Screw the Universe by Eirik Gumeny and Stephen Schwegler

A little while back I said something about how it's difficult to write funny. While that's true, Jersey Devil Press reliably produces very funny shit.

I found Danger Slater's Love Me and Eirik Gumeny's Exponential Apocalypse both hilarious, and Screw the Universe is every bit as good.

The authors say they're glad the creators of Futurama didn't sue. It does have some overlap with that excellent TV show--a group of misfits bumble around space and shenanigans ensue--but Futurama never got one tenth this weird. I wasn't even sure what exactly was happening half the time, but that didn't matter because of the absurdist humor and constant stream of dick jokes.

This is chaotic, gory, sex-filled sci-fi bizarro that moves at the speed of, you know, something fast. I burned through it on the last couple of hours of an excruciatingly long flight--I don't think there's any better way to spend your 99 cents. 

Exponential Apocalypse by Eirik Gumeny

Exponential Apocalypse is a train wreck of awesome. A cast of characters that includes a Norse god who works at a New Jersey hotel, a squirrel with telekinetic powers, and the clones of past minor American presidents and Queen Victoria. And a world that's undergone robot, zombie, werewolf apocalypses and just keeps on truckin toward inevitable death.

The first half of the novel is a collection of funny snippets in which we get to know the characters (or something). Then it morphs into every movie plot from the last twenty-odd years--insane supervillain intent on ending the world through destruction and, therefore, a ragtag team of not-quite-super heroes has to save the day.

Luckily this part is still quite original due to its sense of the absurd--and regardless of its originality it's as much fun as you can have with an electronic tablet. The final battle scene between good and evil proves to be one of the funniest parts of a very funny book.

Exponential Apocalypse is a glorious celebration of all that is weird. If you dig Andersen Prunty, Danger Slater, or Kevin Strange, then venture out into the ether for this one too.

At All Due Respect: Eddie McNamara

Man, do I have a fucking story for you.

Run, don't walk, over to All Due Respect and check out "The Days of Swine and Roses" by Eddie McNamara. What an original voice this dude has.

If you're done with that and you have like nothing else to do (loser) you can stroll over to Out of the Gutter where Ryan Sayles and I throw around juvenile humor and occasionally talk writing.