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robothistorian's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
authorjohnw's review against another edition
5.0
If I was a smarter man, I would dig deeper into the yarns that Danger Slater spins to find some hidden meaning. Instead, I allow the strangeness to wash over me, much like the killer Gray Tide in this one. If you haven't read anything by Mr. Slater yet, this is a great place to begin.
erat's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Holy shiz, what did I just read? That was a crazy ass book. Crazy, and exactly what I needed.
mrfrank's review against another edition
4.0
I can't review this right now. I have to interview Danger about this book for a fourth coming episode of Bizzong!
All will be revealed then.
And then I'll leave a better written review here.
All will be revealed then.
And then I'll leave a better written review here.
claben's review against another edition
4.0
Bartleby as done by Cronenberg, this is Bizzaro in all its absurd, half-allegorical, sketchy, logic-light glory.
claben's review
4.0
Bartleby as done by Cronenberg, this is Bizzaro in all its absurd, half-allegorical, sketchy, logic-light glory.
tracyreads's review
4.0
“It wasn’t ineptitude that was his burden, merely left-handedness.”
Impossible James afforded me the chance to step outside my comfortable reality to a world where anything can and will happen. The first chapter had me in tears, the doctor James’ father sees is a master at dry humor. He’s a terrible doctor and I like the way Slater uses this opportunity to set the tone for the rest of the book.
Because while this doctor is imparting devastating news, the delivery is irreverent and leads the reader to confront the death sentence behind the safety of humor. I don’t want to give away too much here, part of the enjoyment surrounding this scene is discovering it for yourself. Themes of death (we all die), time (clocks are prevalent throughout), and family are set up in a non-traditional way and I dig it.
I haven’t read a lot of bizarro fiction, so I decided the best way for me to experience this book was to just let go of control, of everything that dictated the way I thought it should happen, and I took a leap of faith. This is what I tend to do with most reads, place my head and my heart wholly in the author’s hands, but bizarro can push us to resist that – to say “well this is nonsensical and I’m out.”
I appreciated the challenge and I’m glad I did it. At one point the narrator says something about just skipping to the end because reading the end first wouldn’t matter SO I DID. And I survived, and nothing was ruined for me. I trusted.
“…what should exist, either natural or not? By any metric one could measure such things, life on Earth is improbable at best. And yet here we are, me and you and everyone else. It’s a miracle. But it’s a miracle that comes with a price.”
By now this author-reader trust was well established for me. Insane, batshit crazy things happen that just blast out from the page. Screwdriver in the head? What if that is JUST what the character needed? Male pregnancy with NO female egg? Sure thing, let’s do this. Impossible Room? Yep, makes sense. I think the key for why I enjoyed this so much is that once I accepted the bizarre as normative, the underlying threads pulled all the harder. The above quote is one example of nuggets spread throughout the novel – the rest is up to the reader. And I’m here for that.
Slater has a back catalog that I can’t wait to get into. If there is no larger meaning, fine. If there is? Great. Whatever happens, I’m here for it.
Impossible James afforded me the chance to step outside my comfortable reality to a world where anything can and will happen. The first chapter had me in tears, the doctor James’ father sees is a master at dry humor. He’s a terrible doctor and I like the way Slater uses this opportunity to set the tone for the rest of the book.
Because while this doctor is imparting devastating news, the delivery is irreverent and leads the reader to confront the death sentence behind the safety of humor. I don’t want to give away too much here, part of the enjoyment surrounding this scene is discovering it for yourself. Themes of death (we all die), time (clocks are prevalent throughout), and family are set up in a non-traditional way and I dig it.
I haven’t read a lot of bizarro fiction, so I decided the best way for me to experience this book was to just let go of control, of everything that dictated the way I thought it should happen, and I took a leap of faith. This is what I tend to do with most reads, place my head and my heart wholly in the author’s hands, but bizarro can push us to resist that – to say “well this is nonsensical and I’m out.”
I appreciated the challenge and I’m glad I did it. At one point the narrator says something about just skipping to the end because reading the end first wouldn’t matter SO I DID. And I survived, and nothing was ruined for me. I trusted.
“…what should exist, either natural or not? By any metric one could measure such things, life on Earth is improbable at best. And yet here we are, me and you and everyone else. It’s a miracle. But it’s a miracle that comes with a price.”
By now this author-reader trust was well established for me. Insane, batshit crazy things happen that just blast out from the page. Screwdriver in the head? What if that is JUST what the character needed? Male pregnancy with NO female egg? Sure thing, let’s do this. Impossible Room? Yep, makes sense. I think the key for why I enjoyed this so much is that once I accepted the bizarre as normative, the underlying threads pulled all the harder. The above quote is one example of nuggets spread throughout the novel – the rest is up to the reader. And I’m here for that.
Slater has a back catalog that I can’t wait to get into. If there is no larger meaning, fine. If there is? Great. Whatever happens, I’m here for it.
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