Reddit mentions of Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits: A Novel (Zoey Ashe)

I’ve been recommending this one to anyone who will listen https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250097754/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_cK7xCbDHYD8ZA

It’s hilarious and has a lot of predictions about the future that seem legit. And the main character has a cat named Stench Machine. It’s amazing and I love it.

It is probably not SF enough for you but Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong presents a near-future that is believable.

I quite liked Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits: A Novel though it might not be for everyone. Definitely has that Ready Player One atmosphere to it.

[David Wong - futuristic violence and fancy suits] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1250097754/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501075520&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=futuristic+violence+and+fancy+suits&dpPl=1&dpID=51K-KsvBa1L&ref=plSrch)

upon finishing it, the ending could have had one twist that would have made it a lot better. but, it was a great book. fun to read.

Clearly, it's a tough esthetic to expand into a futuristic scenario. And yet, there's definitely some value here, in terms of interest. In terms of your readers and finding a market for stories set in this kind of a scenario, I think there's tremendous potential.

It seems like the key to making this work is going to be the tone of your story. You're trying to sell what is sort of an outlandish idea, so you might want to present your main character and/or the other elements of your story in an outlandish manner.

I think this could work as a lighthearted SF story, not humorous like HHGG, necessarily, but light enough so your characters can keep a running banter and crack jokes once in awhile. I think it could also work with an overly dramatic tone, or a quirky, magic realism sort of tone. Or some kind of outrageous tone I haven't thought of, that echoes how Generation Xers received information on all those mysterious and fantastic new devices.

Finding just the right mix of humor and seriousness can take some consideration. You want the story to be upbeat, because that's exciting, but not so upbeat that real dangers don't exist.

In terms of tone but not tech, have a look at David Wong's opening in Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits. Use the Amazon "Look Inside" preview. Wong is about to throw you, the reader into a serious life-or-death situation, but before he does he introduces you to his main character. This is character first fiction. Within 2 paragraphs we know exactly what sort of person she is, we know how she approaches problems (very important) and we know something really terrible is on the way and that we have to keep reading to make sure she's going to be okay. But in addition to that, Wong has made it clear there's a lighthearted tone to all of this.

I'm not saying this is the right tone for your story, but I think it's one possibility.



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In terms of tech, the only way cassettepunk works is if a few critical tech discoveries are never made, the most important being computers. It's possible computers still exist, but not electronic ones. Maybe mechanical computers.

On the serious side of things, what things frightened people the most when Gen X was growing up? The Cold War was in full swing in our world; the Berlin Wall didn't come down until '89.

You might want to work back in time and determine what the event was that split your world off from our own.