Jason Pargin has already given us one amazing series with John Dies at the End. Giving us another series with this protagonist and this tone was the right direction and I'm so excited for future entries!

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

After loving the first book, when I saw this book was coming out I knew I had to read it. It still has that randomness and ridiculousness that I loved. The futuristic stuff is still interesting as well.

My biggest problem is that at the end of book 1, I thought Zoey had decided to stay, get more educated, and take over. That isn't what it seems like has happened. In fact, for the entire book she keeps wavering on whether she will stay in Tabla Ra$a or if she'll leave. I totally understand why her circle is so annoyed with her and doesn't tell her everything. She isn't all in, heck she's barely half in, so why would they tell her everything?

There are good moments which is how I was able to push to the end, but it felt like a chore, especially after loving the first book. The end is hopefully though, so I'll give the third book a try... if it is ever written. 😉

The Zoey Ashe novels take place in a near-but-somehow-distant future and are to sci-fi as the JDatE books are to horror. That is to say, they take tropes of the genre, slather it with weird imagery, and stack the dick jokes ten feet high by following the story of Zoey from trailer park poverty to a massive mansion set in the middle of a city which makes Las Vegas and Dubai look low-rent and unimaginative

Tue second in the Zoey Ashe series. Tabula Rasa like Las Vegas .with more tech and violence, and Zoe is the unwitting heir to one of the founder's fortunes and business ventures, making her a constant target. Imagine technologically-enhanced bounty hunters chasing a twenty-something smart ass while livestreaming it all on something like TIKTok. Fun, but deceptively light-hearted.

In this second installment of the series, Zoey Ashe continues to adjust to her new life as the surprise heiress to a massive criminal empire. This action-packed sci-fi satire could as easily be a stand-alone book as it is a sequel to “Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits.”
While satirizing a world of growing technology and social media influence, author David Wong still injects hope and optimism into his fictional society. Even in a make-believe world overrun with greed and violence, where every movement is broadcast for the entire world to follow along, there are still people trying their hardest to keep things together. Wong carefully blends outrageous fantasy with relatable humanity.
While villains with superhuman enhancements terrorize a city full of skyscrapers draped in larger-than-life dancing holograms, Zoey’s emotions and reactions are surprisingly realistic and relatable ... except for her devotion to her foul-smelling pet cat.

In the second book of the Zoey Ashe series, we find ourselves back in Tabula Ra$a, complete with the creepy social network that sees everything, the villains enhanced with freaky tech, and as always, power players plotting to overthrow the new crime princess at every turn.

Zoey Ashe may have inherited her father’s criminal empire, but that doesn’t mean she knows how to run it. For every good deed she does, another element from her father’s past misdeeds pops up, threatening to unravel everything she’s worked for so far. Still, she moves forward, doing her best to bring some semblance of equality and justice to the strange lawless city she now lives in.

Just when things seem to be going right, for a change, a giant trunk is delivered to her mansion. It’s shocking enough when a disemboweled corpse is discovered inside. But it’s downright terrifying when it lurches to life and rampages through her house, determined to kill her. The corpse accuses her of murdering it and within no time at all, a huge public bounty is plastered all over Blink, promising a giant cash reward for anyone who can provide proof of the corpse’s claim.

Determined to prove her innocence, Zoey orders her people to solve the crime. But every clue takes her deeper into the nefarious web of her father’s criminal enterprise, all while the city of Tabula Ra$a threatens to descend into unfettered chaos. Zoey is sure she didn’t do it, but she’s less sure her people didn’t, which makes proving her innocence a lot trickier than she thought.

This book is the second in the series, but the way they’re written, it isn’t necessary to read them in order. That said, reading Futuristic Violence And Fancy Suits makes the transition into understanding the world Wong has built a little easier. It also gives a proper introduction to the characters and how they all came together. The brilliance of Wong’s writing though, makes Futuristic Violence read as a prequel if read second or the beginning if it’s read first. So really, there is no wrong way to tackle this series, as long as it’s tackled.

To anyone new to David Wong, his books are sci-fi satire. That doesn’t make them devoid of heavy content, or shy away from important societal issues. In fact, Zoey Punches The Future does exactly both of those things, diving into heavy topics in a way that almost makes them palatable. They’re exaggerated, comical, and crude. But it makes examining topics like power structure and the banality of evil easier. Morality. Ethics. These are tricky topics and pulling them apart until they’re warped and distended allows us to dive deep into all the shades of grey while maintaining our distance. Levity is not just an artistic choice here, it’s a necessity.

By presenting these issues in farcical, fantastical ways, they become digestible. Wong takes the disgusting nature of things like sexism and pares it down to its crudest edges. He doesn’t try to explain them, instead he highlights the absurd logic these viewpoints follow, making the pointed statement that there is nothing intellectual or reasonable about these beliefs at all. To be clear, this doesn’t make them comfortable. Reading about a group of men hell-bent on mocking Zoey on her weight, her intelligence, her existence as a woman is repulsive. But the crude comedy makes these viewpoints the butt of the joke, giving Zoey the upper hand. He doesn’t ask us to feel sorry for her because it’s assumed she’s not only above it but will find a way to overcome their hate. They’re a nuisance, but she has an empire to run and a crime to solve.

Wong also tackles the complications of our culture in broad strokes. On the surface, the superficiality is laid bare. We worship our social media feeds, making celebrities out of the individuals who can bring us the most tantalising stories, even at the expense of the individuals victimised by it. It’s an interesting conversation about how we don’t need a government mandate to bring about a surveillance state. We’re perfectly willing to subscribe to being perpetually watched for our own entertainment. The dangers are the same, but it’s far more difficult to be mad when we sign up for it willingly.

In that same tone, Zoey Punches The Future also dissects technology. There are a lot of gadgets turned weaponry, with the implications of how things like implants or the constant presence of streaming can be both perverse and dangerous. But it also tackles the complications of role-playing games and the role they could play as virtual reality and other immersive technology comes to fruition. What could it mean if there are entire economies built and maintained within a virtual space? And how could those consequences bleed into the real world? These are the layers Wong weaves within his layers of satire.

But the satire serves another purpose as well. It executes the most important aspect of a magician pulling off a complicated trick. We’re so busy looking at the satire, even being offended by it, that we miss the underlying message of hope. Negativity may get views and likes. It may be all anyone talks about, but this warped view of measurable metrics isn’t always the whole story. Most of the time it isn’t even a fraction of the story. It’s a powerful message in this digital age, where pile-ons and misinformation can run rampant. Even the blatant misogyny Zoey endures is the same sort of trick. We’re outraged on her behalf, as we should be, but in reacting, we put all our attention and focus on that one element, missing anything that doesn’t fall into that specific narrative.

Navigating this difference between virtual and reality is daunting. The loudest detractors in one, may be the minority in the other. And vice versa. And sometimes neither. It gets harder and harder to tell the difference between what we see and what we know. Loudness can be a sign of momentum or a brash tool used to detract from the quiet hope surrounding a silent majority. The more we rely on technology, the less we can trust what we’re watching. Is it a truth being uncovered? Or a hoax played for views? Or simply a piece of the truth, amplified because it plays for better ratings? As we shift towards this immersive world where success, and to a lesser degree truth, is measured by the rate of consumption, it’s a harrowing warning. It’s easy to brush off Tabula Ra$a as ludicrous. But take away the dark humour, and we get the harsh examination of technology and its chilling implications for society.

The Zoey Ashe series is loud, brash, and completely unapologetic for being both. Fans of Chuck Palahniuk and Reed King will love the series, along with Wong’s other books, as will anyone who delights in the darker side of satire in general. It’s a wild ride with unpredictable twists and turns. We root for the unexpected and find meaning in the meaningless. It’s a brilliant spotlight, highlighting all the ways reliance on technology can go wrong while illuminating the endless paths for power to corrupt. And yet, for all the darkness, all the vulgarity, Zoey Punches The Future ends on a surprisingly hopeful note. Humanity may have its weak points, but human problems require human solutions. And, perhaps we’re not doomed after all.

One of the great things about having literary tastes that tend toward the omnivorous is that you never know when the mood to read something in particular will strike you. Sometimes, you want to read some high-minded lit fiction. Other times, you’re up for some lowbrow genre fare. Sometimes, it’s a biography or memoir; other times, a work of pop science or philosophy.

And sometimes, well … you just want to get weird.

When those times arrive, you could do worse than checking out the works of David Wong. His latest is the coarsely-named “Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick,” the sequel to his delightfully profane and bizarre 2015 novel “Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits.” This new book is a sharp and satiric continuation of that story, yet it also manages to largely stand on its own – a relative rarity for genre series.

It’s smart sci-fi that delights in playing dumb, hiding sophisticated ideas and themes behind bizarre set pieces and all manner of creative profanity. It’s also a rip-roarer of an adventure tale, packed with high-concept twists and turns. All in all, it’s a hell of a lot of fun.

Zoey Ashe is still coming to terms with all that has happened in the last year. Not long ago, she was living in a trailer with her mom and trying not to get fired from her job as a barista. Now, thanks to an inheritance from the father she never knew, she sits at the top of an organized crime conglomerate built around his control of the lawless high-tech desert city of Tabula Ra$a (and yes, that’s a dollar sign). She is the head of an empire that employs tens of thousands and has billions in assets – and she is not at all comfortable with her qualifications (or lack thereof) to be there.

She’s got help, of course. Her father’s former team – a group that Zoey has collectively dubbed “the Suits” has largely stayed in place to assist her in running the show. The enigmatic Will Blackwater, a man feared by anyone with any sense, was her father’s right-hand man; now, so is he Zoey’s, despite his seeming distaste for the gig. He leads the team that protects and guides Zoey – even when (ESPECIALLY when) she wants neither.

Her place at the top has ruffled feathers all up and down the food chain. Zoey’s father was the biggest power broker in Tabula Ra$a, but he wasn’t the only one – some of his former competitors might be looking for a way to take down the unprepared newcomer. And many at the bottom have turned their anger at their position in the hierarchy onto her, with a growing online movement devoted to mocking and deriding her every move – usually via meme-driven mockery and misogyny.

But when those two factions – the high and the low – start to bleed together, Zoey and the crew realize they might be in for some trouble. Particularly when one member of the anti-Zoey online community known as the Blowback turns up dead, only to have said corpse turn out to be robotically controlled by outside forces and accusing Zoey of its murder.

This plunges Zoey and her team headlong into the chaos that comes when the online and real worlds collide. In a city where everybody is on camera all the time, where nothing means anything if it isn’t streamed for the world to see, there are people out there who have decided to make it their mission to destroy Zoey. Some choose to do it via hateful images and increasingly outlandish conspiracy theories, while others … well, there are some who have the capability to do physical harm even to someone as well-protected as Zoey.

Despite wanting nothing more than to right her father’s wrongs and help the community of which she is now a leader, Zoey is left with no choice but to figure out who is behind the myriad plots against her before someone close to her winds up getting hurt.

Like I said – weird.

What’s so surprising about “Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick” is how smart it is. I mean, there’s a reference to dick-punching right there in the title – and to be fair, there’s plenty of action and humor that fits squarely with that sentiment – but underneath all the science-fictional trappings, there’s some pretty heady stuff.

We’re talking about thoughtful explorations of the nature of gaming communities and society’s current trend toward celebrity worship and the toxicity of the self-styled men’s rights movement – all of it unspooled by way of a crisply-written, over-the-top genre adventure. Oh, and it’s really funny to boot. Wong’s got jokes, for sure, but he also has a strong grasp of situational comedy as well. It all adds up to a dynamite reading experience.

And again – you don’t have to have read the first book to enjoy this one. There are some reference points you’ll need, but you’ll pick them up pretty quickly in the context of the first few pages. Wong gives you everything you need to enjoy the book right up front, regardless of how much (if any) experience you have with the series.

“Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick” is something different, high-concept ideas in lowbrow clothing. It’s a read that’ll work on whatever level you want it to, opening the door to deeper insight while also operating as straightforward comic sci-fi. Basically, if you want David Wong to punch your brain in the dick, you should check this one out.

If America is looking increasingly like chaos, the future portrayed in Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick is the obvious outcome. Social media drones record everyone’s life 24/7. The entire town of Tabula Ra$a is run by criminals with implanted robotic exoskeletons. There are no police or law of any kind—unless you have the money to pay for it. Worse? It’s in Utah.

David Wong is my favorite gonzo science fiction writer. John Dies at the End is one of my favorite books. The Zoey series has the same zany feel. In this one, Zoey has inherited her deceased father’s empire. This puts her squarely in the crosshairs of every other criminal in Tabula Ra$a.

If you like your science fiction humorous, you will adore this unique take on the future. Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick is a 5-star read!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

Wow, what a fun and thrilling ride this way. From the minute I read the first page, I was intrigued. This futuristic society with practically no consequences and everyone watching your every move was too real but so interracial at the same time. It pulled me in and didn’t let me go until the final page.

At first, I was a bit trepidatious due to the fact that this is the second book in the series and I didn’t read the first book, but it honestly didn’t affect me. The author explained how the world worked so well that I didn’t need to read the first book. Now I am curious to read the first book and I appreciate the author filling in the gaps for me with loads of information.

Normally dumping loads of information is a pet peeve, but since I didn’t read the first book it was extremely helpful. There was a point in the book that skipped a paragraph or two, but other than that, it helped me understand his world and his characters a lot better.

Can we talk about the characters? I will admit, all of the characters names I might not know, but they are all uniquely different and have interesting back stories. The fact that Zoey don’t have yes men around her and question and push her makes her more fascinating. Even though I’ll never be as rich as Zoey, I could connect to her due to her background and her relatability. I love how grounded she is despite her wealth and massive power. She actively fights to be grounded and it suits her so well. Her relationships with her protective team is so unique and wonderful. It is more like a family and I fully enjoyed the relationships between them. Especially Zoey and Echo. The fact that they tease each other like sisters crack me up.

Speaking of cracking up, the humor is wonderful in this book. There were a few time that I would laugh unexpectedly. The situational humor was just perfect. It was just so ludicrous the situations Zoey would get into that it was the perfect contrast to the seriousness of the situations that it was just hilarious.

Now, don’t get me wrong, it is not all fun and games. There were very serious situations and with every page, the tension kept building with little nuggets of humor to lighten the load.

Overall, I fully enjoyed this book. It was suspenseful, fantastic and humorous. I look forward t9 reading more of his work.

I love the "John Dies" series, but these Zoey books are busy and angsty and built on a premise that just never seems to get off the ground. There are funny lines, and the banter can be hilarious, but it's not in the service of a story that ever becomes especially engaging.

It's been a while since I read a David Wong book. I do believe you have to be in the mood for this kind of humor. As I was reading, I found my attention and interest was often dependent on my mood. Usually, I read to leave that all behind. So it doesn't matter what my mood is at any particular moment. Also, I did not read the first book featuring Zoey. I knew that going in and it in no way ruined my enjoyment or understanding of this book.

Now, I loved John Dies at the End. As the sequels went on, I started to tire of how over the top they became. This book was the best David Wong book I have read since that first one. It's quirky and fun. Wong creates a dystopian future and it's pretty easy to figure out the rules as you are reading. No mystery or confusion as you try to figure out how this new world really works. No. It's right in your face. Zoey follows in the footsteps of previous characters who are nowhere near perfect but lives her life as real and as good as she can.

Still, following what I am sure was an action packed book explaining in detail how she became this rich person of power (you get enough of the story to get the gist), she has to be what everyone wants her to be and it isn't even possible. She is being challenged all around. Luckily, she has a pretty strong group around her. For the most part.

As a fan of the previous series, I am glad I picked this one out. Now I have to go out and buy both this one and its predecessor. Thanks for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced ebook copy of this title!

Zoey Ashe and Will Blackwater are back for more zany over the top adventures with the Tabula Ra$a gangs. For some reason this one felt a little more flat than the first, though it was certainly flashy, which I think is what it was going for anyway. I liked that it started exploring some ideas about power, privilege, how we manipulate others to do the things we want/need them to, and even touches on race & gender a little -- it just didn't hit the mark quite as much as the first one did in this department. Still, a pretty fun read!

Zoey Ashe, who inherited a crime empire from her deceased biological dad, finds herself in a pickle when she’s framed for the elaborate death of an enemy. Her hoards of haters get on the band wagon, and not only does she have to clear her name, she must dodge insults and dastardly dudes alike.

This book is bananas. This statement will likely not come as a surprise to anyone who has read the title or seen the cover or who knows of John Wong’s work. The world building and the sheer zaniness is incredible. I enjoyed the Halloween elements and the idea of Zoey’s cat having his own Blink account and devoted followers. However, the endless smack talk about Zoey, and likening her to a cow got old quick. The huge cast of characters felt a bit out of control and the plot with its coincidences, conveniences, and hand waving at the end added to the ridiculousness.

I’d hoped for more of Zoey’s cat Stench Machine and little less of pretty much everything else including page count. I do get that second books in a series can be problematic, especially for someone who hasn’t read the first book. I did like the upbeat, feel good bits in the resolution and the Daisy hand cream was super fun. I did buy book one and plan to read the author’s other series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an Advance Reader Copy.

Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick by author Jason “David Wong” Pargin is the second installment in the Zoey Ashe series following 2016’s Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits. Just as it did in Futuristic Violence, the newest Zoey book is a hilarious blend of science fiction storytelling and the absurd. Once again, the story takes place in Tabula Ra$a, Utah. A city designed around the wealthy, the indulgent, and lawlessness. In the previous installment of this series, Zoey had inherited her father’s multi-billion-dollar empire built on his mob-like tendencies and the whimsical desires of a man with too much money and not enough scruples. Zoey, who grew up very poor with a single mother, has to morally navigate the needs of existing in this ridiculous world with her moral compass. All while surviving what is thrown at her from exploding humans with superhero powers to mobs of online rage-filled people passing rumors around about her being a cannibal.

“Will, calm as wind chimes, said, “Wu, if you hit Zoey two inches below her rib cage and one inch to the right of her spinal column, you’ll punch a hole through her abdomen that she’ll likely survive. Set the round to detonate about six inches later, inside Mr. Tilley’s torso. It will blow him in half, implants or not.”

This particular entry into the series has Zoey being digitally harassed and attacked. The masses of online trolls of Tabula Ro$a accuse Zoey of being a cannibal and a power-hungry despot. They threaten her home and general well being. They attack her online, make up wild stories and accusations, and generally make her life a living hell. To complicate things, a rival security company is throwing proverbial gasoline on the fire. Did they send the steamer trunk with a dead body that jumped up and started chasing everyone around the mansion, shouting about Zoey being a cannibal? Or was it something more sinister?

This story again demonstrates the wit and imagination that Wong has shown in all of his books. Both the Zoey series and John Dies at the End employ the absurd and the gonzo with sympathetic characters and social commentary. While Zoey is a funny book, the characters play off of each other well. There is a lot of funny banter between the Zoey and her team, but there is an undercurrent of sadness under it all. Zoey is isolated. She has no close friends, and the only regular social interaction she has is with her cat. That isolation is making her feel off-kilter and very alone.

Another positive of David’s writing is that he does not shy away from humanity’s uglier problems. For instance, in between the timeline of Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits and Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick, Zoey ends up having a mental breakdown and needs to enter a mental health facility. It is no wonder she has been through some incredibly traumatic events. Instead of using that kind of thing for comedic fodder, Zoey speaks pretty candidly about it. Likewise, Zoey has small mental breakdowns, nightmares, moments of freak out that normal people experience. It adds realism to Zoey’s character, and it is wonderful seeing an author talking about things like mental health more realistically.

“The victims smelled smoke. They all wanted to get out but they didn’t hear an alarm. The alarm, in that situation, wasn’t there to announce there was a fire—they knew there was a fire. The alarm was there to give them permission to get up and leave. Nobody wanted to be first, the social pressure kept them glued to their seats. Well, mass violence works the same way. It just takes one person to be the fire alarm, to give everybody permission to go wild. But probably half of the rioters back at the inn couldn’t pick you out of a lineup or even explain what they were angry about. It’s a core of obsessed true believers surrounded by a cloud of fence-sitters looking for a purpose to cling to. Most of those would disperse if the core were to . . . go away.”

Zoey is, fundamentally, a realistic person. She was a coffee barista, has a terrible ex that broke her heart, and worried about keeping the heat on. At her core, Zoey is a morally good person, maybe not all the time, because who is good all the time. But at her heart, she is trying. She cares about people, even people she has never met and wants to make the world a better place. She is also continuously being thrown in bizarre circumstances that are usually beyond her control, and she fakes it till she makes it. Basically holding on to her goodness and humanity as best she can.

This quality of Zoeys, paired with David Wong’s excellent writing and ferocious wit, makes him one of my favorite authors to read. He continuously puts out good work, and if you are a fan of the slightly bizarre with a science-fiction bent to it, his stories and specifically Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick is worth reading. I have a feeling you will love his books.

I loved all the John books, but don't find the Zoey books as funny. I suppose that the point of all the misogyny and violence is to make fun of those who feel that way towards women, but watching Zoey be called fat and belittled and threatened constantly just isn't that much fun to read. Women, in general, don't deserve that and Zoey, in particular, doesn't either.

Set in a future so chaotic you must mainline drugs to survive. Our heroine is in a constant state of rearranging her life and those unfortunate enough to come in her orbit. It’s a fast paced read. It’s characters are out of nightmares long forgotten if only to survive. It’s comical in its absurdity and philosophical in it shoulder shrugs. I can see an animated version on the horizon. Happy reading

Blending horror and comedy is tough; but Wong pulled it off in the John Does at the End series. In this series he tries to tackle sci-fi and comedy and it just doesn't land. My biggest issue is Zoey is at times annoyingly oblivious and at other times a skilled leader. Throwing a novice character against plotting crime lords, street gangs, and mechanically altered warriors and giving them the super power of snarkiness isn't very entertaining.

Wong is better at the humor but when the world around that is ever changing and the stakes aren't very clear, it's a slog to get through.

First off, I'm bias, I love David Wong. I've loved David Wong since John Dies at the End. Reading his blogs it looks like he is going to be writing full time now as an author, so we might be getting more books more frequently. You don't have to have read the first Zoey book to enjoy and understand this book. If you have read the first book, you don't have to go back and reread, unless you want to of course, because the book picks up seamlessly where the first left off and brings you up to speed perfectly if you haven't read the first. This obviously isn't a JDATE book so there isn't any crazy super natural horror stuff going on here but there is plenty of David's whit and funny antics. Honestly the title gives you a great glimpse of what kind of level of funny is at play. As for the story, it's a good story maybe not a great story, but a good story. Zoey evolves into an adult more in this one which makes you care about her. The world building isn't too far off or different from book one, and honestly the serious parts of Tabula Ra$a isn't that far off of USA's future.

I really love this series. It may be my new favorite. Zoey is a hero for the people and she sort of reminds me of Tank Girl.

Zoey and her team are at it again. Evil has come looking for them and they need to try and stop it. And they will find the most ridiculous and funny way to do that. It's hard to write a review about a series and not give away spoilers.

The author is fantastic at using description and imagery to paint a picture. In one of the opening scenes, Zoey is wearing a skirt like a lampshade and has tiny skulls instead of dots on her underwear, which you might not notice except she's climbing a fireman's ladder to get in a building to save a hostage. How can you not imagine what that looks like? I love it.

I really like David Wong’s slightly skewed version of reality. This book is scary because so much of it is becoming reality. Almost everyone in the world having a Blink stream seems like a nightmare and also a very real possibility in the near future. Once again, Zoe stumbles through her new life, trying to improve things and realizing that everything she does just makes it worse. I would be disappointed if she suddenly got her life together but she’s making progress.