carol. ’s review of Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits (Zoey Ashe, #1) > Likes and Comments
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Very interested to see your review.
Well, starting out negative in the violence-against-women-used-as-humor, but then positive because he manages to hit Douglas Adams level absurd, so we'll see. I think your review bumped it up, and my goal to clean up the TBR list.
decided to polish off my other books-in-waiting... and work. Hopefully will continue soon.
Leading contender for 2018's Year in Review, Category: "Best example of Dick-lit Even Though the Main Character is a Woman."
Nice. :)
So remove this from my to-read list. Got it.
Thank you so much for the review! I enjoy David Wong's articles but was wary on how it translates into fiction, so reading this and the John Dies at the End review makes me believe I should wait a little longer until I give them a chance (That category title tho. Great way to end the day, kudos).
"...there are literally only three women in the book and we know what all of their boobs look like."
Read the summary and thought, 'eh, probably not.' Your review made me laugh, but dropped it into the Definite Pass category.
Great review, Carol. I read "John Dies at the End", parts of it was fun but generally a bit of a mess. Some interesting ideas here, but no more David Wongs for me, unless you endorse it 😊
Christopher wrote: "So remove this from my to-read list. Got it."
It really didn't work for me, mainly because of the main character being female. It opened up problems in characterization that probably would have not been an issue if she was male. Go figure. But plenty of people liked it. I do like Wong's stuff on Cracked.com
Lara wrote: "Thank you so much for the review! I enjoy David Wong's articles but was wary on how it translates into fiction, so reading this and the John Dies at the End review makes me believe I should wait a ..."
Yes. Honestly, it reads like an upscale version of John Dies.
Samantha (AK) wrote: " Your review made me laugh, but dropped it int..."
Vivian wrote: "Love that category title."
Thank you, friends!
Apatt wrote: "Great review, Carol. I read "John Dies at the End", parts of it was fun but generally a bit of a mess. Some interesting ideas here, but no more David Wongs for me, unless you endorse it 😊"
Thank you, Apatt. Glad to know you concur with John Dies.
I endorse his article on Cracked.com linked to in my John Dies review :) It is brilliant.
Carol. wrote: "It really didn't work for me, mainly because of the main character being female. "
So far: The protagonist is incompetent.
Ten: And dumb.
Twelve: Seriously.
That's the portion of the review that killed me wanting to read it. Stupid protagonists are my special pet peeve.
She does the literary equivalent of going into the basement alone. Every. Damn. Time.
> Leading contender for 2018's Year in Review, Category: "Best example of Dick-lit Even Though the Main Character is a Woman."
Hee hee.
Carol, if you go to my Xref to the very entertaining Edward Lear review-essay by Adam Gopnik, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
--or skip straight to https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
-- you will see an amusing discussion of the Dong with the Luminous Nose, back before Dong meant Dick (or, closer to home, Peter). Or before Pussy meant, well.... ;-} I do like Gopnik's stuff. For that matter, his sister Allison is no slouch either, in the writing chops dept.
.Peter, I'm baffled."
?? You don't get Lear? You didn't LOVE the cartoon of Lear & his cat?
Carol, I'm baffled :-0
I put this in same category as Tarantino's movies--over the top, seedy and violent but with more humor. Agree with your point re Wong's portrayal of Zoey, more caricature than character. Also I think similar to women in Tarantino's flics. Wong is I think like Tarantino not for everyone. I loved FVFS but totally get why you didn't. Cheers!
Ah ha! No doubt, it is a Tarantino movie, in terms of violence, if not visuals. Tarantino, however, seems to have less poop-fart-etc related humor. I don't begrudge you liking it, but it became quite impossible for me. Had he done more with characters, perhaps.
"Leading contender for 2018's Year in Review, Category: "Best example of Dick-lit Even Though the Main Character is a Woman."
Dick-lit, LOL. I'll have to remember that.
Like the chapter-by chapter review concept - I'd do it myself but I'm too much of a "get sucked in to the book and forget to record my impressions" person. Probably could only manage it with bad books, and why would I read bad books?
>why would I read bad books?
I ask myself that, pretty regularly.....
OK, here's Joe Queenan:
"A book that is merely bad ...is a waste of time, while a genuinely
terrible book is a sheer delight."
Hmmm.
I think I'll go with Larry Niven here:
"It's a sin to waste the reader's time"
Yeah, Queenan's onto something. A terrible book is enjoyable because of the comedy value.
Elizabeth wrote: "Like the chapter-by chapter review concept - I'd do it myself but I'm too much of a "get sucked in to the book and forget to record my impressions" person. Probably could only manage it with bad bo..."
I did it retrospectively, when I was thinking about all my reactions to the book.
Peter wrote: ">why would I read bad books?
I ask myself that, pretty regularly.....
OK, here's Joe Queenan:
"A book that is merely bad ...is a waste of time, while a genuinely
terrible book is a sheer delight."..."
I'd have to agree with Queenan (if he's the person I think he is, I do enjoy his writing), because then I can do a terrible review. Witness Chasing Embers.
Honestly I thought Zoey being a woman was SUPER important to the plot, since the antagonist is spouting word-for-word MRA/Red-Pill propaganda. The protagonist needed to be the archetype of everything they hate (a woman who isn't conventionally attractive, and doesn't act in accordance with the way MRAs/Red-Pillers believe women should). Honestly, after realizing that, I was pretty okay with the amount of rape threats in the book too (because again, that's a regular go to in that community). Wong is definitely problematic in some areas, it kinda sketches me out a bit that he's a white man using an Asian pseudonym and his job at Cracked is basically to humanize the right wing. But he's written a lot of pretty deep analysis of MRAs and incels, and I thought this was a decent satirical take on it.
Kay, glad you liked it. I clearly disagree with your point of view. You shared your perspective. That's cool. May I also suggest you share it on your own review? Because that's another place to really get into what you believe and why.
That's too bad that you were okay with all the rape threats and such (I don't even know what MRA/Red-Pill propaganda refers too), because it suggests that it's still pretty culturally normalized, and I presume you are much younger than I am.
I also suspect you might be reading very different Wong articles than I do, because I don't think he's humanizing the right wing at all.
Expecting anything to be Douglas Adams level smart isnt very realistic, is it?
That said I'm very quickly losing my patience with this book, for many of the same reasons stated in your review.
Well, whether or not it is realistic, it remains my childhood standard for ability to mix zany with profound, digressive with plot, or at least in the first couple of books. I've run into a few others since, but no one does it quite like Adams.
At any rate, Wong seems to be aiming for it in his writing--and achieving, at least at first--so that's the comparison that occurred.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Don’t read Apathy and Other Small Victories.
This is spot on to how I felt about the book. 45% through i kept asking myself why am I still reading this? This feels like a chore.
That's never a good sign, Kristen. I know what you mean, though--sometimes my book OCD just has to know what happens. But that's when skimming is my friend.
Hilarious review! Chapter play-by-play could become a drinking game.
Excellent review, but there are definitely four women with speaking parts - a henchman's mother makes a key intervention at one point. I don't think we get a description of her boobs either, though I could be wrong.
You were right. This was painful. I winced many times. Happily the fourth John Dies at the End came out and it’s great.
I have not read this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading your review!
take a shot everytime somebody writes a "review" like this on here
you'll die of alcohol poisoning
Thank you, Ale! I had forgotten this one. :)
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Stephen
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Apr 02, 2018 04:44AM
Very interested to see your review.
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Well, starting out negative in the violence-against-women-used-as-humor, but then positive because he manages to hit Douglas Adams level absurd, so we'll see. I think your review bumped it up, and my goal to clean up the TBR list.
decided to polish off my other books-in-waiting... and work. Hopefully will continue soon.
Leading contender for 2018's Year in Review, Category: "Best example of Dick-lit Even Though the Main Character is a Woman."Nice. :)
So remove this from my to-read list. Got it.
Thank you so much for the review! I enjoy David Wong's articles but was wary on how it translates into fiction, so reading this and the John Dies at the End review makes me believe I should wait a little longer until I give them a chance (That category title tho. Great way to end the day, kudos).
"...there are literally only three women in the book and we know what all of their boobs look like."Read the summary and thought, 'eh, probably not.' Your review made me laugh, but dropped it into the Definite Pass category.
Great review, Carol. I read "John Dies at the End", parts of it was fun but generally a bit of a mess. Some interesting ideas here, but no more David Wongs for me, unless you endorse it 😊
Christopher wrote: "So remove this from my to-read list. Got it."It really didn't work for me, mainly because of the main character being female. It opened up problems in characterization that probably would have not been an issue if she was male. Go figure. But plenty of people liked it. I do like Wong's stuff on Cracked.com
Lara wrote: "Thank you so much for the review! I enjoy David Wong's articles but was wary on how it translates into fiction, so reading this and the John Dies at the End review makes me believe I should wait a ..."Yes. Honestly, it reads like an upscale version of John Dies.
Samantha (AK) wrote: " Your review made me laugh, but dropped it int..."Vivian wrote: "Love that category title."
Thank you, friends!
Apatt wrote: "Great review, Carol. I read "John Dies at the End", parts of it was fun but generally a bit of a mess. Some interesting ideas here, but no more David Wongs for me, unless you endorse it 😊"Thank you, Apatt. Glad to know you concur with John Dies.
I endorse his article on Cracked.com linked to in my John Dies review :) It is brilliant.
Carol. wrote: "It really didn't work for me, mainly because of the main character being female. "So far: The protagonist is incompetent.
Ten: And dumb.
Twelve: Seriously.
That's the portion of the review that killed me wanting to read it. Stupid protagonists are my special pet peeve.
She does the literary equivalent of going into the basement alone. Every. Damn. Time.
> Leading contender for 2018's Year in Review, Category: "Best example of Dick-lit Even Though the Main Character is a Woman."Hee hee.
Carol, if you go to my Xref to the very entertaining Edward Lear review-essay by Adam Gopnik, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...--or skip straight to https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
-- you will see an amusing discussion of the Dong with the Luminous Nose, back before Dong meant Dick (or, closer to home, Peter). Or before Pussy meant, well.... ;-} I do like Gopnik's stuff. For that matter, his sister Allison is no slouch either, in the writing chops dept.
.Peter, I'm baffled."?? You don't get Lear? You didn't LOVE the cartoon of Lear & his cat?
Carol, I'm baffled :-0
I put this in same category as Tarantino's movies--over the top, seedy and violent but with more humor. Agree with your point re Wong's portrayal of Zoey, more caricature than character. Also I think similar to women in Tarantino's flics. Wong is I think like Tarantino not for everyone. I loved FVFS but totally get why you didn't. Cheers!
Ah ha! No doubt, it is a Tarantino movie, in terms of violence, if not visuals. Tarantino, however, seems to have less poop-fart-etc related humor. I don't begrudge you liking it, but it became quite impossible for me. Had he done more with characters, perhaps.
"Leading contender for 2018's Year in Review, Category: "Best example of Dick-lit Even Though the Main Character is a Woman."Dick-lit, LOL. I'll have to remember that.
Like the chapter-by chapter review concept - I'd do it myself but I'm too much of a "get sucked in to the book and forget to record my impressions" person. Probably could only manage it with bad books, and why would I read bad books?
>why would I read bad books?I ask myself that, pretty regularly.....
OK, here's Joe Queenan:
"A book that is merely bad ...is a waste of time, while a genuinely
terrible book is a sheer delight."
Hmmm.
I think I'll go with Larry Niven here:
"It's a sin to waste the reader's time"
Yeah, Queenan's onto something. A terrible book is enjoyable because of the comedy value.
Elizabeth wrote: "Like the chapter-by chapter review concept - I'd do it myself but I'm too much of a "get sucked in to the book and forget to record my impressions" person. Probably could only manage it with bad bo..."I did it retrospectively, when I was thinking about all my reactions to the book.
Peter wrote: ">why would I read bad books?I ask myself that, pretty regularly.....
OK, here's Joe Queenan:
"A book that is merely bad ...is a waste of time, while a genuinely
terrible book is a sheer delight."..."
I'd have to agree with Queenan (if he's the person I think he is, I do enjoy his writing), because then I can do a terrible review. Witness Chasing Embers.
Honestly I thought Zoey being a woman was SUPER important to the plot, since the antagonist is spouting word-for-word MRA/Red-Pill propaganda. The protagonist needed to be the archetype of everything they hate (a woman who isn't conventionally attractive, and doesn't act in accordance with the way MRAs/Red-Pillers believe women should). Honestly, after realizing that, I was pretty okay with the amount of rape threats in the book too (because again, that's a regular go to in that community). Wong is definitely problematic in some areas, it kinda sketches me out a bit that he's a white man using an Asian pseudonym and his job at Cracked is basically to humanize the right wing. But he's written a lot of pretty deep analysis of MRAs and incels, and I thought this was a decent satirical take on it.
Kay, glad you liked it. I clearly disagree with your point of view. You shared your perspective. That's cool. May I also suggest you share it on your own review? Because that's another place to really get into what you believe and why. That's too bad that you were okay with all the rape threats and such (I don't even know what MRA/Red-Pill propaganda refers too), because it suggests that it's still pretty culturally normalized, and I presume you are much younger than I am.
I also suspect you might be reading very different Wong articles than I do, because I don't think he's humanizing the right wing at all.
Expecting anything to be Douglas Adams level smart isnt very realistic, is it?That said I'm very quickly losing my patience with this book, for many of the same reasons stated in your review.
Well, whether or not it is realistic, it remains my childhood standard for ability to mix zany with profound, digressive with plot, or at least in the first couple of books. I've run into a few others since, but no one does it quite like Adams.At any rate, Wong seems to be aiming for it in his writing--and achieving, at least at first--so that's the comparison that occurred.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Don’t read Apathy and Other Small Victories.
This is spot on to how I felt about the book. 45% through i kept asking myself why am I still reading this? This feels like a chore.
That's never a good sign, Kristen. I know what you mean, though--sometimes my book OCD just has to know what happens. But that's when skimming is my friend.
Hilarious review! Chapter play-by-play could become a drinking game.
Excellent review, but there are definitely four women with speaking parts - a henchman's mother makes a key intervention at one point. I don't think we get a description of her boobs either, though I could be wrong.
You were right. This was painful. I winced many times. Happily the fourth John Dies at the End came out and it’s great.
I have not read this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading your review!
take a shot everytime somebody writes a "review" like this on hereyou'll die of alcohol poisoning
Thank you, Ale! I had forgotten this one. :)
