My first Chuck Tingle book, and I loved it. It's a little absurd and plenty horrifying, hilarious and unsettling.

My thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an advance copy of a book about a grieving professor of statistics who is given a chance at redemption, to go after a casino has played the odds so much that they nearly destroyed the world.

There are days that people set out with the best of intentions, days that everything goes right, nothing odd happens, nothing weird. Working in retail those days a cherished. There are days though that nothing goes right. Hair won't stay down, clothes suddenly looked rumpled, fish fall from the sky and kill people in car accidents. Well those are normal days to Chuck Tingle. Lucky Day is a story about what happens when everything goes wrong at once, leaving a statistics professor at a loss emotionally with no sense of how the world works, and the chance she has to make it all right.

Vera Norrie was having a great day. Vera was celebrating her first book, a look a casino who was gaming the odds in their favor, celebrating being made the youngest professor at the University of Chicago in Probability and Statistics. And finally Vera was going to share with her Mom the truth about her life and who she loves. Until everything went wrong. Literally. An event called the Low Probability Event occured, fish fell from the skys, things blew up randomly, animals go nuts, things that couldn't happen, happened, all over the world, but mostly near Vera. Vera's happiest day went to saddest, with sudden loss, and a complete loss of how the world works, and why. Four years have passed and Vera is approached by a Federal agent working for a scary group investigating the event by the name of Jonah Layne, comes to Vera with a scenario. The casino that Vera wrote about might be responsible for the Event. And might be planning something much worse, something that only Vera might be able to stop.

A wild, wacky ride of a book that has a lot of violence, a lot of humour and a lot of sadness. With statistics. This is the first that I have read by Chuck Tingle, and I must say I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story is nuts, the descriptions are just as crazy, and boy is it violent. However the characters are really good, well-developed and even when the world is going mad, seem real. The story gets going fast and never lets up. Tingle has a gift for making even math seem interesting. There is body horror, speculative thoughts about the future, chimpanzees and lots of fun. A good summer read for a particular group of readers.

Chuck Tangle has become an author to keep and eye out. I came from 'Bury your gays' and really enjoyed that one! Chuck is able to capture readers attention and make characters endearing. 4/5 for sure!

This one unfortunately was not for me. I DNFed it at about 42% in, but this is not a mark on the quality of this book. It is simply not a book for me!

This book starts with honestly a whip-lash inducing bang. From a soft, lovely scene of two sapphics waking up together ahead of a book launch, to coming out to a mother who immediately is INCREDIBLY homophobic ("it's just a phase") and biphobic ("bisexual isn't real"), to the world LITERALLY exploding around our MC, taking us through a blood bath of completely impossible scenarios (fish falling from sky, monkeys on the loose smashing heads in with a typewriter, some lady falling on a couple parasols exactly into her eyes and going into a murderous rage, amongst MANY more) that result in BILLIONS of people dead and injured - this book felt immediately less real than I anticipated it feeling. Then we are plunged into our MC's four-year depressive state where she no longer believes she is real and literally nothing matters, which is a direct look at how the rest of the world is coping after this insanely tragic event.

What stopped working for me - other than the opening feeling completely unreal to me and taking me out of the story - was the character work in the next couple chapters, and the reasoning for the plot moving forward. The agent that comes to talk to our MC and convince her to help shine a light on this supposedly corrupt gambling house/casino, which she had done before hand as a probability professor, is honestly the most cartoon character I have ever had the honour of reading. Why is my man so child-like and odd?? who's to say. And honestly the way that the plot was moving toward investigating this casino, as though it somehow had anything to do with the tragedy from four years previous just felt off to me.

Which is why I DNFed. I'll be interested to see what other people think of this one as it comes out. I really enjoyed Bury Your Gays, so I will be tentatively taking a look at Chuck's further releases, but for this one, it's a no.

<b>Disclosure Statement: I received an ARC from the publisher for review. My thoughts and opinions are entirely my own and have not been influenced by either the publisher nor the author in any way.</b>

I'll admit, not always have I understood Chuck Tingle's tagline "Love is real." It feels like it's too obvious a statement, and I've seldom ever understood the significance of it as a maxim. <i>Lucky Day</i> is what has helped me grok the phrase.

Because at the core of this book is the existential threat that nothing we can do matters, that our interactions are all superficial, all artifice. As someone on the spectrum and someone who also struggles to understand how absolutely meaningless the world can be--just full of grief and pain--I have lived that existential dread my whole entire life. But what the book posits is that nothing is truly meaningless if we work to build our meaning along the way, and how we look to one another is the way we push back against the all-consuming void.

In this light, I understand Chuck's message. "Love is real" isn't arbitrary turn of phrase; it is the confirmation of life and living having meaning. If love is real, then love matters. And if love matters, then life isn't devoid of purpose, of meaning, of significance. And if love can matter, so can so many other things in life. We don't have to be trapped in cycles of circumstance. We can matter. And not every bad thing that happens is a disaster; good can come from even the worst things.

In a world of chaos and uncertainty, it's really nice to come across a book that reminds me that nothing is truly for nothing.

4.5 stars, but rounding up.

Chuck Tingle does it again! A thought-provoking, unique, sci-fi horror that I thought was a great book overall. Vera Norrie was the smart, bisexual female protagonist that we need more of in the world. I also thought Agent Layne was also her perfect opposite. The probability plot was confusing at first, and started out as a downright impossible and chaotic, but Tingle wraps it up nicely toward the last chapter.

The only part I felt lacked, or was hard to believe, was Annie. I don’t believe that she wouldn’t have tried to find Vera within the four year gap. They had to have had a conversation about where her mom lived, and if Annie loved her enough to marry her, she would have tried to find her. Lake Geneva isn’t that far away from Chicago. Also, the story probably could have been written without her.

I didn't find Lucky Day as enjoyable as Tingle's previous novel, Bury Your Gays--which I loved. I didn't feel as invested in the main characters, and the writing for me wasn't as clever as Bury Your Gays. The novel felt rushed. I will still be reading his next novel, but this is one I wouldn't necessarily recommend.

Like most Tingle books, this doesn't go in the direction you expect. That's incredibly refreshing from an author to be totally blind sided by the development of a story. I wish it was more queer, though I appreciate biphobic characters kicking the bucket. I'm really hoping for something more Camp Damascus vibes in the future, but the plot of Lucy Day was a fun adventure. However I don't love what happens to the cat. The story does what it needs to do in a fast pace, though I wish there was something a bit more to flesh out the details a bit in the world building.

Four years ago, the Low Probability Event killed eight million people in the most implausibly gruesome ways imaginable. Statistician Vera survived, but it destroyed her belief in a logical universe. She is yanked out of her depressive nihilism by Layne, a government agent unhindered by red tape or maturity. He needs her help to take down a casino whose flouting of probability caused her (and the Nevada Gaming Commission) so many headaches in the before times. The mismatched duo charges into the wilds of Las Vegas and finds it even more surreal and horrifying than expected. Simultaneously bleak and hilarious.

A clown-car thrill ride through the inevitability of death that argues if nothing in life matters, then we ought to live it for nobody but ourselves and the time with what we care about.

Tingle goes full tilt existential horror in his newest book. Like Bury Your Gays, Lucky Day takes on grotesque undercurrents of modern culture and cranks up the gore inherent to capitalism to scarily funny extremes.

Tingle does it again! This book was EVERYTHING! Weird, beautiful, sad, somewhat gory…. I loved this book from page one and can’t wait to grab a physical copy once it comes out.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for the pre-release copy of Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle. Below you'll find my honest review.

In usual Chuck Tingle fashion, this novel was WEIRD AF. But really, it was weird in the best way possible. We open with our statistician MC Vera enduring the most mind-boggling, brain-exploding, kookiest crappy day imaginable as an extremely low-probability event occurs surrounding her. I'm talking monkeys in costumes bashing people's brains in with typewriters and fish falling out of the sky kinda wacky.

Fast forward a few years, and Vera has become a hermit, finding no value or purpose in life and thinking nothing matters, barely just existing... until Agent Layne breaks in and says they need her help. He works with government agency with zero oversight, managing the results and continuing weirdnesses (yeah, I made up a word) of LPEs, and he has a lead on the MAIN CAUSE OF ALL OF THEM.

Needless to say, in true Chuck Tingle manner, hijinks and chaos ensues. And this one even throws some serious cliched tropes on their heads (I can't clarify further, sadly, as that would spoil things, but hopefully when you're done, you know which ones I mean.)

Absolute gem of a story, which isn't surprising because Tingle's mainstream published works the last few years have been top notch. Sure, his self-published pseudo-smut is fun too, but he really shines in this world of horror and thriller that he's stepped into, and I'm so glad he's branched out.

Highly recommended (but be warned, horror-fans, this one is more thriller than horror, though it does have some horrific things!).

I am always here for the absurdity of a Chuck Tingle book, and this one does not disappoint. As a long time fan of horror, it feels like a privilege to have explicitly queer horror written for us by one of us. We're no longer cloaked in double meaning or relegated to side characters that die before the final chapter. And Chuck Tingle still manages to bring the legit horror. The perfect balance of world building, scares and absurdity that I'm ready to eat up 100 more times.

As someone who reads books and uses the Internet, of course I've seen Chuck Tingle's name around. And of course I've always been curious to know if his stories are as curious as his book titles. But also, of course I've never bought any because erotic fiction isn't for me. I had failed to realize he was also releasing less rated novels and was excited to get his new release.

Unfortunately, it wasn't just his erotica that wasn't for me. His style was a bad fit too.

2.5 rounded up to 3.

This book follows Vera after losing her mother in a terrible and unexplained catastrophic event. Years later she still can't get over the trauma. That's when she meets Agent Layne, who is going after an organization that might have been behind the event.

I can't explain well why I didn't like Tingle's style. It felt confusing to me and thus hard to get into. I don't have anything against the characters or the story, they seemed good enough. But I kept feeling as if I had just started the book, even when I was nearing the end. Luckily, it is a short read that never drags. There was a lot of development for both the plot and the characters, which would have kept me glued to the pages. If I had gotten into it.

The book mentions a lot of a 90's TV series that was probably meant to be the X Files. It's probably because I was never a fan of it that instead the book made me think of Doctor Who. I'd have to ask an X Files fan to know if the book brings up the same atmosphere. But the normal girl thrown into a bizarre situation by a dubiously well resourced character? Very Doctor Who to me. Too bad I couldn't enjoy it more.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

I am not sure why, this just didn't super hit for me.
I like the concept, I like bloody queer gore, in a dystopian society but.... I didn't care about anyone that much?
I do really like to concept of our narrator, bisexual, depressed, an absolute data genius, but I just didn't care about her that much, off paper.

Mysterious and a wild romp that keeps you guessing and is over quickly!

The odds of a Chimpanzee using a typewriter are a million to one unless that is, you’re reading a Chuck Tingle novel then anything goes. In his latest and greatest novel “Lucky Day,” Tingle takes us on an adventure of statistics, pain, gore and the most fucked up balloon floats that you would probably never see at a Macy’s Day Parade. Amidst all of that, Tingle once again weaves a wonderful story with a strong message. How he comes up with these stories, one may never know but, but he never fails to deliver. With that being said, I’m off to have some cereal in a place that is very dry.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for allowing me to read yet another amazing ARC!

PS:
Mr. Tingle…as long as what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas from now until August, I will see you in Arizona!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! This book will be released in the US by Tor on August 12th, 2025.

Full Rating: 4.75 stars rounded up

“Nothing matters” might be the thesis statement of Vera’s life—but Chuck Tingle dares to ask what it means to keep going anyway.

Lucky Day is a surreal, sardonic, and unexpectedly tender meditation on trauma, statistical chaos, and the fragile threads of meaning we cling to when the world stops making sense. Narrated by Vera—a statistician-turned-reluctant investigator with a deeply bisexual yearning for logic and love—this speculative horror novel unfolds in the wake of a catastrophic event known as the Low Probability Event (LPE), in which 7.9 million people died from impossibly bizarre accidents on a single day. Four years later, Vera is grieving, dissociated, and clinging to routine like it’s the only thing keeping her from unraveling completely—until a himbo government agent comes knocking, dragging her back into a world she’s long since given up on.

Tingle’s writing is saturated with sardonic wit, lyrical nihilism, and deeply philosophical pondering. Vera’s narrative voice is razor-sharp, often bleak, but undercut with bursts of dark humor and moments of haunting vulnerability. Tingle balances a kind of absurd horror with sincere emotional stakes, especially as Vera confronts biphobia, loss, and the temptation to lean into chaos when everything feels pointless.

At its heart, Lucky Day is about the violence of randomness and the quiet bravery of choosing meaning anyway. It explores what it means to survive after the world breaks, to live with uncertainty, and to resist both fatalism and corporate exploitation. The novel critiques systems that commodify chaos—like the Everett Corporation’s manipulation of probabilities to turn profit while sacrificing lives—and insists that even amidst broken timelines and spacetime tears, we still have choices. Vera’s bisexual identity, repeatedly erased or dismissed, becomes one site where she refuses to give up her own complexity—even when the universe demands simplicity.

I wasn’t in love with the ending—it wrapped up too tidily given how committed the book is to existential messiness, and the alien/Area 51 twist felt like an unnecessary add-on. But even with its flaws, Lucky Day is weird, gutsy, and one of the most conceptually rich books I’ve read this year. If you’re into anti-capitalist weird fiction, emotionally wounded queer protagonists, or books that ask big questions about fate, grief, and the math of hope—you might just find this one worth the odds.

📖 Read this if you love: surreal speculative fiction, existential horror with heart, and emotionally devastated queer women doing cosmic math to survive.

🔑 Key Themes: Bisexual Erasure and Belonging, Probability and Fate as Power, Grief and Meaning-Making, Post-Trauma Existentialism, Queer Chaos.

Content / Trigger Warnings: Biphobia (severe), Gore (severe), Injury Detail (severe), Blood (severe), Animal Death (minor), Suicidal Thoughts (minor), Gun Violence (minor), Alcohol (minor), Torture (minor).

Thank you NetGalley & Tor Nightfire for the advanced digital copy!!

Chuck Tingle really said stats, sci-fi, horror, and existential dread? Yes, all in one book—and somehow made it work. I mean, who else would write a story about a statistics professor unraveling a mystery because a “Low Probability Event” (LPE) kills millions in the most bizarre ways imaginable?

Vera, our cynical number-loving heroine, teams up with chaotic sunshine Agent Layne to investigate said disaster—which leads them straight to a Vegas casino (naturally). Their Sad Cop/Happy Cop dynamic was chef’s kiss, and the setting? Perfectly unhinged.

The book dives deep into “woman vs. the void” vibes with a dash of hope and a whole lot of chaos. The ending left me stunned, but like Vera, I guess that’s the point: even when you do everything “right,” life is still one big question mark. Tingle’s weird little masterpiece had me horrified, moved, and oddly inspired.

I just finished Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle. I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Vera Norrie is about to have a great day. The youngest professor at U Chicago, today is the day she celebrates publishing her book. Her mom is coming to celebrate, her beautiful fiancee Annie by her side, it's the culmination of years of hard work. And then it happens, the Low Probability Event. Chaos, death, meaninglessness. In the aftermath, Vera's entire world is turned upside-down as the Statistician loses faith in the whole world. Until a special agent comes to offer her an opportunity to figure out whose fault this all was. Vera gets swept up in an investigation that is so much bigger than she could have predicted.

Lucky Day pretty much hits right from the start. Vera is an interesting protagonist- both reluctantly hopeful and so jaded it hurts. There are moments of extreme gruesome-ness scattered within the investigation itself which were rather fun. I think Tingle tackled a lot of social ills in this one (not dissimilar to Bury Your Gays), from government/police accountability to corrupt corporations, even touching on bi-erasure. He weaves a story adeptly that doesn't feel like it's preaching at you, but let's you draw your own conclusions. He's really carving out a special place for himself in this horror-sci-fi-mystery blending genre that is so much fun to read!