dark comedy

Book Review: Dreamsphere: The Day We Stopped Dreaming by Samson Tonauac

Categories Cyberpunk, dark comedy, Humor, Samson Tonauac, Science-FictionLeave a Comment on Book Review: Dreamsphere: The Day We Stopped Dreaming by Samson Tonauac

Author: Samson Tonauac
Release Date: 23rd September 2019
Genre: Cyberpunk, Sci-fi, Dark Humour
Series: 
Format: E-book
Pages: 143
Publisher: Moonshine Cove Publishing
Blurb:

Dreamsphere is a profoundly philosophic, chaotic, nihilistic story without heroes, plot, climax, or purpose; but with cats, flying pigs and meaning. An epic cyberpunk/science fiction tale about nothing. Life has meaning … does it not?

REVIEW

★★★

Dreamsphere: The Day We Stopped Dreaming by Samson Tonauac is a futuristic sci-fi cyberpunk enlaced with dark humour. The writing is raw and direct and mostly I didn’t mind it as it gave a unique edge to the story. The plot structure was okay and the story was good and in spite of being presented in fragments and a lot of head-hopping, I found it engaging.

The characters were obviously written with the intent of not being loved, but, as a writer myself, I think that it could have been done in a better way. Creating unlikable characters is one of the lesser-used tropes, but done well, it makes the story very interesting, but in this book, I felt the characters lacked personality altogether and that was a major problem for me.

Overall, I’d say it was an entertaining read and would recommend it to die-hard cyberpunk and sci-fi fans.

You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon

 

Book Review: Spencer’s Risk by Andy Greenhalgh

Categories Andy Greenhalgh, Comedy, Contemporary Fiction, dark comedyLeave a Comment on Book Review: Spencer’s Risk by Andy Greenhalgh
Author: Andy Greenhalgh
Release Date: 17th April 2018
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Dark Comedy
Series:
Edition: e-book
Pages: 185
Publisher: –
Blurb:
SPENCER’S RISK is a dark comic novel. Burnt out and broke, university Drama lecturer Spencer Leyton is a compulsive gambler, estranged from his wife and children and driving his career over a cliff. His some-time friend Justin invites him to a high-stakes poker game. (‘Justin could sell snow to the Eskimos – literally. For some months he had sold cocaine to the Inuit community in Copenhagen’.) The game ends with Spencer owing £10,000 to Paula Malone, the head of a criminal gang.
At work, Spencer is sexually obsessed with a wealthy and glamourous student called Eva. She commits plagiarism,
an offence usually punished by expulsion, but bribes him with £3000 to keep quiet about it. Spencer has inside information about a football game, so he bets the £3000 on it, and that is when things really start to go wrong…
Eva demands the leading role in the College Showcase Production, with disastrous results. (‘Eva was not wearing the costume she had worn in the Dress Rehearsal. Eva was wearing a sporran. And very little else’)
Paula’s deadline runs out. It looks like curtains for Spencer Leyton…

Review

★★★★

Spencer’s Risk by Andy Greenhalgh is a delightful and enjoyable new contemporary read with lots of dark humour highlighted by sarcastic undertones.

It was a very enjoyable book and I had a good time reading it. The characterization was good which was a big plus given the entire story heavily depended on the main protagonist, Spencer. He was very believable and pretty relatable. Even though he landed up in extreme situations, I was able to relate to his worries and dilemmas and hence, was able to connect to him easily.

The writing was clean and good and the author’s clever sense of humour shone through the entire book nicely. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a light and refreshing contemporary book.

this review is also posted on Goodreads and Amazon