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The Oddball Express
2013 Edit!!! Now Professionally Proofread, Re-edited and Re-born!!!! RE-EDITED AND RE-RELEASED!!! The Oddball Express, the surreal, strange and warped new novel from award winning anarchist writer D G Jones is now available in its screaming updated form… A plan to replace politicians with excrement, a thought control device who’s antidote is cannabis, vampires who live on poop and cat mind reading are only some of the saner aspects of the book. The rest of it gets pretty bizarre. 1986. Unemployed, angry, foul-mouthed and generally hopeless, the narrator joins the staff of the Oddball Express, an underground publication that deals with stories of the occult and the unexplained. Renamed 13 throughout, (the last twelve assistants having been killed or gone insane), he slowly learns the true nature of the publication and that reality is a long way from what he has been taught. Desperately preoccupied with losing his virginity, 13 soon discovers the battle between good and evil is already lost, and all that stands between humanity and its demise is him, a large-chested journalist and a handful of misshapen anarchists… The Oddball Express is a fast paced comic horror thriller that re-imagines many occult ideas and conspiracy theories against the backdrop of the unemployment and financial hardship of the eighties. The novel explores various themes, in particular the failure of hegemonic masculinity, the competing factions of evil, the politics of oppression and the relationship between perception and reality. Contains offensive material and graphic descriptions of sex, violence, monsters and general stupidity. Proofread and edited by Dr. K and Sharon Davidson. D G Jones AKA The Flayed Prince can be found on @theflayedprince and on Dave Theflayedprince. He can also be found wandering the world like a pair of smoker’s lungs in a carrier bag, generally mumbling about conspiracy theories and the occult to anyone who will or will not listen. www.theflayedprince.co.uk
293 pages, Paperback
First published March 10, 2012
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 27, 2014
Comic/horror/thriller with a serving of in-your-face and a side of cheerful anarchy
Lots of times descriptions like "bizarre", "surreal", "anarchic", and "gonzo" mostly serve as substitutes for the more correct "poorly conceived and poorly written". Not so here. While this book has some bumpy spots, some tub thumping, and a few cringe-worthy scenes it also has real, if slightly crude, humor, some engaging characters, and a plot.
Our hero is young, unemployed, desperate and confused. He falls into the modern "angry young men" category, if you're willing to include vampire and demon fighting under that fairly flexible heading. He takes a job more or less sight unseen and begins to realize that he's in a real life class B horror movie. Clearly, under such circumstances, he has to become the reluctant hero, but only while undergoing many trials and all the time while trying to get girl. As it turns out, for all of the "angry, foul-mouth" stuff our hero actually turns out to be a decent, thoughtful and fairly innocent guy, for whom you are happy to root.
The blurbers described this book as a "fast paced comic horror thriller that re-imagines many occult ideas and conspiracy theories". Amazingly, that blurb is fair and accurate. The story is fast paced. "Comic horror thriller" is as good a description as you could ask. And, the author certainly seems to take considerable pleasure in not just tweaking but in pretty thoroughly subverting many horror story conventions, sometimes in a crude and unrepeatable fashion, but always with a sure hand. And get this - it's well written. For all of the self-proclaimed over-the-topness of the story the writing is actually restrained, well crafted and effective.
The upshot is that this was an entertaining surprise. It was well plotted, had some nice action and horror scenes, and offered much more in the way of characters and atmosphere than I ever expected. A nice find. (Please note that I found this book while browsing kindleunlimited freebies. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
Lots of times descriptions like "bizarre", "surreal", "anarchic", and "gonzo" mostly serve as substitutes for the more correct "poorly conceived and poorly written". Not so here. While this book has some bumpy spots, some tub thumping, and a few cringe-worthy scenes it also has real, if slightly crude, humor, some engaging characters, and a plot.
Our hero is young, unemployed, desperate and confused. He falls into the modern "angry young men" category, if you're willing to include vampire and demon fighting under that fairly flexible heading. He takes a job more or less sight unseen and begins to realize that he's in a real life class B horror movie. Clearly, under such circumstances, he has to become the reluctant hero, but only while undergoing many trials and all the time while trying to get girl. As it turns out, for all of the "angry, foul-mouth" stuff our hero actually turns out to be a decent, thoughtful and fairly innocent guy, for whom you are happy to root.
The blurbers described this book as a "fast paced comic horror thriller that re-imagines many occult ideas and conspiracy theories". Amazingly, that blurb is fair and accurate. The story is fast paced. "Comic horror thriller" is as good a description as you could ask. And, the author certainly seems to take considerable pleasure in not just tweaking but in pretty thoroughly subverting many horror story conventions, sometimes in a crude and unrepeatable fashion, but always with a sure hand. And get this - it's well written. For all of the self-proclaimed over-the-topness of the story the writing is actually restrained, well crafted and effective.
The upshot is that this was an entertaining surprise. It was well plotted, had some nice action and horror scenes, and offered much more in the way of characters and atmosphere than I ever expected. A nice find. (Please note that I found this book while browsing kindleunlimited freebies. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
Displaying 1 of 1 review