Bad Monkeys: A Novel (P.S.) by Matt Ruff Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Bad Monkeys: A Novel (P.S.)
Book Review: Tricky, Very Tricky
Summary: 4 Stars
Bad Monkeys is a fast-moving page-turner, to use a cliche, it is compelling and suspenseful, and it is clever, but to me the real cleverness of this book comes from the fact that I think Ruff saw it as a spoof of the kind of novel it appears to be on the surface. This would fit well with one of the novel's major themes, the deception of appearance, and deception in general. It is a heavily plotted book, which done well can be very entertaining, but it also doesn't leave much room for things like creating a sense of place, or delving too deeply into characters, but after finishing I realized that those features as well fit into Ruff's overall fun-poking at science fiction (at one point he totally sends up The Matrix, and has a joke at its expense), and thriller fiction, and really the whole book seems designed to have so many twists it's ridiculous, and Ruff is saying "it is ridiculous, that's the point."
As a crafter of prose Ruff isn't a heavyweight, he writes well, sort of invisibly, which is fine when you are leaning so heavily on plot, but despite funny references like urban legends that become woven into the plot, he gets the job done without dazzling language. It's fun to read a book by a smart guy and get all the culture references he throws in. This certainly is not a book in which he stops for many breathers, but he also goes light on the intensity of the violence (lots of killing without any gore, almost cartoonish killing).
Of course this all plays to the end, which one of my college writing professors would have called a trick ending. I would call it a surprise ending, but one Ruff character might say "tricky, very tricky." and I think that's what Ruff had in mind from the beginning. A tricky, fun book that has a lot of fun with science fiction and thriller fiction, while making a bit of a philosophical statement about good and evil. I don't particularly agree with Ruff's take on good and evil, but that didn't keep me from enjoying the read.
I think the joke here is on us, and if so, just the cleverness of thinking this up deserves 5 stars, but in my literary snob universe that kind of praise is reserved for writers with more dazzling craft than this book has. Sometimes this read more like a screenplay than a novel, which I hope was not the plan (as with hacks like Grisham and Crighton), but it's still a fun and compelling story.
Book Review: Ruff Can Do Better
Summary: 3 Stars
Jane Charlotte, arrested and held in a psych ward on the suspicion that she's a delusional murderer, recounts her tale of being an agent for the Department of the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons - aka Bad Monkeys. She's actually one of the good guys in the fight against evil... or is she?
Bad Monkeys packs lots of Ruff's wacky goodness: a complex maybe-not-so-good protagonists, creepy serial killers, guns that kill by natural causes, a clandestine bureaucracy, scary clowns. The developing story is engaging and becomes more nuanced as initial facts are challenged and revised. Is Jane to be believed even when the facts start crumbling beneath her story?
It all creates high expectations for the denouement... and that's where the problems start. Approaching the end of the story, Ruff loses his restraint and introduces a few too many twists and plot devices. The story itself becomes the "bad monkey" playing out like an episode of Get Smart meets the Matrix on (bad) acid. Rather disappointing after the effort required to create such an interesting and complex character.
For a writer who started his career with the wonderful Fool on the Hill, I was hoping for a little more development and maturation in this book. Ruff really has a touch for mixing the poignant with the humorous and the bizarre. I just wish he could resist the urges to go completely over the top.
Book Review: Not the Great American Novel
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is being hawked by all the book clubs, and Ruff's talents are being screamed from the book review pages. Okay, it's good. It's just not THAT good. Plot synopsis: Jane Charlotte is being held on suspicion of murder and is being interviewed by a psychiatrist. Why? She claims to be an agent acting for a secret organization that takes out people who need to be taken out (Bad Monkeys). It's funny. It's paranoid. It's not nearly as dark as Philip K. Dick, nor as thoroughly paranoid. It's closer to Terry Pratchett and his Discworld novels, but neither as consistently funny, nor as profoundly human as Pratchett. Ruff has the crazy patter down, alright, but ultimately it's a forgettable read.
It strikes me that the exorbitant praise of the book is mostly coming from mainstream critics who haven't read any of the really good sci-fi/fantasy that has come out in the last twenty years.
Book Review: Unique Thriller Let Down a Little By the Heavy Sci-Fi Ending
Summary: 4 Stars
Bad Monkeys is certainly a unique book which doesn't really fit neatly into any one genre. It starts of more of your normal type thriller with a splash of science fiction. A middle aged woman, Jane Charlotte is sitting in a cell in the psych wing of a Las Vegas jail recounting her interesting but bizarre life, complete with confessions of murder. She maintains she's a member of a secret department called the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons. This department rids the world of bad monkeys (people who are evil, not necessarily criminals, they just have to be evil). There's some great tales of Jane's life, the janitor episode of her life was some of the best thriller reading I've done in a while. The science fiction splash increases in plot percentage throughout the tale, and as it does the doctor finds more and more evidence to dispute Jane's tale, she however dismisses this as the organisation planting false evidence to discredit her or as simply a nod problem (you'll have to read this book to find out what this is). Is Jane just making this stuff up to escape a punishment such as the death penalty or are these claims true?
When the story, about four fifths through gets to Vegas, the story is pretty much pure sci-fi from then on. With the ending being so heavy sci-fi weighted I found wrapping up what was a great tale slightly disappointing but I have no doubt for fans of sci-fi this would instead be quite satisfying. I also thought the ending tried to twist the plot round and round so much that the plots enjoyment factor sort of tripped over its own feet, this is why I drop this book one star in rating. Highly recommend reading it though and I'll definitely check out Matt Ruff's other work!
Book Review: A fun, psychological, romp
Summary: 4 Stars
For me, it will always be hard for Matt Ruff to replace his first book, Foll of the Hill, in my heart. It's one of my favorites of all time.
This book, though, I think it his best since that one. It is a little bit predicatable, but still has enough twists to keep it interesting. It's a quick read, both the overall length, but also in that the pace keeps it moving forward. Certainly worth picking up and enjoying as a bit of entertaining reading.