Review – Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits (Zoey Ashe, Book 1) by Jason Pargin (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction/Humor
Length: 383 pages
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Release Date: October 6, 2015
ASIN ‏ : B00V37BC60
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Zoey Ashe series
Source: Borrowed ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Get ready for a world in which anyone can have the powers of a god or the fame of a pop star, in which human achievement soars to new heights while its depravity plunges to the blackest depths. A world in which at least one cat smells like a seafood shop’s dumpster on a hot summer day.

This is the world in which Zoey Ashe finds herself, navigating a futuristic city in which one can find elements of the fantastic, nightmarish and ridiculous on any street corner. Her only trusted advisor is the aforementioned cat, but even in the future, cats cannot give advice. At least not any that you’d want to follow.

Will Zoey figure it all out in time? Or maybe the better question is, will you? After all, the future is coming sooner than you think.”

Series Info/Source: This is the 1st book in the Zoey Ashe series. I borrowed this on ebook through Kindle Unlimited

Thoughts: I enjoyed this. It is fast-paced and crazy and I enjoyed Zoey as a character. This is a near future sci-fi where Zoey finds out her absent father left her a legacy and humans are being endowed with superhero-like powers.

Zoey is just surviving day to day in a trailer with her stripper mom, then some dude shows up and tries to kill her. Then she is rescued (kind of) and finds out her lifelong absent father has left her quite a legacy. Now Zoey is left trying to figure out how not to die and how to unravel the mystery her father left behind. She has his four loyal Fancy Suits who helped run his empire on her team and of course her very stinky cat.

This is incredibly fast-paced, pretty gory and graphic, and generally full of dark humor and craziness. We are plunged into a near future where in this rogue desert city (not Las Vegas…that is old news) depravity and technology are taken to new heights and punches are never pulled.

I enjoyed Zoey as a character. I think she was well done, and she grows over the book. I also enjoyed Will Blackwater, her father’s right hand man. The other characters are decent, but there are a fair number of them and they lack some depth. I liked the near future world and the idea of humans being endowed with super human powers but with a serious drawback.

There were some things I didn’t like about this book as well. Some times it gets too over the top silly, which is kind of the point I guess, but the silliness started to feel a bit worn. I also thought there were times when the plot was all over the place and things got a bit hard to follow. This took me a long time to read because something about the writing style just didn’t work for me. At times, it just didn’t flow well and I found myself having to re-read parts.

This was a fun read and I enjoyed it. I am not sure if I will read the second book in the series or not. This one ended at a good spot, and I have a lot on my plate to read right now. I’ll give it some time and see if I am wanting to read more about Zoey and her team of Fancy Suits.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I liked this; it is crazy and fast-paced. Zoey did an amazing job growing into her crazy situation throughout the book. I liked a lot of the characters but wish they had a bit more depth; I liked this lawless city but wish the world-buliding had been a bit better as well. This got a bit over the top silly for me at points, and the plot felt a bit scattered. Right now, I am on the fence about whether or not I will continue the series. This book ended at a good spot, and I have a lot to read right now.