James Walley's The Forty First Wink was published by Ragnarok Publications in May 2014.
Information about James Walley:
Arriving in the rainy isle of Great Britain in the late '70s, James quickly became an enthusiast of all things askew. Whilst growing up in a quaint little one horse town that was one horse short, a steady diet of movies, '50s sci fi and fantasy fiction finally convinced him to up sticks and move to Narnia - also known to the layman as Wales. Since there was no available qualification in talking lion taming or ice sculpture, he settled for a much more humdrum degree in something vague but practical, and set out to find a talking lion to make an ice sculpture of.
Mystifyingly finding himself behind the desk of a nine to five job, he kept himself sane by singing in a rock band, memorizing every John Carpenter movie ever made, and learning the ancient art of voodoo. Finally deciding to put his hyperactive imagination to good use, he ditched the voodoo and picked up a pen. A few months later, his debut novel, The Forty First Wink, was born. With a clutch of short stories in the offing, James is now loving his new life as an author, and still sings when plied with alcohol or compliments.
He also recently developed a penchant for fiercely embellishing his past. He really was a singer, although The Forty First Wink may not have brought about world peace. Yet.
Information about The Forty First Wink:
Marty is having a bad morning. Roused from slumber by a gang of polo mallet-wielding monkeys and a mysterious voice in his wardrobe, he must quickly come to terms with the fact that the world outside his door is now the world inside his head. Lying in wait amidst bleak, gloomy streets, deserted theme parks, and circus-themed nightclubs, lurks the oppressive shadow of a myriad of giggling, cackling pursuers, hell bent on throwing a custard pie or two into the works.
Assisted by a string of half-cocked schemes, a troupe of tiny unlikely allies, and (literally) the girl of his dreams, Marty sets out on a heroic quest to wake up and get out of bed.
Early reviews have compared it to Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. Equal parts epic, funny and dark, The Forty First Wink plummets headlong into the realms of askew reality, adding elements of the macabre, and squeezing in an unlikely love story for good measure. It will take you on a journey where not even the sky is the limit, and literally anything could be around the next corner. The question is, do you have the guts (and the sanity) to find out?
A REVIEW OF JAMES WALLEY'S THE FORTY FIRST WINK
The Forty First Wink is James Walley's debut novel. I was positively surprised by this debut novel's entertainment values, because it differed nicely from other humorous fantasy novels.
It's a bit difficult to categorize The Forty First Wink, but it is stylistically pretty close to certain novels and stories written by bizarro authors. I'm not exactly sure if this novel can be fully categorized as bizarro fiction, but it's reminiscent of bizarro fiction due to its way of handling of different elements in a surreal, absurd and darkly humorous way.
When I read this novel, I noticed that the author has been influenced by Terry Pratchett, Robert Rankin and Douglas Adams, because his humour reminded me of their humour. In my opinion the author has also been influenced by Monty Python, because there are certain scenes in this novel that feature absurd Monty Pythonesque humour.
I also noticed that the author has had lots of ethusiasm when he has created the story, because he combines efforlessly surreal and macabre elements with humour. The combination of surrealism, macabre elements and humour feels refreshing, and the author has plenty of intriguing surprises in store for his readers.
The Forty First Wink is a story about Marty who is wakened from his sleep by a monkey who uses his polo mallet to beat out a tune on Marty's forehead. Marty has a hangover. He sees more monkeys - the hangover technicians - around him and hears voices from the cupboard. He doesn't remember much of the previous night except that there had been tequila and some kind of a birthday celebration. Many surreal things happen around Marty and to him: the birds outside his windows are behaving in an odd way, the Mirror Marty greets him, Marty talks to a pirate doll etc. Soon Marty finds out that he has woken up in his own dream and he has to find a way to wake up. He begins a heroic and surreal quest to wake up...
Marty is an interesting character. He's a twenty something young man whose life changes quite a lot when he wakes up in his own dream. Marty's adventures in his own dreamscape are fascinating and slightly disturbing too, because everything is a construct of his imagination (the dream world contains parts of his dreams and nightmares etc).
It's interesting that the author has added a bit of love into the storyline, because Kate, Marty's object of affection, helps Marty. It was interesting to read about what had happened between them.
The character interaction works well. The conversations with Timbers are excellent, because the small pirate doll is quite a character and has interesting things to say. Marty's conversations with Mirror Marty are also interesting, because Mirror Marty isn't very interested in helping Marty. Mirror Marty doesn't want to go back into the box in Marty's head, but stay alive in the dream, so he isn't very co-operative.
There's are many interesting scenes in this novel. The bus ride through a decimated portion of the city is an excellent post-apocalyptic scene. It reveals what can happen inside a dream: when you dream about something, it really happens around you in the dream. The journey aboard Flying Fathom to Stellar Island with Timbers' crew is an intriguing scene, because the crew members are introduced to the reader. (There are also other memorable scenes, but it wouldn't be fair to reveal all of them to the readers.)
I have to mention that the evil clowns are wickedly macabre beings. I've been fascinated by the use of evil clowns ever since I first read Stephen King's It, so I enjoyed reading about James Walley's vision of evil clowns. The clowns in this novel are fascinatingly dark and threatening beings.
I almost forgot to mention that super heroes (League of Fairly Impressive Super Folk) are also mentioned in this novel. They're not your normal kind of super heroes, but they have interesting and unexpected powers. For example, the Tea Lady can shoot hot tea from her eyes. The Locust is an especially interesting super hero, but I won't write more about him so that I don't spoil anybody's reading pleasure by too many revelations.
I think that The Forty First Wink would make a good film if it were to be filmed. In capable hands it could easily be a "Monty Python meets Tim Burton" kind of a fantasy film with plenty of humour and quirkiness.
The Forty First Wink is good and harmless entertainment that will put a smile on your face. If you're looking for something new to read and want to read a humorous novel, this novel is good choice. It's something a bit different and offers good entertainment for readers - it's perfect summer and holiday reading.
Good entertainment!