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Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong

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This review was originally written in January of 2016. Since I reviewed the sequel on here, I figured I should copy over my review of this novel as well.

Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong (aka Jason Pargin) is a John Scalzi novel that Scalzi hadn’t gotten the chance to write, or at least that’s what it feels like while reading it.
The only thing anyone could use to distinguish this novel from one written by the author of The Android’s Dream and Redshirts would be the requisite dick jokes that certify it as being a David Wong book. It isn’t meant to be derogatory when I compare Wong’s writing and narrative in this novel to John Scalzi, because I consider Scalzi to be one of the most imaginative and versatile authors in the science fiction genre…though he seems to have some competition in Wong.
Wry humor, ridiculous action sequences, satire and absurdity, and implausible science in equal measure are combined to create a fascinating and entertaining story…which should come as no surprise for anyone who read John Dies At the End and This Book Is Full of Spiders.

Zoey Punches the Future In the Dick by David Wong

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With Zoey Punches the Future In the Dick, David Wong (Jason Pargin) successfully pulled off a difficult task in writing a sequel that is better than the previous novel, Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits. I have to admit I wasn’t expecting that to be the case. The two sequels to John Dies At the End never quite captured the qualities of that first novel of the series…and yet this second Zoey Ashe novel takes what was great from the first novel (there was a lot) and amplifies it in a massive way. I can’t help but feel that this was the book he always meant to write, but he needed to introduce the characters by writing the first book.
Tackling disgusting aspects of culture like incels and QAnon/PizzaGate conspiratorial thinking in the most hilariously over-the-top ways (without seeming too over-the-top if you’ve seen the nonsense some people actually believe in the real world), he pulls off a book that is both optimistic and pro-feminist.
This is definitely one of those instances where the science fiction is heavily laced with political sensibilities (as if that’s ever not been the case). Wong’s ability to pull this off in the least subtle ways possible is what makes it impressive.