Reactor, November 2024

“Become of Me” by Veronica Roth (reprint, not reviewed)

“I’m Not Disappointed Just Mad AKA The Heaviest Couch in the Known Universe” by Daryl Gregory

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

In “I’m Not Disappointed Just Mad AKA The Heaviest Couch in the Known Universe” by Daryl Gregory, a young man and his buddy help his aunt move a sofa out of her house. The timing seems odd, because a gigantic alien spaceship hovers over the city, destroying the aircraft sent to intercept it. The couch is really a warship fighting the alien invaders, the aunt is actually the biological avatar of the ship, and even the aunt’s vacuum cleaner is a robot in disguise.

The above synopsis doesn’t give away too much, because these revelations occur soon in the story. The rest continues with the wild adventures of the two humans drawn into the battle against the invaders.

As can be seen, this is a broad farce, played strictly for comedy, even when it becomes violent. The text is interrupted by the author speaking directly to the reader (and the protagonist). In this essay-within-the-story, the author pays tribute to the late writer Iain Banks. It is made clear that the story is something of a comic pastiche of the Culture series by Banks.

This part of the work is obviously heartfelt and sincere, but it seems oddly out of place in a story meant to provide belly laughs. Fans of Banks and readers who enjoy slapstick comedy will best appreciate this tale, even if it is rather long for such a light piece.

Victoria Silverwolf has never read anything by Iain Banks, sad to say.