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mxsallybend's review against another edition
4.0
I love the whole Bizarro genre, I really do, but I really have to be in the right mood to enjoy it. Otherwise, what I should have expected to enjoy as brilliantly twisted and satiric can tend to come across as juvenile and in bad taste. Sadly, with the holidays looming, cold and flu season running through the house, and my office announcing the termination of 300 people in the new year, finding that right mood has been more difficult than normal.
Time Pimp came recommended to me as "one part Doctor Who, one part Hustler Magazine" and I can't think of a better way to describe it than that. If Time Pimp is part Doctor Who and part Larry Flynt, then his brother, Death Pimp, is part The Master and part Jerry Falwell. There's a whole battle of faith and morality going on here beneath all the kinky sex and Bizarro touches, and that's what really allows it to rise to the top of the genre.
In terms of narrative, Garrett Cook's tale is one of the more accessible Bizarro titles I've ever read. It's actually has quite a flow to it, almost becoming lyrical at times, and never tries to overcompensate for its failings with the distraction of WTF weird. The dialogue is absolutely perfect, lacking only a laugh track, and you can almost hear the cheesy 70s music in the back of your head. More absurd than weird, it feels at times like a really raunchy, uncensored, undiscovered Monty Python skit - in fact, I wouldn't have been at all surprised were Brian himself to make an appearance at some point, just to proclaim he is not, in fact, the messiah.
If you're not a fan of the genre, then all the bad pandas and leather-clad nuns in the universe won't be able to drag the laughs out of you. If you are a fan, or have even been curious as to what it's all about, Time Pimp is a fun, quick, sneakily-smart read that's definitely worth your time. It not only found the right mood, it kidnapped it, made sweet love to it, and even gave it a ride home.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
Time Pimp came recommended to me as "one part Doctor Who, one part Hustler Magazine" and I can't think of a better way to describe it than that. If Time Pimp is part Doctor Who and part Larry Flynt, then his brother, Death Pimp, is part The Master and part Jerry Falwell. There's a whole battle of faith and morality going on here beneath all the kinky sex and Bizarro touches, and that's what really allows it to rise to the top of the genre.
In terms of narrative, Garrett Cook's tale is one of the more accessible Bizarro titles I've ever read. It's actually has quite a flow to it, almost becoming lyrical at times, and never tries to overcompensate for its failings with the distraction of WTF weird. The dialogue is absolutely perfect, lacking only a laugh track, and you can almost hear the cheesy 70s music in the back of your head. More absurd than weird, it feels at times like a really raunchy, uncensored, undiscovered Monty Python skit - in fact, I wouldn't have been at all surprised were Brian himself to make an appearance at some point, just to proclaim he is not, in fact, the messiah.
If you're not a fan of the genre, then all the bad pandas and leather-clad nuns in the universe won't be able to drag the laughs out of you. If you are a fan, or have even been curious as to what it's all about, Time Pimp is a fun, quick, sneakily-smart read that's definitely worth your time. It not only found the right mood, it kidnapped it, made sweet love to it, and even gave it a ride home.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
sheldonnylander's review against another edition
4.0
What happens when you mix pimps, time travel, pandas, and leather nuns inside the brain of a deranged bizarro author? You get Time Pimp by Garrett Cook.
Now, I have to admit something: The only book by Garrett Cook I've read until now was Jimmy Plush, Teddy Bear Detective, which I was not the biggest fan of. It was okay, but even accounting for its noir feel, it still felt very bleak and seemed to be missing a lot the fun that such a situation should have had. Or at least that was my take. So when I started reading “Time Pimp,” it wasn't without some apprehension.
I'm happy to say that Time Pimp came off completely differently and captures the joy that Jimmy Plush seemed to miss. Time Pimp is a fun, wild ride through time and space, from biblical times to the end of time itself and bizarre worlds with elements that seem random, and yet these random elements fit together perfectly in ways that you can't even imagine.
The story is bright and colorful. Well, about as bright and colorful as black and white printing can be, but it gives the feeling that everything is bright and colorful. Time Pimp is a pimp (well, duh!). Actually, he's not just any pimp. He is a pimp whose stable of hos are from every time and planet and can cater to every desire. His client list includes some of the most influential people in history. He is a master of alchemy, can turn basic water into cognac, and drives a giant purple time-traveling Cadillac. But, like the reader, he has no idea how time travel works. It just does.
This is not a difficult thing to overcome for the reader, however. No one (almost) knows how time travel works in this universe, but no one needs to. It's not important and doesn't distract from the story at all.
Time Pimp himself is not a caricature, despite what the description sounds like. There are four closely related stories that blend into one. Over the course of these stories, we learn that Time Pimp is actually very flawed and has a history that has led him to the point where the book starts. Time Pimp evolves, learns, and changes in excellent ways, along with other characters. We learn about his archenemy, Death Pimp, and what their relationship is. And we learn about the true nature of the psychic octopi that swim inside the absinthe in his platform shows. If I say much more, I'm afraid that I'll give too much away.
Yes, all of this fits together, and fits together beautifully in a way that surprisingly doesn't stretch the imagination. In fact, the evolution of Time Pimp and the other characters goes from being fun and funny to almost touching and thought-provoking, and not in a jarring way, either. In other words, Time Pimp doesn't jerk you around with a bunch of random and weird stuff. It evolves and actually has a grand and satisfying climax. It's more than a simple slice in the life of Time Pimp.
If I have one complaint about the book, it's the editing, which is a real shame. Cook has some really great writing and a great way of phrasing things, not to mention keeping the characters in character so that their dialogue stays consistent. But there are errors throughout the book that bug me. Like in other reviews I've written, editing errors are a pet peeve of mine, and tear the reader out of an otherwise sublime story. And there's enough in this book that I have to detract from the overall score.
If you're looking a fun read that is still definitely bizarre with good, strangely believable characters that evolve with a story that has a satisfying payoff, then Time Pimp will work nicely for you. Unless you're a little bitch. You're not a little bitch, are you?
Time Pimp by Garrett Cook earns 4 fine scotches out of 5.
Now, I have to admit something: The only book by Garrett Cook I've read until now was Jimmy Plush, Teddy Bear Detective, which I was not the biggest fan of. It was okay, but even accounting for its noir feel, it still felt very bleak and seemed to be missing a lot the fun that such a situation should have had. Or at least that was my take. So when I started reading “Time Pimp,” it wasn't without some apprehension.
I'm happy to say that Time Pimp came off completely differently and captures the joy that Jimmy Plush seemed to miss. Time Pimp is a fun, wild ride through time and space, from biblical times to the end of time itself and bizarre worlds with elements that seem random, and yet these random elements fit together perfectly in ways that you can't even imagine.
The story is bright and colorful. Well, about as bright and colorful as black and white printing can be, but it gives the feeling that everything is bright and colorful. Time Pimp is a pimp (well, duh!). Actually, he's not just any pimp. He is a pimp whose stable of hos are from every time and planet and can cater to every desire. His client list includes some of the most influential people in history. He is a master of alchemy, can turn basic water into cognac, and drives a giant purple time-traveling Cadillac. But, like the reader, he has no idea how time travel works. It just does.
This is not a difficult thing to overcome for the reader, however. No one (almost) knows how time travel works in this universe, but no one needs to. It's not important and doesn't distract from the story at all.
Time Pimp himself is not a caricature, despite what the description sounds like. There are four closely related stories that blend into one. Over the course of these stories, we learn that Time Pimp is actually very flawed and has a history that has led him to the point where the book starts. Time Pimp evolves, learns, and changes in excellent ways, along with other characters. We learn about his archenemy, Death Pimp, and what their relationship is. And we learn about the true nature of the psychic octopi that swim inside the absinthe in his platform shows. If I say much more, I'm afraid that I'll give too much away.
Yes, all of this fits together, and fits together beautifully in a way that surprisingly doesn't stretch the imagination. In fact, the evolution of Time Pimp and the other characters goes from being fun and funny to almost touching and thought-provoking, and not in a jarring way, either. In other words, Time Pimp doesn't jerk you around with a bunch of random and weird stuff. It evolves and actually has a grand and satisfying climax. It's more than a simple slice in the life of Time Pimp.
If I have one complaint about the book, it's the editing, which is a real shame. Cook has some really great writing and a great way of phrasing things, not to mention keeping the characters in character so that their dialogue stays consistent. But there are errors throughout the book that bug me. Like in other reviews I've written, editing errors are a pet peeve of mine, and tear the reader out of an otherwise sublime story. And there's enough in this book that I have to detract from the overall score.
If you're looking a fun read that is still definitely bizarre with good, strangely believable characters that evolve with a story that has a satisfying payoff, then Time Pimp will work nicely for you. Unless you're a little bitch. You're not a little bitch, are you?
Time Pimp by Garrett Cook earns 4 fine scotches out of 5.
audleigh's review against another edition
3.0
Like reading the hastily scrawled visions of someone's fever dream after they've watched too many Blacksploitation and bad sci-fi movies.
Time Pimp is an incredibly difficult book to review. It wavered wildly from scenes so strange and self-consciously offensive as to be boring to moments of sound storytelling that softened my feelings toward the book. The message of the book is, overall, one of love and it does come across clearly despite the messed up scenery and perhaps there is some great beauty in that. Counter to that is the abysmal editing. Basic spelling errors, stray commas, and characters switching names because the author never made appropriate changes to the text put a significant strain on my enjoyment. Bizarro books often have minor editing errors but this book was filled with them to the point that it feels like a rough draft. However, I didn't deduct any points from this review for the editing.
Time Pimp is an incredibly difficult book to review. It wavered wildly from scenes so strange and self-consciously offensive as to be boring to moments of sound storytelling that softened my feelings toward the book. The message of the book is, overall, one of love and it does come across clearly despite the messed up scenery and perhaps there is some great beauty in that. Counter to that is the abysmal editing. Basic spelling errors, stray commas, and characters switching names because the author never made appropriate changes to the text put a significant strain on my enjoyment. Bizarro books often have minor editing errors but this book was filled with them to the point that it feels like a rough draft. However, I didn't deduct any points from this review for the editing.
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