Review: Suspenseful adventure
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 12, 2013
This book is a bizarre adventure of a group of friends that has so many twists you can't possible guess what will happen next. You start with three friends who decide to go to another planet to see a comatose actor's hologram. But their journey is anything but straightforward. Every time they turn around trouble is either finding them or being caused by them. They are the most ideal group of heroes in a novel--I'm not sure I ever cheered for any of them until the end when things were seemingly calming down. They are crude and violent and have no qualms stealing for children. In a way it was kind of fun to read about their dangerous escapades without worrying about your favorite character. Some of them you grow to like as they grow as characters; some you like even less. Novels like these are free to do whatever they want without upsetting the readers. And it's definitely a quirky and many times disturbing book. But disturbing is very rarely off-putting to me. It's simply violent and spontaneous. And it's hard to put down because you have no idea how it ends but you want to know.An overarching theme of this book is achieving dreams. All the misfits have them. Some are romantic like unrequited love. Some are career-based like being a famous actor. But they all feel like they're missing something in their life and are searching for it. They have no plan, though. The whole trip is spontaneous and they never seem to think before they act. That any of them achieve their goals is a testament to fate making things work even when you are standing in its way. I don't think they could have been less likely to achieve the things they do. And yet it's nice to see the absolute underdog--someone who is clueless about how to get out of their situation--find themselves in a much better situation. Though I don't want you to get too comfortable. Things don't end perfectly happy here. Once you get into the book, you won't be surprised by that.While it may sound like a difficult novel to enjoy, that's not the case. It took me a minute to get used to having unendearing protagonists, but after I accepted that, it was a fun ride. I never expected the ending. It was disturbing, like the rest of the novel, but I really liked that I had no idea where things were going. There are so many bad guys that you never feel safe--there's always one around the corner. And there's one main bad woman, Beth, who has no issues being absolutely evil. These are bad guys you will never sympathize with; another refreshing change to many modern novels. You never really understand why they do the things they do, but it doesn't matter. They are maniacs who show up and change the course of events whenever things slow down. It's this plethora of enemies that keep the plot moving and make sure you are on your toes. You will never feel safe. You will always be guessing and suspicious.One significant issue with this book is that it needs another edit. There are several typos throughout--using thru and thou; mixing up to, too, and two; mixing up there, their, and they're; and general incorrect words such of instead of on. And there are issues with the punctuation as well: the quotation marks are often put in the wrong place or missing. Same with commas and semicolons. It made it really hard to get into this book. But once I accepted that these problems were throughout the book, I found a really good story. I understand that self-published authors have limited resource and limited access to good editors. That's why I barrel through until I am accustomed to any issues a book may have. I've found most of these books have great stories that are worth ignoring a typo here and there. And this book is no exception to that theory.This book is unique and a strange adventure. For a time when it feels like fewer and fewer people writing original stories, this one certainly stands out. I like the occasional dark, unsettling story and this one delivers. In spite of the issues in execution, I completely agree that it's worth a read. If you like something you can't predict, you'll find that here. Just don't expect a happy ending and a beloved hero.