The Killbug Eulogies
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The Killbug Eulogies
Narrated by:
Will Madden
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Narrated by:
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Will Madden
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By:
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Will Madden
About this listen
Disemboweled by the razor scythes of a six-foot mantis, lobotomized by hungry larvae, or roasted on an exoskeletal skewer: these are only a few of the disgusting ways to die in humanity's hopeless war against giant space insects. Deployed on a brutal bug planet without a chaplain, a depleted infantry unit has entrusted its eulogy duties to the soldier standing closest at time of death. Somehow this rotten privilege keeps falling to Pvt. Timothy Archon.
Archon's speeches explore the strange obsessions the men have developed since the war began - from archiving killbug death psalms to trying to seduce the enemy. Did these manias somehow redeem them, or only bring them quicker to their messy ends?
But more importantly: Why does Archon keep having such terrible luck?
©2017 Will Madden (P)2017 Square Straw PressListeners also enjoyed...
Beyond the eulogy framework of the book, one thing that really stands out is the fairly dark humour in the writing, it is a tone that seems to suit the book perfectly.
Sometimes when an author reads their own book it can sometimes result in quite a dry reading without the level of performance you might expect from a professional narrator, but in this case the author uses his obvious familiarity with his own work to produce a strong narration that serves to enhance your enjoyment of the book.
Having enjoyed this book, I will definitely keep an eye out for other works from this author in the future.
[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]
An interesting approach to a familiar sci-fi theme
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Any additional comments?
With four months left before the relief ship arrives to rescue any survivors of the military troop fighting a futile battle against the Killbug, large mantis like insects, and with their chaplain dead, the funeral eulogies are left to the men. One Timothy Arcon takes on the task when no one else will do itThis is a really unusual story comprising, in effect, ten short stories, risqué vignettes of nine men who die in somewhat bizarre circumstances, a thumbnail of each life and relationship with Arcon and the unit, and their own personal peculiarities. Often very amusing and certainly surprising, there is definitely a profound interest shown in genitalia in various guises. Each is also quite different from it's predecessors, my personal favourite being the life, and death, of Gilbert Rasher, the so called psychopath. The final chapter tells of the relief ship finally arriving to collect anyone still alive, with it's surprising extra passengers and even more outrageous ramblings.
Books narrated by their authors often leave a lot to be desired but, in this case, the performance is superb. Will Madden perfectly captures the voice of the sardonic, often sarcastic eulogy giver, Arcon, his fiction clear and unsurprisingly, his understanding and nuances of the text clearly demonstrated.With a lesser narration, this book could easily have become tedious with the fine emphasis lost alone the way.
Probably best listened to as short stories, heard with short breaks along the way rather than as one continuous whole, this is a fun story, of a little crude in parts. It is certainly original and immaginative in both construction and content. Funny, too. My thanks to the rights holder who freely gifted me a copy at my request, via Audiobook Boom. I enjoyed it very much.
Fingers in the sand
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