They meet a crazy cast of characters along the way (including a gay unicorn and a homicidal kiddie clown) as they fight the forces that be to prevent an occult takeover. While author Marcus Lambert has an intense imagination, the novel is often hard to follow, jumping between narrators and time periods.
The book starts out with a note from the author basically warning away any prudes or those with weak stomachs. Indeed, RALPH PINCUS does not shy away from gratuitous violence and sex (tons of it). One of the downsides of the story is the frequent sex scenes (which often have nothing to do with the actual plot). The graphic killing of zombies and murderers makes a tad more sense in the overall scheme of the book, but as the foreword suggested, any one squeamish will find the novel hard to get through.
Lambert is a talented writer of dialogue – each character has a distinctive voice which helps bring their personas to life. However, the reader is often taken out of the story with entire scenes that don’t fit with the flow of the plot. The general feel of the novel tends towards the explicit, and readers can end up feeling turned off by the anecdotes in RALPH PINCUS that seem like they’re just added to insert some grit to the story. Those looking for a linear plot with likable characters will be disappointed.
The length of the book is perfect – not too long for those that can’t stomach the erratic and over-the-top sensibilities. For his next book, Lambert might consider a stronger editor who can cut out extraneous parts and enhance the sense of humor that is already there in his writing.
Despite some disjointedness that makes for difficult reading, RALPH PINCUS offers some bright spots through its dialogue.
Reviewed by Erin Konrad for IndieReader