Bookish

 

Zoey Is Too Drunk for This Dystopia

by Jason Pargin

Pub Date: 31 Oct 2023

The creative gore here is perfect for Halloween reading. And it’s kind of a killer crime novel too.

You might not think from the opening pages that Zoey is going to become one of your favourite characters. But soon you will be rooting for her, and snickering at the snarky observations and quirky turns of phrase. You don’t have to read far before you realize that the author, being the former executive editor of cracked.com, has a wry and slightly demented sense of humor.

This futuristic supermall-slash-Vegas version of Utah has hypercharged crooked capitalism at its core, and thanks to her dead father, Zoey owns a large chunk of it. Anytime there’s wealth derived from shady/crooked origins, there are enemies. And Zoey's are a special breed of determined/crazy.

This book is a sequel to Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick (2020), which followed Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits. Those two were written by the same author under the name David Wong.

Apart from a tendency of the various characters to digress into brief polemics about the inevitability of corruption and predictably existentialist views of modern society, the book is entertaining for anyone who loves wordplay and unexpected situational comedy. It will appeal to mystery lovers who like their humour zany, and to many people who loved Mad Magazine and Cracked in their youth. And possibly to anyone who enjoys The Murderbot Diaries.

 

You don’t need to have read the previous two books in order to enjoy this one, but you will probably want to go back after you’ve lived in Zoe‘s world for this extremely eccentric adventure. 

 

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