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waqasmhd's review against another edition
3.0
i admit i succumbed to the hype, and the tagline "Neil Gaiman meets Tarantino…" was the driving force. so i had to buy it. a paperback version (which also has a brilliant artwork)
lets start by dissecting the tagline. although it says neil gaiman meets tarantino which means i should feel home reading it, but it's really different from what I would normally read.
I could see why this reference was made and its more on Tarantino side i.e. violence/gore than Neil. it started to feel like Gaiman towards the end when all sort of crazy fantastical things started happening. But it was too much too late.
its a weird book. not bad for a debut. i felt it started strongly and it was fun knowing Baxter, the 16-year old kingpin of the gang Spider who is witty and thinks he has everything sussed out. but when his girl friend Esme is kidnapped, he starts losing sense of reality and the crazy ride begins. its not just Baxter who is not sure of the reality, halfway into the book it gets confusing and hard to keep up with the facts. and this is also the point where i start to lose interest.
without giving anything away, its a fun read but it could have been amazing book had the ending was not so jumbled up.
lets start by dissecting the tagline. although it says neil gaiman meets tarantino which means i should feel home reading it, but it's really different from what I would normally read.
I could see why this reference was made and its more on Tarantino side i.e. violence/gore than Neil. it started to feel like Gaiman towards the end when all sort of crazy fantastical things started happening. But it was too much too late.
its a weird book. not bad for a debut. i felt it started strongly and it was fun knowing Baxter, the 16-year old kingpin of the gang Spider who is witty and thinks he has everything sussed out. but when his girl friend Esme is kidnapped, he starts losing sense of reality and the crazy ride begins. its not just Baxter who is not sure of the reality, halfway into the book it gets confusing and hard to keep up with the facts. and this is also the point where i start to lose interest.
without giving anything away, its a fun read but it could have been amazing book had the ending was not so jumbled up.
berrycade's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun book to read, and it's been a while since I've actually sat down to read a book (or lie down to read one till 4 am, I should say). It was a binge read, but the atmosphere of the book doesn't really let you go until the end.
It's definitely Gaiman-ish, with its dark humour, atmosphere and supernatural entities and logic. In that, it also quite resembles the book John Dies At The End. For a large part, especially in the second half, you feel like you can't really trust the plot. The book also has the well-written, easy-to-read style that I find in John Green's books.. and with this book featuring a teenage kid trying to find his girlfriend, it felt quite like Paper Towns in particular.
There are a lot of references to pop culture, there are witty similes and there are references to good music (favourite band on the third page I read).
This was a very fun read and I think it could work really well as a comic book.
It's definitely Gaiman-ish, with its dark humour, atmosphere and supernatural entities and logic. In that, it also quite resembles the book John Dies At The End. For a large part, especially in the second half, you feel like you can't really trust the plot. The book also has the well-written, easy-to-read style that I find in John Green's books.. and with this book featuring a teenage kid trying to find his girlfriend, it felt quite like Paper Towns in particular.
There are a lot of references to pop culture, there are witty similes and there are references to good music (favourite band on the third page I read).
This was a very fun read and I think it could work really well as a comic book.
antisocialdidi's review against another edition
4.0
Apocalypse Now Now is possibly one of the greatest novels I have read. Charlie Human's representation of Cape Town is not sugarcoated and dressed up, it is raw and believable. I found myself getting lost in Baxter's world of porn-syndicates and school gangs and politics. The familiarity with the setting, combined with narrative that is drenched in pop-culture and the occasional references specifically to Capetownian street culture had me chuckling to myself as though I was let on an inside joke.
Furthermore, Charlie's unique take on the supernatural and South Africa myth and folklore is gripping. Filled with tokoloshes, sangomas, spider-like zombies, chimeras, glowing ghosts and giant crows, this is one of those novels I'd probably read over and over again.
Fast paced and to the point, Apocalypse Now Now sets the standard really high for all local speculative fiction.
Furthermore, Charlie's unique take on the supernatural and South Africa myth and folklore is gripping. Filled with tokoloshes, sangomas, spider-like zombies, chimeras, glowing ghosts and giant crows, this is one of those novels I'd probably read over and over again.
Fast paced and to the point, Apocalypse Now Now sets the standard really high for all local speculative fiction.
pa11av's review against another edition
5.0
I really really loved this book because of the intro chapters, where the lead is running a porn syndicate in his school and trying to prevent an all out war between the school gangs. But shit really hits the fan once his girlfriend gets kidnapped by a serial killer called the Mountain Man.
It's a wild wild ride with zombies, monsters, shapeshifters, drugs, guns, and what not.
I won't go into more details, but this is the most fun I've had in recent times while reading a book.
It's a wild wild ride with zombies, monsters, shapeshifters, drugs, guns, and what not.
I won't go into more details, but this is the most fun I've had in recent times while reading a book.
subtle_sarcasm's review against another edition
3.0
Oh man, I don't know. There were some really cool ideas here, and the writing is snarky and pop-cultury, but I just couldn't STAND the little prick. I read this for the "A book by an author from Africa" part of the 2015 Read Harder challenge, and that was actually the thing I enjoyed most about the book. The South African mythology and creature-lore that comes up is completely fascinating, and it made me curious to check out more Urban Fantasy from this background. But the story itself, and it's main character in particular, were just so.... incredibly MALE. I don't know how to put it any better than that. As the story progressed and moved into its more fantastical elements, more characters were introduced that I actually didn't feel like slapping all the time, so that helped to get somewhat invested into the plot. Katinka, the beautiful supernatural Trans-lady barkeeper, was almost worth dealing with teenage asshole Baxter for for the rest of the book. But without the challenge, I probably would have put the book down before ever reaching her and never picked it up again.
maleficentknits's review
4.0
What a strange trippy book. Wasn't quite sure for a while if this was really the madness of Baxter's delusions or if he really was experiencing this secret supernatural assault towards the apocalypse.
Looking forward to reading the next book, Kill Baxter.
Looking forward to reading the next book, Kill Baxter.
ruimateus's review
5.0
I would place this book in the category of batshit crazy novels that I like to read every once in a while. The mythological South African underworld portrayed in the story is full of potential to further explore and I hope the next novel makes use of it. The character development throughout the story is also one of the highlights.
noucki's review against another edition
2.0
Die Idee von Apocalypse Now Now klang cool, irgendwie abgedreht und echt interessant, doch leider konnte mich die Umsetzung nicht überzeugen. Die Geschichte war über grosse Teile ziemlich verwirrend, ergab nicht besonders viel Sinn und wirkte einfach zu übertrieben. Die Geschichte sollte wohl verrückt, erschreckend und ungewöhnlich wirken, doch vieles wirkte einfach nur gezwungen. Das ständige Gemetzel, die Monsterpornos und die ständige Frage ob Baxter einfach nur verrückt, ein Psychopath usw. ist gingen mir irgendwann einfach ziemlich auf die Nerven. Davon abgesehen war die Handlung nichts unbedingt neues, oftmals wenig überraschend. Zudem waren auch die Figuren leider grösstenteils weder sympathisch noch interessant.
Während das alles ziemlich negativ klingt (und grösstenteils auch war), wollte ich trotzdem noch erwähnen, dass ich Kapstadt als Schauplatz ziemlich cool fand und ich auch die Elemente der südafrikanischen Mythologie echt interessant fand. Auch die Idee zu der Fortsetzung klingt wieder echt spannend, doch ich werde nicht weiterlesen.
Während das alles ziemlich negativ klingt (und grösstenteils auch war), wollte ich trotzdem noch erwähnen, dass ich Kapstadt als Schauplatz ziemlich cool fand und ich auch die Elemente der südafrikanischen Mythologie echt interessant fand. Auch die Idee zu der Fortsetzung klingt wieder echt spannend, doch ich werde nicht weiterlesen.
gerhard's review
2.0
When I started this I thought it was a much more imaginative book than Zoo City by Lauren Beukes, but it is let down by a thoroughly pedestrian superhero-movie ending that takes all the sting out of the satire and the wonder out of the set-up. The ending reminded me of The Avengers, The Puppet Masters and Transformers all rolled into one.
What a pity that Human did not make more of the break in the story when he gets both his protagonist and the reader to question their respective sanity. Yes, such po-mo techniques do tend to raise eyebrows in this age of literary realism, but I think a much darker edge would have suited the book far better than the comic book theatrics it eventually succumbs to.
I loved the bits about the Sieners and the San mythology. However, I also felt that Human does not do nearly enough with his Cape Town setting. You could simply switch the story to Egoli and it would make no difference whatsoever. Still, there are some wonderful setpieces here: the Flesh Palace alone would make both Clive Barker and Quentin Tarantino proud.
What a pity that Human did not make more of the break in the story when he gets both his protagonist and the reader to question their respective sanity. Yes, such po-mo techniques do tend to raise eyebrows in this age of literary realism, but I think a much darker edge would have suited the book far better than the comic book theatrics it eventually succumbs to.
I loved the bits about the Sieners and the San mythology. However, I also felt that Human does not do nearly enough with his Cape Town setting. You could simply switch the story to Egoli and it would make no difference whatsoever. Still, there are some wonderful setpieces here: the Flesh Palace alone would make both Clive Barker and Quentin Tarantino proud.
kittyg's review
2.0
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.