absurd and cynical enough to come straight from tomorrow's headlines. playful and downright silly, this is really funny stuff.

[Donna]

Downloaded as an e-book - collection of short stories based in the digital age - first couple of stories are pretty good, amusing and strangely very relateable to modern life!

[Velvetink]

epub version

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

very strange set of short stories, but a laugh a lot with the imagination of the author.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

General weirdness.