Charlie J. Eskew
Paperback | Pages: 380 pages Rating: 3.93 | 60 Users | 26 Reviews
Present Epithetical Books Tales of the Astonishing Black Spark
| Title | : | Tales of the Astonishing Black Spark |
| Author | : | Charlie J. Eskew |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 380 pages |
| Published | : | September 4th 2018 by Lanternfish Press |
| Categories | : | Science Fiction. Contemporary. Speculative Fiction |
Interpretation Supposing Books Tales of the Astonishing Black Spark
Trapped in a dead-end job in his Ohio hometown, watching the girl of his dreams move on to a glamorous new life in a big city—Donald McDougal’s aimlessness has held him back for a long time. When a lightning strike grants him superhuman powers, he jumps at his chance to finally be somebody. But the new abilities and the pursuit of superheroic fame come with a price tag, and it may not be one he can afford.This wry debut is at once a fanboy’s homage to the history of superhero storytelling in America and a keen-eyed satire of those same stories, raising questions about race and privilege that are becoming impossible to ignore.
Mention Books Conducive To Tales of the Astonishing Black Spark
| ISBN: | 1941360165 (ISBN13: 9781941360163) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award for Multicultural (Bronze) (2018) |
Rating Epithetical Books Tales of the Astonishing Black Spark
Ratings: 3.93 From 60 Users | 26 ReviewsWeigh Up Epithetical Books Tales of the Astonishing Black Spark
Tales of the Astonishing Black Spark is delightfully weird. This book had me laughing out loud, and occasionally stopping random passersby to read them a line aloud, too. The constant internal re-titling gave the book this great energy to balance out its own irony. I've already loaned it out to two friends. We're all excited for some resolution to that cliff hanger endingWonderful read!
***Note: I received a copy curtesy of Netgalley and Lanternfish Press in exchange for an honest review.Unfortunately, I didnt quite manage to relate to this book ot its characters, maybe because of the slang, maybe because of the one too many murky comics references, maybe because of the insistence on using metafiction too often and using the same technique in almost all chapters (starting with a challenging situation and then going back to explain how he got there). I should have liked it, as I
Charlie J. Eskew has an odd, almost satyric look at superheroes. His Tales of the Astonishing Black Spark (paper from Lanternfish Press) is the tale of Donald McDougal, a young man in a dead end job who gets power over electricity after being struck by lightning. Trained by someone with the same powers, he applies to join the American Collective for Resolving Overtly Negative Yowled Misconducts when the first African American member quits. Eventually he is the second African American superhero.
This book about a young man-turned-superhero is both playful and serious. Douglas McDougal is working at Stereo Hutt and mourning his lost relationship with his ex when he is hit by a lightning strike that grants him superpowers. He competes to become a member of a national superhero association called the American Collective for Resolving Overtly Negative Yowled Misconducts, a process that puts his close relationships under strain and exposes him to intense national scrutiny. The book tackles
More of a 3.5 than a 3.Very enjoyable book with a relatable protagonist, great humor and voice, plus plenty of superhero and pop culture references! All in all, I enjoyed reading about Donald and his journey to become a superhero, but there were a few elements in the story that felt over used and weakened the delivery a bit. Also, the frame narrative didn't work for me as much as I wanted it to, especially at the end.
This debut novel from Eskew is super fun for the geeks out there with plenty of deep references to sci-fi and fantasy culture. The book points to tropes from the history of superhero stories while adding a fresh, 'woke' twist by working through those tropes with a Black main character. For the social justice focused geeks out there, this books is RIGHT up your alley. If you are neither a geek nor all that aware of the world around us in the States right now, I think you can still enjoy this
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