Dave vs The Monsters: Emergence
(1 of 3?)
by John Birmingham
fantasy
copyright 2015
read in April 2018
rated 7/10: well worth reading
I have vague memories of watching one of the Evil Dead movies... this book brings back those memories.
"Dave" of the title is an ordinary guy. Well, ordinary in a drinking, drugging, whoring, unfaithful, failed-as-a-father sort of way. All sorts of rotten, in fact. Yet... hard to really dislike him.
And he fights with a magic axe. Which he calls... well... no, that would be a spoiler. But it sets the standard for the rest of the book: funny, irreverent, violent. And, strangely, caring.
Dave is rough, tough... and caring. He cares for his workmates. He cares for the people who fight with him. He cares about random dead people. He even hopes to avoid war with The Monsters.
The plot is straightforward. The bureaucracy -- not quite into politics -- is realistic. The characters are a bit more than two-dimensional, enough to be sympathetic but not enough to shatter the reader when they are killed.
When I saw the title I thought, This has to be a book for brainless escapism. With violence. And it is. It is brainless, violent escapism. And yet... it is very enjoyable. Because the characters are tough, loyal and -- deep down --- caring.
Not great literature. Well worth reading.
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
... Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
===
"Even if a million people repeat the same nonsense, it is still nonsense" … Anatole France (paraphrased)
===
No comments:
Post a Comment