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vinayvasan's review
3.0
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
jennjuniper's review
5.0
Baxter Zevcenko is your average, Holden-Caulfield-esque sixteen-year-old: he's suffering from oddly realistic nightmares of the Boer wars, lying to his psychiatrist, and running a successful porn syndicate out of his high school. Well, perhaps not so average. And that's even before his Ramona Flowers of a girlfriend is kidnapped, he's accused of being a serial killer, and the gang wars at his school take a turn for the heavily armed. A little casual violence and one alcoholic magical bounty hunter later, and Baxter is plunged into the supernatural underworld of Cape Town in this deliciously dark adventure that screams through past, present and future with all the finesse of a corkscrewing rollercoaster.
Apocalypse Now Now is slick, laugh-out-loud funny, and just scary enough to make turning out the lights at bedtime disquieting (maybe don't stay up 'til one a.m. finishing it like I did). Baxter makes for a fabulous antihero with a distinctive and marvellously caustic voice, the perfect guide to drag you through the messy, terrifying and increasingly nonsensical supernatural world he's uncovered. Populated with a creative cast of disparate characters - zombie pornstars, arachnid queens, transsexual valkyries, chainsaw-wielding pirates, corporate warlocks and more - this is a gory, disturbing and clever alternate reality that pulls you in and then refuses to let you go. Full of twists, pitch-black humour and plenty of bloodshed, think Ben Aaronovitch without any sort of law or perhaps Vernon God Little with demons. I absolutely loved this and unreservedly recommend it, though I am not responsible for any night lights you may have to leave on!
Apocalypse Now Now is slick, laugh-out-loud funny, and just scary enough to make turning out the lights at bedtime disquieting (maybe don't stay up 'til one a.m. finishing it like I did). Baxter makes for a fabulous antihero with a distinctive and marvellously caustic voice, the perfect guide to drag you through the messy, terrifying and increasingly nonsensical supernatural world he's uncovered. Populated with a creative cast of disparate characters - zombie pornstars, arachnid queens, transsexual valkyries, chainsaw-wielding pirates, corporate warlocks and more - this is a gory, disturbing and clever alternate reality that pulls you in and then refuses to let you go. Full of twists, pitch-black humour and plenty of bloodshed, think Ben Aaronovitch without any sort of law or perhaps Vernon God Little with demons. I absolutely loved this and unreservedly recommend it, though I am not responsible for any night lights you may have to leave on!
hallsifer's review
4.0
A delightfully weird book, it's one of a handful I bought because I thought the cover was cool and have found myself rereading over and over. It's so full of both gross-but-fun imagery and mind-trickery that every reread is a joy and it's certainly staying on my shelf. It's a far shout from a lot of YA books I've read - it draws on complex South African mythology and has a protagonist who isn't immediately perfect and wonderful and a nice guy.
Also there's another book, which I have to read.
Also there's another book, which I have to read.
rick's review
Fun, engaging first book about Baxter Zevcenko, a high school mover and shaker who matters... or does he? He's tossed headlong into some very weird stuff, stuff that's probably supernatural if it's not all inside his twisted mind and he's just another misunderstood kid. Set in S Africa which for US readers brings another level of strangeness, this is a book that fans of Richard Kadrey and the like shouldn't miss. The main problem with it is that the sequel isn't out yet.
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