PDF The Last Volunteer The Doomsayer Journeys Book 1 Audible Audio Edition Steve Wetherell C C Hogan Falstaff Books Books

Product details Audible Audiobook Listening Length 7 hours and 13 minutes Program Type Audiobook Version Unabridged Publisher Falstaff Books Audible.com Release Date March 7, 2019 Language English, English ASIN B07PJTMFQL

The Last Volunteer The Doomsayer Journeys Book 1 Audible Audio Edition Steve Wetherell C C Hogan Falstaff Books Books Reviews

• The only novel I've actually read rather than listened to on Audible in over a decade. I was far too amused my Steve Wetherell's antics on Authors and Dragons and his first audiobook "Shoot the Dead" not to take the time to go ahead and read The Last Volunteer.
• This my kind of humor. I’m reminded of Christopher Moore and Red Dwarf. I love the way the story bounces back and forth from past to present, from superman, Handen Strike to, well, not so super, Bip, who, despite his super deficiency, surprisingly lands on his feet.
  
  My first exposure to Wetherell was on Authors and Dragons. Yeah, every one of the authors would giggle at the word "exposure." *sigh* Funny group, so not surprised that this book was a hoot.
• Well written, with a different view of a hero...or two. crossing both fantasy and science fiction, in a mixed up world. A who's who of myths an legends. Great conversation between characters. I like it!
• Steve Wetherell presents an excellent yarn for the Comedic Science Fiction genre, a genre woefully underrepresented in the fictional field, except for a few standouts like Isaac Asimov's short stories filled with puns and, the giant whale in the field, Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
  
  The story satires gaming (both computer games and roleplaying), politics, criminal activity, education, the job market, weather, travel, and anything else which strikes Wetherell's fancy, while providing laugh-out-loud descriptions of people and places. Following our heroic hero Bip, and an anti-hero adventuring alien Hostility Advisor Haden, and a semi-sentient Massive Ball of Death, and the truly-sentient Answer to Everything, the Universal Theory, or just Ted to friends, and the rest of the erratic group of point-of-view characters, creates a kaleidoscope of improbabilities that become probable in their collective existence.
  
  As an editing note I am impressed with Wetherell's ability to blend three (or more) different timelines into a coherent narrative, using each of the POV characters to reveal more of the world/universe, develop characters, and drive the plot forward. All the while being funny.
• I gave this novel five stars. Why? If my wife has to ask me to stop reading because my laughing is disturbing her Candy Crush game. That's a good indication your book should earn five stars. THE LAST VOLUNTEER made me laugh, and kept me laughing.
  
  THE LAST VOLUNTEER is about reluctant heroes setting forth with one set of expectations, and stumbling into wildly unexpected outcomes. And that's pretty much what happens to the reader, too. Our hero, Bip, is a lovable loser trying to find what he's good at. We follow Bip's epic journey of self-discovery, which includes trying not to get eaten or setting himself on fire. At the end of this soul-wrenching journey, Bip has a startling insight...he really isn't good at anything. Not that any of that matters, he still has to save the world.
  
  The novel opened with a spaceship in distress, and I felt sure I had landed squarely in a sci-fi spoof. But Wetherell kept changing the rules on me. He wasn’t playing fair and staying in his genre box. In Volunteer, he takes a dash of science fiction, mashes it together with some fantasy tropes (which he mercilessly, and delightfully, abuses), and then mixes it together with designer jeans and some dryly hilarious British humor. His style echoes faintly of Douglas Adams, and will appeal to any Hitchhiker's or Python fan. However, Wetherell's voice and delivery are unique. I lived and breathed this kind of humor in my high school and college days, which brings me to my next point.
  
  If, by chance, your girlfriend laughs while reading this book, marry her.
  
  Don't pick up The Last Volunteer with any preconceived notions and don't try to guess where it’s going. You'll just fail. Simply find a nice, quiet place to read it (preferably far away from any Candy Crush activity) and go along for the ride. Along the way, watch out for the krakens, don't talk to the sea gulls, read the hieroglyphs before you drink, and, please, be nice to the harpies.
• I asked my husband how I could describe an author who is part "Douglas Adams, Robert Rankin, and part Jabberwocky. He looked me dead in the eye and said "Everybody who reads science fiction or fantasy that is even remotely funny compares the author to Douglas Adams". So there.
  
  He completely ignored my comparisons to Robert Rankin and Jabberwocky. I should have mentioned A Lee Martinez, but was afraid the sentence was too long. Steve Wetherell writes good science fiction/fantasy comedy. Does that work?
  
  I think my hubby is afraid of the Jabberwocky. And why is my biggest mirror suddenly cracking with cats hissing? Back into the Mirror, Jabberwocky, and unhand my beautiful calico.
  
  That's better. Here is some turkey you can eat. What do you mean, you have gone vegan? I want the cat's fur on the outside, please. Much better. See how kitty purrs when you do not harm her? Go ahead and eat my sunflowers. Then attack anyone who downvotes this review.
  
  Anyhow, sample lines from the book
  
  "It is called the Universal Theory, and once you get to know it, it is far friendlier than you might imagine. It prefers to be called Ted..."
  
  "Since the beginning of the planet's history, there had been an ever-increasing love of war. Nations had never been more content than when bombing the living hell out of other nations. Oodles of political time and money went inmto merely looking for excuses to have a war. War was good. Everyone knew where they stood with war. Even if it was usually in a bomb shelter."
  
  The series is addictive, and I found myself having to purchase the rest of the trilogy. Highly recommend giving this author a chance.
  
  *Note I was lucky enough to get a copy of this book as an ARC. However, I do my best to be honest, which may explain the Jabberwocky I just stuffed back in the mirror.