Earworm

This is a wildly entertaining, funny, and dark novella about a man and his alien parasite who lives in his brain.

Our protagonist has been dealt a bad hand in life. He's separated from his wife and daughter, he works in pest control, and he's found out that he has a very rare brain disease that will leave him in pain and agony until he dies (which could only be days to weeks away).

Through a series of events, he "meets" Bogart, an alien creature who enters through his ear and bonds with his brain. And Bogart tells him there's going to be a race of big nasty aliens who will wipe out the human race.

Yes, this sounds like a "b" sci-fi movie but it's really a great story that serves its dark narrative with a tremendous helping of humor and heart along the way. The relationship between our protagonist and Bogart is shaky at first but it becomes apparent that Bogart might be his only true friend when it's all said and done.

It's easy to root for the protagonist here. He's a sympathetic character whose life has taken a severe downturn. His observations and insights are ones a lot of people will recognize and he does this with a sense of self depreciation and willingness to place the blame on himself when necessary.

This is the sort of horror weirdness I love and have a fondness for and I highly recommend this novella if you're looking for something sharp, funny, and different.

Initially while reading this books I was uncertain if I was going to like it. But as the story progressed I became more and more enraptured with it.

I loved all the pop culture references and how of the time the references made the novel feel.
The culmination of Ripley dying but not really made me love the book even more

My only negatives were some parts were definitely written more for the male perspective and it was what made me question if I would enjoy the book or not as well some sections were a little choppy in structure and I found myself rereading parts to get the timeline straight in my head.

Overall a really good concept and a very fun read

Well, this was fun. Ripley, our protagonist, is at the end of his life and just wants to go out in a high note with his estranged wife. Enter Bogart, his new companion/parasite. The relationship between those two comes with some fun banter and a good amount of snark. And even though this novel didn’t initially grab my attention from the get-go, it picked up quickly and brings you right into the fight for humanity. I liked Ripley. He’s likable, and the reader finds themselves rooting for him to believe in himself; his has pretty low self-esteem at the start of the book. He has a nice character arc and ultimately fulfilling journey. Bogart is the sidekick we all hope for, and is a devoted “friend” to Ripley. The monsters are hideous, the secondary characters are a beneficial addition, and the book, as a whole, is written well and cohesively. An enjoyable book overall.

This is a weird book to review. The tone is blunt and snarky. It walks a very thin line between being acceptable vs offensive (especially early in the book). The main character is a bit of jerk, not lovable, but also not irredeemable. And the target audience for this book is definitely male. ...And yet, despite all this, I was unable to put the book down. And the longer I read it, the more it grew on me.

There was a surprising amount to love about this book. It has a compelling story, with tension, action and intrigue. The secondary character is one of the most unique that I've come across. I couldn't help but love him, despite his very unusual (and not entirely healthy) relationship with the main character. And, something which I found equally delightful, is that this book has some very intriguing and obscure points of knowledge that tie in nicely with the plot of the book. You get a bit of esoteric education to go along with the pure entertainment value of the book.

All in all, this one was a winner.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s not without its problems but that’s pretty normal. The body horror was written well and the plot seemed nicely thought out. The ending was satisfying.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. It didn't disappoint! Must read!!