Thursday, April 18, 2019

Review of Edger Lives by David Beem


Welcome to the review tour for Edger Lives by David Beem. While this is the second book in the series, I also read the first one for a bit of insight into its sequel and am including my thoughts on both of them for you. You can also read an excerpt from this book and then follow the tour to read more excerpts and see what other people think of it.


Edger Lives


Our dork of destiny rides again!

Edger is falling for Mary, his bodyguard, kick-ass spy, and cover wife. But she’s so hopelessly out of his league, it’s clear someone’s going to get hurt. Less clear? That someone may be the Prime Minister of Australia.

When Mary confesses her desire to kill the world leader whose assassination Edger’s supposed to prevent, Edger’s superpowers pick the worst time to stop working. Without a fully functional psychic superhero, their team of spies can no longer order him to probe Mary’s mind for ill intent. The stage is set for a confrontation that threatens to strip a defenseless Edger of his loyal protector just when he needs her most.

Return to the Collective Unconscious, this time with Listerine-chugging stoners, Hollyweirdos, commie-alien-kung fu robots, one space gorilla-unicorn, and an exceedingly lovesick Vladimir Putin.

Mind your fingers and toes on page 270. Those skydiving mind-control monkeys have been known to bite!


Read an excerpt:
I find Mary in the walk-in closet after her workout. Three of her peering back at me with wide eyes. Four, if we count the sweaty, pheromone-blasting, flesh-and-blood Mary in the middle.

Her hands glide down her hips as she turns sideways. The mirror reflections copy her like evil clones. Her head tilts, and her unreadable gaze scans from three angles every inch of her toned physique. She eyes the contours of her breasts in an understated Calvin Klein sports bra; she examines her sculpted midriff and the concavity of her bellybutton. The Gigantic Rock glinting in the mirrors, her thumbs dip below the waistline of her yoga pants, cruise outward along the elastic, and tug once. She bites the corner of her glossy pink lip and scrutinizes every possible curve from the waist down—and with legs like hers, it’s a long way down—before flitting up to find mine, spanning those sexual leagues in an instant, and landing her gaze like a side-kick to the gut. I can barely breathe.

Air squeezes into my lungs like I’m sucking it through a straw-sized snorkel. I’m slouching. Better stand up straight. Unlock my knees. I’ve got to get it together. If she and I are going to live under the same roof, I can’t be falling over every time she has the audacity to exist. Otherwise, I’ll need some kind of house scooter to motor around on my butt all day. Beep-beep, coming through, time to brush my teeth—well, well, don’t you look hot again—okay, faint on you later.

Available on Amazon 
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**My thoughts**
And here we have the second installment of the Edger (Ed-jer) series by David Beem. Can you read this book as a standalone? Sure, you could. The cast of characters is introduced in the beginning and there's a bit of a recap of the first book. You'll likely pick up on a lot of the pop culture references and tropes that seem to be Beem's signature. You'll chuckle and perhaps laugh out loud on occasion. But I think you will definitely better appreciate a lot of these pieces if you read the first book as well as this one. 

Edger is still just as dorky as ever. He still gets all flustered around beautiful women (read Mary) and drops a lot of weird, quirky phrases. He's still supposed to save the world and will work towards it with the help of some famous names you'll definitely recognize. Starting with Bruce Lee and Michael Jackson in the first book and spilling over into the second, you'll get a kick out of how these celebs have been reimagined in the Collective Unconscious. (Think Vladimir Putin in a most amusingly compromised position, with a little Gary Busey and David Hasselhoff thrown in.) The twists and action scenes will keep the pages turning and you just may embarrass yourself laughing if you read it in public. It is hard to explain some of these moments without spoilers and context, but the misunderstood phrases and names almost speak for themselves. (Church of Ladder Day Saints) 

And this Michigan fan will still try to forgive all of the South Bend and Notre Dame references.

I think there is more to come in some future installments. It will be interesting to see where he goes next!


Edger

Meet Edger (Ed-jer), a twenty-six-year-old gadget retail dork destined to become the world’s first superhero!

His superpower: the ability to channel the Collective Unconscious, a psychic network connecting the living and the dead. In his arsenal are the skills of Bruce Lee, the strength of Samson, the wisdom of the ages...and the dancing chops of Michael Jackson—including that one twisty foot move, crotch grab, and fedora tilt.

But there's a catch...

Like every psychic superpower to get administered through a hypodermic needle, this one comes with a prick. Someone seems to have misplaced the booster necessary for stabilizing his superpower. Without it, Edger has three days before his brain turns to pudding.

Join our Dork of Destiny as he overcomes the world’s greatest butt, two rival Cluck-n-Pray gangs, an evil cow, a Green Bay Defensive Tackle, rifle-toting assassins—and a pair of stoners who inadvertently create the world’s first supervillain after a wild night on Twitter!

Available on Amazon

**My thoughts**
If you're into cerebral science fiction and superheroes with lots of fun tropes thrown in and a mess of comedic situations, then this is definitely the book for you. I admit this isn't my usual genre of book to read, but I couldn't resist checking it out. I've even gone on to the second book in the series and will await even more to come.

You'll find references to football, historical figures, dead celebrities who come back to life in the Collective Unconscious, lots of quirky characters, and some daddy issues. This Michigan fan may have twitched a little any time the words Notre Dame were mentioned, but I shook it off and kept going. I think I literally belly laughed once Michael Jackson showed up.



About David Beem

David Beem loves superhero movies, taekwondo, and flossing. He lives in Djibouti with his family and crippling self-doubt. To help actualize David’s inner confidence, visit his website and buy all the stuff: www.davidbeem.com

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/David-Beem/e/B005M4NEYI/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1


David Beem will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

7 comments:

  1. Always fun to hear about another new great book. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Thank you for hosting today, Andi--and thank you VERY much for the two-for-one review! ;)

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  3. I've enjoyed following the tour for Edger Lives and I'm looking forward to checking it out. Thanks for sharing the great posts along the way :)

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