Corpse of Freedom (Perfect Paperback)

by Lloyd Garner (Author), Dax Garner (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Black humour at its best; very twisted, very funny, just totally f*cked up really." - Mild Peril, Norwich Punkzine

"Coming of age stories are either brilliant and poignant, or shameless fluff; and Corpse of Freedom is definitely the former. The characters are fleshed out (no pun intended) well enough that you can connect with them, and in fact, if you find yourself unable to relate in any way with Ryan and his crew - chances are I would have hated you in high school.

Corpse of Freedom is entertaining, thought provoking and very insightful, and I can recommend it readily to anyone who's survived youth already, or is suffering through it right now." - BumsCorner.com

"Brings the surreal-ness of teenage paranoia into the light. It sure as hell can t be wrapped up nice and neat, but it definitely will make an impression." - Razorcake Magazine

"Like a small town, lower middle class version of Bret Easton Ellis' Less than Zero...Corpse of Freedom could be made into a great movie." - Karl Backman, Summer Of Hate

"In the tradition of J.D. Salinger and S.E. Hinton. This novel has it all: sex, fast cars, humor, action, adventure, and a cast of colorful characters filled with personality." - Justice Lives Not, Associated Content

"A good fast-paced type read for teens and young adults of the post-Columbine, post 9/11 era..." - Cheetah Shine, Ear Damage Magazine

"This macabre story will keep you looking over your shoulder." - Penina Keen Spinka, Author of Picture Maker

"I don't have time to read it. And I was a little put out that [Lloyd] sent it any way after I told [him] that. And I had to stand in line in the post office for a long time to pick it up too..." - Michael W. Dean, $30 Writing School

"A fast, edgy read! Fans of Bret Easton Ellis won't be disappointed by this debut novel from the Garner team! Punctuated by dark humor, whirlwind action, and fast cars, Corpse of Freedom offers a fascinating view of America's modern youth culture. I give this story 5 stars!" - Jeanne Lyet Gassman, Award-winning Author

"This short, fast-paced novel has all the necessary ingredients to attract young readers: rebellion, sex, fast cars, exotic ladies, and above all, a quirky, isolated hero who has a corpse for a friend. Corpse of Freedom is a genre-bending tale that will leave you in a cold sweat." - Jacques L. Condor Maka Tai Meh, Author of Condor Tales of the Supernatural in Alaska & Canada --CorpseofFreedom.com

We have all been bored with our everyday existence from time to time, whether we admit it out loud or not. During those times we have all been asked a question or had an idea cross our minds that leads us to say, "sure why not". Sometimes it turns out to be adventure, or at the very least, a good story that we can tell our friends. Unless of course, your name is Ryan, in which case your life is altered forever.

In the novel Corpse of Freedom by Dax and Lloyd Garner released this month we are introduced to a bored and extremely frustrated young man named Ryan, who like all of us at one point or another just want to scream if things don't change soon. Naturally, when one of his friends suggest that they dig up the body of an unknown corpse in the local cemetery as a way to shake things up and have a few laughs while their at it, he leaps at the chance, never once suspecting that his life and that of the corpse is going to be changed forever.

When I first picked up the book to read, I didn't know what to expect. I was at home alone with nothing going on, so I picked it up and said "sure why not, this could be fun", and I have to say that I was surprised by both of the young men that decided to get together and write a story that manages to have you both rooting for and empathizing with what this young man is going through.

If you grew up in a very small town like the one I had the misfortune of spending my summers in, you can definitely relate to the need to do something, *ANYTHING* to shake things up regardless of the consequences. If you re looking for something to pass the time on a Saturday or just feel the need to have a new adventure, then I suggest giving this Corpse of Freedom the chance it so rightly deserves.

- "Baby Walker", Bent Cover Books

--bentcoverbooks.com

Product Description
During the eternal quest for pleasure, Ryan finds himself digging up the corpse of another teenager, Jeffrey Neil. He soon befriends the carcass, and through the online journal Jeffrey left behind, Ryan is mentored toward a new perspective on life.

But has his unnatural friendship cursed him? Will he be strong enough to escape the black hole that is his hometown? And who is this tattooed freak that hunts him like some bloodthirsty ghoul? Ryan better be careful; there are cops everywhere...

Inside an empire of mediocrity, the spirit of rebellion is reborn.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 207 pages
• Publisher: Books On Fire; 1st edition (February 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977918696
• ISBN-13: 978-0977918690
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,365,729 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Corpse of Freedom"; A Thought-Provoking Young Adult Novel., November 26, 2007

By	Michael A. Hatalovsky "Free Speech First!" (Knoxville, Tennessee) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Every once in a while, a great novel for young adults comes along. These are the true standouts among the genre; "A Catcher in the Rye" by Salinger, "The Outsiders" by Hinton, and most currently "Corpse of Freedom" by brothers Dax and Lloyd Garner.

This fast-moving read is the story of Ryan, a typical suburban teenager living in Everdale, a typical American suburb. One night Ryan and his friends try to shake off the ennui of their suburban existance by digging up the corpse of a teenager named Jeffery Neil.

After partying with the corpse, Ryans so-called friends ditch him, leaving him to keep the corpse in his filthy bedroom. Not knowing what to do about his dilemma, Ryan just keeps the corpse in his room while he tries to live out his life as normal as possible.

Ryan soon decides to Google Jeffery's name to find out more about him, and comes accross an online journal the teen kept right before he died. Through this journal, Ryan develops a quite unnatural friendship with the corpse, learning as much about himself as he does about Jeffery.

Jeffery's philosophy about freedom, individuality, and personal pursuit of excelence makes Ryan come to terms with the fact that his life is going nowhere fast. When he ditches his old friends and meets an independent young man named Manuelo, the two embark on an adventure of freedom outside the fishbowl of suburban conformity.

Add to this plot Ryan's infatuation with the snotty, spoiled little high-school princess, numerous confrontations with her boyfriend (the wealthy school stud), and a ghoulish stalker who hunts him down like wounded prey, and you have a great novel that even seasoned fiction afficianados will enjoy!

Like "I Am the Cheese", "Anthem", and "The Giver", "Corpse of Freedom"'s Libertarian message of personal liberty and individuality make it a must-read for every American adolescent. Who knows? It just may even counteract the socialist, conformist mentality being fostered in todays American youth (if we're lucky!)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IF INSTA-CULT WERE A TERM, March 12, 2008

By	J.Davis "Reader" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This book without a doubt takes readers along an unconventional narrative-joy-ride at breakneck speed. By overlapping multiple narratives, clues and peripheral characters' stories, Corpse's pace moves a lot like a screenplay, dropping readers in and out of simultaneous scenes and unexpected dream sequences, bouncing back and forth through what feels like a ping-pong game of fun house mirrors complete with car chases, house parties and sex scenes. Maybe it was intended to be a teen-read, but the underlying message ups the ante from intelligent young-adult level to adult-level.

On one hand we have a story about teenaged existential conflict. On the other hand, (if the first isn't full enough for you) we have the exhumation of a corpse. But, instead of reburying him, Ryan chooses (against his friends' pleas) to keep his new "friend" Jeffrey, taking him home, to the park, or along for nights out on the town. Ryan finds Jeffrey's online journal entries written just before his mysterious death and finds himself drawn to their wisdom in a way that has heretofore escaped him in empathizing with the living. Ryan has grown up in this suburban American town whose atmosphere is literally browned by the mundane and confined lifestyles of its dwellers, where colorless corporations are fast taking over. Escape from "Everdale, USA" has been Ryan's only hope in amounting to someone distinctive but before "meeting" Jeffrey, all these hopes and ideas had been buried and unarticulated.

But how long can Ryan hang onto this corpse when a tattooed mystery-man in a devilish souped-up Buick Riviera is after him to claim it? Ryan's life and everyone else's around him is quickly spiraling out of control. Is this corpse cursed?

This book reads like a verbal rock 'n roll video, fast paced and hilariously strange but has a much deeper statement to make that shines through. While wholly unreasonable in reality, in the world Dax and Lloyd Garner create, this story totally works. Of course, we need to forgo our qualms with carrying decayed bodies around, talking to them, partying with them, for the length of two hundred seven pages. Normality doesn't apply here. Irony does. Which is exactly the stuff that keeps you thinking after the book's been set down. It is bold and intense, rooted in what one can only describe as a seriously original way of tackling the subject of existentialism and teenage-angst. It will leave you pondering its pieces for days.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Modern Teen Satire, March 13, 2008

By	D. L. Sutton "avid reader" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Great book. A fun, fast, and entertaining story about teen angst without any apology. It expresses a growing undercurrent in our society. Nothing contrived. The symbolism and metaphor don't bog you down with too much purpose and meaning. Just an entertaining coming of age book. And Funny, too. I haven't laughed so hard at characters and dialogue in a long time. I really recommend it as a change for any reader looking to read something with a fresh voice, instead of the same old stale prose.