Bookshots: Pumping new life into the corpse of the book review
Title:
Drag Queen Dino Fighters
Who wrote it?
Emma Johnson under the pen name M.P. Johnson. She is a Wonderland Award winner and if you are a fan of Bizarro Fiction you have probably read her already.
Plot in a box:
In this spiritual sequel to the excellent Dungeons and Drag Queens, drag queen Ivanna Deflower wants to be a happy basic bitch with her son. When she gets him the gift of a dinosaur she notices that the dinosaur is an amazing dancer. She decides that she and the dancing dinosaur need to go to LA. to reclaim the dream of being the most amazing act that anyone has ever seen.
Invent a new title for this book:
Too Wong Foo: Thanks For Everything Chuck Tingle
Read this if you like(d):
Dungeons and Drag Queens, Space Walrus, and Chuck Tingle’s dinosaur books.
Meet the book’s lead(s):
Ivanna Deflower — Forty-something drag queen with a song in her heart
Reggie — Ivanna’s confused son
Steven — A triceratops that can dance
Said lead(s) would be portrayed in a movie by:
Ivanna Deflower — John Cameron Mitchell (Hedgwig and The Angry Inch)
Reggie — Thomas Babusuca (The Mick)
Steven — The guy who played Barnie the Dinosaur
Setting: Would you want to live there?
L.A, and of course I would live there. Who wouldn’t want to live in L.A with all those sexy dancing dinosaurs!
What was your favorite sentence?
Prehistoric
Got a big dick
Mesozoic
Lick my ick ick
The Verdict:
There are all different kinds of Bizarro fiction readers. Some love straight up weird for weird’s sake, some love a great genre-fucking book, and some are just adults that want to feel like they are 7 years old again, recreating that feeling of excitement when they picked up Goosebumps or Fear street. I am all three. For fans of other MP Johnson titles, the surreal strangeness and character driven narratives of Kevin Donihe, and dabblers of Chuck Tingle, this book will hit that sweet spot where heart and chaos meet.
Get Drag Queen Dino Fighter at Amazon
About the author
Christoph Paul is the Managing Editor and owner of CLASH Books, who have published over 60 books and have been covered by NPR, Poets & Writers, Rolling Stone, Believer Magazine, Oprah Magazine, The Observer, Fangoria, and Publisher's Weekly. The press has had books translated into Spanish, French, and Italian. He has been editing books in almost every genre for over a decade. As an author, he won a humor award and had viral cult success under a pen name. He is the lead singer and bass player of the rock band The Dionysus Effect, who have received positive reviews in Loudwire, EARMILK, and Red Rock Magazine. He sometimes writes songs about the books he publishes because even artists are inspired by their day jobs. Follow him on Twitter @christophpaul_ @clashbooks @dionysuseffect.
