Ziggy Two Step - Courier Extraordinaire

by Mark Goodwin

Who would ever have imagined that being a bicycle courier could be so exciting, dangerous and demanding? Ziggy Two Step is oblivious to most of what is happening around him even though he is often the cause of it. Follow Ziggy Two Step, courier extraordinaire, as he delivers urgent packages throughout Riverton.

24 pages, ebook

First published September 15, 2011

About the author

Try to give a book a chance to catch your interests. If it fail to do so after the 1st 3 chapters, time to move on to something else.

Reviews

[Cate (The Professional Fangirl) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Reading Good Books review.

Call it what ever you want — Murphy’s Law, coincidence, bad luck, being at the wrong place at the wrong time… trouble follows Ziggy Two Step wherever her goes.

Thomas Edward Haliburton aka Ziggy Two Step is a bike messenger in the small town on Riverton, Montana. Not two days into his new job, his town experiences accidents, crimes, even bombings. He had no idea what was causing these events. Nothing will stand in his delivery route and time. He was proud of himself because he was fast on wheels and on foot. “Ziggy Two Step is oblivious to most of what is happening around him even though he is often the cause of it.”

The cover is really nice. Very simple but nice. It was a fast read, 24 pages PDF. It wasn’t boring at all. The writing was okay; it started out good but somewhere in the middle, there were too many exclamation points and some formatting errors. There were a couple of cliches here and there as well. Nothing too distracting but still. The whole story was like Ziggy, fast, breathless, and at times, all over the place.

Rating: 3/5.

Recommendation: A very quick and fun read. If you have time to kill and you want an amusing pick-me-up, give this one a try.

[Sallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Edward Haliburton, known as Ziggy Two-Step is a funny simple character. Ziggy Two-Step is childlike in is his reactions to his environment. His lack of sophistication and screwed responses are both jaunting and quirky in a very good way.

Ziggy Two-Step is a simple single-minded bike messenger who zips, zings, speeds, bikes, rides and two-steps through a couple of days leaving mayhem in his wake. Ziggy Two-Step is completely unaware of the ramifications of his speedy deliveries. Car accidents, a bombing, a mugging and a jettisoned delivery of a live organ are just a few in a long line of misadventures caused by Ziggy Two-Step.

Mark Goodwin’s Ziggy Two Step - Courier Extraordinaire is an exhaustingly funny, quirky story that may leave your sides aching from laughter. The story propels the reader at a frantic pace. Mark Goodwin writes in a chirping non-stop, gallivanting manor that perfectly matches the movements of his protagonist. This is a witty, well written; slapstick read that you will enjoy so much you’ll want read it a second time to make sure you didn’t miss anything.

This story is suitable for tweens to adults. However, I suspect that adults will better recognize the dry wit and physical rough housing reminiscent of The Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy.

The cover art is adorable and perfectly matches the playful awkwardness of Ziggy Two-Step. Enjoy the ride!!

Reviewed by:
Sallie Lundy-Frommer
Author of Yesterday's Daughter

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick,fun read.
Being totally committed to the task at hand and yet being so blinded to how you are effecting everyone else's life around you. Welcome to Ziggy's life. Ziggy gets so wrapped up in his new job with its time constraints that he does not see everything else around him. That is what I liked about this book, he is so engrossed about "his work" that he leaves disasters in his wake and didn't even realize it. I found myself reading faster as Ziggy pedaled faster, making his rounds delivering his packages just waiting for the next catastrophe to occur. It's a small town story with a fast-paced story line. Good, quick read and many funny parts. I kinda felt sorry for Ziggy at the end when he was confronted for his actions. I thought they were a bit harsh on him but then perhaps we will have Ziggy On the Move. But I am not so sure I want to eat at Tony's Food Shack: "....everyone noticed the burgers tasted different. They were a little crunchier but better tasting." Why? Read the book, I don't like spoilers.


I will definitly read this again and I will remember it long after I have read the last page.

[Delphina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well written short story that sucks the reader in from the beginning. It is a fast paced story about Ziggy, a man who is just as fast paced. It was a quick and enjoyable read. The plot made some interesting twists and turns and I can see this being a great story listen to as well as to read. Who knew the life of a bicycle courier could be so interesting?

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The blurb didn’t really grab my attention, so I begrudgingly started reading this novella, expecting something mediocre and dull. Well, I was only somewhat disappointed. The story started out well enough and the first half was fun to read, but the rest of the story felt like crashing down from an adrenaline high. The last half of the story lost its momentum and left me with the impression that the author was either losing interest, or was unsure which direction to go with the conclusion. Thus the ending is especially disappointing.

Ziggy Two Step is an interesting and fairly likeable character, but rather one-dimensional. The trouble he obliviously gets into is quite hilarious. The basis of this short story is unique, and had it been a full-length novel, it easily would’ve had a bigger impact. But the author tried too hard to squeeze a multi-layered plot into a few pages, which resulted in underdeveloped characters, and a plot with so much potential, simply falling flat.

Overall, “Ziggy Two Step – Courier Extraordinaire” is a rather enjoyable read with lots of laugh-out-loud moments, and since it’s free for download, worth the thirty minutes it takes to read. It is, however, in serious need of more editing.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very short snippet that follows Ziggy Two Step over a couple of days. This is an unfortunately oblivious fellow that you want to shake and yell at to wake up. He is very self-absorbed and trying to be the best courier he can be and in so doing wreaks havoc wherever he goes. As mentioned this is a very short snippet and I do not think I could have taken much more, as by the end my frustration level was about to burst. It is funny in a sad way, but there are some chuckles to be had. There is also, what I perceived as a life lesson; be fast, be efficient, but never lose sight of what is around you or the consequences of your actions may have you knee deep in hot water. I picked this up as a free read from Smashwords.

[Kel (Faerie-bookworm) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quick, somewhat funny read.

[Brenda Seaberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't thrilled with this book. It had a few 'huh?' moments for me. It was okay, but I don't know that I would recommend it.

[Saravanapriyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't get the last part.. What's he trying to say?
Anyhow, the I love messenger stories.. This one's good and short.