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Preincarnate
This is the extraordinary tale of an ordinary man in a race against and across time. Join Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G. Wells, Queen Victoria, Jack the Ripper, and Tom Cruise as they unravel a Masonic plot to restore James II to the throne—and in the process, perhaps destroy the universe itself. Soul transference, time travel, cloning, space ships, Hollywood, and the Loch...more
Hardcover, 222 pages
Published
November 2nd 2010
by Hardie Grant Books
(first published November 1st 2010)
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3.5 stars
This review originally appeared at www.readinasinglesitting.com.
Preincarnate is not so much a novella as it is a whorl of ideas fashioned into a jauntily tipped hat, with said hat draped over a grassy barrow of anachronisms, with said anachronistic barrow then dug up by a French avante garde film director, given the cut-up treatment, and the subsequently marinated in a brine of whimsy. If none of that made any sense but you enjoyed reading it anyway, then welcome to Preincarnate, a fien...more
This review originally appeared at www.readinasinglesitting.com.
Preincarnate is not so much a novella as it is a whorl of ideas fashioned into a jauntily tipped hat, with said hat draped over a grassy barrow of anachronisms, with said anachronistic barrow then dug up by a French avante garde film director, given the cut-up treatment, and the subsequently marinated in a brine of whimsy. If none of that made any sense but you enjoyed reading it anyway, then welcome to Preincarnate, a fien...more
Mar 07, 2011
Sam
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone with a sense of humour
Recommended to Sam by:
District Attorney Ferguson
This is Shaun Micallef’s (The Leading Australian Comedian of the Entire Cosmos) first novella, linking such matters as Jack the Ripper, Tom Cruise, time travel, Freemasons, space travel and Matthew Reilly all together in one reasonable size book. It is not for the faint hearted, nor those who simply don’t ‘get’ Micallef. (I’m not talking about Talking About Your Generation but if you simply do not see the wisdom of David McGahan’s world around him, Dr Miracle and futility of Panadol now Panadol...more
I’ve finished book number three in my fifty two book 2011 reading challenge and I’m pleased to report I’m still on track. Here’s my mini-review of Shaun Micallef’s debut novella, Preincarnate.
For those who are unfamiliar with the author, the dust jacket of this 222 pager describes Micallef as ‘Australia’s pre-emient comic Renaissance man’ and that’s not, in my opinion, too grandiose a statement.
In a career spanning theatre, radio, film and, most successfully, TV, Micallef has proven time and tim...more
For those who are unfamiliar with the author, the dust jacket of this 222 pager describes Micallef as ‘Australia’s pre-emient comic Renaissance man’ and that’s not, in my opinion, too grandiose a statement.
In a career spanning theatre, radio, film and, most successfully, TV, Micallef has proven time and tim...more
Anarchic. Chaotic. Undisciplined. Yes, all those things and funny. It’s no real surprise as it’s pretty much a text based representation of what Shaun Micallef is like as a TV host… and he is this country’s best one by a long way. There are many things wrong with this book as you would expect from a ripping yarn school boy adventure, through time and space, with huge, undiluted dollops of acid and funny. In fact there are huge dollops of other things in there as well – like Blade Runner. He must...more
Read this one in a chapter a night method and it was funny and entertaining. Micallef weaves a tale of time travel in a rather bizarre way. Often it feels like your reading a skit playing out and there's the occasional breaking of the fourth wall, some witty little footnotes and so on.
There's plenty of great lines. I'm not sure if the story logically makes sense, but it's not the sort of book that it's really meant to. I'm going to have to read it again to see if it happens to.
I did quite enjoy...more
There's plenty of great lines. I'm not sure if the story logically makes sense, but it's not the sort of book that it's really meant to. I'm going to have to read it again to see if it happens to.
I did quite enjoy...more
It was fun, as you might expect from Mr Micallef. I experienced some trepidation prior to reading this handsome volume (lovely illustrations!) as I'm very fond of Micallef and if he'd written a bad book I didn't want to know. But this is an enjoyable amusement, reading quite how you'd expect a book by Micallef to read. (Perhaps still not QUITE successful at ironing out the inevitable problems associated with a time-travel plot). Also, a hint now and then of something deeper that makes me wonder...more
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I adore Shaun Micallef and will gladly read or view any and everything he has to offer. I knew Preincarnate was not going to be my favourite book but I have faith in Shaun and was not disappointed. Preincarnate is boggling and I could not quite follow what was going on at all times, particularly considering the significant jumps in time (and space) but it was entertaining and full of Mr Micallefs delightfully zany humour which is throughout the book including in footnotes and a section at the en...more
When in Melbourne to see the Tutankhamen exhibit, I happened upon a bookstore in the throes of a closing-down sale. The carcass had been mostly picked clean by the time I got there, but I did manage to walk away with one bargain.
The first thing I want to say about Preincarnate is that, physically, it is exactly what you look for in a book. Nice, simple hardcover, with that lovely feel to it that only newish hardcovers seem to have. Bound bookmark. Ex Libris in the front. The fact that it's glue-...more
The first thing I want to say about Preincarnate is that, physically, it is exactly what you look for in a book. Nice, simple hardcover, with that lovely feel to it that only newish hardcovers seem to have. Bound bookmark. Ex Libris in the front. The fact that it's glue-...more
If you only ever know of one Australian comedian/media personality Shaun Micallef would be the one I recommend that you find out about. And this is the reason why. He is a wonderful and witty comic genius and one of those few characters who genuinely puts on an eccentric personality.
I must admit that Preincarnate was quite clever and very bizarre. I think perhaps when I read it I went into it naively, like a knight without his sword and facing an imaginary dragon. I am sure that I would like it...more
I must admit that Preincarnate was quite clever and very bizarre. I think perhaps when I read it I went into it naively, like a knight without his sword and facing an imaginary dragon. I am sure that I would like it...more
I was drawn in by the amusing blurb: 'Shaun Micallef smashes his mighty fist onto the keyboard of his soul and produces a novel of such breathtaking brilliance that if Patrick White were alive today he'd hurl his own typewriter into the sea and start a lawn-mowing business'.
But the amount of quirkiness in this book completely out-quirked the plot, the characters and me to the point where I'm not really sure what the book was about. It did make me laugh a couple of times, but overall I found it f...more
But the amount of quirkiness in this book completely out-quirked the plot, the characters and me to the point where I'm not really sure what the book was about. It did make me laugh a couple of times, but overall I found it f...more
Possibly the greatest badger story ever told. At times I was concerned that I'd accidentally consumed some acid on my morning toast and was tripping for the entire book, but took a step back and realised, this is Shaun Micallef. Reads like a bizarre lovechild of Spike Milligan and Monty Python. He's a master of the non-sequitur, and this is absurdist humour at its best. I loved every minute.
I really wanted to love this. I've adored Shaun Micallef for years. But it was a very disjointed book. I loved some bits of it. There were some bits that were laugh out loud funny, but it was a very confusing book in places. I did enjoy the previews for his next few books though.
I'll definately give him another try as he had some moments reminiscient of Douglas Adams and I think he could get better and better.
I'll definately give him another try as he had some moments reminiscient of Douglas Adams and I think he could get better and better.
I love Shaun Micallef like a sugar daddy and while I desperately wanted to like this I just became more and more confused as the book progressed. He is a talented writer without doubt but his cleverness, nonsensical wit and scattered cultural references ultimately make Preincarnate a confused mess. Plus, as Tom Cruise so aptly puts in on page 149, 'the switching from Omniscient Narrator and First Person Narrator confuses me'. Certainly read it if you like Shaun and have a strong grasp of the idi...more
This is just a scream. The perfect little palate cleanser between weightier tomes. A hilarious debut from one of our finest comic geniuses. It's laugh out loud and very him. The plot makes not an iota of sense, but why should we expect it to? It wildly veers from the surreal to the insane to the decidedly Blytonesque - often within the space of a sentence. Special cheers to the random Tom Cruise, Dan Brown and Matthew Reilly gags. Sheer silliness and I can't wait for his next one.
Feb 11, 2012
Emma
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Shaun Micallef fans, people who can follow time travel
Shelves:
aussie-authors,
fiction
I don't know how I could have ever entertained the possiblity that something by Shaun Micallef could make any logical sense. This book sure doesn't - to me at least. If there's a logical sense in there, it's hidden pretty good in amongst the time travel, Loch Ness monster, gibes at Matthew Reilly and Dutch accents, random sci-fi, secret orders, illegal bicycle riding, a missing paragraph about badgers and Tom Cruise.
Even though I couldn't follow the plot at all I still somehow couldn't help but...more
Even though I couldn't follow the plot at all I still somehow couldn't help but...more
This won't be to everyone's taste. The story is a minimalist, confection about time travel, Oliver Cromwell, Jack the Ripper, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the Masons, Tom Cruise, the Scientologists, the Rosicrucians, the CIA, Aliens and an intergalatic future circa 3050. If you like Shaun Micallef's absurdist humour, you'll find this amusing, with it's outlandish loops of logic, sarcasm, black humour, satire and clever wit. I certainly enjoyed it.
Having thoroughly enjoyed Shaun as a presenter on TV, I jumped at the chance to buy this book.
What a disappointment. I found it merely a jumble with no cohesive storyline, some silly footnotes, and a lack of any real humour. I would have a hard time recommending this book to anyone.
What a disappointment. I found it merely a jumble with no cohesive storyline, some silly footnotes, and a lack of any real humour. I would have a hard time recommending this book to anyone.
A fairly benign book, pleasant without being outstanding. It doesn't particularly excite, and the plot feels a bit random and complicated for the amount of meat in the book, though it was nonetheless a reasonably enjoyable and humourous read at times. I didn't feel there was enough in it to actively like it on the whole, even humour-wise, so I would recommend this book to fans of Micallef but not really to others - there are better books out there in the humour genre.
Many giggles in this farcical romp through time and space - ultimately just too erratic to be completely enjoyable. Feel the author himself got lost at some point and just let any sense of plot dissipate in increasingly more bizarre moments.
Hilarious! A lot of things happening in one book so sometimes left me thinking "what just happens? How did I get here? Don't read before bed as it could give you the giggles as it did to me- I kept waking up my hubby!
This is a crazy story. If you love somewhat paradoxical time travel and Shaun Micallef's humour, this is the book for you. I only became certain of what was going on when I reached page 132. And even that was short-lived.
Several times, when a new link between Micallef's nutters adventure and real-world history became clear, I found myself thinking, 'Oh, this could be so cool.' Several tangents later, I wasn't so sure!
Give the book a go. You might love it. If not, it's only 222 pages and has seve...more
Several times, when a new link between Micallef's nutters adventure and real-world history became clear, I found myself thinking, 'Oh, this could be so cool.' Several tangents later, I wasn't so sure!
Give the book a go. You might love it. If not, it's only 222 pages and has seve...more
Not a bad, quick read. Rather trippy with a Red Dwarf sense of space and time. The best parts were the pages after the main story had finished (and completely unrelated to the book).
This book was unputdownable - because if you did you'd lose track of the extremely disjointed plot. Nice witticisms. I love Shaun Micallef, so I'd like to rate this higher.
This book is an example of what can happen when you sit down to write with a bunch of ecstasy tablets and a bottle of absinthe. I have no idea what it is I just read.
He loves his mashed metaphors. May need a shovel to get to the actual storyline.
OK enjoyed it but may need to read it twice to really get the story. Enjoyed the Micallef humour, not sure how many others will though.
OK enjoyed it but may need to read it twice to really get the story. Enjoyed the Micallef humour, not sure how many others will though.
It was very clear from the first page of this book that it was Micallef who wrote this and kudos for him for having such a clear style. However, I got horrendously lost and confused by the plot. This may have been my fault for reading this at the airport at 3am, but I felt like it didn't make too much sense and then ended suddenly and I'm not sure what happened. Still I think people who like other things Micallef has done will enjoy this.
It was a very weird and confusing book. I enjoyed it because it shows Shaun Micallef's humour and you really have to be a fan to like this book. The switch between third and first person is what will confuse you the most but that what makes you want to read more. The ending will blow your mind.
Boring. I couldn't get into the book. It seemed too concentrate on being too clever rather than the whole story.
Clever postmodern novel with typical Micallef humour. Reminicent of Douglas Adams. An enjoyable ride!
I absolutely LOVED this book. It's been a long time since I've laughed out loud so much when reading a book. Shaun Micallef's talent for offbeat humour transfers well to the written word. I hope he writes more books!
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