Enormity by Nick Milligan reviewed by fellow author Kat Rocha.
Enormity is the story of a man named Jack. Jack is living the dream of being the world’s largest rock star. Money for nothing, more sex partners than Gene Simmons, and enough drugs to make Tony Montoya jealous. Life in paradise couldn’t be more perfect… except Jack isn’t on Earth. He’s an astronaut who crash-landed on this planet with no hope of seeing Earth again. Now he’s doing what he can to survive and blend in with the natives of this strange world. A world that is eerily like Earth in many ways. And unfortunately, blending in means accidently becoming the most popular celebrity this planet has ever known. Now he has to try to keep his secret as well as uncover the conspiracy that is developing behind the scenes of his music career. Will he be able to survive? Will he ever make it back home?
Pros:
Amazing narrative and storytelling. The right blend of humor, seriousness, as well as some well placed moments of real horror. Most of the story is told in a very fluid manner. As Jack flows from concert to meetings with his label to the next groupie’s bed all in a drug filled haze, we the reader are disjointed as well. The concept of days and nights, weeks and months have no meaning. Things happen and we are along for the ride. Then, when Jack gets sober, our collective perception clarifies and everything falls into perspective. As well, the humor is always genuine and never forced. I consider this a major accomplishment considering there is a lot of room for bad puns with song titles and Milligan never goes there.
Cons: Anonymous sex with groupies, teenage-college girls, and just about any female a musician comes across while on the road is normal for a rock-star lifestyle, and it was very important to the story for Milligan to make sure the reader understood the life of debauchery that Jack had been living in. With that said, I think he spent too much time on Jack’s sexual partners and descriptions of the acts committed. Many of these love scenes were sterile and lacked emotion or eroticism, at times coming across as filler rather than plot or character development and I found myself wanting to skip to the next scene.
Overall: I loved this book. The conspiracy paid off in the end and Jack’s personal development is extremely compelling to read. This book is great for people who like doc-u-dramas of rock bands, the golden age of rock, and stories that make us ask the question “what could have been?” 4 ½ out of 5 stars.
