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So. This is a bit of a mixed feelings for me. I actually put the book down and didn't pick it up again for a long time; and all because of the heist plot which the book starts with. I actually had the same problem with Mogworld, sure there weren't a heist plot, but there was a point in the book where it dragged just too much before it came back around.

Now, if I had actually read one more page from where I put it down, I would have discovered that there was literally only one page left of the heist plot and then the book goes back to being just as good as the first one. It didn't top the first one, even ignoring the heist, it was more of the same; and I like that. A story doesn't have to get better (or worse) with each sequel, as long as they stay consistently good, I'm happy, and this one surely did!

Yahtzee Croshaw is one of those authors who stays consistent. Everything he writes is good in some way or another. It's an author you can trust to always deliver a good experience; which is something rare.

So, because of the heist that went on for far too long (pretty much exactly 100 pages). I can't say this book is his best, but it is definitely consistent with the previous installment in the series, and I am eagerly looking forward to the next in the series.

As per usual detective stories, red herrings were all over the place, with the added benefit of being a Yahtzee story, carefully following the good writers trope of having the main character put themselves deeper and deeper into shit of their own makings. It's always a question of how the main character will shovel themselves out of the mountain of shit they've covered themselves in.

The story was coherent and well thought out. Set in the same universe as Mogworld and Jam; but the narrative felt somewhat lacking compared to his other more recent stories. There was something off about the writing, perhaps because it was written in third person rather than first person like his previous book. It was as if the story was written for Channel 4.

But! The story never really got boring, there wasn't a moment where I felt it was a good time to put down the book, as the rare slough still added important elements to the development to make it worth speeding through.

All in all, it was a funny story with a fun cast, and I especially loved the social commentary satire. Yahtzee always has some of it in his books as a form of humor, but this one really kept on delivering!

If there was one thing that disappointed me and made me feel a bit let down, it was the after end reveal. I loved the reveal, just not where he went with it. Because it had been foreshadowed to death and sort-of ruined the expectation of a grand and clever twist. Though there are some legroom to recover that disappointment by turning it on its nose in the sequel; here is for hoping!

When I first saw this book listed on reddit in the selfpublish sub, i thought "that's the dumbest title i've ever seen." For the next 2-3 day I kept thinking about the title, and how stupid a book must be with such a title. The book also being self-published by a first time author was off-putting. The description, too, suggesting it's a silly low-budget horror movie type story, wasn't peaking my interest.

But the title. The title stuck. I bought the damn book.

Lo and behold, it is probably one of the best pieces of literature I've ever come across.

Growing up in a small town myself, Steven somehow captured the exact environment, social and otherwise, that I grew up in. I could connect with all the characters on a personal level, like looking through a mirror. Like this was my own life story. It was vivid, and real. More real than I've ever felt reading a silly book about space zombies.

I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who want to try something different. The title, the description, it may all be weird and strange and not pique anyones interest. But the content of the actual book, that's an entirely different story. It makes sense, in a way, the way the title is written, the way the description is written. I don't think I could have made a better go at it myself. It's a shame Steven moved away from writing to focus on film. He had a talent that could rival the greats, if he had been given the opportunity.