Ira Nayman's You Can't Kill the Multiverse (But You Can Mess with Its Head) was published in a digital edition in January 2014 and will be published in paperback in April 2014.
Information about Ira Nayman:
You can find information about Ira Nayman by visiting his official website: Les Pages aux Folles. You can also visit his Facebook page: Ira Nayman's Thrishty Friednishes.
Information about You Can't Kill the Multiverse (But You Can Mess with Its Head):
It's just another day in the Transdimensional Authority, with teams of investigators doing what they do best (well, after breakdancing) – investigating. Bob Blunt is en route through a Dimensional Portal™ to Earth prime 4-7-5-0-0-7 dash iota to investigate cars exhibiting most uncarlike behaviours – ribbit! (Breaking all of the Transdimensional Authority rules... number 127, he is without his partner, "Breakfront" Balboa, who is on leave after an unfortunate incident with the Vulvar Ambassador to Earth Prime and a staple gun). Beau Beaumont and Biff Buckley have already arrived on Earth Prime 5-9-2-7-7-1 dash theta to find themselves surrounded by machines whose only intention is to serve human masters – even if it kills them! Recently recruited TA investigator Noomi Rapier, with her partner "Crash" Chumley, is on Earth Prime 6-4-7-5-0-6 dash theta where all matter at all levels of organisation (from sub-atomic particles to the universe itself) has become conscious. Meanwhile Barack Bowens and Blabber Begbie, taking the Dimensional DeLorean™ to Earth prime 4-6-3-0-2-9 dash omicron, face multiple apocalypses (already in progress), and Bertrand Blailock and Bao Bai-Leung are having trouble travelling to their intended destination: the home of the digital gods.
At first, they all appear to be looking for unauthorised and probably counterfeit Home Universe Generator™s, but could what's really happening be more sinister? (Yes. Yes, it could. We wouldn’t want to leave you in suspense...)
The second book in Ira Nayman's Transdimensional Authority series, You Can't Kill the Multiverse (But You Can Mess with its Head) follows on from Welcome to the Multiverse (Sorry for the Inconvenience). Ira gives us another insight into the world of the Transdimensional Authority and its investigators. New recruit Noomi turns up in other universes once more. We meet some favourite characters again (both lifeforms and non-lifeforms) along with some new ones as we follow a series of investigations in various Alternate Realities.
A REVIEW OF IRA NAYMAN'S YOU CAN'T KILL THE MULTIVERSE (BUT YOU CAN MESS WITH ITS HEAD)
You Can't Kill the Multiverse (But You Can Mess with Its Head) is the second book in the Transdimensional Authority series. It's a sequel to Welcome to the Multiverse (Sorry for the Inconvenience) and what a sequel it is! It's one of the best, funniest and most inventive humorous sci-fi books ever written. It's a book in which intelligent humour meets absurdism in a uniquely entertaining way.
It's been a long time since I've read anything as good and funny as this book. The only other similar books that I've read have been Ira Nayman's books (all the books that I've read by him have been excellent and extremely funny). The first word that came to mind after I had finished reading this book was "Wow!", because it was an excellent book full of humour.
In my opinion You Can't Kill the Multiverse (But You Can Mess with Its Head) is a better book than its amazing predecessor, Welcome to the Multiverse (Sorry for the Inconvenience). This is quite an achievement, because the first book was a uniquely comic approach to travelling between dimensions and alternate realities. This book continues to amaze the readers with sarcastic, parodical and witty humour, but this time the author offers even more laughs than before.
I think it's good to mention that although this book is a sequel to Welcome to the Multiverse (Sorry for the Inconvenience), it can be read as a standalone book. I have to mention that there are certain things which may feel a bit weird unless you're familiar with the first book, but that isn't a problem, because the story is good. (If you enjoy reading this book, please make sure that you read the first book, because you'll love it.)
Here's information about the story:
- In Welcome to the Multiverse (Sorry for the Inconvenience) the author introduced the Transdimensional Authority and its agents to his readers. Now he writes more about them and their adventures in different alternate realities as they investigate what's going on and try to figure out what has happened.
- In You Can't Kill the Multiverse (But You Can Mess with Its Head) an evil wizard tries to use a spell for world domination, but things go badly wrong. He hasn't taken into account how a different universe will affect his spell. The consequences of casting the spell are absurd and cause quite a lot of problems for the Transdimensional Authority. Soon the agents of the Transdimensional Authority have lots of things to do, because things aren't as simple as one might expect...
- Bob Blunt investigates what has happened to the cars on Earth prime 4-7-5-0-0-7 dash iota. Biff Buckley and Beau Beaumont visit Earth Prime 5-9-2-7-7-1 dash theta where machines are behaving in an interesting and odd way. Barack Bowens and Blabber Begbie take the Dimensional DeLorean™ to Earth prime 4-6-3-0-2-9 dash omicron and experience a simultaneous alien invasion, robot uprising and zombie apocalypse. Noomi Rapier and "Crash" Chumley are on Earth Prime 6-4-7-5-0-6 dash theta where all kinds of things have become conscious. Bertrand Blailock and Bao Bai-Leung have a bit of trouble travelling to their intended destination...
Ira Nayman writes fluently and interestingly about the characters and their personalities. Each character is memorable in his/her/its own way, because each of them is a unique character.
It was wonderful to read about the already familiar characters. It was especially nice to read about Noomi Rapier, because she's a fantastic character. I also enjoyed reading about her partner, "Crash" Chumley, because Noomi and Crash have an interesting working relationship and their conversations are fun to read. (I'm not sure if other readers agree with me on this, but in my opinion Noomi and Crash remind a bit of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully from The X-Files.)
I think it's great that the author introduced new characters to the readers, because they added quite a lot of depth to the story and allowed the author to explore several different things. It was nice to read how the new characters felt about the happenings and how they acted in different situations.
Farrah "Faith" Achmed and Rachel "Hope" Hoppshivitz are interesting characters, because they're almost like Cagney and Lacey. The author uses Cagney and Lacey references in a charmingly humorous and intelligent way to tell how the characters act and what they do. I think that all readers who have seen episodes of Cagney and Lacey will enjoy reading about Faith and Hope.
I also have to mention that it was fantastic to read about Doctor Alhambra and his work. He's one of the most intriguing scientists ever to appear in sci-fi books, because he's a brilliant and intelligent scientist who loves experimentation.
It was great that Ira Nayman wrote fluently about Biff Buckley's homosexuality and his attempts to talk about his sexuality with his partner. Biff's conversations with Beau about his sexuality are both humorous and well written. It was nice to read about these conversations.
The investigations on the different Earths are described exceptionally well, because the author brings plenty of depth and style to the story by writing about the different agents and their adventures on the different Earths. Reading about what the agents do is fascinating, because several minor details are revealed about the different Earths and their inhabitants during the course of the investigations.
Noomi and Crash's visit to Earth Prime 6-4-7-5-0-6 dash theta deserves a special mention, because it's a universe in which all matter has become conscious. Noomi and Crash find themselves surrounded by conscious objects etc. Their meeting with Antonio Van der Wahl, an object psychologist, is one of the most memorable scenes in this book. Without going into too many details and spoilers, I can say that Earth Prime 6-4-7-5-0-6 dash theta is quite a unique place, because things are more different there than anywhere else in other universes (Earth prime 4-6-3-0-2-9 dash omicron is also a unique place because of all the apocalypses happening there, but I'll write more about it later).
Ira Nayman has an ability to combine fantasy elements with science fiction elements in a fluent and intriguing way. The parts in which he uses fantasy elements are entertaining and enjoyable. Reading about the evil wizard and his spells was wonderful. I also enjoyed reading about the gnomes and dragons.
The articles and newsflashes from Alternate Reality News Service are as inventive and hilariously funny as in the previous book. These newsflashes contain information about such things as extreme vacations, food, zombies, Extinction Event Museum, sperm races and several other unforgettable things. I can't help but wonder how the author has come up with all these humorous newsflashes, because they're amazing.
This novel also contains mentions of such extraordinary things as Prassmodic brood mare, giant frogs, Dance of the Seven Intangible Volatilities, the Granfa Windermeerloon, soft-core zombie porn and plenty of other things. It's difficult not to smile and laugh while reading about these things, because the author writes about them in such a loving and witty way that you feel like you've never read anything similar before.
I have to mention that Ira Nayman writes brilliantly about the simultaneous alien invasion, robot uprising and zombie apocalypse on Earth prime 4-6-3-0-2-9 dash omicron. Normally authors write only about one apocalypse, but Ira Nayman writes about several simultaneous apocalypses and he does it perfectly. His vision of an Earth full of apocalypses is stunningly brilliant and amusing.
It's also good to mention that the author writes fluently about things related to sex and sexuality. He doesn't shy away from this kind of material, but uses it to spice up the story.
The interrogations of Malvoncellius and Jeroshi Cornifferous are hilarious, because Blunt has his own way of making the suspects talk. If you've ever thought that interrogations are boring, you must take a closer look at the interrogations in this book, because there's nothing boring in them.
I'm sure that readers who are familiar with popular culture will have a good time reading this book. All readers who know something about literature, speculative fiction, films and all things associated to them will immensely enjoy reading the story.
There are several references to popular culture in this book. It's actually amazing how many pop culture references there are, because this book is stock full of them. For example, Ira Nayman mentions and/or refers to The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Lord of the Rings, Dr. Who, Hill Street Blues, Catherine Deneuve and Wagner's Ring Cycle in different ways in the story. I'm not going to reveal how the author uses these references, but I'll mention that he uses them in a delightfully humorous and inventive way.
It's simply amazing how the author has come up with all the stuff that can be found on the pages of this book. Just when you think that you've read everything there to know about certain things, the author manages to surprise you with new revelations (for example, what he reveals about dragons and their offspring is very interesting). His sparklingly sharp humour is simply marvellous. This book is so satirical and parodical that you can't help but laugh out loud while reading it.
Just like the first book, this book also contains philosophical elements. The philopsophical elements are nicely hidden under layers of humour and sharp dialogues, but they can be found there. Intelligent readers will easily notice that the author isn't afraid of adding a bit of philosophy and words of wisdom to the story when needed.
One of the best things about this book is that Ira Nayman has a totally original writing style that differs from other authors' writing styles. It's possible that it may take a bit of time for readers to get used to the author's writing style, but you get used to it, you're hooked and you don't want to stop reading this book.
If you've read Douglas Adams (and enjoyed what you read by him), you're in for a real treat when you begin to read Ira Nayman. Ira Nayman delivers sharp and delicious humour for readers who are interested in humorous science fiction. Nothing is safe from his sarcastic and satirical sense of humour, because he has an ability to make fun of many different things. I dare say that Ira Nayman is a better writer than Douglas Adams, because nothing seems to be sacred to him and he writes boldly about all kinds of happenings. In my opinion he has a slightly sharper and more parodical sense of humour than Douglas Adams.
If I had to describe Ira Nayman's sense of humour to readers who have never read his books before, I'd probably say that his humour is a hybrid of the elements that can be found in the works of Douglas Adams, Stephen Fry and David Sedaris. When I read this book, these three authors came to my mind. Ira Nayman has the same kind of sarcastic approach to several things as they do.
I could write a lot more about this book, because I enjoyed it very much, but I think that now is the time to stop praising it and write the last words of this review.
You Can't Kill the Multiverse (But You Can Mess with Its Head) is a unique science fiction book that should be read by everybody who enjoyes reading humorous books. If you've ever wondered what it feels like to read a science fiction book that's full of inventive humour and humorous references, now is your chance to do so. You won't regret reading this book!
My final words are: You Can't Kill the Multiverse (But You Can Mess with Its Head) is a fantastic book for readers who want to read quality humour and laugh out loud while reading a book. Highly recommended!