Advance Reading Copies for your reading pleasure

So far so good, Im 80 pages into it and Im enjoying it a lot. When Im finished I will give my thoughts and try not to include any spoilers.

Book received today for me too. It must have cost you a small fortune to send all these out. It's been a particularly bad day and the smoking skull with your signature gave me a giggle. I'm going to get started on this when I've finished my chores tonight. I should also have the first batch of banners done tonight. On the book though, were you looking for a line-by-line critique or general comments on the book? Either seems fine by me. I've sneakily read a couple of pages in and it's fun, and we're yet to reach the non-P.C. baboons!

Mr. Brown - Great. Looking forward to hearing what you think.
Barca - Excellent.
Corellion - Fantastic. No need for line-by-line (the damage is long done), general comments are fine. Hope you dig it and the non-P.C. baboon is only the start of the craziness. Ahhhh... such sweet delirium.

Okay, I'm done! First off, let me say that I really liked it a lot. Let me follow that by letting you know I am not a writer and probably not a very good reviewer, but I'll give this my best. I'm a bad news first kinda gal, so here goes:

**SPOILERS**

In the beginning I must say I was a little skeptical. Brittany rubbed me the wrong way immediately. (sorry if the following critique seems harsh) Not only did she bother me because of the type of person she was, but more so, the fact that I found what she was wearing pretty unbelievable. Time was taken to describe her outfit in detail and rather than sounding like a pop star, she sounded like what I would describe as a cross between a sorority girl and a tennis mom. The sorority girl part is the pink and the obvious preppiness, the tennis mom comes from the bun and the sweater she wore over her shoulders (who does that?) Hot pink chords with fur lined boots and a... sleeveless shirt? Seems like one half of her was bound to be uncomfortable temperature-wise. Enough about her, she isn't even a very important character, but I had to get that out.

The other thing that bothered me in the beginning was what seemed to me like awkward character development. i felt like there were too many instances in which I was learning about a character's history via his or her own dialogue. (I remember this specifically with Brittany and Harrison.) I think in the instance I am thinking of with Harrison he was talking to Amanda and giving her her own history. I just found it awkward.

Once I got past the first sixty pages, everything turned around. I found myself enthralled with the characters to whom I was being introduced. Beth Ann is amazing to me. She is a character that, in my assumption, was once strong and was broken by her impending blindness. She still tries to look tough and act as though her appearance doesn't matter, but in reality it all matters. She can't help talking to anyone without looking for some sort of sympathy and possibly looking for an answer. In Harrison she finds that answer, I loved the way they met and the interaction that ensued.

As soon as Cooper entered the story, I was fascinated. I remember thinking, "wow, look at this guy, a whole book could be based solely on the whacko who channels another plane of existence while taking a shit. Its so, Bruce Willis in 12 Monkeys, but better. I did think the guy on the train bit was a little... odd and unnecessary, maybe, but I can't hate that moment because of what you said about white sneakers

As I got further and further into the story I was completely hooked, yet I had no fucking clue what was happening. I remember being reminded of the game of tongues for a little while, but I was sure whatever was going on in your story had a lot more purpose. When the reasons for the whole mess started to surface, I was, at first, a little disappointed. I'm not really into economic conspiracy theory, honestly, conspiracy theory in general turns me off. As I continued reading and the pieces started to fit together I warmed up to the idea a bit. It started to make a little more sense and less like an anti-globalization rant. The idea that all those hipsters who think they are sooo cool for their underground fashion and obscure musical preferences are actually corporate puppets kind of appealed to me. I began to picture all of the scenesters back in Savannah and how it would serve them right.

I'm not sure yet how I feel about the ending... I'm pretty 50/50 on it. Part of me loves that Beth Ann has been empowered such as she has through the whole experience. I like to think that she lost her fear of blindness and focused on her love for life and for Harrison instead. The same thing goes for Harrison. But part of me wishes they had just shot the motherfuckers and moved to some island where Harrison can write porn in peace and Beth Ann can knit baby clothes.

Two things I forgot to mention:
1) I loved Rad, he was so cool and yet there was something so sad about him at the same time.
2) The recurrent use of the word "knit" rather than "knitted" as the past tense for "knit" drove me absolutely insane. I know that both are past tense forms of "knit" and I have no idea which is grammatically correct in what instance, but I know that it drove me nuts regardless.

In conclusion: I enjoyed it, I would definitely recommend it, and i look forward to reading more of your work in the future.

**//SPOILERS**

[edit: wow, that is definitely the longest post I have ever written]

ScribblingDes -

Thank you! Fantastic. I loved reading over your thoughts here. It's fascinating how many different reactions people can have to the same text. That very first chapter seems to be a lightning rod for discussion - I've gotten so many varied reactions to it.

Believe it or not, you're the first to really highlight Cooper as a favorite. He's a favorite of mine as well, but most readers have commented that he's either extraneous or just plain strange. Personally, I'd love to write an entire novel about him (my earliest drafts of the novel contained a lot more Cooper and it got a lot stranger). Beth Ann was a much trickier character. I revised her numerous times (remind me to PM you with the original ending and her original motivations).

Yeah. Conspiracy theory. It's a love it or hate it kind of thing.

Thanks again, Scribbling, glad you enjoyed reading it. And guess what? You're in luck! My follow-up novel is due out April, 2009. I'm polishing it as we speak. I think you might even like it more than 6 Sick...

P.S. re: Rad - based on a friend of mine. All his stories are true, by the way.
re: knit - irregular verb. past simple and past participle can be {Knit} or {Knitted}

Oh, forgot to comment on Brittany in the first chapter. I can see your criticism. Makes sense. Though, I think that was kind of the point of it. She's based on a real person. A person who, in fact, wears outfits like that and wears them in freezing temps. (Crazy to me as well). In a way, I'm glad she seemed so unrealistic to you. That's why I put her in.

Hi Rayo,

I also wanted to say thank you and let you know I got the book! I've started reading I will give you a review after I'm finished. Thanks again for letting us culties be the first to see it. I feel honored.

Best,
Mark

[QUOTE=Rayo C.;1103436]ScribblingDes -

Believe it or not, you're the first to really highlight Cooper as a favorite. He's a favorite of mine as well, but most readers have commented that he's either extraneous or just plain strange. Personally, I'd love to write an entire novel about him (my earliest drafts of the novel contained a lot more Cooper and it got a lot stranger). Beth Ann was a much trickier character. I revised her numerous times (remind me to PM you with the original ending and her original motivations).

re: knit - irregular verb. past simple and past participle can be {Knit} or {Knitted}[/QUOTE]

I can see why people would call cooper extraneous or just strange. They may be right, I can't say because I instantly fell in love with him. He IS strange, but thats the beauty of it, he's absolutely insane and he and his friends seem to be completely unaware of this. Thats just great.

And I knew knit could be past tense, but it doesn't change the fact that it drove me nuts.

I can't wait to read your next one.

I also can't wait until someone else finishes the book so I can read their thoughts.

Thanks again, ScribblingDes. I really do appreciate getting the feedback. Cheers!

Im just after finishing it and my review could never live up to Meldoys. I enjoyed the book put I didnt feel too much for the characters, maybe thats just me. It came together nicely at the end and if I saw another book by you I would go ahead and buy it. Will write more later...

I still have yet to get mine.

I haven't gotten mine yet either. I am really looking forward to reading this book.

Sorry LeHaHi and Lady Chaos, slight delay. But your books are ready to go and will be in the mail tomorrow. Expect them mid-week next week.

cool. thanks.

Hey Rayo,

Just checking in. I'm on Chapter 3, about 20 pages in.

Who are your idols and mentors? Are there styles that influence this work? And is there a certain style that you are going for with this book?

Thanks,
Richard

I got my copy today! And you even signed it! Thank you so much, I am so excited to start reading. I'm going to start it tonight before bed. I love the little skull in the signature.

Thanks again, I really appreciate it. Can you PM me an address where I can send a thank you card? If there was one on the package it got all torn up on account of me being so excited that I got it.

got mine today!

Can't wait to get mine.

LeHaHi - That was fast.
Elegantly - Should be there end of the week(?). Maybe early next.

Richard - To answer your questions:
Who are your idols and mentors?

Georges Bataille. Wittgenstein. Borges. Andre Masson. Obviously I love Chuck's work. Big fan of Craig Clevenger, Cormac McCarthy. Some fav books: Flicker by Roszak, Throat Sprockets by Lucas, Fishboy by Richard, O-Zone by Theroux. I love pulp stuff as well. Everything from weird tales/adventure (Lovecraft, Wellman, Hodgson, Howard) to really wretched men's action series (The Sharpshooter, The Hunter, The "insert manly thing here"). Movies and music are both big influences. I used to publish a 'zine on European Trash Cinema and DJed lounge muzak.

Are there styles that influence this work?

Nothing particular. A mish-mash of various styles - whatever sticks to the page. A good friend who's read the book a whole bunch of times called it "pulp lit." I bet if you put all my influences (see above) in a blender "plup lit" is what comes out.

And is there a certain style that you are going for with this book?

Contemporary, I guess. So long as it sounds good when read aloud and looks nice on the page.

Here's a little interview I did over the weekend for more info:
[URL=http://gothamist.com/2007/12/03/6_six_hipsters.php]http://gothamist.com/2007/12/03/6_six_hipsters.php[/URL]

6 Sick Hipsters is available for pre-order at Amazon.

Those that have finished reading the book may want to give a review on the Amazon site to give potential readers an idea of how well received it is.

Thanks for the plug, Synnove!

By the by, a good review up at Ain't It Cool News today: [URL=http://www.aintitcool.com/node/34957]http://www.aintitcool.com/node/34957[/URL]

Damn, everybody is talking about it and I want to read it! When does it come out?

[QUOTE=Rayo C.;1108975]LeHaHi - That was fast.
Elegantly - Should be there end of the week(?). Maybe early next.

Richard - To answer your questions:
Who are your idols and mentors?

Georges Bataille. Wittgenstein. Borges. Andre Masson. Obviously I love Chuck's work. Big fan of Craig Clevenger, Cormac McCarthy. Some fav books: Flicker by Roszak, Throat Sprockets by Lucas, Fishboy by Richard, O-Zone by Theroux. I love pulp stuff as well. Everything from weird tales/adventure (Lovecraft, Wellman, Hodgson, Howard) to really wretched men's action series (The Sharpshooter, The Hunter, The "insert manly thing here"). Movies and music are both big influences. I used to publish a 'zine on European Trash Cinema and DJed lounge muzak.

Are there styles that influence this work?

Nothing particular. A mish-mash of various styles - whatever sticks to the page. A good friend who's read the book a whole bunch of times called it "pulp lit." I bet if you put all my influences (see above) in a blender "plup lit" is what comes out.

And is there a certain style that you are going for with this book?

Contemporary, I guess. So long as it sounds good when read aloud and looks nice on the page.

Here's a little interview I did over the weekend for more info:
[URL=http://gothamist.com/2007/12/03/6_six_hipsters.php]http://gothamist.com/2007/12/03/6_six_hipsters.php[/URL][/QUOTE]

thanks appreciate the info

alright, so i got my copy and read it, and am in th emiddle of reading it again. i have to do that with books. the first reading is all eagerness on my part, an di miss alot. the second reading is slower, and i take time to digest everything.

initial reactions:

SPOILERS (kind of)

i really identify with beth ann.
love harrison and cooper.
wasnt into the ending too much, but i think it made its point.
loved all the shit scuba diving stuff.
agree with melody about brittany's outfit. s omeone who dressed like that does NOT drink tab or smoke menthols.

really like the relationship betwen beth ann and the stripper.

will give some more detailed responses after i finish the second reading.

i did enjoy it, thouhg.

[QUOTE=Rayo C.;1103439]Oh, forgot to comment on Brittany in the first chapter. I can see your criticism. Makes sense. Though, I think that was kind of the point of it. She's based on a real person. A person who, in fact, wears outfits like that and wears them in freezing temps. (Crazy to me as well). In a way, I'm glad she seemed so unrealistic to you. That's why I put her in.[/QUOTE]

funny that you mention that - in my own writing, i've found that fact can not only be stranger then fiction, but entirely unbelievable - i shared my memoir as fiction in a workshop, and many people found it very unreal - nothing too bizarre: death, threesomes, drugs, etc. but i did find that many people said "i didn't buy it" - so just be wary of using the "it really happened/existed" as a defense - you may be right, it may be true, but if it doesn't resonate and RING true then the reader is lost, and so it doesn't really matter

just my two cents - still reading, lots of fun

Righto. Here we go.

[B][U][U][CENTER][SIZE=6][COLOR=Red]SPOILERS[/COLOR][/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/U][/B]

I can sympathize with Scribbling Des towards the beginning bit, but mostly because I'm a pretentious cunt and to hear anybody say the word "[COLOR=DarkSlateGray]art[/COLOR]" out loud, or even typed on a page properly affronts me a little. I feel like it should be a sort of half-whispered utterance choked out of our throats in only the most desperate of baboon-fighting situations. The scene however flows well and works, frankly. Except in some places here the writing cheated me a little, sentences like, "She was immediately struck by how attractive he was. There was something striking about the bone structure of his face." I didn't, and don't, like on principal. However I love the little clues dropped in places which I think are executed immaculately, things like Brittany wondering if Dr. Jeep was the lead singer of Wolfgang's band - before we meet him of course.

Beth Ann's character I loved, and also on an earlier point from Des - I completely disagree about the clothes thing but I'm a guy, all I know is - are my jeans and shirt clean, should I wear my hat? Beyond that things go perfectly, really can't criticize though I did, I'm sure probably most teens who do fancy themselves as "in the know" hate using the word art, or talking about consumerism and stuff. This is probably personal, but I did enjoy the points and loved it. It was funny and like Des said, after Brittany isn't the subject of the third person narration the novel flows brilliantly. The novel was, without a doubt, brilliant.

Thing I especially loved: Tank the Niggatron. This made me snort on the train and people around me were disgusted and I just burst out laughing. Fucking hilarious man. I liked the relationship between Solange and Beth Ann. I didn't like Rad cutting himself. The baboon scared me, the thing was all teeth and claws and shit Rayo, give that beast a banana. I mean, there's lots more I could say and I'm sure I will in response to the next people's points. I really did love Tank the Niggatron though, fucking fantastic name.

All in all, 10/10 dude. Loved the novel, which I finished along with The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King, not what I'd usually read again but I loved that too. Top class stuff dude. Any questions you want answered?

[COLOR=Red][SIZE=6][B][U][CENTER]SPOILER END[/CENTER][/U][/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]

Happy - So glad you enjoyed it. Looking forward to your thoughts after the second go-around.

Wickercat - So true. You make an excellent point. And I love that we all have our own, sometimes overlapping/often times not, perceptions of a work.

Corellion - You just made my night. Rough day today. So happy you enjoyed reading it. Brilliant.

okay, so, first i want to say that upon second reading, i didnt like it, i relly lOVED it. i found myself thinking about it alot when i wasnt reading, and had a hard time putting it down. even though i knew the story, it really did keep me involved and interested on the second read through.

i liked harrison from the get go. he is the type of person that i know, and it made it easy for me to identify with him. I like his secret lif s pornographer. The character has alot of depth and is well developed.

beth ann became more warm for me on the second read, and i was still intrigued by her relationship with solange.

i found the cutting stuff with rad a little unbeliveable, and, frankly, a little annoying. i guess, though, in the long run that evoking that sort of emotionl response is ultimately a good thing.

beth anns old ladies were great. especially their flippant manner. very spot on.

i found some of the dialogue to be, i don't know, unbelivable. there were a few passages that i actually read out loud to myself to try and pin point a flow, a point of inflection. parts just seemed a little contrived.

tank the niggatron, a killing machine. brilliant nd absolutley fucking HILARIOUS.

faggot the vicious baboon fucking freaked me out. i cant imagine too many things more terrifying. especially the scene in the car. fucking a, dude.

i am fascinated with the fluke character, and think my favorite moments happen at his hom ein the treatment plants. i think its the first time we see harrison really man up, nd beth anns strength is undeniable. there re also several good chuckles. and the swimming through a river of shit to get there was great for me. some of the best writing in the book, IMO.

i really thought dr. borgo was going to be father.

i enjoyed the ending alot more upon second reading. it made more sense nd seemed more ntural after i was already acquainted with the chracters. i think knowing how it ended was part of my enjoyment upon the second read.

over all, i liked it ALOT. i plan on writing a glowing review over on amazon. thanks for the good read, and please keep up your craft.

funny: i was reading it on a bus when these two hipster girls got on. as the second one passed by she tapped a finger on it and told me that it was a book that changed her life. i chuckled.

Hey Happy - Fantastic! So glad you really enjoyed it the 2nd go around!

Oddly enough, when I first wrote the book Harrison and Beth Ann weren't the primary characters - they kind of organically grew into those roles as the plot developed. I think the very initial draft (there were many) had Wolfgang and T in those roles. (Not as lovers, though that might have been an interesting angle.)

Baboons have always freaked me out. They seem so unpredictable. And the fact that they are intelligent - yikes. There was this flick - I think it was South African - that I saw as a kid that had a thousand rabid baboons attacking a village. Imagine Night of the Living Dead with spitting, slashing, furious monkeys. Freaky shit. Stuck with me obviously.

I'm almost finished with the follow-up novel. I think you'll like it and I'll be sure to send out ARCs again in Dec. 08!

Nice story about the hipster girls on the bus. And many thanks for a review on Amazon!

I received my copy three days ago. I threw aside the other three books I'm currently reading in favour of this one, and it was most definitely worth it. Can I start by saying, I really enjoyed this book. Really loved it. Having read Melody and Alex's reviews, I'm realising I have similar feelings to them, but there are a couple of other things I'd like to say.

**SPOILERS**

In the beginning, it took a while for me to become engrossed, simply because at times it felt like a character overload. The scene where the Whole Sick Crew are in the club and we are introduced to all six of them, I found myself confusing their descriptions and forgetting who was doing what with their lives. Despite their seperate eccentricities, when we were first introduced they seemed to be very similar people, and as such I kept getting them confused with each other. It wasn't until a bit later that their identites were solidified in my mind.

As with everybody else, I loved Beth Ann, but the minor characters I loved the most were her little knitting troupe. They seemed to be a beacon of normalcy, the only characters who didn't buy into the hipster scene. They were adorably amusing. I loved Rad, although I didn't really see why he would be cutting himself, that element of him didn't seem to fit in with his persona. Also, Fluke was a great character! A guy who lives naked in an underground sewerage library, thats just brilliant!

The plot was superb, and whilst reading it I could truly imagine people doing this and these events being real. That really helped enhance the read. I particularly loved the character development, moreso with Beth Ann and Harrison. The way their moods fluctuate and their attititudes to violence and the situation they find themselves in change, it makes them seem all the more human and very relatable characters. I really loved that.

**//SPOILERS**

Overall, this was an incredible first effort, and I'm so glad I had the chance to read it. Intriguing plot, interesting characters and crafty development all added up to a very enjoyable read. When it is released to the mainstream, I will definitely be recommending it. Congrats Rayo.

El Bit - Fabulous! So glad you enjoyed the book.

By the way, how do you think it would be received in Oz? We haven't sold the rights there, just curious.

[QUOTE=Rayo C.;1122658]El Bit - Fabulous! So glad you enjoyed the book.

By the way, how do you think it would be received in Oz? We haven't sold the rights there, just curious.[/QUOTE]

I think it will be quietly appreciated over here. Books have a tendency to fly under the radar and earn cult followings (pardon the pun).