A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Some of the sci-fi elements are comic book–y and the humor is as juvenile as ever, but the book more than makes up for any shortcomings with its Technicolor tomorrowland, mischievous humor, and frenetic action sequences.Īre we not men? We are-well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z (2006).Ī zombie apocalypse is one thing. “And you put your head down and plow forward anyway and if you die, you die.

Meanwhile, Zoey's lack of enthusiasm is irksome to Will Blackwater, her escort. “This whole city is a butt that farts horror.” The enhanced bad guys are all broadcasting to the fictional “Blink” network, a kind of POV live stream that lends itself well to the insane supervillain monologues that pepper the book. “I want no part of this nonsense,” Zoey says. Arthur was blown up by a rival arms dealer, so his gang, the Suits of the title, are under instruction to fetch Zoey, who holds the key to retrieving his fortune, not to mention his violent revenge. It turns out that Zoey’s father was Arthur Livingston, the founder of a utopian city geared toward criminals and the superrich called Tabula Ra$a, located out in the high desert. It doesn’t take long for Wong to offer lots of clues that this is the near future, one in which the chasm between the rich and the poor has reached cartoonish proportions.

Our hero(ine) is Zoey Ashe, a self-identified “trailer troll” from rural Colorado whose single mother shills drinks in a zombie-themed bar. Here the author strays from his previous horror adventures to craft a sci-fi comedy-thriller full of ray guns, sentient programs, and cybernetically enhanced psychotic killers. We’re in for another profane and funny roller-coaster ride from Wong ( This Book is Full of Spiders, 2012, etc.)-better known as the playful pseudonym of Cracked's Jason Pargin. A young woman who believes her father dead enters a cyberpunk theme park where everyone is trying to kill her for a secret she doesn’t even know she has.Īll right, grab some popcorn and strap in.

Future violence and fancy suits