I found this futuristic sci-fi tale to be fun, thought-provoking and thoroughly enjoyable. Like the blurb states this book handles some big themes but with an unapologetic humour that will surely have you laughing. Samson jumps around from topic to topic leaving only lingering impressions and covers a multitude of ideas that really makes the reader wonder about the purpose of everything.

I had a lot of fun with this read and I love the art work and looked forward to the adverts which I thought were quite fun, but understand it might not be for everyone. With everything from flying pigs and talking cats to imortality it is definitely worth a read!

Thank you to LibraryThing and Samson Tonauac for providing me a print copy in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Samson Tonauac’s Dreamsphere: The Day We Stopped Dreaming uses science fiction to critique capitalist consumer culture. The novel jumps around in time, from the recent past to the not-too-distant future and even the far future, examining cultural cataclysm, the place of religion, and more. In terms of structure and content, Tonauac’s work resembles Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake while the use of philosophy and introspection recalls the work of Philip K. Dick. There is, however, something markedly different in the execution. Tonauac rapidly alternates between topics and ideas, so that none can fully develop to begin establishing a lasting pattern in the reader’s mind. The inclusion of fake advertisements within the text and in erdinnandus’ artwork is likely intended to recall similar content in Paul Verhoeven’s adaptation of Starship Troopers, though the already jumbled nature of the story means that these elements are simply more of the same instead of serving to punctuate larger themes. The book originally appeared in Kindle format and it closely resembles media written for an audience increasingly accustomed to brevity in digital work. I was primarily drawn to this work due to my interest in science fiction and the way science fiction can examine and interrogate philosophy. With that in mind, there are a lot of interesting ideas, but Tonauac doesn’t take the time to fully develop them or let them settle before changing topics, so that they don’t linger and take on importance in the reader’s mind. In the interest of full disclosure, I received a copy of this book through a member giveaway on LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Well! I have no idea what I've just read.

It's a mix of sci-fi, humor, and has some historical elements tossed in. The comical side was fantastic! I was laughing out loud and some of the antics of the characters. This novella is written in an intriguing way, introducing new characters without making it confusing, which seems to be a hard thing for most writers to accomplish successfully. The colorful artwork is appreciated; I quite enjoyed each new chapter bringing with it a new drawing.

Now, onto the things I couldn't quite get over. The over-the-top blunt writing style; it makes the characters seem a bit one-dimensional and lacking. The continued mention of suicide; I understand that it was the goal to make it seem like there were no other options left in life, but this just reiterates my point about the blunt writing.

All in all, I do recommend this book if you're in search of a comical, kind of dark science fiction read.

Thank you to LibraryThing and Samson Tonauac for providing me an advanced print copy in exchange for an honest review. ( )