The Last Days of Jack Sparks

"The Last Days of Jack Sparks" is one clever knock-out of a horror novel, in that the author, Jason Arnopp, has figured out how to blend old-school horror tropes with social media addiction in a real page-turner.Our non-hero, one Jack Sparks, is a self-obsessed narcissist who's risen to fame writing books about "things". Drugs, gangs, etc., all bearing the titles "Jack Sparks On -----". His downward spiral after becoming an addict while writing "On Drugs" hasn't stopped, despite his insistence that he's clean and sober. Fighting the demons of his upbringing and disassociation from family, he becomes supercilious and uber-snarky as he immerses himself into the dregs of human behavior to write best-sellers. His ego takes over, as no one alive says "no" to him. Now, he's taking on the supernatural, and attends an exorcism that will ruin him, because he laughs during the procedure.Author Arnopp take us on a drug-fueled trip that crosses the ocean, and the belief systems of a seriously messed up writer vs the reality of the supernatural. Jack Sparks is one hard character to like, but the revelations of his life finally reel the reader in. What happens to him is both chilling and heartbreaking, as he becomes a convert to believing in the unseen, through his own machinations on social media. You'll never look at Facebook or YouTube in the same way after reading this book. Time-travel, cocaine, and the death of a number of supporters, friends, and yes, enemies will seriously mess your head up if you can finish this amazing novel.

This book gives us a protagonist who is right up there with Ignacious Riley of Confederacy of Dunces in his level of self-delusion and self destructive ego. The guy is breathtakingingly, eggregiously, self-centered. Somehow though, the author manages to make us like him. That is an amazing feat.The book is very clever in that the conceit is that the book you are reading is the book that Jack Sparks is writing in the story. It contains author's notes to his editor written in amongst the paragraphs and, as the book is supposedly published posthumously, contains after- the-fact interviews of the other characters who interacted with Jack. These interviews and writings are an interesting addition as they give depth to characters that Jack neglects due to his self-centeredness and also reveal another side to Jack himself that he himself seems loathe to admit.In terms of being a "horror" novel, it is very successfull as well. It kind of freaked me out to tell the truth and I am not very freakoutable. I almost found the stress level too much - the diabolical plotting of the villain is just mind-boggling in it's relentlessness. I had to put the book down towards the end to take a moment of zen and relax.All in all, this is an excellent "horror" novel that could and should be found on the more hallowed shelves of the "Literature" section.

THE LAST DAYS OF JACK SPARKS by Jason Arnopp (TLDOJS) is the best novel I've read all year, outdueling Paul Tremblay (A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS and DISSAPEARANCE AT DEVIL'S ROCK) for author crown of writing unreliable, supernatural narrative. It is this unreliable narrative by Jack Sparks himself that gives this gem of a story life. Among other things, the character of Jack Sparks is cocky, egotistical, and instantly disliked by the reader, but the author cleverly interjects the Sparks' narrative with chapters explaining how unreliable his version of the truth really is. By doing this, the author Arnopp further enriches the reading experience and deepens the mystery of how, and why, Jack Sparks eventually dies. And once finished reading this masterpiece, you can't help but applaud how the author has tied everything together into a WTF moment that makes you only want to dive right back in, rereading the book all over again.More importantly, TLDOJP is terrifying. There are moments of creepiness that truly gave me goosebumps. This rarely happens for me, especially reading. Jason Arnopp has hit a home run with his first novel, and I can't wait to discover whatever else this author conjures up.The highest of recommendations5 out of 5 starts.

Oh wow. What a great book!!! The protagonist is disgusting in the way Patrick Bateman was, although their narcissistic ways comprise most, if not all, of any similarities between these two men.Jack is enough to bring bile up from the depth of our stomachs in his numerous examples of the many ways in which he is vastly superior to all other people. Yet amazingly, the author somehow gets us to like this guy...to start to relate; to develop a kinship.Oh, there is so much I can say to sing this book's endless praises. Instead, I urge you to take a peak yourself, at the 1st few pages only. If you are not drawn to obtain the book in its entirety fairly soon after you examine these beginning pages, I'll be shocked.I don't even remember another exorcism/demon possession story that hit me like The Last Days have. It's such a witty book! I recommend it at the top of my lungs! The best scary book I've read this year, without a doubt!

I think I disliked the book for the reasons others liked it.First things first: Jack Sparks is such an unlikeable, obnoxious person (hope it isn't based on anyone real, that'd be the kind who elbows you out of the seat on the tube or assaults you in a pub) that I really hoped the devil will take him, and fast. One thing clear though: if you want your book character to be a nasty nonentity with big ego in place of anything else - call him Jack. If you want him to be "hip", add Sparks surname - and hey presto, you've got a revolting antihero some readers will want to see dying. By the time he became a bit better behaving, he was lost on me. Good riddance all the way. And because I hated the character and all he stands for, I didn't warm up to anything around him. Annoying thing is that an atheist is portrayed as such a horrible man. There aren't that many books about atheists, but this one sticks out like a sore thumb.Second: I don't know about you, but I don't live on social media, so all references to it and all the hype were lost on me. Ok, it's some parody on "the modern age", but if I find something silly (like people being glued to their phones 24/7), then the parody on that falls flat too. I just don't want to know.Third: I actually could predict a lot of turns, which usually rarely happens to me.Forth: weird deaths and blood. Oh dear. What looks okeish on TV, after million times you watched it mind, reads very tired and lame in a book.Fifth: language. For god's sake, it was written by an English dude, so why "walking out the door" when it is "walking out OF the door"??!! We get a lot of grating American stuff, so if you're English, please be a dear and write properly. Nope, it should be 2 stars instead, but I'll be kind.Sixth: national stereotypes. Aussie lass is sooo relaxed, somewhat Asian - and as all Asians are into martial arts, of course, so she is a "combat" shost-buster; as an Asian she obviously lives in some uber modern "space", offers guests tea [how did he forgot sitting on a floor mat?] and just so very cool. American man, Astral, just HAD to be morbidly obese and eating all the time. True Brit Alistair is very "proper". Jack is as annoying as any Hackney-living hipster /'cool" person can be, and he is just the type who'd write for music magazines.Finally, "time travel" stuff didn't help the plot.The good bits were the description of a clip, some genuine rational thinking on Jack's part before he got his brains coked out completely in the second half of a book - the kind of questions the reader will ask as they go along.So, after all these stereotypes, grotesque deaths, sweet idea to make a reader think "What if the Devil is real?" (like, really revolutionary groundbreaking and brave question, right?) all I'm thinking is "The real message is: "kids, don't do drugs" :))) and "Stay away from the Jacks of the world".

Jack Sparks, he's so rock n roll, you can't help but want him to be real and to be able to hang out with him. The fact that his ego is bigger than Texas doesn't hinder him, much. Until he gets the giggles at an exorcism. The Devil and his minions really don't like being laughed at.Reading this book was like being on a rollercoaster in the dark. You know in some sense what you're getting yourself into but at the sametime you have no idea what's coming. Soon as this book hit my grubby little hands I knew it had to skip the "To Read" wait list (okay pile) and go right to the top. It was all I could do to not start reading it the day it arrived.The book is full of creepiness, darkness and good old fashioned horror. As a fan of a perfect horror film this book was like heaven in print. The format of the book threw me at first, I hadn't expected the change in narrative between Jack and his brother. The fact that what I am reading from Jack's point of view is an unpublished piece of work that has been edited by his brother, with noted areas where facts are missing or wrong, is fantastic! It made me not want to put the book down even more. To me it was a new twist that worked well with the plot of the book.The twist at the end of the book is pure genius as far as I'm concerned and leads you to not only make your own conclusions, real or the work of a madman, but also makes you wondering if there's going to be another book. I found myself wanting to clap at the end, the same way you do at the end of an amazing movie or gig. Or like the end of the best scary ride you've ever been on and you're full of adrenalin and that rush, where you shout AGAIN AGAIN and run to the back of the line to ride the ride again.The fact that there's a website [...] just makes it all feel a bit more real. The only disappointment I had was that there was no video. The famous video is missing, which while disappointing is also probably a blessing since no video could match my own twisted, dark imagination.Three months into the new year and I think I've found my top book of the year, so much so I might have to go back and read it again before the year is out.

It rattled along happily for the first half but then it stumbled and lurched to a hideous crash. At page 361 I just put it down and couldn't read another word. I just sat silent on the train rather than finish it. Harsh, I know, but it's the truth of my experience of this book. It has endless references to social media and seems to stumble over itself to appear current (albeit masked as the protagonist's endless need to fulfil his own ego) and the twist near the end had me eye-rolling in public.The bit that really made me stop reading this book was the dialogue. There is a broad mix of English-speaking characters in the book (British, American and Australian) and the attempts to replicate the native sounds of each is laboured and off-target. Further, the characters often say things which are either out of context for the scene or just impossible to believe.

Having read ‘Auto Rewind’ and very much enjoying it I went straight into this. Ignoring the cheesy title, and suspiciously cliche storyline I convinced myself it would be worth a go. This was a mistake. The story is convoluted, it’s characters one dimensional and the twist outright ridiculous. The protagonist is an unlikeable anti-hero who you really couldn’t care less about. Every sentence of his messed up narrative contradicts the last. It’s not completely void of intrigue and in fact begins quite promising, particularly as the different characters accounts teases the promise of a decent mystery but as the book tries to flesh out it’s crazy attempt at a twist the story becomes incredulous. The worst offence however is the dialogue, particularly when several characters are conversing at the same time. It was like ‘The Exorcist’ if the cast of ‘Eldorado’ had a go... a quick go.. on their lunch break.

'The Last Days OfJack Sparks' could well be THE most original and darkly comic horror novel I have read......EVER! The book starts with an introduction from our titular hero's brother, informing us that what we are about to read is the unpublished final book that Jack was writing at the time of his death. He clears up a few facts that he feels his brother has got wrong, before we get to delve into Jack Sparks' mind as he sets about trying to debunk ghosts and the paranormal. It turns out that Jack started out as wild child music journalist,with a very distinctive style,that means that generally HE thinks he's the star of the show rather than whoever he is interviewing. The book rolls steadily forward and,before you know it, you have been sucked deep inside Jack's mind and you can't put the book down. The final third of the book may well be THE BEST thing I have ever read from a first time novelist EVER. Yes, this is Jason Arnopp's first fully fledged novel!! He has written a few short stories previously and worked on stories for Dr Who,but 'The Last Days Of Jack Sparks'is his first fully formed novel. I can't say enough times that this book is FANTASTIC. You obviously don't know me from Adam, so why would you take my word? I understand that completely. So,instead of taking my word, why don't you take the word of Hollywod director Ron Howard? You probably don't know Ron Howard either, but I'm pretty certain most of you will be familiar with his work - The DaVinci Code series etc. Ron Howard was so impressed with 'The Last Days Of Jack Sparks' that he has optioned the movie rights. I know, I know, the success of a book isn't down to the fact that some big shot Hollywood director wants to make a movie out of it, it's down to the fact that IT'S A DAMN FINE BOOK!!! Obviously everything I have written here is just my personal opinion, which can obviously be ignored. I won't sulk like a moody teenager if you choose to ignore this review, after all, that's entirely your prerogative. Figures though, they don't lie and they are not privy to emotions or personal opinion. The figures for this book are quite incredible - No 1 in book charts all over the world!!! Quite an achievement for a debut novel and due to some amazing press upon it's release and thereafter, the power of word of mouth reviews. Former music journalist and now full time author Jason Arnopp, I doff my imaginary cap to you and raise a glass. I for one cannot wait to see what you come up with next!!!