The Adventures of Tom Stranger (Inter-dimensional Insurance Agent) by Larry Correia
I can summarize my experience with this book as such: it’s disposable, and put me to sleep.
The story has an interesting premise (popcorn space fantasy, but from an unusual perspective – insurance adjuster), but is full of writing cliches. One of the chapters is actually called “Tom’s 3pm Dimension Hopping Boss Fight”.
The author’s attempts at humor consistently fall flat, with swipes at everything from 50 Shades of Grey (and BDSM in general), president Barak Obama, Chico State University, Occupy Wall Street and gender studies (yikes). Needless to say the main character (and potentially the author) wear their influences (libertarian) on their sleeve.
The only saving grace is the vocal performance, which is quite spirited (even if the material on offer leaves a lot to be desired).
This book was free, and I’m still disappointed. You can easily pass on this one.
Check it out here.
The Mincing Mockingbird Guide to Troubled Birds by Matt Adrian
This book is a collection of acrylic paintings of birds accompanied by text superimposed over the image, a caption beneath the image, a short vignette, or a combination thereof.
Pros:
- The book contains a number of meme-worthy imagines that have made the rounds on the internet (e.g. the bird that would sell you to Satan for a single corn chip)
- The paintings are fine, I guess?
- The book can be completed very quickly, if that’s your jam.
Cons:
- The book is only about 60 pages long. The going rate for this book is $15 (for the hardcover), meaning the book costs $0.25 per page.
- There is a fair amount of punching down in the book, with everything from, “The week in Tijuana with Manuela the junkie lady who was really a man, was, in hindsight, a mistake,” to, “I sure wish I could get out of this huggin’ suit so I could fill my shoes full of applesauce.”
Conclusion:
Edgy meme-lords may enjoy this book, but most would be better off just looking at the pictures included in other reviews of this book. I was neither moved nor impressed by this work, and find it hard to recommend it to anyone (especially for the asking price).
Check it out here.
Here are some books you may enjoy, instead of these stinkers:
- One-Punch Man by ONE and Yusuke Murata
- The Adventure Zone Comics by the McElroy Family
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