Nobody Gets The Girl by James Maxey
Publisher: Phobos, 2003
Genre: Science Fiction
Sub-genre: Contemporary
Rating: 2 pints of blood
Since this is a novel about superheroes, with the subtitle "A Comic Book Novel", the cover art is perfectly suited to the story. Really, this is a book that's only going to appeal to you if you're a fan of superheroes and comic books, so it's pretty much perfect for attracting the attention of its target audience. And hey, showing a comic book chick as someone powerful and in charge of her situation is always a plus considering how often the actual comics manage to fail at that.
So basically I picked this one up because COMIC BOOK HEROES. I didn't particularly have any other expectations from it. But since that's pretty much how it's being marketed, well, I suspect there are many people picking up this book who aren't drawn in for that same reason.
Warning: there are minor spoilers behind the cut. I'm not going to ruin the big plot twist, but in order to really talk about why I feel the way I do about this book, I need to get into more detail than I normally would.
Richard Rogers is dissatisfied with his mediocre, middle-class life, craving a bit of excitement and passion in a world where he feels like a drone. One morning he wakes up in someone else's house, and is horribly embarrassed until he realizes that no, this is the same house he and his wife have always shared, it's just being lived in by other people, who can neither see or hear him.
At first Richard thinks he must have died, until a strange man shows up to inform him he can't be dead because he's never existed. The stranger, who introduces himself as Dr Knowbokov, claims to have a time machine, which he used and accidently altered history just enough so that Richard was never born. In spite of Richard's urgings, Knowbokov can't just return things to the way they were; now there are other lives involved, ones that would no longer exist if the timeline Richard remembers was restored. Knowbokov tells Richard only people who believe he exists are able to see him, and that being invisible is really a wonderful gift. Richard is not exactly convinced, but he allows the doctor to take him to Knowbokov headquarters.
While there, Richard discovers Knowbokov is a genius and a powerful telepath. His two daughters, Amelia and Sarah, are figures he's seen countless times on the tv: they're superheroes, Rail Blade and the Thrill, as gifted in their own ways as their father. Knowbokov is on a mission to "fix" the world, and he invites Richard to work with him and his daughters. Richard takes the name Nobody and joins, as much because he's not sure what else to do with himself as any other reason. The more he sees of Knowbokov's work, though, the more he questions whether or not he's fighting on the right side.
This isn't just a novelization of something perceived as a comic book. It's very purposefully written as a novel, without the reliance on visual cues something transferred from another medium tends to have. It's got a strong start, with an interesting premise, thought-provoking ethical questions, and some great, sympathetic moments from a hero who's suddenly thrown into a world that makes no sense to him.
So why the low rating? Well, unfortunately the second half the book didn't live up to the first half. After a careful buildup of both situation and character, the book stopped trying to show me things and fell back on telling, which led to a number of moments where I had to set the book down to say "wait... wut?" There's a lot of time devoted to showing the relationship between Richard and Sarah, and while it doesn't have to be true love, there's a strong friendship and sex between then, and Richard refers to her more than once as his girlfriend. One chapter later he's sleeping with her supposedly protective older sister, who he's barely spoken to, and professing his love for her. Say it with me now: "wait... wut?" (There are other things that really needed to be fleshed out more for me to be able to accept them, but that was probably the biggest and the most easily explained.)
The last couple of chapters peter out into aimless wanderings, which makes for a rather forgettable resolution to a book that started out with such promise. And that kind of thwarted promise frustrates me, so if you don't mind, I'm going to be over there growling about what might have been.
Nobody Gets The Girl is available in trade paperback
.
Genre: Science Fiction
Sub-genre: Contemporary
Rating: 2 pints of blood
Since this is a novel about superheroes, with the subtitle "A Comic Book Novel", the cover art is perfectly suited to the story. Really, this is a book that's only going to appeal to you if you're a fan of superheroes and comic books, so it's pretty much perfect for attracting the attention of its target audience. And hey, showing a comic book chick as someone powerful and in charge of her situation is always a plus considering how often the actual comics manage to fail at that.
So basically I picked this one up because COMIC BOOK HEROES. I didn't particularly have any other expectations from it. But since that's pretty much how it's being marketed, well, I suspect there are many people picking up this book who aren't drawn in for that same reason.
Warning: there are minor spoilers behind the cut. I'm not going to ruin the big plot twist, but in order to really talk about why I feel the way I do about this book, I need to get into more detail than I normally would.
Richard Rogers is dissatisfied with his mediocre, middle-class life, craving a bit of excitement and passion in a world where he feels like a drone. One morning he wakes up in someone else's house, and is horribly embarrassed until he realizes that no, this is the same house he and his wife have always shared, it's just being lived in by other people, who can neither see or hear him.
At first Richard thinks he must have died, until a strange man shows up to inform him he can't be dead because he's never existed. The stranger, who introduces himself as Dr Knowbokov, claims to have a time machine, which he used and accidently altered history just enough so that Richard was never born. In spite of Richard's urgings, Knowbokov can't just return things to the way they were; now there are other lives involved, ones that would no longer exist if the timeline Richard remembers was restored. Knowbokov tells Richard only people who believe he exists are able to see him, and that being invisible is really a wonderful gift. Richard is not exactly convinced, but he allows the doctor to take him to Knowbokov headquarters.
While there, Richard discovers Knowbokov is a genius and a powerful telepath. His two daughters, Amelia and Sarah, are figures he's seen countless times on the tv: they're superheroes, Rail Blade and the Thrill, as gifted in their own ways as their father. Knowbokov is on a mission to "fix" the world, and he invites Richard to work with him and his daughters. Richard takes the name Nobody and joins, as much because he's not sure what else to do with himself as any other reason. The more he sees of Knowbokov's work, though, the more he questions whether or not he's fighting on the right side.
This isn't just a novelization of something perceived as a comic book. It's very purposefully written as a novel, without the reliance on visual cues something transferred from another medium tends to have. It's got a strong start, with an interesting premise, thought-provoking ethical questions, and some great, sympathetic moments from a hero who's suddenly thrown into a world that makes no sense to him.
So why the low rating? Well, unfortunately the second half the book didn't live up to the first half. After a careful buildup of both situation and character, the book stopped trying to show me things and fell back on telling, which led to a number of moments where I had to set the book down to say "wait... wut?" There's a lot of time devoted to showing the relationship between Richard and Sarah, and while it doesn't have to be true love, there's a strong friendship and sex between then, and Richard refers to her more than once as his girlfriend. One chapter later he's sleeping with her supposedly protective older sister, who he's barely spoken to, and professing his love for her. Say it with me now: "wait... wut?" (There are other things that really needed to be fleshed out more for me to be able to accept them, but that was probably the biggest and the most easily explained.)
The last couple of chapters peter out into aimless wanderings, which makes for a rather forgettable resolution to a book that started out with such promise. And that kind of thwarted promise frustrates me, so if you don't mind, I'm going to be over there growling about what might have been.
Nobody Gets The Girl is available in trade paperback
.