Blurb:

A darkly comedic thriller by the New York Times best-selling author of Underground Airlines, The Last Policeman, and the Audible Originals Q&A and Inside Jobs.

Jack Diller is just one more struggling actor on the road to nowhere. He’s got an agent who barely remembers his name, his ex-girlfriend has hooked up with a Silicon Valley dude, and the milk in his fridge is so far past its sell-by date it’s historic. The only way Jack can scrape together a bare existence is by delivering food to exactly the types of successful people he wishes he could be.

Then, one day, a very strange audiobook shows up on his phone. The Killer Instinct seems to be your basic self-help guide, narrated by a washed-up action star named Hector Bruno, and brimming with cheesy advice for how to get your life together.

With so little to lose, Jack starts listening… and listening some more. He starts talking to Hector like he’s his best friend.

And then… Hector starts talking back.

Review:

First things first. I see in the blurb Ben H. Winters is a NYT best-selling author. But that is not what brought me to this one. I have no idea who he is. No, what brought me to this Audible Original was the narrator, one Mr. Will Wheaton, AKA the Geek Gawd. Plus, hey, Ron Perlman too!

So yeah, I occasionally listen to books based solely on who is reading them.

I entered this one pretty blind to what to expect. I don’t even remember if I read the description past “read by Will Wheaton”. Remember, books tend to sit in my library for months before I ever get to them. My address may say Illinois, but I live in the state of Constantly Behind.

As for the story, the main character is written as one who appeals to a reader who has occasional fits of delusion of grandeur. So, me. Jack Diller swears he is capable of more than what he has accomplished so far.

Relatable lead character? Check.

The actual story is serviceable. This was a short book, so not a ton of exploration or character building, just to the point debauchery that ultimately serves as a warning about technology and being led by others, especially if those two are the same.

This book reminded me of a nerdier version of a Chuck Palahniuk book. Maybe that was me projecting my Wheaton Nerdiness onto it, but the “your phone is dangerous” aspect seems to make that fit as well. Ultimately, it is comedy of errors with some twists that seem darker than you think with the tone of the early part of the book. Somehow both lighthearted and dark.

All in all, well worth the 3 hours, 46 minutes for you 1Xers. Plus, it was free with the membership.