Reviews / Quotes from Reviews of "Catastrophically Consequential"

"Lurid satirical riffs hold up a fun-house mirror to the world in this fantasia ... a wicked caricature of New York scenesters, rage against environmental destruction, religious bigotry ... a redneck Weimar cabaret ... a stew of surrealism ... an alternative universe peopled by cartoonish characters who intermingle across dreamlike episodes that shatter the conventions of time, space and spelling. Bird's caustic levity, exuberant wordplay and arresting imagery make for a bracing read --though it's not for the faint of heart. This raucous avant-garde comedy will sweep you along with its vigor and originality."

-- Kirkus Reviews

" ... difficult to categorize ... distinctive, unconventional ... eccentric style ... playful and inventive with language ... some chapters read as over-the-top satire, others appear closer to reality than they might at first seem ... moments of raw poignancy and social commentary ... stark and unexpected imagery ... in-your-face confrontation, forcing the reader to either embrace it or push it away ... bold, humorous, raunchy provocation ... a love-it-or-hate-it affair ... few will come away unaffected ..."

-- ForeWord Reviews

"... cleverly crafted, ironic short story with its cliché and satirical themes ... Totally genius, clever ... ingenious ... spectacular ... breathtaking ... celebrity merged with the bizarre ... peculiar and individualistic characters ... a real treat for any reader [...] seeking something [...] quite out of the ordinary! Brimmed full of wit, sarcasm, realism and truth-drawing poignancy ... thought-provoking, idiosyncratic ... hard to put down ... I felt like Alice in Wonderland who had been lured into a tantalizingly tempting trap that was so outlandish, eccentric and extraordinary that I did not want it to end ... I can honestly say that this story is affecting ... lingers upon ones mind for a long time afterwards. Prepare yourself for such chaotic confusion as to confound ... combines a blend of fantasy, general fiction, humor, satire and adult themes [...] totally astonishing! ... I am lost for words! This book is certainly targeted at a wide readership ... will appeal to anyone and to those who have a vivid imagination ... so enjoyable to read ... embodied such lunacy and yet was so brilliant. The author’s visual, artistic vision is commendable ... his dry sense of humor [...] comes across through the writing ... a strange book ... doesn’t have a storyline (shock!) nor can it be slotted into a specific genre ... a stand-out book ... ‘one of its kind’ ... If you have an odd and often over-active imagination like myself, then I highly recommend it as a fantastic read!"

-- Lucinda, Goodreads

"This is a really well-titled book ... Stephen C. Bird's work contains tragedy, for sure ... built right into the architecture of language and identity ... As to identity, there are multitudes ... in this prequel to "Hideous Exuberance," he sucks the reader back into a kaleidoscope of the damaged, deranged, fat, angry, hapless, medieval, phonetically confusing, twitchily hilarious, despairing, and genuinely, searingly poetic. In the space of a paragraph, the various narrators can verge from the mythic landscapes of demented demigods, to the interior monologue of a Faulknerian adherent of a kind of Orwellian moral doublespeak. In Ebonic-Southern-redneck drawl ... not easy stuff ... by turns hilarious, brilliantly musical, and it's audacious as all hell. His writing is infectious ... Maybe most refreshing is that Stephen Bird, as a writer, is willing (or compelled?) to navigate seemingly any avenue of Western culture, and trusts his reader to be able to see all the signposts. If you can't, then he gives you enough to chew on, look up, and ponder. And if you don't wanna do that either, read somebody else."

-- Sarah, Goodreads

"It starts with an unnamed adult switching between childhood and present realities via dreaming and waking, and ends with a suicide. You will meet a teenage prostitute, and the neglected schoolmate who envies her ... and a poet who refuses to resort to conventional means to further his career. You will spend time in the bottom-rung of the underground comedy scene ... You will laugh out loud and feel at times like you are reading a novella-length version of a pamphlet handed to you by a crazy person on the street. You will experience your own strange dreams as a result of reading it, and will probably try re-reading it when you are finished so that you don't miss anything or to clear up things you didn't understand. I definitely recommend it as an antidote to the Twilight series."

-- Brian, Goodreads

"... I had never heard of Stephen C. Bird. Now that I have, I feel I spent more time reading the book aloud to my husband than sitting off in the corner reading to myself. He is a fan of satire and farcical writing. We loved it ... The book can be a little hard for some people to read, but once you get used to it ... it's easy peasy ... The writing was creative, the characters were alive. If you are easily offended, this is not the book for you, but if you like a great book that will make you laugh, and make you want to read bits to people so they can see the humor you just experienced, then you will love reading this book and sharing it with other like-minded people. I highly recommend it!"

-- Heather, Goodreads

"What was this? ... That should really always be the first line of my 5-star reviews on Goodreads. I love the experience of coming to something and finding the completely unexpected. Cat-Con (my shorthand for the title) was a dark look at darker forces ... An extremely accurate portrayal of modern American "kulture." I tagged this as LGBT ... Not because it has great gay characters or storylines. This is the LGBT of sexual rebellion, the dark side of the rainbow flag, the one where the stripes are shame, violence, self-hate, and addiction ... I thoroughly enjoyed this short, spectacular, time-travelling, soul-hopping, piss and vomit-filled nightmare jaunt."

-- Frederick, Goodreads

" ... not for the faint [of heart] ... encompasses every stereotype known to man ... stretches through time and space hitting 'Amurycka Profunda', 'West Whoreville' all the way to 'Doucheyland' in this continual diatribe against [...] everyone ... creates the illusion of a utopian 'Welt' by illustrating the truly opposite ... satirically foreshadowing the possible apocalyptic future on the world’s present condition ... author orchestrates a 'mélange à trios' between the language he uses, his humor and the subject matter ... refreshing to read a book that genuinely challenges the mind ..."

-- Lindsay, Goodreads

"I knew I'd found the right book by one of the very early chapters of Lord Szczmawg, Abstractly Patriarchal and Possibly Feminist Ruler of Sky and Earth, in which there’s a monologue from Gothra Schvulkopf: 'I will now descend into the deep meandering aqua rabbit hole of a high contrast landscape dominated by ultra-white birches, to meet the Zalphagamorian, a bronze-colored creature with scaly marbleized hide; and Zauberfeuer, a hedonist resembling the Ghost of Christmas Present.' ... When I was halfway through this book I became sad that it was half over."

-- Tucker, Goodreads

"... push [through] for the golden lines! ... 'Be still with your waxing hysteria' ... 'Everything is going to be different once I acquire a wardrobe of rubber fetish gear' ... 'They were the neighborhoods new hot couple' ... 'At [Pal-Anon] she would share how she got into another toxic relationship' (I am laughing hard right now) ... 'her “fellow co-dependents would trash her at fellowship' ... 'I have shattered the props of your wasted, meaningless lives of indolence: what were form[erl]y objects of luxury now represent the deformed ugliness of your grotesque hypocrisy.' ”

-- Jeff, Goodreads

"... Douglas Adams meets the Unibomber's manifesto. Charlie Gordon ('Flowers for Algernon') falls into Cyberpunk. Monty Python rescripted via "A Clockwork Orange". '1984' and 'Catch-22' mixed in a blender and poured into a broken goblet. At times, the characters seem to be railing against the elite. Other times, it seems to be a slam against the middle class, saying their existence is meaningless ... This book is for adults only ... graphic depictions ... chaotic ... mal-interpretive approach ..."

-- Sean, Goodreads

"I found the slightly longer chapters towards the end to be the most interesting ... these chapters contained the most interesting internal monologue which suited the tone of the writing ... I would recommend this book if you like Kurt Vonnegut, stream of [consciousness] writing or dark alternative realities / alternative futures ... This book is really intriguing, each segment is different, most of them are humorous and disturbing."

-- Susan, Goodreads

"This book was a literal trip, like on drugs ... While reading each chapter, I felt like I was dreaming and anything could happen, and I didn't know what was coming next. Then, by the end of the chapter, it was like waking up from your dream and you don't remember everything, but you know you had a good time. If you are looking for something short, funny, and a kind of palette cleanser between books, then read this book!"

-- Nikkiya, Goodreads

"A strangely enticing romp through satirical dances. Tucked in its pages are wondrous delights spilling through a world of often open contradictions that weaves the reader through a dream of otherworldly dichotomies and irreverent characters ... I am grateful to Stephen C Bird for giving me the chance to wander his extraordinary if not sometimes baffling world ... Was a real treat."

-- gypsydreams, Goodreads

"There’s just so much information and emotion packed in one small book. The way it’s written is different than anything I’ve ever read before ... Each short story left me more unsettled and confused than the previous story, but I couldn’t stop reading ... It was quite magical in a way ... There is something for everyone [in this book]. Everyone. Trust me."

-- Cher, Goodreads

"Reading this book was like watching a [Quentin] Tarantino film. It's obvious that the creator is talented and puts out a very good product ... I don't recommend this book for the faint of heart but if you're looking for a book that will cause you to continue to think about it for days ... after you've finished it [...] this is your book."

-- Peter, Goodreads

"A very distinct work, not for people who are looking for the usual written stories that have a plot, characters, beginning and end. Very bizarre, very twisted, very interesting! ... I gave it 5 stars because it was amazing ... still not sure if its a good amazing, or a bad amazing! ... an extremely twisted, unconventional book."

-- [Another] Susan, Goodreads

"... Sheds light on the blunt honesty of some human beings in their true sadistic thoughts. Parts of the novel were humorous ... becomes easier to read and understand after the first few chapters when things begin to come together ... not the type of book I would typically read but it has its inventiveness and appeal."

-- Heather, Goodreads

"This book is extremely well written ... bizarre ... in a good way. Several of them [the jokes] had [me] laughing out loud and meant I had to stop reading to fully appreciate them. There's a lot of bleakness in this book and some very insightful, skillfully disguised social comment. Read this -- It's definitely worth your time."

-- Rose, Goodreads

"You may start out saying, what the hell?! Keep reading. The mangled spelling, the wordplay, the outlandish characters and situations are all crafted with the purpose of puncturing what for most of us is a bourgeois and ordinary existence. Steve Bird is anything but ordinary. He's also very mordantly funny."

-- Andrea, Goodreads

"I can't say it didn't leave any impact because I do keep thinking about parts of the book ... Some things were shocking and I couldn't believe I was actually reading some of the content. I did like some of the total crazy randoms thrown in. This book is not for everyone. You must have an open mind ..."

-- Sally, Goodreads

"This book is disturbing. Very disturbing. I wouldn't recommend it to the faint of heart ... I constantly wondered if the author was trying to make some kind of statement about life ... Somehow, it still managed to keep me turning pages. I can't explain the charm of this book."

-- Benjamin, Goodreads

"Oh how I wish I had thought of the Aryan Fake 'enchanted yearbook' with the Hawk-Headed Goddess, Obliteramus! spell that 'would only destroy those who truly deserved to die'. In real life, I mean. I would have blown through so many roadblocks years ago."

-- Bruno, Goodreads

"We found ourselves laughing out loud at the sometimes brilliant, funny, and definitely strange ramblings! ... we were completely entertained by it. In the end, I am happy that I received this book and would recommend it to a select group of people. Fun night!"

-- Marie, Goodreads

" ... Probably the strangest book I have ever read. Don't get me wrong though, that is a very good thing! The writing style is so unique; I flew through it! I highly recommend it ... don't expect a "normal" book, because it is far from it! ..."

-- Amanda, Goodreads

"This is one imagination you can't fuck with ... surrealistic, dark humor ... disturbing events ... There technically is no plot and that did not bother me ... Overall its a very interesting read for a traveling mind."

-- Donald, Goodreads

"When I squinted hard enough I could make out arguments about religion, the Middle East, the environment, capitalism, racism, homophobia, feminism, and much more ... It was certainly a different experience."

-- Nikki, Goodreads

"Different. Quirky. Weird. Funky. Strange. Funny. Odd. Bizarre. Choice. Out of my comfort zone for reading ... glad for the experience ... it's good to walk on the wild side once in a while. I'd read it again."

-- [Yet Another] Susan, Goodreads

"Like a Greek or Roman God looking down on Earth and chuckling at what humanity is up to ... A light read. A quick read. A conundrum ... Entertaining ... a shotgun approach to stories and subjects."

-- Fred, Goodreads

"Definitely a weird book, but there's something to it. It's funny. It's kind of like The Rocky Horror Show; at first you're weirded out but then you get the hang of it and it makes you laugh."

-- Sam, Goodreads

"This is for the reader who can let go and be pulled into where [the author] takes you. Read some passages out loud and read some in a darkened room with a torch ..."

-- Patricia, Goodreads

"This book was a simple masterpiece! Took a while to get into it but once I did, it has quickly become one of my favorites! Good job, Mr. Bird!! :)"

-- Jessica, Goodreads

"... Very very weird. A timely cultural satire a la 'Naked Lunch'. Overall I liked it and ... I think that the author might be insane."

-- Tasha, Goodreads

"... Entertaining ... loud and over the top ... filled with thoughts that everyone has had but few are willing to admit."

-- (Another) Nathan, Goodreads

"Let me say, this book has balls. Huge, testosterone filled nuts."

-- Johnathan, Goodreads

"Chilling - Mesmerizing - Essential reading!"

-- Daryl, Goodreads

"Cutting, insightful and funny".

-- Viveca, Goodreads

"This book is a complete joke."

-- Glenn, Goodreads

"Mid-America punk."

-- Alan, Goodreads