The Platinum-Level Transluminal Vacation Package of Your Dreams by Bull Garlington features Heller, who is one sale away from earning a nice retirement package from Transluminal Vacations, Inc. As the characters call it, Heller is close to his “FYMT,” or his “F*** You Money Timeline,” where he would apparently be rich enough to not be concerned with those around him. Did I mention the company specializes in vacations to other universes? After an initial close call, he still needs one sale with one day left, and he has a trainee to bring with him. Needless to say, wild shenanigans ensue. Can Heller make the final sale and survive the universe jumping one last time?

The casual yet defined writing style employed by author Garlington is what provides the incredulous yet unsurprised tone. There are even footnotes that the narrator employs to talk about himself. The long tangents that pop up randomly yet elegantly are most entertaining, though. For example, an excellent paragraph about the phrase “pregnant silence” that the narrator decided to replace with “festering moment” was a favorite of mine. They’re not all hits, though; if one misses and goes on for too long, it can be a bit off-putting.

Also, some jokes target American politics with some not-so-subtle satire, so if you’re easily triggered by that sort of thing, be forewarned.

Still, this book is pure entertainment. This book is for you if you like a quick wit and quite a bit of eccentricity. I don’t know if I’d be interested in more of the zaniness of this particular story. Still, I can tell you that I appreciate this author’s writing style and the tone he can establish and utilize with such ease. I’ll be looking for more work from him, but maybe in a storyline that’s a little more grounded.

Pages: 361 | ASIN :  B091X323YD