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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
My original Apocalypse Now Now audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
Charlie Human’s Apocalypse Now Now is a wonderfully trippy and complex work of South African urban fantasy. The plotting is labyrinthine, drawing in a number of details that make this world feel rather expansive – there’s a serial killer dubbed The Mountain Man, who leaves a third eye carved into his victim’s foreheads, high school gang wars and underground criminal enterprises, family trouble, and concerns over psychological health – all on top of a healthy dose of supernatural elements. In short, there’s a lot going on here, and plenty to keep this listener supremely interested.
Apocalypse Now Now is the first-person account of Baxter Zevcenko, an egotistical high schooler and self-styled entrepreneur who heads up an illicit ring of pornography distribution catering to the whims of his classmates. He’s a complete holier-than-thou know-it-all, but after his girlfriend, Esme, is abducted by The Mountain Man, Baxter’s search for her leads him deep into the rabbit hole of Cape Town’s paranormal underbelly, and an education that is a far, far cry from the exploits of his typical school day. Baxter is far from loveable, and, in fact, is an outright jerk and oftentimes openly hostile. Human uses this first-person account to tremendous effect, though, particularly as Baxter begins to realize he is not actually at the center of the universe and that the world is quite larger than he ever believed possible. There’s a good bit of personal growth for this smarmy boy and his personal reflections shine through in the first-person narration that might have otherwise been lost in a less focused narrative style.
When Apocalypse Now Now crossed my path, I had figured it would be a fun bit of urban fantasy, and while it definitely is that, I found myself surprised and pleased to discover a story that was much deeper, and much richer, than I had first expected. Throughout the book, Baxter is confronted with the symbol of an octopus, and this is a terrific thematic symbol for the book itself – there’s a lot of complex story tentacles weaving their way through the book. One of the most interesting aspects is the South African mythology and folklore Human puts on display, putting tokoloshes and Mantis gods right at the forefront, which is a welcome relief from the usual zombie and vampire fare that typically dominates American urban fantasy. And while Human does present a fair share of zombies here, they are quite a bit different than the customary undead brain eaters.
Bringing Baxter and his Cape Town locale to life is David Atlas, whose narration is spot-on and wonderfully immersive with a South African accent. He brings distinct voices to the cast, making it rather easy to separate which segments of dialogue belong to which characters – you’ll never be at a loss to tell if Baxter is speaking, or if it’s Ronin, the gruff ex-soldier turned supernatural bounty hunter hired by Zevcenko to help him find Esme. A few times, the narrative is disrupted to shift viewpoints to a female character with interesting historical ties to Baxter, and these segments are narrated by Fiona Hardingham. Her accounts are also expertly handled, and confined strictly to her viewpoint, as if relayed from a journal. Hardingham does a great job with the material, and I wish she had more material to work with; unfortunately, her character only makes a few brief appearances in the book. Atlas and Hardingham make this 10 1/2 hours of listening silky smooth, though, and do a sterling job adapting Human’s words to audiobook form.
Audiobook provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com
Charlie Human’s Apocalypse Now Now is a wonderfully trippy and complex work of South African urban fantasy. The plotting is labyrinthine, drawing in a number of details that make this world feel rather expansive – there’s a serial killer dubbed The Mountain Man, who leaves a third eye carved into his victim’s foreheads, high school gang wars and underground criminal enterprises, family trouble, and concerns over psychological health – all on top of a healthy dose of supernatural elements. In short, there’s a lot going on here, and plenty to keep this listener supremely interested.
Apocalypse Now Now is the first-person account of Baxter Zevcenko, an egotistical high schooler and self-styled entrepreneur who heads up an illicit ring of pornography distribution catering to the whims of his classmates. He’s a complete holier-than-thou know-it-all, but after his girlfriend, Esme, is abducted by The Mountain Man, Baxter’s search for her leads him deep into the rabbit hole of Cape Town’s paranormal underbelly, and an education that is a far, far cry from the exploits of his typical school day. Baxter is far from loveable, and, in fact, is an outright jerk and oftentimes openly hostile. Human uses this first-person account to tremendous effect, though, particularly as Baxter begins to realize he is not actually at the center of the universe and that the world is quite larger than he ever believed possible. There’s a good bit of personal growth for this smarmy boy and his personal reflections shine through in the first-person narration that might have otherwise been lost in a less focused narrative style.
When Apocalypse Now Now crossed my path, I had figured it would be a fun bit of urban fantasy, and while it definitely is that, I found myself surprised and pleased to discover a story that was much deeper, and much richer, than I had first expected. Throughout the book, Baxter is confronted with the symbol of an octopus, and this is a terrific thematic symbol for the book itself – there’s a lot of complex story tentacles weaving their way through the book. One of the most interesting aspects is the South African mythology and folklore Human puts on display, putting tokoloshes and Mantis gods right at the forefront, which is a welcome relief from the usual zombie and vampire fare that typically dominates American urban fantasy. And while Human does present a fair share of zombies here, they are quite a bit different than the customary undead brain eaters.
Bringing Baxter and his Cape Town locale to life is David Atlas, whose narration is spot-on and wonderfully immersive with a South African accent. He brings distinct voices to the cast, making it rather easy to separate which segments of dialogue belong to which characters – you’ll never be at a loss to tell if Baxter is speaking, or if it’s Ronin, the gruff ex-soldier turned supernatural bounty hunter hired by Zevcenko to help him find Esme. A few times, the narrative is disrupted to shift viewpoints to a female character with interesting historical ties to Baxter, and these segments are narrated by Fiona Hardingham. Her accounts are also expertly handled, and confined strictly to her viewpoint, as if relayed from a journal. Hardingham does a great job with the material, and I wish she had more material to work with; unfortunately, her character only makes a few brief appearances in the book. Atlas and Hardingham make this 10 1/2 hours of listening silky smooth, though, and do a sterling job adapting Human’s words to audiobook form.
Audiobook provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com
"Neil Gaiman meets Tarantino", Percy Jackson meets John Dies at the End
I got this book free on Goodreads as a giveaway but my review is not influenced by this.
I thought that the premise of the overall story is very interesting kind of similar in style to Shutter Island but original too. the lead character Baxter was witty and amusing and I enjoyed the book a lot from two thirds of the way in. The first section of the book was mostly scene setting and not greatly amusing for me personally but I am glad that I persevered as it has a good end and the confusion of the beginning all comes together in an interesting way.
I thought that the premise of the overall story is very interesting kind of similar in style to Shutter Island but original too. the lead character Baxter was witty and amusing and I enjoyed the book a lot from two thirds of the way in. The first section of the book was mostly scene setting and not greatly amusing for me personally but I am glad that I persevered as it has a good end and the confusion of the beginning all comes together in an interesting way.
A darkly humorous snarky book with an interesting S African setting and a fairly compelling lead character on the lines of Jorg, if no one else. The book changes tone from the 1st 1/3rd to the 2nd 1/3rd to completely going over the top towards the end. The tonality shift is handled well in the first instance but goes totally goes weird towards the end. A fast paced, witty read, there is a rich exploration of African mythology. Weird characters and weird dreams populate this weird but immensely enjoyable book. Sucker Punch movie is the closest analogy to this book
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I found out about this book after seeing a trailer made to promote the making of a movie. The video was great and I loved the book too. The writing is witty and the setting original. It is a bit confusing though because most books with a 16-year-old protagonist would be considered "Young Adult", but this was so "raw" and brutal that it definitely seemed like it was for adults, except then he cries about his girlfriend problems, which again makes it feel like it's a YA book.
So other than that, the book gets points for strange, funny and dark. Would LOVE to see a full-length movie and will definitely be checking out the next book.
So other than that, the book gets points for strange, funny and dark. Would LOVE to see a full-length movie and will definitely be checking out the next book.
Full Review at Tenacious Reader: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2015/11/09/audiobook-review-apocalypse-now-now-by-charlie-human/
This was a book that intertwined things I absolutely loved with elements that kind of pushed my tolerance limits for weirdness. It created a dichotomy for me while reading. Dark humor. Yes, there were so many lines in this that had me laughing out loud and feeling like I absolutely loved the book. Then it would switch and I would focus on the strangeness in this story, and I would be less sure. Some of the weird worked well for me. Porn star named Rumpelforeskin? Yep, I’m good with that.But some other elements, I wasn’t quite as taken by, but in general still liked.
This book was interesting in the way it was presented. We all know narrators can be unreliable. So, when a character interacts with the supernatural world others are oblivious to, and his family thinks he is going insane, who do you trust? The narrator (who may just be delusional)? The therapist he is seeing? Other characters that, for all you know, may or may not exist as you are getting them through Baxter?
Overall, this was a fascinating, absolutely hilarious, and bizarre book. It may have pushed my weirdness threshold at times, but the enjoyment I had from Baxter’s personality more than made up for it.
This was a book that intertwined things I absolutely loved with elements that kind of pushed my tolerance limits for weirdness. It created a dichotomy for me while reading. Dark humor. Yes, there were so many lines in this that had me laughing out loud and feeling like I absolutely loved the book. Then it would switch and I would focus on the strangeness in this story, and I would be less sure. Some of the weird worked well for me. Porn star named Rumpelforeskin? Yep, I’m good with that.But some other elements, I wasn’t quite as taken by, but in general still liked.
This book was interesting in the way it was presented. We all know narrators can be unreliable. So, when a character interacts with the supernatural world others are oblivious to, and his family thinks he is going insane, who do you trust? The narrator (who may just be delusional)? The therapist he is seeing? Other characters that, for all you know, may or may not exist as you are getting them through Baxter?
Overall, this was a fascinating, absolutely hilarious, and bizarre book. It may have pushed my weirdness threshold at times, but the enjoyment I had from Baxter’s personality more than made up for it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Refreshing, funny, irreverent. Very original given it covers the major tropes of the genre. Highly recommend. And there's a sequel out already!!