Scan barcode
beemini's review against another edition
4.0
Fun take on a classic. I've read too many murder mysteries so I figured it out, but it was a quick light read.
sarahdenn27's review against another edition
4.0
Wavering between 3 and 4 stars. I love Agatha Christie and And Then There Were None and this was an interesting take on that. Revolving it around comedians who committed "crimes against comedy" is a pretty interesting premise. And I read the book in about two or three straight sittings so it wasn't boring or anything. I still felt like the ending was pretty predictable... I wasn't exactly surprised at all so I was slightly disappointed there. But overall, it was a pretty great idea for a debut novel.
mjoyner's review against another edition
2.0
I suspect Van Lente didn't really account for the difference between hearing stand-up and reading it. With live stand-up, viewers get swept up in the comic's charisma so that jokes that would fall flat on their own transform into the height of hilarity. But reading those same jokes on a page brings them back to their flat realities. There definitely is a way to convey humor in writing; it's just a different art, one Van Lente has not mastered. Thus, Ten Dead Comedians just isn't funny. Not one line in the book made me laugh, regardless of whether it came from the narrative or the excerpts from the characters' standup routines that appear between chapters (and were super unnecessary anyway).
Van Lente appears to be satirizing modern comics through his characters. I don't know enough about the comedy world to confirm this myself, but I'm seeing a lot of other Goodreads reviews mentioning Larry the Cable Guy, Carrot Top, Gallagher, Pee Wee Herman, etc. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't all these references fairly niche or just outdated? How did this even get published? (I know how - Quirk Books, a company that prides itself in publishing the weird titles of this world, took on Ten Dead Comedians, even though its quirk doesn't save its story)
The one satire I did catch onto involved Ruby Ng, who in the book is an insufferable feminist with a totally exaggerated desire to destroy the patriarchy. Frankly, I found myself insulted by all the stereotypes packed into her character. She's a lesbian, a podcaster craving fame, a hypocrite who preaches love while tearing everyone down every time they make a mistake, and a feminist who notably does not shave her legs. Yes, all of those are real traits found in real people, but it is so unnecessary to put all that on one character. It's unsubtle, it's unfunny, and the bit about not shaving her legs was just too much.
The good news is that even those who have read the original Ten Little Indians won't be able to predict the ending, at least not all of it.
The bad news is the ending felt unearned. I remember the Christie version being particularly fascinating because the victims were all guilty and thus deserved their deaths to an extent. But Van Lente's one-dimensional comedians really did not. They are supposedly being punished for bad comedy and minor bullying, but neither of these are crimes worthy of such creative murders.
In short, it was dumb and not worth the time.
Van Lente appears to be satirizing modern comics through his characters. I don't know enough about the comedy world to confirm this myself, but I'm seeing a lot of other Goodreads reviews mentioning Larry the Cable Guy, Carrot Top, Gallagher, Pee Wee Herman, etc. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't all these references fairly niche or just outdated? How did this even get published? (I know how - Quirk Books, a company that prides itself in publishing the weird titles of this world, took on Ten Dead Comedians, even though its quirk doesn't save its story)
The one satire I did catch onto involved Ruby Ng, who in the book is an insufferable feminist with a totally exaggerated desire to destroy the patriarchy. Frankly, I found myself insulted by all the stereotypes packed into her character. She's a lesbian, a podcaster craving fame, a hypocrite who preaches love while tearing everyone down every time they make a mistake, and a feminist who notably does not shave her legs. Yes, all of those are real traits found in real people, but it is so unnecessary to put all that on one character. It's unsubtle, it's unfunny, and the bit about not shaving her legs was just too much.
The good news is that even those who have read the original Ten Little Indians won't be able to predict the ending, at least not all of it.
The bad news is the ending felt unearned. I remember the Christie version being particularly fascinating because the victims were all guilty and thus deserved their deaths to an extent. But Van Lente's one-dimensional comedians really did not. They are supposedly being punished for bad comedy and minor bullying, but neither of these are crimes worthy of such creative murders.
In short, it was dumb and not worth the time.
rita_reads_cda's review
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Very fun read. Great twist on “And Then There Were None”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, and Violence
nglofile's review against another edition
2.0
Once upon a time, it was slightly less common for writers to pay what they might call "homage" by reworking the celebrated work of another creator. That's certainly not the case any longer -- and, I'll freely acknowledge, some can do so with a great deal of invention. The challenge is to do right by the original work, showing the proper degree of honor, but also weaving in an original idea of one's own, and (I cannot emphasize enough) matching the quality of the venerated story. A tall order, which is why perhaps it should not be attempted nearly as often as it is.
Recreating Christie's And Then There Were None with stand-up comedians - and even adding the delicious prospect that each victim might be offed in a way that corresponds to the individual performance style - sounds promising, does it not? I'll even acknowledge that the story does occasionally get it right. However, most of the characters aren't given enough distinction, and the inset sections that offer samples of their comedy stylings are both awkward in their insertion and remarkable only in how flatly each excerpt lands. Which perhaps brings us to the greatest crime of all: don't set up your mystery with a roster of comedians and then fail to make any part of it funny in the least.
A caveat: stand-up comedy is far from my entertainment of choice. I acknowledge that a reader with different sensibilities may find this both an effective satire and a satisfying read. I do keep these rubrics in mind as I mentally assess, especially as I consider to which readers I might suggest a book such as this, but my personal reactions stand.
Recreating Christie's And Then There Were None with stand-up comedians - and even adding the delicious prospect that each victim might be offed in a way that corresponds to the individual performance style - sounds promising, does it not? I'll even acknowledge that the story does occasionally get it right.
Spoiler
A culminating scene -- let me be clear: NOT the final scene -- had a flair that it would have been refreshing to see evidenced throughout earlier chapters.A caveat: stand-up comedy is far from my entertainment of choice. I acknowledge that a reader with different sensibilities may find this both an effective satire and a satisfying read. I do keep these rubrics in mind as I mentally assess, especially as I consider to which readers I might suggest a book such as this, but my personal reactions stand.
heyscottcurry's review against another edition
3.0
Writing a character that is a comedian is a tough task. Writing ten comedians is beyond a challenge, and this book didn’t quite do it for me. The story itself was new and fun, and the twist was unexpected; however, the humor itself was just not great. Lots of swings and most were misses.
katelynbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
3.0
“Most of the time when we say ‘freedom,’ we mean ‘do it my way or I’ll shoot you.”
kittykornerlibrarian's review against another edition
2.0
I read this because I was curious. My curiosity is now satisfied, so that's all to the good. This mystery was well-executed and suspenseful; I couldn't go to bed last night without finishing it first. My overall reaction after finishing it is that it's a slick, shallow, and heartless performance. It probably doesn't help that I don't enjoy watching stand-up comics. They come across as slightly desperate and a little pathetic and anxious. This book was kind of like that. I would have hoped that the artifice of the closed-door murder mystery and the outrageous quality of the comedy would have come together in a more effective way, but each seemed to detract from the other. And since I've apparently got to mention Agatha Christie's famous And Then There Were None, I would class this as a less dignified rendition, and I think it was a mistake both to enmesh the confession into the plot and to leave survivors. I'm looking for nothing but a pile of dead bodies and the murderer's confession at the end of a locked-door murder mystery. I'd be interested to see what this writer would do with character and dialogue in a less artificial setting and with less forced humor. Maybe.
skwiecien's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
sonia_reppe's review against another edition
5.0
This humorous mystery is fast-paced, clever, and lots of fun. I have not read Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, so I don't know how similar it is, but I bet there aren't as many laughs.