Trip Spector is a talented comic book artist who's spent the last few years of his life drawing a watered-down, bowdlerized comic book for his boss at Big Dog comics. Trip has stayed with it partly because of the money and partly because of his crush on his boss, Cliff. The man that Trip's friends have dubbed the un-boyfriend. But then Trip meets Silas Goolsby a big, kinda goofy, easy-going southern boy who's carving out his own career as an FX makeup artist. Silas encourages Trip to let his creativity fly in a "very graphic" novel about a sex demon that starts to bear a remarkable resemblance to Silas. Can Trip summon the courage and risk what he's achieved in order to follow his dream and is he willing to abandon a probably hopeless relationship with his boss to develop a real relationship with a charming southern man?This is more than just a typical MM romance. It's a deeper look at one man's fixation with a straight but flirtatious boss and his timidity in developing his career. The main characters and many of the supporting characters are well thought out and developed to the point where the readers cares about them as more than just props to move forward the plot. The book features more than a few true moments and the nerd-romance aspects are sweet. The make-up and comic book aspects are detailed to the point that it's clear that Damon Suede is bit of a geek in his own right. The book is set in NYC and as a twenty year resident I felt that the settings rang true enough that the city sort of became a character in its own right. The audio-book is ably narrated by Charlie David who does a great job of capturing the main character voices and even does justice to the deep Alabama drawl of Silas. The narrator does have some unusual ways of pronouncing a few words, particularly "pollen" (he makes it rhyme with "colon") that kinda pulls you out of the story for a bit but the rest is good enough that soon you're immersed right back in the tale. This is one that I enjoyed and will probably listen to again. Bad Idea is a very different book to Hot Head, a book I loved. Hot Head was a wild ride in a fast car with very little slamming on of the brakes. Bad Idea is not that crazy fast drive, instead it’s about a relationship that actually includes dating, very human fumblings (no double entendre meant... hmmm) and missteps. It’s also a book about art, and the creation of art. It’s also, as Hot Head was, about being true to yourself and those you love. And in this case, it’s also about being true to the art you create. It’s a great book for artists/comic geeks and those interested in the creative process. Trip and Silas are terrific together, although, spoiler, there may be those like myself who wanted to hit Trip HARD for his behavior towards the totally delicious Silas during The Reveal later in the book. Inciting violent thoughts in the reader is, I’m pretty sure, exactly what the author intended and it worked :) As a sidenote, I’ve also read Horn Gate, an adjunct to Bad Idea, and hell yeah, what a great video game it would make. Both book and novella are very, very good.
What do You think about Bad Idea (2013)?
Couldn't connect with this one for some reason. Maybe try again later.
—River
