Bad Monkeys

This is a fascinating psychological science-fiction novel, which rewards thoughtful reading. The setting is an interview of an arrested prisoner, Jane Charlotte, who spins a complex tale where she claims to be working for an unnamed organization that is fighting evil. She insists on the important distinction that the organization is fighting "evil" rather than merely fighting "crime". The organization allegedly uses a range of advanced technologies, including near-universal surveillance ("panopticon") and the NC gun, which simulates death due to Natural Causes. Jane belongs to a special unit "Bad Monkeys" which terminates irredeemably evil individuals. Her tale starts with her recruitment into the organization and her initial assignments. The interviewer is quickly able to provide evidence contradicting parts of her story. It becomes clear that Jane is an unreliable narrator and has much to hide. Jane's rapid-fire narrative of high adventure is gripping, but I also found it useful to pause periodically to reflect. A key part of the fun is trying to gauge the reliability of what Jane is telling us. But it is also clear that she is no angel, so another useful topic is to reflect on her moral choices, especially the boundaries she draws around both "crime" and "evil". How much self-deception is included in her narrative? I don't want to reveal the ending, but like the book itself, I found it surprising and ultimately satisfying. It is neither simple nor straightforward, but it does succeed admirably in pulling the many loose ends together. This is by no means a simple tale. But I found it a very gripping and rewarding read. Five stars.

A very interesting novel. The book opens with Jane Charlotte talking to a psychiatrist in the Las Vegas County Jail. Is she sane? Hard to tell, based on the fact that she believes that she was recruited by a division of an organization dedicated to fighting evil. This division is called Bad Monkeys. Bad Monkeys are basically the hit men for the people designated as "evil" by other divisions within the organization. They don't use traditional means to execute people, they have special weapons which make it look like the person died of some sort of natural cause. During the interview, you get Jane's explanation of her life, how she was recruited, and how she came to be in the Jail defending her actions. Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff, isn't like anything I have read. What is fact? What is a product of Jane's mind? The psychiatrist adds his comments throughout the novel, usually backed up by facts, like police reports. And yet, I was drawn into Jane's story. What is going on in her mind? Is she trying to get away with murder by using a most imaginative ploy? It is hard to tell Even though this wasn't a novel I am used to reading, I continued to turn pages at an amazing clip. This is, I believe, a very original work. I can't think of another term to use, so "original" will have to due. Short review, yes. I am still trying to grasp all that I have read. It was that good.

One of the finest writers of American fiction working today, Matt Ruff is one whose work remains unfamiliar to most, due perhaps to his keen interest in science fiction and fantasy, and his elegant literary mastery of both. But he's an important writer worthy of widespread attention simply because of his ample artistic talents. He's an elegant literary stylist whose most endearing quality is a consistently uncanny ability to create memorable characters within mesmerizing tales. He's a smart, brilliant writer who can transport the reader to a vivid "Dudgeons and Dragon" fantasy set on the campus of his collegiate alma mater, Cornell University ("Fool on the Hill") and then, many years later, inside the fertile imagination of a young woman afflicted with multiple personality disorder ("Set This House in Order"). Ruff is truly notable for being able to plunge successfully into fantasy, cyberpunk and psychological science fiction in a remarkable literary career that now spans twenty years; his early works "Fool on the Hill" and "Sewer, Gas & Electric: The Public Works Trilogy" remain cult classics still treasured by those familiar with his sparse output. Hopefully, with "Bad Monkeys", Matt Ruff is now poised to acquire the vast audience that his ample literary talents deserve. Why? In "Bad Monkeys" he offers the reader a heart-pounding original twist on the very nature of evil, wrapped up in a terse, film nourish thriller, that owes as much to Philip K. Dick, as it does to great crime fiction novelists like Elmore Leonard, in its engrossing exploration not only on the very essence of evil, but also in focusing upon one's own motivation to commit heinous deeds against humanity. It is a heart-pounding tale that's a literary rollercoaster, replete with unexpected twists and turns, culminating in a bizarre, but still brief, ending that's almost inexplicable. A wickedly funny brilliant tale that's impossible to put down, and will leave you speechless at the very end; one that deserves recognition as among the finest works of fiction published this year. Who is Jane Charlotte? Is she a delusional, homicidal crime suspect trapped in the psychiatric ward of the Clark County (Las Vegas, Nevada) Detention Center? Or is she a member of a secret organization devoted to fighting evil, belonging to a division known as the "Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons", which goes by the name of "Bad Monkeys". Is Jane Charlotte a Bad Monkey? These incredulous facts are those she told the police immediately upon her homicide arrest; "facts" which a doctor assigned to the psychiatric ward attempts to determine by his extensive interview of her; an interview that's among the most engrossing I've encountered in fiction. One that most readers ought to find as compelling and as brilliantly realized as I have. Though set almost a year after the events of 9/11, "Bad Monkeys" is not just a clearly conceived excursion into paranoia and police thriller fi

It's difficult to describe the plot without giving too much away, but I will give it a try. The protagonist is Jane Charlotte, a woman who has been arrested for murder. She is being held in the psych ward of a prison, and she is being interviewed by a psychiatrist. She tells the doctor the story of how she came to be there, involving a difficult adolescence followed by her recruitment into a shadowy, octopus-like organization. Jane's particular subdivision is nicknamed "Bad Monkeys" because they are hitmen who assassinate evildoers (or "bad monkeys") to make the world a better place. As others have said, it's a pretty quick read because it's very hard to put down. I just took an hour-long lunch break (and I usually work through lunch) just to finish the book. The book has it all. It's intelligent, funny, scary, perplexing, absorbing. It's literary, but enjoyably so. I would also describe it as cinematic, because there are echoes here of several genres of suspense and horror movies ranging from Hitchcock to slasher movies, plus a hefty dose of David Lynch and maybe a little Twilight Zone. Time, memory, morality, and the nature of reality and sanity are all addressed. (I'm no Lynch fan, but I do think that fans of his movies would enjoy this book. If, like me, you are not enthusiastic about Lynch, don't worry: you'll still enjoy this.) I'm still reeling in awe from Matt Ruff's last book, Set This House in Order, a book that I still recommend to friends. I was wondering what Matt had in store for us next, and I am most pleased to tell you that this amazing and talented writer does not disappoint. A minor note: the book is not hardcover as described here, but bound in a stiff but flexible, plastic-like cover with a paper backing. Not sure what you call this type of binding. It's a little taller and narrower than most trade paper. I found it easier to hold and also stuff into my bag on the train than a lot of books, so I'm not really complaining.

Just as everyone else has said, it's the type of book that makes fifty pages fly by. Anyone formiliar with Ruff's style will recognize the fun, almost bouncy way the story jaunts around. It's more 'Sewer Gas and Electric' than 'Set this House in Order'. Page 60: "I was in a coma for ten days. I woke up in a darkened hospital room with a television playing somewhere nearby. Tom Cruise was talking about a priest who'd died giving last rites to a fireman at Ground Zero. Then Mariah Carey started singing that we all have a hero inside us, and I thought maybe I'd died, and this was hell. But the show went on, with more celebrities coming out to sing and tell stories, and there were calls for donations, and eventually I realized I wasn't in hell, I was just in America" Page 134: I tried to forget it had ever happened, you know? But panopticon never forgets. They miss stuff, or misfile it, but if they know about it at all, they never really forget...And when the truth finally comes back around, all those excuses you thought were so clever end up sounding like the bllsht that they are." I'm a huge Ruff fan and if anyone else is too, the best advise I could give you would be: Don't Read Reviews or The Synopsis on the back of the book. It totaly ruined the book for me. Also, the first edition is twenty bucks new and I'm all for supporting authors and yet I felt cheated for buying a two-hundred page novella that isn't even a hard cover.