Review: Shopocalypse

Shopocalypse by David Gullen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Speculative fiction
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: fans of speculative fiction
Trigger Warnings: murder, violence, torture

My Thoughts: This was a really strange book, and I ended up reading it much more slowly that I normally read books. There was just so much going on that I kept needing to stop and process for awhile. On the one hand you have the caper aspect of the story, which involves Novik and Josie (and Benny and Mr. Car and then Marytha) doing their best to crash the economy, which is currently being bolstered by the administration urging people to buy, buy, buy. Then there is a huge conspiracy/dystopian element from the US administration, doing their best to take over the world. There are aliens (or are there?), and the talking car, and crazy weird weapons.

This world is very different from our current world in a lot of ways. For instance, in this future, it is “cool” and sexy to be heavy. Morbidly obese women are the superstars of the day. The pop group Bariatric Babes, and Palfinger Crane's daughter, Ellen, are held up as icons. The global temperature is higher, which has led to many low-lying areas along the coasts, and small islands, being flooded. In response, the EU has gone green, and Canada has planted a lot of trees, as have people in the Amazon.

Some of the things I found quite funny, such as some of the crazy rants that Novik and Benny went on under the influence of the drug on the money. I had one particular one highlighted to share, but my Nook is not working properly, so I'm not able to copy it out. But there is some very funny stuff there. Mr. Car is also very funny, especially when he goes out on his own and we keep hearing the rumors from various blog and magazine articles.

The idea of the para-humans is very cool, although I don't know how realistic it would be. There would need to be significant changes made to various creatures to allow them speech, for example. But it was a cool idea and one I enjoyed.

The US government is scary in this book. The president is crazy, and has surrounded herself with more crazy people. Another scary thing is the Meeja technology, which as nearly as I can tell is basically an artificial reality system.

The characters are wonderful, all very well developed. If you like speculative fiction, especially with some great characters, and a plot well balanced between character development and action, check out this book. Very enjoyable.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer's Program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Novik and Josie have a lot of catching up to do. Two years he's been in jail; two years she's been waiting. They never want to be apart again. A stress-filled encounter with some "Old-fashioned Boys" at a chain eatery turns their best of intentions upside-down; they're now on the run and in possession of a super-hot sentient muscle car and over 190 million dollars, covered with a potent psychoactive powder. Welcome to the Shopocalypse.



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