Take a photo of a barcode or cover
2.43 AVERAGE
2.43 AVERAGE
this book is what would happen if j.d salinger tried to write “on the road” — i feel i would have enjoyed it more if it read as if kerouac wrote “catcher in the rye”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol
Drags a little in spots, but great plot twists and sharp observational humor throughout.
Review originally published at: https://lomeraniel.com/book-review-the-last-bad-job-by-colin-dodds/
A young reporter is sent to a compound in New Mexico with the assignment of his life: writing about a cult ready for the apocalypse, and sharing the space with this group of people, who are planning how to kill themselves to save themselves before the end. I expected the book to circle around the compound and show how people’s beliefs crashed with the reporter’s. I was ready for something weird and unique, but the story soon derailed, and the book was not about a reporter living with a bunch of crazy people, but about his personal madness, where semi-lucid moments and vivid dreams were interwoven to the point that it was difficult to know what was real.
I am not going to reveal more of the story to avoid spoilers, but let me tell you that this came out much differently than expected. Worse? I am not sure, maybe just different. I did not mind the drugs or the sex, but I was quite bothered but how women were portrayed in the book. It is not only that most characters, and definitely the main ones, were male, but the female ones were just mere pawns or an accessory to the story. They were victims without a pinch of self-esteem, to be used by the male characters and by Dodds to show the degeneration of not only society but also the male characters’ in the book. The only female characters were a victim of the cult, a dishonored prostitute, and a maid.
The plot felt a bit disjointed, but it is something that I was expecting due to the nature of the story. It is something that I do not mind if it is done well. I found the ending a bit anticlimactic, but the part just before was sort of original and unexpected. It was just difficult to decide if the truth was something to be believed or not. I have the feeling that there were three or four stories in this book, and this was, by far, the most interesting. I wish this part was better explored and the book had focused on it.
Charles Allin Cromer’s narration was okay. It is clear that he does not have many audiobooks under his belt, as there were some things that could have been polished, like his intonation and the end of many sentences, and some strange pauses or lack thereof throughout the narration. There were some swallowing noises that were lightly audible. His narration speed was a bit higher than average. This did not bother me but I just wanted to mention it.
This was an okay book. It was entertaining and weird and original. I just wish it was less misogynist, and this is why I don’t recommend it.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
A young reporter is sent to a compound in New Mexico with the assignment of his life: writing about a cult ready for the apocalypse, and sharing the space with this group of people, who are planning how to kill themselves to save themselves before the end. I expected the book to circle around the compound and show how people’s beliefs crashed with the reporter’s. I was ready for something weird and unique, but the story soon derailed, and the book was not about a reporter living with a bunch of crazy people, but about his personal madness, where semi-lucid moments and vivid dreams were interwoven to the point that it was difficult to know what was real.
I am not going to reveal more of the story to avoid spoilers, but let me tell you that this came out much differently than expected. Worse? I am not sure, maybe just different. I did not mind the drugs or the sex, but I was quite bothered but how women were portrayed in the book. It is not only that most characters, and definitely the main ones, were male, but the female ones were just mere pawns or an accessory to the story. They were victims without a pinch of self-esteem, to be used by the male characters and by Dodds to show the degeneration of not only society but also the male characters’ in the book. The only female characters were a victim of the cult, a dishonored prostitute, and a maid.
The plot felt a bit disjointed, but it is something that I was expecting due to the nature of the story. It is something that I do not mind if it is done well. I found the ending a bit anticlimactic, but the part just before was sort of original and unexpected. It was just difficult to decide if the truth was something to be believed or not. I have the feeling that there were three or four stories in this book, and this was, by far, the most interesting. I wish this part was better explored and the book had focused on it.
Charles Allin Cromer’s narration was okay. It is clear that he does not have many audiobooks under his belt, as there were some things that could have been polished, like his intonation and the end of many sentences, and some strange pauses or lack thereof throughout the narration. There were some swallowing noises that were lightly audible. His narration speed was a bit higher than average. This did not bother me but I just wanted to mention it.
This was an okay book. It was entertaining and weird and original. I just wish it was less misogynist, and this is why I don’t recommend it.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
2.5/5
This came across as 3 or 4 short stories that were written, chopped up, mixed and then pieced together. It wasn't bad, but it seemed very disjointed. The audiobook narrator was very good.
*I received a free audiobook copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This came across as 3 or 4 short stories that were written, chopped up, mixed and then pieced together. It wasn't bad, but it seemed very disjointed. The audiobook narrator was very good.
*I received a free audiobook copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Crazy. Good.
This was a really interesting take on an apocalypse novel. I definitely wasn't expecting it. The humor in it was great, and this author's style actually reminds me of my favorite author. Overall, I thought it was pretty great.
This was a really interesting take on an apocalypse novel. I definitely wasn't expecting it. The humor in it was great, and this author's style actually reminds me of my favorite author. Overall, I thought it was pretty great.
**SOME SPOILERS**
The ebook was well-written, but not well edited - especially toward the end. Sadly, that seems to be the case with a lot of ebooks. Typos everywhere, words missing. Very frustrating.
Technicalities aside, I liked this novel, but also found it frustrating. The main character is not particularly sympathetic, but not an anti-hero, really. He's just a guy, who does some things. Some of them good. A lot of them not so good. Most of them (as he admits) stupid.
I'm having trouble being articulate about why I didn't love this novel. There was a spark missing, I guess. The laziest man alive survives the Apocalypse. Not really sure how. Just does. It just didn't all connect, for me.
The ebook was well-written, but not well edited - especially toward the end. Sadly, that seems to be the case with a lot of ebooks. Typos everywhere, words missing. Very frustrating.
Technicalities aside, I liked this novel, but also found it frustrating. The main character is not particularly sympathetic, but not an anti-hero, really. He's just a guy, who does some things. Some of them good. A lot of them not so good. Most of them (as he admits) stupid.
I'm having trouble being articulate about why I didn't love this novel. There was a spark missing, I guess. The laziest man alive survives the Apocalypse. Not really sure how. Just does. It just didn't all connect, for me.
I don't really know what to say about this book, so I'll keep it short and simple. It reads like a story one of my patients who is high out of their mind would tell me. Regardless, it was an interesting ride.
This was a goodreads giveaway book.
This was a goodreads giveaway book.
This review was originally posted at http://www.marissavu.com/2014/01/the-last-bad-job-by-colin-dodds/
“For certain people and in certain times, self-control is a luxury, not a virtue. And I have never been rich enough to afford it consistently.”
The Last Bad Job is a dark, weird apocalyptic trip with profanity, paranoia, and comedy–a beautiful elemental mix.
The protagonist, who kinda oddly goes nameless for the whole book, is a detached, cynical journalist embedded in a suicide cult at a ranch in New Mexico. He’s hoping to get the scoop on a possible mass suicide and maybe win himself a Pulitzer.
The character is no sympathetic hero–he’s arrogant, manipulative, and a vulture of human tragedy–but he’s fascinating to read because he’s so self-aware of his flaws (and of other’s). Even though he’s prone to lying to other people, he attempts a blunt honesty in telling his story:
“I’d already begun rehearsing the sober, close-cropped sentences and pop culture references I’d use to express my phony anguish and righteous indignation over Dizzy’s Depraved Death Cult.”
Despite daydreaming about winning the Pulitzer, he spends most of his time with the cult making use of their liberal sex culture and waiting for ‘the jackasses’ to die instead of writing. The cult leader, Dizzy, is not fooled of fazed by him, and openly acknowledges his MO:
“You use death to sell newspapers and the newspapers use death to sell cars and shoes and watches. Beneath all your shallow protests about ‘helping people,’ or ‘saving people,’ death is just a currency to buy people’s attention. And so you want to protect the currency, like any businessman would.”
I read many books at once, but found myself constantly drawn back into this one. Colin Dodds has a talent for comic observation and rhetorical timing, and his protagonist’s views and philosophies on life are woven seamlessly into the narrative via internal and external dialogue, giving him a strong and distinctive voice.
Structurally, the novel is chaotic and weird, which might not be for everyone. I loved it’s unpredictability: not knowing where things were going helped me get through some of the sections where the protagonist isn’t really doing much at all except hiding out and waiting when he should be running. Every now and then, the lull is broken with an amazing WTF scene or new mystery to build up on the tension and make you question the narrator’s reliability, even as he tries to convince you he’s not hallucinating.
Most of the suspense comes from wondering what’s really going on and what information is missing, and the narrator’s doubts about his own sense of reality carry you through. The book is also filled with interesting secondary characters and beautifully strange and vivid interactions.
There were a couple of weak points: I almost didn’t get past the first chapter because it felt soft: the opening scene presents a large group of people on a boat, but they remain mostly out of focus, description-wise. Out of the two characters who are described in detail in the first chapter, one was not even present (the cult leader), so squishing his backstory in right at front felt a bit out of place.
Another of the opening characters came across as clichéd: a henchman type who throws a woman around, flexes his muscles, and then gets ruffled when she mocks his manhood. But the events were original and interesting enough to keep me going, and I’m glad I did because the writing just got stronger and stronger after that.
Some threads and coincidences were left hanging by the end, or at least weren’t tied up clearly enough for me to get them, but I definitely enjoyed trying. Besides, the ending was so weird and memorable I can easily forgive this.
I loved this book for many reasons: the detached but paranoid tone, the comedy and strong voice, the unpredictable turns and switchbacks, and the gonzo-style narrative. This is definitely a writer I want to read more from.
“This thing you call reality is just six billion completely insane people fucking each other with differing degrees of consent. And you really want back in?”
“For certain people and in certain times, self-control is a luxury, not a virtue. And I have never been rich enough to afford it consistently.”
The Last Bad Job is a dark, weird apocalyptic trip with profanity, paranoia, and comedy–a beautiful elemental mix.
The protagonist, who kinda oddly goes nameless for the whole book, is a detached, cynical journalist embedded in a suicide cult at a ranch in New Mexico. He’s hoping to get the scoop on a possible mass suicide and maybe win himself a Pulitzer.
The character is no sympathetic hero–he’s arrogant, manipulative, and a vulture of human tragedy–but he’s fascinating to read because he’s so self-aware of his flaws (and of other’s). Even though he’s prone to lying to other people, he attempts a blunt honesty in telling his story:
“I’d already begun rehearsing the sober, close-cropped sentences and pop culture references I’d use to express my phony anguish and righteous indignation over Dizzy’s Depraved Death Cult.”
Despite daydreaming about winning the Pulitzer, he spends most of his time with the cult making use of their liberal sex culture and waiting for ‘the jackasses’ to die instead of writing. The cult leader, Dizzy, is not fooled of fazed by him, and openly acknowledges his MO:
“You use death to sell newspapers and the newspapers use death to sell cars and shoes and watches. Beneath all your shallow protests about ‘helping people,’ or ‘saving people,’ death is just a currency to buy people’s attention. And so you want to protect the currency, like any businessman would.”
I read many books at once, but found myself constantly drawn back into this one. Colin Dodds has a talent for comic observation and rhetorical timing, and his protagonist’s views and philosophies on life are woven seamlessly into the narrative via internal and external dialogue, giving him a strong and distinctive voice.
Structurally, the novel is chaotic and weird, which might not be for everyone. I loved it’s unpredictability: not knowing where things were going helped me get through some of the sections where the protagonist isn’t really doing much at all except hiding out and waiting when he should be running. Every now and then, the lull is broken with an amazing WTF scene or new mystery to build up on the tension and make you question the narrator’s reliability, even as he tries to convince you he’s not hallucinating.
Most of the suspense comes from wondering what’s really going on and what information is missing, and the narrator’s doubts about his own sense of reality carry you through. The book is also filled with interesting secondary characters and beautifully strange and vivid interactions.
There were a couple of weak points: I almost didn’t get past the first chapter because it felt soft: the opening scene presents a large group of people on a boat, but they remain mostly out of focus, description-wise. Out of the two characters who are described in detail in the first chapter, one was not even present (the cult leader), so squishing his backstory in right at front felt a bit out of place.
Another of the opening characters came across as clichéd: a henchman type who throws a woman around, flexes his muscles, and then gets ruffled when she mocks his manhood. But the events were original and interesting enough to keep me going, and I’m glad I did because the writing just got stronger and stronger after that.
Some threads and coincidences were left hanging by the end, or at least weren’t tied up clearly enough for me to get them, but I definitely enjoyed trying. Besides, the ending was so weird and memorable I can easily forgive this.
I loved this book for many reasons: the detached but paranoid tone, the comedy and strong voice, the unpredictable turns and switchbacks, and the gonzo-style narrative. This is definitely a writer I want to read more from.
“This thing you call reality is just six billion completely insane people fucking each other with differing degrees of consent. And you really want back in?”
Ending of our world
Unique look at the apocalypse. The books most defining moment is the last chapter that lays out the main characters reasoning on the new world
Unique look at the apocalypse. The books most defining moment is the last chapter that lays out the main characters reasoning on the new world