Self Help

Ok, this was a cute story. Light-hearted horror, probably my favorite kind, there's creepy stuff happening, but there's some humor, you can see characters getting sucked into bad situations, but you don't get sucked in enough to be *truly* afraid for anyone. If it weren't funny it might be scarier, but it's a fun ride as it is.

An audiobook about a sentient audiobook narrated but Wil Wheaton and Ron Pearlman. Does it even need a review?!

This was amazing. It was funny, and mysterious and I wanted to just take the protagonist, Jack, by the shoulders and shake some sense into him.

Jack gets repeated pop-up ads on his phone for an audiobook company. He finally bites the bullet and signs up for his free book. The book speaks to him, literally! It knows him by name and encourages him to embrace the "Killer Instinct". This sends Jack on a series of epically bad life choices, and unfortunate events.

I loved every minute of this book.

Creative, oddly funny and not too predictable - mostly fun and inventive.

I picked up Self Help because it was written by Ben Winters and I enjoyed his The Last Policeman trilogy about the end of the world, it was narrated by two star narrators, Will Wheaton and Ron Perlman, it was short (3 hours 46 minutes) and it was included in my Audible membership.

It should have been a perfect listen for this sunny afternoon.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way. I’m setting it aside a third of the way through because the humour doesn’t work for me. I don’t care about the world of Hollywood wannabes that it describes or the wimpy, can’t-get-his-act-together main character.

When the book failed to raise even a smile after the first ninety minutes, I gave up.

I’m filing it in that familiar category:

“It’s show more nice work if you can get it…but I don’t get it.” show less

A horror novella: The protagonist’s audiobook starts addressing him directly with suggestions about how to get what he wants. The suggestions get more aggressive. The gotcha ending did not work for me.

This audible original was funny, fast paced, and had a punchy ending. Great voice work from Wil Wheaton and Ron Perlman. Some nice audiobook self-referencing humor too. Definitely worth the quick listen.