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William F. Aicher

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The Unfortunate Expiration of Mr. David S. Sparks Kindle Edition

by William F. Aicher (Author), Bonnie Small (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition

104

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An utterly gripping science-fiction thriller for readers who adored Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, Kurt Vonnegut and Michael Crichton.

Discover why readers are calling The Unfortunate Expiration of Mr. David S. Sparks "an intricate and evocative sci-fi triumph," "a feat of impossible imagination," and "a complete science fiction masterpiece."

Who is David S. Sparks? Where is David S. Sparks? When is David S. Sparks?

In the aftermath of The Chemical Wars, nature has reclaimed humanity's infrastructure. This world, lush with life - yet dangerously uninhabitable for mankind - houses the remaining population who ekes out an existence in quarantined cities anchored off the mainland.

David S. Sparks awakens into the chaos of this future world, unsure of his place in a reality wildly different from his fragmented memories. As the desire to retake the planet swells, so too does the question of how. Will the same mistakes be repeated? Can technology beat nature, or is it time for another approach? And what is David Sparks' role in it all?

Dive into a wild, mind-bending journey as one man chases the ultimate question of self, discovering the truly illusive nature of reality.

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What Readers are Saying About The Unfortunate Expiration of Mr. David S. Sparks

"Most, if not all of Aicher's stories feature characters and situations that inspire confusion, curiosity, exploration of the self, and exploration of reality. This one is no different, and it reaches new heights of tension and originality." - Peak Story Reviews

"A futuristic post-apocalyptic, dystopian, mind-bending thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seats. A completely wonderful sci-fi novel that overwhelms the senses. A feat of impossible imagination and a triumph of the sci-fi genre." - Alliereads Book Blog

"... you find yourself thinking about your choices in life and the way the world is headed. Is there something that we should be doing differently to stop this from happening? What's more, this world was unique from many I have read in the post-apocalyptic genre (which is increasingly hard to find any more.)" - Official Onlinebookclub.org Review

"If you like futuristic mystery, this one is definitely worth your time." - Sci-Fi & Scary

"... a book with multiple levels of interpretation and the author manages to awake the ancestral and subconscious fears of the human being, in the best tradition of science fiction." - Eva Garcia Fornet, author Keep Ithaka Always In Your Mind

"A thought-provoking, intellectual book about our environment, digitally obsessed society, and need for self-preservation, Aicher sneakily creates an ingenious modern day satire with David Sparks." - The Uncorked Librarian

"... my mind was just blown and I need to talk about it with someone." - Micah Chaim Thomas, author The Little Demons Inside

"Aicher pulls out all the stops and goes full-on Philip K. Dick on his readers. You literally cannot trust what is real from one paragraph to the next." - Amazon.com Review

Print length

329 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

16 February 2018
File size

2403 KB
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Enhanced typesetting

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Product description

About the Author

William F. Aicher is an independent author who primarily writes what have been described as "philosophical thrillers." The author of three novels, The Trouble With Being God, A Confession and The Unfortunate Expiration of Mr. David S. Sparks, he also writes an ongoing series of "Creepy Little Bedtime Stories" - short thrillers crafted for a troubling night's sleep. He holds degrees in journalism and philosophy from the University of Wisconsin and works a "day job" as a marketing lead for a leading mobile game developer. A proponent of the value of creative work, he is also a champion of intellectual property rights in the digital age, a topic covered in his second book, Starving the Artist. He currently lives in the middle of Iowa with his wife, three sons and a trio of crazy cats.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B079PJTW83
Publisher ‏ : ‎ William F. Aicher (16 February 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2403 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 329 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 1,022,123 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 9,546 in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- 14,093 in Science Fiction Adventure
- 14,509 in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
104

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William F. Aicher

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William F. Aicher is the author of the Phoenix Bones: International Monster Hunter series, The Trouble With Being God, A Confession, The Unfortunate Expiration of Mr. David S. Sparks., and Calibration 74, as well as a series of short horror and suspense pieces collectively referred to as “Creepy Little Bedtime Stories.” Tending to lean toward the creepy and fantastical, his work has appeared alongside such well-known writers as Stephen King, Richard Chizmar, and Neil Gaiman.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, he holds degrees in journalism and philosophy. He currently lives outside Milwaukee with his wife, three sons, and a pair of lazy cats.

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Bonnie Small

Page-turning, Evocative, SciFi Goodness!

Reviewed in Australia on 19 February 2018

I'm not usually a SciFi reader, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Aicher makes a compelling case for what could become of Earth if we continue to abuse it, as well as creating an intoxicating storyline that will have you holding your breath for what happens next!

A definite page-turner, I would highly recommend it -- even if you are not usually enticed by the speculative SciFi genre.

Reviewed in Australia on 27 October 2018

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There is a lot to like about this book. It deals with the potential environmental catastrophe facing this planet, from over-pollution to the collapse of food production. It imagines what human societies might look like after the crisis, with some in dome cities, others taking their chances scavenging in the poisonous wilds, others yet trying to establish free colonies. It also examines another interesting question, that of what is consciousness – can you transfer it into a computer system? Can you make copies of consciousness – make duplicate people? The pace of the book is brisk, with just enough description to bring its various locations vividly to life – humid biospheres, creepy fields of eyes…

This novel's downfall, I felt, was in the characterisation. While the setting and background information were thoroughly established, the characters and the relationships between them were not so convincingly portrayed. There was an entire romance that developed over the course of one "then a few weeks passed" paragraph. David Sparks himself lacked a strong identity, which is of course the point of the book, but it made him a less-than-gripping protagonist. Most of the side characters seemed to lack depth, too. There are a lot of things Aicher did well, but strong characterisation was not one of them.

Overall, your enjoyment of this book is going to vary depending on what you want to get out of it. If you're looking for a philosophical futuristic mystery with an ominous warning about where our society's wanton environmental destruction is taking us, then jump right in – it's excellent at being that. If you were hoping for more of a character-driven tale through the future, then recalibrate your expectations. I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't all I'd hoped it would be.

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Micah

I’d like to read as many other interpretations that can exist ...

Reviewed in the United States on 30 April 2018

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You should read The Unfortunate Expiration of Mr. David S. Sparks. I’d like to read as many other interpretations that can exist for this novel, because my mind was just blown and I need to talk about it with someone.

Aicher’s novel has left me amazed. The intriguing premise, found in the product details page both here and on Goodreads, lays out a few concepts, but the execution of the story, what is actually delivered, far exceeds that summation.

I’m going to list a few things that I was reminded of during my read:

•Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly; and We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, and the movie it spawned, Total Recall.
•Idiocracy
•Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
•Heller’s Catch 22
•Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-five
•Twelve Monkeys, (and Terry Gilliam might be one of the few directors that can handle this novel.)
•Beirce’s An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
•The film, Moon, directed by Duncan Jones and written by Nathan Parker
•Vanilla Sky and its predecessor, Abre los ojos , directed by Alejandro Amenábar and co-written by Mateo Gil.
•The final scene in A.I. Artificial Intelligence, also known as A.I., directed by Spielberg.
•Calvinism’s predestination and the acronym of T.U.L.I.P.
• Total Depravity  
• Unconditional Election 
• Limited Atonement  
• Irresistible Grace 
• Perseverance of the Saints

Why such a list for a review? This novel is disorienting, in a good way, and the analogies I make are not references of the text, nor ‘you may also like,’ but more, this book put me in a similar state of mind as these works. The themes of administrative chaos at the top of all decision makers, a disoriented protagonist, uncertain reality, memories as the bedrock of identity, consumerism, capitalism, immortality, and destiny. If anyone wants to talk about their takeaways from this exceptional novel, send me a message. I’m still unpacking my experience and may need to update this review later.

3 people found this helpful

Cheyanne Lepka

Impossible to put down

Reviewed in Canada on 26 February 2018

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So, disclaimer – I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review! And I am very glad that I did!

With well-built, complex characters and just the right amount of mystery, this book had me guessing right to the very end who should be trusted – if anyone. Thrusting readers into a world where the main character knows next to nothing is a difficult thing to do and Mr. Aicher does it masterfully, presenting just enough questions to keep the reader engaged.

The world-building is exceptional, the characters live within the world, rather than on it, and I would be very interested to see more fiction written in the future he’s created. Some of the little details were down-right disturbing (the wigglers, oh my goodness, still getting shivers) – in the best way possible, of course. The juxtaposition of a green world against the danger it poses to the humans is a refreshing change from the smog-filled, metal dystopian futures that are so common-place in science fiction. It’s a potential future that definitely strikes very close to home, and will make readers think about the world that we currently live in and the path that we might be on.

Mr. Aicher has a captivating writing style which stole me away and had me reading late into the night! I’m definitely looking forward to more from him. This is the type of book that will appeal to a wide variety of readers. I highly recommend it to anyone who’s looking for an easy-to-read science fiction with just enough reality in it to send shivers up your spine.

Mr_Pribojszki

A journey of brilliance

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 March 2019

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From the off I have to admit that any writing described with words like science and fiction fill me with fear. However this is far more than those words, the characters are so vivid they guide you through and don't disappoint.
If you live to read a book that you as a reader have to invest in then this serves well.

Traditional style that will one day be placed next to Bradbury and PKD.

One person found this helpful

CDRS

Still contemplating - several days later

Reviewed in the United States on 25 February 2019

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When a story sticks with you hours after you've finished it - you know you have a good story. When you're still thinking about it several days later - well - then you're onto something. The futuristic science fiction story has the earth at it's gravest hour. The earth is destroyed and hanging on by a thread from complete destruction - at least - that's how I saw it through the author's eyes.

People are policed and living in giant bubbles to protect them from the toxins of the atmosphere, food, and water. The story starts with our protagonist, David Sparks, waking up not knowing where he is. He's having trouble remembering and dream images that sometimes appear when he is sleeping are so realistic he can't discern whether they were dreams or memories. Only problem is, the dreams are from well before the earth has undergone it's demise.

I like the writing style the author uses. It's fresh and not too difficult of a read. There were times (thus the 4 star rating) when the POV shifted and I had to go back and reread sections because I was lost in what was happening. Once I figured out what the author was doing (I won't give it away) I was able to continue. For me - the transitions on those could have been done a little more smoothly.

The other reason for the 4 star rating was I felt gipped at the end - cheated - so to speak. I was expecting something a bit exciting to top it off but found the ending to be anticlimactic and left me wondering why did it end that way.

Because of the writing style, I will purchase other books by Mr. Aicher and in fact, looking forward to what else he's got out there and will hope the endings will satisfy my craving for... well... doesn't matter. Point is - I liked the style, I like the idea, the premise, the characters. And, Mr. Aicher now has a fan who will invest in his career and purchase some of his other titles.

2 people found this helpful

Alanna J Rusnak

envisioning a future existence that is both terrifying and wonderfully fascinating. Sci-fi fans will be satisfied by his ...

Reviewed in Canada on 18 February 2018

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Aicher has managed to create a world that is believable and highly imaginative, envisioning a future existence that is both terrifying and wonderfully fascinating. Sci-fi fans will be satisfied by his creative look at a transformed earth, and others (like myself) who don’t consider themselves to be regular consumers of science fiction, will be pleased to find a narrative that goes much deeper than interesting technology—delving into questions of class and greed, the value of memories and the cost of loyalty.

I found myself immediately drawn in as I followed David S. Sparks on a journey to understand himself. Aicher has done a tremendous job making his characters multi-dimensional, forcing me, as the reader, to become wholly invested in their story.

Sometimes uncomfortable, always entertaining, Aicher weaves his quick wit throughout the multi-layered plot. The Unfortunate Expiration of David S. Sparks is an intricate and evocative sci-fi triumph that had me guessing every time Mr. Sparks closed his eyes, leaving me with the same earnest question: what really happens when I close mine?

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The Unfortunate Expiration of Mr. David S. Sparks Kindle Edition

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William F. Aicher

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