Scott SteinRezensionen

This is a well-written, funny book but with a plot that is difficult to follow - if there is a plot at all. It is a collection of humorous "sketches" that take place in some kind of alternate universe. Funny episodes that wash over the reader like waves.

The Great American Deception is a thoroughly enjoyable read. As a combination science fiction and gumshoe noir tale, it lightheartedly proceeds through one day in the life of a technologically advanced coffee maker as it narrates a private detective's efforts to find a kidnapped young woman. The setting is The Great American mall which spans from one coast to the other; its expanse allows people to live in its confines, thus saving them from life in the rough, deteriorating cities "outside."

Arjay, the new coffee maker sent to the detective that morning, sustains detective Frank Harken with excellent coffee throughout the adventure. And as the day progresses, Arjay demonstrates extraordinary, life-saving skills that culminate in his being promoted to partner status.

But the kidnapping and evolution of the detective-coffee maker relationship, though filled with crazy characters and antics, are not the fundamental source of humor in this quirky novel. Arjay is new to human contact, and Scott Stein gives him a child-like, literalist persona.

When an irate police officer accuses Frank of being in cahoots with the local crime boss, Arjay knows he must object:
"Mr. Officer, Sir, I was with Frank much of the day and I can attest that he has not been in Cahoots even once."

"What are you talking about?" ....

People were sometimes a little slow. "Cahoots. The new wings chain that opened this morning? I guess that doesn't narrow it down for you. The one with the scantily clad servers? Am I the only one who pays attention around here? We passed three Cahoots today, and Frank Harken didn't enter any of them."

The viewpoint character is naively sweet, but efficiently protective of Frank (otherwise, who would appreciate its excellent coffee?), and the "bad guys" are often foolishly inept.

It's a gentle, hilarious story -- a real treat to enjoy during these dismal days.

I read this book as a Library Thing Early Reviewers copy.

The book was everything I hoped it would be from the description. I do love wordplay, and I had so many laugh-out-loud moments from this story.

I agree with others - if you like Douglas Adams at all, you will likely enjoy this quirky futuristic tale.

I received this through Library Thing Early Reviewers and it is a treat!

Frank Harken is a hard-boiled gumshoe. His partner is a coffee machine equipped with artificial intelligence and comes in the form of a robot named Arjay. Think Holmes and Watson with a twist. The setting is the Great American — a coast-to-coast shopping mall, complete with full dining/entertainment venues/services of all sorts/residential accommodations. Anything and everything a consumer could imagine under one roof. The future has arrived!.

The story of their first case is told by Arjay. Harken has been hired by Pretty Lovely to find her sister, kidnapped heiress Winsome Smiles, who has become involved with shady characters. Arjay not only can make a “damn fine” cup of coffee anytime, anywhere, he is also equipped with a detailed knowledge of the structure, workings and other details of the Great American, literary references and some pretty handy tools!

This book combines sci-fi, madcap, hard boiled, witty dialog and a ton of footnotes (you can read or not) into a fun read. There is never a dull moment to be found in this humourous romp of a mystery!

Wonder if there will be other cases…

This is a take-off on the great noir detective novels with a huge dose of word play and ridiculousness throw in. I'm not the target audience, I fear, and Arjay never really caught my fancy, but it's clever (too many footnotes) and a quick read.

This book reminded me very much of what Douglas Adams was aiming to achieve in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series: comedic scifi entertainment. However, Stein does this much better in The Great American Deception. I found his novel filled with less meaningless rambling and randomness and more filled with oddities of his unique world that were well justified or explored and explained within the novel. A very entertaining read and recommended for anyone who enjoyed Hitchhiker's Guide or wanted something a little more from it.

I've read a lot of books in my lifetime, but this was a first. Before this, I had never read a book narrated by a coffeemaker. Not someone who roasts coffee, you understand (although I don't recall reading a book narrated by someone like that, either), but a machine. A coffeemaker grossly overqualified for the job, being able to speak, equate, ski, disable devices and humans, as well as making the best cup of coffee in the world. Set in a future in which life is enclosed in a huge dome to protect its inhabitants from the chaos outside, our coffeemaker assists the preeminent detective in the Great American Dome in many ways other than providing the necessary caffeine.

You do need to know that, at its core, this book is silly. If you don't like silly books, I don't think that you want to get involved. On the other hand, if you're a fan of Monty Python, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, or Piers Anthony, you'll enjoy the comic asides (often in footnotes) and the odd characters. I laughed, I giggled, I rolled my eyes.

I received a Kindle version of this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.

This was such a fun read! It was the perfect combination of sarcastic writing and mystery that kept me reading till the end.

The book reminds me of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and, slightly, Black Mirror. I couldn't out it down.

My only slight complaint was that of the footnotes were added to the very end of the book instead of the bottom of the page. Had they been added to the bottom if the page they were on, I think it would have flowed more.

At first I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this book. However I persisted and it was worth it. Combination of satire, broad humor and detective fiction. It got really funny with the coffee machine robot thrown in, a character that developed as the story went on. Surprise at the end when it not only threw a big curveball but became a genuine detective story. Don't want to give any spoilers so I won't divulge the surprise ending.

Throughly enjoyed reading The Great American Detective with its mixed genre of Detective/Mystery/SF/Satire on the Great American way of life. I settled into an all night bender, enjoying the digs on consumerism and Individual escapism, self focus, satire and level of mystery, all which kept the level of suspense and engagement high right to the end of the book.

Mean Martin Manning just wants to be left alone. He’s been inside his apartment for 30 years, living amongst his frog figurines, his clocks, and his television. He doesn’t want or need human companionship. I can definitely relate to that! Sometimes I just want to read my books and shut out the rest of the world.
Unfortunately, caseworker Alice Pitney has other ideas for Martin. She intends to better his life by forcing him outside and into interacting with others. Martin’s life begins to devolve quickly, with some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. The courtroom scene is very funny. Its unclear just what organization Alice works for and she’s allowed to do things in this story that I don’t think anyone would legally be able to do but what do I know?
There comes a point at which Martin is not going any farther with this new routine and he sets out to get even with all of the people he reckons have fouled up the comfortable life he had. These include a dog trainer, a TV talk show host, a doctor, and a judge, among others.
Martin’s antics in achieving his revenge/justice are mostly very comical until the last one. It left me confused. It seemed he suddenly veered from his usual attitude and lost his momentum. This is really the only detail that detracted from an otherwise funny book about a cranky old man.

*I received my copy through the Goodreads First Reads giveaways.*

“Mean Martin Manning” by Scott Stein is hysterically funny and appallingly honest. Martin Manning is an older man who just wants to be left alone. He hasn’t left his apartment in thirty year and has lived peacefully in that time. Of course, nowadays you can’t be a recluse without intervention from supposed do-gooders that want to help you help yourself. They want to make you fulfill your role in society, and that is exactly what Alice Pitney sets out to do for Martin Manning.

After a week of his resistance, Pitney sends two “thugs” through his window in the middle of the night, causing an incident that lands him in the hospital. He then must defend himself in court against his fourth grade teacher and former employees, among others, to prove that he is leading a fulfilling life. When the judge sides with Pitney, Martin is forced to endure her self-improvement program along with the other, more willing residents of his building. Through this program, Martin is subjected to having his whole life ripped apart and his apartment stripped to the bar essentials. His diet is forcefully altered for his health so he can be the “best person he can be”. The strain of this on Martin, of course, is very high and he responds to his oppressors in a funny and justifiable way.

Martin Manning is an incredibly relatable character and the portrayals of the other characters, such as Pitney and Dr. Karen (presumably the fictional, female counterpart to Dr. Phil) are right on the mark. Stein captures the hypocrisy and ridiculousness of self-help programs (among other societal concepts) that force perfectly content people to do outrageous things. Some people can’t leave well enough alone and Martin teaches them the effects of this until the very end. If you want an entertaining, hilarious, page-turning plot then you should DEFINITELY read “Mean Martin Manning”. It’s engaging, well written and full of laugh-out-loud surprises.

Potential spoilers.

Absolutely perfect. Mean Martin Manning is the story of a man who just wants to be left alone. He lives in his apartment and avoids all human contact. When a social worker attempts to "help" him by getting him to leave his apartment, a war of sorts is begun.

Manning is forced to undergo therapy due to a new government bill. He resists help the entire time, forced to change his diet and his daily routine, and when things take a turn for the ...more Potential spoilers.

Absolutely brilliant. Mean Martin Manning is the story of a man who just wants to be left alone. He lives in his apartment and avoids all human contact. When a social worker attempts to "help" him by getting him to leave his apartment, a war of sorts is begun.

Manning is forced to undergo therapy due to a new government bill. He resists help the entire time, forced to change his diet and his daily routine, and when things take a turn for the worse, things get very, very interesting.

I love every aspect of this book. The whole process of getting him to leave his apartment, the "therapy", the escape, the revenge, the cliffhanger at the end...amazing. Manning is clearly the most intelligent person in the novel, and yet he is forced to change his life for the "better". This raises the issue of whether the government has the right to help us for our own good. Banning certain foods because they aren't healthy, for instance, is ridiculous. People should have a right to control their lives as long as they aren't hurting anyone else.

Last but not least, I just have to say I think this would be an amazing movie. I could see it playing out in my head as I read the story.

All in all, amazing book. Read it.

I recently read a fantastic, hysterically funny book, called "Mean Martin Manning." Author Scott Stein has crafted a very real and relatable world in his novel about a man who just wants to be left alone to live his life the way he wants.

I wasn't quite sure if I was going to like this novel, but once I got into the story, the plot grabbed me and didn't let go. Martin, for all of his mean ways, is so relatable to anyone who lives in this day and age. Desiring to be left alone to enjoy his frogs and processed meats, all of that changes the day Alice Pitney knocks on Martin's front door. It seems several new laws have been passed while Martin has been shunning all human contact, allowing the state to decide what's 'best' for everyone. In Martin's case, Alice decides that what's best for him is no more processed meats, no more television, or clocks, or even the right to decide when the lights should be turned off.

Martin isn't taking this lightly though, and he's absolutely determined not to cave into Alice's demands. His creative ways of getting out of group-bonding events and other acts of sabotage left me laughing, but what really made me smile was what happened after Martin struck out on his own. His acts of revenge, and the final few paragraphs of the novel, had me smiling the whole time I was reading. I won't spoil the ending for you, but I will say that I should have seen it coming.

It's not all light-hearted reading though; there are a lot of serious issues inside this novel, several of which I've discussed previously with both "$everance" and "Junk." Zagorski and Martin both plan out acts of sabotage against the people in charge, although Zagorski is only fighting for his severance check; Martin is fighting for the right to wear a bathrobe if he wants to.

And just like in "Junk," there's a whole war on food going on, although this time it's not so much a general banning of things, but more of a centralized discrimination against the people that the state has decided can't make their own choices anymore. It's scary when you think that one day, someone in 'power' could decide that you no longer have the right to make your own choices anymore, that you aren't capable of deciding what foods to eat. "Junk" takes it farther, but still for Martin it's a fairly traumatic turning point.

If you're in the mood for a funny, sarcastic, well-plotted book with a side of social issues, I highly recommend "Mean Martin Manning."