Ok here is the blurb for ‘Tourists of the Apocalypse’:
Dylan Townsend stands on the beach watching commercial jets fall out of the sky like oak leaves twirling in the wind. A wing shears off the one closest to the shore just before it splashes down in the sea. Why was she telling him this outlandish story? What sort of tourist agency would offer people a front row seat to the end of the world? More importantly, why would anyone book such a vacation if there wasn’t any way home afterward?
“Why would anyone buy a ticket on the Titanic if they knew it was doomed?”
“Relax Dylan,” she assures him. “If you know it’s going to sink, you could bring a raft.”
As she paces in the sand watching the sky, he realizes that however wild her story may be, he loves her. Maybe Izzy is a time travel tour guide after all. In truth, he is more likely to be harmed by her boyfriend than the imminent apocalypse. What’s he going to do about that sticky situation?
“Come on,” she orders, pulling on his arm. “We need to see a man about a raft.”
Disclaimer: This novel contains no profanity, some violence, an office princess in bondage, cowboy coffee, classic cars, love triangles, domestic violence, birthday cake, Lion Country Safari mishaps, beach volleyball, road rage, a prosthetic shotgun, text messages on gum wrappers, and the strong belief that people are a product of their experiences and not just genetically predisposed to mayhem.
The blurb was enough to spark my interest. It was quirky enough for me to buy instantly. The style of the blurb reminded me a lot of the style used in ‘Z-Burbia’. To my surprise the disclaimer was very accurate. I felt for certain that it was a joke, but stuff me! It was not… it was spot on. This is one of the stories in which I did not even notice the lack of profanity.
I had never heard of the narrator nor the author before… which is always a bit of a punt for people like me… by that I mean people who don’t have two coins to rub together! I soon found I had no need to worry. Both the story and the narration was great. The narration was a little slow, so I sped it up to 1.25x speed, but the story was so good that I sped the narration up to 1.5x speed. I will still able to understand the narration and not notice the increased speed after a few moments. I certainly would not hesitate in purchasing any title with these two names in them.
The story was unique enough to a genre that has stood the test of time… haha you see what I did there? ‘Time’ it is a ‘time travel’ story. I know I am lame, but who cares. The important thing is I make ‘me’ smile.
The flow of the story was good, always leaving me with just the right amount of tension. Towards the end of the story I was thinking ‘ok there is not much length in terms of listening time. How is this going to end so quickly?’ The story certainly does end with a good solid conclusion. But, I think it is good enough for there to be a second one! I know I would jump on it. I would even pre order it!
For this cheap fatman I am giving this one the fully treatment. Two fat thumbs held high in the air with a big fat smile and a long drawn out ‘heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey’.
