Now that I have strengthened my wrists by giving my professional pimp smack to Dakota Cassidy’s oeuvre, I am going to turn my palm of pimpage over to . . . Mark Henry!
For today, Mark’s first book, Happy Hour of the Damned, comes out in mass market paperback, to stores everywhere:
And I highly, highly recommend that you buy it, people. Here’s why:
A) I love Mark! He’s not only one of the wittiest, snarkiest, smartest men I know, he’s also one of the kindest. Believe it or not, snark and sensitivity can go together. So Mark’s a stand up guy, who does a LOT of the work for the League site AND lets me follow him around conventions when I’m feeling like I really can’t socialize with people in Spock ears anymore.
B) I love Mark’s books! More important, really, than Mark being a great guy is the fact that Mark writes great books. Mark could be a complete douche and I would still read his novels, because they’re AWESOME. I am now going to further bullet point this post so that I can outline Why Mark’s Books Are Awesome:
- They’re hilarious! Yes, they’re so funny you’ll wee a little. And then he’ll have a footnote making fun of you for doing so.
- They’re also really disturbing, and not just in a horror way. Mark writes about zombies who are super lovable, actually, on a lot of levels. Except that they eat people, and usually homeless people. As the reader, I’m like, “OMG, they’re people! She can’t eat people! That’s terrible!” But Amanda keeps insisting to us that we’re being overly sensitive, considering how we treat our homeless. And I’m all, “Excuses, excuses, Amanda!” Then I went to San Francisco for my yearly pilgrimage. And literally STEPPED OVER homeless people sleeping on the street. Because that’s what we do–we neglect our own, telling ourselves they are the Other due to their mental illnesses, or their inability to cope with reality, or their lack of get up and go. But what we’re really doing is allowing other humans to suffer, often under terrible mental and physical burdens, and when we close our doors at night we shut ourselves off and tell ourselves it’s okay to do so. By having Amanda eat the kinds of people we ignore, Mark embarks upon a project not unlike Jonathan Swift’s “Modest Proposal.” We laugh, but we think . . . and thinking is that critical first step towards action.
- Basically, then, Mark writes my perfect books. They’re hilarious! Entertaining! They do what mass market fiction should do . . . but they’re also really smart, really provocative, and you’re not just filling your head with cotton candy.
I’ll stop bullet pointing now. The whole point of this post is that if you’re looking for a new series that is as smart as it is fun, Mark Henry’s for you. And now he’s released in mass market, which means not only a cheap price but an easier book to hold. You can read it one handed! What you do with that other hand is entirely up to you. But I wouldn’t recommend you take any tips from Amanda and experiment with Icy Hot . . . Really, Mark, Icy Hot? I’m still cringing.
Curious? Then go forth and buy people . . . Amanda Feral needs you!
@NicolePeeler you rock lady…you rock..nice post…hugs
RT @NicolePeeler: Here's what I have to say about @Mark_Henry: http://www.nicolepeeler.com/2010/02/more...
RT @NicolePeeler: [New Post] More League Pimpage! – via @twitoaster http://www.nicolepeeler.com/2010/02/more...
Awwwww. I'm honored. You might just be my ideal reader. I rarely see anyone make those connections. People tend to focus on the potty humor and not what I'm really getting at.
Thanks!!!
I loved your bullet points. But I've told you that before, right? I also love me some Mark Henry and his fab zombie novels.
Mark: Seriously, I think they're brilliant. I could have gone further with my critical exegesis, and incorporated my thoughts on the complex psychological make-up you gave Amanda; what you have to say about the importance of "belonging," and how really inhumane things can be quite palatable if it means you get to do them with people you feel have your back; and what it says about our society that Amanda is getting more "human" in some ways as she becomes more inhuman in others. But we'll save that for drunken rantings at RT, when I follow you around because I can't deal with the baby oiled cover models, anymore. 😉
Oh but this year I'm bringing my own baby oil!
Michele: Bullet points are my weapon of choice. 😉
Mark: Maybe it will help repel the cover models, like magnets similarly charged?
[New Post] More League Pimpage! – via @twitoaster http://www.nicolepeeler.com/2010/02/more...
Here's what I have to say about @Mark_Henry: http://www.nicolepeeler.com/2010/02/more...
@psynde Thanks, doll! *hugs back*
I bought it, yeah I did, from B&N while eating a cheese quesadilla and drinking a diet Pepsi. I kept meaning to pick up Mark's books before, so it was about time. Thanks for the push!
I picked this up on ye olde Kindle and I am loving it. It's funny, fast-paced, and yet also deeply disturbing on multiple levels. I'm at the halfway point and totally hooked. Thanks for the recommendation!