Sunday, September 8, 2013

The Missing Link

I have not told the guys at ABftS I was writing this.  If they read it, they may say I'm way off.  So guys and everyone, this is just my thoughts.

When I read The Missing Link I had not read any reviews at amazon.com.  I like A Beer for the Shower so I bought their book and read it.  When I thought about writing this blog about it, I looked up the reviews at amazon.  Several of the reviews talked about an updated Alice in Wonderland.  I don't know about all that.  Here's my take.

I usually do not like fantasy mixed with reality - at all.  I want a story to be all reality or all fantasy.  You might argue The Missing Link is just fantasy in the way Superman or Batman is.  Not for me.

I was dropped into a real world that was quickly descending into chaos.  Civilization was cracking as quickly as a chef can crack a dozen eggs.  The computer guy was going nuts because the internet was down and everyone else in the office wanted him to fix it - fast.  Especially the pretty young thing who had a thing for pornography.  Some of the descriptions here turned me off a bit but it did serve to reinforce the idea that this was reality.  Outside the building other things were happening fast and furious and part of that came crashing into the building as the cool, bad ass, level headed security guard was on his watch.

Then the reason for all the havoc became apparent.  The goblins showed up!  Folks I have "fought" a lot of monsters in RP online games.  Those people go to a lot of trouble creating ugly and scary things for people to hate and fight.  They do an admirable job but they have nothing on these authors.  The goblins come to life immediately and begin chomping with their sharp little teeth and gulping down anything internet related.

Reality to fantasy.  The authors did a fine job with this.  The transition is seamless.  The computer guy is true to life.  I can't say that is completely true of the security guard.  I couldn't really buy into a bad ass guy named Mickey with a billie club named Gladys.  But it is funny.

The action is non stop.  It is not long before you are introduced to a group of homeless people who are extraordinary individuals and one them has an extraordinary dog.  The most impressive of this group is a female McGyver gifted in the art of making whiskey and weapons.

Soon you are introduced to the computer guy's girlfriend who is a gamer.  Unlike many of us who've played games and imagined we were in that world, Molly's dream comes true.  There is an old saying, "be careful of what you wish for, you might just get it."  I don't know if Molly ever wished to be in a fantasy world but she was sucked into this one.  And it was awful!

She began being accosted by various creatures and once again the authors shine.  For me the most memorable of the least memorable group were the bird guys.  Bawk!  "We'll just need your credit card number."

Twiddledum and Twiddledee show up and become Molly's "friends" but they're a lot like some of the "friends" you get on the internet.  The difference is these guys are amusing.  Sir McAffery showed up and did his thing.  He will always be George Bush in my mind.

I can't really talk about the type of humor in the book.  That has never interested me.  If something is funny I don't care what type humor it is.  Also profanity doesn't really bother me.  For me the book was funny, it told a good story and it is very easy to read.  Twiddledum loves this.

16 comments:

ADRIAN said...

David, It sounds as if it is well worth a read. I'm a little wary of your recommendations since you started me down the tortuous path of Blendering. The way I use it it ought to be re christened Blunder.

troutbirder said...

Well reality would have quickly intruded up me if anybody was depending on the "computer guy" to solve a serious problem. Our technician in school was not only lazy but stupid. I relied on student volunteers in my classes to deal with computer crises....:)

Gorilla Bananas said...

I've never heard of this book. All I can say is that I'm glad it's not about a long lost species of ape that returns to terrorise humans.

Andrew Leon said...

It's a great book.
Did you see my review?

David Oliver said...

Adrian, I told you Blender is hell. You are just like my kids. They are smart too and they never listen to me.

David Oliver said...

TB, the last few years of my varied career, I worked in our computer section. I didn't have a degree. Everyone else there did. I can very well relate to what you are saying. After I retired I heard they turned the phones off. It wasn't because I was so smart, it was because I always tried to solve whatever problem came up. I'm glad I didn't ever have to fight goblins. :)

David Oliver said...

What a good idea for a book! You need to get started on that. Of course Roddy McDowall is no longer around to star in the movie but I bet you could convince one of your ape friends to star and it would be even better!

David Oliver said...

Andrew, you must have written the review before I began blogging. It should have occurred to me that you had reviewed it. I wasn't thinking. I would like to read your review so I'll see if I can find it.

Andrew Leon said...

Yeah, I reviewed it not long after it came out. It's on my blog and it's on Amazon (under StrangePegs). It's probably easire to find on Amazon, though, if you want to comment on it, you should find my post.

David Oliver said...

That "search" box you have on your site is handy. I typed in "link" and The Missing Link was the first item on the list. You did a good job reviewing the book. I especially like the part about the social commentary and the example.

Andrew Leon said...

Thank you much. If you want to do me a favor, you can pop over to Amazon and click the "yes" on the "was this review helpful to you."

David Oliver said...

Will do.

A Beer for the Shower said...

Hey, you're right, we did have no idea you were posting this! We're both very glad to hear that you read it and enjoyed it. This book is definitely not for everyone, and you're right, it can be a little off-putting with certain things. But we both agreed that it showed the harsh reality of the Internet, which helped convey the message that while the Internet can be a useful place to learn new things or meet new friends (like yourself), it can also be a time-sucking cesspool of terrible things. It's a balance, but ultimately we can't force ourselves to rely on it.

Thank you, truly, not just for reading it but for posting about it! This really made my day!

David Oliver said...

When I can't be interesting or funny (which is way too often), I resort to honesty. Your book is good and your blog is good. You guys have made me laugh often and made me think. That would be reason enough to write the review but you've also often left positive comments here. So yeah, I think I've got new friends too and I was just trying to be supportive.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

Those two are geniuses. I read one of Bryan's books, and I plan to read more by them. Thanks for the thorough review.

xoRobyn

David Oliver said...

I might have argued about the genius part until I saw the home made air conditioner they built. That showed how creative they are so they are certainly geniuses when it comes to creativity. They are very good writers as well and so are you. Thanks for stopping by and making me feel good about my own writing.

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