3 Stars - Recommended to readers familiar w/ genre
Pgs: 237
Publisher: New Pulp Press
"Roleplay is a dangerous game when you don't know who you are."
Truer words have never been spoken when used to describe the sticky situation JAG finds himself in. Recently abandoned by his wife and infant son, Jesus "JAG" Garcia finds employment as webmaster for First Church of the Church Before Church's online blog by day, while by night he plays the role of God for a bunch of fetishist he locates via an online sex site called Fallenangels.
Yes, you heard me right. Fetishist. Women who want a "daddy" figure to come and spank them, or reenact a rape scene, or go to town with a box full of toys. And as JAG loses himself to this dark and dirty underworld, creating different identities to match what each of these girls need, he begins to slowly lose himself and things start falling apart at the seams.
Interestingly, the book is written as a sort of "tell-all" from JAG to his estranged little brother. JAG details the events that led him to this sad and dangerous lifestyle, while also preparing us for what we know is going to be a story that does not end well for our kinky minded main man.
If you can stomach the coarse, sometimes raunchily described, sex scenes, you might agree that Jesus Angel Garcia's pulpy, fetish filled transmedia novel is a great example of what print publishing can be - because it's a book with online extras. Jesus has created multiple documentaries that draw from some of the themes within the book: Fear, Self Destruction, Sexual Morality, among others. Delving into an anonymous population of streetwalkers, authors and writers, husbands and wives, Jesus catches in-depth honest reactions to these words, these specific human conditions and tendencies, on film. What do you fear most? Is it death? Is it losing everything you love? Is it something tangible, something living and breathing, or something abstract? What is the most self destructive thing you have ever done? Was it something you controlled or something you had no control over? These documentaries confirm just how fucked up and unique each life is.... I enjoyed the way these mini-films complimented badbadbad's storyline, pulling you out of the chaotic web JAG weaved for himself and proving that real people go through these same or similar things too.
It also comes with it's own soundtrack. While I am not personally a fan of the type of music that he uses, it does appear to hold some influence over the book's style and cadence.
All in all, badbadbad is a true multimedia experience that helps hesitant digital readers like myself bridge that e-gap comfortably. To be honest, I wish more print books came with online extras to enhance the reading experience.
Check out books like Empty the Sun by A Barnacle Book (musical cd accompaniment), The Recipe Book (musical cd accompaniment, free app) by Black Balloon, and The French Revolution (free app) by Soft Skull to see more examples of multimedia print books.
I read that last Fall. It's anything but a typical crime book, but I thought it was an interesting take on perversion and identity.
ReplyDeleteOh and I have to say I love your rating system. I'm thinking about stealing it (with props, of course). It's difficult to establish a proper rating without offending anybody, but I think you've hit the nail on the head.