Reactions To Abner Morland's "The Manga Killings"

Gene Romeno, SF Chronicle:

With The Manga Killings, Abner Morland establishes himself as an extraordinary talent. Note the subtle use of "heretofore" as the opening word of every paragraph. Pay close attention to the pivotal moment in which the main character loses his virginity while describing the sex scene from Mass Effect to his lover. Ponder the meaning behind Morland's decision to replace every vowel in every curse word with a *.

Paul Blanch, The Denver Post:

Features the most side-splittingly hilarious account of the North Hollywood Shootout that I have ever read. "Officer requesting medical- woops I slipped on a banana peel!" is destined to replace "Nice! I'm Borat!" as the go-to quote for comedy afficianados.

Stephen King:

Here Morland effortlessly strides into unexplored regions of the human condition and manga, plants his flag, and beckons other writers to follow in his bold wake. This triumphant debut will change the landscape of American literature for years to come.

Kathy Jiles, New York Times:

I was genuinely surprised by the greeting card sound chip which played a sixteen minute excerpt from "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" when I reached the halfway point of the book. I was even more surprised when I realized that the last half of the book was a block of empty pages with the note "Not a printing error" in tiny print at the bottom. I was downright floored when the last page was also blank, but with the note "A printing error" in tiny print at the bottom.

Harold Aker, Dallas Star Press:

Never before has a book so perfectly captured those wistful summer months between adolescence and your first awkward, sweaty experience in the dark, burying a soiled suit of Stormtrooper armor in the backyard after your parents fall asleep.

Trevor Hawkings, The Philadelphia Bugle:

Morland displays an unparalleled command of the alphabet. Nearly every letter makes an appearance, and some are repeated. Although his usage of numbers can be hit-or-miss, they are daring nonetheless.

Carol Inez, BookReviewCentral.com:

Look out, Hemingway! On his bio page, Morland warns, "if I ever come across that miserable bastard I'll knock the apple right of his head."

Neil Gaiman:

This is the first book I can recall that refrains from describing characters until just after their final appearance.

Michael O'Shea, Birmington Free Press:

I find myself revisiting the waiting room chapter again and again. Consider:

"Bored. Hate these magazines. So bored. When are they going to call my name? Jeez, there's like nothing to do in here. At all. I wonder if anyone else in here is bored. I wish I had brought something to read.

"Yup. Bored."

When this forty-page interior monologue came to a head with the main character falling asleep and missing his appointment, I did a fist-pump and shook my head in awe.

Glen Cook

This marathon of ambition has a depth and breadth and sense of vast reaches of inimical time unlike anything else available today. Morland ranks right up there with Tolkien and Barkley, especially in the chapter "My Charles Barkley Autobiography", which is interspersed with lyrics from the songs of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Erin Barnes, The Oregonian:

At times haunting (the ghost car chase), heartbreaking (Victor's redemption and subsequent car chase), and powerful (the monster truck chase), this masterpiece may be the greatest reimagining of The Pelican Brief ever written.

– Dennis "Corin Tucker's Stalker" Farrell (@DennisFarrell)