“Bad Monkeys has wit and imagination by the bucketload,” says a quote on the cover of Matt Ruff’s Bad Monkeys. Unfortunately I think it’s mostly someone else’s wit and imagination. The bright yellow cover initially caught my eye and the blurb sounded interesting, but I was somewhat put off–almost insulted–by the gimmicky size and shape. If the publisher thought they had to resort to such tactics to get people to read the book, does that mean that’s all there is?
Short answer: Yep.
It was kind of a fun read in places, and I think I laughed once. Otherwise, it came off more as a spoof of all the more imaginative thrillers to hit the big screen in the past twenty years than as a serious attempt at literature. The most obvious borrowing comes from The Matrix, Twelve Monkeys, and Fight Club. There might even have been a subtle nod to Star Wars. At least that’s how it seemed to me, but what do I know? Maybe Ruff has never seen those movies or read the related books. Right.
Bad Monkeys is just an exercise in plot twists with no ultimate point. At least Fight Club had something to say.
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November 6, 2007 update: It certainly prompted some interesting and paranoid dreams.