Review of 8-Bit Apocalypse by Amanda Billings

I purchased this novel to feed two addictions I have willfully acquired: reading about video games and bizarro fiction.

Though this was published alongside other more grotesque works by a primarily bizarro publisher, this was more an ode to video game history in fictional form than a bizarro novel in my opinion. Sure, it features violence, absurdity, and sex, but the bizarro genre has begun to cross over with other genres, and this represents one of those cross-breeds.
I will mention the author also lives in Colorado. The book is set in Denver. I live in Denver. Why do you need to know this? You don’t, just realize that the depiction of Denver traffic in the novel is not exaggerated. It really is that bad, with or without random cars possessed by the spirit of a video game cartridge.
If you know a little bit about Atari and it’s flagship games, and the history of the system and the fiasco surrounding ET The Extra-Terrestrial, you will score bonus points with this book, and be rewarded with extra laughs.
There are a lot of laughs to be had in this book. I used up most of my laugh points. (Okay, I’ll stop). The reason I took off one star from the score was the needless repetition. The main character is stitched together from a laundry list of neuroses, some of which require him to constantly rely on whisper videos to soothe his aching phobias and crippling self-doubt. Ample backstory is offered to support this eccentricity, but Jimmy’s behavior, no matter how believable, was annoying to witness much of the time. The side characters are also quirky, and somewhat offensive. But sensitive readers need not bother reading bizarro fiction. The humor in this piece explores the darker side of humanity, but does it in a way that retains a certain innocence born of nostalgic love for pixilated pasts. Fans of retro video games may experience nostalgasm.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It could have been longer. I would have read more. I would love to see a series. How about a 16-bit sequel? Just write one of these for each major retro system. Do it. I dare you. Can we please just get more novels incorporating video games? If you know of any more send the recommendations my way.