Recommend something dark and twisted... and funny

[FCAdam]

I am looking for a book in the fiction genre.. fantasy, sci-fi are all fine. What I am REALLY looking for is a clever little book with a sinister, morbid, dark sense of humor. I usually find it amusing when characters meet ironic demises etc. (such as a sole survivor of a crashed space ship finding out it was filled with bacon and eggs, and dieing of salmonella poisoning a week later).

I dont care if the humor is the focus of the book, as long as it is existant and it is written well.

Any help is much appreciated!

Thanks!

[curtw]

You didn't say if it has to be an ebook, so...

I enjoyed Quite Ugly One Morning, by Christopher Brookmyre. If your sense of humor is as twisted as indicated by your request, you'll recall that this title was lifted from a song by Warren Zevon.

Review 1
Review 2

Gaiman and Pratchett's Good Omens is a little lighter on the morbidity and a little heavier on the comedy, but is quite entertaining.

[edbro]

Originally Posted by FCAdam

ironic demises etc. (such as a sole survivor of a crashed space ship finding out it was filled with bacon and eggs, and dieing of salmonella poisoning a week later).

Boy, that one's been done to death!

[Bilbo1967]

Most of Brookmyre's books would fit the bill I think.

Also, Carl Hiaasen's books are similar in tone I think.

[omk3]

Both Brookmyre and Hiaasen write excellent and entertaining books with clever harsh social commentary and subtle or not so subtle, twisted or not so twisted humour. But they're not really sinister and morbid, or at least they are only sinister and morbid in parts. Anyway, well worth reading. And if someone has something similar to recommend, I'm all ears

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by omk3

Both Brookmyre and Hiaasen write excellent and entertaining books with clever harsh social commentary and subtle or not so subtle, twisted or not so twisted humour. But they're not really sinister and morbid, or at least they are only sinister and morbid in parts. Anyway, well worth reading. And if someone has something similar to recommend, I'm all ears

Yes, that's true, not really maxing on the sinister. But Hiaasen, in particular, seems to specialise in characters meeting ironic demises (in pretty much every book of his from memory - bar the one about golf!).

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by FCAdam

I am looking for a book in the fiction genre.. fantasy, sci-fi are all fine. What I am REALLY looking for is a clever little book with a sinister, morbid, dark sense of humor. I usually find it amusing when characters meet ironic demises etc. (such as a sole survivor of a crashed space ship finding out it was filled with bacon and eggs, and dieing of salmonella poisoning a week later).

You might try books by James Morrow, especially Towing Jehova.

[Latinandgreek]

Try "The Rebel Angels" by Robertson Davies

[BenG]

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard

[Bilbo1967]

So, so far, we've had Brookmyre, Hiaasen and Davies.

As curtw pointed out, the title of Quite Ugly One Morning comes from a Warren Zeavon song. The 'heroic' characters in Hiaasen's novels are often seen to be Zeavon fans and, to complete the links, the defrocked monk character in The Rebel Angels is called Parlabane, the same name as the unorthodox journalist character in 4 or 5 of Brookmyre's novels.

Just struck me as quite a coincidence

[omk3]

Heh! Maybe the first two are not really coincidence though, as I read somewhere that Brookmyre was inspired by Hiaasen's books, and the death of one particular character in Quite Ugly One Morning is actually a homage to Hiaasen.

Oh, and that's from wikipedia:

Many of the characters in Brookmyre's novels are named after characters in Davies's books.

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by omk3

Heh! Maybe the first two are not really coincidence though, as I read somewhere that Brookmyre was inspired by Hiaasen's books, and the death of one particular character in Quite Ugly One Morning is actually a homage to Hiaasen.

A while since I've read Quite Ugly One Morning, which death is it?

[omk3]

It's been a while for me too, I only remembered that it was a slow and gruesome one
So I looked it up:

My way of repaying my debt to Hiaasen is the character of Darren in Quite Ugly One Morning: a tribute to all of the goons in her books who are seemingly big and dangerous, yet ultimately rather useless, ending up further debilitated page by page.

from here:http://textualities.net/jennie-rento...-conversation/

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by omk3

It's been a while for me too, I only remembered that it was a slow and gruesome one
So I looked it up:

from here:http://textualities.net/jennie-rento...-conversation/

Many thanks for that - I'm going to have to revisit QUOM to really understand it though.

..."her books"??

[omk3]

I'm hoping it's a typo
I miss Parlabane, the old bastard. Maybe a re-read is not such a bad idea. And some early Hiaasen, too. But maybe I should read some Davies first? So much to (re)read, so little time...