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Haterz by James Goss
Dec. 23rd, 2015 11:41 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
”I’m not saying the internet made me kill, but it certainly helped.
Is there someone on-line who really grates on you? That friend who’s always bragging about their awesome life and endlessly sharing tired memes, and who just doesn’t get jokes? Look at your Twitter feed: don’t you get cross at the endless rage, the thoughtless bigotry and the pleading for celebrity retweets? Meet Dave, a street fundraiser and fan of cat pictures. He’s decided that unfollowing just isn’t enough. He’s determined to make the internet a nicer place, whatever it takes.
When he killed his best friend’s girlfriend, he wasn’t planning on changing the world. She was just really annoying on Facebook. But someone saw, and made him an offer. Someone who knows what he’s capable of, and wants to use him to take control of the darkness at the heart of the internet. And now the bodies – the comment trolls, the sexual predators, the obnoxious popstars – are starting to mount up …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
James Goss’s black comedy is perfect for anyone who’s been annoyed by all the people who are wrong on the internet. Dave is a psychopath who you can really get behind with his self-awareness, wry sense of humour and utter dedication to his mission. Although the progression of targets gives the book an episodic (and at times repetitive) feel, there are enough continuous themes and plot strands to keep the story moving and I particularly enjoyed the continuous references to Sodobus’s corporate activities and Dave’s deteriorating friendship with Guy (which corresponds with Dave’s growing crush on Guy’s new girlfriend, Amber). The humour is very dark at times as Dave exerts his revenge – of all the targets my favourite was probably the one parodying ask.fm, which perfectly encapsulates everything that’s wrong with forums and humanity in a way that made me giggle out loud. My main nitpicks were that the conspiracy elements don’t quite come off, in part because the explanations come too late and are heavy handed and some of the targets (notably Vampantha the erotic thriller writer and the thinly disguised Daily Main columnist) are too broad to work perfectly while a FIGHT CLUB reference didn’t come off for me. That said there was plenty here to keep me giggling from beginning to end and Goss definitely has a lot of fun with his subject – on that basis, I will definitely check out what Goss does next.
Is there someone on-line who really grates on you? That friend who’s always bragging about their awesome life and endlessly sharing tired memes, and who just doesn’t get jokes? Look at your Twitter feed: don’t you get cross at the endless rage, the thoughtless bigotry and the pleading for celebrity retweets? Meet Dave, a street fundraiser and fan of cat pictures. He’s decided that unfollowing just isn’t enough. He’s determined to make the internet a nicer place, whatever it takes.
When he killed his best friend’s girlfriend, he wasn’t planning on changing the world. She was just really annoying on Facebook. But someone saw, and made him an offer. Someone who knows what he’s capable of, and wants to use him to take control of the darkness at the heart of the internet. And now the bodies – the comment trolls, the sexual predators, the obnoxious popstars – are starting to mount up …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
James Goss’s black comedy is perfect for anyone who’s been annoyed by all the people who are wrong on the internet. Dave is a psychopath who you can really get behind with his self-awareness, wry sense of humour and utter dedication to his mission. Although the progression of targets gives the book an episodic (and at times repetitive) feel, there are enough continuous themes and plot strands to keep the story moving and I particularly enjoyed the continuous references to Sodobus’s corporate activities and Dave’s deteriorating friendship with Guy (which corresponds with Dave’s growing crush on Guy’s new girlfriend, Amber). The humour is very dark at times as Dave exerts his revenge – of all the targets my favourite was probably the one parodying ask.fm, which perfectly encapsulates everything that’s wrong with forums and humanity in a way that made me giggle out loud. My main nitpicks were that the conspiracy elements don’t quite come off, in part because the explanations come too late and are heavy handed and some of the targets (notably Vampantha the erotic thriller writer and the thinly disguised Daily Main columnist) are too broad to work perfectly while a FIGHT CLUB reference didn’t come off for me. That said there was plenty here to keep me giggling from beginning to end and Goss definitely has a lot of fun with his subject – on that basis, I will definitely check out what Goss does next.
