Official Review: Beast Machine by Brad McKinniss

[GertrudeH]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Beast Machine" by Brad McKinniss.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Beast Machine is a sci-fi novel by Brad McKinniss. It is centered around a young ‘mad scientist’ named Gora and Chairman Obelis, a billionaire running for the governor’s office. In the background, there is also an “Illuminati” type organization called The Foundation which is manipulating humanity. Although the book has many good ideas and is a fast and easy read, there are several problems with it, not only grammatically but also in the content.

The book’s first primary protagonist is Gora, a scientist and inventor whose inventions never seem to work correctly, either from her own haste or (in Gora’s eyes) from the mockery and sabotage of her fellow scientists. To exact revenge on these imagined evils, she creates the titular Beast Machine, a device that merges the minds and memories of historical figures with the bodies of animals. She creates three of these beasts: a bear joined with Adolf Hitler, an owl fused with Albert Einstein called Owlbert Einstein, and a rabbit combined with Harriet Tubman, who chooses to keep her human name instead of picking an alternate one. Gora plans to eliminate her enemies with these amalgamations.

The second protagonist is Chairman Obelis, a man whose family has been shattered by The Foundation. This group is presented as a kind of Illuminati, and there is little information on them. We know that they are responsible for killing Obelis’ family and their friends. We know that they somehow manipulated Adolf Hitler through Hitbear’s memories. We know that have something to do with Senator McCarthy, but like most ominous societies they are kept mostly in the background. In order to combat this mysterious group Chairman Obelis must take over Arkansas by running for governor. To make sure he wins, he hires a scientist named Silva (who happens to be on Gora’s hit list), to create an implant that will manipulate people’s minds to make them ‘smarter’ and more ‘health and environmentally aware’, but will also make them fanatically loyal to Obelis. He’s also revived Senator McCarthy from status.

The book has both its problems, and its good points. Among its better areas is the concept involved. While at first the idea of combining a bear with Adolf Hitler is strange, the author pulls it off rather well. In fact, Hitbear, as he is called, is probably one of the more sympathetic characters. His struggles with reconciling his memoirs as Hitler, and the bear he once was is particularly poignant. While the other beasts are less characterized then he is, they still come across as likable. ‘Owlbert’ Einstein is a cheerful, upbeat beast that seems very happy to help Gora’s goals. Harriet Tubman is a bit more hesitant at first, due to an error in her creation. However, she also adds an interesting element to team’s dynamic. While the other two are not as developed as Hitbear, the three beasts are by far the most relatable characters in the book. The prologue of the book is very reminiscent of Frankenstein, and Gora’s plans and antics are almost like those of your typical nineties “mad scientist.” If, like me, you were born in that era it can be very entertaining to read. The book goes at a very fast clip, and is easy to pick up and get into at first.

However, once you get far enough into the plot, there are problems that become very apparent. The first is that there are many parts of the book that are both unnecessary and potentially offensive. An example is Chairman Obelis’ assistant, who when first introduced is a blatantly offense gay stereotype. The narrative insists on reminding us at every opportunity of his orientation in a homophobic manner. While some may say that even good stereotypes are still stereotypes, I honestly can’t tell if the ones in Beast Machine are intended to be offensive or commentary. In fact, it’s hard to tell just by reading the dialogue and plot structure how much of the views in this book are meant to be serious or are meant to be parody. This causes confusion. Should the reader laugh at these scenes, or take them seriously? Humor is subjective, and frequently the material is confusing and just not entertaining. Other unnecessary content includes bestiality, toilet humor, and even more stereotypes, this time directed towards both the high class and the low class. All of these combine to make the rest of the book difficult to read in later chapters. At this point I would not be able to recommend this book.

In addition to the content, the book seems to have an issue with telling, but little showing. The book is at its best during the prologue and the scenes where Hitbear is contemplating his implanted memories, but at other times the book relies on telling us that a character feels this way, or does something, but doesn’t show us through the text. This makes it hard for the reader to get involved with and care about the characters, with the exception of Hitbear, Owlbert and Tubman.

I give Beast Machine a 2 out of 4 stars. While the book has many good concepts and characters, it misses the mark in several areas. The images and emotions felt during the scenes with Hitbear is creative and portrays very good character development. The rest of the issues with the book; however, hold it back from being a truly good read. As stated I had to walk away from it for several days after I reached a certain point, and it made me feel very harsh towards it. I am not sure who what type of audience this book would appeal to as it is. I can think of no one I can recommend it to. Which is unfortunate, because there is a good story here, it just needs to be refined a bit.

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Beast Machine
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Like GertrudeH's review? Post a comment saying so!

[donkey81]

Thank you Gertrude for reviewing my book! I truly appreciate it and respect your criticisms of "Beast Machine."


I would like to point out, however, that the gay character (I'll leave his name unmentioned to not reveal spoilers) is based off of a close friend of mine. They were in a (albeit straight) relationship where he was much younger than his S/O, but was so in awe of the S/O - sexually and career-wise - that he wanted to get to business as often as possible. Yet the S/O was putting it off, for whatever reason.

I did not intend for that character to come off as a stereotype, especially a stereotype that is negative. I wanted to create an inclusive cast of characters but with my own (deranged) sense of humor added to each one. I apologize if it were seen as offensive to you, as that was not my intention.

Again, thank you very much for reviewing my book!

[GertrudeH]

You're very welcome. I hope my review helped you, as that's one of the the main points of a review in my opinion.

You have to remember humor is subjective and what you find funny another person might not. For example I'm not a huge fan of slapstick humor, so I don't find say the Three Stooges to be that funny. This is doubly true if you are dealing with sensitive subjects like these. No matter which side of the fence you are on people are going to take offense, and they won't know the history behind the character just from reading the book. You might consider perhaps trimming a few of the more blatant scenes. Trust me, I understood the character's motivation and attraction to Obelis almost at once, so the rest of it later just came across as redundant.

But as I said in the review, I did really love the beasts at the end and I'm very curious as to what will happen to them next. I'm looking forwards to what you come up with in the future.

[kimmyschemy06]

This is the first time I come across this type of story. The characters sound interesting. Though I haven't been a fan of Adolf Hitler, I admire Albert Einstein and Harriet Tubman and I would like to find out how the story turned out