Ira Nayman's Street Finds Its Own Uses for Mutant Technologies was published in June 2013.
Information about the author:
You can find information about Ira Nayman by visiting his official website: Les Pages aux Folles.
Information about Street Finds Its Own Uses for Mutant Technologies:
The Alternate Reality News Service is proud to announce its latest collection of paper cutting edge journalism! Oww! Better put some disinfectant on that reportage!
The Street Finds Its Own Uses for Mutant Technologies is the fourth book in the series of humourous science fiction journalism. In this volume, killing people with guns made by 3-D printers, then melting them down and using the materials to create sculptures becomes an art movement. A satirical Web site's reputation comes into question when it accidentally publishes a true story. Long passages of exposition from speculative fiction stories make their way into the Info Dump on the outskirts of the city. And, the war on doughnuts takes some unusual – but unusually tasty – turns.
Sweet!
A REVIEW OF IRA NAYMAN'S STREET FINDS ITS OWN USES FOR MUTANT TECHNOLOGIES
Before I begin to write this review, I'll mention that this book offers a lot write to about, but I'll try not to reveal too much information about the happenings, because I don't want to spoil anybody's reading pleasure by writing too many spoilers. (To be honest, writing a review about this book is actually pretty difficult, because this book isn't a normal book that has a clear plot.)
I read Street Finds Its Own Uses for Mutant Technologies after I had finished reading The Alternate News Service's Guide to Love, Sex and Robots. It was a good decision, because this book was totally different from the guide book, but contained similar kind of humour. Although these two books are different from each other, they go nicely hand in hand, because both of them are books about The Alternate Reality News Service.
Here's a bit of information about the structure of Street Finds Its Own Uses for Mutant Technologies :
This book differs quite a lot from normal science fiction books, because it consists of newspaper-like articles and essays. It's a collection of alternate reality journalism.
This book has been divided into seven sections that contain specific articles and essays. Each of these sections complements the other sections and together they form an intriguing and memorable vision of alternate reality that differs from our reality.
The seven sections are:
1. Alternate Introduction
2. Alternate Sleep of Reason
3. Alternate Science and Technology
4. Alternate Politics
5. Alternate Arts and Culture
6. Alternate Alternates
7. Alternate Help
Here's information about what readers will find in this book:
The commentators, reporters and journalists of The Alternate Reality News won't leave anybody cold when they report about mind-blowing technologies, wars and other happenings that are fascinatingly weird, but strangely believable in all their craziness. The commentators, reporters and journalists are divided into Science Writers, Urban Issues Writers, Film Writers, Politics Writers and Literature Writers etc - each writer writes about a specific subject.
Street Finds Its Own Uses for Mutant Technologies contains interesting politics, arts and culture. If you've ever wondered what things could be like in an alternate reality, now is your chance to find out what's happening in alternate reality. I can reveal that what you'll find out will impress you a lot and make you laugh out loud.
The readers will have a chance to read about mutant techologies that have changed the world. The Psychrect 2000, Raiders of the Lost Arb, and Hit and Run are just three examples of what readers can find in this book. The author writes brilliantly about new technology and how it affects people and their lives.
Terms like Dumbopratic President Barry W. Bushbamclintreagbush and The United States of Vesampucceri are simply brilliant, and the Doughnut War was a fantastic invention. These terms are just a few examples of what Ira Nayman has in store for his readers. He can write about almost anything and he does it well. His humour ranges all the way from literature and politics to computer games and toilets - his humour doesn't discriminate anobody or anything.
I especially enjoyed reading about culture and arts, because the author writes fluently about writers, novels, films, computer games and other things. It's amazing how well and ruthlessly he parodizes popular culture in this book. For example, it was very interesting to read about Stefan Spielborg's new film about Tamagotchis, because the article was simply fantastic. I'm sure that several readers be laughing out loud when they read about popular culture and such things as Bad Boys 13, The Long Cow Clicker, The Bourne Exploitation and Star Whores.
I have to mention that The Alternate Introduction is a hilarious interview with Brenda Grundtland-Govanni 002 and Brenda Grundtland-Govanni 007. It's a brilliant verbal battle between two women.
In my opinion Ira Nayman's humour is as sharp as the edge of a broken glass and he's able to make fun of almost anything. Everything is possible in his alternate reality stories - anything can and will happen in them.
What makes Ira Nayman's humour work so well in this book is that he's an intelligent author who doesn't underestimate the intelligence of his readers. He uses politics, technology and popular culture as tools to create intelligent and satirical humour that will surprise his readers. This book is a good example of how he manages to combine different elements and makes everything seem fresh and original.
What Ira Nayman has created here is nothing short of amazing and miraculous, because The Altenate Reality News Service provides all kinds of alternate information to science fiction readers. The journalists in The Alternate Reality News Service report of all kinds of happenings and several of these happenings are very funny and unexpected.
I have to confess that I admire the author's ability to create interesting names and terms. He somehow manages to come up with humorous names that will delight readers (this is something that only a few authors are capable of doing).
What I like most about this book is that the author has clearly spent a lot of time thinking about what alternate reality can be like and how different things can be in another reality. In my opinion his vision of alternate reality offers perfect entertainment for readers who know something about culture, history and politics.
I think it's good to mention that it's possible that readers who aren't used to reading books that consist of articles and essays may find this book a bit weird. I can say to these readers that don't give up after a couple of articles, because you'll soon find yourselves hooked by them. When you've read all of them you can't help but wonder how the author has managed to create The Alternate Reality News Service and how easily he parodizes several different things.
After reading Street Finds Its Own Uses for Mutant Technologies and The Alternate News Service's Guide to Love, Sex and Robots I can say that Ira Nayman is a unique author who has a style of his own. It's almost impossible to compare his writing style to other authors' writing styles, but if I have to compare him, I can say that the closest matches are Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Stephen Fry.
If you haven't discovered Ira Nayman yet, you MUST read his stories. He's definitely the best sci-fi humourist at this moment.
Highly recommended to all readers who have a good sense of humour!