Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits

By: David Wong, Jason Pargin

Narrated by: Christy Romano

In a prosperous yet gruesomely violent near future, superhero vigilantes battle thugs whose heads are full of supervillain fantasies. The peace is kept by a team of smooth, well-dressed negotiators called The Men in Fancy Suits. Meanwhile a young girl is caught in the middle and thinks the whole thing is ridiculous.

Zoey, a recent college graduate with a worthless degree, makes a reluctant trip into the city after hearing that her estranged con artist father died in a mysterious yet spectacular way. There she finds that her scumbag dad had actually, in the final years of his life, put his amazing talent for hustling to good use: He was one of the founding members of the Fancy Suits and died in the course of his duties. Zoey is quickly entangled in the city's surreal mob war when she is taken hostage by a particularly crazy villain who imagines himself to be a Dr. Doom-level mastermind. The villain is demanding information about Zoe's father when she is rescued by The Fancy Suits. She reluctantly joins their cause and helps finish what her old man started, tapping in to her innate talent for bullshit that she inherited from her hated father. And along the way, she might just have to learn how to trust people again.

©2015 David Wong, Jason Pargin (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Pulpy story, bad reader

The story was over the top garbage, but it could've been fun if read well. It was not read well.

This narrator is a pretty good actress, she comes up with interesting but not overlooked voices, and her dialogue acting is quite smooth. But her reading is terrible. She frequently mispronounces words and takes long... pauses in the middle of sentences, as if she's reading the book for the very first time and doesn't know what the second half of each sentence will say. It's infuriating and completely disengages you from the story. I would stay far away from this book and this narrator.

just what i needed

I like David Wong. Well, to be honest, I don't know David Wong. I might not like him. But I sure like his writing. Pure fun and enjoyment. Just what I need from time to time in order to get away from all the thought provoking crap I read.

so many ups and downs

kept wanting to stop listening when something would happen and get my anxiety going, but I just couldn't stop listening. well read and well written.

Good narrator except....

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The characters were great, and the plot was goofily entertaining.

The narrator was fun to listen to, especially in terms of her voices for different characters. Great clarity to her voice, too. HOWEVER, her pronunciation of various words was way off. Would not be that big of a deal usually, but one was grating and endlessly repetitive --- the name of the mythical city, "Tabula Rasa." For some strange reason, rather than the normal TAB yoo lah, she pronounced it ta BOO lah. Unfortunately, this name appears at least 1-3 times every five minutes or so after the first chapter; otherwise, it would have just been a one-off quirk that was easily ignored. There were several other points when she did odd things with missing the meanings of sentences, but these were minor. This mispronunciation of Tabula Rasa actually would have been great if it occurred only for the stupid villain. Sadly, no. She spoiled an otherwise delightful narration simply because she didn't take the time to verify normal pronunciation for a recurring word.

The story was so much fun, though, that I would still recommend this listen. Just be prepared for that glitch!

Fun as always with David Wong

Great story with a few plot twists. The narrator does a good job with most characters, but there are a few mistakes they forgot to edit out.

the voicing of the antagonist was unbearable

it may have been the worst I've ever heard. making a childish juvenile bad guy sound like a fast times at ridgemont high sean Penn clone was not a great choice

Just fun.

I enjoyed the story throughout. The style feels like kin to Ready Player One. Easy throughout.

Enjoyable listen

A lot of fun and a great performance. Very enjoyable. Enjoy a book that doesn't take itself to seriously but keeps a solid plot and a suspenseful yarn

Good (sort of) vs Evil (yep) live on social media

What made the experience of listening to Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits the most enjoyable?

The story is highly satirical and the author skewers our use of social media by magnifying it to terrifying heights in the not-too-distant future where this story takes place. "Dude Culture" also takes a hit through the character of Molek along with "survival of the fittest" machismo. David Wong writes satire very well and ties it together with an amusing and fantastic story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Zoe is the main character and all the action really takes place through her eyes. She is an innocent thrown into a snake pit and her character develops very quickly but in an honest and realistic way. She doesn't have too many pretensions and has enough self-doubts to keep the character interesting.

What about Christy Romano’s performance did you like?

Christy Romano did an excellent job or reading this book. All the characters were clearly distinct and each had their own "voice". She was able to transition between characters very smoothly and clearly. She portrayed the male characters equally as well as the female characters. Her voice conveyed the attitudes of the characters very well and matched the satirical tone of the book perfectly.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I almost listened to this in just 2 or 3 sittings. The last 1/3 of the book was finished in almost one session.

Any additional comments?

This is a funny book with a sci-fi plot line. David Wong has observed people very well and presents characters that are realistic and believable within the context of this futuristic fantasy storyline. I enjoyed the book very much and I'd recommend it. The story combined with the excellent reading by Christy Romano made it a very rewarding experience.

Worthy.

David Wong delivers, strangely as usual. Christy Romano won me over with her insightful characterizations.