Bash Bash Revolution: A Novel

Lain, Douglas

3.39 out of 5 stars

113 ratings by Goodreads

9781543680348: Bash Bash Revolution: A Novel

ISBN 10: 1543680348 ISBN 13: 9781543680348

Publisher: Brilliance Audio, 2018

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A compelling coming-of-age artificial intelligence novel from Philip K. Dick Award-nominated author Douglas Lain.

Seventeen-year-old Matthew Munson is ranked thirteenth in the state in Bash Bash Revolution, an outdated video game from 2002 that, in 2017, is still getting tournament play. He’s a high school dropout who still lives at home with his mom, doing little but gaming and moping. That is, until Matthew’s dad turns up again.

Jeffrey Munson is a computer geek who’d left home eight years earlier to work on a top secret military project. Jeff has been a sporadic presence in Matthew’s life, and much to his son’s displeasure insists on bonding over video games. The two start entering local tournaments together, where Jeff shows astonishing aptitude for Bash Bash Revolution in particular.

Then, as abruptly as he appeared, Matthew’s father disappears again, just as he was beginning to let Jeff back into his life.

The betrayal is life-shattering, and Matthew decides to give chase, in the process discovering the true nature of the government-sponsored artificial intelligence program his father has been involved in. Told as a series of conversations between Matthew and his father’s artificial intelligence program, Bash Bash Revolution is a wildly original novel of apocalypse and revolution, as well as a poignant story of broken family.

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About the Author

Douglas Lain is the author of Billy Moon and After the Saucers Landed, the editor of two speculative fiction anthologies, In the Shadow of the Towers and Deserts of Fire, and the publisher of Zero Books, which specializes in philosophy and political theory. He hosts the Zero Squared podcast, interviewing a wide range of fascinating and engaging people with insights for the new millennium. Lain lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife and children.

Review

Praise for Bash Bash Revolution
“A fun read; that is, until you close the book and start thinking about its implications. This is not a cartoonish sketch: it is a realistic and bleak look at the post-singularity world. An easy suggestion for fans of current, accessible science fiction that thoughtfully contemplates AI such as Cline's Ready Player One or Cargill's Sea of Rust, but it is also a great choice for those who enjoy John Scalzi’s narrative style.” ―Booklist, starred review
“Bearing similarities to M.T. Anderson’s Feed, this timely novel explores the affordances and pitfalls of connecting and changing the world with technology.”―School Library Journal
“A fascinating mash-up of philosophy and video game culture. The kind of book that will stick with you long after you put it down.”
―A.C. Wise, author of The Kissing Booth Girl and Other Stories
“Hip, intelligent and utterly addictive. Strap in for a wild ride.”―Gareth L. Powell, author of Ack-Ack Macaque and Embers of War
"Lain's writing is unsettling, ferociously smart, and extremely addictive."―Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble
"A sharp shell of inventive geeky goodness around a devastatingly human core."―Suzanne Palmer