Ace of Shades, by Theodore Lee

The world is a dark and gloomy place, especially if you’re constantly wearing shades. But as long as your girlfriend’s a piano, she won’t scold you for it. And that’s just the beginning – ready to follow me down the rabbit hole that is Ace of Shades?

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I have to admit that this was a book I’ve never heard of before, but the moment I read the blurb, I knew I had to read it. A main character with a piano as a girlfriend, wearing shades all the time, barely remembering anything about himself? That sounds so much over the top that I immediately sensed it would be a hilarious read – at least for people like my, who have a knack for weird characters, gross descriptions, snarky comments and zoned-out fiction. And boy, was I ever right!

Want to know more? Read the interview with Theodore Lee!

Detective Shades – as we’ll call our anti hero for now, he won’t mind, I’m sure – is a little like Sherlock Holmes would have been if he hadn’t dropped taking drugs and had finally gone off the deep end. He’s partnered with detectives Earrings and Hat, and if you suggest that this starts to sound like the naming scheme for the witchfinders army in GOOD OMENS, I won’t disagree with you. And that kind of humour is – at first – seemingly in contrast to the rest of the story, which really is a mystery thriller about a serial killer that may have watched that one David Fincher movie too often. (You’ll see what I mean within the first few pages, I’m sure.)

Let’s just say that if you were a murder victim, you wouldn’t want those three to investigate your case. Luckily, you wouldn’t have to worry about it, because they’re not official police detectives, they’re just vigilantes. Oh, yes, and you would be dead, so you probably wouldn’t mind after all, I think.

Of course there’s a lot more to the story, but I can’t tell you because of spoilers. So instead I’m trying to tell you what you can expect from this story – basically, it’s the unexpected. Our anti hero Shades and his detective friend are the epitome of the crazy mad hatter, there actually IS a serious story behind everything (although maybe not the one you would expect), there are fourth wall breaks (not only with regards due to the reader, but also the author) and a literal deus ex machina machine. It’s like one of those B-movies, and it has it all – Amish ninjas, aliens, satanic sacrifices, killer clowns, a world conspiracy – you name it, it’s probably in here. But with a certain style.

The unraveling of the story, the protagonist and everything caught in between is fun to watch while also being a little painful. It’s like David Fincher had a love child with David Lynch. SE7EN and FIGHT CLUB meet TWIN PEAKS (there’s even a red room!), and fun ensues. Hell, at this point, even Kafka might have thrown his hat into the ring. It’s hard to tell, with these shades on everything looks a little dark. But to give you at least an idea of the style:

As noble as he deemed himself, he couldn’t help but scream like a preadolescent girl strangling her favorite K-pop singer. He had seen it happen once.

Shades flees the police on a motorcycle

And all the chapter titles are song titles, which is kind of neat when you realize it. Stuff like all along the watchtower, the wicked messenger, and more. Makes you want to ask why, though.

To be clear here: This is not a novel for everyone! You have to have a knack for the absurdly weird to enjoy it, and it’s a great read that way. Like I said, it’s like one of those silly B-movies that is good precisely because it is so hilariously over the top bad, and doing that on purpose requires a lot from the author. I’m tipping my hat in respect to Theodor Lee. Well done!

But I figure there might be a lot of people out there loving more conventional fiction – and be warned, this might be something you totally loath. If you find parcel delivering clowns popping out of nowhere just too strange – or anything you’ve read so far in this review strikes you as too weird and odd -, then do yourself a favor and skip this book! But if you love quirky and sometimes silly humour, give it a shot – just be aware that you have to finish it!

Because as I’ve mentioned before, there IS a (somewhat) serious story behind it all. (What that story of, though, is for you to decide.) There may be layers upon layers of quirky silliness hiding it, but something pretty clever lurks underneath them. I would tell you, but that would ruin the fun of discovering out for yourself. Let’s just say there is a wonderfully executed twist behind it all.

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I can’t help myself but giving it 5 stars, along with a warning label: it’s absolutely weird fiction, 5 stars but only for weird aficionados.

Disclaimer: I’ve received a free Advanced Reader’s Copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.