Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick (Zoey Ashe, #2) by David Wong

Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick (Zoey Ashe, #2) Reviews

• 
  Bradley

  Let me just say that I'm STILL super impressed that this title ever got out of the gate.
  
  As for everything else going on, this is very much a sequel but it's hardly needed to read the first book first. Crazy s**t happened. Zoey is way out of her depth. Still.
  
  In fact, this novel goes completely off the deep end. Let's keep the humor running high, make sure our poor Zoey is now super freaking rich, inheriting all the ills of the rich, and feeling the total terror of rampaging human augments, gigantic farting kitties, and even more about futuristic suits.
  
  What's the real issue tho?
  
  Zoey is isolated like crazy and is starting to go crazy. It doesn't hurt that this totally nuts place in Ohio is a privatized anarchistic wonderland that has more in common with an anime than a rational city.
  
  And that's what's awesome about this.
  
  That, and the cat. Any of the cats. I'm all over this book about the cats.
  
  It takes a lot of unusual social takes and maybe even takes an unpopular stance, but I have to grade the balls in this book. Or rather, this is where the focus goes. :)
• 
  Michael Tkach (Horror Gardener)

  This is the future speaking and can confirm that our collective dick was punched by Zoey
• 
  Veronica

  *snort* I can't believe the author got his working title approved as THE final title.
• 
  Steve Garriott

  You'll love this book if, like me, you agree cannibalism should not only be legal, but required. Too bad we'll never get those laws changed as long as women are allowed to vote. Also, I never, ever tip!
  
  Okay, okay, David Wong made me do it. He said it would get you to read his books. And you really should, all of them.
  
  Zoey Punches is the sequel to Futuristic Violence, the first of Wong's Zoey Ashe series. While I gave the first book 4-stars, I'm giving Zoey a strong 4-stars. This ones better but then I'm not a big fan of origin story books. Can I see a show of hands of those who are tired of the endless Spider-Man origins? I know I am. Just get on with it! And that's what this one does, from the start, and never slows down. Wong has a deft hand with action. But he also has some great things to say about the dilemma the rich have when trying to do "the right thing." Yeah, I know: poor rich people, huh? I read the Kardashian story about her birthday party on the private island during the pandemic. However, Wong did make me think about it, which might be all I need to do.
  
  A wonderful addition to the Wongian bibliography. If you've never read him before, I'd recommend trying John Dies at the End or Futuristic Violence first.
• 
  Paula Lyle

  I loved all the John books, but don't find the Zoey books as funny. I suppose that the point of all the misogyny and violence is to make fun of those who feel that way towards women, but watching Zoey be called fat and belittled and threatened constantly just isn't that much fun to read. Women, in general, don't deserve that and Zoey, in particular, doesn't either.
  
  I received an eARC through NetGalley.
• 
  Chris Berko

  David Wong is one hell of a writer. On the surface (or per cover/title) his books might seem like they're on the absurd side, more geared for the Adult Swim audience than the A Tale of Two Cities crowd, but they're really full of heart and emotion and while yes there are fart jokes there are also interesting insights into the human condition and what makes us tick. Friendship and loyalty are also common themes throughout his stories. One only has to read any of the JDatE books to see that and it's good to see that carried over to this series.
  
  I enjoyed the first installment in this series, Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits, but for all of its strengths it was disjointed in parts. This one works a little better IMO because we already know who everyone is, if you've read the first book, and Wong didn't need to spend as much time introducing all of the characters and describing the setting. The city in question is like Vegas on steroids and is sorta like its own character so it does deserve to be explored, but those asides did not take me out of the story this time like they did in book one, and as a result everything flowed a little bit more smoothly.
  
  David Wong is a writer who I think can appeal to everyone. There's action in here, comedy, a whole rescue operation devoted to a cat, possible cannibalism, strengthening of family bonds, cool gadgets and weaponry, an unbelievable costume contest, an even more unbelievable Halloween Parade, skull-print underwear, fighting, video games, and a shit-load of mood altering hand creams. If any of those things sound fun to you, or even if you just like having fun in general, spend a few bucks, pick up this book, get lost in its pages and just forget about how crazy the real world is right now. Sincerely though, you won't be disappointed.
• 
  Michelle

  The suits are back!!
  
  Sequels are rarely better than their predecessors but this is the case with Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick.
  
  While Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits had to take time to map out the world and set up characters, this book got down to the absurd hilarity on the very first page. And it didn't let up until the last word.
  
  There was never a dull or dry moment as Zoey attempts to navigate a somewhat moral path with her father's ill-gotten fortune. But Tabula Ra$a doesn't make it easy. The depraved city manages to produce a next level round of villains and over the top antics.
  
  I laughed out, I cringed, I got a little misty-eyed at one point, but more than anything I didn't want it to end.
  
  I can't wait to see what David Wong comes out with next.
• 
  Charles

  Gonzo crossover cyberpunk/comic book/social commentary continuing story of Zoey Ashe, a twenty-something, trailer trash heiress to a pseudo-criminal empire confounding a conspiracy against her in a futuristic parody of Las Vegas. Second book in a continuing series.
  
  
  Stench Machine Spider/Cat Mecha
  
  My audio edition was about eleven and a half (11 ½) hours long. A dead tree copy would be 384 pages. The original US copyright was 2021.
  
  
  David Wong is the nom de plume of Jason Pargin an American humor writer. He has 5-books published, in two series. This was the second book in the author’s Zoey Ashe series. Currently there are two books in the series. This was also the 4th book I’ve read by the author. The most recent being
  Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits (Zoey Ashe, #1) (my review).
  
  Its strongly recommended you read
  Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits before this book. It heavily leverages events and characters from that book.
  
  Full disclosure, I’ve been reading David Wong since his
  Cracked.com early days. (That’s a sad commentary on my life, I know.) You have to understand his schtick to get it. Aside from the toilet humor, dick and titty jokes and other one-liners, his hyperbolist, satire of common TV tropes can be very funny.
  
  The key theme to the Zoey Ashe series was the
  Unexpected Inheritance story. The protagonist Zoey Ashe a self-described “trailer troll” barista unexpectedly inherits her estranged, biological father’s quasi-criminal empire and vast fortune. This takes place in a
  cyberpunkish-near future where the Surveillance Society was a form of entertainment for the purpose of
  Bread and Circuses . The story’s main venue was a
  City Noir called Tabula Ra$a, Utah a Las Vegas-like, utopia for the super-rich and criminals. Zoey is a
  Reluctant Ruler of the
  The Chains of Commanding type. In this story,
  Malicious Slander and a rival believing in the
  Heir Club for Men entangle her. (I’ll stop now pointing out the tropes being satirized, of which there are many.) Zoey takes a firmer grasp of the reins of her late father’s organization (including his management team of men and a woman in “Fancy Suits”), overcomes her anxieties, saves herself, and along the way makes Tabula Ra$a a better place.
  
  Wong's books are gonzo and laddish. They’re also very contemporary in language and chock-full of popular cultural references. This one, written recently was easier for me to get the references than the Zoey Ashe #1 book, written almost 10-years ago and read recently.
  
  The plot lines were very much comic book-like. The descriptions were good. The badinage of the dialog was entertaining, but requires calibration to be amused by it. As written above the humor can be puerile. I did laugh-out-loud more than once, and found some of the descriptive writing used to create “sight gags” to be good. The action sequences were good, but of the comic book graphic novel , ‘on-steroids’ type. For example, characters took enormous beatings, but kept on ticking. Nobody went into shock due to trauma or blood loss.
  
  As in the previous book, there was an odd 3rd person POV. Ashe was the protagonist. She’s ‘Plucky”, but a failed ‘Action Girl’. (That’s part of the running joke.) Some folks may find this satirisation of a stereotype to be objectionable. I was fine with Wong’s handling of the female character. Ashe also had a beloved cat (Stench Machine), who figures large in the story. I actually revile ‘Cat Stories’, but I see what he did there.
  
  Some folks may be offended by the: violence against women and cats, gore, scatological references and 'dick' and ‘titty’ jokes. Despite the bawdy nature of the prose, there were no sweaty, naughty bits in the story, other than the “we did it once” type. There was talk of substance abuse; both hard and soft-core drugs, but no active consumption was described. Consumption of alcohol was immoderate. There was: physical, edged-weapons, firearms, and heavy weapons violence. Violence against women is mentioned. The descriptions of physical trauma was graphic. The body count in the story was near genocidal. Property damage was at the level of modern warfare.
  
  This story was much like the previous book, although the Ashe character was more introspective. "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." She’s isolated. She has no close friends, and the only regular social interaction she has is with her cat, Stench Machine. In this story she comes to grips with her power and prestige. She realizes the extent of her responsibilities and embraces them. She also accepts that she’ll have a lot more worries than other people, or she had while living in a trailer park.
  
  This book was not a great work, but understanding Wong’s humor, it was amusing to me. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the previous book. The world building of Tabula Ra$a and the interesting character building of the Men (and woman) in Fancy Suits was now familiar. I also found the ‘cat plotline’ to have been beyond the pale, even for Wong. Having written that, not everyone appreciates gonzo humor or has my exposure to Wong. If you have no tolerance for the profane, hyperbole, or humor involving: class, technology, “double-think” and man’s inhumanity to man, woman, and cats-- you're not going to like this book. However, there was an entirely different level-of-humor lurking below them. Not everyone will like this, but I found it to be ‘listenable’.
  
  I may shortly be reading the next unread book of Wong’s series John Dies at the End series:
  What the Hell Did I Just Read.
• 
  Mindi

  If you know me, you are aware that I love the JOHN DIES AT THE END series. Shortly after reading the first book I purchased a paperback of FUTURISTIC VIOLENCE AND FANCY SUITS, the second book written by Wong. I was intrigued, but like many ardent readers something newer and shinier caught my attention, and FVAFS got buried under a mound of other books. For four years.
  
  Then I heard there was a new Wong book coming out, and when I saw that it was the follow up to FUTURISTIC VIOLENCE I immediately put that book and the new one on my January TBR. I read the first book in the Zoey Ashe series and loved it so much I could barely wait to read this one. Perhaps I was meant to buy the first book and then wait for the second to be released. I'm not very good at waiting for things. Four years is a long time.
  
  Dare I say that I love these books even more than the JDATE series? You bet I dare. Character driven stories are my jam, and the characters in this series are all stellar. I had no idea just how much I would fall in love with Zoey and The Suits. GAH. I'm sincerely trying to figure out how to gush about these two books without giving anything away. And it's totally my style to write a review for the second book first, without even addressing how much the first book pulled me in and made me immediately want to read book two. I never do anything in the right order. That makes me feel a sort of kinship with Zoey, because she rarely follows the rules either. Or wear pants. This pandemic has truly proven how overrated pants are.
  
  Look, I know there is a very specific audience for Wong's books. Most of my friends are not part of that audience, but I have to try to get some of them to read these. Because I need at least a third book. And to get that, Jason Pargin needs readers. So do me a favor and pick up these two. Or just start with the first one. That's how confidant I am that you will want to read this one too. For anyone who loves lightening-fast paced character-driven stories with lots of gore and cats, these books are for you. Did I mention they are also laugh out loud funny? Do I need to with a title like that? You know what to do.
• 
  Erikka

  Blah. This is boring as crap. The first one was fun. This one is just preachy and unendingly metaphorical in a really hamfisted way. This reads like a David Wong article, not a David Wong novel.
• 
  Sebastian H

  Disclaimer: Received a free ARC of this one via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
  
  David Wong is among the only authors I know that can successfully weave his narrative between the moral aspects of surveillance states, the effects of cyberbullying, and a dick joke involving a crotch-whip.
  
  More tonally serious than its predecessor yet somehow filled with outrageous situations that improbably yet hilariously keep escalating, this is the second entry into Zoey’s escapades as the impromptu leader of the most powerful gang of... villains? Antiheroes? Just folks making a living, if by that we mean wrangling an empire of billions in the most viciously advanced city of this reimagined USA?
  
  While the first one firmly established the setting, this one dives into the deep end of public image, public perception and public abuse of both. How else can you call a small yet vociferous minority of hateful little men, who manage to cyberbully a public female figure in a position of power enough to make her believe the whole world is against her? In that, this read successfully alternates between outrageous humor and nuggets of wisdom worth thinking about, after the final page and the unlikely yet entirely satisfyingly (and very much in-character for Zoey and the Suits, too) resolution is reached.
  
  Here’s hoping for a bright, explosions-filled future from Mr Wong for Zoey and the rest of Tabula Ra$a!
• 
  Greg Donald

  As usual, this book is so ridiculous that it's great.
• 
  Alan

  I wasn't as big a fan of Fancy Suits as I was of the JDATE series, as it felt a bit like Wong was stumbling along as he tried to write something different. Suits had its share fo LOL moments, but the story was hard to grasp at times. In Zoey, however, Wong has fully expanded and developed his new world, and reading it was a rapturous joy from start to end. From early on I had times I had to put the book down for a second because I was laughing so hard. Wong manages to slide some very timely social commentary in while at the same time splashing his marvelous irreverent humor all over the page. I loved this book as much as any of the JDATE novels and look forward to seeing more of Zoey in the future.
• 
  Andrey

  бессвязная хуйня
• 
  Derek

  I've read just about everything from Jason (David) and always enjoy his work. His humor matches mine exactly, but I'm also consistently impressed with his creativity within the story-telling. Moreover, the way people talk in his books feels so familiar with my surroundings.
  
  There was this one line in the book that really got me thinking.
  
  "So you kill people in real life based on horrors that occur in your imagination. Got it."
  
  How many people strengthen themselves or shield themselves based upon their past trauma? How much of this is imagined or amplified in their minds over time, allowed the actions of others to drive their future decisions? All leading to the central question, how fucked up are you?
• 
  Sean Hughes

  If Justin/David's other books are considered "horror comedy" then this series is SciFi Action Comedy. The cast of characters and the endless string of outrageous events is always spiced with a witty one liner, an off hand remark, or a non sequitur about a cat.
• 
  Sophia

  Mochte es leider nicht so sehr wie den ersten Band, den ich an dieser Stelle immer noch allen ans Herz legen möchte!
• 
  Kayla St. Pierre

  This is the sequel to Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits. It follows Zoey Ashe trying to figure out her new life as a mob boss (for lack of a better term) and trying to clean up the mess her corrupted father made. It points out that most of our worldly problems are caused by men, capitalism and people who think the power of a few is more important than the health, safety and basic human rights of the many. He touches on racism and corruption in government/police in such a real way. Also INCELS. Not to mention sexism, harassment and abuse. All while maintaining an absolute psychotic sci-fi version of Utah and always, 100% of the time maintaining hilarity and suspense. This series honestly has it all. Including insane and hilarious plot twists. I never knew what direction this plot was heading in, all I knew is I never wanted it to end.
  
  I FUCKING LOVE THIS BOOK.
  
  Honestly I'd read this man's grocery list. I have never liked a female character written by a white man up until this point in my life. They always seem to be a walking pair of boobs only involved to move the sex life of some heroic man along. David Wong has written the most realistic heroine (if that's what you'd call her), she's chubby, clumsy, sarcastic and lacks all basis of a verbal filter. When backed into a corner with her life on the line, does she cower and cry? No. She emasculates these men with her words. Usually very publicly. And sometimes accidentally burns their junk off, but let's be honest. They were asking for it.
  
  This series has very quickly become one of my all time favorites. There isn't a single character that I'm not unhealthily attached to and that includes all of the glorious villains. This book/series makes me cackle and makes me drop many very loud, unceremonious "WHAT THE FUCKs" almost every chapter.
  
  I call on everyone I've ever met and will ever meet to read literally anything David Wong (Jason Pargin) writes. Especially this series. Guys I'm serious. Even the Afterword made me laugh.
  
  I read this on kindle and highlighted 153 quotes that made me laugh.
  
  So to follow this up, here are some of the quotes I highlighted. With zero context just because I love them.
  
  “I can command your right hand to rip out your tongue and flap it against your scrotum for the rest of the week." - Zoey Ashe
  
  “I wish this house had a machine that would make my bra go flying off the moment I walked in the door.” “If such a device existed, Ms. Ashe, I’m certain your father would have had one installed long before you moved in." - Zoey Ashe and her butler.
  
  "Even though he totally deserved it? You, meanwhile, have just shown yourself to at the very least be capable of nonconsensual corpse puppetry.” -you guessed it Zoey Ashe
  
  “The cow came here to scare us into abandoning the quest for justice,” said The Blowback, “after she and her friends tied a man down, still alive, and had a chef make sushi out of his organs as he screamed. Making him watch his own mutilation.” Zoey threw up her hooves again. “You just keep adding things.”“Eating him, while he pled for mercy. Then came the orgy, afterward, around his corpse.”
  
  10/10 for being one of the funniest books I have ever read.
  
  10/10 for amazing plots and characters
  
  10/10 because Will Blackwater fucking deserves it
• 
  Suz Jay

  Zoey Ashe, who inherited a crime empire from her deceased biological dad, finds herself in a pickle when she’s framed for the elaborate death of an enemy. Her hoards of haters get on the band wagon, and not only does she have to clear her name, she must dodge insults and dastardly dudes alike.
  
  This book is bananas. This statement will likely not come as a surprise to anyone who has read the title or seen the cover or who knows of John Wong’s work. The world building and the sheer zaniness is incredible. I enjoyed the Halloween elements and the idea of Zoey’s cat having his own Blink account and devoted followers. However, the endless smack talk about Zoey, and likening her to a cow got old quick. The huge cast of characters felt a bit out of control and the plot with its coincidences, conveniences, and hand waving at the end added to the ridiculousness.
  
  I’d hoped for more of Zoey’s cat Stench Machine and little less of pretty much everything else including page count. I do get that second books in a series can be problematic, especially for someone who hasn’t read the first book. I did like the upbeat, feel good bits in the resolution and the Daisy hand cream was super fun. I did buy book one and plan to read the author’s other series.
  
  I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
  
  Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an Advance Reader Copy.
  
• 
  Corinne

  HOW COULD ZOEY ASHE GET BETTER?!
  I loved this book MORE than I thought possible off the back of Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits.
  We get to explore several issues, including misogyny, capitalism, civil rights, the threat of technology, terrorism and utilitarianism. All of this is done SO BRILLIANTLY through the eyes of a young, ignorant woman from the very lowest socio-economic demographic, who has been catapulted into obscene wealth, status and power. She is learning the ropes of her new criminal empire and grappling with the morality of doing so.
  Still as humorous as ever, with DEEPER character development, STRONGER themes and a superb plot line.
  I mean, cannibal jokes are never not funny.
  I will also be FURIOUS if we do not have another epic addition to this universe.
  I CANNOT LIVE WITH THAT ENDING WITHOUT MORE.
  
  I am not okay, I will be out of office until further notice to process this.
  
  Regards.
• 
  Rachel Maida

  Can't wait for more of this character!
• 
  Tim Hicks

  Stupid title, ridiculous hijinks, lots of action, some snark, awful jokes and some good ones.
  I enjoyed it.
  As a bonus, you get a subplot of actual commentary on society and individuals.
  
  Zoey is an overachiever, but I like her because in each case she doesn't go into the crisis knowing what she will do.
  
  If you've just read a heavy one, this is the antidote.
• 
  Faith Hurst-Bilinski

  It's been a while since I read a David Wong book. I do believe you have to be in the mood for this kind of humor. As I was reading, I found my attention and interest was often dependent on my mood. Usually, I read to leave that all behind. So it doesn't matter what my mood is at any particular moment. Also, I did not read the first book featuring Zoey. I knew that going in and it in no way ruined my enjoyment or understanding of this book.
  
  Now, I loved John Dies at the End. As the sequels went on, I started to tire of how over the top they became. This book was the best David Wong book I have read since that first one. It's quirky and fun. Wong creates a dystopian future and it's pretty easy to figure out the rules as you are reading. No mystery or confusion as you try to figure out how this new world really works. No. It's right in your face. Zoey follows in the footsteps of previous characters who are nowhere near perfect but lives her life as real and as good as she can.
  
  Still, following what I am sure was an action packed book explaining in detail how she became this rich person of power (you get enough of the story to get the gist), she has to be what everyone wants her to be and it isn't even possible. She is being challenged all around. Luckily, she has a pretty strong group around her. For the most part.
  
  As a fan of the previous series, I am glad I picked this one out. Now I have to go out and buy both this one and its predecessor. Thanks for the opportunity to read this ARC.
• 
  Jennifer

  I love David Wong's books. There's a genre that has Carl Hiaasen kind of at one end and Richard Kadrey at the other, that's profane, a little insane, snarky, witty, gross, and packed with social commentary and surprising sweetness, and Wong's books fall within that. The world's not as bent as, say, Nightvale, but it's off and wonderful, familiar things pulled and twisted into something just different enough to allow things to be a little creepier, a little scarier, and a little more ludicrous, all while packing a...you know...punch. This book doesn't disappoint. In fact, I'm off to order the first one, since, for the second time in as many months, I read a book that I didn't realize was part of a series. As with his other books, this one has snappy repartee, wholly silly situations, and a protagonist who, seemingly ill-equipped for the challenges facing her, nonetheless rises to face them and best them again and again. Each of the character's an archetype, but with a twist. And the story speeds along, a shot of adrenalin, relying on the sublimely ridiculous to pull the threads together. The narrator for this Audiobook did a good job, too.
• 
  Cee

  *I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
  
  After loving the first book, when I saw this book was coming out I knew I had to read it. It still has that randomness and ridiculousness that I loved. The futuristic stuff is still interesting as well.
  
  My biggest problem is that at the end of book 1, I thought Zoey had decided to stay, get more educated, and take over. That isn't what it seems like has happened. In fact, for the entire book she keeps wavering on whether she will stay in Tabla Ra$a or if she'll leave. I totally understand why her circle is so annoyed with her and doesn't tell her everything. She isn't all in, heck she's barely half in, so why would they tell her everything?
  
  There are good moments which is how I was able to push to the end, but it felt like a chore, especially after loving the first book. The end is hopefully though, so I'll give the third book a try... if it is ever written. 😉
• 
  Linda

  Zoey continues, but in some ways this story just treads water. No huge technical innovations or space time warping. A lot of action but lacked kissy time and much growth.
• 
  Chris

  This is an excellent hypothetical case study on a few key sociological phenomena:
  
  1) How to be an absolutely awful manager: hire experts, ignore them, insult them, undermine them, criticise them, blame them, and consistently get in their way. Always adopt a dictatorship leadership style. Treat everyone with suspicion and doubt, no matter how much respect they show you. Show your employees that you care more about your cat than their lives! Never, ever admit mistakes!
  
  2) How to go from rags-to-riches hero to spoiled brat: remember you have power now, so you can be a hypocrite! Throw expensive parties, have tantrums when you don't get your own way, yell at everyone, blame them, and expect everyone else to clean up your messes. If it gets hard, insist on going along and then be a burden! Faint often! But not before a nice long rant! Interrupt everyone pointing out your hypocrisy with another blaming rant. Try your best to scapegoat the person pointing out your errors with a personal attack!
  
  3) How to make absolutely awful decisions: act immediately with emotion and gut instinct alone, always put your own pride first, ignore all experts in the room and the majority of your advisers - your zero knowledge is far superior to their decades of experience! If any so-called experts try to convince you of the obvious consequences to your decisions, demand everyone listens to you! You're the boss! Run no threat assessments or background analyses and immediately panic when a poor child says something threatening.
  
  4) How to prove all of your detractors they're right to hate you - with a righteous undertone: Tell everyone they're doing everything wrong while making a long string of awful and deadly mistakes. Be preachy about the value of life while kidnapping and initiating murders and riots. Be a brat and whine that nobody likes you! Be incompetent and whine that nobody listens to you! Demand respect but do absolutely nothing to earn it. Complain about men's general idiocy and blame them for all the world's woes, and then demand gender equality. Condemn any grey-area business plan while sitting on billions in dirty money and spending it on self-indulgent parties. Blame others for trying to save themselves by using black-market resources, while be willing to leave thousands dead in collateral damage over a lost cat!
  
  All in all, Zoey went from understandably incompetent but likeable to not understandably incompetent and unlikeable. Every time she got involved in each challenge of the story, she made it progressively worse with idiotic and emotional decisions, all in the backdrop of tantrums, NONE-STOP hypocritical and righteous rants, faintings, lack of utilisation of her resources and assets, and zero knowledge and learning. I was really, really hoping the antagonists would just kill her toward the end, or that she'd just give the organisation to the actual pros and get out of their way.
  
  Yes, this is still heavily about misogyny, with a good extra dose of racism thrown in without a real connection to the story. Yes, it feels heavy and preachy in places. Some of the vital humour of this story was set aside for far too much social commentary, although it was still overall light-hearted. If the protagonist had some form of transformation into someone likeable, in other words, IF Zoey ACTUALLY punched the future in the dick, this would have been a much more enjoyable story. Instead, she transformed from clueless trailer trash into a useless self-indulgent brat, which made the rest of the story much harder to invest yourself in and the preachiness much harder to agree with (although you can definitely agree that the antagonists of the story are blanket evil).
  
  I am definitely done with this series!
• 
  Rob Caswell

  It's become clear to me that David Wong (Jason Pargin) is not great at writing clean, satisfying endings... but y'know, I just don't care. The the fun of his journeys always outweighs the Blues Brothersesque cop car crash of plotting at the end. The Zoey books are character driven chortle fests, with a tiny bit of scifi frosting on the top. And this one in particular has a socially relevant undercurrent - an examination of conspiracy theories and tribalism - that is anything but preachy, though offers some interesting introspection on the problem.
  
  I've read that the series has been optioned for TV. I'm not sure how well it'll translate as a lot of the books' fun comes from the characters' internal dialogues and the brutally entertaining writing style. But hey - I'd give it a chance if it ever appears. Still, I'm more eager to see a book three in the series than I am to see Zoey, Stench Machine, and the Suits strutting around the small screen.
• 
  Jacques Bezuidenhout

  Probably more like a 3.5* star.
  The first 2/3 of the book was a lot more engaging than the ending.
  
  Like an idiot, I again didn't realize that this is actually a 2nd book in a series of which I didn't read the first. That being said, I think the book functioned pretty well on its own, and I don't feel like I've missed much. It does change on whether I can not read the first book though.
  
  This book is all sorts of crazy and weirdness.
  It has a bit of a
  Snow Crash feel, but written by
  Carl Hiaasen.
  
  You might like it, you might not. Short enough to give it a try.
• 
  Natasha

  These books are the kind of pulpy book that I love/hate.
  The cover, for one thing, is off-putting. To me. But it fits the vibe of the book. Along with the title. . . which I'm also not a fan of.
  And like, I don't really give a shit about what a hypothetical stranger would think if I read this outside. But it is saying something when the picture makes your kids uncomfortable. I don't know. It's just a weird experience.
  But it's a fun read and once I began I went through it quickly. And not *because* of how I feel about the cover but it is a nice coincidence. It's fast-paced and set in a world that's outlandish enough to be frighteningly realistic. I like spending time with Zoey so I'll probably read the next one if/when he writes one. I'm just hoping the cover won't have me needing to explain what something like "punching a dick" means to an elementary-schooler.