The Story Eaters of Yamm by Kevin Hincker
Through The Story Eaters of Yamm, critically acclaimed author Kevin Hincker brings to life a bizarre, laugh-out-loud and chaotic science fiction tale about a group of struggling science fiction writers tasked with crafting a hostile alien invasion story on Earth.
Los Angeles resident Larry Palczewski is a 45-year-old aspiring science fiction novelist who lives with his 90-year-old mother, Dosia. Larry is unemployed and suffers from temporal dysphasia, a condition that prevents him from understanding time. He’s currently writing the twenty-eighth revision of his latest time-travel novel, How Many Times, Times Twenty-eight.
When Dosia pressures him to find a job, Larry reluctantly accepts a position at Sky Company, a market research consulting firm that forecasts future trends for its clients. Larry and four other science fiction writers are recruited to help write scenarios of how a hostile alien invasion of Earth might unfold. The team, aka the Alien Invasion Cohort, is assembled by the company’s artificial intelligence system, Sky AI, the sixth member.
After his first day on the job, Larry decides that he wants to quit the following day. Before he gets the chance to, though, he is made leader of the Alien Invasion Cohort. This is the last thing Larry wants. Yet his belief that he might get an even greater promotion if he attempts to quit again forces him to stay.
Ironically, the Alien Invasion Cohort spends very little time working on the project and more time goofing around and investigating the company itself. They suspect that Sky Company’s CEO may be dead and that there might be a conspiracy within the company. Then, Tanya informs them that the story they’re crafting is actually happening in the real world; an alien species of snails has begun consuming people’s stories — indeed, every story being written anywhere — and the world is under threat. In the end, it falls to Larry and his team to fight for Earth and create an ending that might save Earth from these aliens.
Embracing the Absurd
The Story Eaters of Yamm is the strangest, quirkiest and most unconventional novel I have ever read and one of the funniest books I have read this year. It’s a story within a story. The plot is chaotic and irrelevant. In fact, the entire structure of this book is disorienting and frustrating, but that’s what makes the story work; it helps you experience the world from the protagonist’s chaotic perspective. Hincker’s writing style is unconventional, absurdist and character-focused. He employs rapid-fire dialogue, exaggerated situations and long, chaotic scenes that reflect the confusion and unpredictability of the story and its world.
The book also explores interesting themes. One is the nature of storytelling itself. The alien snails consume stories, while the protagonists are tasked with creating one. This blurs the boundary between fiction and reality and shows the power that stories have on people’s experiences. The novel also examines perception and the subjective nature of reality through Larry’s temporal dysphasia. At the same time, it explores personal growth, purpose and belonging.
Memorable Characters in a World Gone Mad
I loved the characters, although I didn’t always understand them. Larry carried the story, but I believe Tanya was an under-appreciated hero. She managed a team of people who seemed unsuited to work together. Larry constantly ignored instructions and admitted openly that he’d rather get fired, and the entire cohort spent more time fighting, wandering around and eating than actually working. Yet Tanya is one who was constantly chasing someone, explaining the deadlines and trying to keep everyone focused on the project. In her place, I’d have quit after three days.
But the most sensible character was Dosia, Larry’s mother. Yes, she’s a bit eccentric herself, but she seemed to understand what needs to be done. While she may have enabled Larry for much of his life, forcing him to find a job inadvertently helped him make friends and engage with the world beyond his home. And she’s… Oops! Let me not spoil the story.
The Story Eaters of Yamm is not a novel for readers who prefer straightforward plots and conventional storytelling. However, if you enjoy absurd humor, chaotic plots and over-the-top characters, you will love this book. Strange, humorous and surprisingly thought-provoking, I’m unlikely to forget it anytime soon.
About Kevin Hincker:
Everyone loves a list – the entire internet is just a list delivery mechanism. So here’s my biography in the form of a list, with far more than you ever wanted or will ever need to know about me. Everything listed is true, though of course some things are more true than others. I assess their truth like [this.]
* I started my first novel when I was 14. [This is true but boring.]
* I love dogs, I’ve always had dogs, but these days we have a bird. [This is true and ironic because it turns out birds are actually anti-dogs, which is to say they’re unpredictable, super smart, and they fly.]
* I grew up 7000 feet in the Sierras. [True glacial coniferous ultra beauty.]
* I’m fluent in Lua. [This is less true than it used to be because laziness.]
* I have a website and a mailing list. [True. Probably also boring. Decide yourself if you’d like at kevinhincker dot com.]
* I’ve started three different software companies, and that’s how I learned I’m bad at starting software companies. [This is true and not true because I’m actually good at starting them. It’s the other parts.]
* Our bird will outlive me. [Statistically speaking true.]
* I prefer tequila to mezcal because the taste is more predictable. [True. In this, as in many aspects of life, I prefer predictable outcomes because the more predictable my life is the easier it is to write, because writing itself is such a deeply unpredictable exercise. There’s only so much of that I can take. A preference for predictable outcomes makes me a little boring on vacation, possibly, but if you find you’re on vacation with me don’t worry, just read one of my books. They’re intentionally written not to bore anyone. That’s my most important rule as a writer. It’s more important than spelling for sure; “Don’t be boring.”]
* I have a humanities degree. [True almost by accident.]
* The one time I ever threw up bowling, I was drinking tequila. [True because to me bowling is a drinking game like quarters. And I know this might mean I need a refresher on the rules of bowling, but I have no idea where they keep those.]
* I have a magic-adjacent belief that problems will fix themselves if I ignore them. [True. I try not to fix what isn’t broken, and to err on the side of optimism and waiting things out because I’m naturally optimistic and lazy.]
* When my wife met me I was living in my Westfalia. [True and very romantic.]
* Now I live in a house in LA instead of a Westfalia, with my wife and our son and a bird. [Almost unbelievably this is true. It’s a wonderful place to live and they’re beautiful, inspiring people and a bird to live with. I’m very lucky.]
* In fiction I like characters with permanent flaws and stakes that are built, not bought. [Totally true. And I know building your own stakes moves your stories farther toward the fringe, where they might be lovely but are less likely to be seen, and sometimes, yes, I do wish the material was more mainstream. But not very often.]
* I follow research in senolytics. [Less true than it used to be, but I still check in because the future keeps being such an engaging mystery.]
* I’m attracted to fiction readers. They’re just sexier than regular people. [So, so true. You’ve seen yourself in the mirror. You know what I’m talking about. You and that book on your nightstand, you’re pretty hot.]
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