Humor Review

Boofalo: A Funny Book
by Richard S. Greene
ISBN-10: 0595312632
Review by Heather Froeschl

Clearly a man's fantasy, "Boofalo!" is entertaining in an offbeat, odd sort of way. A very odd sort. The book encompasses everything from space and time travel to evading the cops in good old O-hi-o. One man takes on the world, on another planet, and seems to have it all under control in a chaotic, frantic, kind of way. He fares better there, with all manner of beasts attacking him, then he does in his home town of Cleveland where he runs naked through the streets only to rummage through garbage for golf pants and break into his own apartment.

Dan Slam is a star. He has his own show, on the planet Ovula, where the Princess Vangi and her people follow Dan's every boring move, through images captured in his life of marathon television watching, chip eating, toilet using, paper pushing work days and pathetic attempts at love. Vangi decides he is the one who will save her planet from Draegon and she sends the bus to get him. The bus, an "alternity" travel machine, is driven by none other than the unemployed King of the land, and boasts a marquee that promises Ecstasy, Romance, Action and Thrills.

With each ride, Dan does experience those things, conquers strange beasts, makes friends with other beasts, has marathon sex adventures, saves the day, nearly dies and in fact meets death face to face, becomes the hero and signs autographs. Again, this is clearly a man's fantasy read.

The author's use of puns is over the top, and if you like this sort of thing you will have plenty of laughs. The formatting is unique in that nearly every thought, action and image begins a new paragraph, many of which are only a word or two long. This creates a jumpy, scattered feel to the read, almost as though you are reading the mind of the characters rather than reading the narrative. It is almost as though the entire book were written as poetry, but without the rhythm and rhyme.

"Boofalo!" is a book that is in a genre all its own, though I am not sure what that genre is. The author shows promise in his descriptiveness and creativity and I am sure his readers will wonder what he will come up with next.