Helpful Score: 2
Ouch! What an awful book. I couldn't finish it. The parodies are paper-thin and, well, just plain obvious. It's not clever. It's not funny. It's a chore to work your way through it.
Some clever ideas and a love of comic book archtypes, race politics, and psychotherapy give the story energy. Repetitive machine-gun swearing, shallow characterization, and an inconsistent plot detract. Overall, I do find myself wishing for a sequel.