Hard Science Fiction is a world that takes itself seriously while giving us a fantastical glimpse into a future that may come. In Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits, David Wong takes Hard Science Fiction and makes it part of a punch line. Sometimes it's a punch-line to a sophomoric joke to be honest. It proves my 'Life is a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Theory' yet again.
Some may remember David Wong from John Dies at the End , a very irreverent and hilarious comedy that breaks every rule of story telling, science fiction and sometimes even good taste. In Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits, David Wong goes for a completely different approach. Well, maybe not completely different. We still get treated to the edgy humor that made him famous only now the presentation is a bit different.
The setting being in the near future is not the most significant change. That would be, in my opinion, the shift to a mostly strong female lead character. I say mostly strong because she is not overly endowed with the grit or determination as we see with so many lead characters, gender not withstanding. Dirty Harry squinting while delivering the cleverest of one-liners or cheeky puns has become such an over done trope, I can practically write half the lines in my sleep. Instead of all that we have Zoey who escapes all of that by being believably human. In these days of superheroes and antiheroes, Zoey is a good example of the Un-hero. She has a cast of friends, enemies and associates that help her reach her ultimate destination but, much of her actions, reactions and inaction are hers and hers alone. Many of the real bad guys may come off as two dimensional but, this story seemed to be mainly Zoey's story and much was likely sacrificed to the that end. There may be some other spoilery explanations that I won't go into here (because they would be......)
Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits is a fast paced (moderately)hard science fiction with a sense of humor. It has very rough language, mature subject matter and intensely graphic violence all of which earns this one an R rating from me.
Some may remember David Wong from John Dies at the End , a very irreverent and hilarious comedy that breaks every rule of story telling, science fiction and sometimes even good taste. In Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits, David Wong goes for a completely different approach. Well, maybe not completely different. We still get treated to the edgy humor that made him famous only now the presentation is a bit different.
The setting being in the near future is not the most significant change. That would be, in my opinion, the shift to a mostly strong female lead character. I say mostly strong because she is not overly endowed with the grit or determination as we see with so many lead characters, gender not withstanding. Dirty Harry squinting while delivering the cleverest of one-liners or cheeky puns has become such an over done trope, I can practically write half the lines in my sleep. Instead of all that we have Zoey who escapes all of that by being believably human. In these days of superheroes and antiheroes, Zoey is a good example of the Un-hero. She has a cast of friends, enemies and associates that help her reach her ultimate destination but, much of her actions, reactions and inaction are hers and hers alone. Many of the real bad guys may come off as two dimensional but, this story seemed to be mainly Zoey's story and much was likely sacrificed to the that end. There may be some other spoilery explanations that I won't go into here (because they would be......)
Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits is a fast paced (moderately)hard science fiction with a sense of humor. It has very rough language, mature subject matter and intensely graphic violence all of which earns this one an R rating from me.
