Brent Bowen caught up with science fiction writer and Evernote ambassador Jamie Todd Rubin at last year’s Worldcon. They discuss how wearable tech and Evernote can improve a writer’s life, Jamie’s quest to write everyday (now 396 days out of 398), and his work including his short story, “Flipping The Switch”, in the recent anthology, […]

The panel, “The Writing Process” was recorded at ICON 2013, an annual Science Fiction-Fantasy Convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa around the first week of November. Check out details for ICON 2014 at ICON’s website. This year’s Guests of Honor are: Hugo and Campbell winning author Elizabeth Bear and World Fantasy finalist author Scott Lynch, and […]

I’m trying out something new with this episode. Since it was a shorter interview, I’ve included a couple reviews at the beginning of the recording. First, to coincide with a sale on the audiobook of John Dodd’s, Bone Machines ($1.99 at Downpour.com), I’ve read the review that our contributor, Matt Hughes, posted of Bone Machines […]

How serendipitous to have big news for our 250th episode? In an effort to keep the lid on the news, I’ll leave the show notes at this. I’ll come back in a day or so and put in some links to stuff we talk about. For now, have a listen, and thanks so much to […]

Michael Bunker is a tremendous talent of a writer, with success in his Wick – The Omnibus Edition and currently serialized Pennsylvania novel, which made it to #1 on Amazon for Science Fiction. He is also an off-grid farmer living in a plain community in Texas. He’s been writing for years, and built a following […]

As you may have seen in my

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

(Press play above to hear a sample of Grasshopper Jungle. It is from our upcoming podcast with Andrew, releasing Tuesday, Feb. 11)

In the small town of Ealing, Iowa, Austin and his best friend, Robby, have accidentally unleashed an unstoppable army. An army of horny, hungry, six-foot-tall praying mantises that only want to do two things.

This is the truth. This is history.

It’s the end of the world. And nobody knows anything about it.

You know what I mean.

Funny, intense, complex, and brave, Grasshopper Jungle brilliantly weaves together everything from testicle-dissolving genetically modified corn to the struggles of recession-era, small-town America in this groundbreaking coming-of-age stunner.

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Wow, that was fun. This unsuspecting title by an author I’d never heard of about a mantis-apocalypse hitting small town Iowa stole my interest from beginning to end. Grasshopper Jungle is the funniest book I’ve ever read. It also portrays the best friendship I’ve ever read. The narrator, Austin, is complex, unwilling to look at the world the way society wants him to, and plays the perfect part of historian, recording two events that alone could make great books, but which together fit perfectly into a story that blends the horror of an apocalypse with the emotional turmoil of a 16-year-old in love with both of his best friends.

Austin’s observational nature takes the narrative from first person to a god’s eye view with ease.  While the recording of his and the people of his town’s genealogy can rabbit trail, they often end in a hilarious joke or a profound experience which fits an underlying message about humanity that I’m still trying to get a grip on. The book discusses how bugs do only two things, eat and procreate, and a question subtly posed throughout is whether humans are any different. Austin is a horny, selfish teenager, fighting himself to become more than just a bug. The open exploration of his sexuality may not appeal to everyone, but I found his honesty fascinating.

That's the thing I loved most about Grasshopper Jungle, Austin’s honest, eye-opening experience. One of his best friends, Robby, is an open homosexual. I loved how Austin loved his friend regardless. Their friendship was beautiful in this way. Austin struggles with his feelings about Robby, especially because he loves his girlfriend just as much. This conflict and how he has no one to talk to about his confusion is the center and most interesting aspect of this story.

The six-foot-tall mantises roaming around killing people plays a strong secondary plot and the author does a fantastic job recognizing this aspect as secondary. Their takeover and the mystery behind how Austin and Robby will try to stop them is exciting and horrific, but is summarized well enough to show us the danger without taking us from the central narrative of what Austin will do to keep his two best friends.

Grasshopper Jungle has made me a big fan of Andrew Smith. His narrative is so easy to read. The humor, emotion and adventure all work so well together to making this book one I couldn’t put down. His story telling style is unlike anything I’ve read, with its heart-bleeding honesty and ease of blending story with humor. As soon as I finished Grasshopper Jungle, I picked up his darker tale, The Marbury Lens. I look forward to catching up on all of his books.