Good intentions cannot cancel out bad storytelling and ugly art.

Jacob Sehman and Jorge Corona are trying to tell a story wrapped up in the #metoo and #timesup movements, with celebrities behaving badly, sexual harassment, internet trolls, cyberstalking, hackers, leaked sex tapes, slut shaming, and more. They go overboard as they also throw in suicide, murder, a contacts version of Google glasses, and hallucinations galore featuring the Black Dahlia and John Wayne Gacy.

The overly-complicated and ludicrous mess of a plot does not even come to a satisfying conclusion, as the creators obviously hope to inflict a sequel on us.

The most worthwhile part of the book is the end matter, a dozen pages where women share and are interviewed about sexual harassment, cyberstalking, Gamergate and the #metoo movement. But I can't help but wonder if this material was included as an end run against criticism of the feature story being more exploitative than supportive. ( )

Goodreads Synopsis:

Her social media, strong. Her variety show segments, a hit. Nash Huang is at the top of her game. But when the iRis Shutter contact lens hits the market, Nash’s life is personally invaded. The latest leap forward in “technological progress,” these contacts not only play video or augment reality…but also record footage. Fighting to keep her life together after a leaked sex tape goes viral, a clingy super-fan is the last thing on Nash’s mind…but that’s exactly when the bodies pile up and the terror begins. From the bestselling team that brought you GONERS, comes NO. 1 WITH A BULLET!

My Review:

Although I had high hopes for this story, it kind of fell flat for me.

Check out the rest of my review here!

https://radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com/2018/08/20/no-1-with-a-bullet-1-no-... ( )

No. 1 With A Bullet is an engaging story that looks at how technology, while having many positives to add to life, also bring many negatives. Don't be put off by anyone claiming they don't have time to analyze this. Anyone who has spent time actively reading and critiquing literary/art works does not have to take extra time to analyze (though organizing and presenting said analysis can be time consuming and is often where the true insights come) they analyze as they read/watch. And including some real world information at the end does not even remotely resemble writing around an issue, it means one is trying to connect the fictional world and any feelings it may have generated to the real world. That is a commendable thing to do, whether you think it succeeds or not.

I did not completely get into the story, there were a few parts where it seemed a bit forced. Nothing too glaring and I still enjoyed the story. This was a work where I found myself caring about the protagonist and wanting to know how things worked out for her but I was less concerned with some of the details (even major plot lines) that led to that place of resolution. I think my frame of mind while reading plays a part in my lack of interest in the story even while caring about Nash. Namely, dealing with a death in the family seemed to keep me from engaging very deeply with anything I read for a few weeks.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes timely stories about the challenges we face in society. The artwork was wonderful and helped the story move along.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss. ( )