How To Live Safely In A Science Fictional Universe

Read this book. I am not even kidding. The latest novel from Charles Yu, How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe is a brilliantly tongue-in-cheek examination of memories and father-son relationships, through the veil of cheeky sci-fi and wacky time travel concepts. Charles Yu (the character, not the author) is a time travel mechanic with a Masters Degree in Applied Science Fiction. While on a quest to reconnect with his estranged father, Charles Yu (the character) accidentally shoots Future Charles Yu (the future character) in the stomach, but not before Future Charles Yu hands him a copy of a book called How to Live Safely In a Science Fictional Universe, which was/is/will be written by Charles Yu (the character. And the author? I don't know).

Charles Yu (the character) also has a dog named Ed that was retroactively erased from continuity and so technically doesn't exist due to a paradoxical causality but, like any good dog, still loves his owner regardless of his own lack of logical existence.

You can read my full review of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe over at DailyGenoshan.com, but what really matters is that it's one of the best books I've read in the last year, so you should probably pick it up.

Broetry: Poetry, for Dudes!

Congratulations to my good friend (and fellow FiveByFiveHundred co-founder and Daily Genoshan founder) Brian McGackin, whose first book, Broetry, is available today from the lovely folks at Quirk Books! Broetry is one of the those things that, when Brian first told me about the idea, I kind of wanted to punch him in the teeth, because of how stupidly brilliant and simple it is. It is quite literally poetry, but written for, well, dudes. There's no waxing philosophical about flowers in the spring, but there is plenty of Mama Celeste Frozen Pizzas, comic books, X-Box 360, and HaiKougars to go around. I've been close to this project from its earliest moments, and can honestly say that it is every bit as fantastic as it sounds, and I encourage everyone to pick up a copy (because I guarantee you will find something in it that you enjoy). Also, as an added bonus, my name is in the book, so that's cool, right?

In case you're (somehow) still not convinced, here are a few samplings from the book that I think you might enjoy:

• I'll Take Crazy Bitches for $800, Alex
• When Patrick Stewart Ruled the World
• Stopping by WaWa on a Snowy Evening
• Ode to the Ugly Bitch Talking to Me at this Party that I Don’t Even Want to Be at in the First Place But Was Dragged to By My Friend Because Some Girl He Wants to Fuck Might Be Stopping By Later On If The Place She’s Supposed to Go to First With Her Friends Sucks or Runs Out of Beer Although This Place Also Sucks and is About to Run Out of Beer Which Leads Me to Believe That My Friend is Shit Out of Luck Tonight But I Still Have to Stand Here Like an Idiot and Wait Just in Case That Ho Shows Up Wasted and DTF or Something Because I’m the DD and I Don’t Want My Friend to Cry About it All Weekend Like a Pussy

Review: Fun & Games by Duane Swierczynski

Fun & Games, the newest novel from crime fictioneer/Marvel Comics scribe Duane Swierczynski, is the first installment in a trilogy of books about protagonist Charlie Hardie, an ex-cop(-ish) with a blood past from Philadelphia (where else?). It's a frantic loveletter to LA noir, with blistering energy and labyrinthine conspiracies revealing how Hollywood really runs the world. So it's kind of like Mulholland Drive, except it actually makes sense (no offense, David Lynch). Read my full review of Fun & Games over at DailyGenoshan.com!

Kitties and Nihilism. Yum.

Better late than never, I have a new review up on DailyGenoshan.com of The Meowmorphosis, the latest literary mash-up from Quirk Books, wherein Gregor Samsa awakens to find that he turned into a giant cockroach giant adorable kitty. From the publisher:

“One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that he had been changed into an adorable kitten.”

The phenomenal success of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies inspired a massively popular literary-remix movement. Now Quirk Classics once again charts bold new territory, turning the monster-mash-up formula inside out to infuse Franz Kafka’s horrific masterpiece, The Metamorphosis, with the fuzziest, snuggliest, most adorable creatures possible: kittens!

Meet Gregor Samsa, a humble young man who works as a fabric salesman to support his parents and sister. His life goes strangely awry when he wakes up late for work and finds that, inexplicably, he is now a man-sized baby kitten. His family freaks out: Yes, their son is OMG so cute, but what good is cute when there are bills piling up? And how can he expect them to serve him meals every day? If Gregor is to survive this bizarre, bewhiskered ordeal, he’ll have to achieve what he never could before — escape from his parents’ house. Complete with haunting illustrations and a provocative biographical exposé of Kafka’s own secret feline life, The Meowmorphosis will take you on a journey deep into the tortured soul of the domestic tabby.

Book Review: The Meowmorphosis by Franz Kafka & Coleridge Cook on DailyGenoshan.com

Time Travel! Murder! Philadelphia! OH EM GEE!

Most people who know me can vouch for the fact that I love just about anything involving (a) time travel, or (b) noir tropes. Fortunately, Expiration Date, the latest novel from Philadelphia genre master Duane Swierczynski, features both (along with some great beer and records. Even better!), and you can read my full review over at DailyGenoshan.com. Here's the blurb from the back of the book:

Recently unemployed journalist Mickey Wade lucked into a rent-free apartment — his sick grandfather's place. The only problem: it's in a lousy neighborhood — the one where Mickey grew up, in fact. The one he was so desperate to escape.

But now he's back. Dead broke. And just when he thinks he's reacher rock bottom, Mickey wakes up in the past. Literally.

At first he thinks it's a dream. All of the stores he remembered from his childhood, the cars, the rumbles of the elevated train. But as he digs deeper into the past, searching for answers about the grandfather he hardly knows, Mickey meets the twelve-year-old kid who lives in the apartment below.

The kid who will grow up to someday murder Mickey's father.

Book Review: “Expiration Date” by Duane Swierczynski on DailyGenoshan.com

Review: The Nightly News

The VOICE says: When killing activists, never shoot for the head, always aim for the heart."

Over at DailyGenoshan.com, I've posted my review of Jonathan Hickman's debut book The Nightly News, which combines contemporary graphic design, infographics, prose, photorenderings, and comic book dialogue with a gazillion conflicting narratives to tell the story of a domestic terrorist cult determined to take down the American news media. In case that sentence wasn't clear, it's absolutely nuts. Check it out.

The Bible Vs. Superman

If you've ever wondered about the connection between the original Biblical murder and issue #1 of SUPERMAN IN ACTION COMICS, then Brad Meltzer's got your ticket in The Book of Lies, a labyrinthine conspiracy thriller that's kind of like The Da Vinci Code for comic book fans, except good. Read my full review over at DailyGenoshan.com!

Haiku Beer Review

I've posted my reviews of the beers I tasted at the Winter Jubilee Boston Beer Summit at the Park Plaza Castle over on FiveByFiveHundred.com. The twist? I reviewed them all in haiku form. And for some strange reason, my notes/haikus get progressively more interesting and less coherent the more I drank. How peculiar. Haiku Beer Review: for the thinking drinking man.

New Review: "My Favorite Band Does Not Exist," by Robert T. Jeschonek

I've posted a book review of My Favorite Band Does Not Exist, by Robert T. Jeschonek, over on DailyGenoshan.com, where I'm now a regular contributor. You can read the full review here. Recommended if you enjoy fantasy novels, rock bands, the internet, metafiction, and liking bands before they even exist just so you can tell your friends that you liked them first.* *You like all of these things.