Opinions of a Wolf

Summary:
When Australian astronaut, Jack, crashlands on a planet during a mission and is the only survivor, he fears the worst.  What he finds is a planet surprisingly similar to Earth–even speaking English–only with a culture of peace and non-violence.  Seeking to survive as a homeless person, he starts busking with a guitar he finds, playing Earth songs.  Before he knows it, he’s discovered and becomes a rock star, introducing the planet to Earth’s greatest rock songs, while claiming to have written them himself.  But rock star is an awfully high profile for someone who is technically an alien.

Review:
This was my final accepted ARC from 2014, and I think it’s a fitting review for the last day of 2014 here on Opinions of a Wolf.  This was an interesting read that kept me moderately entertained, although it wasn’t the rollicking good time I was initially expecting.

The book jumps right in to Jack as already a rock star on Heaven (the alien planet) and tells of his arrival and how he became famous through a series of flashbacks.  This nonlinear storytelling works well with the plot.  Starting with semi-familiar rock star territory, the book slowly reveals what is different about this planet, as well as about Jack.

It is evident that this was originally a three part series, as the plot consists of three distinct parts that, while connected, keep the book from having an overarching gradual build-up of suspense.  Jack has three distinct episodes of action, and that lends the book and up and down quality that feels a bit odd in one novel.  I actually think I might have enjoyed the book more if it was kept as a trilogy with each part’s plot fleshed out a bit and the overarching conflict made more evident.  An overarching conflict does exist, but it is so subtle that the opportunity to build suspense is mostly missed.

Personally, Jack didn’t work for me as a main character.  While I don’t mind viewing the world through a bad guy’s eyes, I usually enjoy that most when I get a lot of depth and insight into who that person is.  Jack holds everyone, including the reader, at arm’s length, so I both saw the world through his objectifying eyes and couldn’t really get to know him at all.  That said, I can definitely see some readers enjoying Jack and his viewpoint.  He lends the unique ability to let people see the world both through a rock star’s eyes and through an astronaut’s.  A reader who is into both famous people’s biographies/autobiographies and scifi would probably really enjoy him.

Similarly, the humor in the book just didn’t strike my funny bone.  I could recognize when it’s supposed to be humorous, but I wasn’t actually amused.  I know other people would find it funny, though.  Readers expecting a Douglas Adams style humor would be disappointed.  Those who enjoy something like Knocked Up would most likely appreciate and enjoy the humor.

There are certain passages that sometimes struck me as a sour note among the rest of the writing.  Perhaps these are passages that would be humorous to other readers, but to me just felt odd and out of place in the rest of the writing.  Most of the writing at the sentence level worked for me.  It was just the right tone for the story it was telling.  But periodically there are passages such as the one below that made me gnash my teeth:

Natalie is a rare beauty. A creature of potent sexuality. Someone you would step over your dying mother to penetrate. (loc 8803)

I take a seat in McCarthy’s desk chair. It’s comfortable. Luxurious in the way a set of stainless steel steak knives might feel to a psychopath. It’s beautiful and firm and smells nice, but in the wrong hands this chair could be used for evil. (loc 6821)

Again, perhaps this is humor that just didn’t work for me.  I’m not certain.  If you like the concept of the rest of the book, there are only a few of these passages that are easy to pass over.  If you enjoy them and find them humorous, then you will most likely enjoy the book as a whole as well.

Overall, this is a piece of scifi with the interesting idea of turning an Earth astronaut into a rock star on another parallel planet.  Potential readers should be aware that the book was originally told in three parts, and that is evident in the book.  They should also be aware that the main character is both a self-centered rock star and a self-centered astronaut, while this viewpoint may work for some, it will not work for others.  Recommended to those who enjoy both celebrity autobiographies/biographies and scifi who can overlook some bizarro coincidences.

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3 out of 5 stars

Length: 470 pages – chunkster

Source: Kindle copy from author in exchange for my honest review

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