Doug Lewars's Blog - Posts Tagged "i-b-fantasy-b-i"

What the Hell Did I Just Read by David Wong

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I would classify this book as a romp. I don't see that as an official genre but it probably should be. It's a variation on melodrama - a form that was generally employed in movies in the early 1900's. Basically the heroine - or in this case heroine and two heroes - stumbles from one crises to the next being saved at the last minute by someone or something. Here we have an alien invasion from ... somewhere - possibly another dimension - that takes the form of a thing that is attempting to breed and deposit its offspring on Earth. They arrive in the form of larvae that have the ability to alter human thinking. So, for example, a couple who are childless will 'remember' having and raising a child and that the child has been abducted. Eventually they will find it but they actually discover is a larva that feeds off them but is able to maintain their viability even as significant body parts are consumed. These larvae are almost unkillable but it turns out that this is a good thing for reasons I won't divulge. Nevertheless, in proper fantasy fashion, the fate of the planet and possibly the universe hangs in the balance.

The principle characters are young, largely aimless, and drug users. Think Animal House to get a general idea. They're moderately likeable and have the characteristic that they're the only ones in the community capable of detecting these and other supernatural critters. On the other side of the coin are a group of government people - black suits, black sunglasses, bad attitudes, pretty much indestructible but sort of on the same side. The two groups are sometimes at odds and sometime work together.

This is a fast paced and humorous book but don't look for any deep character insights or analysis of complex issues. This book is written for fun and it achieves that objective. Occasionally the author manages to slip in a dig at things like Internet Service Providers and they add to the story. Overall I enjoyed the book. I've encountered authors who could make me laugh more than this one but it was pretty good and well worth reading.



View all my reviews