🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
Heller is determined to reach the almost mythical status of reaching 100 sales, before he retires from Transluminal Vacations Inc. He’s on 99 sales, and when he steps in to help a colleague close a sale which seems to be going pear-shaped, he believes he’s done it. Only to be called into the boss’s office and told he hasn’t. He’s given a difficult client and an apprentice, and told to complete the sale before tomorrow, or he doesn’t hit the 100 sales, and he doesn’t get the prestigious retirement package.
Oh, by the way, he’s selling time-line-hopping-vacations that may, or may not be, completely legal. It’s not illegal, per say, but it’s not entirely legal either. Especially as they try and talk clients into stepping into their FYMT (F*ck You Money Timeline), where they can spend a couple of weeks, while the company leeches the ridiculous amounts of cash that the client has somehow amassed.
Now, I’m going to say that the above summary is possibly a bit of a mean recap. It’s a bit bland, unlike The Platinum-Level Translumunial Vacation Package of Your Dreams. Nothing about this novel is bland, from the mouthful of the title, to the somewhat dizzying and abstractly written plot. There’s a lot going on here, and it’s a lot to take in.
I will admit, the prologue is somewhat off putting, almost as though Garlington added it as an after thought. It’s rife with grammatical errors, which is why I’ve marked this novel 4 out of 5. If the mistakes hadn’t been there, or not been so glaringly obvious, it would have been a 5/5.
Garlington’s style reminds me slightly of Terry Pratchett. He’s irreverent, slightly surreal and clearly doesn’t take himself too seriously, like many other authors can do. The book is filled with witty commentary, addendums and notes from Garlington, and wry jokes about the life we live.
“Our particular timeline sucks, kid” Heller looks around at the world. “This particular 2020 is the kitchen junk drawer of the temporal universe. Every sh*tty thing that didn’t fit in other timelines is here in spades. Listening to Phil Collins. On fire.”
I may have laughed. A lot.
S. A
This book was originally reviewed as part of the Reedsy Discovery Reviewer Program. You can read the original review here
You can buy The Platinum-Level Transluminal Vacation of Your Dreams by clicking on the original review. .