Heather reviewed Mysterious Aisles by BG Hilton (The South Hertling Chronicles, #1)
Absurd fun
4 stars
I saw this book recommended on Mastodon. I loved the idea of a supervillain having to work at a hardware store as part of his parole. I also love reading books that lean hard into the absurd. This book fit the bill.
Everyone at The Handy Pavilion has a secret. Axel isn't the only one hiding his past. He's working really hard to go straight but when their store is threatened by the arrival of another hardware store it is time to put their abilities to use.
I love the dialogue in this book.
"I’m not a tough bloke to work for; I reckon I can say that. But I’m not letting any laws of science get broken in my section."
If you aren't a fan of books that have lots of characters or that just keep getting more and more outrageous, then this might not be the book for …
I saw this book recommended on Mastodon. I loved the idea of a supervillain having to work at a hardware store as part of his parole. I also love reading books that lean hard into the absurd. This book fit the bill.
Everyone at The Handy Pavilion has a secret. Axel isn't the only one hiding his past. He's working really hard to go straight but when their store is threatened by the arrival of another hardware store it is time to put their abilities to use.
I love the dialogue in this book.
"I’m not a tough bloke to work for; I reckon I can say that. But I’m not letting any laws of science get broken in my section."
If you aren't a fan of books that have lots of characters or that just keep getting more and more outrageous, then this might not be the book for you.
"There comes a point where existence is so absurd that there’s no point sweating the details."
“Where did you say you were from?”
“Nineteenth-century Nairobi, but in an alternate Afrocentric steampunk timeline.”
“From… overseas,” Marlon said, as he made a note. “And you’re legally allowed to work in this country?”
“Oh... Uh… Let’s go with ‘yes, why not?’”
“Then we’re good to go,” Marlon said. “Congratulations, you start in Cleaning Products tomorrow.
And always remember -
"“The only way to keep your information safe is to keep it offline,” he’d written in at least a dozen posts across five different social media networks."