Reality Engineers 1: What Happens At Con Stays At Con by William Hainline
It’s been some time since I read a book written with such passion and sense of purpose. “Reality Engineers” was outrageously fun to read, contains characters that you genuinely care about, and all around kicks ass. Indeed, this is one of the best books I have read in some time and it’s a great anthem for geek culture.
Take this statement in the book:
“Basically, what I’m saying is that us nerds, geeks, and fanboys? We’re the intellectual Other. Because way deep down in our consciousness, there’s something different going on. There’s a part of us that never embraced the process of social homogenization that society likes to call ‘growing up.’ They associate maturity with what they call reality, a narrow subset of possibilities that they privilege. And man, they worship their reality, and treat anybody who doesn’t buy into it as the Other. But something deep in the core of who we are rejects their reality, just as they reject us because we reject it, an auto- immune response on the paradigm level. We dream of things like dragons, teleporters, time machines, and aliens . . . of unknown futures, of other worlds. They dream about banging porn stars and getting promotions. Honorable pursuits, to be sure, but ultimately meaningless, simplistic, Mundane, with little imaginative significance. Look at the past twenty-five years of scientific, technological, and philosophical progress, and name me one mover and shaker who wasn’t a geek, nerd, or hippy, or some other type of social fringe event? When has a quote-unquote ‘normal’ person ever shattered the boundaries of human understanding? When has ‘fitting in’ ever gotten anyone into the history books? True fact: It hasn’t. Does being different guarantee you a spot? No. But being different and being great? Now that will earn you top marks. Notice, though, that ‘being different’ is in the prerequisites. The Mundanes, they know this. They never speak it, but they know it in their bones. It’s why they Otherize us — makes ‘em feel more significant. Well, I say it’s high-time we toss ‘em kicking and screaming out of Plato’s Cave . . . help them wake up from the self-induced sleep they call ‘reality.’ Hell, you ask me? Freaking the Mundanes isn’t just fun . . . it’s a frakkin’ moral imperative! And the best way to do that is standin’ in the proverbial elevator with our backs to the door. Or by banging a Vulcan in there, either way.”
So what goes on in the novel? The story takes place at the popular Long Island Convention RetCon XVIII. The plot centers around the inventor / mad scientist Desirée “Dizzy” Roentgen, and Terry “Gadget” Anders, who develops a helmet that gives him telepathic powers. Dizzy and Terry stop an alien invasion that picks RetCon as the focal point of the attack. The novel is a fantastic blend of science fiction and fantasy.
How’s this for a table of contents:
Prelude: Of Heroes And Villains
Chapter 1: These Rich Fantasy Lives
Chapter 2: Elevator Astronaut Sex
Chapter 3: A +5 To All Psionics Roles
Chapter 4: Objects In The Rearview Mirror
Chapter 5: Showdown In The Witching Hour
Chapter 6: Let’s Do The Time-Warp Again
Chapter 7: Welcome To The Thunderdome, Bitch!
Chapter 8: Brainwave Warrior
Like many self-published novels, the book begs for a session with a professional editor to tighten up some of the writing and the plot. Don’t get me wrong. I love the book and dig William’s style of writing, I honestly believe, however, that the book would be even more stellar than it already is if it went through a thorough editing process. I think the final product would be shorter and resonate even more with readers. As the publisher of Offworlders, I am of course a strong supporter of the self-publishing movement. However, even if you do self-publish your novel I highly recommend that you hire a professional editor and graphic designer. When you edit your work, you become blind to certain errors and fail to see how plot lines might be adjusted to better effect. Plus, unless you are a graphic artist you will not produce the book cover that best represents your work. With the plethora of options out there for the book buyer, it important to have a professionally designed book cover.
I am a fan of Mr. Hainline’s work and look forward to continuining on with volume 2 and 3 of the Reality Engineers!
I will leave you with this last quote from Chapter 5 when the battle against the alien begins at the convention:
“Werewolves and zombies scattered, screaming, as Klingons and Van Helsings and Rorschachs and Batmen all collided with each other as they tried to be somewhere—anywhere—else. The fire was spreading, fighting the sprinklers; at this point, it was an even match. Misto tried to hunker down out of the way, now keenly aware of his lack of a weapon; he ducked and covered as the sprinkler system pelted him. Dizzy fired again as the Vulcan woman got to her feet and charged them. A screaming Uhura and panicking Gandalf ran past each other, ruining Dizzy’s shot; she mouthed a curse, and aimed again. She fired and—her aim true and steady—this time the plasma bolt connected with the Vulcan woman’s head, cooking the flesh as it burned through her eye-sockets, her skull, and brain in a fraction of a second, the wounds cauterizing instantly, the blood sizzling even as it emerged.”
Reality Engineers Volume 1: What Happens At Con Stays At Con by William Hainline. The author currently lives in New Albany, Indiana with a big old lazy tomcat named Kitty-Boy, where in his spare time he practices being a supervillain and an English major. He is constantly coming up with new and exciting ways to butcher the English language, but his favorite way to do so is writing novels. He enjoys science-fiction, fantasy, and horror, and is a sucker for grand, romantic musicals. When he isn’t plotting to take over the world, he spends most of his free time reading, writing, hanging out with friends, and tinkering with his Mac.
William’s books can be found on Amazon.