Dave Johnston

4.5 stars

Lot Nobody is a nobody. He’s practically invisible and not even his teachers seem to know he exists. Until Ethan, the new boy in school, who immediately started talking to Lot, and never stopped, and witnessed Lot’s mysterious disappearances, sans clothes, including his underwear! It’s the strangest thing; one second Lot is there and the next he’s naked on a beautiful tropical island, where the native people are occasionally gifted with people from the outside world. While trying to figure out why this is happening and his place on the island, Lot and Ethan go up against Hector Shady, who, for unknown reasons, is collecting beautiful statues that wash up on the shore all over the world and Johnny Hound, the class bully who has taken a shining to Ethan.

I don’t normally enjoy YA, but this one is a spectacular read for adults, too. I first saw this cover during its Kindle Scout campaign and was instantly intrigued by the cover and summary. While it was not selected for publication, it is an amazingly entertaining read and I’m very glad the author published it anyways. There are few books that stick with me like this one does. I can still vividly see the island, long to see one of the beautiful statues for myself, smile weeks later at the friendship between Lot and Ethan, and want to know what comes next.

The characterizations are really what do it for me. Every character is unique and interesting with personalities that just draw you in. Admittedly, I didn’t always understand what Ethan was saying, with all of his slang and pop culture references, but he is arguably one of the most memorable characters I have come across in a long time. Lot was relatable and complex and felt like that adolescent boy who stands on the outskirts of everything, but also understands and sees all. He was wonderfully developed throughout the book. My one complaint is that the more minor characters, notably Ethan’s family, seem little more than robots. They hardly talk and have virtually no personality.

While the story was great, it did start up a little on the slow side. Certainly, we are introduced to Lot disappearing fairly quickly, but it is awhile before he meets anyone. While the primary conflict seems to be shaping up to be between Lot and Shady, most of the first half of the book revolves around Johnny bullying Ethan. Until the story really picked up about halfway through, I wasn’t entirely sure of what this book was about. However, once I hit that second half, I was enthralled. Lot really started coming into his own and I want to know about Lot, the island, Shady, the statues, and even Lot’s grandfather and how they all work together.

I usually have a few comments about the writing, but, in this case, I don’t. I was so invested in the story that I didn’t actually pay attention to the writing, so, kudos, Mr. Johnston, I really enjoyed the story!

The Bottom Line: This was one very entertaining and memorable story great for young adults and adults. There are few first books that make me want to read a sequel. This is one of those unicorns. A great read about friendship and bullying and finding yourself, seriously consider The Lot of a Nobody if this is the kind of thing you enjoy reading, or even if it’s not.

This review can also be found on my blog https://katpersephone.wordpress.com… (más)

Followers of Dave Johnston have discovered this interesting and unique presentation called Sixty Minute Reads. Do they take sixty minutes to read? Maybe, it depends on how much the reader wants to invest in exploring tangents that Johnston inspires. I liked Atomic Number Sixty which I reviewed elsewhere on this site and looked forward to what Johnston would come up with next. This story, Massacre of the Sixty is also entertaining in content and interesting in organization. For this one, there must be a bit of suspension of disbelief in martial arts prowess of the characters but the objective is entertainment so, be prepared to be entertained.

The sixty-minute theme is explored in at least three ways. Externally, this is flash fiction and a reader might read it in sixty minutes. Secondly, in content, there is a fight contest to the death where the winner will be the only one of sixty contestants left alive. The fight takes place in a stadium where new contestants are added at predictable times in groups of six. At least, that was the plan. The entire contest takes place in sixty minutes. It is easy to note that those released early in the contest fight the most; stamina of an early winner will be severely tested. Holly is an early contestant. Third, the theme is followed when we find that Holly has a body clock with accuracy that rivals the Atomic clock. Despite vigorous efforts in the stadium, her body clock tells her when new contestants will enter the arena. This becomes part of her strategic planning.

So where did all these contestants come from? They are basic scum-of-the-earth criminal types invited to the contest by a supreme scum-of-the-earth leader of an organization called the Hollow Falx. They are a secret, evil organization. Holly is part of a secret, good organization although we might get into the end justifies the means argument here. Holly’s boss entered her in the contest to find out everything about the Hollow Falx so it could be righteously destroyed. But to do that, Holly must survive the contest which means she must kill anyone opposing her.

There is an immediate contradiction here. This is the Massacre of the Sixty. Even if Holly wins, she is still one of the sixty. This is not the massacre of the fifty-nine. Readers will want to stick around to see how that works out.

We, the omniscient readers, know how this is going to work out, we just don’t know how. So where are the spoilers? I found them in the several (more like many) insertions of clever humor. I can’t report them but the reader will be entertained by some of the clever wordplays.

If you can’t stand descriptions of violence, this might not be the novel for you. But if you can see some humor in a fighting contestant armed with a flamethrower who manages to toast her own feet, read on. I found this read great fun.… (más)

Atomic Number Sixty by Dave Johnston is an interesting, quirky little novel with an interesting premise. The reader should be able to finish the book in one hour ... or so. Each of the sixty chapters begins with a time stamp in the upper right, just to keep you motivated, of course. In fact, the time stamp is not for you; it is for Holly. It marks the last hour of her life and she asks the all-important question that many of us have asked ourselves, mostly in some sort of party game atmosphere. What would you do or think about or feel if you knew you had only one more hour to live? Or one more year, or one more day. There are lots of variations on “the game.” And this game is more vital than the other party games Holly suggests, Scrabble or Snakes and Ladders, played naked.

There is a lot of death in this short read. Holly’s brother died while she and he were still young. The horse in the barn died. Leo’s friend Dimitri died. William the janitor died. And the threat of the imminent death of Leo, Holly, and anyone in City Hall are the cocoon holding the novel together for its short life.

What can the reader expect? A fast read. A surprise ending. And the comfortable knowledge that the reader will be able to get through it and be surprised in a period of time under two hours, for sure. Maybe you will not be able to get through it in one hour. It is only polite to say hi to the kids when they come through the door while you are reading this. There might be snack preparation time or a bathroom break.

But for completion addicts, this is an easy one to add to your “done” list or strike off your “to do” list.… (más)