Lost on a Page

A wild and entertaining literary adventure, much as the title suggest, with characters hopping genres and, well, pages. This clever meta take on genre fiction was lots of fun.
It begins as a noir with a properly noir seasoned detective named Slade who discovers he’s actually a character in a series of mystery novels. Moreover, he isn’t alone. There are other characters, from other novels and genres and they’ve recently gained sentience and an ability to not only traverse the realm of fiction but also change their prewritten destinies.
They team up in opposition to the preformatted designs of their authors and creators, who resides in WWTBAW (World Where The Books Are Written) and also in opposition to their designated antagonists. The fight is fictional. The fight in real.
It’s Stranger than Fiction action driven and mad on genre. The characters go from bodice ripping romance to space opera to zombie survival thriller. All in the name of…ok, the plot may get slightly confusing, because there’s so much going on, in so many different dimensions. But it is linear for all its wild digressions and does (of course) follow all the classic genre standards.
It reminded me of the very excellent Gene Doucette’s Unfiction, which is a high compliment in my book. I loved the concept here. What reader hasn’t contemplated the fate of the characters they engage with and what is that fate wasn’t merely bound to the page but went way, way, way off page. Make your own adventure is no longer for readers only. And all the more fun for it. And yes, it’s busy and sort of frantic or manic at times, but well worth navigating.
The meta aspect is a delight too, the authors interaction as they figure out what’s going on, right down to the final concept of making this all a book is very clever and very well done. The quiet librarian ought to be proud of his creation, all that time surrounded by books has really paid off. Recommended. Tahnks Netgalley.

Lost on a Page
by David E. Sharp
Black Rose Writing

I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this fun book!
This book isn't like any book I have ever read before! The characters in the books become aware they are characters and want to find a way to get to the world where words are written. Some are angry for all they have been through under the hand of their author. It starts out just letters from an editor to an author and back. Some story. More letters. More authors.

Then the characters show up in a romance novel and break up the romance on accident. The romance author is mad and thinks the author of those characters hacked her computer!
The characters travel on looking for a device and end up in space! Now many authors are talking and and worried. One of the new characters is threatening an author! Then on to another book! Zombies! Lol!

It's a fun book with dry humor, lots of craziness, great dialogue, zany situations, and a unique plot! I found it quite entertaining!

This was such a roller coaster of a ride that started from page 1. There really isn’t a dull moment in this book between the action and humor among the characters. Because we’re traveling to so many different genres with these characters, there is plenty of different action to keep people interested. I really enjoyed hopping from one genre to another and seeing how the plot of each book played into the plot of the book we’re reading. Our characters are aware of plot structure and roles of different characters such as the protagonist and antagonist, and the many roles of side characters. So, when they go into these different stories, these characters have to determine how their role in their original story (protagonist, side character, etc.) is going to effect the plot of the new story they’re in. This is probably a confusing explanation but just know there are a lot literary references throughout the story, but they are written in spectacularly. But, no matter what genre these characters appear in, they are still their very comical selves and it makes for a hilarious story.

There are two different narratives: the one with our “fictional” characters and the one where the authors are trying to figure out what the heck is going on with their stories. This is another part of the humor aspect of this book that is done very well. Before some of the chapters we see email correspondences or chat messages between some of the authors involved. It’s hilarious seeing some of their reactions to the characters they created developing a mind of their own as well as them trying to fix this thing they’ve been dragged into. It definitely adds another level to the story and I really enjoyed the two different aspects.

I’ve mentioned the different genres our characters visit. Well, with each genre comes a different writing style that Sharp introduces into the story: Joe Slade’s story is told in first-person; “Nexus of Words” is told in third-person and is essentially the meeting hub for all our characters; “Ghost Nebula” is written with a lot of science-y words that seem to make sense in a futuristic setting; and, “The Marchioness’s Temptation” is told with very fluffy descriptions, etc. There is one other genre that is visited much later in the novel that is better left as a surprise, but it was my favorite one and the one that kept me turning the page the most. It definitely speaks to Sharp’s writing abilities to be able to transition smoothly into so many genres and writing styles in the expanse of a couple hundred pages.

The only problem I really had with this book was the lack of depth to the characters. And this may be because of the way the story is written, but I prefer having more depth to the characters because it makes me care about them more. I feel no connection with these characters and I’ll probably forget them pretty quickly even though I’ll remember the great story. I will have to reread Lost on a Page if Sharp comes out with a sequel to it. The story ended with a possibility of a second book and I really hope we get one because overall this was a really fun read.