What would happen if four scientists came together by chance and invented
the impossible? What could possibly go wrong? Well, the story contained in the
383 pages of Rick Jurmain’s uproarious tale in Apocalypse du Jour is one
possibility. And what a tale it is. Rarely have I read a story that uses humor
in such a way to present what could be a very grim picture. But Rick does it
with great style. This is a lightning-paced story that will keep the reader
turning page after page until the end. Once one picks this up and starts
reading, stopping is going to be more of a challenge than the amazing
characters face in the text.
I have a casual, online relationship with the author through a mutual friend
who holds weekly zoom meetings. It is how I learned about this book, and I am
glad I was paying attention. Of all the books I read, I found this one of the
most entertaining and thought-provoking stories I have ever picked up.
There is so much contained in those pages. In a word, all I can say to sum
it up is...
WOW!
Usually, I would write my own synopsis of a story, but in this case, there
is no possible way I could improve on the blurb from the back of the book, so I
am quoting it here...
“Apocalypse du Jour is a hilarious techno-thriller. It presents the
adventures of four researchers, all social outcasts: an autistic programmer, a
barely functional paranoid mathematician, a blind vet physicist with severe
PTSD, and a basement gamer prototyper.
“They briefly collaborate on research via the internet without ever meeting
one another. They publish an innocuous paper in an obscure journal, then
disband. Three months later, every major country and corporation in the world
races to kidnap or kill them. They run for their lives, each according to their
disability, while trying to figure out why. But that is just the beginning of
an adventure involving many other interesting characters, political power
struggles, and global economic collapse and rebirth, all from the point of view
of relatively normal people. More than half of the main characters in the book
are realistic, strong women.
“The book is packed full of action, motorcycle chases, helicopter chases,
white-knuckle danger, psychological manipulation, soldiers, guns, Godzillas,
betrayal, revenge, assassins, blueberry blintzes, two (count ‘em)
battlegrannies, Presidential vendettas, computer hacking, riots, rescues,
edge-of-the-seat tension, and one near-catastrophic hot flash.
“Then, in chapter two... Actually, that stuff is spread out throughout the
book. Though it’s all there, plus a lot more.”
The synopsis introduces the focus characters who take turns appearing
as they face situations that are often challenging, but at the same time
terrifying at the core. How this quartet of geniuses deal with these situations
is different in each case, but funny and scary all at the same time.
The most impressive thing about this collection of people, and I mean every
character in the book, is how unique they are. There are no copies and it is
obvious that the author took great care in creating them. None of the people in
this story can be considered “stock” characters. They come through as individuals
with their own attitudes and beliefs. The principal characters are quite well
developed and are people whom the reader can invest themselves in.
My favorite plot point in Apocalypse du Jour is that there is a
surprise on every page. There are more twists and turns in this story than San
Francisco’s Lombard Street! Every time I thought I had everything figured out,
there was something new and fascinating happening. For instance, one of the
principal characters is attending a comic con when he is suddenly being chased
through the con while in costume. He winds up being saved by an unlikely set of
circumstances culminating in a wild motorcycle ride through a busy city! It is
truly a laugh a minute as this scene unfolds, and it is so unpredictable. It
creates great tension, but the description of this scene is full of madcap
hilarity, one cannot help but laugh out loud leaving anyone in the vicinity to
ask what’s so funny.
My takeaway from Apocalypse du Jour is to remember that no
matter how grim a situation might be, there is always a solution to any
problem. Sometimes the most absurd solutions may present themselves, and the
tendency is to dismiss them out of hand. But one should give serious
consideration to the absurd, it may just be the best, or only way to resolve a
seemingly unsolvable puzzle.
I give my highest recommendations for reading Apocalypse du Jour.
It is an utterly entertaining story with a full range of emotions. It had me laughing
and made me tear up a few times. But it is never boring. There is plenty of
action for readers who are seeking thrills, there is some interesting science.
There are characters who are compelling and much like people the reader may
know in their own life, but the circumstances they find themselves in are
anything but ordinary. I think this would be a great tale for anyone to read
because there is truly something for everyone. So, grab a copy of Apocalypse
du Jour and strap yourself into your favorite reading chair, it’s a hell of
a ride!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
In the ‘80’s, Rick let, or was a member of, 13 NASA Space Shuttle mission
control Flight Activities teams. Unlike cruise ships, Shuttle flight activities
did not include shuffleboard or bingo. The Flight Activities teams planned
missions starting years prior to launch, and re-planned missions during flights
when things went wrong. And things always went wrong. Rick also led the
Operations Analysis teams for General Dynamics’ Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO)
and McDonnell Douglas’ National AeroSpace Plane (NASP). He spent 15 years in
the aerospace industry doing tactical analysis and war games, including top
level WWIII combined arms games, and he helped invent hypersonic war games.
In 2002, Rick was a consultant to Coleman Aerospace on DARPA’s RASCAL study,
which designed modifications for a rocket-powered F-14 fighter. For that
contract, Rick headed up designing the Operations, Support, Avionics,
Electrical, Instrumentation, Cockpit, Payload Interfaces, and Integrated
Vehicle Health Management Systems. All the fun stuff.
In the late ‘90’s, Rick was founder of Vela Technology Development, Inc.
Vela and its partners started much of what is becoming the space tourism
industry. Vela’s briefings to Burt Rutan and Richard Branson started them on
the path to space tourism. Vela worked with the FAA to write regulations for
space tourism. And Vela helped design a space-tourism themed resort for Las
Vegas. While Vela has since folded, Rick owns its process patent on key
low-acceleration trajectories for space tourism. And if Rutan doesn’t get his
butt in gear, the patent will be worthless because it expires soon.
Rick was a Captain in the Army Combat Engineers, National Guard and Reserves
(no significant active duty).
Rick is 65 years old, currently retired, though working intermittently as a
board member, inventor, and writer. He has two kids: Jake, age 30, and Ariel,
Age 26. And he’s obnoxiously proud of both of them.
Rick is widely acknowledged to have been Mary’s trophy husband. Though no
one has ever thought of him as just another pretty face. At least, no one who’s
seen his face. And, come to think of it, no one has ever considered that he was
a first-place trophy either. Rick was just in the right place at the right time
to trip up a gorgeous, massively intelligent woman with an aging biological
clock and desperately low standards. Someday, someone will make a fortune
building a dating site for such women.
Well, there it is...
Qapla!
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