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The American Book of the Dead #1
The American Book of the Dead
Eugene Myers is working on a novel about the end of the world. Meanwhile, he discovers his daughter doing porn online and his marriage is coming to an end. When he begins dreaming about people who turn out to be real, he wonders if his novel is real as well. Which isn’t good the radical and demented President Winchell is bent on bringing about worldwide destruction. Eugene Myers may just be the one to stop the apocalypse.
In the tradition of Philip K. Dick and Robert Anton Wilson, The American Book of the Dead explores the nature of reality and the human race’s potential to either disintegrate or evolve.
In the tradition of Philip K. Dick and Robert Anton Wilson, The American Book of the Dead explores the nature of reality and the human race’s potential to either disintegrate or evolve.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
April 13, 2012
I feel like I owe Henry Baum, the author of The American Book of the Dead, a sincere apology. You see, he contacted me early last year about his book, thinking that it might be something that I would enjoy. I agreed to review the book, but told him that our first child was due soon and that it might be a while before I got to the book. Undeterred, he went on and mailed me a signed copy, scribbling a note on a card wishing me the best of luck with my soon-to-be daughter and that there was "no rush." Then Avonlea came and my reading life was hit.
Finally, at the end of March, I picked up Mr. Baum's book. (I confess, I also downloaded the ebook from Amazon for portability sake, which is currently priced at $0.99 and easily worth it. There's also a free download available through the book's website, linked here) I vaguely remembered that the book was some sort of apocalyptic tale about a struggling author and some strange happenings. As long as it took me to start the book, had I known that I would finish it so quickly I would have started much sooner. (It's an easy enough read to finish in a long afternoon sitting, if you're so inclined, as the book weighs in at just shy of 250 pages.)
It is difficult to describe The American Book of the Dead. The first word I think of is "Meta." Then maybe "weird." It's really impossible to classify it as a single genre, as it touches on almost everything. It's post-apocalyptic, pre-apocalyptic, apocalyptic, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, suspense, religious, satire, and a host of other things. It reminded me a lot of Kurt Vonnegut, though maybe not as deep, nor as funny. A blurb on the book says it's very much like Philip K. Dick, too, though I've not read any of his stuff, so I cannot attest to that.
Eugene Myers is a struggling writer in his 50s. He's making do by teaching a class at a local college. He's bored and depressed and his wife doesn't really love him and he doesn't necessarily love her back. The year is 2020 and the world has gone to hell. Random acts of violence are the norm, and there's little to be done about them. Sex is everywhere, with people copulating on prime time television and not a soul cares. All around him Eugene sees his world and its problems and he writes about his lifeless marriage and whatever he can think of. One afternoon he discovers an online sex video of his daughter. This straw breaks the camel's back, so to speak, and it begins the strange journey of Eugene Myers.
Paralleling Eugene's life is President Charles Winchell. Charles is a Christian Extremist who is bent on destroying the world so that he can rebuild it and enjoy the peace that is prophesied in the book of Revelation. Charles won his presidency on promises that he would save the world, and that's exactly what he intends to do. The man quotes scripture and takes the bible's words a fair bit out of context.
That would be The American Book of the Dead in a nutshell. Baum's writing is smooth and engaging. His story is thought-provoking and provocative. I felt the message was rather heavy handed at times and possibly fueled by conspiracy theories, but never downright offensive. The book progressively grew more surreal, to its advantage, and I never once got bored with the story. However, for all its praise, the tone of the novel was rather matter-of-fact, which took away a lot of the suspense. I'm not saying that there was no suspense, because there was, but I think there could have been more.
Henry Baum's book provided a surreal reading experience, as many things that jump into the Meta tend to do. However, by and large, I think Baum kept a deft hand on the plot, driving it forward with building momentum. Personally I would have enjoyed seeing more of the world and more of its characters, especially in the latter part of the novel. Instead, The American Book of the Dead is a tight, character-centered book that has some urgency in its message. Why? Because Baum's frightening future is something that could easily happen, barring the magical-like things that happen.
If you're in a reading slump and curious to try something bizarre, check out The American Book of the Dead. Even though I would have liked more development with some of the characters and settings, it still was a fun romp through genre-defying madness. And if you've read and enjoyed some Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse Five particularly comes to mind), you should definitely give this a try.
FTC Thingy: I received this book for free from Mr Henry Baum himself. Not in person, mind you, but through a machine of different people it did eventually arrive at my house, autographed and lustrous. Mr Baum did not hypnotize me and force me to write a flattering or positive review, and the opinions reflected here are solely my own. Furthermore, Mr Baum did not include any sort of cookies with my book, so I was under no Cookie Clause, either.
Finally, at the end of March, I picked up Mr. Baum's book. (I confess, I also downloaded the ebook from Amazon for portability sake, which is currently priced at $0.99 and easily worth it. There's also a free download available through the book's website, linked here) I vaguely remembered that the book was some sort of apocalyptic tale about a struggling author and some strange happenings. As long as it took me to start the book, had I known that I would finish it so quickly I would have started much sooner. (It's an easy enough read to finish in a long afternoon sitting, if you're so inclined, as the book weighs in at just shy of 250 pages.)
It is difficult to describe The American Book of the Dead. The first word I think of is "Meta." Then maybe "weird." It's really impossible to classify it as a single genre, as it touches on almost everything. It's post-apocalyptic, pre-apocalyptic, apocalyptic, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, suspense, religious, satire, and a host of other things. It reminded me a lot of Kurt Vonnegut, though maybe not as deep, nor as funny. A blurb on the book says it's very much like Philip K. Dick, too, though I've not read any of his stuff, so I cannot attest to that.
Eugene Myers is a struggling writer in his 50s. He's making do by teaching a class at a local college. He's bored and depressed and his wife doesn't really love him and he doesn't necessarily love her back. The year is 2020 and the world has gone to hell. Random acts of violence are the norm, and there's little to be done about them. Sex is everywhere, with people copulating on prime time television and not a soul cares. All around him Eugene sees his world and its problems and he writes about his lifeless marriage and whatever he can think of. One afternoon he discovers an online sex video of his daughter. This straw breaks the camel's back, so to speak, and it begins the strange journey of Eugene Myers.
Paralleling Eugene's life is President Charles Winchell. Charles is a Christian Extremist who is bent on destroying the world so that he can rebuild it and enjoy the peace that is prophesied in the book of Revelation. Charles won his presidency on promises that he would save the world, and that's exactly what he intends to do. The man quotes scripture and takes the bible's words a fair bit out of context.
That would be The American Book of the Dead in a nutshell. Baum's writing is smooth and engaging. His story is thought-provoking and provocative. I felt the message was rather heavy handed at times and possibly fueled by conspiracy theories, but never downright offensive. The book progressively grew more surreal, to its advantage, and I never once got bored with the story. However, for all its praise, the tone of the novel was rather matter-of-fact, which took away a lot of the suspense. I'm not saying that there was no suspense, because there was, but I think there could have been more.
Henry Baum's book provided a surreal reading experience, as many things that jump into the Meta tend to do. However, by and large, I think Baum kept a deft hand on the plot, driving it forward with building momentum. Personally I would have enjoyed seeing more of the world and more of its characters, especially in the latter part of the novel. Instead, The American Book of the Dead is a tight, character-centered book that has some urgency in its message. Why? Because Baum's frightening future is something that could easily happen, barring the magical-like things that happen.
If you're in a reading slump and curious to try something bizarre, check out The American Book of the Dead. Even though I would have liked more development with some of the characters and settings, it still was a fun romp through genre-defying madness. And if you've read and enjoyed some Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse Five particularly comes to mind), you should definitely give this a try.
FTC Thingy: I received this book for free from Mr Henry Baum himself. Not in person, mind you, but through a machine of different people it did eventually arrive at my house, autographed and lustrous. Mr Baum did not hypnotize me and force me to write a flattering or positive review, and the opinions reflected here are solely my own. Furthermore, Mr Baum did not include any sort of cookies with my book, so I was under no Cookie Clause, either.
April 18, 2010
One of the most unique approaches to storytelling I've ever come across! It's a book about that same book, which already has been written, but the author does not remember actually writing it.... Was it written in the past or in the future? Was it written at all? It could have been a whole lot more confusing if it weren't for the fact that the book is about an apocalyptic event, which feels uncomfortably likely to happen (felt a whole lot more likely when Bush was still president, but who knows? Presidencies have been known to repeat themselves.).
Overall I really enjoyed this uncommonly self-aware story and I liked the narrator and how he handled himself during some rather challenging times... What sort of threw me off for a loop on more than one occasion, was the book's fixation on conspiracy theories. It was obviously meant to be sprinkled with just about every conspiracy theory circulating out there, but for me they only took away from the story.
Overall I really enjoyed this uncommonly self-aware story and I liked the narrator and how he handled himself during some rather challenging times... What sort of threw me off for a loop on more than one occasion, was the book's fixation on conspiracy theories. It was obviously meant to be sprinkled with just about every conspiracy theory circulating out there, but for me they only took away from the story.
July 31, 2012
This book is as important to modern American literature as Fight Club. Say no more.
March 14, 2010
The year was 2020. Except as I write this the year is 2008.
Don’t try to make any sense out that, by the end you will understand, but for now the first person narrator/author of the book is just letting you know that he basically wrote a premonition, not a novel. Now I certainly don’t mind a little Nostradamus, even if the narrator claims it’s merely Cliff’s Notes from the future, and after the “end is near” prologue, we move into a more traditional narrative and a more linear timeline. In chapter one our protagonist Professor Eugene Meyers, who teaches creative writing at the local University, inadvertently discovers that his teenage daughter seems to have taken an interest in making internet porn. And this really is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Our narrator is full on in the middle of his mid-life crisis and is having some difficulty dealing with the aftermath of youthful delusion. Blows to the ego like a stagnant writing career, a failing marriage, and the public domain sexual promiscuity of his only daughter are never taken lightly. But all this is just a device to introduce the reader to a viewpoint, one that will be vigorously challenged throughout the course of the book.
This book comes at the “end of the world” scenario from all kinds of different angles: war, terrorism, religious zealotry, vanity, greed, delusion, the death of innocence, and how TV is rotting our world ... etc.
The writing style has a stream of consciousness chop to it -- lots and lots of fragments: fragmented thoughts, philosophies, moralistic viewpoints, ideals, and our narrator is very self-centred, not in a arrogant way or a narcissistic way but in more of an introverted way: “I didn’t understand how other people’s lives worked without me,” he says. And as for the end of the world and the survivor society that would come after World War III, his thematic vision for his book validates his bleak yet optimistic way of thinking. As a juxtaposition to this way of thinking, we cut to the Whitehouse in order to jump into the mind of current lunatic President Charles Winchell, who is going to bring people back to their faith “even if it means killing them.” Initially this character sort of reminded me of Sheen’s character in King’s *The Dead Zone*. After we have been sufficiently frightened by Winchell’s cultist mentality, we then cut back again to Eugene doing a little detective work, trying to find the scumbag that filmed his daughter. He does, of course, and it doesn’t end well.
After Eugene is pummelled and subsequently released from the hospital, he finds that he is having visions, well, more like dreams, but in his dreams, he dreams of real people, complete with names and addresses. On the other side of the universe, President Winchell’s old man tells him that UFOs exist and that the “people from the other side” told him death isn’t an end. He is also under the impression that a mass holy war needs to come to fruition in order to save the world after the apocalypse. Yea, it’s a lot to take in with this book. Even looney tunes President Charles Winchell has doubts about his old man’s sanity, but I found the satirical stretch funny and alarming at the same time. Charles may be blinded by vanity and egomania, and Eugene may be prophetic in some way, but prophecy is really only a casual glance back over our shoulders. History divines the future; we are just too ignorant to pay attention to it. Much like in this book, we can travel through time to a different dimension and learn from our mistakes. As Eugene’s premonitions begin to come true via bombings that annihilate NYC and Washington D.C., he begins to seek out the people in his dreams. Good thing the dreams give him names and addresses, because Eugene feels an unnatural compulsion to find and collect these people and bring them together, even if the reason why isn’t clear to him just yet.
As for the set-up and the story, it was a little reminiscent of Stephen King’s *The Stand* sans the elaborate characterization and world detail, but then again, The Stand was over a thousand pages. Every single character was critical and had their own front story and back story and separate plotline with all plotlines affecting one another and eventually converging. This book is more concerned with the two divergent Points of View. This isn’t a plot-driven story, it’s an idea driven story, and much of it is in the form of Eugene’s treatise on religion and politics, genocide and the de-evolution/evolution of humanity, and zealotry in all its forms, so -- to the chagrin of the show don’t tell folks -- most of the book is in essay format. The two main characters are very well actualized, and again it reminded me of The Stand where Eugene is sort of Mother Abigail and Winchell is Randall Flagg. The minor characters are all incidental, even Eugene’s wife and daughter are dispensed with fairly early on and the thought of them lingers about as long as any interaction the reader had with them, everyone else is irrelevant as Eugene and Winchell get the most characterization in the book. This is in keeping with the narrator’s very self-centric view of his predicament.
The book explores a lot of Theological and Political theories with respect to the two conflicting views on Utopia and how to create it. We have the right-wing view through the biblical eye, but since Winchell is delusional and his father is a sociopath, the Bible is used rather haphazardly here to validate some really radical measures. For instance, President Winchell declares that he is the anti-Christ, believing that once revelations comes, he will be given the title and the power of Christ the King to rule over those who have survived the apocalypse. Basically, Winchell and his staff read into the Bible exactly what they want it to mean. But things don’t work out as he had envisioned or as quickly. He feels his faith challenged particularly by his father’s belief that a spiritual cleansing is necessary so that there is no religion in the world when the aliens finally make contact. Not to mention the war he helped orchestrate has left him high and dry. After all the bloodshed and destruction his war has left in its wake, he can’t help but feel cheated out of his personal battle between light and darkness. When he finally declares himself the second coming of Christ, the applause is a bit thin, his nemesis is AWOL, and all he is left with is his father’s slash and burn and the possibility that it all was a metaphor. Winchell hates metaphors.
On Eugene’s side of the fence, he is having an entirely different identity crisis. He doesn’t want people to see him as a savoir even if he did infiltrate their dreams and write the book published twenty years early that predicted the events they were currently witnessing. And the world, or what’s left of it, is witnessing some pretty freaky stuff including living creatures telekinetically birthed into the world from inanimate objects, UFO contact, multi-dimensional time travel, and a whole lot of really good lessons in the strength, faith, and the determination of humanity.
I noticed some fiddly editorial issues, but what was more problematic for me was that the barrage of fragments and chop and odd sentence structure, often seen with stream of consciousness styled writing, also often made the text difficult to read. There were points where if felt that the stylistic approach diminished some of the clarity. As for the ePub format, it had a few glitches of it’s own, specifically with the italics and some inconsistent spacing between chapters. On my little reader, there were huge gaps between the chapters.
All in all, I really enjoyed the book. I don’t normally go for dystopian or apocalyptic fiction, especially when it comes dangerously close to reality. But this book really touched on a broad range of ideas, and some of those ideas were very non-conventional. I really liked that. The alien thing almost had a Scientology taint to it: Satire of this sort definitely hits the hot buttons. Even so, it had a very open consciousness to it, and the point it was trying to make was driven home successfully: Humanity needs to evolve because even if you believe some higher power will come to save us, be it Aliens or God, it might just be too late. As for the story, this could have been an epic adventure, but instead the author decided in favour of a tighter focus by picking two diametrically opposed philosophies and slamming them into each other. Some readers might think it’s a bit thin on character and plot development, but like I said earlier in the review, this is not a plot driven adventure story. However, if you like *Naked Lunch* or *A Clockwork Orange* in style and theme, and you like the lengthy exploration of ideas, and you don't mind a bit of soap-box and politically cutting satire, then you will appreciate what this book offers for contemplation.
8.5/10
This book was purchased by the reviewer from Smashwords at a set your own price. I paid $3.99 for the copy and it was read in the .lrf and .epub format on a Sony ereader.
Don’t try to make any sense out that, by the end you will understand, but for now the first person narrator/author of the book is just letting you know that he basically wrote a premonition, not a novel. Now I certainly don’t mind a little Nostradamus, even if the narrator claims it’s merely Cliff’s Notes from the future, and after the “end is near” prologue, we move into a more traditional narrative and a more linear timeline. In chapter one our protagonist Professor Eugene Meyers, who teaches creative writing at the local University, inadvertently discovers that his teenage daughter seems to have taken an interest in making internet porn. And this really is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Our narrator is full on in the middle of his mid-life crisis and is having some difficulty dealing with the aftermath of youthful delusion. Blows to the ego like a stagnant writing career, a failing marriage, and the public domain sexual promiscuity of his only daughter are never taken lightly. But all this is just a device to introduce the reader to a viewpoint, one that will be vigorously challenged throughout the course of the book.
This book comes at the “end of the world” scenario from all kinds of different angles: war, terrorism, religious zealotry, vanity, greed, delusion, the death of innocence, and how TV is rotting our world ... etc.
The writing style has a stream of consciousness chop to it -- lots and lots of fragments: fragmented thoughts, philosophies, moralistic viewpoints, ideals, and our narrator is very self-centred, not in a arrogant way or a narcissistic way but in more of an introverted way: “I didn’t understand how other people’s lives worked without me,” he says. And as for the end of the world and the survivor society that would come after World War III, his thematic vision for his book validates his bleak yet optimistic way of thinking. As a juxtaposition to this way of thinking, we cut to the Whitehouse in order to jump into the mind of current lunatic President Charles Winchell, who is going to bring people back to their faith “even if it means killing them.” Initially this character sort of reminded me of Sheen’s character in King’s *The Dead Zone*. After we have been sufficiently frightened by Winchell’s cultist mentality, we then cut back again to Eugene doing a little detective work, trying to find the scumbag that filmed his daughter. He does, of course, and it doesn’t end well.
After Eugene is pummelled and subsequently released from the hospital, he finds that he is having visions, well, more like dreams, but in his dreams, he dreams of real people, complete with names and addresses. On the other side of the universe, President Winchell’s old man tells him that UFOs exist and that the “people from the other side” told him death isn’t an end. He is also under the impression that a mass holy war needs to come to fruition in order to save the world after the apocalypse. Yea, it’s a lot to take in with this book. Even looney tunes President Charles Winchell has doubts about his old man’s sanity, but I found the satirical stretch funny and alarming at the same time. Charles may be blinded by vanity and egomania, and Eugene may be prophetic in some way, but prophecy is really only a casual glance back over our shoulders. History divines the future; we are just too ignorant to pay attention to it. Much like in this book, we can travel through time to a different dimension and learn from our mistakes. As Eugene’s premonitions begin to come true via bombings that annihilate NYC and Washington D.C., he begins to seek out the people in his dreams. Good thing the dreams give him names and addresses, because Eugene feels an unnatural compulsion to find and collect these people and bring them together, even if the reason why isn’t clear to him just yet.
As for the set-up and the story, it was a little reminiscent of Stephen King’s *The Stand* sans the elaborate characterization and world detail, but then again, The Stand was over a thousand pages. Every single character was critical and had their own front story and back story and separate plotline with all plotlines affecting one another and eventually converging. This book is more concerned with the two divergent Points of View. This isn’t a plot-driven story, it’s an idea driven story, and much of it is in the form of Eugene’s treatise on religion and politics, genocide and the de-evolution/evolution of humanity, and zealotry in all its forms, so -- to the chagrin of the show don’t tell folks -- most of the book is in essay format. The two main characters are very well actualized, and again it reminded me of The Stand where Eugene is sort of Mother Abigail and Winchell is Randall Flagg. The minor characters are all incidental, even Eugene’s wife and daughter are dispensed with fairly early on and the thought of them lingers about as long as any interaction the reader had with them, everyone else is irrelevant as Eugene and Winchell get the most characterization in the book. This is in keeping with the narrator’s very self-centric view of his predicament.
The book explores a lot of Theological and Political theories with respect to the two conflicting views on Utopia and how to create it. We have the right-wing view through the biblical eye, but since Winchell is delusional and his father is a sociopath, the Bible is used rather haphazardly here to validate some really radical measures. For instance, President Winchell declares that he is the anti-Christ, believing that once revelations comes, he will be given the title and the power of Christ the King to rule over those who have survived the apocalypse. Basically, Winchell and his staff read into the Bible exactly what they want it to mean. But things don’t work out as he had envisioned or as quickly. He feels his faith challenged particularly by his father’s belief that a spiritual cleansing is necessary so that there is no religion in the world when the aliens finally make contact. Not to mention the war he helped orchestrate has left him high and dry. After all the bloodshed and destruction his war has left in its wake, he can’t help but feel cheated out of his personal battle between light and darkness. When he finally declares himself the second coming of Christ, the applause is a bit thin, his nemesis is AWOL, and all he is left with is his father’s slash and burn and the possibility that it all was a metaphor. Winchell hates metaphors.
On Eugene’s side of the fence, he is having an entirely different identity crisis. He doesn’t want people to see him as a savoir even if he did infiltrate their dreams and write the book published twenty years early that predicted the events they were currently witnessing. And the world, or what’s left of it, is witnessing some pretty freaky stuff including living creatures telekinetically birthed into the world from inanimate objects, UFO contact, multi-dimensional time travel, and a whole lot of really good lessons in the strength, faith, and the determination of humanity.
I noticed some fiddly editorial issues, but what was more problematic for me was that the barrage of fragments and chop and odd sentence structure, often seen with stream of consciousness styled writing, also often made the text difficult to read. There were points where if felt that the stylistic approach diminished some of the clarity. As for the ePub format, it had a few glitches of it’s own, specifically with the italics and some inconsistent spacing between chapters. On my little reader, there were huge gaps between the chapters.
All in all, I really enjoyed the book. I don’t normally go for dystopian or apocalyptic fiction, especially when it comes dangerously close to reality. But this book really touched on a broad range of ideas, and some of those ideas were very non-conventional. I really liked that. The alien thing almost had a Scientology taint to it: Satire of this sort definitely hits the hot buttons. Even so, it had a very open consciousness to it, and the point it was trying to make was driven home successfully: Humanity needs to evolve because even if you believe some higher power will come to save us, be it Aliens or God, it might just be too late. As for the story, this could have been an epic adventure, but instead the author decided in favour of a tighter focus by picking two diametrically opposed philosophies and slamming them into each other. Some readers might think it’s a bit thin on character and plot development, but like I said earlier in the review, this is not a plot driven adventure story. However, if you like *Naked Lunch* or *A Clockwork Orange* in style and theme, and you like the lengthy exploration of ideas, and you don't mind a bit of soap-box and politically cutting satire, then you will appreciate what this book offers for contemplation.
8.5/10
This book was purchased by the reviewer from Smashwords at a set your own price. I paid $3.99 for the copy and it was read in the .lrf and .epub format on a Sony ereader.
February 20, 2011
Hufh...Akhirnya... selesai juga baca buku ini.
Rasanya alurnya kok lambat bener ya. Trus penggambaran penulis tentang apocalypse-nya juga ga menggigit. Apa karena baca versi inggrisnya ya, sedang bahasa inggris q dibawah rata-rata? Haha..
Kemaren maksudnya sih biar sekalian belajar bahasa inggris :p
Kalau biasanya membaca novel selesai dalam beberapa jam, saya perlu berhari-hari untuk menyelesaikan buku ini.
Tapi wajar saja, soalnya novel yang dibaca kan juga bahasa indonesia, he.
Saat membaca bagian depan buku saya pikir buku ini sepertinya akan cukup menarik. Saat itu saya baru saja menonton beberapa film yang vulgar menampilkan darah dan kekerasan saat saya membaca buku ini. Haduh,adegan darah bermuncratan dan bagian-bagian tubuh berlepasan dalam Ninja Assasin masih saya ingat.hiii.
Pada intruduction, dengan menggunakan sudut pandang pertama, diceritakanlah seseorang yang bernama Eugene Myers. Saya mengira introduction ini merupakan semacam kata pengantar atau pendahuluan dari Henry Baum, si pengarang buku. Sebab 'aku' pada bagian introduction ini menceritakan gambaran tentang isi buku. Bahwa pembaca akan memaafkannya untuk ending yang buruk pada buku ini. Dimana Ia mengatakan "I live in a time when violence is a religion, God is dead, and humor is something grandfathers used before the war." Wah ternyata ada juga ya orang barat yang merasakan demikian. Sadar bahwa kekerasan sudah dianggap normal dan dinormal-normalkan sebagaimana film-film yang baru saya tonton.
Melihat pengarangnya yang bagi saya sepertinya berbeda dengan orang kebanyakan, maka saya mengambil kesimpulan, buku ini sepertinya akan menarik. Tapi tiba-tiba saja cerita menjadi terasa mengalir. cerita ternyata telah dimulai dari tadi.
Maka kisah hidup Eugene Myers dan orang-orang terkaitpun pun diceritakan--petualangannya serta mimpi-mimpi anehnya tentang orang-orang yang tak dikenalnya dari berbagai tempat, yang ternyata memang ada. Kemudian ia yang mendapati apa yang ia bayangkan dan ia tulis ternyata dapat menjadi kenyataan. Singkat cerita, Ia mengalami keanehan-keanehan (begitu pula dengan orang-orang yang Ia mimpikan). Namun Ia tidak mengerti makna dari kesemua hal tersebut. Hingga mendekati akhir kisah, kesemuanya ternyata 'menuntunnya' menjadi orang yang memegang peranan penting.
Setelah berhari-hari membaca--ga tau juga kenapa kok pengen cepat diselesaikan padahal seringnya kalau baca ini sampai ngantuk--akhirnya ada juga bagian yang disuka. Di paragraf kedua bagian epilog :D
"Were these real beings or a projection of our imaginations? The difference no longer mattered, but the answer was: both. All of us were the product of self-perception and the perception of others--watched and read by beings of our own invention, some of the stories tragic, some uplifting. We were the universe's entertainment"
Mungkin disamping menunjukan kepada para pembaca betapa bobrok dan gilanya dunia saat ini, salah satu yang ingin disampaikan penulisnya tampaknya adalah All of us were the product of self-perception and the perception of others. Saya membaca buku ini dengan presepsi, menulis review ini dengan presepsi. Yah, saya tidak mau menulis akhir kisah bukunya. Karena mungkin anda sudah punya presepsi sendiri
Rasanya alurnya kok lambat bener ya. Trus penggambaran penulis tentang apocalypse-nya juga ga menggigit. Apa karena baca versi inggrisnya ya, sedang bahasa inggris q dibawah rata-rata? Haha..
Kemaren maksudnya sih biar sekalian belajar bahasa inggris :p
Kalau biasanya membaca novel selesai dalam beberapa jam, saya perlu berhari-hari untuk menyelesaikan buku ini.
Tapi wajar saja, soalnya novel yang dibaca kan juga bahasa indonesia, he.
Saat membaca bagian depan buku saya pikir buku ini sepertinya akan cukup menarik. Saat itu saya baru saja menonton beberapa film yang vulgar menampilkan darah dan kekerasan saat saya membaca buku ini. Haduh,adegan darah bermuncratan dan bagian-bagian tubuh berlepasan dalam Ninja Assasin masih saya ingat.hiii.
Pada intruduction, dengan menggunakan sudut pandang pertama, diceritakanlah seseorang yang bernama Eugene Myers. Saya mengira introduction ini merupakan semacam kata pengantar atau pendahuluan dari Henry Baum, si pengarang buku. Sebab 'aku' pada bagian introduction ini menceritakan gambaran tentang isi buku. Bahwa pembaca akan memaafkannya untuk ending yang buruk pada buku ini. Dimana Ia mengatakan "I live in a time when violence is a religion, God is dead, and humor is something grandfathers used before the war." Wah ternyata ada juga ya orang barat yang merasakan demikian. Sadar bahwa kekerasan sudah dianggap normal dan dinormal-normalkan sebagaimana film-film yang baru saya tonton.
Melihat pengarangnya yang bagi saya sepertinya berbeda dengan orang kebanyakan, maka saya mengambil kesimpulan, buku ini sepertinya akan menarik. Tapi tiba-tiba saja cerita menjadi terasa mengalir. cerita ternyata telah dimulai dari tadi.
Maka kisah hidup Eugene Myers dan orang-orang terkaitpun pun diceritakan--petualangannya serta mimpi-mimpi anehnya tentang orang-orang yang tak dikenalnya dari berbagai tempat, yang ternyata memang ada. Kemudian ia yang mendapati apa yang ia bayangkan dan ia tulis ternyata dapat menjadi kenyataan. Singkat cerita, Ia mengalami keanehan-keanehan (begitu pula dengan orang-orang yang Ia mimpikan). Namun Ia tidak mengerti makna dari kesemua hal tersebut. Hingga mendekati akhir kisah, kesemuanya ternyata 'menuntunnya' menjadi orang yang memegang peranan penting.
Setelah berhari-hari membaca--ga tau juga kenapa kok pengen cepat diselesaikan padahal seringnya kalau baca ini sampai ngantuk--akhirnya ada juga bagian yang disuka. Di paragraf kedua bagian epilog :D
"Were these real beings or a projection of our imaginations? The difference no longer mattered, but the answer was: both. All of us were the product of self-perception and the perception of others--watched and read by beings of our own invention, some of the stories tragic, some uplifting. We were the universe's entertainment"
Mungkin disamping menunjukan kepada para pembaca betapa bobrok dan gilanya dunia saat ini, salah satu yang ingin disampaikan penulisnya tampaknya adalah All of us were the product of self-perception and the perception of others. Saya membaca buku ini dengan presepsi, menulis review ini dengan presepsi. Yah, saya tidak mau menulis akhir kisah bukunya. Karena mungkin anda sudah punya presepsi sendiri
August 7, 2012
I first discovered this book through the author's postings on RealitySandwich.com, an online stew of esoteria where issues of potential apocalypse and alien visitors live far inside the norm. This novel makes an apocalyptic thrust with measured humaneness and a good deal of wistful irony through it's narrator: a writer writing an apocalyptic novel that begins to come true. Co-mingling psychic interventions with 'realist' style is never easy to pull off. Baum handles it with real aplomb in terms of voice and character. If there is criticism to be aimed, mine would zero in on slightly antiseptic 'occupation' of his realist world once the sh*t hits the proverbial fan. The plot tracks well, indeed he seems to rush things a bit toward the grand finale -- which I enjoyed (with a silent hat-tip to Vonnegut). However, if Baum had settled into the smoking carnage of his creation, I think we both might have extracted more emotive resonance and had a little more visceral fun. There are however, several bon mots en route, among my favorites being:
'He buys drinks for himself and other people, almost as rent.'
“You have a tendency to believe in things for sport.”
'I didn’t look much better—still disheveled, still avoiding how I appeared, still existing in my own mind. But I was confident, a renewed romance for life, as if it loved me back.'
That's strong writing regardless of what context you find it in. What will likely scare away skittish book-clubers is the first chapter's bluish dream-sequence and narrator's discovery of his daughter engaged in on-line porn. Make no mistake: Baum knew this was a risk -- and he did not care, an I love him for that. More importantly, the subsequent scene of familial meltdown proves real and poignant, if economically suicidal in a world where 60% of book-buyers lack 'y' chromosomes. So if you are among that crew, please realize that Baum's not a misogynist, just a dude depicting dad-like issues honestly (and for that matter, tellingly) via a reliable if fraught 1st person POV. He also makes up for it later (although for the story's benefit, not his chances at political office). As for the PSI and manifest dreams depicted, ultimately people either 'swing' that way or they don't. However, Baum greases the wheels with enough POV self-doubt/skepticism that either way it's buyable... without ruining the 'new paradigmatic' tone bubbling underneath.
So, while not flawless, I give major kudos to this book for a reach that exceeds it's grasp while offering up some beautiful touches during the ride, if slightly fewer than i think Baum is capable of. Apparently he has a sequel (or two) planned. Given his ending here, I have no idea how he aims to pull this off, but I look forward to reading how -- and paying for that privilege.
Shalom Aloha.
'He buys drinks for himself and other people, almost as rent.'
“You have a tendency to believe in things for sport.”
'I didn’t look much better—still disheveled, still avoiding how I appeared, still existing in my own mind. But I was confident, a renewed romance for life, as if it loved me back.'
That's strong writing regardless of what context you find it in. What will likely scare away skittish book-clubers is the first chapter's bluish dream-sequence and narrator's discovery of his daughter engaged in on-line porn. Make no mistake: Baum knew this was a risk -- and he did not care, an I love him for that. More importantly, the subsequent scene of familial meltdown proves real and poignant, if economically suicidal in a world where 60% of book-buyers lack 'y' chromosomes. So if you are among that crew, please realize that Baum's not a misogynist, just a dude depicting dad-like issues honestly (and for that matter, tellingly) via a reliable if fraught 1st person POV. He also makes up for it later (although for the story's benefit, not his chances at political office). As for the PSI and manifest dreams depicted, ultimately people either 'swing' that way or they don't. However, Baum greases the wheels with enough POV self-doubt/skepticism that either way it's buyable... without ruining the 'new paradigmatic' tone bubbling underneath.
So, while not flawless, I give major kudos to this book for a reach that exceeds it's grasp while offering up some beautiful touches during the ride, if slightly fewer than i think Baum is capable of. Apparently he has a sequel (or two) planned. Given his ending here, I have no idea how he aims to pull this off, but I look forward to reading how -- and paying for that privilege.
Shalom Aloha.
September 17, 2011
I really liked this book. It was hard to understand at the beginning, but once I got into it it got really interesting. It's kind of a mind bender, and I had to re-read the beginning after I finished it.
June 8, 2013
I really wasn't expecting much from this book but found it to be a bit of a page turner. The whole thing about immanetizing the eschaton and alternative time lines was well done. I'm looking forward to reading part two but I'm saving that for a while
July 22, 2011
If you can make sense of the prologue you will enjoy this time twisting post/pre apocalyptic story, I actually think this story would do fantastic as a film.
March 3, 2021
3 and 1/2 stars
October 13, 2020
Had no idea how it would end
Did it end? Wow. All I can say is far out, man! What a strange trip. This book is for everyone who wonders.
Did it end? Wow. All I can say is far out, man! What a strange trip. This book is for everyone who wonders.
June 3, 2017
The idea is interesting, a writer's book cones true, and worse he is predicting the apocalypse. Sadly it is poorly executed, I struggled to like the writer character, there were many inappropriate uses of the word rape, there were no lifelike characters, for example, one character's daughter dies and he seems to care little, has no funeral, etc, just walks away. Really? The ending is rushed, unearned and uninteresting. Such a waste of time. I really thought I would enjoy this, but it just wasn't good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2011
As I read Henry Baum's The American Book of the Dead, I couldn't help but wonder if it was science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy, dystopian fiction, or some other kind of non-realistic fiction. Early on, the narrator insists it's none of the above. Ultimately, I decided there was no need to answer the question.
For me, the most intriguing characters in this story are Charles Winchell, the President of the United States, his controlling (or not) father Benjamin, and the President's wife, Amy, who more than once refers to her husband as an idiot.
For those of us who lived through the first decade of the 21st century, Charles, Benjamin, and Amy might very well seem to be public figures we already know. They might also remind those of us who were raised as Christians of the father-and-son-but-really-one contortion at the heart of the religion, as well as the apparent mother and wife of them both.
In any event, this father and son agree, with their secret followers around the world, that the only way to save humanity is to kill off all but a tiny fraction of the human species in a magnificent World War III—in which even England and Canada see fit to drop bombs on America—and to begin civilization anew with the survivors in an area of Los Angeles north of Sunset Boulevard purposefully protected from the ravages of the war.
Charles, though, wishes to go beyond his publicly taking on the role of the Anti-Christ to herald the Second Coming of Christ and start the war. Charles, defying his father, imagines the roles of the Anti-Christ and the returning Messiah as one. How else can he justify giving the horrific orders to wipe out billions of human beings?
What I especially enjoyed about Baum's novel was the question raised throughout (I would've said "on every page" if I hadn't read the digital version) as to the reliability of the narrator. He tells us he's a hopelessly unsuccessful novelist who is writing a novel in 2008 that turns out to be the one we're reading, The American Book of the Dead. The story becomes true as he writes it, almost as if he's a god.
And yet, since the past, present, and future are all the same, when the action he's writing about takes place in 2020, he has already finished writing the novel. Some of the characters read it and therefore know how it ends and what happens to themselves even as they play their parts in it like actors in a drama. (They wisely, though, don't give away the ending to readers such as myself.)
Baum is delightfully playing with the very idea of telling a story. Nobody ever told one without pretending to be a god. That's what a god does.
Promised Valley Rebellion
For me, the most intriguing characters in this story are Charles Winchell, the President of the United States, his controlling (or not) father Benjamin, and the President's wife, Amy, who more than once refers to her husband as an idiot.
For those of us who lived through the first decade of the 21st century, Charles, Benjamin, and Amy might very well seem to be public figures we already know. They might also remind those of us who were raised as Christians of the father-and-son-but-really-one contortion at the heart of the religion, as well as the apparent mother and wife of them both.
In any event, this father and son agree, with their secret followers around the world, that the only way to save humanity is to kill off all but a tiny fraction of the human species in a magnificent World War III—in which even England and Canada see fit to drop bombs on America—and to begin civilization anew with the survivors in an area of Los Angeles north of Sunset Boulevard purposefully protected from the ravages of the war.
Charles, though, wishes to go beyond his publicly taking on the role of the Anti-Christ to herald the Second Coming of Christ and start the war. Charles, defying his father, imagines the roles of the Anti-Christ and the returning Messiah as one. How else can he justify giving the horrific orders to wipe out billions of human beings?
What I especially enjoyed about Baum's novel was the question raised throughout (I would've said "on every page" if I hadn't read the digital version) as to the reliability of the narrator. He tells us he's a hopelessly unsuccessful novelist who is writing a novel in 2008 that turns out to be the one we're reading, The American Book of the Dead. The story becomes true as he writes it, almost as if he's a god.
And yet, since the past, present, and future are all the same, when the action he's writing about takes place in 2020, he has already finished writing the novel. Some of the characters read it and therefore know how it ends and what happens to themselves even as they play their parts in it like actors in a drama. (They wisely, though, don't give away the ending to readers such as myself.)
Baum is delightfully playing with the very idea of telling a story. Nobody ever told one without pretending to be a god. That's what a god does.
Promised Valley Rebellion
November 27, 2010
This book developed and changed as it went on, in ways that kept me thoroughly engaged. Intelligent and thoughtful, while at the same becoming increasingly surreal and worthy of a Dali painting. SF meets some very strange headspaces here. I like that kind of thing.
We start with a father discovering his daughter starring on a porn site, then take off into a political and psychological voyage through a World War started by a fundamentalist president whose father is the archetype of all elitist new-world-order patriachs. We see the world depopulated by a planned war so it can be saved, and the central character, who is in a very real sense the author of the novel, becomes a central player in the increasingly surreal drama that unfolds.
I knew we were in for a wild ending when the bird flew off the page, and I wasn’t disappointed.
To help matters along, the novel itself becomes a central part of the plot. How that works, I won’t try to explain, because it would do my head in (come on, I get confused by the explanations about how time works in Doctor Who), but it makes for some excellent mental gymnastics towards the end.
I understand that the author has a sequel in the works. Good, I’ll be looking forward to that one. There’s a lot more that could be done with the fascinating universe that that the author has created.
Definitely recommended if you like your SF with a healthy dose of the unusual and bizarre, and frequent allusion to contemporary conspiracy theories.
It’s on Manybooks.net, which means that it’s free, and available for download in many formats.
Read on an iPod Touch, in epub format, in Stanza, which worked just fine.
We start with a father discovering his daughter starring on a porn site, then take off into a political and psychological voyage through a World War started by a fundamentalist president whose father is the archetype of all elitist new-world-order patriachs. We see the world depopulated by a planned war so it can be saved, and the central character, who is in a very real sense the author of the novel, becomes a central player in the increasingly surreal drama that unfolds.
I knew we were in for a wild ending when the bird flew off the page, and I wasn’t disappointed.
To help matters along, the novel itself becomes a central part of the plot. How that works, I won’t try to explain, because it would do my head in (come on, I get confused by the explanations about how time works in Doctor Who), but it makes for some excellent mental gymnastics towards the end.
I understand that the author has a sequel in the works. Good, I’ll be looking forward to that one. There’s a lot more that could be done with the fascinating universe that that the author has created.
Definitely recommended if you like your SF with a healthy dose of the unusual and bizarre, and frequent allusion to contemporary conspiracy theories.
It’s on Manybooks.net, which means that it’s free, and available for download in many formats.
Read on an iPod Touch, in epub format, in Stanza, which worked just fine.
March 13, 2015
I initially thought I was going to be confused by this book as it was about an author who writes a book about the future and the it turns out the future is how he has written it. He also starts to dream about people and decides that the messages he receives in the dreams are real and heads off to meet and save these people. Once I had my head around this the book was good.
The book is about a dystopian future with a religiously fanatical President whose aim is to kill off the masses and rise as the new Jesus. However, things do not turn out as he hopes. There is still the bombing and the killing of the masses but human nature prevailed and people saved themselves.
There are many messages contained within this book about the use of resources, exploitation of the earth and people’s ability to cope with sudden changes brought upon by the people that they trust in the most. The writing was simple in places and I often thought it was aimed more towards a young adult market (except for some of the more adult references), but it was and enjoyable piece of Sci-fi and would definitely read more by the author.
The book is about a dystopian future with a religiously fanatical President whose aim is to kill off the masses and rise as the new Jesus. However, things do not turn out as he hopes. There is still the bombing and the killing of the masses but human nature prevailed and people saved themselves.
There are many messages contained within this book about the use of resources, exploitation of the earth and people’s ability to cope with sudden changes brought upon by the people that they trust in the most. The writing was simple in places and I often thought it was aimed more towards a young adult market (except for some of the more adult references), but it was and enjoyable piece of Sci-fi and would definitely read more by the author.
March 5, 2011
Henry goes to great lengths to depict a future that is not just possible, but probable, building it up on a stage that’s meant to fall. The beauty of it is, by the time I got to the end, I wanted it to fall. I wanted the apocalypse to happen. Not because of President Winchell’s twisted dogma, but because of the implications of what might happen thereafter: That humanity, when facing the abyss, will awaken to a greater consciousness and progress, rather than destroy itself. The book gets a little weird toward the end, but given the context, it sort of makes sense in its own strange way. It’s a quirky pay-off to a very tense climb to the book’s climax.
If I had to sum up the book, and the experience of reading it, I would say Henry Baum made me want the apocalypse to happen, and quickly. However, I did not want the book to end. Which is a good thing, because I hear Henry’s hard at work on the sequel. I can’t wait.
If I had to sum up the book, and the experience of reading it, I would say Henry Baum made me want the apocalypse to happen, and quickly. However, I did not want the book to end. Which is a good thing, because I hear Henry’s hard at work on the sequel. I can’t wait.
July 25, 2011
While I appreciated the quality of the writing and the originality of the story, I couldn't really get in to this book. Don't get me wrong, I can tell that many many others will enjoy The American Book of the Dead immensely, but it's one of those books that just isn't for me. (Henry Baum has excellent company where this is concerned; many bestsellers fall in to this category.)
I think this book would be perfect for those who enjoy heavily philosophical sci-fi and for those who don't necessarily need to love the hero of the story (Right or wrong, I do).
See the entire review at Sift: http://bit.ly/j9pAjJ
Review by: Sarah of Sift Book Reviews
Sift Book Reviews received a free copy for review from the author. This has, in no way, affected the reviewer's opinion.
I think this book would be perfect for those who enjoy heavily philosophical sci-fi and for those who don't necessarily need to love the hero of the story (Right or wrong, I do).
See the entire review at Sift: http://bit.ly/j9pAjJ
Review by: Sarah of Sift Book Reviews
Sift Book Reviews received a free copy for review from the author. This has, in no way, affected the reviewer's opinion.
January 22, 2014
What an odd book to review! This is actually a completely insane story. It mixes aliens + world war + religious motivations + time travel... I don't really know how to define it. It skips from subject to subject until we get a feeling we know what the main plot is. Then it just starts all over again. Crazy, crazy, crazy!
Some parts were nice and you have this urge to know more about all the nonsense that is going on. But there are parts that are a bit boring and just "more of the same". Anyway, I'm glad I read it cause I do like to read a completely different story once in a while. But I probably wouldn't be much interested in reading a sequel (and I know the author is writing a second book).
Some parts were nice and you have this urge to know more about all the nonsense that is going on. But there are parts that are a bit boring and just "more of the same". Anyway, I'm glad I read it cause I do like to read a completely different story once in a while. But I probably wouldn't be much interested in reading a sequel (and I know the author is writing a second book).
October 15, 2012
This was an amazing read. I think this gets comparisons with The Illuminatus Trilogy! because of the metatextual voice and magical realism that deals with temporal influences, but I think a better comparison would be The Satanic Verses. This had a great feel throughout the book, a building sense of something great, just like Rushdie does. And I think like SV, some people may find the ending abrupt. If you need resolutions to look all tidy, this isn't the book for you. But if you have the type of aesthetic that appreciated the end of SV, this ending is has the same "natural" quality, like it's the only way things could have worked out.
March 26, 2011
Interesting. Very interesting. I finished this last night and waited until almost a day later to review this because of the ending. At first I was annoyed, saying "Are you kidding me?" Now, thinking about it, I shake my head and laugh, because how else could it end?
I loved this book: The unique way it was written, the main character, Eugene with his view of the world, and how easily worldwide destruction could occur and is realistic!
This one will stick with me for a long time - isn't that what a good book should do?
I loved this book: The unique way it was written, the main character, Eugene with his view of the world, and how easily worldwide destruction could occur and is realistic!
This one will stick with me for a long time - isn't that what a good book should do?
December 31, 2011
The American Book of the Dead, BackwordBooks.com
By Henry Baum
Many writers have sailed off on the premise of a writer writing a book which turns out to be the book written—the one that you’re holding in your hands (in this case, The American Book of the Dead). Fiction’s shores are littered with these wrecks of self-indulgence. Henry Baum, who nests more than a few matryoshka dolls inside the concept, pulls it off mostly, in this cleverly plotted, and at times demanding, book.
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By Henry Baum
Many writers have sailed off on the premise of a writer writing a book which turns out to be the book written—the one that you’re holding in your hands (in this case, The American Book of the Dead). Fiction’s shores are littered with these wrecks of self-indulgence. Henry Baum, who nests more than a few matryoshka dolls inside the concept, pulls it off mostly, in this cleverly plotted, and at times demanding, book.
.
August 22, 2010
Book started off very promising with interesting premise - a writer writing about the apocalypse as if it has already happened although he is actually writing it in advance.
About a third of the way through it degenerates badly as the author seems to be in an incredible rush to get things done. The author also gets away from scenes and starts explaining everything instead.
Very disappointing.
About a third of the way through it degenerates badly as the author seems to be in an incredible rush to get things done. The author also gets away from scenes and starts explaining everything instead.
Very disappointing.
April 12, 2012
This book is mad. Well written, with an engaging (if frequently whinging and complaining) narrator character, but still pretty mad. A book that tells the story of the book as it is being written (while the worlds ends).
It reminds me of something like Heinlen's Stranger in a Strange Land - this book rambles all over the place, but ultimately, it's an interesting place to be.
And - what's more, it was free.
Download it to your ereader now and give it a go.
It reminds me of something like Heinlen's Stranger in a Strange Land - this book rambles all over the place, but ultimately, it's an interesting place to be.
And - what's more, it was free.
Download it to your ereader now and give it a go.
December 4, 2010
goddamn this is an excellent book.
this story is dark, anti-establishment, and creepy and yet it sticks with me.
anytime someone asks me for a recommendation to read something interesting and different--regardless of genre--i always find myself suggesting they read TABD. awesome.
i'm terrible at writing book reviews, but i can rate this book at the top of my lists.
this story is dark, anti-establishment, and creepy and yet it sticks with me.
anytime someone asks me for a recommendation to read something interesting and different--regardless of genre--i always find myself suggesting they read TABD. awesome.
i'm terrible at writing book reviews, but i can rate this book at the top of my lists.
February 23, 2011
Más que cargarse la cuarta pared, se las carga todas. Es un libro raro, muy raro. No sé por dónde pillarlo.
Se lee fácil y rápido, pero no tiene mucha cohesión que digamos: parece que el autor no sabía muy bien a dónde iba y la trama se desarrolla a bandazos.
Poco más que decir, se puede descargar de feedbooks.com
Se lee fácil y rápido, pero no tiene mucha cohesión que digamos: parece que el autor no sabía muy bien a dónde iba y la trama se desarrolla a bandazos.
Poco más que decir, se puede descargar de feedbooks.com
January 4, 2013
An interesting take on the end of world scenario. It started slow for me, but I found myself enjoying it more than I thought I would. I would rate the book better were it not for the ending. I didn't appreciate the conclusion at all. It lacked substance and I felt like the story fizzled to a conclusion.
February 6, 2013
I received this free from a Kindle promotion. The concept is intriguing. The story vanilla. Even with all the "action" in this story, it all felt bland. Like I was an observer, being prevented from immersing myself in the story, just like the narrator. The ending only accentuates this. I didn't dislike the story, but I can't say that I liked it, either.
August 8, 2013
The next American president is the anti-christ and will destroy the world (but you already knew that right?).
An eschatalogical tale of the apocalypse, drawing on the fringe beliefs of end-of-days cults and conspiracy theorists and presented as prophetic metafiction. If that piques your interest at all, as a bonus it's distributed for free on the internet (legally I mean).
An eschatalogical tale of the apocalypse, drawing on the fringe beliefs of end-of-days cults and conspiracy theorists and presented as prophetic metafiction. If that piques your interest at all, as a bonus it's distributed for free on the internet (legally I mean).
March 9, 2011
Apocalyptic lit in the tradition of Wilson & Shea's Illuminatus!, TABOTD explores the double-edged roles that religious faith and warfare play in the human drama. An impressive blend of conspiracy theory, satire, philosophical musings, and intense mindfuckery.
Read
June 22, 2011I reviewed this book for Sift Book Reviews. I don't want to to skew the ratings by posting twice, but for the review you can go here: http://www.siftreviews.com/2011/06/am...
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