REVIEW: Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend by MJ Wassmer
White Lotus meets Kevin Wilson in this whip-smart social satire about a man who finds himself trapped on an island resort after the sun explodes, and suddenly must choose whether to save himself from the chaos, or help the fellow guests make it off the island alive…
Vacation Checklist:
Pack swim trunks.
Apply sunscreen.
Survive the apocalypse?
Professional underachiever Dan Foster is finally taking a vacation. Sure, his life has been average at best, and yeah, he’s never quite lived up to his potential. But after a few Miller Lites in paradise with his girlfriend, Mara, things are starting to look up.
Then the sun explodes.
With the island resort suddenly plunged into darkness (he really should’ve sprung for the travel insurance), Dan’s holiday goes from bad to worse when elite guests stage a coup and commandeer supplies. As temperatures drop and class tensions rise, revolution begins to brew on the island, and Dan accidentally becomes a beacon of hope for the surviving vacationers. But when one six-person plane is discovered that could get them back to the mainland, Dan realizes he has a choice to make.
Does he escape the island with Mara? Or does he stay and fight to become the most unlikely hero of the end of the world?
Dear Mr. Wassmer,
Well that was a wild ride on the tilt-a-whirl of holy fuck. The cartoon cover and humorous blurb make me want to warn readers that
Spoiler: Show
Dan Foster and his girlfriend are enjoying their Bahamas vacation on a private island in a new resort. It’s the Grand Opening! Pretty soon though, it will be the grand closing as the sun explodes, or disappears, or something. But it’s gone. Faced with the apocalypse, the guests in buildings A (uber rich), B (middle class) and C (working class) are fighting for survival as they fight each other in a clash of societal differences and privilege. Fasten your seatbelts as it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Okay so if anyone has much scientific knowledge of what happens when stars explode, they will realize that there is much more to this story than is first explained to the dazed and confused guests by a resident astronomer who just happens to also live on the island. Watch for subtle clues that reveal a bit of what is happening behind the curtain. I appreciate that the clues are very subtle and allow the story to play out. I was surprised, and more than a bit horrified, at the reason for everything.
The book grimly shows what happens when society crashes down in the wake of a tragedy. It also presents human nature and how that plays into who rises to the top and controls what happens and who meekly accepts. Is this an echo of our human past both recent and distant? Yeah, I’m willing to bet it is. It might allow human survival but it ain’t pretty.
Along with a glimpse of how fucked up things can go, the story dishes out a heap of self discovery. Dan freely acknowledges that he’s a bit of a slacker. He admires his nurse girlfriend Mara who jumps in to help anyone in need even if this might cost her dearly. Dan isn’t the only person who wrestles with self preservation vs helping their fellow humans. Some will survive this battle and others will lose albeit (for the most part) while helping others. There are also some truly evil fuckers on the island and that isn’t limited to the goon squad guards.
One thing though. The book is also darkly hilarious a lot of the time.
I could quote extensively but then this review would end up being a quarter of the length of the book.
Definitely, I’m not sorry I took a leap of faith and tried this book. I laughed a lot – even if Lenny and Charles were, at times, reduced almost to caricatures – and I was sad at the fates of some of my favorite characters. I’m sure that if, God forbid, the world did go to hell in a handcart, I’d be wrestling with my conscience and what to do. I also think that many of the people in the book will be dealing with their demons and PTSD in the years to come. Right now though, they’re writing scathing yelp and tripadvisor reviews. B
~Jayne
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I enjoyed your review and think this might be a good choice of book to have on hand when nothing else (book-wise) feels appealing.
@LML: It’s definitely a palate cleanser. With a wedding! I forgot to mention the wedding.
I’m losing the so-tenuous grip on my TBR pile and, in the words of Lemony Snickett, “It is likely I will die next to a pile of books I was intending to read.” Perfect, because now the sun may explode and I am here for it. Thank you, Jayne.
@Darlynne: She who dies with the most books wins.
@Jayne: Still dead, though; not complaining. FYI, Amazon UK has the book for .99 GBP.
Thanks for the spoiler! I was excited about this book but now I am going to pass.
@JenC: You’re welcome. I’ve whinged before about how it annoys me when a cartoon cover doesn’t match some of the book content but this one really needs a warning about it. Since you’re not going to read it I can explain further in a spoiler
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the whole thing ends up being an experiment, a weird, fucked-up experiment by a mad scientist. I had read some reviews that hinted about this, that the sun hadn’t really exploded, so as I read, in the back of my mind I’m thinking “some of this awful shit has to be staged, right?” Only it wasn’t.
@Jayne: That would have made me really mad. Thanks again!!
That ending though!
@SusanS: You liked it or you didn’t like it?
@Jayne: I was mad at myself for not figuring it out sooner, because it explained a lot of plot holes. I’d give the book a B minus. The class warfare stuff was pretty cliched but Dan’s 3rd person POV was entertaining. Thanks for reviewing the book; it wasn’t on my radar.