Reviews and Queries: A Nuklear Age Tale

[gizmodude4]

It seems that everyone has reviewed the book and asked some questions by starting a new thread, and so, to follow suit because I also have thoughts and queries about said novel, here is mine.

First of all, I loved the book. A book hasn't left me with this sense since I finished The Druid of Shannara (great book). I was fighting side by side with Sparky and Nuke all the way. When I got to the Superion story arc, I felt helpless and overwhelmed like John, and I thought that it couldn't get worse. But it did. The personification of the word "worse" came when Nihel did. The ending of the book I thought was very fitting. Sparky, finally becoming his own hero, Nuke taking responsibility for his past actions, Dr. Genius and Dr. Menace both working slowly, but patiently toward world domination. All in all, this was a fantastic book and I am recommending it to all the people that I know and who are not illiterate.

I am left with a few burning questions though. First of all, what of the birthday card that Nuke got? If Nuke/Arel had a father, why did he see it fit to call him Nuklear Man instead of his original name Arel? Maybe there was some cosmic answer that I did not see, but that has been bugging me for a bit. Another one is with the apology. The apology stated that the final third is funny because could never happen. That left me asking myself, "So was the final third all one big punchline, not to be taken seriously and not a part of the actual storyline, but rather a well thought out joke?" According to Brian, the sequel starts off from the last page of this book, so that even further confused me. I know that the answer is sitting right in front of me, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what it is.

In conclusion, the book was utterly enjoyable. Though some of the elements may not be for the narrow minded, namely the death of, in my mind, the embodiment of the perfect girlfriend, Rachel, and some of the supporting cast they'll just have to get over it because that was one of the factors that made this book all the more enjoyable, its uniqueness. Before I read the book, I was irritated because people were giving mixed signal reviews, and after actually reading the book, I can understand what they mean and where they are coming from.

Brian, you have created a beautiful thing, a masterpiece that perfectly blends emotions and story. Those 33 some odd dollars were well spent and it was well worth the time. Thank you for an amazing book that will not soon be forgotten.

[Kurosen]

Question 1: Birthday card, why is it addressed to Nuklear Man instead of his original name Arel?

Answer: There's several answers. One could be that someone else sent the letter in an attempt to align things so that Nuke would find out who he really is. Why this might have been done, either to force Ragnarok like Arel was meant to do, or to have Nuke reject it, is difficult to say. Another answer might be that his whole Norse tie-in thing was a some sort of "retcon" and, by definition, cannot fit in with what was previous established. That this retcon involves information in the recent memory of the reader -- and in fact, information that is in the very same volume -- only points out how artificial and paradoxical retcons are. Most of them change ages old material so it doesn't "sting" quite as much. But effectively negating what happened in the beginning of the book (note addressed to Nuklear Man when, by the end, it obviously should've been sent to Arel) we shine a great big light on how artificial a story is. Another answer is that addressing it to Arel might've given away too much too soon and most people wouldn't put bother to think about the two events since there's hundreds of pages between the note and the revelation of Nuke's real name.

Question 2: The apology stated that the final third is funny because could never happen. That left me asking myself, "So was the final third all one big punchline, not to be taken seriously and not a part of the actual storyline, but rather a well thought out joke?"

Answer 2: Nope, it's all too painfully real. I wanted to show that the nature of tragedy and comedy are inexorably linked. Rachel's death is horribly traumatic becuase you don't see it coming in the same way that a joke is hilarious because you don't see the punchline coming. So, structurally, if we look at Nuklear Age as a very long joke, then it's funny when Rachel bites it because it is a disruption of expectations. Of course, it's not actually funny, it's incredibly painful. But from a purely mechanical point of view, it's a classic set up and punchline.

Brian, you have created a beautiful thing, a masterpiece that perfectly blends emotions and story. Those 33 some odd dollars were well spent and it was well worth the time. Thank you for an amazing book that will not soon be forgotten.

I'm glad you enjoyed it :)