This is SRS BSNS.

Come on, Jordan. Read the stupid book already!

Finally!

So last night I finished the book. I still hate it. In fact, I hate it more. It's nice that it's over, but dang. I wasted part of my life on this piece of crap. I find it very hard to articulate exactly why I despise it so much, which is quite unusual for me. Usually I can easily analyze material and my reactions, and I tend to go off on extremely detailed rants about what I don't like and why. But in this case... I honestly don't know. I think I'm just overwhelmed by the sheer brain-bludgeoning awful of it all.

I'm not sure if I'm ready for a new book club book, you guys.

It Is Finished

And none too soon.

Seriously, what the hell.

And now I'm up to Part Three, GOREME. This whole thing is completely bewildering. It's like listening to someone ramble about their hallucination or some such. And Ned just keeps getting more and more repulsive. I mean, he wears Hawaiian shirts and plaid pants, he likes his stinky sweat smell, and he keeps thinking about those two whores, the "jellyfat" one, and the one with "black fuzz" around her nipples. Thanks a lot, Jack Dann.

Why is this book still going.

So I finally reached Part 2, NEW YORK. I still don't understand why things are happening, but I really couldn't care less.

And hold on. Junction is the future? And a dream? A mass dream?? "Every night they remember the future." (p.114) Maybe that's supposed to sound deep or mindblowing, but seriously - no. Same page: "But now that physical laws in the past are gradually becoming more indeterminate, psi has become more consistent." What the heck. None of this makes any sense.

I just want this dumb thing to end.

Now he's in New York

I don't mind the book much anymore. Perhaps I've just so come to terms with it's terribleness that it no longer registers with me.

What annoys me is that the few things that I found intriguing, the idea of hell outside their town, the warping of space, etc, is now explained and totally stupid.

On the plus side, things suck for Ned! So that' alright. He is still no more likable than he was. If nothing else, he is less so because he dresses in colorful clothing and refuses to bathe. Even the zombie ninjas are a huge let down.
It's like, "come on!"

Also: whores

I read up to page 84 last night. I'm really not having a strong emotional reaction to it either way. I don't think it's boring; Junction is a pretty interesting town (and the way religion has evolved on the edge of hell is intriguing). Ned's an unlikeable asshole, though. I'm really hoping Ned and the bird-beast from hell that is currently residing in his brain become friends.

Jack Dann seems to be taking his sweet time setting up Junction, which is odd, seeing as Ned's New York-bound (according to the back cover). We're getting the social, political, geographical, and religious background for a town we're not even going to be spending much more time in. I guess it's so we get a better understanding of why Ned is such a dirtbag?

Also: whores. I cannot believe how many times this book mentions whores. It's almost comical; at certain points it seems like Dann just hasn't reached his whore-quota for the page and haphazardly tosses them in at the end of unsuspecting paragraphs.