Ben Adams

If Douglas Adams Wrote "Men's Fiction". Take the hilarity and wit that *Douglas* Adams was known for in his scifi and apply it instead to a tale of three middle aged men each having distinct mid-life crises that all get wrapped up in each other... and you basically have this book. More of a "men's fiction" tale that explores similar themes as the better known "women's fiction" genre, but focusing on the guys rather than the gals, this is a wild romp with heart - and a relatively short read show more at under 250 pages to boot. Adams manages to pack quite a tale within that lower page count though, and the laughs are on nearly every page. Truly a more lighthearted and off-the-wall book that many may need in trying times. Very much recommended. show less

What I Thought:

This was a brilliant book, in so many ways. I have seen people in similar situations, where they had the life they thought they wanted, and then it all fell apart. We watch as a typical man, a typical person, falls apart and truly heads toward a midlife crisis. However, he shows strength, though it may not all be consolidated from the start. We follow him as he battles through each of his goals, some easy, some harder than we might think.

Throughout the book, we are met with show more comedic, stark and real insights into what he is going through, with a side of frank wise-ass remarks to give us a wee giggle. He is honest and true to what it really is like to lose everything, but on the flip-side he is brave and strong for setting himself goals and a message, to recreate a life he wants. No longer are the days when we fall apart as our life does. Now we look it in the face and tell it to P**s Off! We know what we want and we are going to get it, no matter how hard it is to get there.

I loved that this was written as a diary. It adds to the real, emotional nature of the story. I also love that the author does not hold back. We see our character's life as it truly is, through to the bare bones.

I found myself connecting with this story on so many levels. I may not be in the same situation or the same age, but an illness has shifted me into a recent mid-mid-life crisis, and after reading this, I'll be setting my own goals and keeping a diary - I can wade through the crap and recreate myself too!

No, this isn't your average self-help, fluffy, love yourself and love life, but this book is the most real version of a self-help book I have ever read. It's harsh. It's real. It's more inspiring than any other help book I've ever read. I highly recommend this book to everyone! We've all got something in our lives brining us down. This book shows you how to kick it and have a thousand chuckles doing so. I loved it. show less

How to give this review without recap or spoilers? For clues, see publisher's blurb. The whole tale is an insanely funny, rolicking groaner full of puns, snarks, memorabilia, and that life-sized velvet painting of Elvis naked! Set primarily in Las Vegas, New Mexico, it is right near Roswell and the Area 51 crowd. If the name and place names don't have you snorting your coffee, the incidents will. There really is a fine plot, and it is well written with believable, interesting characters, and show more all-too-clear visualization. Twisty! show less

I received a complimentary advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

RELATIVITY by Ben Adams

Published by: BHC Press
Publication date: June 7, 2022
Pages: 236
Genres: Fiction, Humor, Satire (classified by publisher); (and from me: Fiction, Satire, elements of Fantasy and Family Saga, descriptions of Science Fiction)
POV: Multiple: third person, past tense (for Harry, one main protagonist); first person, past tense (for show more Dennis, another character); occasional omniscient views
Narrator: True yet comedic through an acidic and despondent voice--particularly with Harry, often very close; occasional omniscient parenthetical backstory; sometimes misguided or wrong
Opening setting: Bloomington, Indiana at a burning house;
Other significant locations: Bloomington, around town, present day and decades past; convention
Number of named, identified or described characters: 95+

Publisher's Summary:

Harry Erickson believes he’s disproven Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. Dennis Drysdale is in love with a woman he knew from high school. Timothy Henderson wants to professionally play video games.

When Harry accidentally burns his house down in a freak chicken Kiev accident, it sets events into motion that allow the three friends to pursue their individual dreams.

The trio embark on a road trip to Chicago in pursuit of their destinies and find themselves at the University of Chicago Physics department, a video game tournament, and a lunch date at Panera Bread.

Relativity is a captivating wild romp fueled with the aspirations of three men who are on a quest to dedicate their lives to their ridiculous dreams in this thought-provoking and satirical novel of friendship and finding oneself.

My Review:

If you like this genre (satire), you should read this humorous romp narrated with acerbic wit that follows Harry Erickson from the smoldering embers of his burnt down home as he launches on what might be his final push to disprove Einstein's theory of general relativity.

An amateur scientist college dropout, a hard-working car salesman, and a professor who is a talented online gamer walk into a book: this is the setup for a road drip that turns into a quest.

You'll meet a man (Harry) so focused, so egotistical, so maniacal, so sure of himself that he rewrites physics and math. But it's all wrong. Yet luckily, he's here to explain it to every one of us losers, from kindergarteners to PhDs.

This self-proclaimed satire renames one of the most famous sci-fi TV series in a hilarious way and plays off its fame and uses one of PBS's most famous cardigan-wearing TV friends to children. It mocks a common restaurant chain or two.

The middle of the book bogged down for me a bit as we mired in lengthy backstory of each of the main characters from early childhood through their twenties, thirties and forties. Some tales were interesting if not extreme for Midwesterners, but much of it struck me as unnecessary. Although it does provide a sad, painful look back at all that's wrong with the cliched roles many teens and young adults (and even older adults) play as humans struggle to grow up.

At more than halfway through this book, the trio who were supposed to be going on a quest have not even discussed it, agreed to it, or heaven forbid, launched their journey. For me, much of this meandering prior to the quest could have been cut in favor for launching our heroes' journey sooner and examining the trip.

The point of this book to me seems to be to lay bare the truth that life is hard, and sometimes it sucks. Often we compensate for this emotional deluge by deluding ourselves into thinking we're amazing and awesome. And maybe that's the only way to get through. While all of this might be true, I'm not sure I want to stare down the barrel of such blind delusion, destruction and deceit. Or is that why we read fiction?

Very late in the book, we finally see some high-stakes catastrophes that launch the trio on their unlikely quest, and some of those explosions fit a great fiction rule: make the unlikely seem inevitable. There were some devastating yet funny twists and turns, which is often what you get in this read.

I don't read much satire, so perhaps my ignorance caused me to fail to appreciate the irony, the pessimistic humor, the sarcasm so that I did not love this cast of losers. I can only assume this genre is normally chockfull of cliches and tropes, which I enjoyed for some reason.

Then finally, just prior to wrapping up this book, the quest launched. Is the author purposely withholding this journey to drive me crazy? Perhaps. There were almost no pages left to build a crescendo to climax and resolve this story, but it concluded nicely--or at least completely.

In the end, I appreciated that these misfits changed through the narrative, with each traveler making connections and finding something on their quest. If this is ever made into a movie, it will probably be influenced by Seth Rogan and Jonah Hill and maybe star Martin Lawrence and Dave Chappelle. Was this a modern day Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or one of David Sedaris's books?

You should read about this amateur scientist, a gamer and a car salesman and decide what you think. show less